Let your body hair get thicker and let your beard get longer, and you’re looking like a mini Seth Feroce!
Am I right or am I right?
I know you haven’t leaned out yet, but I think it’s pretty evident that you’ve added pounds of muscle. I think your lats look a bit wider and your biceps look thicker/wider from the front-lat spread view. You’ve always had great delts, but that side-triceps shot at the bottom makes it seem like you’ve added depth or thickness to your shoulders…Props!
You’re a large 160lb man. Crushin’ it!
The beard is what really makes these pics impressive.
S
#beardgainz #robostein
@robstein Pretty sure I asked you this before but, during this cut how often or when do you ramp and exercise as opposed to straight sets in a certrain rep range?
@IronAndMetal - LOL! Thanks man! Almost there…
Side note, growing up, way before I ever thought about getting into a gym, I was a big fan of the original Hercules movies, and idolized Lou Ferigno. His physique for that movie was just unbelievable, his chest especially was just so damn impressive.
Thank you very much man! It’s always hard to see it in yourself, I really appreciate the detailed feedback. I’m always so focused on the shoulders and arms, I still feel like even though they’ve come up over the past couple years, still light years away from where I want them to be. Hoping as I continue to get leaner and get closer to 150, the progress will become more visible.
Love 'em!
@littlesleeper thank you very much bro! Since I’m definitely not getting any taller, there’s only one way to grow. Short+bald+fat = not good. Short+bald+jacked = awesome. Honestly, aside from the health benefits and enjoyment I get from training and eating right, I’ve become kind of addicted to having the look of someone who lifts. Obviously anyone who is into bodybuilding, to some degree, wants to have that look.
For me, being a short male my entire life, it was always something that I felt I had to overcome. Classic short-guy syndrome I guess, but in truth people (other men really) do treat you differently when you’re clearly the shortest guy in the room. I’m the shortest man I know out of all my friends and professionals that I meet, on the rare occasion I meet someone my height I think to myself “man that guy is short” then I realize we’re the same height. Constant short jokes throughout public school and college, even after college, whether malicious or not, sucks. Being in a group of people during school and at work, always being the shortest one and being overlooked (literally and metaphorically), was always something I felt, and people (again primarily other men) just treat you differently. Just as a thought experiment, if you meet two men, and one is tall and slim, and the other is short and fat, which one might you respond more to/take more seriously?
Initially I got into training because I got super fat, started breathing heavy just walking up the stairs, and when my belt buckle flew off and made a hole in the wall, I needed to take control and make a change. But, once I started getting results, especially once I got really lean, I noticed that people started responding to me and treating me differently, people I already knew, and people I met for the first time. As I’ve put on more muscle over the years, the effect has become more obvious. I’m not a huge guy by any means, but I have noticed a difference in the way people respond to me and act towards me. I also noticed as I would clinic with my bands, meeting a group of 100-200 students who I need to command the attention of for a 3-8 hour rehearsal, they are more attentive and quick to listen/respond immediately.
I don’t have many pics from my fat days, here are a few I found.
Sucking in big time.
About 190 here.
Me and the mouse.
Been a long journey, but totally worth it, and looking back on these pics is always a great reminder of what can be done with hard work and consistency.
LOL thanks! Definitely adds power for sure.
@xXSeraphimXx - All good, please feel free to ask anything anytime. Ramping isn’t something I typically plan for, unless it’s an exercise that I know I’m gearing up for a certain weight or trying to go heavier than usual. For example, incline DB presses for chest, I’ll usually ramp up, but it’s not a significant jump, and I always go by feel. For example, I’ll typically end with 100’s or 105’s, but I won’t start there. Typical sets might look like this:
Warm Ups/Activations:
-30’s x 20
-40’s x 15
-55’s x 8-10
-70’s x 5-6
-80-85s x 3-5
Working:
90’s x 10-12
95’s x 10-12
100’s x 8-10
105’s x 8-10
Then, if I’m still feeling good, I’ll get 110’s for 5-6.
But, some days I’ll go in and 95’s feel heavier than usual, so I’ll ride that out for all of my sets.
Otherwise, I typically do a feeler set or two for each exercise so I know where I want to start my working set, and then typically I’ll stick with those weights for each working set. Sometimes if I’m a set or two in and feel I have enough to move up a little, I will, but it’s typically 5-10% change. The way I like to train personally, is every set has to be intense. So, if I’m doing a “working set” I’m getting close to fail and giving everything I have. So, the majority of my training is straight sets. Every now and then I’ll move up in weight during a set, but it’s not planned, just something I auto regulate. Sometimes I’ll toss in a drop set or intense finisher, but 85-90% of my training is straight sets.
