I Had To Get Lean in 40 days, So I Did This

Kenny Bender

12 Feb 202306:59

Summary

TLDRThe video details the creator's fitness journey, focusing on bulking to overcome insecurities about being skinny. After years of inconsistent training and nutrition, they experienced setbacks during the 2020 lockdown, losing muscle mass. By 2022, they bulked to 189 pounds but struggled with excess fat and gym plateaus. To reset, they implemented a 6-week mini-cut, reducing calories and training volume to shed fat and resensitize their body to bulking. Despite strength loss, the mental and aesthetic benefits outweighed the downsides. The video concludes by offering a fitness course for optimal training and nutrition guidance.

Takeaways

💪 The speaker has been focused on bulking since they started their fitness journey, aiming to avoid being skinny.
📉 Despite inconsistencies in calorie tracking and training, their goal has always been muscle growth.
😔 The 2020 lockdown caused significant setbacks, resulting in a loss of 20 pounds of lean mass and a major decline in physical and mental well-being.
🏋️ By 2022, they reached a peak weight of 189 pounds, but it came with challenges, including hitting plateaus and needing to consume over 4,000 calories daily.
✂️ To address fat gain and reset their progress, the speaker decided to try a 'mini cut,' which involves a short, drastic reduction in calories.
🍽️ The mini cut allowed them to trim fat, resensitize their body to training, and recover their appetite for bulking.
⚖️ The mini cut requires reducing training volume to focus on muscle maintenance, not progression.
🥵 Although initially successful, the speaker experienced strength loss and hunger spikes after around four and a half weeks.
🔄 After the mini cut, they transitioned to a lean bulk and noticed better arm definition, despite slow strength recovery.
🎯 The speaker advises using mini cuts strategically and recommends them after solid growth phases, especially for those on long-term bulking journeys.

Q & A

What was the speaker's primary concern at the beginning of their fitness journey?
-The speaker's primary concern was to get less skinny and overcome their insecurity about being underweight.
What was the impact of the 2020 lockdown on the speaker's fitness progress?
-The lockdown led to a significant loss of progress for the speaker, with almost two months of barely eating and not exercising, resulting in a loss of 20 pounds of lean mass.
What is the main goal of a 'mini cut' in the context of the speaker's fitness journey?
-The main goal of a 'mini cut' is to trim off excess fat accumulated during a bulking phase, resensitize the body to training, and recover appetite for further muscle growth.
How does a mini cut differ from a regular cut in terms of calorie reduction?
-A mini cut involves a drastic drop in calorie intake from the start, unlike a regular cut which gradually lowers calories in increments over months.
What was the speaker's daily calorie intake during the mini cut phase?
-The speaker reduced their daily calorie intake to around 3,000 to 3,200 calories during the mini cut phase.
Why did the speaker decide to reduce their total training volume during the mini cut?
-The speaker reduced their total training volume to focus on muscle maintenance instead of progression due to the lack of sufficient calories for intense training.
How long did the speaker's mini cut last, and what was the result in terms of weight loss?
-The speaker's mini cut lasted for six weeks, during which they lost 18 pounds, going from 189 to 171 pounds.
What was the speaker's strategy for recovering from the mini cut?
-The speaker transitioned to a lean bulking phase, adding around 500 to 700 calories to their diet to refill and regain strength.
What were the mental benefits the speaker experienced during the mini cut?
-The speaker experienced increased focus, improved work efficiency, and a reduction in brain fog due to eating less during the day.
What advice does the speaker give to those considering a mini cut in their fitness journey?
-The speaker advises that a mini cut should be considered after a solid phase of serious growth and not rushed into after just a month of bulking.

Outlines

00:00

🏋️‍♂️ Fitness Journey and Mini Cut Experiment

The speaker reflects on their fitness journey, which began with a focus on bulking due to a history of being underweight and insecure. Despite imperfections in their approach, such as inconsistent calorie tracking and periods of inactivity, their primary goal was muscle growth. The 2020 lockdown led to a significant loss of lean mass, which deeply affected the speaker both mentally and physically. In 2022, they experimented with both clean and dirty bulking, reaching a peak weight of 189 pounds but at the cost of increased body fat and plateaus in the gym. The speaker then introduces the concept of a 'mini cut,' a tool they believed could be underutilized for bulking. They outline the three main purposes of a mini cut: to trim body fat, resensitize the body to training, and recover appetite. The speaker shares their personal mini cut experience, which involved a drastic reduction in calorie intake and a focus on muscle maintenance rather than progression, aiming to lose around 1% of body weight per week. They also discuss the mental and physical benefits they experienced, such as improved focus and more efficient workouts, but also the challenges like strength loss and hunger.

