Doin any cardio?

6 months is my goal (though I plan on going indefinitely) for an actual body transformation but I'd like to see some progress along the way of course...maybe at 3 months it'll be noticeable. Either way I guess I can just use this thread to keep on ongoing blog on the progress.

I can definitely tell a difference. Look at the thickness of your upper chest and your shoulders in the side profile pic.

Dude, just keep at it. Are you doing compound lifts and free weights?

Dude, instead of hack squats do a real barbell squat, even if you cannot do much weight. Just go really low and explode out of the bottom using your ass and hamstrings. Not only will this get rid if the chicken legs, it will give you a huge boost in fat loss and also overall testosterone which will make all of your muscle grow faster.

You don't think doing heavy squats will make your body produce more test?

Wait, you do all that stuff each time you go to the gym? Oh shit. Would it be possible to go 5 times a week for less time?

Could be. Either way they rock.

Dude, instead of hack squats do a real barbell squat, even if you cannot do much weight. Just go really low and explode out of the bottom using your ass and hamstrings.

(though I think they recommended regular squats, no hack squats).

That's how low you're supposed to go with squats? On the hack squat machine, I go to 90º at my knees and back up, it's hard a fuck but I really feel it in my quads. I don't really it does much for my hamstrings or ass...but that's where the incline leg press comes in on Fridays...with that I go where my thighs are almost touching my chest and I really feel that in my hamstrings and ass.

I see zero difference between those two pics, except a lack of body hair.

]I see some minor differences. But lifting takes more time.

Also, I suspect your diet is slowing you down. 8 weeks should have gotten you a lot of weight down. What have you lost?

If I go to 1000-1100 per day, I don't think I can still meet the protein needs. As is with 1500 calories I get about 145g of protein per day.

I usually do take a day or two (usually Saturday and/or Sunday) where I am not as strict with my diet, I'll have one "bad" meal.

But what are you actuall doing when you work out?

If you can run 50 @ 5 miles, get off the damn eliptical. If your body can take the impact elipticals are normally a way to slack.

Honestly I think you're not pushing yourself enough.

That said, 8 weeks still isn't that long. But for how few calories your on I would have expected to see more results that a 1/2 inch in your belly and no weight loss.

How much are you "cheating" on weekends and the bad meal? Is the one "bad" meal 1200 calories?

did you just eat 40oz of chicken all day or what?

not the diet for you... you arent looking to lose and if you had that kind of high protein diet youd gas so fast out on the ice you wouldnt even know which way was up.

]

Lunch I had 12oz of lean chcien breast
330cals, 75Gs

The zone thing is fucking retarded.

The zone thing is fucking retarded.

Why not the Weight control (Fitness/Fat burn) zone? With the hiking, wearing my heart rate monitor, I average 125 bpm over 50 minutes with a max of 160 bpm.

Agreed...ditch the heart rate monitor!

By anaerobic I'm simply saying you need to get your body to the point of where your heart is beating fast and you're sucking wind.

OB1 is right....you're overthinking it. Get out there and make yourself suffer...it's he only way.

You guys are more hardcore than most on here and while I agree with you in principle, what I've learned about myself over years and years is that I do better at a slower pace than at a faster pace because I simply don't do it. I know I should, but I hate it and end up giving up. I just work better if I can do something I like at least somewhat and it takes 6 months to do vs doing something I hate and doing it in 3 months.

I'll be upfront and I know you guys will do a but as I type this, I'm on the elliptical and my heart rate is at 132 bpm but I don't hate it. Sure I could be on the treadmill and be at 158 bpm but I would do that for about two days and stop, I've tried it.

Instead of hiking your hike, jog it. When you're out of breath and feel shitty, I would alternate resting and powering through it - rinse/repeat.

looking good man. It's a very obvious improvement

It's not that running is all that tiring, that isn't what I don't like about it. What I don't like is that I'm panting the whole time and hating life. I get a little dizzy...time seems to move backwards, I look at the clock literally every 45 seconds and it feels like 5 minutes.

You guys are more hardcore than most on here and while I agree with you in principle, what I've learned about myself over years and years is that I do better at a slower pace than at a faster pace because I simply don't do it. I know I should, but I hate it and end up giving up. I just work better if I can do something I like at least somewhat and it takes 6 months to do vs doing something I hate and doing it in 3 months.

I'll be upfront and I know you guys will do a but as I type this on my iPad, I'm on the elliptical and my heart rate is at 132 bpm but I don't hate it. Sure I could be on the treadmill and be at 158 bpm but I would do that for about two days and stop, I've tried it.

I've lost 55lbs before so I'm not totally new at this.

It's not that running is all that tiring, that isn't what I don't like about it. What I don't like is that I'm panting the whole time and hating life. I get a little dizzy...time seems to move backwards, I look at the clock literally every 45 seconds and it feels like 5 minutes.

And I didn't say I'm not committed to results, I'm saying that I think there can be a middle ground where it takes longer to get the results vs all or nothing that many people on here seem to preach.
Right now I'm doing 1200 calories and the 3 days liftting & 3 days elliptical/hiking. I'll see how that goes over the next 4 weeks and adjust then if needed.