I DO alter the rep ranges sometimes, depending on how I feel or what the goal for the day is, but once I get started on a set, typically straight sets for me.
I used to ramp up more with squats sometimes, but I haven’t squatted in a few weeks and I probably won’t for a while. My hips and knees feel so much better not squatting.
Also, “low reps” for me is 5-6, 8-10 is typically my money zone, sometimes I’ll go a little higher, or after 3-4 for weeks of heavier work, I’ll have a week where I’m still lifting with intensity but back off of the weights and go for 12-15. So, I’m never ramping up for a set of 3 or something like that. If I’m doing a set of 8-10 and have enough left in the tank to ramp up significantly, I wouldn’t count that set as a working set.
I used to ramp more when I started training and was more focused on overall weight lifting rather than bodybuilding, but over the past couple years I’ve found that keeping training pretty basic, and focusing on recovery, nutrition and MMC, provide great gains and longevity without leaving me feeling wrecked. Consistency is the thing that most people don’t want to take seriously. They think doing this crazy arm program or trying this new method will add inches onto a muscle group, when really, it’s just about practicing the basic principles over, and over, and over again, letting time do its thing. Not discounting other methods, or that tossing in some new stimulus doesn’t have value, because it certainly does! But, overall, I think the foundation of training should be practicing the basic principles, knowing how to eat and recovery, and just keep going.
Made some crazy awesome chicken thighs yesterday that tasted like they should have way more calories than they actually do.
-Bonesless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips.
-Put a healthy amount of 0 cal Walden Farms Honey Dijon dressing, Sugar Free BBQ sauce, and just a little bit of Olive Oil in the pan, mix it up and let it start to simmer.
-Toss in the chicken thighs, add some salt, and cover.
-Simmers in the glaze, stays really juicy and tender because it’s covered, and boom, insanely good chicken thighs with barely any added cals.
Scale has been consistent the past 3 days in the low to mid 159’s. I made some fairly aggressive nutritional adjustments this week, so glad to see things are moving along. Also noticed increased and more consistent vascularity this week, another good sign.
I really connect with your statements on being “addicted” to looking muscular and its effect on other’s perception of you. In my professional life, I long ago realized that _looking_emphasized text__a certain way (healthy-jacked, not roidy-red-faced-jacked) affected my perception of a person’s abilities. I automatically give more trust and confidence to a person when I can see that they have obviously set a goal and worked towards it. I really respect willpower, and I know how much willpower it takes to not just double-fist bearclaws and “fun”-size candies. So when I see visual evidence of someone’s willpower so clearly demonstrated in thier physique, I can’t help but respect it. (You long-ago earned my respect in that department!)
It’s funny how we don’t have many fat-pics… I know that I used to avoid being photographed for that reason. I’m still searching for a topless fat pic of myself; not sure if any exist! Being a taller-guy, and fat, I had a slightly different experience than you, because I was generally taller and bigger than everyone else. That earned me the respect that comes from looking up (literally) at someone, but I never felt like I earned it. My life, my perception of others, and my perception of how I am treated by others, have all been changed significantly since undertaking this task. Like you, I don’t think I can ever go back to my old ways.
Have an awesome day, Rob!
@FatKidfromFL - I hear you man, and it’s incredible that you’ve been able to take control and make positive changes for yourself! I lost a little over 70lbs from my heaviest to my leanest, but guys like you and @HeraWynn1 who lose literally hundreds of pounds, that is truly incredible and inspiring!
LOL no doubt, and it’s really just a mental hurdle of a simple decision. Eat this or that, one is not more difficult than the other. But, one needs to get to the point where they want their goals bad enough to develop the will power to make it happen. My wife and I used to teeter back and forth between being gung-ho and eating/training consistently, and taking breaks. One summer we were both touring with the same musical group, and it was a very stressful tour. We got back after a couple of months and said, “let’s just eat whatever we want for 2 weeks.”
(*My wife and I both lost a lot of weight, she was about 190lbs at her heaviest. Fast forward to last year, she was 117lbs on stage!)
Anyway, we went all in. We didn’t train, and we ate whatever we wanted. Driving by a McDonald’s, we shared a burger and fries, first time I ate fast food in years and years (and the only time since.) We shared an ice cream cake. Out to breakfast a lot. A frequent favorite of ours was to get a big bag of baked Doritos or Cheetos (you know because it’s baked so they’re ok!), munch on that while sharing a bottle of wine, then eat a pizza, and share a half gallon of froyo. Our inner fat kids slowly started becoming our outer fat kids again. Needless to say, 2 weeks turned into 2 months. Then, looking at a pic of myself after those couple months, I realized, holy hell what have I done?! I don’t even look like I work out anymore! What’s the point of going through everything I went through?! I HAD A 6 PACK AND NOW IT’S GONE! That was 5 years ago. After that, we made a decision that training and nutrition was going to be a consistent part of our life, a cornerstone that would never waiver. And, since then, it’s always been there. We certainly enjoy ourselves when we want to, but that’s only after we’ve learned how to build it in and not have it affect in a negative way.
