# Goals/Progress Thread



## SenorDingDong

I figured it might by nice for those of us reaching for a specific goal, whatever that goal may be, to have a thread where we can share our progress. Maybe it will keep some of us focused more. 


Whatever your goal, weight loss or gain, building muscle or getting leaner, share it here!


Here's my progress so far:

Just recently started running outdoors again (couldn't during the winter do to a tube dysfunction in my ear) and I'm happy to say that my pace isn't that bad after not running for a couple months. I was able to keep around the 5:50 mark for three miles, so I'm pretty excited, as I thought I'd have dropped much further. Although I will admit, my cardio has gone down, and breathing was a bit more painful than usual do to my lungs not being used to the stress. of actually running, despite all of the circuit training I did through the winter.

I'm a little over 140 right now, according to my doctor trip two weeks ago (thought I was less), and while that's fine by me, I know I'll end up losing some weight from running. 

Ultimately, my goal is to get back into competitive shape and do some races this summer.


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## Tiger

Man Id give anything to run that fast. I dont think Ill ever do sub 6 minute stuff for anything longer than 1.5 miles...I just wasnt born to be fast. : /

Right now my only goals are kicking my team members asses and

A) Run/complete the Grindstone 100 miler in Virginia, preferably in 22 hours or less
B) Break 400lb deadlift without getting heavier than 145
C) Get up to 360 squat on my next smolov routine (Haha yea f'n right!)


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## Infamous Impact

I have some high goals myself...
1. Get under 48.50 in the 400m by the time I graduate (state record).
2. Same as Tiger, but 4 plate deadlift at 150-160 and FINISH this hellacious Smolov routine.
3. Somehow do Cross Country and get a 5k at under 18 minutes.
Having ambitious goals is important, you need something to keep you motivated. Some may say it's bad but only if you don't do extensive planning beforehand. I wish good luck to everyone who wants to improve and good job on getting off their asses and crossing off things on their bucket list.


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## troyguitar

I am losing a pile of fat this year, then getting my ass back into decent shape. Step one is go from 173 down to under 140, currently down to 155. After that I'll be running and doing minor lifting with goals of a 20 minute or less 5k and being able to easily carry around my 80 lb 1x12 combo, while continuing to keep my weight under 140.


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## AngstRiddenDreams

You know what, this thread is a great idea. I'm gonna post my goals here and regularly post updates, somewhat like a log. 
By end of summer (start of junior year, just turned 16) 
Bench: 285
Squat: 405
Clean: 255
Deadlift: 450
40 yd dash: 4.9 or lower
Current
Bench: 270
Squat: 360
Clean: 230
Deadlift: 415
40 yd dash: 5.03
I hope to maintain my current weight as well.


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## Captain Shoggoth

My current goals for late June/early July:

1. 10%> bodyfat with same (preferably increased) muscle mass, hovering around 11-13% currently.
2. 1.5xbodyweight squat for reps (currently at 1.1xbodyweight) and 2xbodyweight deadlift for reps by the same time (currently at 1.5x bodyweight)
3. 3 sets of at least 10 chinups when training, currently transitioning between 3x6 and 3x7, a year ago I could do 0x0 

LETS DO DIS


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## Winspear

Progress:
Bulked from 150 slightly chubby to 182 slightly chubby over the course of 18 months. Gained a lot of strength.

Now trying to cut down to about 11% bodyfat by June (just above 170lb I reckon will look good). From then I plan to bulk very very slowly and carefully so I never need to cut again haha. Final goal is a solid ripped 180/185, so at least 10 more pound of muscle than what I have now.


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## Infamous Impact

One can't do what seems impossible without extensive planning and preparation before working their asses off to achieve it. SO here's what I plan to do to realize my goals.

1. Get under 48.50 in the 400m by the time I graduate (state record).
Right now my best time is 49.96s, and I'm a (still developing) very short sophomore. This goal seems too easy to get, but the guy who has the 400m school record will graduate soon and he broke it as a sophomore then plateaued, so I'm going to aim for 48s flat by the time I graduate, if not lower. I'll do this by continuing my weight lifting and plyometrics program along with track workouts (weight room has benefited me more right now) and gaining as much endurance I can from distance running.

2. Same as Tiger, but 4 plate deadlift at 150-160 and FINISH this hellacious Smolov routine.
I'm a month into this, currently 2 weeks in the base mesocycle and my squat has gone from 300 to 335. I'm not sure how much of it is still from newb gains (9 months lifting now), but this program definitely works. Depending on how much I can squat at the end of the cycle, I will most likely be able to deadlift 415lbs when I can deadlift again (can't do any deads during this program). The Smolov Squat routine is very painful with it's high volume of squatting heavily leaving me sore almost indefinitely. The upside to it is that I can eat nearly 5k calories a day for recovering and it hasn't affected my performance on the track.

3. Somehow do Cross Country and get a 5k at under 18 minutes.
Over summer I'll increase my endurance so I can run for 40 minutes at a 7:00 pace then up the speed until I'm comfortable with hitting an 18 minute 5k. I can run a 5:40 mile on most days so the 12:20 2 mile requirement for XC won't be too much of a hurdle.

So what are you guys doing to make sure your goals are possible? I'm interested in a few things you all want and I want to see what you're doing to get it.


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## AxeHappy

1. Increase my Single String alt pick to 17 NPS (16NPS right now)

2. Save up enough money for Axe-Fx 2 (I'm tired of carrying my rig around...it weights to much. 20ish% of the way there right now. )

3. Commit to doing Strong Lifts 5x5 properly. (I was doing it regularly last summer and lost a ton of weight and increased my lifts like crazy.)

4. Get my 'B' class license so I have 2 jobs come next September. (Already "potentially hired" by a company and get the free training. So I just have to sign some shit, get the training, get the medical and police check and pass the tests.


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## UnderTheSign

Eat and train like a beast. Get up to at least 90-95kg (hovering around 86 now), then cut down to 10-11% from my current 16%.


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## Murmel

Getting my deadlift to atleast 100kg by the end of summer. Currently at 85kg. No I'm not very strong, yet 
Also eat like crazy and work my ass off so I'll gain some weight. Currently at 70-72kg.


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## Fiction

I'd like to tone up and lose the beer gut.. Ill have no problem with the beer gut, but have no idea where to start for muscle gain, and can't afford the gym.

Edit: Went for a run today, first time in about a month or two.. just have to stick to it, might try pick up some weights when I have some spare $$


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## Maniacal

In terms of exercise, right now I want to cut to about 102 kilos. Currently I am 111. 

I also want to enter a triathlon at the end of the year.


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## Blind Theory

1) Get my running back up to 3-5 miles, 5 days a week. 
2) Gain 10-15 pounds of muscle as quickly as I can.
3) Once I have the muscle mass, get as defined as I can.
4) Look sexy as hell.


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## Metal_Webb

I'm getting my weight back down from 94kg to around 82 kg. (That's 207lb to 180lb for all you still using imperial). I'm doing it purely diet based and am aiming for that by the end of 3 months.
At day 17 and I'm already down to 91kg. My excel graphing skills tell me I am right on track  (I'll put the graph up at the end of it all for everyone to oogle at ) Best bit i I haven't felt any strength loss, so I must be doing something right.

At the end of it, I'm aiming to keep the weight off and to keep up the healthy eating. Defo feeling much better for it.


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## toiletstand

goals: super saiyan


progress: nothing yet but im hopeful!


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## Fiction

toiletstand said:


> goals: super saiyan
> 
> 
> progress: nothing yet but im hopeful!



Progress Day 4: had a small set back with a brain aneurysm, but I'll be right back on track in a week.


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## troyguitar

Was out of town on business for a week and a half eating with other people and on the company's dime, gained back 5 lbs to 160 again 

On the plus side I now have my treadmill in my apartment and will be starting up running again this weekend.


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## SenorDingDong

Tiger said:


> Man Id give anything to run that fast. I dont think Ill ever do sub 6 minute stuff for anything longer than 1.5 miles...I just wasnt born to be fast. : /



Don't worry, running fast isn't all it's cracked up to be. Actually, it really, really, really hurts the entire time. It's more mental than physical.




Progress:
I haven't been able to run outside for the past week (been too cold) but I have been annihilating my spin bike every other morning, keeping a consistent circuit training routine going as well to keep my cardio up.


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## soliloquy

my current stat:
170lbs
body fat % at 18.5

my goal is to be at:
180lbs
body fat % at 12ish

by 2013 spring. 

i hate cardio, working out is my cardio. the only issue i have with working out is i lack routine. the best shape i've ever been in was at 165lbs at 14% body fat about a year and a half ago. and the only reason why i was able to do that was because i was unemployed and my university was on strike. and since i'm a part timer, i can work 7AM or i can work at night, and it constantly keeps throwing my routine off balance. and if its not work, then its family related bs, or my gf nagging at me or some other shit...


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## Bevo

Last year I was 20th overall in the 25-30K trail racing series, this year I want to crack the top 10 and it starts today with the first race.

25K at a ski hill with plenty of climbing.
My goal today is to finish as I have been sick all week and have not run.


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## troyguitar

Re-started the running program today so I'm going to call this the baseline even though I'm already down 17 lbs 

Week 0: 2.0 miles 20 minutes 158 lbs 36" waist

Supposedly that is 24% body fat but I'm assuming that's falsely inflated due to being skinny everywhere except for a big blob of fat on my gut - the primary motivation for doing this, I almost look pregnant


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## Harry

troyguitar said:


> Re-started the running program today so I'm going to call this the baseline even though I'm already down 17 lbs
> 
> Week 0: 2.0 miles 20 minutes 158 lbs 36" waist
> 
> Supposedly that is 24% body fat but I'm assuming that's falsely inflated due to being skinny everywhere except for a big blob of fat on my gut - the primary motivation for doing this, I almost look pregnant



That's called skinny fat.
If anything, most skinny fat-sters underestimate their bodyfat, so if you are around 22-25% bodyfat, it's not at all unreasonable and unrealistic. 
It's entirely possible to have really skinny arms and legs and practically have a bodyfat in the obese range (although the calves may grow a bit due to just adapting to that extra bulk )

I doubt you're skinny all over. At that kind of bodyfat, even if it's not showing in the limbs, you will definitely be storing a good chunk of fat in the neck and face as is the case for basically every skinny-fat guy ever.
Once you cut down that bodyfat to something like 9%, if you compared before and after pictures, the face will be noticeably leaner, more attractive looking (well, at least, most women find a leaner, more defined more attractive, probably some chicks out there that like chubby faces though ) and the jawline becomes more prominent, assuming the individual doesn't have a naturally shitty jawline.


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## Bevo

^ Nice post Harry, your right about all of that!

Troy, how tall are you?
I am 5,8 and around 155 with a 32 inch waist and no real belly fat unless I had a big dinner like the pizza last night LOL.

3 excersizes everyday will really help, pushups, squats and core work. Do them flat out no breaks in 5 min then work up to 10 min with some more variety. It will help you tone up as long as you do them every day..


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## Fiction

I got an app for calories and to mark down exercises.. Man meeting calories is hard, it recommends me 2200 a day, yesterday I did 800 (I worked and hadn't shopped also went for an hour run, which said take off 600 calories) and today I managed to get 2000.

Going to start up squats and pushups again and got back to running and feeling healthier since I posted.. Have no idea what my body fat or weight is (I think I'm around 80kg) I just want to tone up and get rid of the jiggling


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## Blind Theory

I got my gym membership renewed today and started working out with two of my buddies. Holy fuck was it intense. I have NEVER worked my upper body so much. I'm going to be fucking SORE for a while. Tomorrow is legs. I don't know exactly what the regiment is for Monday-Friday, I just know I go and I feel it later. No real progress yet. I guess I can post my stats so when I do see progress there is a "bench mark" or something.

Height:
6' 1"-6'2" (ish)

Weight:
127Lbs (I'm skinny, I know)

I don't have measurements on biceps, chest, waist, etc. So there...


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## troyguitar

Bevo said:


> ^ Nice post Harry, your right about all of that!
> 
> Troy, how tall are you?
> I am 5,8 and around 155 with a 32 inch waist and no real belly fat unless I had a big dinner like the pizza last night LOL.
> 
> 3 excersizes everyday will really help, pushups, squats and core work. Do them flat out no breaks in 5 min then work up to 10 min with some more variety. It will help you tone up as long as you do them every day..



I'm 5'10-11" and 157 as of today which should make me skinnier than you but instead I've a 36" fat gut 

Today makes week 1: upped the pace to 8 min/mile but couldn't get as far as a result... 1.25 miles in 10 minutes, 157 lbs, still 36" waist.

My goal for weeks 2-4 is to keep the 8 min/mile pace and increase distance to 5k, then take weeks 5+ to reduce 5k time to 20 minutes or less. That is currently scheduled to happen by June 30, the end of week 9. Optimistic but achievable as far as I'm concerned. With any luck the weight will be around 140 at that point as well.


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## soliloquy

Fiction said:


> I got an app for calories and to mark down exercises.. Man meeting calories is hard, it recommends me 2200 a day, yesterday I did 800 (I worked and hadn't shopped also went for an hour run, which said take off 600 calories) and today I managed to get 2000.
> 
> Going to start up squats and pushups again and got back to running and feeling healthier since I posted.. Have no idea what my body fat or weight is (I think I'm around 80kg) I just want to tone up and get rid of the jiggling



dont know how accurate your method of calculating your calorie count for running is...but what speed are you running at, and how long, and are you doing HIIT to burn that many calories while running? unless you're MASSIVE, burning 600 calories in a run is...well, unusually high.

every calorie calculator i find online calculates things a bit differently, but just at random, try this:
Running Calorie Calculator | Calories Burned


for me, for example, if i run for about 30 minutes using the HIIT method, i'm usually burning about 150-330ish calories, depending on the calculator. and i'm at 5'11, weighing in at 171lbs with 19% body fat (people call me skinny as i have a narrow bone structure, but my body fat percentage says otherwise)


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## Fiction

I ran for an hour, and input an hour into some fitness calculator on my iphone, and just estimated roughly 5 miles an hour (Which was the slowest speed it offered), which is probably faster than I was going all up once i add walking periods.

... and It spat out that number.

Either way, I've stopped calorie counting, I don't think I really need to count calories, instead of worrying about all that I've just simply cut out fatty foods, I'm eating healthy and running every second day (Eventually try every day). I'd prefer to just do it naturally then worry about measuring how much of what I eat and scanning bar codes of food etc.


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## Captain Shoggoth

Blind Theory said:


> Height:
> 6' 1"-6'2" (ish)
> 
> Weight:
> 127Lbs (I'm skinny, I know)
> 
> I don't have measurements on biceps, chest, waist, etc. So there...



Holy shit, I'm like 5 inches shorter than you and 20lbs heavier 

You've got some gains to make, but progress should be pretty damn fast in that case!


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## troyguitar

Week 2: 2.0 miles, 16:00, 154 lbs, 35.5" waist

Then I ate a whole fucking pizza because I felt like it. I wasn't even hungry, just felt like doing it


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## Murmel

Murmel said:


> Getting my deadlift to atleast 100kg by the end of summer. Currently at 85kg. No I'm not very strong, yet
> Also eat like crazy and work my ass off so I'll gain some weight. Currently at 70-72kg.




Deadlifted 90kg today for reps. Will have to set a new a goal because I'll most likely hit 100kg long before summer is over.


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## SenorDingDong

I've been working too much to get any workouts in for the past week (have to write a book in five days), so I'm at a standstill right now.


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## Infamous Impact

Murmel said:


> Deadlifted 90kg today for reps. Will have to set a new a goal because I'll most likely hit 100kg long before summer is over.


Try using your glutes more with a deeper start. I randomly added 70lbs (155lbs->225lbs, 102.5kg) to my deadlift a while ago with a simple change in how I started it.


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## Tiger

Lost about 2 pounds this week, at 144 right now. Mainly water connected with my carbohydrate intake Im assuming. Basically eating fatty meat with a ton of vegetables twice a day and a lot of fruit, Ive yet to feel deprived even though Im on a deficit.


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## Murmel

Infamous Impact said:


> Try using your glutes more with a deeper start. I randomly added 75lbs (155lbs->225lbs, 102.5kg) to my deadlift a while ago with a simply change in how I started it.



And a deeper start would mean ass closer to the ground?


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## Winspear

^ Yeah, you'll feel your glutes 'activate' if you sit down a bit more just before the pull.


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## Captain Shoggoth

Infamous Impact said:


> Try using your glutes more with a deeper start. I randomly added 70lbs (155lbs->225lbs, 102.5kg) to my deadlift a while ago with a simple change in how I started it.




The latter weight there's about where I'm at now, cheers for posting, I'll try this out!


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## troyguitar

I tried to push on to the full 5k today in honor of the immortal Ronnie James Dio but wimped out at 2.5 miles 

I blame only sleeping 4 hours last night then eating a shitty lunch (damn going out with co-workers to an Italian buffet).

Still, I _will _do the full 5k this Saturday @ 25:00.


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## Ibanezsam4

My goal is to be 180 pounds by the end summer. 166 now........ hoorah


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## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> I tried to push on to the full 5k today in honor of the immortal Ronnie James Dio but wimped out at 2.5 miles
> 
> I blame only sleeping 4 hours last night then eating a shitty lunch (damn going out with co-workers to an Italian buffet).
> 
> Still, I _will _do the full 5k this Saturday @ 25:00.


This is why you fill up on dinner the night before.


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## troyguitar

Nothing to do with hunger really, I just find it hard to pay for an all-you-can-eat buffet and then only eat <1000 calories. Especially when it's pasta/pizza/bread, I estimated that my single relatively sparse plate was roughly 1200 calories and was fighting the urge to go for seconds despite feeling overly full already. It's a value sort of thing.

This is the reason I almost never eat out unless I'm getting 1 tiny item to go, the portion sizes at every restaurant in the USA are out of fucking control and I feel bad throwing shit away.


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## Tiger

143.3 this morning. Getting there, I have these last 4.3 pounds are going to be brutal. 

EDIT: Just got back with the wife from a rather long drive up north to buy:

6 x 45's
2 x 25's
4 x 10's
2 x 5's 
2 x 2.5's
olympic bar
Everlast punch bag
2 dumbells with 45 pounds of plates for each
Floor mats

All for $300 from a really nice guy we met on craigslist who does weights wholesale. He wanted less but we paid him the 300 I had gotten
out of the ATM for being a cool dude who will let us know when a good rack or a Concept 2 row comes in for a good price.


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## Captain Shoggoth

Ibanezsam4 said:


> My goal is to be 180 pounds by the end summer. 166 now........ hoorah



This may not be a big deal to you, but not all of that will be muscle, just saying.


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## troyguitar

So much for the 5k today. I think my diet progress is hindering my running progress. My legs were completely locked up and on fire at 2.5 miles today, I blame the lack of nutrients available due to dieting.

Week 3: 2.5 miles, 20:00, 151 lbs, 35" waist

I also don't believe this body fat % calculator:

Percent Body Fat

According to that, at my current rate of ~7 lbs per inch, I won't make 10% body fat until I'm down to 100 lbs and 28" waist.


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## Tiger

...yeeeea I wouldnt use that one, there are more advanced ones out there with multi measurements.


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## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> So much for the 5k today. I think my diet progress is hindering my running progress. My legs were completely locked up and on fire at 2.5 miles today, I blame the lack of nutrients available due to dieting.
> 
> Week 3: 2.5 miles, 20:00, 151 lbs, 35" waist
> 
> I also don't believe this body fat % calculator:
> 
> Percent Body Fat
> 
> According to that, at my current rate of ~7 lbs per inch, I won't make 10% body fat until I'm down to 100 lbs and 28" waist.


It told me I'm at 2% bodyfat . 145lbs with a 28" waist for me is 8% BF.
And an update on my goals, I ran a 49.08s straight 400m yesterday, then a 48.8s as the 3rd leg in a 4x4. Just .60s to go! Also hit a 4 plate deadlift for 5 reps yesterday, and my last 5k time was a 19:33. 1 down, 2 to go!


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## TRENCHLORD

^Those are some amazing stats man.
Being that light and fast with 405 for reps deadlift strength is abnormal as hell (in a good way of course).
As a former high-school trackster myself, I can really appreciate an under 50 second quarter mile time.


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## AngstRiddenDreams

Jesus Infamous, you are crazy man.


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## Ibanezsam4

Captain Shoggoth said:


> This may not be a big deal to you, but not all of that will be muscle, just saying.



that is no big deal to me as i am a small person and would appreciate not feeling like crap if i miss a meal


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## Tiger

Down to 142.6 today, but it was before I drank any water this morning.


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## Winspear

I'm almost down to 166 from 182 in 8 weeks. Still not as ripped as I'd have liked and still looking small as fuck - scales report bodyfat around 11.5% rather than the 10% I had calculated as a 168lb goal. I guess this means I lost too much muscle? Makes sense as I am significantly weaker..Had a measure up too, quite a lot smaller. 

Oh well. If my goal is to get real lean and then bulk real slow so I never look chubby again, I guess I should just keep going until my fat is where I want it to be?


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## Infamous Impact

TRENCHLORD said:


> ^Those are some amazing stats man.
> Being that light and fast with 405 for reps deadlift strength is abnormal as hell (in a good way of course).
> As a former high-school trackster myself, I can really appreciate an under 50 second quarter mile time.





AngstRiddenDreams said:


> Jesus Infamous, you are crazy man.


Hah, thanks guys, I really put work in for the last year to get to it. My hamstrings and quads are the size of tree trunks now from it. I just love pounding the crap out of my legs. Wanting to be fast made me fall in love with lifting, and both work together pretty well.


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## highlordmugfug

I want to be able to benchpress 100, and curl 50 in each arm by my birthday (late August). Right now (as of last week at least) I can bench 70 and curl 30.


I've just gotten back into working out in the last 2 months (had a surgery in 2008 that kept me from working out too strenuously for the next few years) and I've already noticed decent results on my arms and chest.
I was making good progress, but I've been really sick the last week and haven't been able to do any real exercise.


