Prepping In The Year 3000 - In Control At 17 Weeks Out

[@GVS]

"Pressing gets depressing" yep, always the first thing to go for me

[@mcfarvo]

Same!

[@Team3DMJ]

One day out by of nowhere the pressing just leaves you on read 😂

[@IshakIshakFitness]

ANOTHER WEEK IN THE BOOKS! Let’s go 🐐

[@ryanhauser4993]

Thanks again for these helpful and inspiring videos!

[@philippemonnier2617]

Needed the reminders on the delayed gratification and overload

[@saulinfinite548]

Thanks for these prep videos!

[@Team3DMJ]

🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@scottw3780]

Biggest difference I can see to natural prep is starting much leaner and dieting for longer. When I was enhanced I was fatter starting and generally dieted 16 weeks ramping everything up towards the end.

[@Team3DMJ]

Yeah because muscle loss is a bigger problem

[@scottw3780]

@@Team3DMJ you can’t afford to have problem areas like lower back fat going in, as you’d have to destroy muscle to remove it when 80% of your body would be ready. I’ve been clean past 6 years and always wondered what lengths I’d have to go through to get peeled without help, as I knew I could kill my self with cardio and not worry about losing muscle, if anything all those hours just improved my calves etc the only way I could see to do it would be to start a 20 week prep already looking like 10 weeks out juiced.

[@saehanbang1376]

These videos are amazing! Thank you 😊

[@Team3DMJ]

Thank you for watching

[@johnree5958]

The Amazon package statement, I took that personally

[@mcfarvo]

Uncle Berto out here helping the young bucks

[@Team3DMJ]

I got to!✊🏽

[@petey9949]

great content

[@richardtrass]

Thanks Berto. What’s your logic for all the partial RoM row work? Doesn’t this make it hard to gauge progression? Or is that out the window when you’re in fat loss mode? Those press around look very awkward. Cable touching the forearm, shaking and wobbling and unstable looking etc etc. Are they really worth it? Given you’re already DB pressing plenty first wouldn’t a cable fly do the trick? I’ve seen Kassem’s logic and I’m picking your answer is they’re great. You indicated that on your commentary. But they look awkward and were awkward when I tried them. Thanks again. Loving these updates!!

[@rockon8174]

Do what works for you.

[@realbenmaynard6019]

Awesome video Bert! I love this series. Its helped me with my current cut. So a question, how do you stick to your diet so well? Like just wanting to get more of the mindset side. For this being my tiret serious cut to get close to stage lean is why I ask. Thanks man 🙏

[@Team3DMJ]

Got you!

[@realbenmaynard6019]

@@Team3DMJ thank you ! 🙏

[@Allan_Flows]

Alberto… say I’m 290lbs and need to get to 190lbs to be “lean” but not stage ready. What’s the best way to approach that?

[@jordansearle2370]

I know I’m not Alberto but I would suggest you get educated on nutrition (assuming you’re not already) and forming good eating habits, get into a deficit and get the ball rolling. It’ll be a long process and you’ll realistically need to take multiple fat loss phases with some maintenance phases in between to lose that 100lb. All the while lifting of course in order to maintain and (hopefully) build muscle. Hope you get a reply from Alberto too!

[@CrimsonStrider]

My best bits of advice relate to habits and watching yourself. Why do you eat? When? I can stick to my plan pretty well, until I get very stressed or frustrated with someone unrelated to diet/training. But that stressor immediately ramps up my focus on food because its a way to “feel good”. Know this, know what triggers this, and getting those triggers out of your life or having a solid plan for when you get stressed will help. Admittedly, much easier said than done. I struggle with things that I love, that also trigger high periods of stress. Second, be forgiving and kind with yourself. You will make mistakes, do things wrong, and struggle at times. That's fine. We all do. Don't drive off the cliff because you scraped your door. Third, realize that rigidity and freedom have their places. The key is balance. That balance might best be described as flexibility. You have enough structure so that your house doesn't collapse on itself, but enough sway to deal with nature. You're neither so stiff that you crumble at the first sign of stress, or so free that you spin your wheels endlessly. That balance can be hard learned but well earned. Kindness to oneself is key in finding it. With the above said, start paying attention to when you eat, how you feel, what you eat, and what all your reasons are. You ate 3 bigmacs today. Why? Why did you justify that? Were you physically hungry? Stressed? Strapped for time? Don't really know how to cook? Ask yourself questions. Look at your answers. Then try to dismantle them, or boil them down to their base and assess what's going on. Then start building upon those areas. I like Jordan Petersons advice: What's the bare minimum you can do, that you could do, that you would do? Start with that. Design around your laziness. Keep snacks out of the house, so that you must physically leave to go and get stuff that doesn't align with your current goals. Or, put it at the back of hard to reach places. Delete delivery apps. Make it harder to get the stuff you'll snack on. And don't think of these things as bad. Just recognize, they're not *helping* you toward a goal you have, and thus, must take the backseat for the time being. To get to your goal, there must be some sacrifice of something you love. But that doesn't mean no chocolate ever again. That just might just having to practice Temperance rather than hedonistically eating. Learn to cook one meal a day, that satisfies you and is less calories than what you'd normally go for. Maybe batch cook a meal so that you always have that as a quick option if you're low on time. Just pick a cookbook from someone like Mike Isratels company, Greg Doucette, whatever. Just practice cooking that way a little and go from there. Finally, actively practice keeping things you love in your diet, in a reasonable way. I know I won't partition a giant bag of chips out into servings. So I'll usually buy a small bag and only keep 1 bag at home at a time. I can say “no” when I buy a cookie and am told 1 is 2$ but 2 is 3$. Maybe the 2nd option is a better value but I'm still saving money AND progressing towards my goal with just 1 cookie. Just make some simple changes. And then, if you need to, maybe watch some of the 3DJM and Stronger By Science stuff on tracking. It can be a useful tool for individuals but can introduce issues for others. Finally, get help. Hire a good coach is a GREAT way to help navigate all this. You can learn all this all on your own, and you can make mistakes even while working with a coach. But a coach will expedite the process, offer objective feedback, and will generally soften any of the things you're going to bump into one way or another. If you can afford it, I see no reason not to have a coach on your team.

