Have cut off 20lbs, feeling skinny, need comments... been training for 9mths

[averagejoe82]

Hey, as the title says i have been training for 9 months.. 4 days a week, im 5'8 180lbs. when i started training i was about 160lbs and pretty pinner... i hit the ground running and within a few months massed up to 200lbs (pretty puffy though) i wanted to cut back and get lean for summer and see the work i have done. could use some comments... anyone else start to cut and change your mind??? do i keep going???

[Delt King]

Rome wasn't built in a day.
You're getting there, just keep at it and stay consistent.

[waderow]

for 9 months training? good job bro.

[Ritch]

Keep bulking. You have a big head and need a bigger body to match it. Good job so far!

[averagejoe82]

Here is a pic of what i looked like just before Christmas

[White-Tiger]

Keep bulking. You have a big head and need a bigger body to match it. Good job so far!

With all due respect to Ritch, who usually gives very good recommendations. I think I'll have to go against it this time and say you should continue cutting.

Yes, you have a big head and need a bigger body to match it. However, this sport is mostly about looks, and being ~20%BF or more is not so kind on the eye. Specially with summer right around the corner.

At your current bodyfat level, if you were to continue bulking you'd be setting yourself up for a very long and painful diet next spring. I say continue cutting until you are aesthetically pleased with yourself and proud to take off your shirt on the beach. The bulking can wait till fall.

That said, you've made really good progress so far. Keep going!

[metis boy]

Good job bro keep at it!!! Like delt king said Rome wasn't built in day!

[jamex]

I say cut down as far as you can mentally endure. Your insulin response will improve when you're carrying less fat allowing you to clean bulk more efficiently, plus you'll be motivated and happy when you see yourself at 10% or less every time you look in the mirror.

Yes it can be hard to get down to 10%, but bulking back up and adding more fat along the way isn't going to make it any easier to lose down the road. Most people prefer their cut look even if it means they're smaller. It becomes an illusion at that point anyways.

[Ritch]

If he cuts down now, he will then be bulking in summer. That dosen`t make sense. Since he responds well to training and hasen`t gained much fat I say keep bulking. It will only be another 2 months of bulking. The decision can be either or, but if I were him and have made the gains he has, I`d want to keep at it for the next 2 months.

[jamex]

I'd rather be ripped and bulking during the summer than overweight and strong trying desperately to lose the gut before the beach days are over.

personal preference I guess. Assuming a 16 week cut, if he started at the end of this month he'd already be halfway into the summer and thats if 16 weeks was enough to get down to 10%.

[bigtavi8]

Looking good for just starting out. Spend some time on here reading some diets from ppl and try to pound off about 10, 20 more pounds naturally and dam you will feel great about yourself this summer. So far doing great but bulking is overated unless your lean enough to notice. Cut up to where you can clearly see them top to abs and thennn next winter bulk up 20-30 pounds.

Otherwise great work and very impressive start.

[rob66679]

Seems like a drastic fluctuation for a beginner IMHO.... 9 months went up 40 then dropped 20? I dunno....

[averagejoe82]

Thank you all for your input, i don't have a trainer so sometimes its hard to determine what im going to do, and everyone who has ever lifted a weight will tell you when i used to lift weights this is what i did... blah blah blah... so it means a lot to me that guys that professionally body build will give me advise.. as far as the 40 up and 20 off, as you can see by my second picture that i posted i was really flabby but convinced myself i was in a bulking phase so i could eat all the shit i wanted... i felt good with my shirt on because i was bulky and always being the "small" kid in school it felt good to tip the scales at 200lbs flabby or not... but on the other hand i knew that summer was coming up and i was not going to take off my shirt like that... so diet.. and i fairly strict about it too... i get up oatmeal and 8 egg whites, 10am protein shake, 12pm chicken and rice, 3pm protein, 6pm some form of meat and rice, workout and another low cal shake. and with simply watching what i eat i have lost alot around the mid section.... i will post a pic of before i started working out to give a better description of really how skinny i was

[Retics]

Looking good joe keep up the good work,, not as puffy as the last pics you sent me before,, welcome to the site, lay of the A-bombs lol, Gary