Hope you enjyoed this and you're looking forward to the next one, where we'll get into more of a discussion on what my strategy was, how I dieted, trained, how my well-being, hunger levels were impacted, and many other things. ;)
you are the most relatable and realest dude on youtube. you give insights that no other fitness influencer gives and these kind of videos are some damn insightful. Keep up the awesome work
I appreciate your work so much and I am impressed how much you are developing as trainee, coach and content provider (listening to your podcast since summer 2018 :-)). Keep on the good work Abel!
Good video. The biggest improvement you made in terms of attractiveness from this cut is in your face imo, I have always known this but it's actually pretty cool that dropping body fat makes you look better and younger in most cases. I still think a lot of people underestimate how important facial aesthetics are, if the goal is training to become more attractive that is. Not saying you shouldn't bulk, but being constantly in a higher body fat level might be holding back your looks, if that's your goal :)
Thanks for the no BS frank and honest truth on the matter. I am getting inspiration and hope to get that final lower abs fluff off to claim the coveted 6-pack abs vanity trophy at age 63. Seeing that I am carrying some fat in upper back of thigh area still and also at lower back that has to come off. I was chasing an illusory body fat metric using guesstimates from fat calipers over illiac region - which indicate about 11% BF. But at my age and size (smaller framed 5'10" at 169 lbs now) I am at extreme of chart range. I know that I have to be honest and must get off another 8 lbs of pure body fat or so at least but without losing any precious muscle mass. I am still making slow gains in the LBM but its a constant see-saw trying to balance it. My biggest challenge is not motivation and commitment to clean nutrition and gym etc. but rather I can't get enough quality sleep in (averaging only 4.5 hours) due to what I think is being super activated by a sustained ketogenic higher-protein (carnivore + whey for anabolism boost) nutrition protocol.
Dear Abel. In the last few months I've been following all of your youtube videos and podcasts, and I can honestly say that you are my main source of inspiration and knowledge in the realm of fitness and everything that is related. This video came as quite a surprise for me. Maybe I wasn't expecting you to get this lean before your summer vacation in Greece... Anyway, you look great! And even more importantly, you look happy. I'm proud of you and wish you all the best. You really deserve it. As for myself, I'm currently 3 months into my lean bulk, and i constantly view and re-view your content on this topic. I know that I'd be wise to hire a coach, but I don't feel that in my area there is anyone that i can trust, and as regards online coaching, i have doubts how that can really work. Sorry for rambling. Again, congratulations! You look at your best! Keep on the good work. Please...
Dude you look freak'n incredible! You should definitely feel 'satisfied' and proud of your physique. Totally agree that the numbers don't matter... it's the look that we're going for. Thanks for sharing the lessons you learned. We appreciate it.
really appreciate this. especially the realization that you have so much more fat to lose. I'm into a fairly aggressive fat loss planned and the weight that I pegged for stopping I've already reached and I'm nowhere near as shredded as I thought I would be. turns out that I, too, I'm not nearly as muscular as I thought, and have much more fat to lose. 😂
Welcome. Can’t agree more. Full body pics are always required for bodyfat guesses. Some guys that lose AB fat last also guess it’s higher than it actually is but not common. Most people under guess. I personally think dexas still under shoot real bf%.
This might be a preposterous question, but I'm wondering if resistance training on a moderate deficit is enough to retain muscle... without paying mind to protein. Is the training enough of a signal to the body? I get that you probably won't recomp doing this, but in terms of just preventing muscle loss, is the training enough? And I'm talking about going from 18% to 12%-ish, not single digit bf%. I have no problem hitting a pretty substantial deficit if I just eat intuitively while I'm cutting. I can have 2 or 3 meals and end up around 2,000 calories or less - but my protein ends up being like 80g per day (I weigh 200 lbs). If I try to get 1g of protein per lb, I need to eat an additional 500-600 cals just to meet my protein requirements, which often eliminates the deficit. It's annoying because it would be relatively easy for me to cut otherwise (up to a point - I think getting shredded would be extremely difficult). I know I should just change my diet so that I'm eating higher protein foods, but as we all know, that requires a change in habits which can be difficult. My current habits already make it relatively easy for me to hit a moderate deficit if I don't pay any mind to protein, so it would be nice if I could just keep that up and know that the resistance training will take care of the muscle retention down to 12% bf or so. Again, probably a ridiculous question and something no one who really cares about maximizing body composition would ask. But I'm somewhat of a minimalist with this stuff and would rather put in the minimal amount of effort for the greatest results. This would be the most painless way for me. I'm also curious from a theoretical point of view about whether the training is enough
In previous videos you mention using lower volume. In the stage where you were doing 12 sets per body part per week, were the rep rangers on the higher end (8-15) or lower end (4-8)? Or did you change it from week to week or even month to month? Or maybe you don't think it matters? Thanks!
