My journey to GET MY BODY BACK

[scrummie2]

Hey all -

My previous effort to post a log was deleted for some reason, so I figured I'd give it another try. I'm currently in week 9 of my current 12 week transformation, and have gotten a ton of great information from bodybuilding.com but have only now started posting.


MY BACKGROUND:

When I was 20 in college I was 235 pounds on my 5'9" frame, and had been an overweight teen. I had never exercised...didn't play any sports or anything like that. I went on a basic starvation/exercise like a freak diet and lost 70 pounds over 6 months, including 20 pounds in two weeks right before going back for fall semester of my sophomore year by spending 3 hours a day in the gym and taking in maybe 500 calories/day. Although I was skinny, I never really developed a healthy understanding of food. Over the next 8 years I got into body building, although still with poor nutritional thoughts (I hated eating breakfast and thus rarely did; I drank too much alcohol; I basically focused on powerlifting lifts and ended up straining my body from
squatting/deadlifting twice a week at heavy poundages). I got quite in shape, and became known to all my friends as a fit, buff guy who loved the gym -- it was then that I met my wife, a wonderful woman, and I got her bit on the gym bug as well.

THE PROBLEM:

When I went back to school after leaving active military service I ran into problems. We had just had a baby, which is always hard on finding time for the gym, and for the first year of school we decided I'd move down to the university myself, two hours away, and commute on the weekends.
For a year I lived without my wife and child, and in my time alone
rather than lift and live healthily I regressed to college bachelor
lifestyle habits - fast food nightly, rarely hitting the gym, drinking tons of alcohol, and smoking. I gave up playing rugby, a sport I had enjoyed since college, when the running got too hard. The lifestyle kept snowballing - by the time I graduated from school three years later I had gotten up to 250 pounds from 200, and seen my lean muscle mass go from around 12-14% on average days to over 30%. It was a vicious cycle -- I'd stay up too late, drink on 3-4 nights of the week, skip breakfast when I got up, and gorge on fast food for the next two meals. My McDonald's take home got to the point I was eating a double quater pounder with cheese, two double cheeseburgers, and an extra large fries in one sitting.

What really hit me was when I received word I'd be recalled to active duty for a tour overseas, and I got down to do some push-ups -- the first i had done in 2 years. Whereas I had once been able to knock out 100 without stopping, I had trouble doing 10.

I cut food, and basically starved myself down to 237 pounds, but still with a 44 inch waist. Once I got to my deployed location I decided I would go on a
program to get my body back while I was serving overseas, and I started researching cutting diets on bb.com.

THE GOAL:

10-12% body fat by the end of my six month deployment
Scale weight to 200 lbs
Return to the bodybuilding lifestyle, with challenging workouts, heavy poundages lifted
Just having my body back

STARTING STATS at the time I started this 12-week cycle:

Height: 5' 9"
Weight: 237
Bodyfat: 31% with accumeasure calipers
Waist: 45"
Chest: 47"
Arms: 17" but flabby
Poundages lifted (after four year layoff)
- Squat, could still get 225 up clean
- Bench, had trouble with 185
- Deadlift, had trouble with 275

Of course, after all compound lifts my body felt like it was going to
fall apart for about a week after.

THE EATING PLAN:

I use fitday to track my diet. Being on deployment our chow hall is only
open 3 times a day, and it is difficult to get good food for other
meals, but I have compensated by substituting fruits, yogurt, protein
shakes, and protein bars. Not ideal, but they work.

With a BMR figure of around 3700, I found I had to work to average
2400-2600 calories/day, although my goal was to cut them only by around 700. So far that's what I've been rolling with, although I do mix in a carb up day. I am eating six meals a day, shooting for 40-50%
protein, 40-30% carbs, 20% fats.

Sample daily diet now:

Meal 1: 2 cups cooked oatmeal w/ sweetener
2 hard boiled eggs
1 container lowfat yogurt

Meal 2: 2 scoops whey protein
1 low-sugar protein bar or fruit

Meal 3: 9 oz chicken breast
2 cups steamed veggies
2 slices wheat bread

Meal 4: 2 scoops whey protein
Protein bar, fruit, maybe yogurt

Meal 5: 6 oz. turkey or chicken
2 cups veggies
2 slices wheat bread
1 cup fruit

Meal 6 (Postworkout): 2 scoops whey protein
Protein bar

WORKOUT:

I'm on a 2 on, 1 off split now. When I started I did a 3 day full body
circuit to get my muscles used to being in the gym again/get decent form
back. This lasted 3 weeks. I found I made great strength gains as my
atrophied muscles kicked back.

