not that kind of bear sanctuary

- Follow a basic strength training plan (e.g Rippetoe’s Starting Strength) working in the 3-6 rep range with the basic barbell lifts. Added as much extra training volume in the 8-12 rep range as I could handle on a more-or-less push/pull/legs split

- Ate lots and slept lots. I did that for about 6/7 months, got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot stronger. I would have kept this up longer if it was practical.

- I lost weight and strength after I started a new job and couldn’t get to the gym for a month, so decided to start cutting fat. There’s tools out there to help you calculate an appropriate calorie deficit for you based on your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). Keep your protein intake relatively high to help spare muscle mass, and keep track of your macros.

-Current workout split is chest+triceps, back+biceps, legs, shoulders+abs. I still keep squat/bench/deadlift to low reps, everything else is 8-12.

- Personally, I’ve been cutting weight very aggressively, which I don’t recommend. I’ve lost 6kg (13lb) and only weighed about 55kg (120lb) to begin with. Physically I’m fine but the mental toll of trying to track a ~300-500kcal deficit is terrible, so if you’re as prone to obsession and/or pushing your limits as I am, be nicer to your darn self and take it slow, especially if you’re small like me and your TDEE is pretty low to begin with.

I started out doing a body part split like you see in the fitness mags but I got frustrated with spending the same amount of time on arms as I was on legs, which never made much sense to me. I switched things around a LOT trying to figure out what was best. These days I stick to the principles laid out in things like starting strength (theres a book, you can google a pdf) i.e full body, heavy weight, keep adding weight to the bar, eat and sleep lots, squats are god. 

It works for me, because being STRONG is my goal and I really, really like lifting, figuring out your own goals and your own work capacity is very important. I do no cardio beyond a 5-10 minute jog to warm up on my light days because I hate running and I don’t do much dedicated ab work because 1. My body fat is too high for abs and 2. It affects my other lifts. 

Heavy days I do squat/bench/row or squat/overhead press/deadlift, then some accessory work that fits whatever I was doing (e.g. dips on the days I bench, extra shoulder work w the overhead press). I don’t have any time pressure on my workouts so I take up to 5 minutes between sets to recover.

 Light days I do some olympic lifting because it’s fun, extra work with the difficult parts of other lifts (e.g squats but stopping at the bottom so I have to really drive up hard), plus any extra bodybuilding style movements just for vanity’s sake (curls for days). If I’m all sore and tired, like today, I just take the day off completely. I don’t have a strict diet, I just make sure I stick to 1500-2000 calories a day and about 100g of protein.