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## TRENCHLORD

highlordmugfug said:


> I've been really sick the last week and haven't been able to do any real exercise.


 
Ahhh, no wonder you haven't been picking on me so much this week. 
Speedy recovery man.


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## highlordmugfug

TRENCHLORD said:


> Ahhh, no wonder you haven't been picking on me so much this week.
> Speedy recovery man.



Thanks man. I'm feeling a lot better today (I was actually able to stay the full day at work) so I'm hoping tonight or tomorrow will be the last of it.


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## kung_fu

I've spent the last month finding/moving into a new apartment and as a result, neglected much exercise. I weighed in at 137ish lbs the other day and am probably aiming to stay somewhere within the 130-145 lb range but with lower body fat. I go ta lot of lifting in with the move an whatnot, but have mainly been neglecting cardio. I did some light weights today and 20 minutes on the stationary bike and am feeling pretty good. I'll try to think of more specific goals over the next few days and continue posting.


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## Tiger

Stuck in limbo between 142-144 for about a week now, never seen a 141 on the scale during this cut so getting impatient. Ah well.


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## troyguitar

Tiger said:


> Stuck in limbo between 142-144 for about a week now, never seen a 141 on the scale during this cut so getting impatient. Ah well.


 
I've been stuck at 151-154 and am in infinitely worse shape than you


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## Tiger

Pretty saddening to see that two weeks have passed and Im still popping 143-144 on the scale.

I've had the diet strong, never gone over, kept my running/biking and cardio up. Buuut no losses. Gotten stronger though. >:[


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## Murmel

Just ot of curiosity Tiger; How short/tall are you? I'm 6,2 and about 160 pounds. You're hell of a lot stronger and more muscular than me though. Aiming for around 176 before I go for my first cut.


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## Tiger

I'm 5'4"


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## TankJon666

EtherealEntity said:


> I'm almost down to 166 from 182 in 8 weeks. Still not as ripped as I'd have liked and still looking small as fuck - scales report bodyfat around 11.5% rather than the 10% I had calculated as a 168lb goal. I guess this means I lost too much muscle? Makes sense as I am significantly weaker..Had a measure up too, quite a lot smaller.
> 
> Oh well. If my goal is to get real lean and then bulk real slow so I never look chubby again, I guess I should just keep going until my fat is where I want it to be?



Awesome work!! Thats a great loss. Heading in the right direction 

In my opinion you've done it the right way round. Drop the body fat and then bulk. Wish I'd done it that way


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## TankJon666

Currently 200lbs at 5'11" Body fat is around 18-20% but I'm bulking the last 3 months and will continue until around December then its onto 5 months of cutting prior to my first natural comp. Have to give myself longer than the usual 3 months as I'm doing a clean comp and can't use the naughty stuff 
Trying to keep the fat gain to a minimum by ditching the carbs after 6pm. Apart from a protein shake with milk before bed.


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## Infamous Impact

Just to check in, I ran a 48.91 at states to finish off my season. Can't wait for next year!


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## prashanthan

Current squat 1RM is 130kg. Anyone have any idea as to what's a reasonable timeframe to get 4 plates within?


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## TankJon666

prashanthan said:


> Current squat 1RM is 130kg. Anyone have any idea as to what's a reasonable timeframe to get 4 plates within?



Only you can answer that to be honest. Depends on your training, eating, sleeping, drinking etc... and how long it took you to get to 130kg.

Out of interest can you do your 1rm? I notice that alot of people bandy about how big their 1rm is but have actually never tried to do it.


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## prashanthan

TankJon666 said:


> Only you can answer that to be honest. Depends on your training, eating, sleeping, drinking etc... and how long it took you to get to 130kg.
> 
> Out of interest can you do your 1rm? I notice that alot of people bandy about how big their 1rm is but have actually never tried to do it.



Hard to say tbh, my 1RM this time last year was 140kg (took maybe half a year's consistent training to get to I guess), but then I didn't have access to a gym and got really ill and lost a tonne of weight, so started over from December. Will have constant access to a gym from July onwards, and generally eat + sleep well and rarely drink. I understand that as you lift more, gains are harder to come by so I really have no idea how long a 4 plate squat would take for me. At 70kg bodyweight, I guess I'm at an intermediate stage right now.

And yep, I did it last week, easily below parallel, in weightlifting shoes but without a belt or wraps, it was pretty hard. No point counting anything as a 1RM if you haven't actually done it.


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## troyguitar

7 weeks in now, still can't do better than 2.5 miles in 20 minutes, hovering around 155 lbs and 35" waist.

This is starting to feel like a waste of time and effort. Zero progress in the past 4 weeks of running roughly every other day and eating ~1600 calories per day.


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## TankJon666

troyguitar said:


> 7 weeks in now, still can't do better than 2.5 miles in 20 minutes, hovering around 155 lbs and 35" waist.
> 
> This is starting to feel like a waste of time and effort. Zero progress in the past 4 weeks of running roughly every other day and eating ~1600 calories per day.



I know it sound counter productive but try upping your calories. You'll be a lot fitter and more muscular and as a result burning more calories just by being awake! Your weight loss will slow if your body thinks it is burning too many calories. Perhaps upping to around 1800-1900? Also, sometimes these things happen. You might jump on the scales next week and have dropped 5lbs 

Have you also tried changing up your running? If you just do straight distance work then swap it for a while to high intensity sprinting. 20 minutes of sprinting around like a maniac does wonders. Try breaking it down into a session of 50m sprints or 1 minute of jogging and 30 seconds of sprinting. Also have you tried drinking a strong black coffee about 20 minutes before exercise? It is a proven fat burner!

Also, its not a waste of time and effort. Giving up and larding out would be a waste of the time and effort you have put in!


----------



## troyguitar

I've tried upping the pace to 6 minutes per mile but not flat out sprinting. I'm also moving toward running every day instead of every other day - alternating between 6 minute and 8 minute pace. Right now the limits are about 4 minutes at the fast pace and 20 minutes at the slower pace.

I'm beginning to diagnose myself with mild exercise-induced asthma over the past few weeks. It seems that my legs and heart have been doing better with the runs, but I still have to stop at the same point due to trouble breathing. My legs after the 20 minutes are now barely tired, it's just breathing that stops me.

The current plan is to really bust ass for the next 10 days straight to try and break out of this rut, while also doing more research on the asthma thing, and at the end I'll either see some improvement or see a doctor.


----------



## TankJon666

I've read a theory that you can increase your vo2 levels (the amount of oxygen you can take in) by doing short bursts of very intense exercise. Might help the asthma side of things.

"French exercise physiologist Veronique Billat found that the fastest way to reach your potential is to run intervals at a speed that elicits your VO2 max, a pace known in lab circles as velocity. This pace is equivalent to 3,000-meter pace or the fastest effort you can maintain for about eight minutes. To reap a training benefit, however, you only need to sustain that pace for two to five minutes, which is what I did every Tuesday for 20 years. It kept me competitive, and it'll help you do the same."

Basically going balls out like a maniac for as long as you can. I try to do it once a week, usually makes me want to puke my guts inside out but I think its working as I have noticed a decrease in the amount of time I need to recover between sets whilst lifting weights.


----------



## Tiger

Science of Running


----------



## troyguitar

I hate reading stuff like that.

"Just do an easy 5 mile run after a 20-30 minute warmup jog"

Fuck you I can't jog for 30 minutes without being unable to breathe 


There seems to be a lot of information out there on what to do to go from being in really good shape to being in great shape, but not for how to get from poor shape to good shape. What do you do when there is NO easy pace? When a 20 minute jog is the most you can physically do...


----------



## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> I hate reading stuff like that.
> 
> "Just do an easy 5 mile run after a 20-30 minute warmup jog"
> 
> Fuck you I can't jog for 30 minutes without being unable to breathe
> 
> 
> There seems to be a lot of information out there on what to do to go from being in really good shape to being in great shape, but not for how to get from poor shape to good shape. What do you do when there is NO easy pace? When a 20 minute jog is the most you can physically do...


Add intervals into your training. And hills. Lots of hills. They make anyone fast.


----------



## Tiger

Spin bike.


----------



## Metal_Webb

Good to see this thread still going!

Well I'm getting towards the end of my 3 month weight loss period (will keep going though!).

I'm 1.77 m -ish (5ft 10") for reference, starting at around 20% bodyfat.
At the start of April I was weighing in at a constant 94 kg (207 lb). Atm I'm sitting at 87.5 kg last Friday (192 lb) The weightloss has all been from watching what I eat, supplementing with a thermogenic and acetyl carnitine. That's a weight loss of 7 kg (15 lb) which has must have been all fluid and fat, as I have to do a fair bit of lifting at my job and I've noticed no appreciable loss of strength or muscle size.

Going to put a note in here about the supps I've been taking. I'd gotten down to 91kg after about 3 weeks, then I plateaued (this was after I'd gotten my diet downpat btw). I sat there for about 2 weeks till I started taking the thermos and the ACL. Now, not saying they are the key to losing a ton of weight, but they defo helping to keep the weight coming off. I also have a protein shake each morning at breakfast and if I'm feeling peckish at night, I'll have a 2/3rd size one then instead of desserts. Using a Casein based protein atm which keeps me feeling a lot fuller for longer and is most likely helping to prevent the muscular atrophy.


----------



## SenorDingDong

I've been doing sprints for the first time in my life.

100M time is consistently around 11.89, repeats with 30 seconds rest. Not great, but decent. 

I've been mostly working on my planches, handstand push ups and just doing gymnastics-style body-weight conditioning in general. It's hard work but it is so much fun. As of right not I can hold a planche for a little over a minute (I never tried them before last week, so I'm not that good yet).


----------



## Infamous Impact

SenorDingDong said:


> I've been doing sprints for the first time in my life.
> 
> 100M time is consistently around 11.89, repeats with 30 seconds rest. Not great, but decent.
> 
> I've been mostly working on my planches, handstand push ups and just doing gymnastics-style body-weight conditioning in general. It's hard work but it is so much fun. As of right not I can hold a planche for a little over a minute (I never tried them before last week, so I'm not that good yet).


If that's the first time you've sprinted, you're insanely fast. I run an 11.05 after 2 seasons and working my ass off 24/7 for over a year.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Infamous Impact said:


> If that's the first time you've sprinted, you're insanely fast. I run an 11.05 after 2 seasons and working my ass off 24/7 for over a year.



I've been doing a lot of circuit training for the last year, so that might have helped. Due to that, my cardio is pretty solid, I think.


----------



## Infamous Impact

SenorDingDong said:


> I've been doing a lot of circuit training for the last year, so that might have helped. Due to that, my cardio is pretty solid, I think.


Cardio isn't a big factor in the 100. Most sprinters do it in a breathe, Olympic sprinters don't even exhale a full breathe of air before hitting the finish. Good job though!


----------



## UnderTheSign

Up to a solid 89kg this week. Heavy summer bulk coming up.


----------



## Winspear

TankJon666 said:


> Awesome work!! Thats a great loss. Heading in the right direction
> 
> In my opinion you've done it the right way round. Drop the body fat and then bulk. Wish I'd done it that way



Thanks man  I'm down to 163lb now and think I've reached maintenance cals as I've weighed the same for four days now. Still carrying a lot more fat than I'd like but totally don't fancy losing any more weight or strength. I am living alone for work with a perfectly steady diet and lifestyle for the next few months so I'm going to see what happens if I carry on with this amount of food. Hopefully things get better now


----------



## Murmel

Woopwoop, my bench is starting to get better. I was stuck at 50kg for like 4 reps, then I switched to dumbbells for a few months and now I'm back at the bench making some progress.
Also added in some incline bench in the smith, has been working well.


----------



## troyguitar

Finally made the god damn 5k without stopping today, that is the furthest and longest I've run for by a wide margin (previous record being 2.75 [email protected] minutes)...

Week 8: 3.125 miles @ 25:00, 151 lbs, still #*$&^! 35" waist

It's apparently going to take some serious work to get rid of this gut, which is my only real goal with all of this. 8 weeks in and I've gone from 36" to 35"


----------



## Metal_Webb

Had 2 different ladies complement me on how good I'm looking atm.

Defo going to keep on going with this weight loss now


----------



## Tiger

Today is a victory day: Weight down to 142 for the first time and added 5lbs to my deadlift AND got it in epic slow motion w/dramatic scream. NOT my prettiest form ever but its hard to back down in the middle of a lift.



Of course thats I am Colossus playing, that song was made for PR's.

I love having my own gym at home. I had a killer workout, a super long bike followed by weights and sprints outside my house. All of this is fasted training, I wont change that until I get to BUD/s.


----------



## avenger

Well I will add to this thread. Started the get fit thing about a year and a half ago. Went from 200 to 165 (steady). Got really into lifting weights then had two injuries within 3 weeks of each other (exertion headache and something to do with inflamed fluid sack in my shoulder ><) and that killed my drive the past few (3 months).

Started getting really thin looking from not pumping the muscles and slightly decreased appetite. 

Last month quit smoking (yeah!) and started doing lots of push ups sit ups pull ups planches etc. etc. (body weight stuff).

Feel great, looking great again! Also getting into 1 mile "death sprints" XD


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Tiger said:


> All of this is fasted training, I wont change that until I get to BUD/s.


 
Great progress, lifting at home is the best (except I would like one of those heavy duty bowflexs for cable work).
Won't the "buds" screw with your lungs though? That long distance stuff will get harder and harder the more you smoke.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Infamous Impact said:


> Cardio isn't a big factor in the 100. Most sprinters do it in a breathe, Olympic sprinters don't even exhale a full breathe of air before hitting the finish. Good job though!



Thanks man!

I actually tried to do it in one breath a couple times. It couldn't do it, I think mostly because I'm so used to doing the 1600 from a couple years back when I did track in high school that I automatically start taking short, deep breaths.


----------



## Infamous Impact

SenorDingDong said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> I actually tried to do it in one breath a couple times. It couldn't do it, I think mostly because I'm so used to doing the 1600 from a couple years back when I did track in high school that I automatically start taking short, deep breaths.


Don't worry about it, breathing comes naturally from practice. If you think about it, you're screwed.


----------



## troyguitar

It's kind of BS because I'm slightly dehydrated, but: 149.0 lbs tonight.


----------



## Murmel

Still sore from leg day last friday. Probably one of the most exhausting workouts I've ever done, makes you long for chest day which is the easiest of them all


----------



## SenorDingDong

Infamous Impact said:


> Don't worry about it, breathing comes naturally from practice. If you think about it, you're screwed.



Probably why I've been fucking it up so much then


----------



## Tiger

15 miles, 4140 feet of gain two days after a hard 10 miler and heavy squat day. Good training week.


----------



## Winspear

Tiger said:


> 15 miles, 4140 feet of gain two days after a hard 10 miler and heavy squat day. Good training week.



Jeez..I would deadlift for days before considering that. Good work!



EtherealEntity said:


> Thanks man  I'm down to 163lb now and think I've reached maintenance cals as I've weighed the same for four days now. Still carrying a lot more fat than I'd like but totally don't fancy losing any more weight or strength. I am living alone for work with a perfectly steady diet and lifestyle for the next few months so I'm going to see what happens if I carry on with this amount of food. Hopefully things get better now



Funny, just after this my weight slowly started dropping again. I'm at 160 now. I feel good - I don't have to suck in to look flat from the side. I just hope I'm not still losing muscle. Strength is _slowly_ coming back. 

At worst my bench dropped from 90kg to 70kg, squats from 100 to 80, leg press from 180 to 140..everything is pretty bad haha. Only my back stayed pretty constant.

I realised even though I have quite low fat now I still don't have abs. I've never really trained them - always heard doing big compound exercises was enough. I have _some_ abs but I'm considering starting doing some crunches and leg raises on my off days. Opinions?


----------



## Murmel

^
I'd say do some ab work. I try to incorporate some at the end of my back and leg workout. Compound lifts are obviously not enough. 

I guess compound lifts wont build respectable abs until you're getting into really heavy territory though. But I don't really know, just throwing a guess.


----------



## Murmel

I think I have good lat genetics. I'm not even lifting heavy yet and I'm already seeing a taper coming along.


----------



## Infamous Impact

EtherealEntity said:


> I realised even though I have quite low fat now I still don't have abs. I've never really trained them - always heard doing big compound exercises was enough. I have _some_ abs but I'm considering starting doing some crunches and leg raises on my off days. Opinions?


Get working on mastering the hanging leg raise, ab rollouts, and the dragon flag. Those 3 alone will get you bricks for abs by the end of the 6 months it takes to get it all down.


----------



## troyguitar

Gained a bunch of weight over vacation despite getting piles of exercise and eating less than anyone else at the place, then went into hardcore diet and exercise mode after I got home.

147.2 lbs after running today, fairly dehydrated but I can at least say that I'm safely under 150 for now. Next stop, under 140.


----------



## Infamous Impact

I finally busted the sub 5 mile! Got a 4:58!


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Infamous Impact said:


> I finally busted the sub 5 mile! Got a 4:58!


 
Congrats!!! Is there any event you don't do? Decathlete?


----------



## Infamous Impact

TRENCHLORD said:


> Congrats!!! Is there any event you don't do? Decathlete?


I'm actually working towards that, the best people I see on the track are also phenomenal jumpers, hurdlers, and pole vaulters.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Vaulting is for psychos.
I tried it once and cleared 8ft with only three or four steps, but that was high enough for me. Those guys have some serious courage.


----------



## Infamous Impact

TRENCHLORD said:


> Vaulting is for psychos.
> I tried it once and cleared 8ft with only three or four steps, but that was high enough for me. Those guys have some serious courage.


That's what my coach told me. 
I love it, next to high jump it's the funnest field event I do. Nothing feels better than going upside down high up in the air. They also get the funnest workouts, tons of gymnastics and Olympic lifting.


----------



## Guamskyy

About a week ago I came home from a 1 week vacation in San Diego, California, gained about 5 pounds (Cali-Mex, Guamanian BBQ, and straight relaxation will be my demise). So all the beginning of this week I lifted, ran, and swam my ass off WITH a healthy diet, and this morning today weighed 6 pounds less. BOOM.

Basically, getting back into the groove of things, short term goal is to get down to 220, right now at 229. Long term goal is 170 than to start bulking up instead of cutting.


----------



## Tiger

Pretty consistently been showing 141 on the scale, which is awesome to me. My volume of training has gone up thanks to my downtime right now. I've seen nothing but strength gains on this slow and controlled cut...its been ounces instead of pounds but Im about 3 pounds from where I wanted to be with a super low sustainable body fat.

Right calf is super strained though, and seems to be aggravated by running and weights. Going to give it a lot more cycle time. Grindstone 100 miler is going to be ROUGH at this point, my running volume has been super low compared to what it needs to be.


----------



## troyguitar

Had a recent breakthrough via use of a crappy heart rate monitor. It turns out that I was running at max heart rate basically 100% of the time after the first mile - no wonder I always felt like I was going to die 

I've since decided to stop caring about speed and just care about calories burned and have just started running 4 miles in 40 minutes every day (compared to 5k in 25 minutes every other day). It's boring as fucking hell but a lot easier and burns way more calories over the week. 

Currently at a low of 145.8 lbs and 34" waist. It appears like a flat stomach for me is going to mean weighing somewhere around 115 lbs which feels fucking nuts but it is what it is. Next step is to keep the run at 40 minutes and start increasing speed because I don't want to spend more than an hour a day on exercise including warmup and cooldown.

One thing I've done to make it slightly less boring is switch from listening to music to watching TV. I watch 1 episode of Star Trek TNG per run now 

I'm looking at getting a real heart rate monitor now with the chest sensor and everything - any suggestions?


----------



## Tiger

^ Suunto above and beyond everyone else.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Been doing gymnastics a lot more lately. Starting on some entry-level parkour. 

All the parkour athletes make it look so _easy_, and it is so not easy at all. My upper body endurance is fine as I train it intensely, but holy shit running around jumping on things and climbing up walls is difficult at first.


----------



## Fiction

How fun is parkour though, I started it a few months ago and only went a few times as I moved away, I really should start running again though, sigh.. I'm the worst


----------



## SenorDingDong

Fiction said:


> How fun is parkour though, I started it a few months ago and only went a few times as I moved away, I really should start running again though, sigh.. I'm the worst



Loads of fun--I feel like a little kid while I'm training.

There aren't any gymnastics facilities with open gyms this time of season remotely close to me, so I've been just going around finding spots.


----------



## Tiger

Losing weight steady now, kissing the 130's finally. Almost beneath 140. Eating super awesome lately. Made this after a 19 hour fast.







I dont get how people eat shitty when its super easy to make stuff thats awesome, I made enough for 3 meals and it took less than 20 minutes. 8 oz salmon, bacon slice, quinoa, vegetables, plain yogurt with honey and raspberries for fiber with dark chocolate, tofu and olives.


----------



## troyguitar

I spend 5-10 minutes per day preparing, eating, and cleaning up after my meals.

Actually cooking decent and interesting food is something I'd like to do but it is a very daunting task for me as it will cost more money and take a lot more time, especially at first while I am learning wtf I'm doing. Living alone means it will be especially difficult as the only 'teacher' I'll have is random crap on the internet


----------



## Winspear

I wouldn't have a clue how to go about making an interesting meal. That looks tasty! 
Troy, I wish I could make food that fast! I hate the half hour it takes to cook rice and chicken and the half hour eating + cleanup. And that's for the most boring meal ever, that I eat every day


----------



## Tiger

George foreman grill. Plug it in. Coat your salmon/chicken and vegetables all in a little olive oil. Season it (buy seasoning if you dont want to get creative). Put on said grill, wait 10 minutes, remove and eat.


----------



## troyguitar

I basically don't cook. A yogurt is my most common lunch and a bowl of cereal is my most common dinner. When you're only eating ~1200 calories a day, cooking seems like a giant waste of effort.


----------



## Tiger

Any reason you are underfeeding?


