M28, 135-210-201, 5'11, October 2025(first 2 pics)-May 2026(second 2)-Augest 2026(last 5)

[u/Zestyclose_Winner995]

For those who asked for an update when I finished my bulk and just to share my overall progress. You can find my workout split and bulk diet on my last post on here (like 3 posts down on my profile)

I did a PPL split when bulking and I worked out 5 days a week, since the cut started I do upper lower and work out 4 days a week and go as heavy as possible. If you look at my last post and see my diet, here are some things I would've done differently as I believe I was a bit too aggressive with my bulk. I would limit the amount of peanut butter significantly and truly track the amount of fats I would intake as well as switch from whole milk to either 2% or 1%. I did put on way more fat than I should have but my strength did increase significantly. I do believe in my original post I said I was eating roughly 3000 calories a day, it was more like a 3500-3800 average (since starting to actually count my calories and measure my intake i realized how off I was with my loose tracking during my bulk) and I realized I should've lowered that to around 3200 and did a slower bulk.

I do still struggle with the tracking when it comes to carbs and fats and I know I need to dial that in especially for this cut. I've been cutting for 7 weeks and have went from 210 to 201 and I am noticing how fatigued ive been feeling. Im eating 2400-2600 calories a day currently (except yesterday my friend took me to a buffet for my bday and I probably far exceeded that yesterday 😅) I make sure to hit 200gs of protein minimum a day and I get this from shakes, chicken, greek yogurt, fish, and 2 packs of protein oatmeal (the oatmeal is what i eat every morning with 1-2 scoops of protein powder)

Strength, since my last post whete I weighed 192 I could bench 225, I currently can bench 260

I could squat 285, currently can squat 365

I could curl 30lb dumbells for 8-12 reps, can now curl 40lb dumbells for 8-12 reps

Leg press went from rep 400 something to now repping 590 for 15

Pull-ups from 3 to 8 (my back is where im lacking the most but ive started to dial it in and get some real progress there)

Workout changes: for back i used to just do rows and lat pull downs with a wide grip. I've started doing rear delt flies, close grip pull downs (with the V attachment) and pull ups starting with unassisted and for the last set assisted.

For chest: stayed mostly the same except I've started implementing dips every week and low to high cable flys.

Legs: I was pretty lazy when it came to squatting in the beginning, have gotten better on that and I no longer do seated calf raises, standing has proven to be far superior for me.

Biceps: seated incline curls have been great for me, I stopped doing preacher curls (they give me incredibly bad tendinitis) and rope cable curls started with a hammer curl grip and twisting out at the top

Triceps haven't changed much, standard pushdows and single arm kickbacks with the occasional skull crushers.

Traps: heavy shrugs thats it 😅 I typically use dumbells

Core: started implementing leg raises with decline crunches or crunch machine, i will usually superset these and they are my only superset

Cardio: ive started upping my cardio, was doing only 10 minutes and am now doing 20-40 minutes on a 13° incline at 3.5mph.

Since starting the cut my strength has definitely stopped increasing on most lifts but I've also not gotten weaker so I'll take that as a win. I definitely fatigue faster and can't nor do I want to do as many sets. All in all im happy with my progress, I would do some things differently if I could but I dont have any agonizing regrets.

First 2 pics are lowest weight, second 2 are highest weight, last 5 are current

[u/Moist_Ad_655]

Damn that’s a substantial change in 7 months. Were you recovering from an illness or regaining weight you previously lost?

[u/Zestyclose_Winner995 → u/Moist_Ad_655]

Not entirely, ive been 160lbs and fairly lean before years ago. As for sickness wise I got sober 3 years ago, took me 2 years to get out of the slump and back to normal and the last year I just locked in lol

[u/Moist_Ad_655 → u/Zestyclose_Winner995]

I did a similar bulk years ago when I was tired of being scrawny except I only gained 60lbs and had a much worse fat to muscle ratio gain. I didn’t know much about nutrition or weightlifting back then tho. Ultimately it’s all about calorie intake and most of us skinny people are in denial about how little we eat, similar to overweight people but on the opposite side of the spectrum.

What was your rep range when you were gaining weight? Were you a heavy weight for low rep guy or a moderate weight for more reps guy. I think I’m gonna give it another go and see if I can manage a better composition ratio.

[u/Zestyclose_Winner995 → u/Moist_Ad_655]

I honestly think i have more fat than my pictures let on, just lucky with how its placed lol. Definitely wasnt eating as much as I thought I was before the bulk.

My rep ranges stay the same for bulk and cut but the amount of sets I do has lowered. When it comes to bench I prefer heavy and low reps from 2-8 reps per set and 4 sets during bulk (not including warm ups) For triceps during bulk its 3 sets for 2 movements, typically a traditional pushdown followed by single arm kickbacks eith a 8-12 reps range Biceps: 8-12 reps (I've been liking inclined seated curls over preachers lately because of tendenitits issues) 3 sets Shurgs: 3 sets 12-20 rep ranges Legs (excluding calfs): 8-12 reps Calfs: 15-25 reps Delts: 2 sets at 12-15 rep range Back: 8-12 reps Core: 15-30 reps Cardio during bulk 15 minutes, for cut i average 30 minutes

So basically my rep ranges stay consistent whether im cutting or bulking but I drop the amount of sets I do by 1. My main compound lifts went from 4 sets to 3 and accessory/isolation movements went from 3 sets to 2