Yep. What I look like in bear mode (except I am not the great BBer Paul Dillett)
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I agree with you man, youāve still gotta have some crazy genetics and probably juice to look that good. Those guys hold very little fat in their midsections. Even though theyāre likely around 20%, they look pretty lean. Itās a great look.
LOL. I think part of the issue might be an āall-inā mindset. In the past, Iāve often been 100% gung-ho on gaining or losing weight. If you go very slowly, you probably have a better shot at pulling off the bear mode look (though itās still a long shot for most of us).
What was your baseline before you built to 220-230? Iāve been hanging in the 170-190 range for about 6 years now.
For a while I was about 175 lbs and pretty lean. Then up to about 200 lbs for a while, then 225ish for a while. I am 5ā10". Now I am about 208, and I am starting to look athletic. I have good vascularity, but store most my fat in my midsection. I do have abs showing when I flex them (not super deeply cut though).
Interesting man, it sounds like youāve settled in a solid place and are moving toward a great physique. Do you have photos at these various stages? Iāve been trying to talk myself into being OK with my abs disappearing in the pursuit of holding a higher weight ā itās such a mind game. Marketers have convinced so many young men that we need to be ultra lean to feel good about ourselves.
Well I looked through recent gallery, and not much. The less impressive physique really doesnāt have pictures. I do have this one where I was probably closer to 205. It is blurry, and with a tank top. No stomach shots, but I think you can tell there isnāt a whole lot of gut (you are certainly leaner than I am though). I should document my physique a bit better I guess.
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You look awesome there bro! Definitely have quite a lot of mass, and pretty lean too. Obviously we canāt see your midsection but that looks pretty damn bear mode-y to me!
Perhaps it is bear mode, and my previous was just plain fat lol. I am going to try to get to about 195 lbs on a cut. I am hoping I look really lean there.
I think that itās probably easier to reach your genetic ceiling if you just spend years power shoveling food, plus these guys are all using more than trt doses, but they all seem to lose the weight easy enough and look great afterwards. Success leaves clues and all that (not that Iām advocating that level of bf!).
Yes definitely better psychologically and potentially even phsyicologically, very low bodyfat isnāt great for optimal health.
Thanks, my previous provider used to check it annually and it was always in the higher side my new provider doesnāt check so I ordered it along with my latest test just to keep an eye on it. Canāt see it being great news give my affinity for sugar. But maybe my genetics will save me (probably should clean up the diet either way).
Yea that sucks!
Haha Iām proud of you too (you got me into my money moustache in August, I almost immediately sold a vehicle and dropped to 1 car household, cleared a load of debt with vehicle sale and am focusing on clearing the rest, got an Amex and reward MasterCard for daily spending, and stopped spending money I didnāt have, will focus on building a stache in the next 12 months when debts gone - that blog was transformational for me, so massive thanks to you there).
Great news make sure itās worth it, smash the strength gains and food!
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Fascinating point. I bet bear mode > super lean > super fat power lifter for health purposes.
Man, that is SO great! You must feel like a new man. If you like Mr MM, you might also like Dave Ramsey, FIRE, and the Millionaire Next Door (though you might already be familiar with them). Iāve gotten a lot from all of the above. Ramit Sethi is decent too.
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Man these are real changes. I learned about MMM early on in my working career. An older wiser coworker friend recommended his site to me.
I was better than most as far as being frugal and savings rate. I would attribute maxing my 401K to him though. I would probably only be investing half of that if not for the his blog.
I think the power of MMM as compared to Ramsey is that he gets more into philosophy. With Ramsey he talks about sacrifice and doing unpleasant things to improve finances. With MMM he points out how silly spending is for many people and that it isnāt making us happier. His advice is to seek happiness and in doing so you will be financially successful.
I know a few people who have been pretty successful listening to Ramsey too. Some of his advice makes me cringe, but if it works for people, who am I to tell them differently.
I think Dave is good because heās simple. He doesnāt overcomplicate things and his advice always works. That said, there are tactics that can work even better, but you have to master the basics first. Heās perfect for a lay audience.
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My biggest complaint is that he has designed his advice to appeal to the psychology side of things, not the mathematically optimal side of things. Paying off debt from smallest dollar amount to largest dollar amount feels good, but you could pay off all of the debt in less time and with less money by paying them off in order of highest interest to lowest interest.
What he tells people to do is much better than what they were likely doing before. Optimal isnāt always the best for all people if they canāt stay motivated.
My buddy has become fairly wealthy using Daveās advice (he is in finance too). He is 35, and about to buy a $700,000 house in cash (he is selling his place and two rental houses). I think he could be a bit better off than he is, but who is going to complain about those results.
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I canāt say this proves much financial prowess. Borrowing money for a house is so cheap heād be better off putting in the min down payment and borrowing <3%. Invest the rest.
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I agree with you. Mathematically it doesnāt make sense. I have told him I am only paying the required payments on my 2.875% mortgage so I can invest more as I think my expected value is higher with that method (given enough time historically it is always been higher).
My point is that my friend who is 35 will have a mortgage free life in a $700,000 house, with paid off cars, and a bit shy of $100K in retirement. I think with a different strategy he could have more (perhaps significantly more), but at the same time he is also in like the 95% percentile for wealth. It does not mean he has great personal financial skills at all. I do think he is doing better than average with the sub optimal advice (that he refuses to change his opinion on BTW) he lives by.
I like Mr. Money Mustache over Ramsey. Mr. Mustache is about doing the things that mathematically make the most sense. Ramsey is more about what is motivating for people.
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Seems sketchy. But Atleast with that amount of income and that little of debt he should have time to really make that grow.
He is saying he will invest more after the house. I think currently he and his wife just do the max amount into 401K that will be matched. For 2, 35 y/o people with high income (combined is about 200K), their 401K balance is not great IMO. I wouldnāt be surprised if it is above average though.
It seems that percent saved is only loosely related to income. Meaning people who make absurd amounts of money may invest 15%, when the average is about 5% (but the absurd income group is making 5-10X what the other group is). I think this is mostly explained by lifestyle inflation (and somewhat max contribution limits, but I donāt think that should be an excuse as there are many investment options aside from 401K and Roth).
I really need to up my contributions. Iād love to retire before my 60th