----------



## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> I basically don't cook. A yogurt is my most common lunch and a bowl of cereal is my most common dinner. When you're only eating ~1200 calories a day, cooking seems like a giant waste of effort.


Dude, I ate twice that at 125. Eat more.


----------



## Tiger

Yea...hell Ive been on a cut almost 4 months now and I still do 1800 at least a day.


----------



## troyguitar

It's the only way that I have been able to lose any fat/weight. It's not like I enjoy eating next to nothing. 

I've been doing this all year. Eating more = maintain or gain weight.

You guys also have WAY WAY WAY WAY more muscle mass than me, so will need to eat more. I am pretty much fat, skin, and bones.


----------



## Winspear

Fair enough. Everyone has their own metabolism I guess - sounds like you've got it measured well!


----------



## troyguitar

With the new running plan of 4 miles every day as opposed to 2-3 miles every other day I've also started to be a bit more hungry, probably increasing to more like 1500 calories per day but still - the 2k+ you guys eat would put me right back up into fat-gaining land


----------



## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> It's the only way that I have been able to lose any fat/weight. It's not like I enjoy eating next to nothing.
> 
> I've been doing this all year. Eating more = maintain or gain weight.
> 
> You guys also have WAY WAY WAY WAY more muscle mass than me, so will need to eat more. I am pretty much fat, skin, and bones.


Then bulk up, you'll look better. 


troyguitar said:


> With the new running plan of 4 miles every day as opposed to 2-3 miles every other day I've also started to be a bit more hungry, probably increasing to more like 1500 calories per day but still - the 2k+ you guys eat would put me right back up into fat-gaining land


I get 5k cals a day, get more muscle, enjoy food, get money.


----------



## troyguitar

Doubling or tripling my food budget, buying all new clothes, and doubling or tripling my daily exercise time does not make any sense to me just to have teh big musselz.


----------



## Infamous Impact

troyguitar said:


> Doubling or tripling my food budget, buying all new clothes, and doubling or tripling my daily exercise time does not make any sense to me just to have teh big musselz.


You can easily bulk up on $20 a week and you need to put a LOT of time before you'll even feel stuffy in your clothes, it's not like picking up a barbell turns you into Arnold overnight. I still look small at a glance, and I can still fit into small clothes. And my workouts were under 30 minutes when I started lifting. If you're not into the big look, fine. But just 5 pounds of extra muscle gives you a ton of strength and will be enough to where you won't starve yourself every day to lose weight.


----------



## troyguitar

I understand that but quite frankly I'm not willing to invest the additional time and money at this point (I currently spend 40 minutes a day running and $20-30 a week on food, so even that minimal change would be huge to me). Maybe after I lose a few more inches and can do the 5k run in 20 minutes I'll start spending the other 20 minutes that would have been spent running on some strength training.

After struggling all year trying to make something work, I have arrived at a diet and exercise program that is actually working. I'm in no hurry to change it.


----------



## Winspear

Yeah do what works for you  Just wanted to say you can easily bulk on that money with a metabolism such as yours. How you spend over 20 dollars a week on 1200 cals is beyond me! If and when you do decide to build up - don't forget full fat milk. The easiest cheapest awesome calories!


----------



## troyguitar

It's like $2-3 a day plus generally one takeout meal a week, usually Chinese, or an iced latte or two (no sugar, just espresso and milk). And full fat milk is the only kind of milk, I have some nearly every day with cereal 

A mild amount of strength training is a secondary goal for me, one that I will probably start working on sometime in the fall or next year. I have literally no use for additional strength in my life though, it would be purely to allow me to eat more food without getting fatter. I drive a car, use a computer, play guitar, and walk/run. Nothing I do will be impacted by being stronger so it is not a priority.


----------



## Harry

Troy, be mindful that running on such low calories like that for an extended period of time can potentially tank your endocrine system, as well as have various other negative health effects.
With the amount of calories you'd be consuming, you're simply be not getting enough saturated fat and dietary cholesterol for your endocrine system to be functioning anywhere near optimal.
At the very least, you should have be having 2 days per week of over-feeding/surplus calories with a lot more fat. Even then, the other 5 days of running 1200 still isn't the most optimal, but at the very least you'll delay/maybe even circumvent possible future consequences.
It's just not healthy to be going so low calorie EVERY day like that man.

It's up to you, but you're seriously playing Russian Roulette with your long term health here.


----------



## troyguitar

The 1200 is already high in fat/cholesterol according to 2000 calorie percentages so I don't worry too much about that. Typical day involves eggs, sausage, and whole milk. I do spike at something like 2000-3000 roughly one day a week as well. There just seems to be no other option... any more food and I gain weight. I went on vacation for the week of July 4th and ate 2000-2500 calories per day along with 2-4 hours of solid exercise every day and gained a full inch back on my waist plus roughly 5 pounds. 2000 simply is too much for me if 2-4 hours of exercise can not offset it. I do not have 6-8 hours a day to exercise 

Maybe if I keep pushing the running thing I can get my damned metabolism to start working more like it used to and switch over to an easier diet, we'll see. Running every day instead of every other day should help things but I am only on day 4 of that program.


----------



## Maniacal

I should probably post an update. I let myself go for a few weeks and didn't eat clean. 

However, since my first post on here I have lots 7.5 kilos. Was 111.4 - now 103.9

Just 2/3 kilos to go.


----------



## Winspear

I can get pics in a couple of weeks when I go home
I've decided to finish my cut even if I'm still not completely ripped. It'll do. Down to 156 from 182. Strength is awful haha.

Going to attempt to grow very slowly and carefully and not get fat this time. Only going up to 2500 cals (from 2300 cut), rather than 3500-4000 like I was before. Going to use creatine too which I've never done before.

Hopefully my old muscle comes back fast. Too many people have been asking me wtf happened


----------



## troyguitar

So I ate ~2500 calories a day on Friday-Monday this past weekend because I felt like it, along with still running 4 miles every day. This resulted in a gain of ~4 lbs (scale says 8 lbs but I am assuming half of it is water) and 1/2" on the waist. How on earth you guys can eat that much or more without getting fat is beyond me.

This annoys me to no end so I cut back again starting this morning, and plan to attempt an extra long run tonight. Goal is 8 miles minimum, we'll see what happens. Maybe if I get to 10+ miles per day I'll be able to eat 2000 calories.


----------



## Murmel

How tall are you man? There is no way in hell I'd gain if I ran 4 miles/day on those cals. If anything I'd lose too much.

I'm 6,2 and 158lbs and I have a super hard time gaining. I have to force eat every day pretty much. I actually wish I was shorter so I could gain easier, on the other hand, being tall is totally hot 

My goal is 176lbs with a low body fat, which will take some time.


----------



## troyguitar

5'10" and floating around 150 lbs, and apparently with a glacial metabolism.

I don't care about the weight, I care about the fat gut. 28-30" is where I need to be, 34" is where I am. I'd be perfectly happy staying 150 lbs.


----------



## Murmel

You can't target burn fat unfortunately.

As it looks right now, just keep it at a deficit and roll with it. If you're gonna get up to 150lbs again afterwards without the belly fat it will have to be muscle. Have you tried 2000cals? I can't be bothered to read the entire thread because it's super long.


----------



## UnderTheSign

Murmel said:


> How tall are you man? There is no way in hell I'd gain if I ran 4 miles/day on those cals. If anything I'd lose too much.
> 
> I'm 6,2 and 158lbs and I have a super hard time gaining. I have to force eat every day pretty much. I actually wish I was shorter so I could gain easier, on the other hand, being tall is totally hot
> 
> My goal is 176lbs with a low body fat, which will take some time.


Tell me about it, 6'4-6'5 drifting around 200.

I don't know, 2500 is maintenance for me, I know guys who eat that in one sitting and probably have done so myself as well... It might well be that it seems much because you're not used to eating a lot.

No clue how you managed to gain 8lbs in that time, but perhaps the moments you weighed yourself differed? Ie. I'm usually up to 5lbs heavier before bed compared to early morning after my morning dump.


----------



## Winspear

Troy - your metabolism is nuts man. If just eating less calories isn't an option because you get hungry or something, I can only suggest a healthier diet. You said you eat eggs sausages and have full fat milk every day or something. That makes me jealous but it's a lot of cals! If you eat healthier you'll have to stuff yourself to reach 2000 odd and wont be hungry at all.


----------



## troyguitar

So, uh, holy fucking shit.

I just ran 10 miles in 100 minutes and felt like I could have kept going with no issues.

I now feel compelled to start running marathons. If that doesn't burn enough fat then I'll just get liposuction


----------



## Fiction

UnderTheSign said:


> I'm usually up to 5lbs heavier before bed compared to early morning after my morning dump.


 
Thats sick!


----------



## Tiger

Just cooked dinner for my wife and I, celebrating another day of not going in to labor. \ o /







Crap picture but: Roasted corn with brown tomatoes in olive oil, main dish is quinoa and sausage on a bed of kale with a low carb tortilla with poached eggs on top, side of sweet potatoes cooked in sesame seed oil with sea salt and honey. Added a little Udo's oil. (Hers doesnt have a poached egg, she cant have runny eggs obviously)


This week was hell for legs, ran 5 hours (29 sloooow easy miles) Saturday, did 7x5 250lbs smolov on Monday, ran super hills on Tuesday, Wednesday was 10x3 260lbs smolov (last one before 405 deadlift attempt) and hour bike, today I biked an hour, tomorrow I run easy, then saturday is 7 hour night run, should be 30 something easy miles. Today I weight 138.6, moving right along.


----------



## troyguitar

How do you not just die from boredom on a 7 hour run? I already feel like punching someone after 1 hour


----------



## Winspear

troyguitar said:


> How do you not just die from boredom on a 7 hour run? I already feel like punching someone after 1 hour



Try 10 minutes  I have zero motivation for anything that doesn't involve weights..I can't even integrate body exercises into my workouts for more than a week.


----------



## Tiger

I tend to meditate and have an awesome soundtrack, its my me time.


----------



## Bevo

Agreed, I can run for hours but I find trails much more exciting..long road runs are dull unless its along a beach with lots of bikinis!!

Troy
I looked at your posts and I dont think its the food you eat that is affecting your metabolism.

2000 calories can look many different ways and I would start with protein, get your .7-1.0 per pound in lean meats, eggs, nuts then vegetables, fruit and carbs.
The other thing is your weight to muscle ratio, muscles burn calories and you are pretty light.

In my case I ran huge miles and my body fat ratio was always higher than it should be, I never got to 8%. Doing a muscle weight comparison I was really bad as the runs ate up my muscles literally, this was due to not eating enough.

Cutting back on my runs, working with weights and eating more has resulted in way more functional strength, less fat and faster metabolism. 
Now I don't have to ask my 86 pound GF to open pasta sauce for me LOL!!!

I hope my experience can help you..


----------



## Murmel

God damnit, haven't gained anything this entire month. Been working out like crazy except for 1 week when I was working at a festival 16 hours/day. Wasn't able to eat well at all that week.

Seems like I just have to eat even more. I'm sure I don't actually eat very much now compared to most of you guys, but as mentioned so many times; I hate eating  At least it seems I've found my maintenance.

Weighed in at 72,5kg last month. 72,4kg this morning, probably just a difference in poop if anything.

Sucks to be tall.


----------



## troyguitar

You're tall and don't gain weight? Cry my a river


----------



## Murmel

When you actually WANT to gain weight it sucks serious balls


----------



## Tiger

At 137 today, progress continues.


----------



## Infamous Impact

Tiger said:


> At 137 today, progress continues.


How tall are you?


----------



## Winspear

I'm gonna guess 5 6


----------



## Tiger

5'4", short.


----------



## Infamous Impact

Tiger said:


> 5'4", short.


Hah, I'm exactly the same. Just wondering because I rarely see other short guys that lift.


----------



## Maniacal

Lucky! You must be king of heavy lifts at your height.


----------



## Tiger

^ Dunno about that.

BB.com guys are saying Im at 8 or 9 % here, its taking forever to get super low.






Left loose, right flexed.


----------



## UnderTheSign

Haha jeez, it's kinda weird to realise I'm a foot and half an inch taller than you. At 137 I'd be tiiiiny!

I weighed in at 91.5kg (202lbs) this week. Deadlift is up to 130kg (290). Took forever to start noticing my body is growing but I went on a date and put on my button up shirt, bloody chest and shoulders felt tight. Mixed feelings, haha.


----------



## Mexi

don't know a lick about training or getting ripped or any of that shit but decided to start losing weight just cause I was sick of being that token fat guy all my life. being short at around 5'4" doesn't really help me much in that respect either. anyways, I adjusted my diet, accordingly, cutting down on refined sugars and empty calories. exercising regularly with light cardio, squats and some weights. down 25 lbs since the spring and feeling a lot better about myself, looking better and just generally living healthier, which is really all I want. could still stand to lose another 25-30 lbs, but it's a process and I'm motivated so I think I'm doing well


----------



## jon66

Mexi said:


> feeling a lot better about myself, looking better and just generally living healthier



That's what it's all about man. Keep up the good work!


----------



## troyguitar

After months of up and down I'm finally on a pretty good down streak. Down to 143 lbs at 13% fat and running 5 miles in 40-45 minutes each day. Still have roughly 3" of fat to lose from the waist though  At least it is finally moving in the right direction. Projected end point is apparently around 130 lbs to lose the last inches and get fat under 10%... I finally feel like it will actually happen by the end of the year, it was looking questionable until recently.


----------



## Maniacal

Just an update so I can come back to this in a few months.

Doing a MAX OT routine at the moment, got my working bench to 145kg and deadlift to 200kg. Wanted to get to 200kg deadlift by the end of the year but already reached that goal, need to work on my lanky chicken legs! Aiming for 150kg bench for 6-8 by end of year. 

I weigh 107.5kg and am currently 20% body fat. End of year goal is to get to 102kg .

I have a new diet as well, liquidizing my rice, tuna, peas and broccoli. I make a big batch of this every day, it allows to me eat 6 cans of tuna a day and only takes me a few minutes to eat. It used to take me 40 minutes to eat ONE can of tuna. So this method of eating has given me loads me time to play guitar etc. And I still consume 220/260 grams of protein a day.


----------



## Murmel

Oh dear, I've been super cold since monday and felt pretty good today so I went to the gym.

My bench was so bad I was embarrassed


----------



## Winspear

Maniacal said:


> Just an update so I can come back to this in a few months.
> 
> Doing a MAX OT routine at the moment, got my working bench to 145kg and deadlift to 200kg. Wanted to get to 200kg deadlift by the end of the year but already reached that goal, need to work on my lanky chicken legs! Aiming for 150kg bench for 6-8 by end of year.
> 
> I weigh 107.5kg and am currently 20% body fat. End of year goal is to get to 102kg .
> 
> I have a new diet as well, liquidizing my rice, tuna, peas and broccoli. I make a big batch of this every day, it allows to me eat 6 cans of tuna a day and only takes me a few minutes to eat. It used to take me 40 minutes to eat ONE can of tuna. So this method of eating has given me loads me time to play guitar etc. And I still consume 220/260 grams of protein a day.



Congrats man!
Liquid nutrition is so much easier haha. Just wanted to warn you though, you don't want to be eating that much tuna! People advise less than a can a day due to high mercury levels. I'm inclined to say you'd be fine on a can a day (I generally do that too) but 6 cans a day is certainly dangerous.
Must say, I can't imagine such flavors as a liquid 

I manage to get 220g protein on one can of tuna, one chicken breast, and two protein shakes in my day.


----------



## Maniacal

Yeah I am aware of that, I will only do this tuna thing for a few more weeks. 

When I have my weeks off of MAX OT I will go back to chicken etc. I hate doing that though because I end up spending 3 or 4 hours a day just eating.

You must have THE biggest protein shakes to get 220 grams from that diet! 
1 can of tuna is 30 grams
chicken breast 50 grams?
So you have roughly 70 grams per protein shake? Do you drink it out of a barrel?

I also have 2 protein shakes and almonds as well. That gets me about 260.


----------



## troyguitar

Haha yeah mercury is bad unless you want to be a mad hatter.

I can't imagine eating 200+ grams of protein per day, I eat like 70


----------



## Winspear

My protein shakes have 55g - 33 from 1.5 scoops of whey and the rest from a pint of milk and 50g of powdered oats 
The remaining 50g or so just comes from all the carb based foods, such as the pasta with my tuna, or the rice, potato, and salad with my chicken, and some bread.


----------



## jon66

It can add up pretty quick surprisingly. Going back to one day last week (food log) I ate 238g of protein. Granted I had split that up over 7 smaller meals. But it looked like this:

2 scoops whey	(1 with my morning oats, and 1 pwo)
8 oz steak	(4oz at a time)
10 oz chkn brst	(4-6oz at a time)
1 scoop casein (at bedtime)

Add in trace protein from other sources like oats, breads, veggies, and it'll add up pretty quick.

Even if those portions were split into 3 more traditional meals ala breakfast, lunch, supper and bedtime snack/shake, it doesn't seem like that much, to me at least.

Which leads me to another question. I was always in the habit of weighing and portioning my meats AFTER cooking them. Other things I've read online says to weigh meats (and other foods) BEFORE cooking. 

ie - Piece of chicken weighs 6 oz. You grill it. It now weighs 4 oz. By cooking it, you didn't actually remove any of the calories from the food - you just removed water/moisture from it, correct?

How do you guys who weigh/portion your foods/meats do it, before or after cooking?


----------



## Winspear

Correct. Weigh it before. The only calories you will lose in preparing food is from stuff that gets left on the pan such as fat, if you chose not to pour it on your food.


----------



## jon66

EtherealEntity said:


> Correct. Weigh it before. The only calories you will lose in preparing food is from stuff that gets left on the pan such as fat, if you chose not to pour it on your food.




If I'm counting all my meats at their cooked weight, say 4oz, when in fact they have the caloric equivalent of say 6oz, I'm vastly underestimating my overall caloric intake.

Which would explain why my fat loss has plateaued as of late.  

Edit: and that means, DAMMMN I'm eating way more protein that I'm logging.


----------



## troyguitar

Yep, caloric content estimates are made for pre-cooked weights. You could be eating several hundred more calories than you thought!


----------



## jon66

On a positive note, I guess that helps explain why I haven't lost any LBM.


----------



## Murmel

Soon to be 75kg, took forever to get here because I was stuck at 72kg for months.
Been seeing some increase in my lifts as well, even though they're still pretty measly. Compared to regular people they're not bad though, most regular dudes won't deadlift 100kg.

Will aim for around 80kg before I start with some cardio training, I don't wanna be just muscle. Right now I'm skipping cardio because that would mean soo much food in order to gain weight.


----------



## Dwellingers

Deadlifting 200 (now 165 kg), Squatting 160 (now 120), benching 140 (now 110), Clean and jerking 110 (now 82), Snatching 90 (now 66). And gaining 3 kg til 82 kg at height 176 cm. Im paleo dieting and Intermitted Fasting, so gaining weight is a slow process, which currently involves one litre of sweet-milk and some extra coconut milk


----------



## JP Universe

12 week progress using my own workout/meal plans. Research done through leangains.com for my intermittent fasting eating pattern, six-pack shortcuts for my workouts and bodybuilding.com for overall nutrition and supplementation. I did 2 weeks of 'cheating' (holidays) and binge drinked every w-e.

I'm way more motivated now after seeing these results.... Just signed up to Josef Rakich online fitness plan. The Meal plans perfectly hit my macros and the workouts look pretty intense! Decided to cut down a lot on my drinking next yr so my goal is to be RIPPED by the end of 2013.


----------



## SenorDingDong

I've got to make an update soon. However, this is my week off.


----------



## Infamous Impact

JP Universe said:


> 12 week progress using my own workout/meal plans. Research done through leangains.com for my intermittent fasting eating pattern, six-pack shortcuts for my workouts and bodybuilding.com for overall nutrition and supplementation. I did 2 weeks of 'cheating' (holidays) and binge drinked every w-e.
> 
> I'm way more motivated now after seeing these results.... Just signed up to Josef Rakich online fitness plan. The Meal plans perfectly hit my macros and the workouts look pretty intense! Decided to cut down a lot on my drinking next yr so my goal is to be RIPPED by the end of 2013.


Great work man! Couple more weeks and a nice long, lean bulk is in order for teh gainz!


----------



## JP Universe

I think I've got a few more months of cutting left. I'd like to get my body fat pretty low then bulk throughout winter


----------



## Infamous Impact

JP Universe said:


> I think I've got a few more months of cutting left. I'd like to get my body fat pretty low then bulk throughout winter


In that case, best of luck. It'll get harder to cut once you get below 13%-15% BF because you have relatively little muscle mass, but if that's what you want, go for it.


----------



## Stealthtastic

Being as skinny as I am. I'd like to gain some weight, I'm about 118 as is. 5'8" size 26 waist. I'd like to get to atleast 130 except with a considerable amount of muscle gain. I'm roughly 7% body fat. 

Going to begin eating alot of peanut butter and lifting alot of weights.


----------



## Infamous Impact

Stealthtastic said:


> Being as skinny as I am. I'd like to gain some weight, I'm about 118 as is. 5'8" size 26 waist. I'd like to get to atleast 130 except with a considerable amount of muscle gain. I'm roughly 7% body fat.
> 
> Going to begin eating alot of peanut butter and lifting alot of weights.


Peanut butter isn't the best source of protein. It's great for healthy fast and bulking in general, but I'd look at nutrition. I suggest doing Starting Strength with accessory work for a month or two to get a good base of strength, then going into a bodybuilding routine, or whatever fits your goals.

For nutrition, find your TDEE and add 500 calories. Get 1g protein per pound of body weight. Tons of lean meat, brown rice, oats, potatoes, green vegetables, fruits. It's that simple.


----------



## Murmel

Doing 220lbs deadlifts for reps now. Not super strong or anything, but still.