Just curious, how long after the diet did it take you to regain the muscle you had lost? Keep in mind that you would have looked bigger almost immediately (after 1 week or so) when you carbed up even though you wouldn't have gained back all of your contractile tissue
Lookin' sliced Abel. Well done, and thanks for sharing this experience. I'm curious to learn to what degree you'll attempt to maintain this physique. I don't imagine you'll stay that lean year round. But will you try to stay within that ball park? What's next for you?
Hey Abel 1.what is your actual ffmi? 2.How much muscle you think so you gain in The Last 2years and how Long you are train? 3.do you have lost muscle Mass in The Cut? (conpared to The picture in The left at 6:25 you now Looks smaller) 4.what was your Bodyfat percentage at 6:25. And what ist your actual Bodyfat?
Real talk on how people don't really have a concept of what being lean is. People at 23% will be like oh yeah I'm 15% body fat because I have a faint outline of abs. And they say like oh yeah my goal is to be 10%. They also think they are so strong and carry loads of muscle when in reality its like no bro you're just eating a lot of food. Your arms are huge because: A). there's is way more fat than you think on them and B). Your calories are sky high so they are just topped off with food/glycogen. Most gym goers have absolutely no bloody idea when it comes to actual fitness. And half of them don't even do their cardio like goddamn!
I'd love to see a DXA. Honestly I think you were 12% body fat in those photos. What happens is lots of "LBM" still gets lost and makes you need to lose more weight.
You forgot to mention that it sucks being really lean...LOL. My body hated me if I dropped under ten percent or so. Can't sleep, can't get it up, all you feel like doing is laying down.
So.. what are the 7 main lessons? Would be good to put up the lessons on screen as you discuss. Just some constructive criticism on an otherwise great video. Time to cut for the next 5 weeks !
Hope you enjyoed this and you're looking forward to the next one, where we'll get into more of a discussion on what my strategy was, how I dieted, trained, how my well-being, hunger levels were impacted, and many other things. ;)
You made it BRAH! Nice consistency and hard work BRAH!
you are the most relatable and realest dude on youtube. you give insights that no other fitness influencer gives and these kind of videos are some damn insightful. Keep up the awesome work
@@Jan-wf1ww thanks a lot!!
Excellent, after seeing your progress I'm excited to hear about all those details since I'm currently trying to cut myself
I appreciate your work so much and I am impressed how much you are developing as trainee, coach and content provider (listening to your podcast since summer 2018 :-)). Keep on the good work Abel!
Your sincerity and candidness is very refreshing and rare online. Thank you.
glad you thinks so, thank you!
It is your calling card. Most regular guy in the industry.
True, one of a kind, keep it up, Abel!
Good video. The biggest improvement you made in terms of attractiveness from this cut is in your face imo, I have always known this but it's actually pretty cool that dropping body fat makes you look better and younger in most cases. I still think a lot of people underestimate how important facial aesthetics are, if the goal is training to become more attractive that is. Not saying you shouldn't bulk, but being constantly in a higher body fat level might be holding back your looks, if that's your goal :)
mm well, thank you I guess lol
Most authentic and honest video ive seen in a long time. Keep this spirit dude! Great insights
thank you, appreciate it! :)
How did I forget about your videos... Awesome content!!
Excellent video, Abel! A real honest reality check and I appreciate you sharing it. Looking forward to more of your lessons and content on this topic
thank you!
720p for a bulk, 4k for a cut. DeFiNiTiOn, bro
cool experience, glad you made it!
hahaha! 5 star comment
SHREDDED ⚡ it feels good being light man
cheers! i wouldnt say it feels good but its an interesting experience
As always awesome content, keep it up Abel!!!
thank you!
good job ...not many understand the hard work, so great video information
cheers!
There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.
Wow! I'm so impressed with your final shape! Well done! Congratulations!
thank you!:)
How big was your deficit?
