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ram4386
10-26-08, 9:05 pm
Hey again

Just wondering what you all thought about this. Almost everyone here has goals they are working on and will achieve one day (hopefully). This being said, I was wondering if people here focus on that long term "ideal" achievement, or if they instead set smaller goals and work to accomplish those while still focusing on the main goal. Furthermore, I was wondering what reasonable expectations are within certain time frames. I know most people that are working towards a goal are probably doing a "Journey," but hopefully this can help to outline your goals in a much more concise way. Also by condensing your goals into a smaller post it can aid in understanding if your goals are attainable in the time frame you've allotted. Also if anyone could critique my goals and let me know if I'm coming out of left field with expectations, because no one wants to set themselves up for failure. It's much easier to find out that certain goals are not ascertainable early rather than mid-phase.

My goal is hard to quantify, but the idealization still exists. Currently I weigh about 245 pounds with a higher than accepted body fat percentage in my mind. That exact percentage I'm not quite sure, but if I had to guess I would say somewhere around 20%. Currently I am on a bulk phase (trying to be as clean as possible). Then when this bulk finishes right around New Years, I am going to begin the long arduous task of ripping the fat off this body. After careful deliberation, I chose to begin bulking rather than cutting, because in order to build a house you need to have all the supplies. Meaning that it would difficult to look/be what I want to be like without adding the muscle on first.

My question here would be is there such a thing as a clean bulk with the calories consumed should be as high quality as possible, or should the bulk be a non-stop food rampage with muscle addition being the goal? While these are two of the extremes, I currently find myself closer to the first rather than the latter. My query that I impose unto you is, should I indeed maintain the leanest bulk possible or would a little looser bulk be permissible? As always any feedback is greatly appreciated, and sorry for the long-winded post.

P.S. As for my goals they are the following (By the way the goals are for 4-6 reps)

Bench: 315
Squat: 350
Deadlift: 400

My current stats are

Bench: 250
Squat: 295
Deadlift: 315

Thanks again,

Ryan

BryanSmash!
10-26-08, 10:53 pm
In my opinion, I believe that you are over-thinking the issue of identifying your goals. There are only two types of goals- long term and short term. The short term goals should be part or your long term goals in most cases. I going to guess that by your weight and BF percentage that one of your long term goals is to cut down and get ripped. That's great, but your lifts probably aren't going to go up. In fact, they might even go down.
It seems like your goals are a mix of powerlifting and bodybuilding. The problem with that is, unless you are a genetic marvel, you're not going to get good at one without sacrificing performance from the other. That's not to say you can't be good at both, just not great at both. If your name is Johnny Jackson though, I could be wrong.
You seem like a pretty smart fella, so I'm going to throw out a couple of formulas that you might want to take into consideration:
1: Mass x Force = Strength. The bigger you are, the more weight you can lift. If you're only concern is pushing up numbers and you don't need to stay in a weight class, eat the fuck out of everything you can get your mitts on. The core of you 'diet' should revolve around eating good protein and carbs, but after that, eat a bag of fucking Milky Way bars if you want to.
2: K= calories. If (K consumed) < (K ingested) then the net result = Weight loss. It's as simple as that. Keep in mind though, that simple and easy are two different things. There are many other factors involved to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss during this period.
So with all that bullshit out of the way, here's my advice: Keep it simple. The more complicated you make things, the less likely you are to follow them. Have patience. Eat well, watch the pounds eventually fall off. Hopefully gain some muscle. Lastly and most importantly, have fun! Pushing iron fucking kicks ass! Enjoy it!
Hope this helps ya out!

MojoMike36
10-26-08, 11:22 pm
In my opinion, I believe that you are over-thinking the issue of identifying your goals. There are only two types of goals- long term and short term. The short term goals should be part or your long term goals in most cases. I going to guess that by your weight and BF percentage that one of your long term goals is to cut down and get ripped. That's great, but your lifts probably aren't going to go up. In fact, they might even go down.
It seems like your goals are a mix of powerlifting and bodybuilding. The problem with that is, unless you are a genetic marvel, you're not going to get good at one without sacrificing performance from the other. That's not to say you can't be good at both, just not great at both. If your name is Johnny Jackson though, I could be wrong.
You seem like a pretty smart fella, so I'm going to throw out a couple of formulas that you might want to take into consideration:
1: Mass x Force = Strength. The bigger you are, the more weight you can lift. If you're only concern is pushing up numbers and you don't need to stay in a weight class, eat the fuck out of everything you can get your mitts on. The core of you 'diet' should revolve around eating good protein and carbs, but after that, eat a bag of fucking Milky Way bars if you want to.
2: K= calories. If (K consumed) < (K ingested) then the net result = Weight loss. It's as simple as that. Keep in mind though, that simple and easy are two different things. There are many other factors involved to maximize fat loss and minimize muscle loss during this period.
So with all that bullshit out of the way, here's my advice: Keep it simple. The more complicated you make things, the less likely you are to follow them. Have patience. Eat well, watch the pounds eventually fall off. Hopefully gain some muscle. Lastly and most importantly, have fun! Pushing iron fucking kicks ass! Enjoy it!
Hope this helps ya out!


Yo. Thats LEGIT advice. You could write a book about a wall.

hardhit71
10-26-08, 11:28 pm
My advice would be that if you keep your long term goal in mind, use those short term goals as fuel and motivation. Progress takes time no matter what.

TheBassGuy
10-26-08, 11:51 pm
Try to get better each time out, but at the same time keep in mind the big picture.

Factory
10-27-08, 12:18 am
My question here would be is there such a thing as a clean bulk with the calories consumed should be as high quality as possible, or should the bulk be a non-stop food rampage with muscle addition being the goal? While these are two of the extremes, I currently find myself closer to the first rather than the latter. My query that I impose unto you is, should I indeed maintain the leanest bulk possible or would a little looser bulk be permissible? As always any feedback is greatly appreciated, and sorry for the long-winded post.

Thanks again,

Ryan

I'd try a 1:1:1 calorie ratio of protein carbs fats, while eating 270g of protein or more.
that's the best way i've ever bulked. just make sure your eating alot of clean food, don't just eat everything you see, it's a real hassle when you want to be any sort of lean.
good luck with it.

stumblin54
10-27-08, 6:01 pm
No matter what goals you have in mind, long term or short, you must win the battle every day, day in and day out to put yourself in the position to meet or exceed them. Keep in mind how much harder the dieting process will be if you go about a bulk by eating shit food too, just something to think about. You are what you eat.

Stumblin