:feelsgoodman:


----------



## JP Universe

JP Universe said:


> I think I've got a few more months of cutting left. I'd like to get my body fat pretty low then bulk throughout winter


 
Off to a good start in 2013. Hitting Macros perfectly and getting good workouts in. Since my last pics from 02/12/2012 I've lost another 2% bodyfat and 1.7KG's going through the holidays. I'm at about 16% BF now. Took a pic last night and can see that I've gained a bit of muscle too  Gotta buy some vodka and sprite zero for when I want to drink 

I figure that I will continue to cut until April then bulk up until September.


----------



## Fiction

Just do shots, that's what I've been doing.. Although I miss beer 

Anyways my goal is to hit 85kg, started at 72.95 and am currently at 77.35 (Was 80 for a bit), been 3 inconsistent months, but really trying to hit it hard now it's the new year. Then I plan to cut back down to ~15% bf, I'd like to get back into parkour and start boxing again, going for a slimmer build, but is a bit hard as I already have a larger body style, somewhere in the middle of meso and endo.


----------



## avenger

I have been attempting to bulk up a bit over the winter (slow and steady) looking at my weight logs I ahve risen from 161 to 172 since August 28th. Id say fairly clean gains but definitly not perfect I have lost some definition in my abs for sure but made some nice gains (for myself) in my lacking upper body.

Slow and steady.


----------



## Infamous Impact

Has anyone set new goals lately? My new main goal now is to squat 405, that's almost 2.5x bodyweight for me.

My longest-lasting goal of the state record in the 400m has been crushed by a guy that now has the 300m national record and a clean sweep of all the long sprints.


----------



## Aevolve

I reached something I've been trying for a long time- 160lbs lean bodyweight.
I'm 5'9" and my goal weight is somewhere around a really lean 190.

I've been "working out" for years, but only seriously hit the weights in the last 3 weeks.
My starting 5-rep maxes-
Bench: 135lb
Squat: 185lb
Deadlift: 205lb

My current 5-rep (do these 5x5)
Bench: 185lb
Squat: 225lb
Deadlift: 275lb

Hopefully by next summer I'll work my way up to a 2 plate bench, 3 plate squat, and 4 plate deadlift.


----------



## Aevolve

Speaking of goals, I hit a 315 deadlift for 2 reps today in the middle of my normal 5x5 heavy sets.

Coincidentally, today is also the first time I ever tore a callus. Ow.


----------



## Maniacal

Currently 102.2 kilos. I have now lost a total of 9 kilos in a pretty short time. 3 or 4 more kilos and I will be where I want to be.


----------



## JP Universe

JP Universe said:


> Off to a good start in 2013. Hitting Macros perfectly and getting good workouts in. Since my last pics from 02/12/2012 I've lost another 2% bodyfat and 1.7KG's going through the holidays. I'm at about 16% BF now. Took a pic last night and can see that I've gained a bit of muscle too  Gotta buy some vodka and sprite zero for when I want to drink
> 
> I figure that I will continue to cut until April then bulk up until September.


 

Almost 6 monthly bump  how time goes quick....

Everything going to plan so far!! Been bulking since April however I've decided I've only got one more month left then I'll go back onto my cut again in July. I love being lean  More focused than I ever have been in the weight room  Currently at 190 at about 15% bodyfat. Aiming for 10% bodyfat at 176 pounds by mid/late October.

How's everyone else going?


----------



## axxessdenied

Just hit the gym for the first time in ages yesterday! 
Going to try and hit the cardio hard after my weight training sessions to trim off a lot of fat while trying to bulk up at the same time!
I feel pretty great from yesterdays work out (put in 1.5 hrs for the first day), just my triceps are dead today . Just need to get a routine down and adjust how I eat a bit. I've already done a great job of cutting out a lot of sugar the last week (bye bye pop/soda).


----------



## Murmel

....soooo after having a major setback the entire first half of this year, I'm now repping 220lbs deadlifts again. Gonna do my best to bulk this summer.

My bench has stalled for like 6 months though, barely changing. And it's super measly 

I also need to get a tan, but my viking genes aren't helping in that derpartment.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Yeah exams are a blight on my lifts, strength increase is INCREDIBLY slow and marginal atm.

Still stronger than I was at the start of the year, and I want to hit 4plate deadlifts by next summer (well on the way to 3plate at the moment).


----------



## saxman42

I'm 23 years old. I've had four knee surgeries and have arthritis in my left knee. I've lost about 80 lbs in the last two years to get the weight off my knee and postpone an inevitable knee replacement.

I'm currently on the paleo diet and doing crossfit 4-5 times a week. I've lost about 8 lbs overall in the last four weeks. My goal is to lose 10 more before September.

For anyone considering the paleo diet: It's great. I have much more energy on a day to day basis and I feel much better overall. I also get to eat lost of good meat and filling meals. I've tried many diets and this is by far the most effective and the only one I can see actually sticking with long term. The first week is rough, but it's easy to follow once you survive a week without wheat. PM me if you want a few recipe ideas!


----------



## Furtive Glance

Rob Riches uses the paleo diet, too, and that guy's a machine!


----------



## TheDivineWing22

During the winter I decided to start exercising and making some changes to my diet, nothing extremely major. I was 270 at my last Dr. Appointment in the Fall last year. I currently 238 with just some minor changes in lifestyle. Now I'm motivated to keep going and make some more changes (more exercise and reigning in my diet a little more).


----------



## soliloquy

i'm trying to push for 300LBS in deadlifts. currently i'm stuck on 275 with 5-6 reps. its weird how 285lbs proves to be impossible for me to lift, even an inch off the ground. 
its mostly mental, but still...interesting how the mind works. 

for muslims, ramadan is coming around the corner. not looking forward to it as i know my strength will go down drastically....:-/


----------



## saxman42

TheDivineWing22 said:


> During the winter I decided to start exercising and making some changes to my diet, nothing extremely major. I was 270 at my last Dr. Appointment in the Fall last year. I currently 238 with just some minor changes in lifestyle. Now I'm motivated to keep going and make some more changes (more exercise and reigning in my diet a little more).



You should try crossfit if you can afford a gym membership. The workouts are brutal; usually 15-30 minutes of total hell but it's easier to motivate yourself when you have a class doing it with you and pushing you through it. It's a lot of fun!


----------



## Infamous Impact

saxman42 said:


> You should try crossfit if you can afford a gym membership. The workouts are brutal; usually 15-30 minutes of total hell but it's easier to motivate yourself when you have a class doing it with you and pushing you through it. It's a lot of fun!


----------



## saxman42

Infamous Impact said:


>


 
I guess I missed the joke?...


----------



## Infamous Impact

saxman42 said:


> I guess I missed the joke?...


Crossfit is looked down upon here.


----------



## JP Universe

My mate does crossfit and gets a lot of enjoyment out of it and gets results. I went to one 'free' session and didn't enjoy it at all  and when they brought up the price of $1200 for 12 weeks I 

So I can see it working for some people but I don't need someone telling me to push to stay motivated and go hard


----------



## saxman42

Infamous Impact said:


> Crossfit is looked down upon here.


 
Oh well. To each his own. It's not for everybody. It has done wonders for my buddies and I, though.


----------



## Mexi

About a year ago I was 220 lbs (I'm 5'4" btw) and in the worst shape I was ever in. Now I'm hovering around 180 with another 25-30 lb that I'd still like to lose over the 6-8 months or so

It was really just about taking stock about why I was overeating and just learning to eat a semi healthy diet, exercise regularly and just learning to enjoy getting into shape. I'm still on my way


----------



## Furtive Glance

Pretty happy wif mah progress so far!


----------



## sage

Goal: 260 lbs by Nov. 5, 2013 (40th birthday)
Starting point: 6'4" 345 lbs 2 months ago.
Progress: For 2 months, I did the Stronglifts 5x5 program. Didn't drop an ounce, but lost 5 inches around my gut and another 5 around my ass, added an inch to my biceps, chest stayed the same but is obviously stronger, same with the thighs. Two weeks ago, I went Paleo. Haven't drank a diet soda in that time period either. Only cheat was a piece of pineapple upsidedown cake on Canada Day (I made it. It's my mom's favourite.) Anyway, in the last two weeks, I've dropped 9 pounds to 336 lbs. 

Changed my workout routine as well. Now I do 
3x10 squats at 295 lbs, 
3x10 bench at 205 lbs, 
3x10 lat pulldowns at 195 lbs, 
3x10 upright rows at 105 lbs, 
3x10 overhead presses at 115 lbs, and then a 
5/3/1 on the deadlift ending with 365 lbs. 
I do that twice a week, swim once or twice a week, and sprint up a hill a few times on one day a week.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

A friend and I signed ourselves up for a half marathon at the end of October (I ran/walked my first 5K in a long time last Sunday-terribly out of shape for running) and we've got a training schedule to stick to - now to just keep with it.


----------



## Infamous Impact

sage said:


> Goal: 260 lbs by Nov. 5, 2013 (40th birthday)
> Starting point: 6'4" 345 lbs 2 months ago.
> Progress: For 2 months, I did the Stronglifts 5x5 program. Didn't drop an ounce, but lost 5 inches around my gut and another 5 around my ass, added an inch to my biceps, chest stayed the same but is obviously stronger, same with the thighs. Two weeks ago, I went Paleo. Haven't drank a diet soda in that time period either. Only cheat was a piece of pineapple upsidedown cake on Canada Day (I made it. It's my mom's favourite.) Anyway, in the last two weeks, I've dropped 9 pounds to 336 lbs.
> 
> Changed my workout routine as well. Now I do
> 3x10 squats at 295 lbs,
> 3x10 bench at 205 lbs,
> 3x10 lat pulldowns at 195 lbs,
> 3x10 upright rows at 105 lbs,
> 3x10 overhead presses at 115 lbs, and then a
> 5/3/1 on the deadlift ending with 365 lbs.
> I do that twice a week, swim once or twice a week, and sprint up a hill a few times on one day a week.


Great progress. You can probably drop the calories a good bit at over 300 lbs and still not lose strength or muscle.


----------



## Mexi

not really set on an ideal goal weight or anything, I just wanted to be healthier. 16 months ago I peaked at 220 lbs (at 5'4") and my most recent weigh in was at 178 lbs. Cutting out sugar/bread/junk and just enjoying being active has really been the only thing I've changed about my life. I'm looking and feeling better about myself than ever before (getting A LOT more glances from the ladies). I still have some more work to do but I'm well on my way


----------



## Murmel

Starting to get a hang of power cleans. Very fun exercise. I still gotta get it down perfect though, every few reps end up pretty shitty, ie, almost like a reverse curl. But usually I seem to do fine.


----------



## Fiction

First day back in the gym in months. Surprisingly not too much loss, I'm fitter cardio wise and only losing around 15-20lbs on each lift as through work I still exercise strength daily.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Slightly leaner from fasting (Ramadan) and training the couple of weeks beforehand, down to 176lbs from 180 over the last fortnight and probably ~1% bodyfat leaner.

Feels like a good loss, I've not lost any strength over that time, putting stuff where I can here and there, and have been ensuring I eat both correctly and enough, so it's fat loss. If I can get to about 170 by the end of summer I'll be happy (accounting for mass gain and fat loss).


----------



## Murmel

230lbs deadlift for reps today, woopwoop, making some good gains. Like 5lbs short of 210 on the squat as well.
Also made my first attempts at weighted pull-ups today, gonna be interesting to see how that'll progress. Weirdly enough, I could do as many reps through all 3 sets as I could with my bodyweight when I hung a 6kg dumbell from my waist. I guess I might have to go with something heavier.

Now to get my bench up.

For some reason my triceps just refuse to grow. I do weighted dips, currently dipping around 100kg at 73kg BW. I also do close grip bench, but it's pretty measly as my bench is measly. On occasion I throw in some other exercises too. I'm also trying to fit in a dedicated arm day so that I work them twice a week.


----------



## Infamous Impact

Murmel said:


> For some reason my triceps just refuse to grow. I do weighted dips, currently dipping around 100kg at 73kg BW. I also do close grip bench, but it's pretty measly as my bench is measly. On occasion I throw in some other exercises too. I'm also trying to fit in a dedicated arm day so that I work them twice a week.


Do skullcrushers. Get ready for ALL KIIIIIIIIIIINDS of gains.


----------



## Uncreative123

Just took this Saturday- exactly 6 weeks out from the show. Actually feeling pretty good about how everything is coming together now. First time I've ever truly had my diet down perfect. I've had some ridiculous stress and setbacks the last 5 days, so it's a miracle it hasn't hurt me/set me back as much as it has. 
Hoping things get back on track here in the next couple days.


----------



## Mexi

last time I posted was July 11th and I was at 178 lbs. less than a month later and I'm at 169 lbs. yeeee


----------



## Infamous Impact

Hit a 4:45 mile yesterday. Nothing else to report.


----------



## texshred777

Infamous Impact said:


> Hit a 4:45 mile yesterday. Nothing else to report.


 
Nice!


----------



## kung_fu

I don't believe I've posted in this thread yet,butI figure it might be a god way to get advice and monitor my progress at the same time.

Some background info:
- I'm approx 5ft4 - 5ft5
- at my absolute heaviest (probably between 2003-2007) I weighted around 175. It might not seem like much, but at my height that kind of weight looks terrible on you (considering the lions share of it was flab.
- I finally decided to get active and start working out when i was away at university. The following two pictures were taken in June 2009. My fitness journal i've been keeping (off and on ) since that day has me at 151.8lbs. The weight i lost prior to this probably just had to do with ordering less pizza and walking a little more over the course of two years (2007-2009).










By late November of that year I was down to a skinny 130.6 lbs.

Since then I've gained some muscle and am usually somewhere in the ballpark of 135-140lbs. I'm at 134.8lbs below (today)










My routine is fairly basic, mainly consisting of pushups, crunches, dumbell exercises and some stationary bike. I also walk whenever I can. My equipment is a little limited at the moment (bike, 2X20, 2X30lb dumbbell) and i do all of my working out at my apartment. I like the dumbbell thing, as the amount of variety they offer is pretty large. 

Ideally, I would probably like to see myself getting up to 145-155lbs but this time with muscles. I'll obviously need to up the weights (only have 30s because that's the biggest i could get my hands on locally). I'll probably grab a pair of 45lb dumbbells and probably a bar and plates for squats/deadlifts etc. Unfortunately, I don't have room for a bench at this point and don't really feel like getting a gym membership at this time. 

Any general tips? Particularly more chest exercises, as all i'm doing now chest related are pushups and bent-over rows (more of a back thing I know). The diet is no problem, I eat pretty healthy home-made meals for the most part and have protein shakes before every workout (every other day). My only concern diet wise is that i'm going to have to eat a lot more to reach my goal weight. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to eat, but I don't love spending huge money at the grocery store . I'm pretty noobish so don't be afraid to insult my intelligence. Probably just a combo of more weight/heavier compound lifts and more calories, eh? (I'm Canadian you know  ). I'll post my current routine when i get a chance.


----------



## Infamous Impact

texshred777 said:


> Nice!


Thanks. Though I could do better. I hit a growth spurt and it's really throwing me off.


----------



## Uncreative123

I'm now 2 weeks and 1 day out from my comp. This pic is from about 3 weeks out?


----------



## Murmel

My year long stall on the bench is finally over. Been waiting on this


----------



## Mexi

bam finally hit the down the 160 lb mark; hovering around the weight I was back when I got into university. I think with all the dietary/exercise routine changes I've made, I should be able to hit my goal weight by the winter. After years of struggling with my weight, it feels good to have this kind of control again.


----------



## Cloudy

Just about to start my 'get in shape again' routine so I figured i'd throw this up.

Background: Ive always struggled being a bit chubby, I was 'that fat kid' throughout early highschool and what not but really shaped up in grade 11-12 when getting girls was important to me XD 

Anyhow I'm second year university now and I've really diminished, partly because I have a long term girlfriend now but things seem to be getting rocky and I feel that its because I'm no longer attractive to her. When we first started dating I was 170~ Pounds, I'm 6'2 so this was a pretty standard skinny/fittish kid weight I suppose but now I'm at 215-220 which is pretty bad. Use to wear Medium clothing/32 waist pants and now I'm pushing large clothes to the max and I'm getting near having to wear 36 waist pants (34 are still alright, just getting tight).

Ive started running every other day (As of yesterday) for about 15~20 minutes and my before bed workout which consists of doing a random set of push-ups determined by 10 playing cards drawn, and a set of idaho abs (basically a bunch of crunches for those who don't know what that is)

Weight: 215
Goal: 170

Hopefully I can keep motivation for this, I've asked my girlfriend to harass me about dieting in the past but it never seems to work. I don't have a problem keeping a regular fitness schedule my real problem is eating unhealthy and beer (party university :S) 

Any good tips on keeping healthy with food and skimming calories while drinking?


----------



## fwd0120

Time for the whale to post.......

I decided to take control this summer..... In the middle of July I was 261, and as of this morning I am 236. Ok, I get it, that's still pretty big, but it's progress!! My goal is 200 by my birthday (Jan 20). (fwiw, I'm very largely built to start with).

So am I doing good or.......? :|


----------



## Murmel

You're doing great. Take it slow and steady, no need to rush things as long as you're losin at a steady pace.


----------



## fwd0120

231 today! (see previous post^^)


----------



## Mexi

my weight loss seems to have stabilized and I'm at about 155, almost 65 lbs down from my peak. another 10 or so pounds and I'm at my highschool/ideal weight. so close yet so far!


----------



## Infamous Impact

Broke under 16:30 in the 5k!


----------



## Konfyouzd

I'm finally trying to get this extra weight off me... It makes me unhappy when I look in the mirror and that's enough for me to decide that I need to just make some changes. I got up with a friend of mine from college that's a personal trainer and he's coming up with a diet plan for me and is gonna harass me to make sure I'm keeping up with my goals... I got good friends... 

I'm also working on recording an album... Who knows when the hell that'll be done. But I did get back off my ass this week and work on re-recording some tracks that desperately needed it... 

If there's some kind of "I need to lose like 60lbs and actually stay focused at it" thread, lemme know...


----------



## Konfyouzd

Mexi said:


> my weight loss seems to have stabilized and I'm at about 155, almost 65 lbs down from my peak. another 10 or so pounds and I'm at my highschool/ideal weight. so close yet so far!



Well done, sir! And this was a month ago... I know yesterday was turkey day, but progress?


----------



## Fiction

I've been putting on a few, lost what tone I had and replaced with belly 

I haven't run for about a month now, and last time I properly went to the gym was about 3 months ago. I've just started doing some dumbells again at home, and doing my old yoga/bodyweight routine (Chins, squats, push-ups, hanging leg raises and some other plyometrics as I use to do parkour). Starting to notice a little difference, but I'm hoping to keep at it again, although (yes, making excuses) christmas season is upon us and as a chef, I'm doing 12 hour stressful as .... days and my motivation is a little lacking, hoping to pick up some more weights & a bench when new year comes around. Also changed jobs 3 months ago, which means I have to commute by public transport, because its about a 20km trip there and back, before It was only 10km, which I would skate to and from twice a day (20kms all up).


----------



## Konfyouzd

^Yea it's really easy to make excuses... That's partially why I went the route of paying someone that's going to semi embarass me... 

I figure for one... I paid... I BETTER make something of this... Secondly, I have to take all these pics of myself shirtless and he's gonna call every week and make sure I've been keeping up with my dieting and exercise. 

For some reason I just NEED someone to be hounding me about it all day.

I remember I lost a ton of weight once before and the only way I was able to do it was by guilting myself into not eating things I knew were bad for me. Every time I was hungry I would go to the bathroom and lift up my shirt and assess whether the cheeseburger was worth it...


----------



## Fiction

Definitely a good way to do it, it's definitely more of an obligation if you're investing into it, my housemate stopped going to the gym with me, and I stopped about 2 months after, mainly because I didn't have someone asking me to go or I had no one to ask, but one of the new chefs at work always works out, so he's getting me back into it. You should see if theres any of those running groups in your area as well, I looked into it for a bit to try and get some motivation, but they all run after their 9-5 jobs, which I work 10am-11pm 

Are you going to be doing much weight training as well?


----------



## Konfyouzd

I do weight training on and off in my basement. I was doing extensive weight training last year, though. My dad is friends with Adrian Peterson's dad (apparently they went to highschool together and kept in touch) and they had given us a lifiting schedule... I never made it all the way through it since we just kinda stopped going after a while.

Besides that I "prison lift" in my basemet. I have a set of dumbells that I can change the weight on and a bench with 3 positions so I just change the bench or weight of the dumbells to do varioius exercises around the house when I find the time.


----------



## Mexi

Konfyouzd said:


> Well done, sir! And this was a month ago... I know yesterday was turkey day, but progress?



about 149 now. Each lost pound is taking *far* more time and effort than before, but I'm at a point where I'm content enough with how I look/feel so that I don't feel like I need to completely obsess over it as I did for the better part of my adult life. Also, I played way too many mental games with myself constantly felt guilty over eating this or that --THAT kind of mentality was more harmful to me than extra pounds ever were. It's about applying the stuff I've learned so far in weight loss and just sticking to it.

For me, at least, it's really been about changing my attitudes towards food, cutting out mindless snacking (my weakness!) and being more *a lot* more active. I've recently started incorporating a kettle bell into my workout routines (that I switch up between cardio/weights) Doing my workouts in the morning have also helped me from being lazy when I'm too tired by the end of the day. They say losing weight is the easy part (bullshit) and keeping it off is the hard part, so I think as long as I keep my wits about eating well and taking care of myself, and just seeing all this as a positive lifestyle change I should be in good standing


----------



## Konfyouzd

I *officially* start my diet today even though I was easing into it over the weekend...

I'll keep posting the progress here to keep myself motivated...

Current Weight: 230lbs (I weighed myself last night and was about 234 and this morning I'm at 228)
Current Body Fat %: 34%

Goal Weight: 180lbs
Goal Body Fat %: 12%

I got some work to do...


