I want to give you guys a collective thank you, everyone that has been supportive over the years I truly appreciate it. Iron Dwarf, it’s just not my style to fold when things get tough especially when it comes to something I enjoy and am passionate about, the whole idea is to keep getting better even if itâ??s a slow process.
I would also like to say a few things:
I am slightly embarrassed looking at my old pictures. I was a delusional kid back in the day.
Do I regret gaining all of the fat that I did? No. I think it was necessary for me to get that out of shape to realize what I need to do for my body nutritionally now. It made me smarter because it was a challenge that presented itself and I found the solution.
I do however want to encourage people who might look at this thread and say that I think it is completely unnecessary to get out of shape in your bodybuilding endeavors, especially get to a point where you look like me in the beginning of this thread. I personally will never lose sight of my abs the rest of the time I am training.
There is a common theme on this website that basically encourages people to bulk beyond reasonable measures. I don’t think people realize how much 10 lbs of muscle is and that if you can gain 10 lbs of muscle in a year you’re doing great as an intermediate and especially as a more advanced trainee.
Nutrition is the key to success in bodybuilding. Training is easy, nutrition gets more complicated. My views have done a complete 180, because when I first began training I was under the impression that weight training was 90% of my results and nutrition was the other 10%…Not so.
I have dropped 40 or so lbs from my heaviest weight and my arms have stayed the same size, which has led me to believe that on a very slow, controlled cut, I’ve been able to add muscle.
In that picture above I weigh 218 lbs and that’s after 2 large Easter dinner meals. I was 213 that morning. I am significantly stronger both by 1 rep max strength and endurance at 213 pounds than I was when I was pushing 260.
You need to train hard and eat well. You won’t get anywhere with your training if you can’t figure these things out on your own. Quitting is something that I won’t do. So when I was receiving shit for looking fat, it was just motivation to keep going stronger. I am very dedicated to the point where I mentally cannot fathom not training or eating correctly. If my training slips up, or if I eat not according to how I would like I get very proactive in correcting that because I feel like shit when things are not in order.
Lean gains FTMFW (for the mother fucking win). Ultimately you are doing well if you feel comfortable with yourself. I didnâ??t, I was so sure that the eat everything in sight diet would make me jacked that I lost site of the ultimate goal. To look good year round, to be strong, and healthy. That is who I am now.