Keep plugging along man, you can accomplish anything you want. You have a great attitude, no doubt you’ll keep progressing! You may have mentioned this earlier, but would you mind sharing a little more about your journey? Where you started, where you are now, and where you want to go?
Have a great weekend man!
Overall a good week of training and diet, nearing completion of week 4 of the cut. Started at 165, currently been sitting at 159.6 for 4 days in a row now, so almost 6lbs down in 4 weeks and it hasn’t been rough at all. Nutritionally I’m being pretty aggressive, but not doing as much cardio as I usually do during a prep. I’ve learned that I have a tendency to have higher cortisol levels, and excess cardio certainly exacerbates that, so I’m doing my best to keep cardio to a “only as much as needed” state. I’d rather be a little hungry, than eat more but have to do more cardio.
Yesterday was supposed to be a low HIIT day. The day started out that way, but my wife and I both got a cold a couple days ago, and it peaked yesterday. Sore throat, congested, stuffy nose, run down, etc. If we were in a contest prep, we’d have no choice but to push through and get the HIIT in, unless we were really super sick. But, we’re not in a contest prep, just cutting. Since we’ve been so rigidly strict over the past 4 weeks and have both had noticeable results, we decided to skip the gym, rest up, and eat a little more. Nothing crazy at all. I had already had my Finibars before deciding to pull the plug on the gym. Had a small Ezekiel cake in the afternoon, homemade chicken soup for dinner, and a little bowl of cereal before bed, still was a 1900 calorie day, so maintained a good deficit and didn’t put my body through the rigors of HIIT. Woke up today feeling better, scale weight was the same, and today is our high day. It’s really enjoyable to be in a hard prep-style cut, but still have that little bit of wiggle room should a situation like this arise, or to go to a family dinner and not have to bring Tupperware and a cooler.
COMPETITION THOUGHTS (A bit long, but sharing my thoughts about competing next year)
Earlier this year, after my contests were done, I said, “I am so done competing!” Especially as a natural with a naturally slow metabolism, it’s just a mother f@cker to get stage ready. But, as the show became more distant in the rear view mirror, I said, “hm, I’m feeling good, have definitely made progress…I think I wanna do it one more time and see what I can do.” Year one was a lot of leg work and still did well competitively. This year in my second season of competing, I hit the ground running, learned even more about what works and what doesn’t for me, and won the overall at both of my shows, earning an ANBF pro card but missing the WNBF pro card because there weren’t enough competitors at the show to get one. And I really want that card.
So, now, I’m going a bit back and forth. Last year I was able to get to 148lbs and less than 10% body fat on average of 190g carbs a day, 30min daily LISS after weights, and one HIIT workout a week. It was really pretty manageable. Then, 4 weeks out of my first show, when I added daily morning fasted LISS in addition to the afternoon session, and lowered carbs, that’s when the suffering kicked in. What really did me in after that was having a long 7 week stretch between shows, and maintaining ~7% body fat and below for that long. When you’re that lean, you always feel terrible, and it impacted my work and life significantly. So, I’m thinking if I start my prep in the low to mid 150’s, aim for one show, or two shows that are only 3-4 weeks apart, then I’ll be able to make it happen.
There’s also a chance I may leave it open ended, and start the prep, and see what happens. When the suffering kicks in, it becomes pretty much impossible for me to manage my business, because I write original music. I need to feel good, have my creative juices flowing, and in the depths of a prep it’s impossible. Last year I couldn’t write for 4 weeks straight going into my last show and it impacted my business quite a bit, playing catch-up afterwards was rough, and as this is now my full time career, how I put food on the table and pay the mortgage, I cannot sacrifice my business productivity to put on a pair of posing trunks. It was easier when I was teaching to be in the depths of the prep and fake it at school, put a smile on when the kids are there, etc. But, working at home writing creative music, there’s no faking it. I can either do it, or I can’t.
So, the issue is, I can most definitely deal with the rigors of the prep and get on stage for a third season. The question is, do I want to sacrifice my quality of life for that period of time to do it, and place bodybuilding over everything else? It takes over completely. Going to weddings with a cooler, having to get in the cardio and gym no matter what, etc. Especially when you get really lean, it’s just a different mental state. Emotions are dulled and nonexistent, the spark of life is gone and you become a walking zombie, no libido, can’t sleep, etc. Just sharing the realities of competing, and what is going through my mind currently.