Excellent content
Thank you
I honestly don't know why you put yourself through that given you didn't have a competition. Fair play!
hahah. why do competitors put themselves through that when they get shit for money? ;P
Thanks for sharing this, Abel! 💪🙏
thanks for checkin in!
Thanks for the no BS frank and honest truth on the matter. I am getting inspiration and hope to get that final lower abs fluff off to claim the coveted 6-pack abs vanity trophy at age 63. Seeing that I am carrying some fat in upper back of thigh area still and also at lower back that has to come off. I was chasing an illusory body fat metric using guesstimates from fat calipers over illiac region - which indicate about 11% BF. But at my age and size (smaller framed 5'10" at 169 lbs now) I am at extreme of chart range. I know that I have to be honest and must get off another 8 lbs of pure body fat or so at least but without losing any precious muscle mass. I am still making slow gains in the LBM but its a constant see-saw trying to balance it. My biggest challenge is not motivation and commitment to clean nutrition and gym etc. but rather I can't get enough quality sleep in (averaging only 4.5 hours) due to what I think is being super activated by a sustained ketogenic higher-protein (carnivore + whey for anabolism boost) nutrition protocol.
“Ima get lean too” saying to myself while i finish the other half of the Pizza
Dear Abel. In the last few months I've been following all of your youtube videos and podcasts, and I can honestly say that you are my main source of inspiration and knowledge in the realm of fitness and everything that is related. This video came as quite a surprise for me. Maybe I wasn't expecting you to get this lean before your summer vacation in Greece... Anyway, you look great! And even more importantly, you look happy. I'm proud of you and wish you all the best. You really deserve it. As for myself, I'm currently 3 months into my lean bulk, and i constantly view and re-view your content on this topic. I know that I'd be wise to hire a coach, but I don't feel that in my area there is anyone that i can trust, and as regards online coaching, i have doubts how that can really work. Sorry for rambling. Again, congratulations! You look at your best! Keep on the good work. Please...
thank you for the kind words, very much appreciated!
Dude you look freak'n incredible! You should definitely feel 'satisfied' and proud of your physique. Totally agree that the numbers don't matter... it's the look that we're going for. Thanks for sharing the lessons you learned. We appreciate it.
thanks so much! keep up the great work yourself too!
Yes, I definitely hear music back there, way back in the the background.
renderred the video like 3 times to 'get it right', at the end i was like, fuck it. but id rather have it too quiet than too loud.
really appreciate this. especially the realization that you have so much more fat to lose. I'm into a fairly aggressive fat loss planned and the weight that I pegged for stopping I've already reached and I'm nowhere near as shredded as I thought I would be. turns out that I, too, I'm not nearly as muscular as I thought, and have much more fat to lose. 😂
Nice content. Thanks man
Man the quality of your video has improved so much. Cheers
thanks a lot!
Nice work bro! Inspiring!
Welcome. Can’t agree more. Full body pics are always required for bodyfat guesses. Some guys that lose AB fat last also guess it’s higher than it actually is but not common. Most people under guess. I personally think dexas still under shoot real bf%.
well said
Looking great man! 👌👌
thanks!
This might be a preposterous question, but I'm wondering if resistance training on a moderate deficit is enough to retain muscle... without paying mind to protein. Is the training enough of a signal to the body? I get that you probably won't recomp doing this, but in terms of just preventing muscle loss, is the training enough? And I'm talking about going from 18% to 12%-ish, not single digit bf%.
I have no problem hitting a pretty substantial deficit if I just eat intuitively while I'm cutting. I can have 2 or 3 meals and end up around 2,000 calories or less - but my protein ends up being like 80g per day (I weigh 200 lbs). If I try to get 1g of protein per lb, I need to eat an additional 500-600 cals just to meet my protein requirements, which often eliminates the deficit. It's annoying because it would be relatively easy for me to cut otherwise (up to a point - I think getting shredded would be extremely difficult).
I know I should just change my diet so that I'm eating higher protein foods, but as we all know, that requires a change in habits which can be difficult. My current habits already make it relatively easy for me to hit a moderate deficit if I don't pay any mind to protein, so it would be nice if I could just keep that up and know that the resistance training will take care of the muscle retention down to 12% bf or so.
Again, probably a ridiculous question and something no one who really cares about maximizing body composition would ask. But I'm somewhat of a minimalist with this stuff and would rather put in the minimal amount of effort for the greatest results. This would be the most painless way for me. I'm also curious from a theoretical point of view about whether the training is enough
Well done sir!
thank you!