----------



## gunshow86de

I finally got my bench back over 300, my squat and pull over 400.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Hell yea...

So that's why you're called GunShow... I know it should have been obvious, but you're from Texas so is it really?


----------



## gunshow86de

Konfyouzd said:


> Hell yea...
> 
> So that's why you're called GunShow... I know it should have been obvious, but you're from Texas so is it really?



Ironically, I don't own any guns. I used to bird hunt, but I traded my shotgun for a guitar a few years back. 

My username comes from my old email address from high school that I used when I registered here (I was much more "swole" back then though ).


----------



## Konfyouzd

Day 3... 

I'm down about 3lbs and I believe I may have entered ketosis... I'm not entirely sure so I'll wait til the end of the week to assess how I feel. 

Adjusting to my new diet isn't as difficult as I'd imagined, but then again I'm only 3 days in so I won't get to proud of myself just yet. I have a friend that has decided to "go on a diet" as well since I started this one. He's pretty much bullshitting as far as I can see so it's up to me to keep myself motivated (I have a trainer as well and another friend that's heavy into lifting just in case I really need help). 

It's becoming slightly more difficult to go out with certain people and/or eat w other ppl when they're constantly trying to get you to cheat on your diet. Yes, the change is relatively big (not huge, not for me at least) but when I consider the difference between the body I have and the one I want I feel like something has to give... 

Wish me luck! I'm going to keep needing it!


----------



## mlp187

Hey Konfouzd, 

I'm in a similar boat. I'm 238 right now and want to be at 195. I just cleaned up my diet today. Now send me naked pics.


----------



## Konfyouzd

The funny thing is my trainer told me to take a pic in just shorts and keep it for after my "transformation"... For some reason that picture is the single most motivating thing ever... 

I went on a similar diet before based on guilt and I would just look at myself in the mirror before eating and decide what I should eat... I lost a lot of weight but guilt isn't really a sustainable motivator...


----------



## Fiction

Already noticing improvement in the past week, ran an extra kilometre today at the same speed as I did when I started (4.4km in 21.34), Still got a way to go to get to the 10km runs I was doing when I stopped running.. And I need to quit smoking


----------



## Konfyouzd

I'm down another 2 lbs... That makes 12 total so far... I guess my gut doesn't like me anymore... It seems to be trying to avoid me...


----------



## Konfyouzd

This is nuts...

Today I'm down 15lbs and 6% body fat. I managed to put on a pair of jeans (comfortably) that I've literally never been able to wear since the day they were given to me. Another 10lbs and I should be able to wear every stitch of clothing in my house and maintain regular breathing... 

Side goal: Booker T for next Halloween.


----------



## Fiction

Say whaaat


----------



## Konfyouzd

That's what I'm saying... It's basically falling off. My nutritionist = genius...


----------



## axxessdenied

Ive been working on dropping the fat as well. Took a while to get into a decent routine.
I've recently adjusted my eating habits and eating much cleaner meals. Lots of salmon and chicken breast with eggs or avocado for lunch and veggies and potatoes for dinner. 
Start my day off with a black cup of coffee and some steel cut oats.

I'm down to 172 lbs from over 190. Wearing size 32 jeans now from a 36 before and still need a belt !
Got some more fat to lose but I am changing my gym routine to start bulking up and putting on muscle.
My goal is to be at 175 with lower body fat.
We'll see what happens!

Anyone recommend a good pre/post workout supplement to help with my energy / muscle recovery? 
Trying to keep my caloric intake a bit lower still to lean out.

Any tips on routines would be great. I enjoy doing 3 days a week full body routines.


----------



## Konfyouzd

It appears that most of the weight--as I should have known--was just my body dumping water weight in response to starting a new diet. According to the scale, most of that weight has returned in one form or another. 

I have however, continued my dieting and exercise as planned and despite what the scale has to say, my clothes consistently seem to fit better and I pinch myself periodically in "problem" areas and I swear I feel my self slowly tightening still.

Aside from that, I've been feeling pretty incredible. I feel lighter and have more energy overall.

Over this past weekend I experienced what is commonly referred to as the "keto flu" which I do believe is part of the process of my body adapting to a new lower carbohydrate diet. Supposedly once I'm fully adapted I should see some real progress assuming I stick to the goal...

@axxess - I'm lifting now, but I'm not really looking to bulk too much. I simply don't have the energy for it at the moment running on so few carbs until I get my weight down. That might change when I'm keto-adapted, but right now I don't know. However, I'd be very much interested to know what you find out as I'll have to make the change in a month or two.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I havent weight myself in a few days, but I'm back to *looking* like I did at the end of the first week when I shed all that water weight. My hope is that I didn't just lose a bunch of water weight again. 

I still seem to be moving in a positive direction though. Clothes are still getting looser and I can pinch less in "problem areas" on a weekly basis (thus far).

One thing that does suck, though is I figured I'd have a bit more support from some of my friends that said they'd try it as well but they don't seem to have the same will power so luckily seeing results and keeping the end goal in mind has been motivation enough up to this point.

Something I don't understand, though is this:

Some of my friends decided they wanted to do this as well because, of course, our current diets/lifestyles leave us with less energy than we'd like and of coures our physiques have suffered as a result.

What one has told me is... "I'm gonna get on it, but at this time of year it's just not gonna happen." 

What dose that mean?

This isn't to cast aspurions on the guy... It's his life and he can do what he wants, but I hear this sort of thing from a lot of people and it just doesn't make any sense to me. How can the time of year be a valid excuse to not pursue a goal unless your goal requires that it be a certain temperature outside?

I've been getting asked a lot by different how I'm doing x y or z and everyone seems to want to get results without changing anything. I can't talk too much as I'm only en route to the promise land; I haven't yet arrived. At the same time, I can't see a pie or cake getting in my way right now--at least not at the beginning when it'd be so easy to just go back to stuffing my face haphazardly...

Wouldn't it make more sense to figure out *how* you need to feed yourself to look the way you want before trying to figure out how you can cheat? 

Like... You have to know how to play a game or sport before you can cheat at it. If every move you make is illegal you simply don't know how to play...


----------



## Fiction

^

Right now is the busy period for hospitality, and it's just extremely draining on my energy to exercise. I'm still doing it, but some morning I skip a run, simply because I know I start work at 8.30 in the morning and won't finish until ~11 that night, and morning fiction will reason that I just need that extra hour sleep .

I don't have any scales to notice progress in digits, but I've definitely dropped quite a bit of belly and my times improve every run.. Currently doing the 5km in around 20 minutes, aiming for 18.


----------



## Konfyouzd

That I dig. But I'm more referring to some of my friends that refuse to begin a diet bc they dont wanna put down the fork. That attitude is kinda what drove me to make changes in the first place but obviously I can't expect everyone to get motivated the same way. 

It just kinda bugs me they said they'd do it and pussed out before they started. 

The fact that everyone is making a bunch of foods that are typically considered "bad"--for me--at this time of year only serves as a test as to whether or not I'll be able to keep this up later. 

The way I see it is if I'm willing to make excuses as to why I should just keep up what I was doing wrong BEFORE reaching my goal how easy will it be to "reward" myself and relapse the moment I'm thin (assuming I ever get there), dig? And it's tough when the ppl you hang w/ want to convince you it's okay to "cheat" for losing a few pounds... I wanna be SOLID


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

So....anybody got any new years resolutions? Mines are Finish my album , finish High School a year early (4 1/2 credits to go ) and get in shape.


----------



## Bevo

I have a new goal for March 29th which is my first race of the season.

For that date I need to be 15% body fat and have an output of 300watts as measured by my coach on a fitness VO2 max test.
At the end of the last race season I was 12% and had 300 so want to start the season how I left off.

Right now I am carrying an extra 5% and the watts are at 240 so a bit of work to do.


----------



## Konfyouzd

New Years resolution(s): 
-Maintain whatever weight loss I achieve once I reach my goal (reaching the goal isn't an option... It's mandatory)
-Work toward finishing my album (It should have been done by now but I have a job and stuff...)
-Move... I ....ing hate it where I am.

I'm probably going to start hanging out with new people too...


----------



## axxessdenied

So my routine is going to start incorporating these compound exercises into my weekly routine: Deadlifts, squats, barbell rows, bench press, overhead press. Looking forward to seeing what happens.

Started taking some creatine post-workout (doing half the serving the directions say) and I must be starting to retain a lot of water. My weight has skyrocketed up to 177lbs this morning  My chest looks noticeably fuller and my shoulders and arms are looking like they are getting bigger. Couldnt make it to the gym yesterday, going in a few hours 
Cutting back on my cardio though as I blasted my legs way too much last time with my new lifting routine.
My legs have a lot less fat than the rest of my body and my quads are starting to really become pretty noticeable now.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Haven't stepped on the scale in a while but the inches appear to be coming off still. My arms are starting to look too long for my body as my mid section decreases... Gorilla style.


----------



## Ralyks

1. Gain at least 10 - 15 pounds muscle.
2. Go back to Jiu Jitsu, try to go for my blue belt by years end.
3. Get some kind of music out, recorded, and playing live in some compacity again. Otherwise, selling all of my gear except my acoustic.
4. Just be a better man overall.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I found a school locally that does Capoiera, Jui Jitsu and Mui Thai... I feel like I need to go to there... /Liz Lemon


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Thanks to controlling what I eat, (most importantly) what I drink (apart from new years...lol), training and boxing (good stress release) I've actually LOST weight/fat over the xmas period.

On to 10-12% bf and 4plate deadlifts!


----------



## JoshuaVonFlash

About to join the gym tomorrow, buy the studio monitors to complete my recording rig, and holiday break ends this week so I'll be back at school on Monday, I'll update my progress through the year.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

axxessdenied said:


> So my routine is going to start incorporating these compound exercises into my weekly routine: Deadlifts, squats, barbell rows, bench press, overhead press. Looking forward to seeing what happens.
> 
> Started taking some creatine post-workout (doing half the serving the directions say) and I must be starting to retain a lot of water. My weight has skyrocketed up to 177lbs this morning  My chest looks noticeably fuller and my shoulders and arms are looking like they are getting bigger. Couldnt make it to the gym yesterday, going in a few hours
> Cutting back on my cardio though as I blasted my legs way too much last time with my new lifting routine.
> My legs have a lot less fat than the rest of my body and my quads are starting to really become pretty noticeable now.


 


Half servings are about right on the creatine, unless you were also involved in a taxing sport like full court b-ball or intense mma training.

I've used it for years and now haven't used it for years and to be honest IMO it really doesn't have an effect on muscle gains, but the extra water does improve the muscle pumps and of course helps with endurance for grueling workouts. So in an indirect way I guess it sure doesn't hurt.
Be prepared to sweat like a pig though if it's hot. I was always water logged .


----------



## Fiction

Yeah i've sweat so much, since I started using creatine .


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

^THAT's why I'm so sweaty!

Man, that was a mystery


----------



## Don Vito

I ate a salad with water today. Winter gut has to go.


----------



## Fiction

New Goal, I'm going to complete this;

Tough Mudder - Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet

Registered with a friend from work, and a few of his mates. Got til roughly July to prepare for it.

Following this routine; http://toughmudder.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/maybe-mudder-boot-camp.pdf + 3 Mile Runs 3-5 times a week., and hoping to work up to around 5 miles by the time it starts. It's a 10 Mile course, but you can walk most of it, so the running is just to build up the stamina to last out a 10 mile obstacle course


----------



## Konfyouzd

Down to a size 36... Haven't stepped on the scale since a few days ago but going by looks based on the last time I'm hovering in the 215 - 220 region. 

I slacked on the gym last week but I'm back on this week.


----------



## right_to_rage

Kale Shakes, biking, yoga, meditation, and kettlebells in the new year! Strong start already. I quit smoking too!


----------



## Konfyouzd

What do you do with kettle bells?

Also does anyone have any good leg routines? 

I wanna start doing an entire leg day rather than mixing it into back day.


----------



## Bevo

This year I am working with a nutritionist and so far I have just been collecting data as to what I eat including detailed amounts of Protein, Calories, Carbs, Fiber etc. The sport coach has me doing the same but with what I burn and do, in a moment of clarity I combined the two logs into a spreadsheet.

Impressed is all I can say, everyone is always talking about doing this or that, cutting out this food adding another and I was one of them but we are all wrong!
Until the person does an accurate log of what they eat including what they do or burn its all just guesses. We all mean well and have a good understanding but because we are not working off real accurate data we can't give accurate advise.

Why I said that.
I am super careful about my diet, make good choices, make sure I eat enough and always get lots of exercise, a bit of a food freak if you will.
I found out I am wrong and way off base as to what I "think" I eat as to what I "do" eat.

Long story short on average I burn between 400-900 calories a day training and I eat between 1700-1900 a day. My two hour ride on the weekend I burned 900 calories and ate 1546 over the day!
At 5"8" 150lb and an office job yet an active life after work I should be closer to 2500 a day, the day above I only ate 646!
What all this means is, I need a cheese burger!

In my sports endurance and recovery go hand in hand, both are food related and here I have failed. My goal was to lean out and get stronger by my problem is I don't eat enough to get stronger and because my body is always in starvation mode it won't release the last bit of fat.

Just friggen awesome!!!
I feel like I just won a lottery, now I know my problem I can fix it!!!!

Im hungry LOL!!!

I hope this can help those who are trying to gain or lose weight, the formula is very simple but the data behind it needs to be right before you make your decision as to how you gain or lose that weight.
I was wrong and i live this stuff yet now I know how to help myself and others.

Cheers!


----------



## right_to_rage

@Konfyouzd I'm all about the swings which are probably my favourite kettle bell exercise, it's obviously one of the most efficient and effective methods with a kettle bell. I'm doing like 50 swings with a 35lb or 25lb (soon purchasing a 45 lb) three or four times and trying to keep track by increasing that number gradually. 
I do abdominal bends and crunches, over head lifts, curls, lots of other stuff with the bells combined with callisthenics and yoga. I've thought applying some bioenergetics to my warm up because I exercise and meditate within the first hour of waking up. Sometimes it's tough to get my head right, and clear up the grogginess but I've had nothing but great results so far especially later in the day. Just set a few alarms and I've got a beautiful start to my day! Good luck on your goals, everybody.


----------



## Don Vito

Don Vito said:


> I ate a salad with water today. Winter gut has to go.


Still have gut, but I'm doin' a little bit better with this. Changed my coffee size and what I put in it. Almost completely cut out sweets and soft drinks. Lots of water and tea with honey now. Haven't eaten any fast food in a while either. I go there all the time to pickup things for other people, so the temptation is alive. Also started on a diet pill. Feels like placebo, but whatever they were free.


----------



## Konfyouzd

The last lik bit of gut always seems to take so long. But the man books and gut are still slowly disappearing. Playwriting sucks.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Man boobs*

Plateauing*

Posting from retarded ass phone ftl...


----------



## Uncreative123

Bevo said:


> This year I am working with a nutritionist and so far I have just been collecting data as to what I eat including detailed amounts of Protein, Calories, Carbs, Fiber etc. The sport coach has me doing the same but with what I burn and do, in a moment of clarity I combined the two logs into a spreadsheet.
> 
> Impressed is all I can say, everyone is always talking about doing this or that, cutting out this food adding another and I was one of them but we are all wrong!




No, we weren't. If you had to pay somebody to figure out what's OK and what's not OK to eat then you were wrong. You. 

5'8" and 150 lbs- I don't know what your goals are but I can tell you right now one of them should be eating more instead of micromanaging every gram of protein you're eating in conjunction with trying to keep track of what you're supposedly burning off. 

I'll never understand people that pay "trainers/coaches" when they have no intention of competing at something on some level. So much of this information is available to everyone online, for free.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Trainers are also a lot like coaches and help keep you on track when friends and family might encourage you that its okay to slack off. It's a matter of ho we important it is to you and what motivates you personally. Do what works.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Stuck trying to lose this last 20 lbs or so... Seems like it jus won't budge anymore... And last week at the gym I felt like I got a little bit weaker. I hope it was just an off day... :-\


----------



## MemphisHawk

My goal is to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. I used to be able to 10 years ago and as of now I am generally close, but I haven't done it in a long time. 

Currently a muscular 223 pounds (down from a winter weight of 239, lol) - want to cut to around 200 (6' 3")

Time progression:

June 21st 2013 - 26:30
July 19th 2013 - 24:53
October 18 2013 - 23:44
March 16th 2014 - 22:35
March 21st 2014 - 22:39 :-/

pulled all this from my GPS tracker.

I have run around 500 miles over the last 12 months, but nearly none of it was focused training for anything. I used to run pretty quick in high school college, so sub 20 minutes wouldn't be new to me, but it is scary how hard it is to try and regain.

I am down 4 minutes over the last year without putting too much effort into it besides the last 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to 3 sub 7 minute miles in a row first and then I'll go from there.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Dec 1: 235lbs; 35% body fat; size 38 waist
Today: 209lbs; body fat unknown; size 35 waist

Goal: 185lbs; 10 - 15% body fat; size 33 - 34 waist

Getting there... Then we start the bulkening!!!

Sub 7 min mile? That's impressive. Fastest I EVER did it was 7:30.


----------



## Infamous Impact

May as well post my goals for the next few months. Well, goal. My goal is to graduate high school holding my school's record in the pole vault. I'm 4 inches away as of now.


----------



## MemphisHawk

Konfyouzd said:


> Sub 7 min mile? That's impressive. Fastest I EVER did it was 7:30.




You'd be surprised how much time you can pull off your running. Especially if you are just talking about 1 mile flat out. My wife dropped over a minute off her mile ( she is not a runner) in 3 weeks of running maybe twice a week. I ran a 5:40 quite consistently ,but when you run 5:40 next to decent high school milers you get smoked every time.

-I ran a 5k race on March 29th in 22:22, so another 17 second drop. I have been running easy since then just trying to get my weight down. Wondering where 2 more minutes will come from!


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Infamous Impact said:


> May as well post my goals for the next few months. Well, goal. My goal is to graduate high school holding my school's record in the pole vault. I'm 4 inches away as of now.


 
Do tell.
I'm guessing you're at maybe 15'-ish?
Hell, our class 2A school record way back in my day was only 13'3" .
Higher than I would have wanted to go though. I'm real big on keeping my feet below my head in all activities .
Also, hurdles suck!!!


----------



## MikeH

Figured this is an appropriate thread for progress!

Started off around 140 lbs., and I'm now sitting at 150 after 10 weeks. My goal by the end of the year is to be a fairly lean 165. Got some time before that happens, but it's possible. Hitting the gym 5-6 times a week and eating like a mad man. Here's to fitness!


----------



## Infamous Impact

TRENCHLORD said:


> Do tell.
> I'm guessing you're at maybe 15'-ish?
> Hell, our class 2A school record way back in my day was only 13'3" .
> Higher than I would have wanted to go though. I'm real big on keeping my feet below my head in all activities .
> Also, hurdles suck!!!


I'm doing nothing but vaulting now. That's all I want to do in college. Forget 5 hour practices .
And at states I got 13-3. I'm jumping well over 15 in practice, I just need my outdoor season to start!


----------



## Guitarmiester

I had to deal with an annoying IT Band injury that's kept me from running since October. Been lifting in the meantime and finally convinced myself to start running again today since it's so nice out. Been nervous that the IT Band would tear again but I managed to do 4 miles without any issues. Took me 45 minutes which is pretty weak but not bad for a post-injury run.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Started: 235lbs

Goal: 180lbs

Today: 199lbs



I'm so close


----------



## ThePhilosopher

Guitarmiester said:


> I had to deal with an annoying IT Band injury that's kept me from running since October. Been lifting in the meantime and finally convinced myself to start running again today since it's so nice out. Been nervous that the IT Band would tear again but I managed to do 4 miles without any issues. Took me 45 minutes which is pretty weak but not bad for a post-injury run.



I had a similar injury last summer and I'm starting up my regimen again now that my work schedule is reduced greatly - here's to trying a half marathon in October '14.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I've been finding mixed information about this online, but I was wondering what you guys found to be the most accurate measure of BF%. I have a scale that supposedly calculates it for me, but I'm not 100% sure of it's accuracy and it'd be nice to try a few different ways and compare them.


----------



## MikeH

Deadlift max went from 330 lbs. to 370 lbs. on Saturday. I don't really have a goal weight for my DL. Pretty much as high as my body will let me go with it. Let's just say 800 lbs. in my lifetime?


----------



## Konfyouzd

Totally doable. I watched my boy shrug 800lbs and it was damn impressive. I feel like you should be able to work your deadlift to that point eventually. 

Side note: I did some calculations and assuming I make little to no gains while cutting (as should be expected me thinks) my goal should actually be about 175... 5lbs... Big deal... 

I don't wanna compete in anything. I just wanna look like a life sized action figure.


----------



## MikeH

Watched a 19 year old, Jesse Norris, deadlift 775 raw. He's bigger than me by about 15 lbs., but pulled it up like it was nothing. I feel like 800 by the time I'm 30 or so isn't out of the question. Maybe sooner.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Definitely. 

How old are you? I wanna start doing deadlift but I'm worried I'm gonna .... it up. I've been looking for a gym buddy but most ppl talk like they're down and never show up.


----------



## MikeH

I'm only 22.

Deadlifting is complex, and you definitely want to read up a lot before you do it. I still have a bit of tweaking to do to my form, as I'm not putting enough leg drive into it. Once I get that down, I think I can shoot for 400. It's a weird motion, but once you start to get it, it's an awesome lift.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I hear that along w a few other back exercises are how you get Hulk big.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

MikeH: IIRC you wanted to get into powerlifting, does that mean you'd pursue the upper levels of the sport regardless of its effect on your physical health over time? (as we all know, ultimately powerlifting is not about longevity or fitness but pushing/pulling weights the body was not truly designed to handle). Not voicing approval/disapproval either way, just curious.



Konfyouzd said:


> I hear that along w a few other back exercises are how you get Hulk big.



Squats and DL are the key mass builders, next in importance probably the standing and bench presses.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I do overhead press but I do it seated for the time being. I should do them standing though.