Day 1: Shoulders/Calves
Day 2: Back/Biceps/Abs
Day 3: Cardio 1 hour
day 4: Chest/Tris
Day 5: Quads/Hams/Abs
Day 6: Cardio 1 hour
Day 7: Off

I do 30 minutes of low impact cardio after each workout, and save the
high impact stuff for my cardio only days.

CURRENT STATUS:

As of today:

Waist: 39"
Chest: 48"
Weight: 232
Body fat: 20-22%
Arms: 17.5"

Chugging along, averaging about 1% of BF lost per week. I'm very pleased
with my fat loss, although it confuses me that my scale weight hasn't
dropped more than five pounds over 9 weeks of intense work. I don't
think I've "gained" new mass as much as reawakened existing atrophied
mass, which explains it -- I think I was in a much different starting
place. I try not to worry about it -- as long as my BF keeps dropping I
know gains are being made, impressive gains -- but I would like to see the scale drop so that I can run easier (232 pounds is still a lot of weight to be jogging along on).

I've got a before picture I will post at some point, but I'm waiting for
12 weeks to go by before I post my after.

Feeling great now, and happy to join a community of online users who are
chasing the same goals. My wife back home is doing Body for Life and
having great successes as well, and I'm going to try to get her to join
the forums. Most of all I love that I'm excited to get to the gym
whenever I can again -- I had missed being a gym rat, and it's amazing that I was choosing to spend my time instead basically drinking whiskey and watching TV. I use the excuse that my family was taking my time, and for many people it does -- but for me, now that I have some clarity, I realize my sloth and indulgences were coming at the expense of quality time being spent with my family. I was choosing to stay up late, work late...by the time I got home on the weekend my fitness level and mental state led me to crash on the couch instead of taking my daughter or new twin sons to the zoo or park.

So I'll start posting my workouts on here -- I'm hoping I reach a strength plateau at some point and start actually dropping some body weight. I'm confused as to how that hasn't happened yet.

Tomorrow when I can get to a connection with a faster speed I'll try to post some before pics. I also want to post my current workout -- I'll do that next.

[scrummie2]

I figured I'd post my current work outs for the last week, and I can
start updating them. Even if no one ever reads them I like writing
about them, helps me visualize how/when I want to change things up.

Lifting style I've emphasized good form, slow eccentric and concentric
movements (2 seconds up, 2 seconds down), and higher reps vice the
powerlifting regime I followed before when I was lifting (multiple sets
of low reps on compound exercises).

I'm going to start this where I started on my last cycle, so Day 1 was
back and bicep day. I'm actually in the middle of my next cycle, so my
next workuot tomorrow is back and bis again.

DAY 1: BACK AND BIS

Bent-Over Barbell Row

4 x 8 @ 225. I'm loving these...working to get a good, slow pull and
contraction at the top. The last set my form gets a bit jerky, telling
me I'm not quite ready to move up in weight yet. I don't use a weight
belt for anything but heavy squats.

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

3 x 10 @ 100 lbs. Another one of my favorite exercises...probably
redundant to do these on the same day as bent-over barbell rows, but I
just love the squeeze I feel in my lats at the top. Plus I like that I
can move a lot of weight in slow, good form with them. The problem is
the gym only has 100 lb dumbbells, so once these get too easy I've got
nothing higher to move up on. I might shift them down in my rotation to
take advantage of pre-exhaustion if I want to keep them in the cycle.

Wide-grip pulldowns

3 x 12 @ 150-170. I could never do these before...they always kicked my
butt. I think it was because I spent my whole back workout deadlifting
and doing one-arm rows, and my body just trained to do those exercises
-- an example of why you need to mix up your workout in the gym every
few months to keep the gains coming. I've been enjoying doing these
quite slowly, love the burn and stretch -- when I started 9 weeks ago I
had trouble getting 10 clean reps out at 110.

Seated close-grip pulls

3 x 15 @ 170-190. I've always found this exercise pretty easy, as the
range of motion is limited, so I'm loving doing them as my finisher and
squeezing out 15 good reps. Before when I did lower reps/higher weight
I'd pull the whole stack of 280 on them...but I looked like a
competition rower. I try to keep my back straight now and just feel the
squeeze.