In previous videos you mention using lower volume. In the stage where you were doing 12 sets per body part per week, were the rep rangers on the higher end (8-15) or lower end (4-8)? Or did you change it from week to week or even month to month? Or maybe you don't think it matters? Thanks!
i was using a mix, as i always do - its movement and muscle group specific
Great vid!
cheers!
Just curious, how long after the diet did it take you to regain the muscle you had lost? Keep in mind that you would have looked bigger almost immediately (after 1 week or so) when you carbed up even though you wouldn't have gained back all of your contractile tissue
will address this in part II ;)
Congrats. That took some work.
thank u!
"oh damn, I have a dead pixel on my screen"
"puuuffff no lucky me, it's only a goddamn shit on the background screen"
Will it be available as a podcast?
not this particular one, the next one will be
Lol at the kinobody reference
not to name names, but..
Lookin' sliced Abel. Well done, and thanks for sharing this experience. I'm curious to learn to what degree you'll attempt to maintain this physique. I don't imagine you'll stay that lean year round. But will you try to stay within that ball park? What's next for you?
thank you! - question kept in mind for part II!
Hey Abel 1.what is your actual ffmi? 2.How much muscle you think so you gain in The Last 2years and how Long you are train? 3.do you have lost muscle Mass in The Cut? (conpared to The picture in The left at 6:25 you now Looks smaller)
4.what was your Bodyfat percentage at 6:25. And what ist your actual Bodyfat?
Oh boy
Real talk on how people don't really have a concept of what being lean is. People at 23% will be like oh yeah I'm 15% body fat because I have a faint outline of abs. And they say like oh yeah my goal is to be 10%. They also think they are so strong and carry loads of muscle when in reality its like no bro you're just eating a lot of food. Your arms are huge because: A). there's is way more fat than you think on them and B). Your calories are sky high so they are just topped off with food/glycogen. Most gym goers have absolutely no bloody idea when it comes to actual fitness. And half of them don't even do their cardio like goddamn!
It would be nice if you made a video with more accurate body fat % estimates of yourself.
How many calories were you consuming at the end of the cut?
Part II
@@ssdabel great
Nah, it has to be easy. Million's of instagram/youtube fitness celebs can't be wrong.
Am 40 is it still attainable
Yes.
no doubt.
Getting to 8% is not "rice krispies"...
That's my damn binge of choice, rice krispie treats
haha
Do you take diet breaks for your said 3months cut?
didnt take breaks, will address it in more detail in part II
do you think tall + thin frame guys look better big or ripped?
not necessarily
I'd love to see a DXA.
Honestly I think you were 12% body fat in those photos. What happens is lots of "LBM" still gets lost and makes you need to lose more weight.
Which photos do you mean now?
SSD Abel the "photos" of the past when you claimed you were 12%.
@@wrxdrunkie ah I see. At the end of the day it doesnt matter anyway, the look is what we go for
SSD Abel yup. Congrats by the way. Looking great. Good luck on the gaining phase
Do you think its impossible as a lifestyle because some of us just need more variety, fun ect or because our body fight us too strongly?
Didnt say impossible at all.
I think you look better with higher body fat comp dude.
🤷♂️
How much your strength dropped at the end of your cut?
Part II :)
Really looked a lot bigger in clothes around 10-12 bf lol. Looking hella lean though.
Abel use objective measures Like navy and caliper. Now you See,you re not as advanced as you thought. Way to improve.
I did actually - will cover in part II.
I'm kinda thinking/hoping that I still have one good bulk's worth of progress in me over this upcoming year :)
@@ssdabel that's a good, healthy and very motivating plan ! :)
Do use fat burners
i dont
You looked far better at 84kg
very kind of you, thank you
Learned*
Ah true, thanks
SSD Abel no prob bro love your content!
And bone broth..
ofc!
600mg!
You forgot to mention that it sucks being really lean...LOL. My body hated me if I dropped under ten percent or so. Can't sleep, can't get it up, all you feel like doing is laying down.
certainly some harsh ramifications at a certain point
When are you going to do a proper bulk?
I need to check my schedule/ask my secretary
So.. what are the 7 main lessons? Would be good to put up the lessons on screen as you discuss. Just some constructive criticism on an otherwise great video. Time to cut for the next 5 weeks !
No offense taken bro but the lessons are up on the screen and all 7 are certainly elaborated on