1 year of strength training

Male, 32 years old.

Started on March 2017:

5'10"/178cm
140lbs (65kg)

When I started, I could move the empty bar and that was it.

After one year I have the following numbers (belted):

3x 290lb (130kg) Squat (high bar)
3x 320lb (145kg) DL
3x 205lb (92.5kg) BP
3x 160lb (60kg) OHP

My bodyweight is now at 190lbs (85kg).

My goals were 1 RM 1/2/3/4 plates for the main lifts. That was nailed at every lift, except for DL.

Having gained 50 lb made a tremendous change in my physique and posture, and there are people that can't even recognize me.

My BF went from like, I don't know, maybe 15%, to something between 25~30%. I'm reaching the ends of my linear progression. Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine. I have sciatica in one leg, hip arthritis in the other leg, and I feel my legs and joints could use some rest in order to catch up.

As I'm approaching the end of Linear Progression, I'm wondering if this would be a wise occasion for a small bulk.

https://i.imgur.com/PxZ6Yw4.png

Thanks,
CaptainLifts

I obviously meant small cut, and not a small bulk.

Good progress! My LP got me to 425x7 dead and 365x5 squat, I’m also a lot younger though, I’m only 17.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CaptainLifts

I obviously meant small cut, and not a small bulk.

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Hey, great work! Looks like you've made some excellent progress.

The question of whether or not to cut depends on your goals. What do you want to accomplish in the short, medium, and long term? How do you see a cut at this point contributing to that? What is the specific goal to be accomplished by cutting, and how will your training (and other factors) be organized to achieve that?

I'm at a similar place: about a year of actual training in lifting (though I've trained endurance quite a bit in the past), gained about 35lbs, got my lifts way up compared to my starting point, and significantly increased my waist measurement. I'm planning to do a moderate cut for the next 7-8 weeks, back off the training intensity just a little bit (not much), and then prepare to gain and train hard for a while again while maintaining a more favorable fat to LBM ratio. We'll see how it works out.

Congrats again on your progress!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jonfla

Hey, great work! Looks like you've made some excellent progress.

The question of whether or not to cut depends on your goals. What do you want to accomplish in the short, medium, and long term? How do you see a cut at this point contributing to that? What is the specific goal to be accomplished by cutting, and how will your training (and other factors) be organized to achieve that?

I'm at a similar place: about a year of actual training in lifting (though I've trained endurance quite a bit in the past), gained about 35lbs, got my lifts way up compared to my starting point, and significantly increased my waist measurement. I'm planning to do a moderate cut for the next 7-8 weeks, back off the training intensity just a little bit (not much), and then prepare to gain and train hard for a while again while maintaining a more favorable fat to LBM ratio. We'll see how it works out.

Congrats again on your progress!

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Thank you. I'm now starting olympic weightlifting practice, which I'm starting to be really interested in. I still not sure what to do about my diet. I'm afraid doing a strict cut will somehow set me back, since I still have lots of progression to make.

This is why I posted the pics. Looking to have some advice.

Take care.