----------



## Captain Shoggoth

Konfyouzd said:


> I do overhead press but I do it seated for the time being. I should do them standing though.



Eh really just the overhead pressing part is the key factor, but yeah the full lift is done standing, despite having the same range of motion.


----------



## Konfyouzd

I didn't like overhead at first but it's becoming one of my favorites. It's fairly difficult at first.


----------



## MikeH

Captain Shoggoth said:


> MikeH: IIRC you wanted to get into powerlifting, does that mean you'd pursue the upper levels of the sport regardless of its effect on your physical health over time? (as we all know, ultimately powerlifting is not about longevity or fitness but pushing/pulling weights the body was not truly designed to handle). Not voicing approval/disapproval either way, just curious.



I'm aware of the adverse physical effects of it. I'm just taking it day by day at this point, and if my body says that I need to stop, I'll stop. I am aware of some PL guys in their 40s and 50s who have been doing it since they were my age, though. I think it's all about proper recovery and precautionary measures.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Weird... Over the past 3 weeks I gained 9 lbs and lost it again but I don't *look* like I lost it again. The scale just reads less. Weird. Clothes fit the same the whole time. 

Must be water...?


----------



## MikeH

Or BEEG MAAAHSELLS!


----------



## MemphisHawk

Ran 100 miles last month.








All the 1.5~ mile runs were where I was pacing this Air Force guy for his upcoming PT Test.


----------



## Uncreative123

Just got done with pre judging at the Colorado State Championships. Finals tonight. From right to left- no spray tan... 1st coat, then touch up after this morning. 

Prejuding didn't go as well as I anticipated. I'll try to find some stage shots after this weekend and throw them up here.


----------



## thatguyupthere

Become a well taught virtuoso guitarist and make music for every one in the world to listen to. 

Make renewable energy more practical to rid fossils fuels and carbon emissions. Whether I have part in this or not, I'd like to see it happen within my life time


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred

Getting back into fitness now after having neglected it (due to school) for a few years. Started running again (~4miles 4/5 times a week hopefully) and I'm gonna get serious about general core strength, so I've started some simple calisthenics.

My goals are to improve my strength and fitness basically I used to be pretty good at running but now I struggle to achieve my past running pace and although I was never really that strong, I would like to increase my strength, and perhaps get back into rock climbing etc. 

If I had to set some goals, I'd say I'd like to be able to do one handed pull-ups (only because a rock climbing guy I know can do them, and I can't ), those pull-ups where you keep your body and legs straight and rigid and at 90 degrees to your arms, and other stuff like that. 

Hopefully I can look back on this post in a few months and chuckle at myself for being a puny weakling


----------



## MikeH

From January to today. 180 days. Gained 31 lbs. Got way stronger.

315 squat
225x2 bench
370 deadlift


----------



## Alcoholocaust

Uncreative123 said:


> Just got done with pre judging at the Colorado State Championships. Finals tonight. From right to left- no spray tan... 1st coat, then touch up after this morning.
> 
> Prejuding didn't go as well as I anticipated. I'll try to find some stage shots after this weekend and throw them up here.



Fuarking shredded man. Natty?


----------



## Alcoholocaust

MikeH said:


> From January to today. 180 days. Gained 31 lbs. Got way stronger.
> 
> 315 squat
> 225x2 bench
> 370 deadlift



Great progress man!


----------



## JeffFromMtl

About 2 weeks into my new training and diet plan, I've put on 4 lbs already.

At 157 lbs now, setting a goal of 170 for the first week of September, although I'll be out of the gym for 10 days when I go on vacation. It miiight still be doable if I just stuff my face with guatemalan food for those 10 days.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Stuck hovering at 205... 

I'm getting slightly stronger, but not really. Keto doesn't really facilitate large strength gains. Started doing carb refeeds every other weekend to see if that helps at all.


----------



## MikeH

JeffFromMtl said:


> About 2 weeks into my new training and diet plan, I've put on 4 lbs already.
> 
> At 157 lbs now, setting a goal of 170 for the first week of September, although I'll be out of the gym for 10 days when I go on vacation. It miiight still be doable if I just stuff my face with guatemalan food for those 10 days.



Eat! EAT, I SAY!


----------



## Winspear

First powerlifting comp was a blast, and a fail 
Weighed in at 72kg, 2kg under my weight class which was nice! Got all 3 of my squat and bench attempts (though shakier than usual) but only up to my existing PBs (160kg + 97.5kg) which I hit a few weeks ago. Would have liked 165 and 100 but knew it wasn't happening an can't expect too much with just 2 weeks of training in between!
Was well set to win my class with squats way out in front of the rest, but failed all 3 deadlifts. Didn't go heavy enough in warmup to realise I was not fully recovered from pulling my opener 10 days ago (170kg, current pb 180kg). Failed the 170 three times, knew it wasn't happening after the first- that mental block is a bitch!! Got it up to lock out the second time but it was _ugly_  2 red lights. 
A bit annoying as if I'd only realised, I could have opened on something like 155kg to at least get through the comp and still would have placed 1st. Was my first and last chance as a Junior too. 
Not too bummed however! Glad I gave the other dudes a chance to compete closely for first place. Was a fun day and great learning experience, first of many


----------



## MikeH

I know guys who take their last pulls nearly 3 weeks out from competition. Heavy singles on deadlifts take a massive toll on your body, and 10 days may have not been enough time to fully recover. Nonetheless, congrats on your first competition! I want a little more time to train before I sign up, but I will be competing soon.


----------



## Winspear

Thanks! Indeed, will take a lot more next time. Damn shame haha

Well, new goals now  Looking to actually weigh 74kg in the end of November and hit a 180/110/200 :O


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred

Just ran 4 miles in around 34 minutes better than before; I'm definitely progressing, but I still stopped around 4 times and walked for ~30 seconds. All this is cross country with cow dodging included  

I'm aiming to get under 30 minutes soon so I can beat my brother's 7 minute miles.


----------



## Steinmetzify

Back at it. Been eating healthier and running for a few weeks. Started P90X3 this morning. I think my abs are broken and if my TV wasn't too expensive to replace I would have put a fist through it. Circle pull-ups are a killer. 

Goals are weight loss (I'm 5'9" and 198) and mass. Lot of chicken and brown rice in my future. I'll be checking in on this thread to monitor my progress if possible. Good luck to everyone and wish me luck. I've been a fat guy for far too long this time.


----------



## Konfyouzd

Chest day...


----------



## MikeH

steinmetzify said:


> Goals are *fat* loss (I'm 5'9" and 198) and mass.



FTFY.


----------



## Fiction

I've been sick for the past week and a half and I'm down 10lbs, yeesh, talk about back tracking. Although, it atleast has shown me somewhat that the past 4 months have been rather successful, I've got top abs! and pecs are a little defined as well as my arms. I've just purchased another 5lbs of protein, and I'm going to really knuckle down and focus on putting this weight back on quick and hard, especially seeing as I've now got what exercises work for me, the weights, rep count and everything sorted to give me the kind of pump and post-gym soreness I'm after.


----------



## MikeH

Get back at it and you should put the weight back on rather quickly. Just a small setback. Nothing major.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

All these guys bulking up and I'm trying to slim down. I was at ~180lb when I started running and I'm down to ~165lb. My 3 mile runs are still around 30-35 minutes (started slower than last year and don't want reinjure my knee), but I'm just trying to finish my first half marathon in 2.5 hours. I'll worry about speed after getting the endurance to finish the distance.


----------



## Fiction

Everyone has different goals my man, Before I started gymming I was running 3-6 miles 5 times a week, and noticed hardly any difference in my body. But since hitting the gym, and even cutting out all forms of cardio, although I do Yoga occasionly, I've slimmed right down and muscles have popped, so I've been sticking with that.

I just love most forms of exercise which is why I do it, I have a 2.5 hour break every day and it's not enough to get home, but perfect gym/run time and it's always an excellent feeling after, and it's perfect to zone out and listen to a new/fav album. 2.5 hours is definitely achievable as well man, keep at it.



MikeH said:


> Get back at it and you should put the weight back on rather quickly. Just a small setback. Nothing major.



Thanks man, Yeah i'm not too bummed, I feel confident about getting back into it. I've just purchased like 3kg of nut/trail mix to snack on throughout the day as well, and had an early finish so I prepped a few days worth of food, hopefully try and do this more often. I've been back the past 3 days, and my weights have all gone down about 2 increments, but I have been pushing an extra set at the end, and really going slow and getting as much squeeze as I can with most exercises. I really feel like I'm starting to get the hang of it all.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

First 9 mile run today was over my pace by about 5 minutes overall (1:53:14) but not too bad for a first go. 

Now for a question, my training schedule runs out in 2 weeks and I'll still be a month out from my race - should I try for more distance and then taper off or just repeat the last few scheduled distances on my training regimen? 

I would like to run a full sometime next year, but I'm not quite sure how to transition.


----------



## Ed_Ibanez_Shred

If you've reached your pace goal, I'd just stay at that comfortable pace- you don't want to injure yourself/tire yourself out.

My running progress: now managing just over 28 minutes for 4 miles. First 2 miles in about 12 minutes (it's uphill on the way back). I finally feel like I'm getting into my running groove again. Just need to be able to keep the pace up before I start some longer/more hilly runs.  <-- I wish there was a version of this but with muscly legs XD


----------



## MikeH

Progressing on my 1.5 mile run. Was at 15:00 flat when I started about a month and a half ago. On Monday I ran it in 12:00 flat. Still need to knock another two minutes off before I'm totally happy.


----------



## Fiction

Are you doing any hiit sprints mike? I used to do 10-15 100m sprints just once a week, followed by a slow 1km and I noticed after doing that my long distance pace improved quite dramatically.

Eating cleaner than ever, and I've put on 3kg since last post, I've hit my old weight pre sickness, and I'm still getting more definition every week. Coming back into it hard, feels good man


----------



## MikeH

I haven't started yet, but I'm going to this week. I fell off big time last week and only hit the gym twice. Granted, I did run and do my bodyweight exercises Monday, but I still need to be more adamant about it this week. Gym 4 days with an extra day for running.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

Just finished my first 4 mile run without intervals and I did pretty well. I almost ran the entire thing too: 4.36 miles in 46:57.


----------



## JeffFromMtl

I hit a snag in my progress when I went on vacation, and have had a hard time keeping up since because my work schedule has been insane (been in the gym only 3-4 times per week instead of 6 and barely getting any sleep), but I weighed myself yesterday, and although it's been slowed, I'm still making progress. At 167 lbs now, for a total gain of 14 lbs since I started.


----------



## UnattendedGolfcart

I don't have a scale here, and I can't seem to find any in the gym, so I guess I'm not going to know my actual weight until I go home for break. I haven't been eating perfectly, but I've been eating a lot, and trying to up the weight in everything I've been doing. Workouts are 4-5 days a week now.

As for my goals, I want to weigh 160lbs sooner than later (I might be near there now for all I know, last I checked in August I was 153) and I want to be able to do a 100lb barbell overhead press by the end of my semester. I can do sets of 60 and 70lbs right now, so I want to build up to where I'm not gonna die from doing 1 rep.

If I go into maximum overdrive food wise I'd like to weigh 170 by my December break.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

Half Marathon in 27 days and I'm not relying on intervals as much to keep me moving and my times are improving. Here's to pushing for that 2.5 hour finish.


----------



## MemphisHawk

MikeH said:


> Progressing on my 1.5 mile run. Was at 15:00 flat when I started about a month and a half ago. On Monday I ran it in 12:00 flat. Still need to knock another two minutes off before I'm totally happy.




Are you in the military? More specifically Navy or Air Force? That's the distance of their PT tests and other than that it would be an odd distance to train for. Army is 2 miles and Marines is 3 miles.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## MemphisHawk

MemphisHawk said:


> My goal is to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. I used to be able to 10 years ago and as of now I am generally close, but I haven't done it in a long time.
> 
> Currently a muscular 223 pounds (down from a winter weight of 239, lol) - want to cut to around 200 (6' 3")
> 
> Time progression:
> 
> June 21st 2013 - 26:30
> July 19th 2013 - 24:53
> October 18 2013 - 23:44
> March 16th 2014 - 22:35
> March 21st 2014 - 22:39 :-/




Lost my bearing on this, but I haven't lost too much time. 

October 3rd 2014 - 23:08
(I had to slow down for a stop light and I had to stop for another one for a few seconds so I consider this a sub 23:00)

Gotta stay focused! 
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/


----------



## MikeH

MemphisHawk said:


> Are you in the military? More specifically Navy or Air Force? That's the distance of their PT tests and other than that it would be an odd distance to train for. Army is 2 miles and Marines is 3 miles.
> http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/



Going in.  Currently in the enlistment process of the Air Force.


----------



## MemphisHawk

MikeH said:


> Going in.  Currently in the enlistment process of the Air Force.



Good on you. I hit my 10 year mark in the Navy in 14 days. Make sure you stay below 12 (when you get there) minutes for your entire enlistment, be it 4-20 years). No reason to go any slower except getting lazy. I'm 32 years old and run it under 10 every time. 

What job are you going for/when do you leave for boot camp. (slight thread jack.)


----------



## MikeH

I'm going for TACP, so my 1.5 time has to be under 10:47, but I'm aiming for a sub-10. Still not sure when I'm leaving, as I've had to run 50 different places for 50 different things before I go to MEPS. Hopefully soon, though.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

Temperature is finally sub-70°F and I had my best run to date: 4.59miles in 46:31.


----------



## MemphisHawk

Fastest 5K time in the last 16 months today! 22:30. That's 7:14/mile. I wanna take it one step at a time, so next goal is to just break 22:00 which is 7:05/mile.


----------



## MikeH

Brought my deadlift up to a 400 last night, which puts me at a 1,005 lb total for my big 3 lifts. Probably going to try and maintain my weight, get leaner, and be as strong as possible in the 169.4 lb (77kg) weight class.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

I finished 13.25 miles today in 2:48:09, walked a bit with my wife the last half mile - hopefully with the adrenaline and crowd I can pace a bit better and get to 2:30:00.


----------



## Uncreative123

5 weeks out from the next show. Decided to do the Ferrigno Legacy in Santa Barbara. Haven't been having enough time at all for real cardio and I've been sleeping like shit. I'm hoping the next 5 weeks go better for me. I'll definitely be the biggest I've ever been on stage...hopefully the leanest too.


----------



## Entropy Prevails

First time posting here so bear with me. I began working out and eating healthy in august and have lost 20kg (45lbs) since then and it feels fantastic. I have 10kg more to lose but with my estimations, it will only take me two more months max. After that I´ll start building muscle mass and try to keep the fat as low as possible. 

Question: As soon as I´m done with the weight loss, I´ll have to reraise my calories intake in order to hold the weight and build muscle. I already know what I need to eat and at which time, but I don´t know how to get the transition right. How long does it need to last? What do I need to look out for?


----------



## ThePhilosopher

Finished my first half marathon yesterday and I absolutely crushed my goal of 2:30:00. My clock time was 2:19:39 and a chip time of 2:16:00. I'll do a few light runs this week and then ramp training back up for a full marathon in February.


----------



## Scruffy1012

Wanna try and hit some new goals before the year ends

Deadlift 180kg/185kg
Squat 160kg
Bench 115kg

Been doing a lot more cardio as well, running 5km either once a day or once in the morning and afternoon. Need to make some serious gains, lost way too much this year.


----------



## UnderTheSign

Uncreative, are you competing in bodybuilding or physique now? Looks like you've grown since your last contest posts on here.


----------



## Winspear

Entropy Prevails said:


> First time posting here so bear with me. I began working out and eating healthy in august and have lost 20kg (45lbs) since then and it feels fantastic. I have 10kg more to lose but with my estimations, it will only take me two more months max. After that I´ll start building muscle mass and try to keep the fat as low as possible.
> 
> Question: As soon as I´m done with the weight loss, I´ll have to reraise my calories intake in order to hold the weight and build muscle. I already know what I need to eat and at which time, but I don´t know how to get the transition right. How long does it need to last? What do I need to look out for?



Add ~250 calories once you're as lean as you want to be. If you're stimulating muscle growth well, then for a beginner you should be able to use all of those calories for muscle growth and stay lean. Don't keep increasing it constantly as you build - wait until the weight gain stalls and then bump it up again.


----------



## Uncreative123

UnderTheSign said:


> Uncreative, are you competing in bodybuilding or physique now? Looks like you've grown since your last contest posts on here.



Still doing physique. The judges back in July told me I needed to add about 5 lbs of mass and I'd be good, so that's what I've been trying to focus on. Honestly by the time I hit stage I'll probably only be 2-3 lbs bigger, but that's not bad for 4-5 months. I figured it would take about 12 serious months to get the 5 lbs on. I've changed the way I've been training- a lot of rest pause, drop sets, going for a total amount of reps rather than sets, etc. 

Really worried about leaning out in time. It's been a struggle. I'm still probably the fattest I've been 4 1/2 weeks out from a show, so mentally it's a serious struggle.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

Uncreative123 said:


> Still doing physique. The judges back in July told me I needed to add about 5 lbs of mass and I'd be good, so that's what I've been trying to focus on. Honestly by the time I hit stage I'll probably only be 2-3 lbs bigger, but that's not bad for 4-5 months. I figured it would take about 12 serious months to get the 5 lbs on. I've changed the way I've been training- a lot of rest pause, drop sets, going for a total amount of reps rather than sets, etc.
> 
> Really worried about leaning out in time. It's been a struggle. I'm still probably the fattest I've been 4 1/2 weeks out from a show, so mentally it's a serious struggle.



Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Flat-out amazing results man. Your arms must be getting around the 19" area..? 
It's really encouraging to hear that the constructive-torture training style(CTT) is working so well for you. In my novice opinion that's definitely the way to go for anyone wanting to build their physique.


----------



## Uncreative123

TRENCHLORD said:


> Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> Flat-out amazing results man. Your arms must be getting around the 19" area..?
> It's really encouraging to hear that the constructive-torture training style(CTT) is working so well for you. In my novice opinion that's definitely the way to go for anyone wanting to build their physique.



Haha, thank you. I don't think they're near 19, but I haven't measured them in probably over a year. That's one of the things I like about Men's Physique vs. other things like Bodybuilding and powerlifting- You don't have to worry about weight or measurements or anything like that or even hitting specific poses. Just about looking good, being relaxed. It's kind of whatever. 
I'm two weeks out right now, little bigger, still holding a lot of water and have a lot of leaning out to do. I'll be better than I was in July but still not where I should be for competing. Part of me feels like I don't really care because I feel like having long hair will always work against me. 
Again I haven't been having enough time for cardio- just moved into a new place with a HUGE empty basement so I've been doing fasted cardio down there now so I've made a lot of progress in the last week or two. A lot more to come as long as I can keep my diet on point. Here's where I'm at now two weeks out:


----------



## MikeH

Looking really good, man. Do you use any sort of diuretics to dry yourself out before a contest? I know a handful of people that do, and it seems to work well for them.


----------



## Uncreative123

MikeH said:


> Looking really good, man. Do you use any sort of diuretics to dry yourself out before a contest? I know a handful of people that do, and it seems to work well for them.



I did in June, but I didn't in July. I'm still on the fence about it this time around. I'm going to have to see how I'm doing 2-3 days out before I decide whether or not I will. Water and Sodium are far and away the hardest things to figure out as they are not only individual, but also vary each time. I've been urinating a lot more frequently right now so I know I can push water through pretty quick and therefor should be able to keep water normal. My rough plan right now is to keep water normal/fairly high and then just drop it the morning of the show.

On the plus side I was just told I don't need to drop my sodium so I am in such a great mood and I feel like nothing can stop me. That was the ONLY thing I was dreading. I can low-carb like a mother ....er and it doesn't even bother me. Right now I'm on day 2 of 4 days straight >54g/carbs, one re-feed day, 3 more low days, one more re-feed, then 2 1/2 VERY low >25g/carb days followed by loading up Friday evening and into Saturday. Depending on how i look Saturday after prejudging will determine what I eat before finals. 
Everything has been meticulously laid out. I know pretty much exactly everything I'm eating and when I'm eating it for the next 11 days. I'm in the home stretch so I hope my optimism and spirits stay high. I always dread the day of the show and just want it to be over with and never actually enjoy it. Trying to enjoy it this time around.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

I did my first long run after my half marathon today, 15 miles in 2:49:37. It's not too bad considering I was battling wind for the last 4 miles and was in the hospital last Sunday-Tuesday for a GI issue (I've been cleared for any and all exercise).


----------



## MikeH

After smashing two squat PRs yesterday (405 and 420), I've decided I want to shoot for Master level in my weight class in my meet in February. I'm at a 1,050 total right now, and Master level is 1,190. This means I have to add roughly 47 lbs to each of my lifts. And while I don't see myself adding almost 50 lbs to my bench, I think I'll be able to make up the difference in my squat and deadlift.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

That's incredible stuff (for a guy who doesn't lift). I set a PR today in the 5K - 26:06, I'm slowly getting faster and having the endurance to keep up these paces is an awesome feeling considering I could barely run an entire 5K 7 months ago.


----------



## ThePhilosopher

I finished my first 20 mile run yesterday in 3:43:11. It feels good to know I can push through that far, it probably would have been faster if I hadn't run 7 miles the day before. I also wrapped up my goal of 100+ miles for the month of December.


----------



## TurnTheAirBlue

Just started the Stronglifts program on Friday. Looking to get my squat to 120kg / DL to 150kg / bench to 100kg. Currently squatting 70kg / DL 75kg / benching 70kg. Been out of the gym for a few months so looking forward to getting back into it.


