Well it’s been a long and arduous seven months but it’s paid off so far. I’ve lost a total of thirty pounds so far while still retaining some decent muscle mass. I was up to 230 lbs. in the top two pictures but dropped to 200 lbs. in seven months. I’m happy that I’ve gotten this far but I’m not ready to call it quits yet, I have a little more fat I’d like to burn but with the Summer coming up I’d like to focus on putting some muscle on, maybe add a little definition.
I’m no longer embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit but I’d like to be proud while wearing one (while retaining my manly chest hair } ). So far I wake up every morning, eat a handful of almonds and walnuts, strap on 5 lb. weights to each wrist and walk 45 minutes around town. I’ll come home take an “Alive!” multi-vitamin, Ornithine/Arginine, Glutamine, Flax Oil and Fish Oil. I supplement just as I’m supposed to as described on supplements.
I keep my carbs under 50 grams a day and my calories between 1500 - 1800 a day. The reason I’m posting is I’ve just gotten over and recovered from a case of bronchitis and I’m looking to steer my body in a new direction. Instead of just cutting fat while retaining whatever muscle I can now I want to start building muscle and as an added bonus burn some fat.
My workout up until now has been one day on, one off, one on, one off, one on, two off:
Chest: 4-6 reps: 4-5 sets
Bench Press Max: 70% of max
Exercise Ball Push-Ups Max: max out
Decline Bench Press Max: 70% of max
Back: 4-6 reps: 4-5 sets:
Row Machine: 5 minutes +1.5 mins per week
Bent Over Row Max: 70% of max
Lat Pull Down Max: 70% of max
Delts: 9-12 reps: 3-4 sets
Arm Cable Raises Max: 60% of max
Side Deltoid Raises Max: 60% of max
Bent Over Cable Raises Max: 60% of max
Biceps: 9-12 reps: 3-4 sets
Preacher Curls Max: 60% of max
Hammer Curls Max: 60% of max
Triceps: 9-12 reps: 3-4 sets
Cable Pull Downs Max: 60% of max
Diamond Push-Ups: 20 reps +2 per week
Quads: 4-6 reps: 4-5 sets
Leg Press Max: 70% of max
Squats Max: 70% of max
Romanian Dead-Lifts Max: 70% of max
Hamstrings: 4-6 reps: 4-5 sets
Standing Leg Curls Max: 70% of max
One Legged Kick-Backs Max: 70% of max
Seated Leg Curls Max: 70% of max
Calves: 9-12 reps: 3-4 sets
Standing Calf Raises Max: 60% of max
Reverse Calf Raises Max: 60% of max
My new goal is to start building muscle and if I happen to burn some more fat along the way I’m all for it. I was hoping for some honest-to-goodness, old-fashioned, kick-in-the-ass (no more hyphens I promise) criticism and advice. I’m open to suggestion and I hope to hear from you guys soon.
You could do with better pictures for better constructive criticism.
But learn more about nutrition and when to eat simple vs complex carbs. As you get more advanced and experienced you will learn that over-time adjusting your nutrition for your goals, weight, and activity level will lead to increased results and more frequent progressive gains.
It looks like you’re off to a great start! Posting your diet couldn’t hurt, so others can see what you’re doing; also, you’ll probably be able to get some pointers as to what you might want to tweak for better results!
I’m on my own path to leanness, and have about 20 pounds left to lose before I start building mass.
My advice as a Former Fat Boy(FFB), keep cutting. It is better to get lean and slowly add mass than breaking the good habits you have formed and trying to “bulk” which will just lead you down the road of putting the fat back on. Also, once you lose the weight you cannot use a traditional stuff your face style mass gaining phases, you have to be really careful about what you eat. Once you get lean, then start adding back more carbs timed at breakfast and around your workouts. Slowly up the total calories until you are only a few hundred above maintenance, then ride that out for a couple of weeks, cut off the gained fat in a week or so, and repeat until you have the amount of mass you are looking for.
My diet has never really been poor since I’ve started working out again. I eat sensibly, not till I’m full but often, about 6 times a day and usually not much more than a handful and I never let myself get hungry by anticipating my cravings. I’m not too thoroughly worried about protein supplementing since I tend to have grilled chicken at least once a day and I wasn’t looking to bulk up (obviously I am now so now I need more protein).
And I try and give my system a jolt by having a few poor food choices on a Sunday (nothing crazy like a bucket of fried chicken but I’ll have a few scoops of frozen yogurt here and maybe some ranch dressing on my salad there). What I want to know is what kind of changes to my diet and my workout do you guys think I can benefit from since my direction is now to put on some lean muscle.
That’s the long answer. Pick a diet and follow it. eat big, and eat according to the principles laid out in said diet. While dieting requires you to eat under your metabolic equillibrium, growing muscle requires you to eat over your metabolic equillibrium.
The short answer, though, is just eat. You’ll put on some fat, but you should probably be reaching 3500-4000kcal/day, with over 200g of protein.
The reason we asked for your diet was so we can recommend specific changes. Your response was vague. I hope you get enough info from the articles to plan out your bulk.
I don’t know Zagman, I’m not sure I’d call him an FFB since he didn’t look super fat to me in the first place. Losing 30 lbs or so doesn’t automatically make you an FFB. Losing say, 100 or so, yeah.
But I totally agree with your advice. He will probably not do well on high carb ‘regular’ bulks. Good job on losing the weight, keep it up. One thing though, you can’t add a whole lot of muscle fast while staying lean. So, be prepared for a long haul. I would keep your carbs low-ish, though when you decide to start putting on muscle seriously you WILL need to bump them up a bit. Just do it slow, because after being on a low carb diet for an extended period of time your body will need to be reintroduced gradually to them.
I do think, though, that when gaining he will need more than a couple weeks eating above maintenance–Thibs I think put it around 6-8 weeks up, 2 cutting fat, then repeat. You can’t put on any muscle in 2 weeks eating only a little above maintenance.
). So far I wake up every morning, eat a handful of almonds and walnuts, strap on 5 lb. weights to each wrist and walk 45 minutes around town. I’ll come home take an “Alive!” multi-vitamin, Ornithine/Arginine, Glutamine, Flax Oil and Fish Oil. I supplement just as I’m supposed to as described on supplements.