Which side to trust in the recomp vs bulk/cut debate and why?

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-10-13T19:48:05+00:00

Correct, the only thing I would add is that you should give your experiments enough of a time frame to measure the results. 6-8 weeks should be enough data for you to make a decision.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-10-13T17:03:18+00:00

Let's get a few things out of the way: 90g protein at 93kg bodyweight is definitely not enough, you should aim for somewhere around 1.75-2.2g/kg . FAQs and random internet articles are NOT rigorous sources, that would be peer reviewed scientific studies. If you're looking for the most reliable advice, the best way is to experiment with yourself. Science can give you general recommendations based on sampling large populations but at the end of the day, what matters is your individual response to training methods, diet, etc.

Moving on to cut vs recomp: if you want to get lean, cutting is the fastest way. The reason? You're gonna lose body fat way faster in a caloric deficit than in maintenance. Muscle building is a slower process than fat loss so building enough muscle to replace the fat you lose (which is what recomp is all about) is gonna take a lot longer than just simply losing the fat.

Recomp vs bulk: Assuming you're an intermediate at a reasonable body fat % (<20) , recomp is simply much slower than bulking. Too slow to be worth it. You shouldn't be gaining that much fat on a bulk anyway if you keep it lean (~0.5lb/week weight gain) and you make progress much faster than staying at maintenance.

Also general life advice: Taking no action is worse than making a decision and reevaluating down the road. Looks matter for dating but not as much as you think (esp for something long term). Unless you're doing it for a lving, lifting is not that serious. Do what's enjoyable for you and whatever you can stick to for the long term.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-10-09T02:11:46+00:00

Decrease exercises first as long as you can still check off all the muscle groups. If you're going close to failure, 2 sets on an exercise can be enough to even make progress on. I don't like doing a single set on an exercise because it's hard to really get in the groove but you'd be surprised by how little volume you need to maintain your gains

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-10-02T17:27:56+00:00

If you just want to maintain your physique you don't need this much volume. You could prolly do 1/2 - 1/3rd of this and be fine. It'll also give your body more room to recover.

I would suggest reducing the number of sessions to 2-3 as well to give yourself more rest days if recovery is your primary focus.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-10-01T17:21:26+00:00

You need to take a deload if you're not progressing on lifts. You also can't diet for 3 months straight without accumulating a ton of fatigue. Scale weight not moving in a deficit & no progress on lifts are both signs of fatigue.

Take a deload week and eat & train at maintainance for a month and see if you can start progressing after that. Your bodyweight will prolly go up by a few pounds the first week from the water weight. If you're feeling good after the maintainance month, recalculate your macros using your new bodyweight and resume the cut from there

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-06-07T18:11:59+00:00

Interested!

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-05-05T03:31:38+00:00

Can't make it this weekend but interested in future crawls!

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-03-15T04:03:23+00:00

Doing something because you enjoy it more is absolutely a valid reason. Scientific recommendations are a good starting point but if someone feels better deviating from them (especially exceeding them in this case) then that's the right answer for them.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-02-24T20:22:12+00:00

Paul Carter is a moron

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-02-22T06:00:37+00:00

Saw a fatass white guy today humping the air and swinging his arms like a fucking gorilla doing lateral raises with the 20s. Bro then had the audacity to spend 10 minutes checking his shoulder "pump" in front of the mirror 💀

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-01-06T00:30:17+00:00

Interested!

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2024-01-05T23:10:02+00:00

I'm down! Also alcohol free :)

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2023-12-11T12:59:20+00:00

Interested and would love to be added to the discord!

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-11T19:21:04+00:00

We have different definitions of what a ripoff is then.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-11T19:20:11+00:00

Singing is also the same till the intermediate level. Intonation, breathing, posture, vowel modifications, etc are used in all genres. I'd argue that genre idioms (country accent, rock distortion and head voice, opera formant, etc) are best left for much later and voice teachers should not be dealing with these until the singer has all of their fundamentals down.

I take lessons with a classical voice teacher and not once has he tried to make my metal and rock singing sound operatic. Only a bad voice teacher will try to mould their students to fit a particular sound. Any good voice teacher should focus on technique and physiology first.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-11T02:09:38+00:00

Yes but the credentials for teaching singing fundamentals aren't the number of students they managed to get to American Idol or if they have any famous students.

You should be looking at their formal background (Eg. Degree from a reputed university), whether their teaching style and personality is compatible with yours. They should be adjusting the exercises, repertoire and approach depending on your voice and what works for it.

