Three years ago, I was a walking medical liability.
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Three years ago, I was a walking medical liability. High blood pressure, fatty liver, sleep apnea, sarcopenic obesity. Pick a system. It was failing. My body was basically running a liquidation sale.
Then I started lifting. And I didn’t stop.
Now I’m deadlifting 315lbs. That’s 75lbs more than my current mass of 240lbs. Which means, mathematically, I am now the kind of person who can pick myself up off the ground and then some. That’s objectively strong. If you don’t train, you’re not doing that. Full stop.
But here’s the catch: strength doesn’t automatically make you smaller. I’ve gotten powerful, but I haven’t exactly shrunk. And now that I’ve hit the mythical three plates per side, it’s time for the next quest.
Lose mass.
Yes, that might mean losing muscle. Annoying. But I’ve never wanted to be huge. I don’t need to look like I’m auditioning for a reboot of God of War. I just want to be healthy.
Lifting isn’t ending. That stays. Has to.
So why the change? Yesterday during a squat, my knees said “absolutely not” in a tone I did not appreciate. I shut it down immediately because I enjoy having functioning joints.
Sure, I could focus on mechanics, build more structure, keep scaling up. But the truth is simple: I don’t want to carry this much mass anymore.
So it’s time to cut.
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Three years ago, I was a walking medical liability. High blood pressure, fatty liver, sleep apnea, sarcopenic obesity. Pick a system. It was failing. My body was basically running a liquidation sale.
Then I started lifting. And I didn’t stop.
Now I’m deadlifting 315lbs. That’s 75lbs more than my current mass of 240lbs. Which means, mathematically, I am now the kind of person who can pick myself up off the ground and then some. That’s objectively strong. If you don’t train, you’re not doing that. Full stop.
But here’s the catch: strength doesn’t automatically make you smaller. I’ve gotten powerful, but I haven’t exactly shrunk. And now that I’ve hit the mythical three plates per side, it’s time for the next quest.
Lose mass.
Yes, that might mean losing muscle. Annoying. But I’ve never wanted to be huge. I don’t need to look like I’m auditioning for a reboot of God of War. I just want to be healthy.
Lifting isn’t ending. That stays. Has to.
So why the change? Yesterday during a squat, my knees said “absolutely not” in a tone I did not appreciate. I shut it down immediately because I enjoy having functioning joints.
Sure, I could focus on mechanics, build more structure, keep scaling up. But the truth is simple: I don’t want to carry this much mass anymore.
So it’s time to cut.
@atomicpoet Are you talking with knowledgeable people how to balance weights with diet to maintain strength while loosing mass?
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@atomicpoet Are you talking with knowledgeable people how to balance weights with diet to maintain strength while loosing mass?
@CStamp Yep, I’ve done the reading. It is incredibly hard to entirely maintain strength while losing mass. You essentially have to be eating protein ALL THE TIME. It’s a tightrope.
I think I’ll just aim for a caloric deficit while continuing to lift. I ain’t targeting weights anymore. I ain’t looking at the scale. I’m just going to let diet do its work.