05:01

📉 Results and Reflections on the Mini Cut

After completing the six-week mini cut, the speaker went from their peak weight of 189 pounds to 171 pounds, noticing a leaner physique and the reemergence of their abs. However, they also felt that their muscles appeared depleted and flat, which tempered their satisfaction with the results. Instead of immediately increasing calorie intake, they transitioned into a lean bulking phase, gradually adding calories to their diet. They observed that their arms looked better once they regained some food and muscle definition. Despite the temporary loss of strength during the mini cut, the speaker was glad they went through with it, as the mental benefits and new muscle definition were worth the trade-off. They suggest that those with a long-term fitness goal consider a mini cut after a solid growth phase, but not to rush into it. The speaker also promotes their fitness course, which offers comprehensive guidance on nutrition, training, supplementation, and mindset, along with various training programs, aiming to equip individuals with the knowledge to optimize their fitness journey.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Bulking

Bulking refers to the process of deliberately increasing body weight by consuming more calories than one's body needs, typically with the goal of increasing muscle mass. In the video, the speaker discusses their personal journey of bulking from a very skinny state, emphasizing the importance of muscle growth over just gaining weight. The speaker's bulking phase involved both 'clean' and 'dirty' bulking, which refers to the types of food consumed during the process, with 'clean' being nutrient-dense and 'dirty' being higher in processed or less healthy calories.

💡Lean Mass

Lean mass is the amount of muscle and other non-fat tissues in the body, which is a key component of overall fitness and health. The video script mentions the loss of 20 pounds of lean mass during the 2020 lockdown, which had a significant impact on the speaker's physical and mental state. This highlights the importance of maintaining lean mass during periods of inactivity or reduced caloric intake.

💡Deadlift PRs

Deadlift PRs, or personal records, refer to the maximum weight an individual can lift in a single, continuous motion for a deadlift exercise. The speaker mentions a phase where they were 'chasing deadlift PRs' instead of focusing on volume progression, indicating a shift in focus from overall muscle growth to specific strength achievements.

💡Mini Cut

A mini cut is a short-term, controlled reduction in calorie intake and training volume, designed to shed excess body fat while maintaining muscle mass. The video explains that the speaker used a mini cut to trim off fat from their bulk, resensitize their body to training, and recover their appetite. This strategy is positioned as a tool to enhance the bulking process rather than a traditional cutting phase aimed at long-term fat loss.

💡Progressive Overload

Progressive overload is a training principle that involves gradually increasing the stress placed upon the body during exercise to cause adaptation and improvement. The script mentions that during bulking phases, the speaker was consistently adding weight and reps, which is an application of progressive overload. However, they eventually hit a plateau, which led to the consideration of a mini cut.

💡Deload

A deload is a temporary reduction in training volume or intensity, typically used to allow the body to recover and adapt to the stress of training. The video script suggests that a mini cut can serve a similar purpose to a deload, providing a refresh for the body and potentially helping to overcome plateaus in training progress.

💡Caloric Intake

Caloric intake refers to the total number of calories consumed through food and beverages. The speaker discusses drastically reducing their caloric intake during the mini cut, taking out a thousand calories from their daily intake to facilitate fat loss. This is a critical aspect of the mini cut process, as it creates a calorie deficit necessary for weight reduction.

💡Muscle Maintenance

Muscle maintenance involves training and nutrition strategies aimed at preserving muscle mass while losing fat. During the mini cut, the speaker focuses on maintaining their muscle mass by reducing training volume and not increasing weights or reps, which is a form of muscle maintenance to prevent muscle loss during the fat loss phase.

💡Cardio

Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, refers to any physical activity that increases heart rate and respiration, promoting heart and lung fitness. The script mentions that the speaker did not add any cardio to their routine during the mini cut, except for a daily walk, to avoid overtaxing their body and to preserve muscle mass.

💡Lean Bulking

Lean bulking is a bodybuilding strategy that aims to increase muscle mass while minimizing fat gain. After completing the mini cut, the speaker transitions to a lean bulking phase, where they increase their caloric intake slightly to promote muscle growth while still being mindful of fat accumulation. This phase is intended to rebuild muscle mass and strength lost during the mini cut.

💡Strength

Strength refers to the physical capacity to exert force or resist force, which is a key outcome of resistance training. The video script describes a period where the speaker's strength declined during the mini cut, as they were unable to lift the same weights they could before. This is a common challenge during cutting phases, where reduced calorie intake can affect performance.

Highlights

The individual's fitness journey began with a focus on bulking to overcome a skinny and insecure physique.

Despite imperfections in the bulking process, the primary goal remained muscle growth.

The 2020 lockdown led to a significant loss of 20 pounds of lean mass due to minimal eating and no exercise.

In 2022, the individual bulked both clean and dirty, reaching a peak weight of 189 pounds but with increased body fat.

The concept of a 'mini cut' was introduced as an underutilized tool for bulking.

A mini cut serves three main purposes: trimming fat, resensitizing the body to training, and recovering appetite.

The mini cut involves a drastic drop in calorie intake to around 3000-3200 calories per day.

Training during a mini cut focuses on muscle maintenance rather than progression.

Cardio is not typically added during a mini cut to prevent overtaxing the body.

The mini cut duration is typically four to six weeks, depending on individual response.

Mental benefits of the mini cut include improved focus and reduced brain fog from overeating.

The individual experienced a loss of strength towards the end of the mini cut.

After the mini cut, the individual transitioned to a lean bulking phase to regain muscle mass.

The mini cut was deemed worthwhile for the mental benefits and new muscle definition.

A recommendation for those with a long journey of growth is to try a mini cut after a solid phase of serious growth.

The individual suggests that a mini cut could be more optimal if shortened to four or five weeks.

A fitness course is offered for those seeking knowledge and tools to optimize their fitness journey.