So, right now, I am proceeding assuming I AM going to compete in two shows next year, because should I decide to pull the trigger, I want to be in the best possible starting point. My wife also really wants to compete again, and doing it together would be an incredible experience, as it was earlier this year. The plan is still to cut to the low-mid 150’s over the next 4 weeks, do my traveling in October for my business, maintain through November and December. So, if I do start the prep, I’ll be in the low 150’s, where I started prepping earlier this year, BUT, having put on more LBM since my show, the low 150’s should look better and be closer to stage ready. As I’m leaning out, I can see I’ve definitely put on size and thickness, and with my short stature, am starting to develop a look I never thought I’d have. It’s exciting, addicting, and I want to make it happen.
For sure! I’ve got a lot of details in the first post of my log;
I will copy and paste some key details when I get in front of a computer. Thanks so much for the details you shared. Ill be back after breakfast!
Thanks for checking out the log! So just a little addendum: I’m currently on a mild cut, 12-13kcal/lb. my goal is to get as lean as sustainably possible… Meaning that I don’t want to cut cals to a point where I am miserable, or do cardio to a point where upon cessation I rebound and put on fat (I want to keep my daily energy expenditure somewhat consistent, and I don’t want to put myself in a situation where I’m on a stair master 3hrs/day for the sake of my six pack). I’ve started back on carbs, figuring that at my current leanness I can handle them, and so far, so good. My near-term plan is to keep on trucking with this until I stall, then reverse-diet out of deficit through the winter (my most active time is winter and spring). I am lifting 5-6 times/wk, my diet is 100% locked, and I don’t drink anymore, so I think I have some ability to substantially improve over the coming year or two. I am playing the long-game, not interested in short term gainz. I will occasionally throw in a day or two of stims (albuterol or ephedrine), but I’ve found that it really just helps drop water, which comes back promptly. My #1 priority right now is longevityand quality of life. Competing might be in the cards in the future, it just depends how far down this road I can make it. Enjoy the Olympia, I have a headache(!) from wildfire smoke and gotta crash.
Have a great Sunday Rob!
How’s the last week of training been going, @robstein?
@FatKidfromFL - Thanks so much for this info man! Sorry I haven’t responded, been a crazy week. You have a really detailed and meticulous approach, AND, looking at your log, you are certainly not a fat kid lol. You’re looking great man, truly unbelievable what you’ve accomplished.
This is SUCH a great approach you’re taking, smart, long term goals that are achievable. It’s truly not worth it when you have to put yourself through so much, better to take longer to get there but be able to get it done in a more manageable way that keeps your sanity and performance as high as possible. You’re already looking really good man, looking forward to seeing your continued improvement!
Absolutely with you there brother, and that mindset will allow you to keep enjoying the activity without resenting it, or getting to the point where it seems more like an obligation, rather than a passionate hobby. Regarding competing, even if you just do it once eventually, you will learn SO MUCH that you’ll be able to take with you for the future, manipulate your physique at will, and give you just a ton of knowledge and tools to maintain a healthy, muscular physique indefinitely.
Great info man, have a great weekend!
@IronAndMetal - Thanks for checking in bro! Sorry I haven’t updated, been a crazy week, lots of great stuff happening though and some potential VERY big things for my business.
So, training and nutrition has gone very well this week. Weight is down to 158 even, I’ve been on the diet just over one month exactly and have lost almost 7lbs, so far so good. It’s been very easy, manageable and sustainable.
I’ve been taking more of a low carb approach this week. P+F breakfast, even though I have carbs on my schedule, just for a change of pace and to keep things moving along. My typical no carb breakfast is 3 eggs, a chicken sausage and lots of veggies, fat free melted cheese on top. Still eating between 1750-1850 cals a day, but generally keeping carbs to ~100g a day. I still get 60g carbs pre workout, and 25g before bed, and then some incidentals from nuts and such during the day.
Training has been good. This week I’m backing off slightly from the weights, I’ve been going pretty hard and heavy lately, so just backing off slightly, more 10-12, or 12-15 reps, still max intensity, but just not as heavy. I expect next week I’ll feel fresh and strength will be up from previous numbers, hopefully some more PRs, we’ll see what happens. I do that every now and then, it’s not a set schedule, every 5-6 weeks or so, I like to back off a bit from the heavy work.