It's not that running is all that tiring, that isn't what I don't like about it. What I don't like is that I'm panting the whole time and hating life. I get a little dizzy...time seems to move backwards, I look at the clock literally every 45 seconds and it feels like 5 minutes.

You have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

id also switch it up and walk the downhill..run the up hill. running downstairs/down a hill is a lot harder on your muscles and not necessarily in a good way.

I agree with this. I run a lot of hills, uphill might be harder in terms of work, but the downhill jarring/pounding bothers me more.

its harder on your muscles/over extends them...blah . ill try to find a link tomorrow.

I eat the fuck out of these on weeks I'm too lazy to cook the chicken. Thawed out in the fridge and 2min in the microwave and done. 98% fat free, nearly 4oz in every fillet.
http://www.tyson.com/Products/Grilled-And-Ready-Fully-Cooked-Frozen-Chicken-Breast-Fillets.aspx


24Gs and 110cals per fillet. Drown 2-3 of these....6 of them is under 700cals and right around 150Gs. I eat about that and a couple shakes minimum a day. That is about 900cals and 200G's and I still have a couple 100cals to spare when I'm cutting. When not cutting I still wrap this same list around more cals...

HX, don't gauge your weight from evening to morning after a sleep.

I don't do that, did I give the impression that I do?

I do weigh myself every day, but always first thing in the morning when I wake up (around 8:30am), naked, and after a piss.

Bought one last night and weighed a larger and smaller piece....3.95 and 3.45 (for lunch just now).

Downhill requires more muscles. Eccentric contractions.

Now your seeing your rewards? & chins is good. I seem to have plateued at 7 pulls and it's annoying the piss out of me.

Oh, and from your side I can see you're either sucking in or suffering from weak core.

I was able to do 8 today, felt good because that was one that messed with my mind...not even being able to do one when I started, felt "unmanly" in a way. I've been able to add an additional one every Monday more or less, I'm sure I'll plateau here sooner or later.

I knew I should have touched on this as someone was bound to mention it. My wife said the same thing, she thought I was sucking it in but I'm not, that's just how I look when I stand up straight.

So it's because of a weak core? How can you tell...like what specifically are you looking at? What should I do to improve this area? All I'm doing that is working out the core area now are squats.

Hmm...I have never done planks, had no idea what they even were until I did a search on Google which brought up this YouTube video. Good video to follow?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiA9j-dR0oM

Seems awfully easy, though I've never even tried it so I'll probably be surprised. So just 3x 1min? Once per week or more?

Edit: Ok, so I just did one and crap that's not easy. I was able to do 1 min. but was shaking by the end. Really felt it in my core area but also my arms were getting pretty tired from it. I doubt I can do 3x 1 min but I'll do how much I can.

Edit again: Alright, so I was able to do 3 but I was shaking and breathing heavy like a mofo, who would of thought something so simple can give you that good of a work out.

So how many times per week should I be doing this and when should I increase the time, or should I increase the reps?

I agree that squats and deads and some weighted situps are really all I'm needing to work those areas.



BUT...when I was doing pullups I just added weight and tried for one more each week. When I reached 10 pullups I added weight. When I quit doing them a month ago I had 35lbs on there with 6 pullups (starting another process to 10). For what its worth.

I'm pretty sure Val's been told 100 times to do the big lifts but he still seems to focus on leg press, etc. I figured I'd at least offer him some tools to complement his routine.

I do squats as well, not just leg press. Squats on Monday and leg press on Friday. I don't know, I like doing the leg press and feel it works my glutes the best.

dunno man, from the front shot, you actually look heaver at week 12 vs. week 4.

Yeah, when Art advised 3x1 I was like, more! He said go for 3x2min. That first day I did 3x75 seconds and I was dieing.
I'm upto 3x100 on a good day or 3x90seconds most. And I still hate them. Murderously harder than they look. Shaking, breathing hard, etc.

Hey man, thanks for the sore ribs today...feels like I got punched in both sides, wouldn't surprise me if they turn purple.

Thought I would feel sore more in my upper stomach area, but its my bottom most rib on each side that hurts like a mofo.

15lbs in 7 months? I mean, great you're getting there...but I'm curious as to why you could accomplish that in the first 4-8 weeks.

This. Not that it's the right way to go about doing things, but I could easily drop 10-15lbs in 2 weeks just doing a low carb/high protein diet like atkins.

15lbs in 7 months? I mean, great you're getting there...but I'm curious as to why you could accomplish that in the first 4-8 weeks.

What is? I lost a pound a day nearly for the first 2 weeks. 3 months concluded 40lbs.

Not everyone needs to be that hardcore though...

Don't forget that about 8-10 lbs of that is probably water.

Dude, you're not going to get that "lean" look until you build muscle. It's not like you're going to touch some heavy weights and your all of a sudden going to be this bulky dude, doesn't happen. You'll burn the remaining fat you have faster if you put on some lean mass.

