[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by GSUNCSU

I decided back in January after it hit me that in one year I would be 50 that I wanted to bench press 200% of my body weight on my 50th BD, in my baseline day in early January, I weighed in at 236 and bench pressed 315 lbs, now I'm only 5'9" so it was safe to say I needed to be two inches taller to be round, but I do have natural upper body strength. Either I could get alot stronger (470+ Bench) or lose weight. I also had slightly elevated BP and cholesterol, so I chose both. As of Friday, I am now down to 194 and my bench has not been adversely effected, still at 315 with a strict competition lift, I can now run 2 miles in under 19 minutes, and all my vitals are good. My goal is to lose down into the mid 180's and then build back to low 190s, so I must get my bench near 400, I'm a little ahead of my schedule, but with the summer and work travel, it will be close. 5 days a week in the gym and a big nutrition change (Herbalife) and I'm on my way. I don't know how many HP the 40+ lbs have been worth, but I expect quicker 1/4 mile times this summer.

I weigh right at 165 and bench 265 currently. I can get it for about 3 reps and I'm done (after doing 3 sets of 225). I'm very strong for my size and don't think I can bench 315 let alone 330. I'll be watching you to see how you do it.

Originally Posted by driyac

I am. I am currently sitting at 16% body fat. My Goal is a relative number but essentially keep cutting until I hit between 5-7% body fat. Which should put me around 200-205 ish, I am trying to include muscle loss into this.

Coming from someone who got down to about 6% bodyfat last summer, it's not fun. Once the body gets in to single digit body fat it thinks it's starving. You'll get to a point that nothing seems to work and you end up cutting calories and carbs further to get those last few % and it's pretty miserable if I'm honest. I had bouts of memory loss I cut my carbs so low. I'd wake up in the morning and couldn't remember what I had for dinner or what I watched on TV. I felt kinda buzzy all the time too. I've decided 8% is gonna be my limit from now on. I just wanted to see how low I could actually go and 6% was enough for me to throw in the towel.

Originally Posted by CFD

Trying to reach 5-7% body fat and increasing strength to the degree you want is no easy task. Generally speaking, building strength/muscle and loosing fat are two different strategies. It can be done but the small details become very important, especially with nutrition. Everything you eat should be nutrient dense with absolutely no empty cals. Nutrient timing is also critical. Eating/drinking carbs and proteins pre/post workout to support muscle growth is essential as well as a good dose of casein protein before sleep. If in a caloric deficit as needed for cutting you will eventually burn out and loose strength. Carb cycling may be the ticket.

Good advice here. Especially the carb cycling. That always seemed to work well for those last few % I was trying to get rid of. I'm at about 10% BF now and headed back to 8% for summer.