Hey guys,
I'm Niclas, an 18-year-old student with probably the least lifting experience in this forum but the definitive will to put in the work!!!
Just coming off a deload week and starting my new mesocycle tomorrow. I'm really excited to get shit done and share my journey on here!
BW (this morning): 159 lbs
Macros: 180P/385C/65F
Feel free to follow me on instagram @pure.dedication :)
Back has improved tons! Good job man!
8 months later, 9kg heavier and a lot stronger.
Well, it's a been a minute since I've updated you guys on here.
A lot has happened, like for real.
In terms of bodybuilding I was gaining from December 2017 until September 2018. In 1.5 weeks a 10 week cutting phase is ending. Went up from 72kg to 80kg in 10 months. Now aimimng for 72.5kg on average at
the end of the cut. Will put some pictures up where I am currently at. Goal then is to get back to gaining asap. Long-term vision is still to compete in 2022 when I'm at the cap of the junior category. Still as excited as on day one (well, probably even more).
Hey guys, long time no see so here I am. To be honest I can't really complain about anything. Lifts are going up, scale weight is going up, hunger is high (as usual lol) and maybe seeing some visual improvements. So all I need is consistency day in and day out over a looooong period of time. If I'll ever compare than earliest in 2022 when I'm 23 to compete right at the cap to be a junior. But if I'll do I want to make sure j have a calm and stable environment which is not really the case at the moment. However ticking my boxes everyday is something that keeps me sane and will always be there. A routine is so damn powerful. Sometimes I catch myself overthinking the process, questioning what I do and focussing on the minutia. I know it's not the best thing to do but it's just who I am. Until then, you guys know what I am up to.. ticking boxes day in and day out. At some point in time it will pay off
yeah for sure, got ya! IMO 100kcal is enough to notice a change and my cureent Macros allow for the wanted weight gain so everything is fine. That's why I set goals for my bodyweight so I can ensure I really gain and not maintain. I'm a little bit of a numbers guy and just need the data :D
Don't want to question your Plans or anything but do you really think that 100 calories will make a huge difference? I tend to stay on the safer side when gaining and fueling performance and recovery as much as possible. Often the weightgain levels out in the later stages of a meso so I would be careful with making adjustments right from the start. And 1,5% gain per month is not much at all I think. Of course we dont want to get fat but I just don't want you to step in the adiposphobia trap ;) hope you get my point, keep crushing it1!
The next mesocycle has already started and things are progressing really well at the moment. Had to drop my calories by a 100 because the rate of gain was a bit too much as I'm already pushing 1,5% of body weight gain per month.
Macros: 410C/205P/60F, average weight: 73,5kg
Had a good session today, nothing special but progressed every lift so I'll take it.
Hey guys,
as it's my deload week at the moment I thought I'd run you through my thoughts on the last mesocycle
All in all very very successful hypertrophy block compared with appropriate weight gain. It was my first meso back after the mini-cut and training was really productive whilst enojying the additional calories!
I tapered my volume down a little bit to focus on the fundamentals aka compounds. Because I'm still a novice there's no need to hammer such high volumes. That's why I will decrease overall volume a little further on muscle groups I need more recovery. One thing I noticed is that I can gage appropriate training volumes really well now and know my body better day by day !
One movement that went up quite a bit is my squat! I struggled for a long time but it seems like it's finally picking up and shows a nice weekly progression. One reason why I'm finally able to overload the squat properly now is because I bought myself a lifting belt. This investment paid off by the first session. The amount of stability I can produce is like the piece of the puzzle that has alyways missed within my squat. Long story short, I love squatting again !
Other than that all other movements progressed nicely too.
What do I need to progress further? TIME!
Give me a few years and the work will pay off. I could probably blame my genetics for not looking like Matt Ogus after 1,5 years of training but I won't. Why am I not complaining? Because I've got one big advantage. I will outwork them. Mark my words. Consistent effort will get me there. Maybe not today or tomorrow but soon..
What's up guuuuys?
Sorry for the lack of updates but I'm really busy because of exams, group projects etc. in uni.. Stress is actually really high at the moment and I feel pretty exhausted but however I can still manage to get in some solid training sessions..
Probably two more weeks of accumulation than deload.
Weght is going up about a 1lb/week.
I actually found a really productive volume range for me (it's highly individual, takes a long time to find out and it is dynamic). Aim is to further progress and just to stick to the plan
Leg Development
Cause you guys wanted to see some pictures of my legs.. (post leg day, normal lighting)
(full disclosure) @krissi yeah to be honest, I was also struggling over the last month. Not struggling in terms of overeating or anything but more so worrying, stressing out too much and feeling a bit lost. That's why I'm really enjoying the time at home with my family at the moment. They do give me support and like a calm base outside of all the stress. I wasn't and still am not really in the best state of mind but I try to get over it..
hope this kind of post will help someone on here. Life has more to it than getting jacked, period.
Good to hear that! I honestly overshoot during christmas and some days before but more due to a not optimal mental state. I agree that food is not solving anything but it was some kind of mistake I made and now take my lessons from. But very cool to hear that you handled everything that well and can start the year with some solid muscle gain ;)
Hey guys, hope y'all enjoyed christmas with your loved ones :) I certainly did !
All over social media I saw people smashing food but to be honest Christmas never was and will probably never be a holiday to smash stupid amounts of food. I actually dropped 3lbs over the 3 days :D (I was able to hit my macros on the dot)
Training is going really well ! Nutritionwise I'm on 390C/200P/60F but this will probably be increased in the next few days if weight stays the same. Also I dropped steps from 15k to 12k cause I find it actually stresses me out abit if I know I have to go for a walk later that day. Although I enjoy walking I wanna have a little more room for increasses when cutting and I wanna make sure I recover properly from my training as this is my main purpose !
@AJ thanks for the advice buddy :) definetly will take that into consideration!
@Krissr yeah I'll try. Thank you mate and all the best to you as well <3
Very succesfull Minicut!! next time show your legs ;) but yeah just grow everywhere but take maybe a chest movement for an shoulder movement for example ;) have nice holidays mate enjoy !
Rest up dude and ENJOY it - more rest = better position to CRUSH IT!
From your physique shots you have a superb back, width is very impressive for your age.
Weaker areas like most younger guys are the chest and arms, I'd say you could take a LITTLE delt volume away and give some to ar