----------



## SD83

Just so I have it written down somewhere, why not here? I used to be way too lazy and still sometimes suffering from the depression "I don't feel like doing anything, I'm not even in the mood for breathing, I just want this to be over" shit, I meant to train and gain strength and all that for about 10 years now and never managed to keep it up for more than a few weeks until this year. Gained 8 kg in the last 4 months or so (90 kg/198 lbs now at about 6'4'') which was exactly what I had in mind a year ago, so, for next year:
- keep up & increase the training
- start running again, right now I have a hard time getting 2 km done, goal is at least 10.
- bike more. I used to do 50-100 km a week, now 20 is a good week. That has to change. 100 km in less than 6 h would be great.


----------



## MikeH

I posted my year-end goals in another thread, but this is what I want before or on Dec 31, 2015:

315 bench
500 squat
545 deadlift


----------



## MikeH

Incoming self-gratifying post: Today is the first anniversary of many. Exactly one year ago today, I stepped foot into a gym for the first time since high school. It was the day I decided to make a change. A change from being a skinny-fat beta to becoming an iron-built alpha. Never did I imagine that I would make the progress that I have when first starting out. My physique, my strength, and my mentality have all drastically changed. I owe that to myself and to the weights. From a 138 pound slouchy weakling to a 170 pound powerlifter in 365 days is something for me to be proud of. I have a lifetime of progress ahead of me, but I vow to make every day better than the day before it. I will heed the call of the iron until I'm buried in my grave.


----------



## TRENCHLORD

^^^ Get'n those gnarled deadlift forearms .


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## ThePhilosopher

Finished my first marathon yesterday in 4:48:22. I missed my goal of 4:45 due to a poor decision on when to use the restroom-I put it off at mile 14 and had to walk most of the next 1.5 miles to avoid a problem, but I'm still happy I got it done.


----------



## MemphisHawk

Awesome time man! Wish I was that fast!


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## ThePhilosopher

Thanks, it's not as crazy on the elevation as Okinawa is at all here. I'm hoping to do better with my next one. Here's my session analysis so you can see where I crashed out at: https://flow.polar.com/training/analysis/60411757. Still recovering today, but other than some aching joints I'm not feeling too bad. I may try to walk a couple miles on Thursday or Friday to get back into moving again.


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## Nickh

I'm on a deployment and I decided I would get serious with the gym while I'm overseas. My strength goals were 225lbs/315lbs/405lbs for bench, squat, and deadlift respectively, but still be able to run a 15min 2mi. I started out weighing 135lbs and lifting 135lbs/185lbs/0lbs (never dead lifted before). Now I'm at the final weeks before flying home and I'm happy to say I've achieved almost all of my goals. Currently I weigh in at 155lbs and my lifts are 225lbs/315lbs/365lbs and I run a 15:16 2mi. Even if I don't make my deadlift goal I'm extremely happy with the progress I've made and I'm fully onboard with the gym rat lifestyle.


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## canuck brian

I've managed to drop about 5 pounds of fat and increase all my weights about 30-40%. 

When i started seriously working out and eating properly (about 3 months ago), couldn't bench more htan 90. Up to 145 bench, 265 deadlift, 265 squat now...  I've been in teh gym for years, but i haven't done everything needed to see real benefits from it until recently and i'm turning into a gym rat. I actually get sad if i miss the gym.


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## Entropy Prevails

Does anyone have experience in losing fat? I know it´s a stupid question but I´m having problems. I´ve lost 66 pounds and need to lose 14 more in order to get to 12 percent body fat and its taking fuc*k*ing forever. I know all the major principles to losing fat but maybe there´s something I´m overlooking. How long did it take for you to lose those pesky last pounds? Do you increase the deficit? Do you change your diet even further?


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## MikeH

Haven't posted it in here, but most of you in this sub forum have seen that I competed in my first powerlifting event a couple weeks ago. I totaled 1,105 with a 430 squat, 230 bench, and 445 deadlift at 160 lbs. As soon as I finished, I found my next meet to compete in before basic training. I'll be competing in the 181 class and aiming for a 1,200 total. I'm a little over 5 weeks out, and my progress has been pretty consistent. I think a big help will be not cutting weight and being fully nourished the day of.


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## MemphisHawk

_My goal is to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. I used to be able to 10 years ago and as of now I am generally close, but I haven't done it in a long time. 

Currently a muscular 223 pounds (down from a winter weight of 239, lol) - want to cut to around 200 (6' 3")

Time progression:

June 21st 2013 - 26:30
July 19th 2013 - 24:53
October 18 2013 - 23:44
March 16th 2014 - 22:35
March 21st 2014 - 22:39 :-/
_
October 3rd 2014 - 23:08

Still going, lol.

May 17th 2015 - 22:15 - fastest time so far.


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## ThePhilosopher

Those are some nice times. I'm working on running a sub-2 hour half marathon by 25 October and a 4 hour marathon by 17 January. 

Consecutive running days have been quite tough since I've run much since my marathon in February and it's been terrible for running in Houston lately with all the rain in May. I hope I'll get back to my old form soon with drier months ahead.


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## MemphisHawk

I signed up for another marathon in December. Aiming to go sub 5 hour is all really. I'm still sitting at around 218 pounds, so those long distances really start to take their toll. Especially in the hills. If I just lost 20 pounds, my current cardio ability would produce much better times. I'm 32 years old though and I'm starting to find that without massive amounts of exercise, my metabolism has taken a dive. It has become near impossible to lose weight without feeling like I'm starving myself.


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## ThePhilosopher

I'm also 32, but I'm 5'8" and currently hovering around 160lbs - I'm hoping to lose about 10 more pounds to help my cardio out a bit more. I tend to eat deficits as my weekly mileage increases to 25+ miles; however, I'm hoping to lean out before that so I can eat a bit better for those intense training times.


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## MemphisHawk

MemphisHawk said:


> _My goal is to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. I used to be able to 10 years ago and as of now I am generally close, but I haven't done it in a long time.
> 
> Currently a muscular 223 pounds (down from a winter weight of 239, lol) - want to cut to around 200 (6' 3")
> 
> Time progression:
> 
> June 21st 2013 - 26:30
> July 19th 2013 - 24:53
> October 18 2013 - 23:44
> March 16th 2014 - 22:35
> March 21st 2014 - 22:39
> October 3rd 2014 - 23:08_
> _May 17th 2015 - 22:15_



*September 11th 2015 - 21:25
*
*Down to 208 pounds, still trying to get sub 20 one day. Don't give up on your goals, they say!
*


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## ThePhilosopher

I had a hell of a summer semester at school and didn't have the time to dedicate to running and now I'm back to 80 minute 8 mile runs . I'll get back into it, trying to get sub-4 this year at the Houston Marathon is going to be tough with this kind of pacing.


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## Roland777

Goals:
330 bench.
500 squat.
500 dead.

Current maxes:
290 bench.
460 squat (albeit with oly bar and part bumper plates)
460*2 deadlift.


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## MemphisHawk

MemphisHawk said:


> _My goal is to run a 5K in under 20 minutes. I used to be able to 10 years ago and as of now I am generally close, but I haven't done it in a long time.
> 
> Currently a muscular 223 pounds (down from a winter weight of 239, lol) - want to cut to around 200 (6' 3")
> 
> Time progression:
> 
> June 21st 2013 - 26:30
> July 19th 2013 - 24:53
> October 18 2013 - 23:44
> March 16th 2014 - 22:35
> March 21st 2014 - 22:39
> October 3rd 2014 - 23:08
> May 17th 2015 - 22:15
> September 11th 2015 - 21:25
> _


_


April 3rd, 2017 - 19:41!!!

I never quit! Last night I finally got below 20 minutes on a 5K. Almost 4 years after I start my goal thread in here, haha. Also, I'm down close to my 200 lbs goal weight at 204lbs._


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## DistinguishedPapyrus

MemphisHawk said:


> April 3rd, 2017 - 19:41!!!
> 
> I never quit! Last night I finally got below 20 minutes on a 5K. Almost 4 years after I start my goal thread in here, haha. Also, I'm down close to my 200 lbs goal weight at 204lbs.





Man that's awesome. My PR that I just hit a week ago today is a 5k in 21:50, 4 mile in 28:38. I'm trying to shave the 4 mile down to 28:00 by January, I have another marathon to run then, hoping to finish it in 3:30:00.

I've been running for about 2 years, just recently got over an ankle sprain that was causing flare ups for about 6 months, so hopefully it's all improvement from here on.

Still really awesome though, a sub 20 5k is on my bucket list now for sure, I remember the first 5k I ever did was like 27-something...


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## DistinguishedPapyrus

Awesome run this morning too, conditions were great. A little humid but the temp made up for it. Fairly flat route too, total elevation gain was like 219 feet. I started with a 15 min warm up just brisk walking a little over a mile then started my Garmin and went for a timed 10k run. Hit an awesome 4 mile mark, sooo close to my goal time!!! But then started burning down a little for the remaining 2 miles, but still my best time for this distance.

Temp 56 deg
Humidity 75%

5k - 21:19
4m - 28:05!!!
10k - 45:25

After this run today, I'm certain I'll hit that 28:00 4 mile soon. The temps are starting rise as summer approaches so there's not many 56 degree mornings left this season. My times are gonna drop over the next few months as the hot humid mornings come in, but it's still good conditioning and cardio to get out there and do some miles. Looking for some big PR's this fall.


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## domsch1988

Ok, to explain my goals, i'd like to tell a bit of the way i already have behind me (massive amounts of non imperial measurements incoming )

I was always a bit overweight. From earliest childhood on. After starting a military career, i started with 110kg, lost 10 of that in the first 3 months of hard drill. After that my job moved me to administrative tasks which meant no movement and tons of unhealthy food. I quit the military after 2 years and got a job in the IT. This did not help with my weight. Nearly no movement, no sport in my free time, and the obligatory daily pizza with the colleagues worked my weight up to 135kg.
This was the point where i finally knew i needed to change something drastically. I started out with the whole30 program (no processed food, sugars, and oats and such). This brought me down to 115kg in 30 days. After getting to know my now future wife, who is a bit overweight herself, we switched our whole diet to paleo for over one and a half years.

After all of that, 6 months ago, i finally had reached my ideal weight of 85kg for the first time in my life. In the same time, i signed op for a gym membership. I quickly realized that i never did sports because i was doing the wrong sports. After 2 months of joining the gym it came to my mind that cardio is not for me. So i started lifting.
I'm now hooked on weight lifting for close to 8 months and am in the best shape i've ever been in. My weight is up to 90kg currently with around 15% bodyfat, which is fine 

Now on to the goals.
Last week i broke several PR's:
- 100kg Deadlift
- 40kg Overhead Press
- 300kg Rack Pull

My goals for this year:
- 100kg body weight without adding to much fat (i'm going for the hulk, not the six pack beach model look ) 15-20% bodyfat max
- 150kg Deadlift
- 500kg Rack Pull
- adding 3cm's on my Neck (currently at 42cm)

If any of the more experienced lifter want to chime in on how they attack building muscle mass fast, it would be greatly appreciated 
I wish everyone here the strength and motivation to reach their goals and a long and healthy life!


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## Jake

In the last 2 years of my desk job after college I gained a decent amount of weight. So I decided it was time to do something about it. 2 months ago I was close to 200 lbs. 

I've cut all drinks with sugar completely out of my diet. Stopped eating junk food as a whole, no more random unhealthy snacks. Smaller portions for my meals and drinking a lot more water. Working out 5-6 days a week for at least a half an hour a day. 

I'm now under 180 and seeing steady progress so I'm very pleased. Still have a way to go until my goal of 160 lbs (my college weight) but It's definitely been going well so far.


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## Anquished

Question for those who know about/done cuts before. Is it normal to lose ALOT of weight very quickly? In 2 weeks I lost 5kg.. I'd imagine some of that would be water retention?

I've been on 2000kCal with weightlifting 5x a week and running 4x with running being a mixture of HIIT and just jogging a few miles. 

Luckily I haven't gotten any weaker, I can still achieve the same weights/reps on all my lifts. However my mid section has definitely lost a decent chunk of fat.


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## MikeH

domsch1988 said:


> Now on to the goals.
> Last week i broke several PR's:
> - 100kg Deadlift
> - 40kg Overhead Press
> - 300kg Rack Pull
> 
> My goals for this year:
> - 100kg body weight without adding to much fat (i'm going for the hulk, not the six pack beach model look ) 15-20% bodyfat max
> - 150kg Deadlift
> - 500kg Rack Pull
> - adding 3cm's on my Neck (currently at 42cm)
> 
> If any of the more experienced lifter want to chime in on how they attack building muscle mass fast, it would be greatly appreciated
> I wish everyone here the strength and motivation to reach their goals and a long and healthy life!



Wait, so your deadlift is roughly 220 lbs, but your rack pull is 660? I'm not sure what you consider a rack pull, but my deadlift is 485 (220kg), and my rack pull is only 565 (256kg). I consider a rack pull to be right at the knees pulled to lockout. Not discrediting you, that's just a huge jump between your deadlift and rack pull weights. Unless I'm just doing rack pulls wrong. 

Haven't posted on here in a long time, as I've been busy preparing for deployment, and now I'm actually over here in Afghanistan. Currently finishing up my second round of 5/3/1 Off-season for Mass, and I love it, but my focus is about to change. I'm dead set on moving into the SOF (special operations) world, and my cardio is way too disgusting to do that. I recently read through Alex Viada's 'The Hybrid Athlete', and he offers some basic programming for people trying to focus on goals both in strength and endurance, so I'll be implementing his program for powerlifting and running a 5k. My best 5k is 23:30, and that's been a couple years, since I was fresh out of basic training and weighed about 15 lbs less, and was doing cardio every day.  My current mile time is 7:30. I'd like to get my 5k time around 20-21:00, mainly because I want to go to Ranger School, which requires a 40:00 5-mile. I'd like to be in the low to mid 30s. As far as lifting goes, though, I did hit some PRs this week. Hit a 185 strict press, 485 deadlift, and 290 bench press all at ~175 lbs BW. Squat will be tested on Sunday, but the last rep PR I hit was 405x5 in sleeves, so I'm definitely confident I'll beat my previous PR of 445, if even only by 5 lbs.

As for adding mass, domsch, I'm currently just eating like a fucking madman, as well as taking creatine and drinking 1-2 1,000 calorie shakes every day. All this is happening while my abs are (unintentionally) becoming more visible, and I'm slowly adding body weight. I got in country at 169 lbs, and I'm currently at 178. Goal is 200 by the end of deployment (Novemberish timeframe), so we'll see how it goes. If I stay on this upward trend, I can hit that and then some. The key for me has just been lifting heavy very frequently, though submaximally, as to prevent too much fatigue, eating a lot, running/biking, and operating in the sweltering Afghan heat all day. Not that that's very easily accessible from your end. 

So, to sum up my year-end goals:
200 lbs BW
500 squat
515 deadlift
315 bench
38:00 5-mile (to be improved upon thereafter)


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## MikeH

Not a single idea what happened tonight, but I ended up hitting a massive PR of 380x10 on squats. In OCP pants and combat boots, nonetheless. My last tested max was 465, and this puts my proposed max at 507, so I'm going to retest in a few weeks and see if I can plan my warmup progression a little better than last time and try to get close to that for a new 1RM.


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## MikeH

385x12 on squats. Not sure why I didn't trust 5/3/1 earlier.


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## AxeHappy

I finally cracked 400 on Farmer's Deadlift (That's a deadlift with Farmer's Handles) yesterday. Been chasing that milestone for a while.


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## MikeH

435x5 and 455x2 on squats.


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## Millul

Jeebus Mike, you're killing it!

Currently in dire physical conditions due to work, I'm trying not to loose too much before being able to train well again.

Goals from here to YE: get that elusive 140kg bench, get back to squat >180kg and DL>200kg.
I might as well get my nutrition in check and put some mass back on/loose some flab...!


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## will_shred

It seems like everyone here is looking for serious gains, when I'm just looking to get fit, and have been pretty frustrated with my lack of progress. Due to a shitty heart condition all I can do is bike, which I do around 2 hours a day, and a couple times a week I will actually get out on my bike and ride 20-30 miles with my friend. I've cut out almost all refined sugars, and a lot of empty calories in my diet from beer and other junk. My starting goal was to lose 10 pounds starting at 170, and I started really getting into it at the start of the summer. After about 3 months, I am way healthier, I feel it, but I don't look it, and I have dropped maybe 3 pounds. So I guess getting actually fit is the sort of thing that takes years of persistent work, who woulda thought? 

I'm highly motivated to keep going for a large number of reasons, mostly because I can't stand looking in the mirror. And I want to generally be healthy.


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## JohnIce

Pleasantly surprised right now  After about 8 years of gaining weight, despite cutting meat and eating more veggies, rawfood and whatnot the last 2 years with no results whatsoever, I decided 3 weeks ago to stop guessing and really go deep into researching diets and health. Totally redid my diet, started feeling better, so I bought a bathroom scale today and what do you know, I'd lost 5kg (11lbs) in these 3 weeks  I'm so happy at the moment! Finally something that works! And the food is not that bad.

So besides vitamin supplements I currently eat about two meals a day of scrambled eggs mushed together with either black beans, chick peas or frozen peas, topped with a couple of tomatoes, a heap of kale and baby spinach. Some pepper and spices, soy sauce and generally a dressing for flavour. I was skeptical about the soy and dressing, but according to my calculations I'm getting about half my daily calorie consumtion and judging by the results, I shouldn't worry from a weight perspective at least. It's worth noting that I (by accident really) rarely eat anything before at least 3 p.m, usually later, so those two meals are usually within 6-8 hours of each other. I didn't realize I was technically fasting by doing that, but I guess so.

My goal is to lose at least 5kg more, possibly 10kg. That actually seems doable now  After that I'll probably have to make some changes to keep that weight and preferably start gaining a little muscle, because my current diet seems like it would make me too skinny in the long run. I don't work out or exercise at all at the moment.


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## mongey

I've been back in the gym after 8 or so years not stepping in one. on my 5th week 

try to get there 4 times a week but some weeks can only make 3 with work , home life, music and a 2 year old 

no specific goal other than just to get fit again at 43 years old .I broke my leg real bad at 27. so Id say the last time I was really fit was 27.I have done stuff here and there but never really committed 

I'm lucky I'm tall and can hide weight but had blown out to 93kg last year.I grew up tall and super skinny 

first half of year cut out some bad eating and dropped to 89 and couldn't lose any more 

so now have cut out all booze during the week ,even at rehearsal , and hitting the gym. am at 86.5 at the moment and have allot more muscle definition coming allong where there was flub before 

doing a mix of cardio and weights . ,and in my 20's when I was going here and there I'd be able to push out 4 sets of 10 of 80kg on the bench . not that heavy I know but I only weighed 70kg at the time

so going to set a goal of being able to do the same


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## MikeH

Surprised myself recently with the strong desire to change lifting disciplines. For about 3 weeks now, I've been working on a transitional program from powerlifting to Olympic weightlifting. It's a bit of a double edged sword. On one hand, I'm feeling way more athletic, I walk out of the gym feeling energized and honestly a lot better about training. On the other, going from the loads that you see above to the loads I'm working with for snatch and clean and jerk can get slightly disheartening. When you deadlift 485 and then go to 205 for a clean and jerk, and only 175 for a snatch, looking at it from a powerlifting perspective kind of gets to you. Trying to remember that Oly lifting is far more technical and less focused on brute strength, as opposed to athletic finesse. So far, so good, though!



will_shred said:


> It seems like everyone here is looking for serious gains, when I'm just looking to get fit, and have been pretty frustrated with my lack of progress. Due to a shitty heart condition all I can do is bike, which I do around 2 hours a day, and a couple times a week I will actually get out on my bike and ride 20-30 miles with my friend. I've cut out almost all refined sugars, and a lot of empty calories in my diet from beer and other junk. My starting goal was to lose 10 pounds starting at 170, and I started really getting into it at the start of the summer. After about 3 months, I am way healthier, I feel it, but I don't look it, and I have dropped maybe 3 pounds. So I guess getting actually fit is the sort of thing that takes years of persistent work, who woulda thought?
> 
> I'm highly motivated to keep going for a large number of reasons, mostly because I can't stand looking in the mirror. And I want to generally be healthy.



To be honest, man, you aren't going to see a physical change too much without implementing weight training. Even guys who are professional bikers are very avid gym goers as well, so that part is very important. I would start very light, due to your heart condition, and get a basis established for what you can handle. Although lifting weights is primarily anaerobic, I assume your ability to ride for such long distances would suggest that your heart isn't terribly weak. Maybe speak with a physician and see what they suggest as far as weight training.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus

I still have not yet hit a 4 mile run in 28:00 or less, averaging around 30-31 because of the heat and humidity, but I have been steadily training throughout the summer for my second marathon in January. Still getting out 3 days a week and doing plenty of short distance runs, and slowly building my distance on long runs every other week. Training is increasing and getting more strict and focused, I’m within 90 days of race day. This past weekend I did 17 Miles, that is the second longest run I have done since I started. It was rough but felt good at the same time because I have been training very consistently since April. Temps are starting to drop, getting some cool mornings, means it’s time to start looking for PR’s.


----------



## MikeH

Switched my focus to the Oly lifts and have been making good progress on both. Finished up today with a 10lb PR on both snatch and clean & jerk, hitting 185lb and 225lb, respectively.


----------



## AxeHappy

Massive props. The Oly Lifts are fucking insane.


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## MikeH

I used to give CrossFit guys shit, then I watched Fittest On Earth and started following Mat Fraser. He was an Oly lifter for 10 years before he got into CrossFit and dude is seriously impressive. Saw him snatch 315 and c&j 375. Completely mind boggling.


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## AxeHappy

Naw, just because some CrossFitters used to do other things that made them awesome doesn't mean you have to stop shitting on CrossFit.


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## MikeH

It pains me to admit that I'm considering competing in the Open next year. Haha. I think CrossFit is a great platform when applied correctly. All of the operator guys I've worked with over here are crossfitters, and clearly it's working for them. I think the issue is that you get a bunch of beginners who want to compete in the Games, they start doing CrossFit, get 6 months in, take a weekend course to become a coach, and then it's just a domino effect of shit that leads to bad form and injuries. I think going into it with a solid base of fitness is really helpful and it can be used in a good way in certain cases. I'll always be a heavy lifter, but I need to build my endurance and GPP to advance to the next level in my career.


