today is january 15. i weigh 151 pounds. on october 2nd i weighed 131. still 6% fat (so says tanita) no androgens, just clean, smart eating and balls to the wall training. how far have you come and how far can we all go. come june i want to be 160. what about the rest of you. lets get motivated. what have we got to lose, or gain 
Congrats, Shiner. You’re posting some pretty impressive numbers, there. And you managed to hold on to that 6% BF while putting on 20 pounds?!?! All I want to know is after I drop my BF and start bulking, can I come take lessons from you? (grin)
terry, thanks. i think a lot has to do with our mythical setpoints. for so long i tried valiently (and idiotically) to keep my weight down for distance running. the thinner the better, right? wrong. i was ripped, sure, but a buck thirty. so i decided that i had had enough and started eating right and training hard. and no more running, save for the occasional fun-run just for shits - no more 80 or 100 mile weeks. i’ve been following berardi’s don’t diet protocol, carefully never combining carbs and fat, and doing sort of a modified 5x5, four days a week.
as my results show, it’s been working. back to setpoints, i imagine mine to be around where i am, as my body feels extremely comfortable (could be other things, but around 150 seems right). i think it will be much tougher to keep adding while keeping my bodyfat low, but i’m gonna try. i too am surprised that my fat didn’t go up, but i kept seeing abs and veins along with bigger numbers on the scale. when i went home for x-mas all my relatives were amazed at how i looked. shoulders, thighs, everywhere. i was asked for advice and referred everyone here, even printing out t-dawg for my dad. but alas, i think by doing p+c or p+f has enabled me to add lean mass almost exclusively. keep up your work terry. i’m proof that it is possible to make big changes as long as you try. peace.
Yo Shiner,
CONGRATS my man! VERY impressive results. You say you were doing a modified 5x5 program…can you give any details??? I too, have the same goals as you. I want to put on some mass, yet keep my %BF where it is. I am currently 187 lbs with around 8% BF…I would like to get to 195-200 and keep my BF where its at (maybe get in to 6%). Any thoughts??
This is a good thread Shiner! I get geared up on other people successes and yours is pretty impressive!
TT- Your posts are particular inspiring to me cause it seems we have the same goals. You have written some great posts on your diet and training methodology but I must of missed the post where you talked about your success. Please post some comparative numbers, inquiring minds want to know!
Hi, Colin. In my case – and really for all people, I believe – “success” is a journey. It’s the direction you’re headed in. Failure is the lack of movement, the lack of effort, acceptance of the status quo.
Thanks for the kind words. I’ve been on my journey since August, did my fair share of stumbling 'round, figuring things out and just generally fine-tuning my diet and workout (i.e., I did my fair share of screwing up). The most frustrating thing in the world is to play by the rules (as you understand them) and see NO results. I went through a multi-month plateau (while a friend of mine lost 20 pounds during that period of time, playing by the same rules) but finally figured it all out.
I should reach my first goal the end of March and will post pics, stats, before and after numbers, etc. The end-of-March goal is strictly dropping my BF%. From there, as you might imagine, I’m going to start into a bulking phase. Plans are to alternate between strength and hypertrophy cycles monthly.
Colin, I’m actually a really private person. I enjoy helping others, but find it hard to talk about myself, my fears, failures and frustrations. Difficult or not, I’ve tried to share those failures, fears and frustrations because so many of us are on the same journey. So many of us have the same body image problems; too big, too skinny, too fat, too short, too tall. That’s why I stretch, and that’s why I share.
So no, Colin, I’m not any more “successful” than the next guy. Just headed there. (grin) Enjoy the Journey!!!
Congrats Shiner!!! Another skinny hardgainer, like me… I’m just getting started on a new workout program (after a year of partying and eating as unhealthy as possible). I’ll be using some Tribex 500 and creatine. How tall/old are you?
thanks for the support all. i have no training partner, so this board is sort of becoming that. sharing in others’ successes motivates the hell out of me. so here’s my stats. 22 yrs. old. 5’10", 151, 6%.
my four day a week program looks roughly like this - i change depending on how i feel when i get to the gym / availability of equip, etc. nothing is set in stone (save for the big four)
mon (legs) squat 5x5; leg press 3x6 (both ass to ankles) sldl 5x5. calves (seated and standing) usually three sets of each as many as i can do - burn…
tues (chest/tri) flat bar bench 5x5; dips 5x5;
incline db 3x6; pullover 5x5; maybe flyes
thurs (shoulder/bi) pullups 5x5; shoulder press 5x5; upright rows 3x6; standing bi curl 5x5
fri (back) deads 5x5; bent over row 5x5; low cable row 3x6; pull down 3x6; some forearm work if i can handle it.
every day i do some core work. decline situps, swiss ball crunches, woodchoppers. it varies.
i love this program. the thurs/fri combo rocks
but i chalk up the lean gains mostly to diet. i sort of wanted to go apeshit and eat a ton to bulk, but i’ve found that watching macronutrients and being slightly hypercaloric works wonders. thanks again everybody. peace.
Terry, I completely understand and agree with your concept of success. Can’t wait to see your pics in March. For me I get motivated by small successes along the way to my goals. Thats how I try to keep the frustration out of it.
I set a goal in Oct to get my bf% down to Mid teens by March and Single digits by End of Summer. I have been lifting for a long time and have never tied diet into my training. Up to this point my goals have always been strength based goals. So as you can see as I have been learning what proper diet was your posts have been very valuable to me. (Thanks for that)
I have to laugh at your Body image remark, it’s so true. I keep having to tell myself that I am only half as Good or Half as Bad as I think I am at any one given time.