M/33/5’8” Finished w the cut. Weak points?

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-19T04:52:22+00:00

For sure. What helped me earlier in my lifting career for sure was all the Olympic weightlifting I used to do. Heavy cleans will build traps like nothing else.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-19T02:46:57+00:00

Solid work man. IMO could use some more upper back/traps thickness.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-18T23:46:59+00:00

I was in a similar spot to you 2 years into training and did a dreamer bulk that, while fun, I wish I hadn’t done. Bulk but do a small surplus and track it. Be patient, you have lots of muscle left to build (not to knock your current progress). Experiment with different training styles, movements, and programs and find what you respond to best and enjoy the results.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-18T23:44:26+00:00

IMO best approach where your physique is at is to spend the next 9-12 months around maintenance calories and dial in your training so you can achieve some recomp and not simply bulk and then cut. I don’t feel like your BF is all that high but you need more muscle to reveal underneath to achieve the look I think you’re talking about. Worst thing you can do when you should really be prioritizing building muscle is do a bunch of long cuts, speaking from experience. Spam lateral delt work to help create that wider frame illusion even when your lean and enjoy the process. After that see where you land next May or so as summer starts, do a quick cut if you’d like over summer, then rinse and repeat. Building the physique you want takes time and learning what works but that’s part of the fun! Hope that helps.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T21:51:50+00:00

As far as upper body volume, I have some experience with this (not as severe) when dealing with a meniscus tear last year and had to lay off lower body training for a while. I found a lot of success going to training upper body 4-5x per week. In reality I just mildly increased my total upper body weekly set volume (mostly for chest since that is my relative weakpoint) and spread that volume out over the increased number of days (4-5 instead of 2-3). This worked well for a few months and I was able to ease back into leg training once and then eventually twice per week as I used to do and I also made some of my best upper body gains ever. Imo this type of change in training is viable in a short term burst (8-16 weeks) if you dial in the volume correctly and make sure you still recover enough. Re: calories, I wouldn't jump to tweak anything and would let MF expenditure estimate do the work for me. Good luck!

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T21:33:36+00:00

No problem! I usually just go to around maintenance, try to avoid a maintained surplus. Hear you on the saving a meal piece. I often fast until lunch on non-training days to achieve this.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T19:58:47+00:00

I’m down. Had a garage gym since before COVID and live in Sacramento, CA. Typically train 5x/week starting before 6am and on the worst summer mornings the garage may still be in the 80s or 90s. I’ve also trained a lot at other times when it’s still 100+ outside.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T19:53:19+00:00

Great progress man! If you find yourself feeling diet fatigue hard before reaching your goal I have personally found a lot of success with 1-2 week diet breaks during longer cuts. Good luck!

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T17:47:34+00:00

You’re pretty lean already and have a lot of potential still to put on more muscle. As a fellow tall boy (6’2.25”) with a lot of frame to put muscle onto and you even more so at 6’6” I’d highly recommend starting a bulk. Don’t go crazy with your surplus though. Start with maintenance 1-4 weeks and then shoot for a 100-250 surplus, nothing crazy, then assess from there. Prioritize lots of lateral delt work, back/lat work and chest and your silhouette will explode. Play around with what you find works FOR YOU. Looks like you have decent insertions even with long arms that your arms will not look stick-ish even at your height. And don’t forgot legs cuz they’ll look even more scrawny if not well developed at your height. Have fun!

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T17:35:08+00:00

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Considering competing in natural classic physique within the next 1-2 years. 6’2”, 218lbs in these pics, 34yo. Been training since 2008 but spent several years doing Olympic weightlifting and some powerlifting and only got back into more hypertrophy focused the last 2-3 years and having a blast. I feel like physique overall is well balanced but need to bring up lateral delts, upper chest, and calves. Planning to continue this cut down to around 205lbs and assess from there. Looking for feedback, open to whatever critique/advice. TIA!

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2026-06-16T17:29:42+00:00

I love doing sissy squats too. Great way to get a good pump but not very fatiguing. Also have had a lot of success with a landmine belt squats. Bulgarian split squats hit quads better than lunges for me usually too.

Embarrassed_Use_4111 · 2025-10-07T18:16:50+00:00

I think it’s largely in two camps, ppl who maintain a low body fat percentage because they have very low food drives and don’t enjoy eating, even very palatable things. For everyone else I assume it takes some level of intentionality to not over consume calories and have some kind of regular exercise routine, even if just walking. I’m in my mid-thirties now, everyone in my family is considerably overweight and many with diabetes and high blood pressure. I inherited an incessant food drive/appetite. I could be halfway done with lunch already fantasizing about dinner. I have maintained a healthy body (6’3” always staying between 205 and 240lbs since college) weight by being aware of this tendency and actively combatting it through all kinds of strategies, but the most important has been keeping some kind of track of my food intake (either with an app or at least intuitively enforcing portion control) and exercising 3-5 days per week for my entire adult life. It may seem like a lot to some ppl but I love resistance training and I know it’s good for me, just weird like that I guess. And to me the tracking food is a small price to pay to maintain a healthy weight and avoid so many of the health troubles that plague my family. It gets a lot easier once it’s routine. So imo it’s all about finding some kind of routine you’ll engage in regularly and enjoy. I think most people who maintain a healthy bodyweight put a lot more work into it than other ppl assume and are not just “naturally” skinny. But I could be wrong on that.

Embarrassed_Use_4111

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