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## DistinguishedPapyrus

I DID IT!!!

4 miles under 28 minutes!

total time - 27:48
avg. pace - 6:57

All that summer training in the heat and humidity paid off.

Temp was 54 deg when I started. I just ran a loop in my neighborhood that's about 0.5 mile per lap with a 12 foot elevation change from highest point to lowest point. Began with 15 minute warm up of brisk walking mixed with a few short burst sprints, then started the 4 mile timed run. I focused on keeping my breathing in a rhythm by just breathing in through the nose for about 1 minute per mile, breath through the mouth the rest of the time. 4th mile got a little sloppy but I just got excited to see I was closing in on my target time and just kinda went for it. Awesome!!!


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## Anquished

I've been trying to increase my big 3 lifts so that my bench is 100kg, squat is 130kg and deadlift is 140kg for 5 reps each. So far I'm on 90kg bench, 120kg squat and 125kg deadlift. My squat and deadlifts are flying up but my bench press is just NOT shifting. I'm hitting it twice a week now with different rep ranges and throwing in pauses to see if that'll make a difference but so far progress has been very slow...


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## DistinguishedPapyrus

After doing a few goals this year such as a 4 mile under 28:00, and completing a second marathon, I've also been inspired by the 5k under 20:00 progression that is logged in the previous pages of this thread by MemphisHawk. So I'm chasing that goal myself. My current PR on the 5k is 21:19, but for a long time I hovered around 22:30 ish... just this past summer I was able to hit the PR. My short term goal is simply to do 21, but eventually 20. We'll see how it goes...


----------



## DistinguishedPapyrus

Hit a new PR... well... on the treadmill. 
21:15

But usually when I hit a PR on treadmill it means I will probably be able to do it soon on the streets.


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## Mathemagician

Been in the gym like 5 times this month. Every time I got the chance. I need a few days to recover each time, not because I’m going ham or anything but because I’m that out of shape. But still. Smoked every month since back in like 2012. I’ll take it.


----------



## gnoll

I've set some goals for this year, which is a first for me, but I think it could help keep my motivation and focus up, and make things a bit more fun in general. I want to increase my bench by 15 kg (should be doable since I'm kind of new to bench), my deadlift by 20 kg (this will be hard, but any progress I make here I'll be happy about), and my weighted pull-up 1rm by 5 kg (could be pretty hard but hopefully doable). And... writing this I feel like I probably shouldn't neglect my legs as much as I do right now so I'm just gonna say right now that I want to be able to squat 5 reps with 100 kg! That'll put me to work...

Right now though my main goal or focus is to do a spring season cut so that I'll hopefully be in really good shape by March/April or so. I look forward to seeing how that's gonna turn out since I've never really done a cut before. Hopefully I won't just look skinny.


----------



## KnightBrolaire

I got fucking fat over the last year due to my own laziness. I'm going running at least a couple days a week now so that should help a bit, but I really have to get back into the gym and start doing oly lifts. I was so damn strong doing oly lifts in conjunction with my old lifting routine.


----------



## Anquished

I'm currently doing something called GrenadeFit8. Basically it's an 8 week fat loss program with an online coach, nutrition and training plan provided. 2 weeks in and I've lost 8ibs and slimmed down quite noticeably. 6 more weeks to go!


----------



## Furtive Glance

My gym has an entrance scan card thing to keep track of workouts. #1,500 today. Was a really good workout, too.


----------



## gnoll

Update to my goals/progress!!

First, a revision:
I formed a squat goal. I'm scrapping that. I'm not doing squats. I'm not good at squats, I don't like doing squats, and if I don't do them I can focus more on my deadlifting, which I enjoy more, even though I'm pretty shit at that too. My leg training will be deadlifts supplemented by Bulgarian split squats, leg extensions and leg curls. I feel like that is well enough. I don't even want huge legs anyway. Leg training is overrated.

Deadlifts update:
I'm pretty bad at this, I think it's because I'm kind of a feather-weight guy with very short arms. I'm scared of going heavy because of form breakdown, but I try to do a bit of deadlifting every time I'm at the gym. Progress is questionable.

Bench press update:
Going pretty well. Today I benched my own bodyweight 10 times, which is a personal record for me. I feel like I'm doing progress here definately.

Pull-up update:
I'm smashing it. This is my best lift by far. I was made to do stuff like this, not squatting/deadlifting. I'm hitting some kind of personal record most times I'm at the gym. Today I did 9 reps with 25 kg on the weight belt. I looked through my training journal and a year ago my working sets were 4 reps with 20 kg extra.

Oh, and my cut is going... okay I think. I've lost maybe 1 kg? Maybe 1.5? Not a lot but honestly I'm not really in any rush and it's probably better to take it slower rather than faster. I can see a little bit more muscle definition in the mirror. Adonis belt coming in, serratus more pronounced. Abs still not very visible.


----------



## MikeH

Been a while since I posted here. Since my last update, I’ve “downgraded” from using wraps and a heavy duty belt, down to sleeves and a velcro Rogue weightlifting belt. I’ve started incorporating Olympic lifts into my routine (snatch, clean and jerk), and my current numbers are

Squat: 475
Bench: 290
Deadlift: 485
Strict press: 195x2
Snatch: 195
Clean and Jerk: 235
Clean: 255

I’ve been bulking up the past couple of months and I’m sitting around 188 lbs. Trying to lean out a bit this month, as I’ve got a beach vacation planned with the family at the end of May, and I want to show my brothers up.


----------



## mongey

been sticking to my 3 times a week in the gym since August .still really enjoying . life gets in the way of doing more but still working hard when I'm in there 

. set a goal at start of the year goal to be benching 90kg by my birthday , which is in 6 days .And I loaded it up yesterday and got 4 reps in which I'm happy with 

plus I was the only person in the gym at 430am when I did it so had to be reserved . def had another couple in me if I had a spot 

now my goal is 100kg by 22nd august . which is 12 months since I got my ass back in there


----------



## Anquished

Been working on pushing my core lifts up, so far I have:

Squat - 135kg
Bench - 100kg
Deadlift - 150kg
Overhead Press - 60kg

My OHP is lagging a little so I'm working on trying to break through that plateau. Everything else seems to be flying up at the moment. My goal is to add another 20-25kg on each of my core lifts by August.


----------



## Furtive Glance

Furtive Glance said:


> My gym has an entrance scan card thing to keep track of workouts. #1,500 today. Was a really good workout, too.



1,600 on Wednesday! #nolife


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## mongey

my 1 year anniversary of getting back in the gym is in just under 4 weeks , 22 Aug 

had a goal for a long time to be able to do an unassisted 100kg bench on that day . up to 97.5 which I can do unspotted for 2 reps .I reckon I could do the 100 now but I go super early int he morning and never have a spot as I'm mostly there alone . so need to toe the line safely 

so should be able to go a little past my goal with 3 weeks left


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## Anquished

I've got my first Amateur Powerlifting Competition in 2 weeks and I'm starting to get nervous. Any advice from anyone here who competes?


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## Andrew Lloyd Webber

Successfully posted in this thread. Now to reward myself.


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## mongey

had to delay it a 4 weeks after I had a minor shoulder strain. but punched out my PB 2 single rep sets of 100kg on bench un spotted the other day . felt good to hit it after 12 months


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## BrailleDecibel

Over the course of the last four years, through cardio, better dieting, and luck I suppose, I have managed to lose roughly 85 lbs. from my all-time worst weight of 440 lbs. I still have a lot of work to do, but I am feeling better and better every day I keep with this to rise to the challenge of becoming healthy.


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## gnoll

I forgot about my goals shortly after I formed them. Whatever. Currently my only goals are a 200% bodyweight chin up and having an aesthetic looking physique.


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## MikeH

Reviving this old thread to share, and to hopefully see some more progress from you gents. I was heavily brainwashed into thinking that powerlifting was the ultimate sport, and bodybuilding was "all show, no go". Since switching to bodybuilding, I've not only remained as strong in my 1 rep maxes, but I'm also way leaner, and my work capacity has greatly increased.










I'm going to keep riding this out and see where I end up. I'd like to get comfortable enough to compete on stage within the next couple of years. At the weight I am now (180ish), I feel like I could start a hardcore diet and get into natural physique, though the endgame is to get to classic bodybuilding (half-natty, post-military service).


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## Anquished

Nice work man, that's some impressive results there!

I'd love to get a better physique at some point but its way down on my list of priorities. Currently working towards hitting a decent equipped multiply lifting total next year before switching back to Raw and taking on the guy that beat me at Euros this year. I could try and bulk/cut between 80-90kg but I'm worried on the impact that'll have on my strength.


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## MikeH

Anquished said:


> Nice work man, that's some impressive results there!
> 
> I'd love to get a better physique at some point but its way down on my list of priorities. Currently working towards hitting a decent equipped multiply lifting total next year before switching back to Raw and taking on the guy that beat me at Euros this year. I could try and bulk/cut between 80-90kg but I'm worried on the impact that'll have on my strength.


You could always try to recomp and maintain your current weight while dropping BF%. I mean, logically, more muscle mass at the same weight = more potential for strength. BUT, it sounds like you have a good plan. I’ve never fucked with multi, or even single-ply, but I have a handful of buddies who made the switch from raw and really enjoy it. In fact, one of them had the top multi-ply total in the US for the 132 class. May still have it, actually. Luke Starnes is his name.


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## Seabeast2000

What are you guys doing for protein intake while lifting or doing strength training ? 1g/lb body weight? Less?


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## Anquished

MikeH said:


> You could always try to recomp and maintain your current weight while dropping BF%. I mean, logically, more muscle mass at the same weight = more potential for strength. BUT, it sounds like you have a good plan. I’ve never fucked with multi, or even single-ply, but I have a handful of buddies who made the switch from raw and really enjoy it. In fact, one of them had the top multi-ply total in the US for the 132 class. May still have it, actually. Luke Starnes is his name.



Yeah I've been discussing the idea with my coach and he thinks I'll be risking too much strength if I try cut too big so for now I'm going to just stick with my original plan. I tried a bench shirt last month and it's a totally different ball game. Bar path is so different and the amount of pressure build-up in your head is excruciating but sending 40-50kg more than you normally would back to the rack feels great. Luke Starnes isn't someone I'm familiar with, I'll have a look on Instagram for him. 



The906 said:


> What are you guys doing for protein intake while lifting or doing strength training ? 1g/lb body weight? Less?



I tend to go slightly more. So for me at 86kg I go for 200g per day.


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## KnightBrolaire

Anquished said:


> Yeah I've been discussing the idea with my coach and he thinks I'll be risking too much strength if I try cut too big so for now I'm going to just stick with my original plan. I tried a bench shirt last month and it's a totally different ball game. Bar path is so different and the amount of pressure build-up in your head is excruciating but sending 40-50kg more than you normally would back to the rack feels great. Luke Starnes isn't someone I'm familiar with, I'll have a look on Instagram for him.
> 
> 
> 
> I tend to go slightly more. So for me at 86kg I go for 200g per day.


most studies show that anything over .8 per kg is a waste if you're trying to maintain muscle mass


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## Anquished

KnightBrolaire said:


> most studies show that anything over .8 per kg is a waste if you're trying to maintain muscle mass



For maintaining muscle sure, but I thought we were talking about building?


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## MikeH

KnightBrolaire said:


> most studies show that anything over .8 per kg is a waste if you're trying to maintain muscle mass


For the average person, yes. If you’re putting your body through immense stress by lifting heavy weight, you need more protein to aid in recovery. Therefor anything from .8g to 1.2g per lb is sufficient. I don’t know the conversion to kilos, but at 175 lbs, I would be fine in taking in 210g a day.


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## KnightBrolaire

Anquished said:


> For maintaining muscle sure, but I thought we were talking about building?


 you could do 1g per kg for hypertrophy, but over that is typically a waste of time according to most of the studies I've read. I've seen one study that claim you can go as high as 1.6g per kg if you're doing extremely intense training, but that is at the max upper end of intake.


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## Anquished

KnightBrolaire said:


> you could do 1g per kg for hypertrophy, but over that is typically a waste of time according to most of the studies I've read. I've seen one study that claim you can go as high as 1.6g per kg if you're doing extremely intense training, but that is at the max upper end of intake.



My coach has always prescribed between 1-1.2 for strength and muscle building. But over that isn't necessarily a waste as it's still contributing towards your total calories. Which if you're looking to build, optimally you'd want to be in a surplus. Plus I prefer to go for a higher protein intake when thinking about calories as the protein sources I tend to gravitate to carry way more outside nutritional benefit than going slutty with junk food.


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## Seabeast2000

I need to brush up on a better GetterinYa strategy for that amount of protein. Chugging 4-6 25g whey shakes a day is a bit tedious plus eggs/meat/greek yogurt, etc. Me frame can't handle the blooooat captain!


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## Anquished

The906 said:


> I need to brush up on a better GetterinYa strategy for that amount of protein. Chugging 4-6 25g whey shakes a day is a bit tedious plus eggs/meat/greek yogurt, etc. Me frame can't handle the blooooat captain!



I tend to have 2 scoops in my shakes instead of one, although sometimes that can have AWFUL consequences.


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## Seabeast2000

Anquished said:


> I tend to have 2 scoops in my shakes instead of one, although sometimes that can have AWFUL consequences.



Good point, I have something stuck in my head that the body can only process x grams/hour and the rest goes to waste. 30g? Maybe I'll just up the scoops.


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## Anquished

The906 said:


> Good point, I have something stuck in my head that the body can only process x grams/hour and the rest goes to waste. 30g? Maybe I'll just up the scoops.



Yeah there is a limit on protein synthesis, I'm not that clued up on it myself. But from what I've been told by my coach, unless you're a peak level athlete don't worry too much about it. It's not going to hurt going over and like I said earlier, you'll find it easier to hit your calorie target. Especially if you're drinking them.


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## KnightBrolaire

The906 said:


> Good point, I have something stuck in my head that the body can only process x grams/hour and the rest goes to waste. 30g? Maybe I'll just up the scoops.


limit is 20-40g from what i've read


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## MikeH

So, I had surgery on Thursday to remove some unsightly lipomas (fatty tumors) from various parts of my body. They ended up finding a lymph node in my groin that was a little concerning, so they had to get a bit more invasive for that one, which put me down for a while. But, once I get back to it, I’m going to start a fairly hefty bulk. Well...I’ve already started since I’m not doing anything else.  But I may try to see if I can get to a point where I’d consider an amateur show next year. Likely physique, as I don’t think I’ll be big enough to break into classic bb just yet.


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## Anquished

Hows everybody doing? Happy new year (I know its late..) 'n all that!

Got my powerlifting qualifier in a couple of weeks, hoping for a 200/130/250 finish. More than enough to qualify but I've super determined to finally hit a 200kg squat on the platform w/o sleeves or wraps.


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## lurè

Did some PR before the end of the year and restarted my program this month. 100kg bench, 175kg DL, 155kg Squat. 

I'm just doing it for fun but I was craving those 100kg bench for months.


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## Drew

This isn't going to mean much to most of you, but one of my cycling goals this season is to break 4.0 watts per kilogram at Functional Threshold Power (defined as the maximum output I can hold for an hour, and usually determined as 95% of your 20-minute max). I'm currently sitting at just under 3.7w/kg with a FTP of 310 watts and a weight just over 84kg, so I need to either add 26w or shed about 6 1/2kg, or somewhere in between (both are achievable, but the later would be bringing me down towards the lower bound of what I could realistically achieve at 6', and the former is not easy to do, last season I lost some ground after breaking my collarbone when I got cut off by a car but I managed a 7w improvement at FTP, so doing much better than double that is going to take some really strenuous training). 

I'm working on a Zwift 4-week FTP booster training plan right now with a goal of at least picking up 10w at FTP there, hopefully better, and while weight is tough to tackle by exercise alone over the winter, when the summer rolls around and I start doing regular long rides I'm hopeful that I can drop 3-4kg by midyear simply through training. 

(for the non-cyclists, these numbers make me a stronger-than-average rider for a serious cyclist, but still well off pros - Bradley Wiggens was estimated to have put out a 455w average during his 1-hour record, which is right around what you'd expect of a guy winning the Tour de France, and a world-class pro is probably in the 6.5w/kg range at FTP. An untrained but athletic adult probably starts around 1.5-2w/kg, and depending on who's data set you trust my current FTP expressed as w/kg would probably peg me as a Cat 4 cyclist, possibly inching into Cat 3, so a mid-tier competitive cyclist. Probably top third, targeting top quarter, of cyclists serious enough about performance to use some sort of power metering equipment, using Cycling Analytics data.


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## Spicypickles

I’ve never ventured into this forum....

about a year ago I was 215 or so, and I just didn’t care for the way it looked on my frame (I’m 6’ - 6’1”). I listen to several podcasts and kept hearing about the keto thing so I tried it out and got down to about 170 within a year, and I actually felt great! 

I went on a trip to NYC and was lax on my diet (very) and I’ve jumped back to 185 so I’ve started it again. This time I’ll be hitting the gym though, lose all the fat, then build some mass up. I’m more looking to just be cut as opposed to bulking up but that’s the path going forward.


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## Drew

I think if you've already taken the weight off, the best thing you can do is just adding exercise back into your life and making it a habit. It can be the gym, or it can be some sort of sport - cardio's great for keeping weight off, and if you can get into running (I don't really enjoy it but I try every now and then and two years ago I ran a half marathon and found I didn't totally hate the long slow distance runs, so maybe there's hope) it's pretty cheap to start. If not, I'll preach the gospel of cycling and try to convert you as well. \m/


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## TedEH

+1 for cycling. I don't think of myself as being in-shape, but biking into the office a few times a week definitely makes me feel a lot better most of the time.

I don't know that I'm a great fit for the kinds of goals in this thread - but I was pretty happy with myself recently in terms of regaining some lost upper body strength. 

My slightly long-ish story:
As far back as 2016, I was a lot heavier than I should have been. I've posted parts of this story on this forum before. I was the kind of heavy where if someone knocked on the door, I would get out of breath just getting up to answer the door. I don't know exactly the heaviest I've been, but when I started keeping track, I was around 310lbs. For the above reason (and some others, not too important), I decided a while back that I had to change things. I realized that I could tolerate walking long-ish distances as a form of exercise, so I made a point of being on my feet for at least an hour every day, and slowly cut back what I was eating. It worked, simply as that, and I ended up dropping a ton of weight really quickly.

The problem, though, is that I dropped that weight very quickly, and stayed in diet mode for too long. Fast forward to maybe a year and a half ago, and I was hovering just under 150lbs, which I think counts as right on the edge of underweight for someone my height. I don't know what "technically" counts as underweight, but I know that during this process, I lost a ton of strength. So, noticing that things went a little out of whack, another re-adjustment to diet and exercise habits put me on the track I'm on now.

I actually very quickly re-gained some weight, but then it sort of just.... stayed there? It settled just under 170 and has been around that for almost a year now. But while the number hasn't changed much, the upper body strength has been a much more gradual change. I had picked up one of those pull-up bars you can jam in a door frame, with the thought that in the winter, while it's too cold to just walk around, I can try to do some upper body movement instead. At 145-ish lbs, I couldn't lift myself on that bar at all.

All that leading to the actual progress part of the story that I wanted to get to:
I recently finally reached a point where I can do two or three pull ups on this bar - which doesn't sound like much, but I could barely do a couple of pushups a year ago. That moment of going "OH SH*T I _can_ lift myself on this thing" all of a sudden is very satisfying. For someone who was in as bad shape as I was, I'm very happy with this.


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## bostjan

Sorry that this post adds nothing productive to the conversation, so feel free to skip it...

I was never really in "great" shape, but I packed on quite a bit of weight after I slowed down my lifestyle getting married and such. I was trying to lose weight for the last 4ish years. Tried working out at the gym until I thought my bones were going to detach from my ligaments, all winter, one year, and lost about 1 kg (but got a lot stronger). Tried calorie counting the next winter and somehow gained 1 kg (the less I ate, the less I pooped), and I just always felt tired. Last winter, I ate only green leafy vegetables for lunch every day and no change at all, except my stomach started hurting a lot. This winter, I went on meds to manage my blood sugar better and lost 7 kg in a couple of weeks. I don't eat much sugary food, but I am really weak around bread and rice and stuff. I guess it's a sign I'm getting old.


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## Spicypickles

Spicypickles said:


> I’ve never ventured into this forum....
> 
> about a year ago I was 215 or so, and I just didn’t care for the way it looked on my frame (I’m 6’ - 6’1”). I listen to several podcasts and kept hearing about the keto thing so I tried it out and got down to about 170 within a year, and I actually felt great!
> 
> I went on a trip to NYC and was lax on my diet (very) and I’ve jumped back to 185 so I’ve started it again. This time I’ll be hitting the gym though, lose all the fat, then build some mass up. I’m more looking to just be cut as opposed to bulking up but that’s the path going forward.



welp, already back down to 175-ish. Water weight and all that, fluctuates a couple pounds. 

to those suggesting cycling - oh yea! I love cycling however I’m kinda forced into a stationary bike situation but I go hard on those. I follow Brendan Schaub on Instagram and his hitting over 1000 calories on rides inspired me to do it.


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## Cabinet

Since the quarantine I took the time to get into calisthenics.
-Dropped 12 lbs since March (Sitting at around 160 at the moment).
-Weighted pull ups went from 1 to 5, +10 lbs
-Weighted dips increased from 2 to 6, +10 lbs

I can now do 5 pistol squats per leg. They look like garbage, but it'll get there.

I do miss the simplicity of getting stronger with adding weight. I know you can increase the difficulty of exercises, but they fatigue your body differently. Migrating to gymnast rings? The push up is harder yes, but so is stabilizing your core, and your form might breakdown prior to actually fatiguing the muscles you want to target.


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