The End Of The Beginning
Jeez, has it been nearly a month already?
[Just for the record, I've not been completely off and out of it all this time. I did in fact pick back up (sort of) the week after my last post. But anyway, this is not about that. This is about something else now.]
After a good bit of thinking in recent weeks, and after a nice long walk with my dog this morning to mull over the pro’s and con’s of what I have long being considering doing, I’ve come to a decision; that it’s time for a change of direction.
In the situation my mind and body is in now, I believe I’ve taken it as far as I can/or I’m willing to go in this ‘bulk’ phase, and now it’s time to change course and cut.
While I’ll be the first to admit (in fact, I already have, several times!) that I’ve slacked plenty during this bulk, the results haven’t been too bad, all things considered. It was all new territory for me. I’ve learnt a lot, but this game truly does raise more questions than it does answers, and that can be both exciting or extremely frustrating at times.
Problem is, when you first start out, you get sucked into all this stuff about how people put 30-40+ pounds of pure muscle mass on in 4-6 months, etc, and I very much doubt even if everything would’ve been top notch for me - diet and training - I wouldn’t have even come close. Partly because I now think most of these claims are confused (i.e.: much more fat than muscle was put on, mistakenly inflating the stats); claims made (or assumed) to be natural which are in fact drug enhanced; or outright exaggerations and lies.
But, there’s no point in measuring my progress against what there is no proof of. I’ve done all I can. I’ve gone from bang on 82.5kg to 92.5kg. I already had a bit of fat - particularly on my stomach - when I started, and I’ve certainly put a bit more on. But, as the fat comes off, we’ll see just what the real deal is. I’ve certainly gained a fair whack of muscle, so I’m reasonably happy.
I think it’s time to cut now for several important reasons:
Firstly, it’s summer. I didn’t pick summer for the reasons of wanting to show my body off - I’m under no illusions or delusions there - but, in Britain, as anyone will tell you, the summers (our only partial escape from the eternal darkness, damp and cold) are basically crap. There really ain’t much good weather, and what little good weather there is, I’d like to get out on my bike, go jogging, relax, enjoy it, and forget about all this ‘having to eat and rest or I won’t make gains’ business.
Secondly, because most of the time I just can’t sleep, I find it near impossible to get up early enough to get enough calories that I need to continue growth, and when you’re constantly waking up at 12 noon or later, and have to eat 4,000 calories a day, you’ve got your work cut out big time. It’s adding too much pressure and stress into my life, and there was already a major abundance of that before I even started weight training.
Thirdly, I’m at the point now where, I think my stomach and waist has enough fat on them. Too much, in fact. I reached the point where I looked ‘good’, or ‘better’ than I did before I started, but I now believe if I continue, I’m going to go way past that and start to look bad because I’ll just have way too much fat. (My waist is currently 38″, and my stomach has a clicking calliper pinch of 40mm. To me, that’s way too much.)
Fourthly, again: 4,000 calories a day. For me, that is a hell of an amount to have to eat. But now, I really don’t know how much fat I have on me. I’d estimate maybe 2.5 stone; and that’s 2.5 stone of fat I’m having to consume calories for, so I can provide an excess for my muscles to grow. I’m not doing myself justice by continuing, so I’m nipping it in the bud now, so I can lose the fat, taking my calories-to-grow figure down to much more manageable levels.
Fifthly, if I continue, I’m just prolonging the inevitable: that this fat has, at some point, got to go. For me, sooner rather than later. If I continue this way, and put on even more fat, how long is it going to take me to get rid of it all? (All time which I won’t be able to put any muscle mass on, too. A key reason for why I’m re-evaluating my future ‘bulk’ approach, which I’ll discuss in my next post.)
Sixthly, I’ve read up more about things, and many suggest that an all out bulk - where you disregard fat gains and just continue to pack on the lb’s as I have - may not be the best way to do it for a beginner natural trainee. (And when you’re reading things like I was, about the recommended diet being a GALLON of whole milk a day (at least 2,500 calories in itself, being conservative) plus 4 HUGE meals a day (which I can only assume would be at least 700 calories themselves a day, being conservative) your talking 5300 calories a day, at least. Now, unless I’m missing something, if I were to eat that amount per day, I’d end up being about 5-6-7 stone overweight (fat) within a year, EASILY.)
To me, there’s too much of this bodybuilding/strength training stuff that just doesn’t stack up or ring true to me, now. I’m doing it naturally, and I’m just not sure the material I’ve been using as my guide is truly targeted at, or indicative of those who are.
Seventhly, right now, I’m a little bored with the endless pursuit of ‘more muscle mass’. Unless you passionately love training and it’s the best thing in your life, or you’re an absolute maniac obsessed with your body size, I think it’s a very draining process. It’s drained me, and worn me out, mentally and physically, and it’s time for a bit of a change of direction for a while. I want my life to be more than just going into my cramped garage to lift weights, and then back into my house to sit eating and resting all day. I want to get out and about on my bike, jogging, fishing or whatever, and forget about building muscle for a while.
Eighthly, my body has changed a fair bit in a short space of time. Changes more extreme than ever before - barring puberty - and I think its now time to give it a break. I need a break from shovelling tons of calories in. A break from carrying the newly acquired fat. A break from the constant mind and body battle to gain more muscle. It’s the sensible thing to do, and I think 6 months of this type of punishment is enough at any one time.
So, effective immediately is my cutting phase. I’ve no idea how long it’s going to take, or how far I’m going to take it. I’ll see. But my main goal is to rid myself of as much fat as possible, to the point I look good, and, that’s how I intend to keep it for the next phase.
Also, the second most important thing is, while there is no escaping the fact you need calories to grow, I’d like to be able to take down the amount of calories I need to put muscle mass on, big time. Right now it’s at 4,000 and it’s just too much in my situation. If I knock a few stone of fat off, it’s going to make one hell of a difference.
But, I truly doubt I’ll ever ‘bulk’ like I have before, in light of recent things I’ve discovered, and my own experiences, and in another post I’ll tell you why.
Until the next post. See you shortly.