Barbell curl with 35 lb. bar

3 x 10 @ 85. I try to do these slow. I've never been a guy who moves a
ton of weight on biceps or the bench, considering my size -- people have
teased me that they thought I could curl more, and I see guys I
outweight by 50 pounds in fact curling more. When I trained before
actually I'd rarely do these exercises, and rely on the compound
movements for most arm development. Worked to some degree, I had big
arms - but if I ever competed I'm sure I would have been dinged for
having arms that were not as developed as say my legs or torso. I'm
making an effort to actually focus on each rep. Feels great, but not
all that good for the ego.

Cable curls with straight bar

3 x 12 @ 120. I like these because I can get a good burn with them.
For some reason I've always been able to do a lot on the pulley machines
with good form, vice with barbells (on triceps extensions I can do the
whole stack)...I'm probably keeping my elbows too dug into my sides and
creating too much cheat leverage.

Concentration Curls on Incline Bench, with Dumbbells
3 x 12 @ 35. Just to get some final good burning going.

Leg Raises (on the dip rack)
5 x 10. I try to limit the rest in these to 30 seconds between sets.
By the last two my lower abs are killing me...but if I'm sweaty my
elbows start sliding off the armrests.

Crunches
4 x 40. I could probably concentrate more on individual reps on these
-- by the middle of the 2nd to last set my abs are pretty crashed and I
sometimes feel like I'm not getting full contractions, but I do feel
great when I'm done. I find this as one of my favorite parts of the
workout -- lying on my back, lookign at the ceiling, in between and
after the sets -- appreciating that I've gotten another good lift under
my belt.

DAY 2: CHEST AND TRIS

Barbell Bench Press
4 x 6-8 @ 225. Of all the exercises, bench has always given me a
problem. I just have a mental problem with the flat bench. For the
longest time I couldn't get over the 2 plate mental plateau -- I used to
have it in squats with 3 plates (I remember the first time I tried to
squat 315,back when I was still in college, it didn't even feel heavy
(well, it felt heavy but not "I'm not going to be able to do this"
heavy) and after I got to the squatted position I just dumped the weight
out of panic, I was so mentally not there with them). I crossed that
plateau log ago, and for awhile could get 350 up on the bench before
when I was lifting...but that took a LONG time of benching to get up
there. A lot longer than gains came in the other exercises. Like most
things I think it's just that I need to take a while to get started. I
also need to find someone in the gym I can bother to spot me on these so
I can really push myself. This time I'm trying to eke out the slow reps
for big chest growth -- vice the quicker, move-a-lot-of-weight mentality
I had before which led to good size but not great shape in my pecs --
and I guess it's just the old ego eating at me sometimes that there are
guys who are half my size in there out-benching me. I'll keep at it --
my goal for here is to be able to get 4 sets of 6-8 at 275. And to
bench 315 once before I leave here to go home.

Incline dumbbell press

4 x 10 @ 90. I think I can go up to the 95s on these. The only problem
is the bench has quite a steep incline -- I've read that 30 degrees is
ideal, any higher and the incline becomes a deltoid exercise as much as
a chest exercise -- and these benches are 45 degrees at their lowest
setting. On the other hand in now almost 10 years of lifting I don't
recall seeing a bench that wasn't normally 45 degrees. So maybe that's
BS. Or I need to train at other gyms.

Flat Flye

4 x 12 @ 55. Try to get them nice and slow, and not go too low to the
point my shoulders hurt. Fast I could do all four sets easy, and
probably go up to 65s, but slow I'm cashed by the 4th set.

Cable Crossover

3 x 15 @ 35. I like to do these opposite flat flyes because the flyes
work the open part of the stretch -- these work the closed part.

Lying Triceps Extension

3 x 10 @ 95

I think I read somewhere that these had fallen out of favor as good
exercises, but I do enjoy doing them. I'd like to get up to where I'm
using the 45s on the 25 pound bar in the next cycle, which is where i
was when I quit lifting before.

Some other triceps exercise

I've been changing around what I do here for tris, mostly because the
gym gets crowded. Got to find something. Maybe I'll move over to
pulley pushdowns for 3 sets of 12 at moderately heavy weight.

One Arm Cable kickbacks

3 x 15 @ 30. I'll drop set these if I can't get to 15 and keep the reps
slow, and I try to feel the contraction at the back of the movement.



DAY 3: CARDIO - Did 30 minutes of stairmaster (the interval setting,
low 7 high 11) and 30 minutes of walking at a 9 degree incline at 3.5
mph.

