Hey guys, wanted to switch it up this week and write about my fitness goals and the progress I’ve made since writing my review of 75 Hard. I’m happy with where I’m at, but there have been some setbacks as well. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Fitness Goals Recap
In my review of 75 Hard I talked about the value of routines and how the program can help you to reach your goals. Mine, specifically, are bulking as much as possible then cut down to 8-9% body fat for a natural bodybuilding show in 2023. I also called out my plan run 10 miles with an average of less than 10 minutes per mile.
I’ve made progress on both, but I’m human and there have been some setbacks and things I need to correct going forward. Let’s start with the first major change: my diet.
Diet breakdown
Bulking is different from trying to lose weight. This is pretty much common sense, but not everyone understands what an ideal “bulk” is. To remind you, bulking in the context of weight lifting is keeping yourself in a caloric surplus to put on “mass”. Ideally you put on as little fat as possible to make sure you gain muscle instead.
I changed up my calories and macronutrient breakdown to make this happen. I went from around 2,000 calories per day to 2,500 after using the calculator I built to give myself the correct calorie intake. This worked for a while, pushing me from 147lbs to 153lbs, but after that I hit what’s called a “plateau”. This is a point where you stop making progress until you need to change something to keep making progress.
I increased my calories further to push through that plateau, from 2,500 to 2,800. I started seeing results again, but hit another plateau at 157lbs. I changed it up again after about a month of making changes to my macros and workouts to see what the issues was. The problem was solved with two changes: an increase to 3,000 calories per day and swapping out the convenient Serious Mass weight gainer shakes for solid foods. I quickly pushed up to my current 162lbs after these last two changes.
I changed up my macronutrient breakdown as well. I started with my old bulking macros but made adjustments along the way as I hit those plateaus.
Starting Macros:
- Carbohydrates: 55%
- Protein: 25%
- Fats: 20%
- Calories: 2,500
Current Macros
- Carbohydrates: 50%
- Protein: 25%
- Fats: 25%
- Calories: 3,000
Workout breakdown
My workout schedule changed from 75 Hard as well. As a refresher, 75 Hard requires that you work out twice a day, every day. I cut that down to 1 workout per day and 5 days of weight lifting, 1 day of cardio, 1 days of yoga to minimize unnecessary calorie burn. The current workout schedule is:
- Monday: Cardio (3.0 walk for 45 minutes on treadmill)
- Tuesday: Yoga (20-30 minutes)
- Wednesday: Shoulders
- Thursday: Arms
- Friday: Back
- Saturday: Chest
- Sunday: Legs
I change up the exercises every month or so to keep my body from acclimating to the stress I put it under. While this has worked really well, there have been some struggles.
Struggles
COVID
I got COVID partway through thanks to a family reunion after avoiding it for 2.5 years. I was completely debilitated and wasn’t back to normal for about a month! I was still out of breath from the simplest activities 3 weeks after being free and clear of the illness. I couldn’t run and unfortunately still haven’t returned to it.
Summer Get Togethers
I always enjoy summer outings with family and friends, and this year has been no different. What has changed is my willingness to drink at these events: I still haven’t had a drink since January 1 2022. Saying no to the regular offers of a drink is no issue, but people are surprisingly uncomfortable when turned down the first few times. I am finding that I can have just as much fun without the booze, though – and I feel better for it!
Plateaus (Body Weight and Motivation)
Like I mentioned earlier, I hit plateaus at 153lbs and 157lbs. Pushing through these was a bit of a challenge, but I did stay the course and make progress. Staying motivated was difficult, though, and the intensity of my workouts varied. COVID didn’t help this at all. As my body fat has increased slightly, my main motivator was slowly pulled off the table.
Not everything has been overcast, though! There are some serious perks to calculated bulking.
Benefits
Calories Increases Are Fun!
I’m having a great time experimenting with my diet! Changing up the calories and macros really opens you up to a lot of options, from reintroducing peanut butter to enjoying full-fat butter and milk. Oh, and the absolutely amazing before-bed bowl of cereal to cap things off.
- 3 cups Bran Flakes
- 2 cups 2% or whole milk
- 66g blueberries
- 100g strawberries
- 21g organic honey
Tracking is easy and satisfying
Once it’s a routine, tracking your workouts and food intake are both comforting and fun. Seeing the progress on the scale and in your lifts is really, really important to staying the course. You wind up seeing numbers go up and you fill your clothes – shirts and pants fitting tighter is confirmation of your progress!
Fitness Goals: Where I’m At Today
All right, let’s briefly highlight where I’m at today.
- I weight 162lbs, 15 up from the 157lbs in early May
- Muscle growth across all muscle groups – increase in lifts and size
- Run was at <10 min/mile average for 5 mile runs
- Pretty huge physical transformation – can’t wait to see myself after the cut!
Fitness Goals Plan Through EOY
And my plans for the rest of the year?
- Push to 165lbs (2 more pounds) then do a moderate cut to reduce bodyfat
- I know how my brain works, and this cut will be to gauge my true muscle gain while also recapturing my motivation and intensity for the program
- Get back to running so I can push to 10 miles at 10 min/mile average for at least one run
- COVID has passed and I just need to get back to it. My plan is to start again after my 165lb cut (walking is seriously good for fat loss!)