[@TheChunkyWalrus]

Watch RP’s video on long term dieting. You’ll probably have to do a few diets, and have some diet breaks in between each diet where you will bump your calories back up to reduce diet fatigue. Don’t try and lose that amount of weight in one diet because you’ll burn out and probably put most of that weight back on.

[@MultiGamingGorilla]

It will take longer than you expect, it's took me 4 years to to lose 100lbs and 5 years to be able to comfortably maintain the weight loss.

[@Chicken_m4n]

Eat only 2 carrots a day lol just joking

[@CoolInOlympia]

So much hair, now!!!! Good to see you!

[@Team3DMJ]

It gets everywhere

[@Year_Of_The_Cat]

@@Team3DMJ Are you going to cut your hair for shows or stay full Aztec?

[@darkostankovic257]

Did you changed you approach to training calves (as i don't see you doing them that often like in the past)? I'm just wondering, maybe you concluded it's not worth it by investing:reward ratio? Cheers Bert, we all adore this series! o/

[@Team3DMJ]

Same old same old and they have improved but I haven’t talked much about them because they are moving well

[@jamesskeeler993]

Out of curiosity what is the rep range you're using on the split squat movement? Looking to give myself a little breather on my f.sqt... thanks

[@sn0lder]

who is that jacked homeless guy?

[@Team3DMJ]

😂😂😂😂

[@MultiGamingGorilla]

I've been alive 2.5 years longer than Alberto's been lifting

[@Team3DMJ]

👴

[@BuffLuis]

Legend

[@Team3DMJ]

🙏🏽

[@cjorr1190]

bodybuilding is the ultimate form of delayed gratification

[@Team3DMJ]

Great tool to build this very important skill

[@GG-kp1hb]

Please do Mr America

[@GG-kp1hb]

Same I'm a natty WPD pro and my long game eye and patience insane. I'm always up to something. Masters degree, certifications, now I'm back in school pursuing a totally unrelated career. Others my age are like "are you nuts?" But I'm so used to thinking, planning and doing things in terms of MONTHS & YEARS of work lol

[@rtds2024]

hi

[@bigpicturegains]

I absolutely know that feeling you are talking about. Natural bodybuilding is so rewarding if you have the patience to see things through. I feel steroid use would steal away a sense of accomplishment because you’ll always wonder how much was actually you and how much was the drugs.

[@Team3DMJ]

On the nutritional and training front it’s much less forgiving so you can potentially get a better education on that front

[@bigpicturegains]

@@Team3DMJ Oh I’ve learned though personal experimentation on myself over the years that getting as many variables dialed in as possible pays off. I am for sure always on the look out for more valuable information and lessons to incorporate. Appreciate all the information and personal experiences you all share 🙏

[@Year_Of_The_Cat]

Yes I’ve learned so much more about nutrition and training being natural than I ever would have bothered to learn if I was jabbing up.

[@MrLowfive94]

I trained consistently for 5+ years. Then I started taking gear because I was depressed that I was sacrificing so much time and effort for close to zero returns. Blew up of course but didn't enjoy taking gear from a mental standpoint so stopped after a year. Could never go back to training off gear after knowing the work you have to put in to look worse than your average Joe on some gear. Also having friends surpass me so easily that hopped on that had trained for far less years than myself. As it was my only true Passion I became depressed for months until I found new hobbies that I feel helped me grow far more as a person that I doubt I would of ever considered when locked into bodybuilding as I was so strict. Backpacking across countries, climbing mountains, martial arts and even drinking alcohol and partying which I didn't drink once while bodybuilding. Honestly amazes me how you keep on grinding naturally. I imagine the percentage of people that stick with it for life is very low. Anyway, I hope you're well and happy, it's been 3/4 years since I've checked in.