I'm suprised that's 18.8%

Like you've said, you look soft.
Sure you're thinner. you want muscle. It's always been what you want.

My advice? for what little it's worth?
Do your S.S, stop ultra low calorie.
Don't go apeshit, but at least to maintenance level. I'm not sure why you ever worried about getting down to 175 while still not lifting hard, building some muscle. Why are you fixated on the scale, focus on how you feel and look. I'm sorry, but I feel like that's such a girl attitude. I've said it before and I'll say it again. height/weight doesn't tell you shit about how someone looks with their clothes off.

And Maybe OB1 can enlighten me too. Why if you're not obese, to cut down to some level before building muscle? Especially OB1 who cut down so much below his goal weight(right?) Wouldn't not yo-yoing have been less time, less stress on your body? Plus less extreme on your clothes fit?
I'm between you guys in weight/height and lean-ness and I focused on weights first. I feel like being strong was the priority, losing a few lbs(in total) is the end goal.

It's hard to find that sweet spot in your diet of bulking and not gaining fat. I haven't found it. Therefore it is 2 separate categories in my mind, and in reality. Even though you can do both. I dropped my weight rather quickly and felt better as a result. I'd do it again too. Although I'd prolly start lifting sooner than going to the bottom in weight before trying to grow in muscle. It's easier to monitor your diet when your fat is gone. Speaking from the POV of a newb trying to learn all of this in a sea of info that's good and bad.

People need to remember that most people in these shoes are ignorant. Therefore they don't have experience, knowledge or trust that any system works. So they find something and work it until they're comfortable and then try more. It's just human nature.

I need to pick H Street NW's brain a bit more...he seems to be the closest scenario to me (where he looked quite "soft" when he started his diet).

No you don't.

Damn, some of you guys nerd the fuck out over shit. Listen, lift heavy, eat, run, repeat.


That's it

I get the principles..it's just the details I get fuzzy about. I finally got the lifting part down...now the eating part, do I keep staying at ~1400 calories/day...do I increase?

Honestly the workload of the lifting seems very light right now but Im going to follow the program and if it says go gradual, that is what I am going to do...but it doesn't feel like I'm doing all this work where I need more calories.

Yes, it's easy at first. the first 2 weeks are about form and the little muscles you don't even feel. It is easy, definitely. It's partially recovery from your old "program".
You haven't been doing barbell bench, proper back squats, or deads have you?

By week 3-4 you'll start to feel like you're working abit, but still waiting. even near your old PR you won't be working much
week 4-5 you'll realize your old PR wasn't that hard afterall.
Week 5-7 you'll be damn, I'm a stud! I might need new clothes, my shoulders, chest and quads rock and my waist looks nice(not small, but leanish)
Week 8-whatever you'll be like, fuck these are hard
week whatever you'll have a reset maybe a few.

I get the principles..it's just the details I get fuzzy about. I finally got the lifting part down...now the eating part, do I keep staying at ~1400 calories/day...do I increase?

Honestly the workload of the lifting seems very light right now but Im going to follow the program and if it says go gradual, that is what I am going to do...but it doesn't feel like I'm doing all this work where I need more calories.

Yeah, your biceps look to have a bit of muscle in that second picture. But most noticeable are your traps and deltoids.

Didn't realize you were 6'1.

If you can get yourself around 160, I think you'd be a lot happier with your appearance. Then build off of that. I think that if you went with #2, you'd be frustrated quite often.

Whoa whoa whoa...abs? Yea right, in my wildest dreams.

I think we are both talking about if I get to 160, I would get rid of those flab rolls you see in the bent over picture above. Honestly though I don't even know if 160 would do it, that's only another 15 lbs.

common that cant be your goal...

just keep at it.

It's funny how goals and expectations can change. I thought for sure I'd be happy at 170 when I was 210. Then I got to 170, and even 165 isn't enough. my lowest has been 158 and that still wasn't cutting it. Currently at 167 and plan to get to 155 and I'm sure I'll want to be 150 once I get there (Im 5'7).

Here's an example. The goal in triathlon is to be as lean as possible, while having the lower body and core strength to be fast on the bike and run. The current world Ironman champ is.5'11 and 150 pounds.



and previous champ 5'11 and 171.




I guess my point is that every body is different and one weight is not universal.

Those guys look just as silly with their huge legs and bird chests as the dude-bros at the gym with their huge pegs and pigeon legs.

yeah, but at least it's a functional silliness.

yeah, but at least it's a functional silliness.

Those goofy mouseover pics aren't working.

Makes sense...

Chest is a bitch...trust me. When you're genetically predisposed to small mass there, it's going to be a long struggle to gain. Everything around it will swell first, or at least it did for me, as my arms, back, shoulders and then chest seems to be the order of growth.

No offense, but I'm going to go ahead and offend you anyway.

Are you doing any bench?

Because you have no muscle there and I suspect you don't have a spotter to help you grow the numbers.

Muscle takes a while too. I have small pecks but they're growing slow. Get a spotter and lift heavy and be patient. Also...dips. Weighted dips.