I am very surprised at how lean I’m looking at 158, much leaner than last year at this weight. I guess it’s to be expected, from my first to second competitive season, my recomp was significant. So, if I’ve put on 5-6lbs of muscle since my show, which I think it’s a safe bet to say I have, my 158 should look close to the conditioning I had at ~152-153, which it does. Even through my now very hairy body, I can see the abs, delts are more pronounced and just looking surprisingly tight for this weight. Excited to see what I look like by the time I get down to the goal of 153ish!
Side note, made a really tasty high protein veggie dip this week. Had dinner at the folks house at they wanted us to bring an appetizer, so we brought assorted fresh cut veggies with dip. This dip is pretty much all protein, very low fat and carbs, and tastes JUST like the store-bought bad-for-you stuff. I’ve been snacking on it a little as I made extra for us, totally diet friendly.
Mix it all together, BLAM, you got yourself a tasty, high protein dip for your veggies. Totally diet friendly and delicious!
Good weekend and week of training, weight is down to 157.4. I’m 5.5 weeks in to my cut and have lost about 7lbs so far, starting to feel a little bit like I don’t want to be cutting anymore, but I’m going to keep it up for the next 3 weeks until my travels start. The goal is to reach 153-154, so far I’m pleasantly surprised at how lean I’m looking at 157, most definitely leaner than last year at this weight.
Last week I took a reload week with the weights, still lifted hard but raised reps and lowered weights. Yesterday during chest and quads I went back to my normal rep ranges and strength was pretty solid. Incline bench was 90’s x 12, 95’s x 10, 100’s x 10, 100’s x 12, rest of the lifts felt great after that.
For cardio over the past week I’ve changed it up slightly, rather than just doing elliptical for 20min, I now do max-incline treadmill walking, OR, max-incline treadmill walking for 10-15min, then elliptical for 10-15 min. The max-incline treadmill idea I got from @Chris_Colucci, at a walking pace of 3.0. It is challenging, but still comfortable, but the heart rate is about 140, works up a good sweat and burns more cals than straight elliptical at 120. To get the HR up to 140 on the elliptical can certainly be done, but it feels like more work than max incline walking. Typically I keep my post workout cardio at 120 for my heart rate, but after doing the max incline and getting up to 140ish, it feels pretty good, and since it’s only for 20-30min, shouldn’t be a problem to continue. I’m NOT going to do morning fasted cardio, because I don’t like to do that unless I really need to in a contest prep. So, post workout cardio works for me and these new methods have been great.
BRB, adding “contest prep consultant” to my business card. 
Always great to see you doing the hard work, man. Keep doing your thing.
@Chris_Colucci LOL! Game changer for sure, I’d hire ya!
Anyone who has followed along on my log over the years knows I’m a FFB (former fat boy), overweight most of my life, then got pretty fat, then took control and got into the gym. Life changing is an understatement.
Which brings me to this post, sharing a link for the hardest working guy I’ve ever met, ever. @HeraWynn1. He did not ask me to post this, but I feel compelled to. When we met about four years ago, he was over 365lbs. After hearing me blab endlessly about my new competitive bodybuilding endeavors, he asked if I’d be willing to make him a nutrition plan. He stuck to it relentlessly, lost weight, took the next steps and got in the gym. Long story short, a few years later, he’s lost over 170lbs, has become a gym rat, carries a cooler everywhere, is a certified personal trainer and a total badass.
He lost all of this weight NATURALLY. No surgery. No drugs. No BS. Just hard work. He’s been on a varying meal plan for literally over 2 years, never straying. I got him hooked on some of the best supplements on the market, including Indigo-3G, Micro-PA, Metabolic Drive and Flameout.
Doing whatever needed to be done, he’s lost all that weight and we are now prepping him to step on stage for his first competition.
This link is to support the effort for skin removal surgery, which is not covered at all by insurance. Of course, bariatric surgery is covered 100%. So if he wanted to take the easy way out, it would have been covered. Since he took the complete and unstoppable badass road, they cover none of it.
The T-Nation community is why I like to keep a log here, and not anywhere else. If you’re reading this, please take a moment to check out this link, and if you can, support a guy who has taken control of his life, and is now helping others do the same.
Hi Rob,
I just read through this entire thread. So much here to learn and grow from! Thank you for sharing and I am looking forward to keeping up with it as you go this next season.
I was hoping you could talk more about your initial starting of things when you started your journey. I know you started with p90x and moved to the gym when you realized you needed more eight to use.
Did you decide initially to just cut weight and “tone up” when you were training at home?
Were you using a cyclical dieting approach after you started in the gym?
When it comes to abs, what have you found to be the most beneficial for hypertrophy?Train them like any other muscle group, weighted and hard? Or do you add in bodyweight as well?
Thanks again