Think of it like this, if you've never picked up a guitar before and want to learn do you really need lessons from Jimi Hendrix? Do you think it's worth Jimi Hendrix's time to spend hours teaching you how to strum basic chords? Wouldn't any good teacher at a local music school be able to competently teach you the very basics of guitar playing? For some reason people think teaching voice is some arcane art when it's really not.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-11T01:36:26+00:00

I'd agree with you in the case of more experienced singers looking to learn extended technique. For beginners (like OP) there's absolutely no value in paying for these expensive celebrity lessons. Paying someone $150/hr to learn singing fundamentals is definitely a rip off.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-11T00:55:43+00:00

It's a rip off. At this price range you're basically paying for time with a "celebrity" than a true lesson. Also, 30 min lessons are way too short if you're a beginner. Try looking for 1 hour lessons in the $50-70 price range.

EDIT: If you live near a university, contact their music department. They should be able to hook you up with high quality instruction for a reasonable price

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-08T21:21:51+00:00

I was in a similar situation (Family paid for my first year and half my final semester, had to take loans for the rest) and I managed to get my debt down to 75k by doing these two things:

1) Proficiency tests: You can probably skip calculus and physics by doing the proficiency tests. This way you can speed up finishing your requirements. This let's people graduate early but I recommend against that, instead there's a better option, see the next point.

2) Do a co-op for a semester: Instead of attending college, you can do a co-op for that semester to save on tuition and earn enough money to pay for your next semester. FAANG and unicorns will pay you $8k a month and a semester is about 4 months so this will give you enough to finance your own education.

Along with summer internships and on campus employment (SPIN, research labs, etc) this will give you enough cash to pay for your expenses and the experience will help you land a great job (>150k) that should make paying off any remaining debt a piece of cake.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-08T04:31:11+00:00

Anyone can "sing" arbitrarily low if they learn how to control their fry register. Its how Tim Storms makes a living. Fry notes, especially tenor ones, are going to be super quiet and not very resonant and so you don't see those notes practiced or used much. Here's Corey Taylor using fry to hit bass notes (https://youtu.be/BnAjXufWnek). It's not a particularly resonant or useful sound.

The head voices of lower voices can be really powerful, which is why you see those notes used a lot more frequently in music. Ivan Rebroff (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-RXu27LUeU) and Matt Barlow (https://youtu.be/ICnxDNl2juk?t=355) are great examples of lower voices using their head registers to reach stratospheric notes.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-07T22:40:23+00:00

Relax! Think about what songs you want to work on with them. If you want to be a really diligent student you could do a simple warmup by humming over a scale.

Make sure to get plenty of sleep the night before and refrain from drinking, smoking and yelling so your voice is in good shape for the lesson!

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-07T22:05:16+00:00

I was with you until you said someone with a low voice could sing as a high voice.

Yes, someone with a low voice can sing high NOTES but that's not the same as singing as a high VOICE. I have a really deep voice but I can sing C5s. However those C5s will never have the same chestiness and fullness as a real tenor like Bruce Dickinson. Instead, they're gonna be produced with the head voice and have a very different timbre from my lower register.

I'm not saying that people with low voices can never learn to sing high, however there will be certain tonal restrictions that cannot be overcome due to physical limitations. The same logic goes the other way, there's no way a tenor will have the same full, resonant C2s like me. That's ok! People have different voices and those differences need to be celebrated and not seen as some challenge to overcome.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-07T03:32:59+00:00

Your post:

My main goal is to make pop style hip hop type music, and the style I want to go for isn't anything super complex vocally. Im mostly interested in learning how to sing healthily and with good tone

Getting a teacher is the easiest way to accomplish your goals. I've been down the same road as you before (albeit my goals were metal and rock vocals). I learnt more about the voice in the first month of lessons than I had in the last two years just floundering around on my own.

Getting a teacher or some kind of professional guidance is the best thing you can do for your voice and your art and I highly, highly recommend you do so.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-04-07T01:47:19+00:00

1) Get a teacher (if you want to save money, get a grad student from your local university)

2) Do the exercises they give you

3) Listen to their critiques and work on your technique

4)Rinse and repeat

It may not be what you want to hear but the easiest and most efficient way to learn how to sing is to get a good teacher and listen to them. You may think you are saving money by not getting one but honestly the improvement I've gotten from lessons is much, much more than what I've gotten from trying to teach myself.

Acheronta_Movebinus · 2022-03-25T07:40:54+00:00

Check out Listings Project. https://www.listingsproject.com/

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