I Had To Get Lean in 40 days, So I Did This
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
🏋️♂️ 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.
📉 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
💡Lean Mass
💡Deadlift PRs
💡Mini Cut
💡Progressive Overload
💡Deload
💡Caloric Intake
💡Muscle Maintenance
💡Cardio
💡Lean Bulking
💡Strength
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.
Transcripts
for my entire fitness journey I've been
bulking from the start I was always a
super skinny insecure kid so since day
one my main concern has always been I
need to get less skinny don't get me
wrong my bulking was far from perfect I
didn't track my calories consistently I
went through periods of not training and
I went through a phase where I was just
chasing deadlift PRS instead of volume
progression
but regardless my end goal has always
been muscle growth which is why it was
pretty painful to see my progress just
dissipate during the 2020 lockdown I
went almost two months barely eating and
never lifting and honestly it was one of
the most down bad States I've ever been
in both mentally and physically and I
lost 20 pounds of lean mass putting my
weight at around 135 pounds I was the
smallest dude in the gym today I looked
like I don't belong there never again
fast forward to 2022 I bulked both clean
and dirty to a peak weight of 189 pounds
but that came in a price I was fluffier
than ever hitting plateaus in the gym
and having to pound over 4 000 calories
a day just to see the scale budge at the
same same time I know I couldn't start a
cut even though for a natural I feel
like 189 pounds at 511 is a solid weight
I knew that underneath all that fat was
a physique that I just wouldn't be happy
with especially shoulders and arms which
have been the bane of my bodybuilding
Journey however I still needed a change
I've heard the phrase mini cut thrown
around a few times but I always thought
it was just a regular cut cut short but
after some research I realized it could
be one of the most underutilized tools
for bulking so in the summer of 2022 I
decided to give it a shot the mini cut
has three main purposes number one is
simply to trim off a little fat from the
bulk have you been on that permabulk
life you probably know that just losing
a couple percentages of body fat can
make the difference between looking at
yourself in the mirror or not so while
it's not the most important benefit for
me temporarily improving your Aesthetics
is a nice Plus for your mental health
and the Instagram Feed plus this size
reduction also makes room to put on more
muscle which is kind of the whole point
of bulking because as a natural once you
reach a certain weight that your body
likes to stay at it gets harder and
harder to put on mass number two to
resensitize your body to training during
our bulking phases we're consistently
chasing Progressive overload adding
weight adding reps until eventually we
Plateau so this is where a temporary
phase where you drop the training volume
such as a deload or a mini cut is a nice
little refresh for our bodies number
three is to recover your appetite I was
maxed out on my eating capacity so to go
any further would probably result in me
drinking olive oil or going full dirty
bulk mode which would be catastrophic
both for my health and my wallet so if
doing this meant I could go back into
bulking with an appetite again and
potentially being able to eat less than
before that would be almost worth it on
its own however this is not a get out of
bulking jail free card and these
benefits come with a cost which I'll
reveal later so here's how a mini cut
works unlike a regular cut which when
done right is a process of gradually
lowering the calories in increments of
like two to three hundred over a period
of months this starts right off the bat
with a drastic drop in calorie intake
and for me that meant taking a thousand
calories out of my daily intake put me
at around 3 000 to 3200 calories a day
which to some may sound like a lot but
for me that's like a 25 deduction in
calories
advertisement bro
she looks sick Bro keep in mind the
numbers are going to be a little
different for everyone but for me I was
trying to lose around a percent of body
weight a week next we obviously can't
maintain the level of training we were
doing at Peak bulk we simply don't have
the fuel to do so so instead of
progression in the gym we want muscle
maintenance for me this meant reducing
my total trending volume by around 20 to
30 percent and consciously not trying to
go up and weigh to reps just keeping
what I got now let me clarify this does
not mean you can go rp3 on your sets and
take like four rest days a week because
you'll lose even more muscle and
strength I also didn't add any cardio to
this besides my daily walk which to that
some may say oh well couldn't you do
more cardio so you can eat more well
obviously cardio is great for General
Health and burning calories at such an
extreme deficit this is essentially
frying your legs beyond their ability to
repair and for most bulkers like myself
a good time frame for the mini cut seem
to be between four and six weeks but I
felt fat and I wanted to see and feel a
difference so I set out for six weeks
but luckily it was just water weight
which a bloat Lord like myself could
afford to lose and surprisingly only a
couple weeks in I was already
experiencing hunger enough to make me
even switch up the foods I was eating
for more filling options I'm gonna be
subbing out my lovely muffins
for these muffins because I realized
especially after day one that I was
still eating over a thousand grams of
fat and thus I'm not able to eat as much
carbs as I probably need because I'm
noticing already like slight energy
declines in the gym so this should make
a big difference because this only has
like one gram of fat and that has like
Infinity fat however I was experiencing
mental benefits so I was eating less
during the day I was able to work more
and I was more focused because I wasn't
bogged down by brain fog from the Food
Plus in the gym I was loving my quicker
Chiller workouts and everything was
going smoothly
until it wasn't about four and a half
weeks in it felt like I lost all my
strength overnight maintenance weight
that I was using this entire period was
starting to feel heavy and I found
myself getting less reps with less
weight than before the mini cut but I
told myself that I would do six weeks so
after 10 more days of dips and strength
and spikes and hunger I was done and I
went for my Peak weight ever of 189
pounds to 171 pounds I was noticeably
leaner and I saw the return of the four
pack of ABS instead of the two and I
felt
small my muscles were depleted and flat
which just offset any satisfaction I
would have had with my appearance but I
didn't freak out and turn around and
start cramming in 4 500 calories a day I
transitioned to a lean bulking phase
adding around five to seven hundred
calories from where I was at and then I
filled back out definitely the best
difference I noticed was since my arms
lost some fat once I got some food in a
pump they looked better than they ever
have well I wish I could say my strength
came back just as fast as it left
it didn't that last week or two really
took a toll on my strength and since I
wasn't turning around and cramming 5K
calories to get my bench back up it took
some time so all in all was the mini cut
worth it and should you do it despite
the downsides I honestly am glad that I
did it in my opinion the mental benefits
from taking a break from eating and
seeing new definition outweighed getting
my strength back however I can't help
but think that if I would have cut it
short to only four or five weeks it
would have been more optimal so for
those who have a long journey of growing
ahead that know a cut is nowhere near in
sight I would say give it a shot but
make sure it is after a solid phase of
serious growth don't rush into one
because you've been bulking for a month
and your abs are a little blurred if
you're in your first couple years of
training and want all the knowledge and
tools that will allow you to fully
optimize your fitness journey and
essentially put you on the fast track
for gains and all I ask is that you
consider checking out my fitness course
inside you'll gain access to hours of
video content diving into exactly how to
perfect your nutrition training
supplementation mindset and more as well
as you'll get five completely different
training programs my goal with creating
this was for you to get it and feel like
you never need to buy another program or
hire a coach because you know exactly
what you need to do so if you're
interested the link to that as well as
my free arm workout blueprint is in the
description below if you have any
additional thoughts please comment below
I hope this video helped you that's all
I got bye bye
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