DAY 4: SHOULDERS AND CALVES

Seated Dumbbell Press
4 x 10 @ 80. Got 7 on the last set.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise
4 x 12 @ 30. Got 10 on the last set with 35s, but felt a bit too heavy
and had bad form; will go down for the next week and stay at 30 the
whole time.

Dumbbell Front Raises
4 x 12 @ 30. Again, tried to go up to 35 on the last set but felt
straining at rep 10, so I'll stick it another week @ 30.

Barbell Shoulder Shrugs
5 x 10 @ 315, 315, 345, 345, 345. Today I ran into one of my pet peeves
-- the gym has two power racks, and only one is in front of a mirror -
and that one was being used by some guy doing barbell curls with 65
pounds on the bar. I'm all for barbell curls but he didn't need the
power rack to do those. I feel guilty enough using it for barbell
shrugs, and I actually use the rack to rest the weight on. Anyway
without a mirror I don't feel like I got my traps as contracted as I
could. I've been trying to do these really slow vice the quick jerks I
used to use to get them up (which would allow heavier weight but didn't
seem to be any good for hypertrophy).

Seated sled calf raises
6 x 15 @ 360. Just as I bitch about guys using the power racks for
curls I switch over to become that jerk using the sled for calf raises
I'm always very open to people jumping in, and will even ask people
who I think are loitering around the machine if they want in. But
anyway I've been trying to do these really slow as well. The problem is
the soles of my feet give out. I figure 6 sets of these is fine once a
week given the 6 cardio sessions I've been getting in.

DAY 5 - QUADS AND HAMSTRINGS

Squat
1 x 15 @ 225; 1 x 10 @ 275, 1 x 8 @ 315, 2 x 6 @ 345, 1 x 4 @ 365

I just love squatting so much. Five sets and I feel like my core and
legs are DONE. Another thing I'm proud of was seeing the notches in my
weight belt get back to normal -- I use a power lifting belt for lifts
over 315, and when I started I had trouble getting into the 4th belt
holes with the clasp. After 9 weeks I'm back to the 5th belt hole,
ALMOST the sixth...belt feels a little loose, but works when I've got
weight on my shoulders...and I no longer have the roll of fat loping
over the top of it I had 2 1/2 months ago. It's the little things that
keep you motivated.

Leg Extensions

3 x 12 @ 115.
I do these one leg at a time, and try to do the 2 seconds up/down and
contract at the top. I love these...really feel a squeeze at the top,
especially after squatting.

Lying Leg curls

3 x 12 @ 135.
Fresh I could do 165 on this machine, but after the squats it's all I
can do to get to 8 on the last set.

Stiff legged Deadlift
3 x 15 w/ 80.
I concentrate on the braking movement half-way down. Although I feel
this exercise in the lower back (some lifters will do it on back day
vice hamstrings), so I think for the next cycle I will swap these out
and do lunges instead. Man, I hate lunges. Got to grow to love them.

Repeat ab workout from Day 3, although I will normally substitute 3 x 20
incliine situps for the crunches.

Well, that's it as a baseline. As I chug along I'll try to update
poundages/reps I get.

From a lifter's standpoint, I'm interested in how long, if at all, I can
continue to increase in strength while operating in a caloric deficit --
am I adding ANY new muscle fibers or just retraining the ones that were
there? I don't know. Once those old fibers are back up to par, what's
going to happen? Just start burning fat and then maybe losing more
scale weight than the paltry five pounds so far? I don't know.

[scrummie2]

These pics were taken on 4/11/08, around a week into this 12 week cut...weight 237, waist 44". BF around 31%.

[scrummie2]

Oh yeah, supplements:

Currently, just 5 mg of creatine to help stave off muscle loss (hopefully), and Arson thermo. Meh, can't say it makes me feeling anything, I think I'll try something else (I'm on my last two doses of my second bottle)...I didn't research stacks very well so I think I'm going to go all out on the next one.

I guess I should mention my timeline out here is going to allow for two 12 week cycles...I'll start the second in 4 weeks. For that I anticipate it will still be a cutting cycle.


Some fat is frustrating -- even in current pics I can totally see I'm carrying extra fat around my chest, right under my pecs, nipples still get puffy and disappear sometimes. Of course, this will be the LAST fast to go because it is the stuff I'm fixated on.

[0mni]

awesome job man, keep up the good work! i'm in almost the exact same boat you are in right now, and it's hard, but keep at it!

[izaktj]

Good luck mate!

[scrummie2]

Thanks guys.

Here's a link to my public food journal in fitday.com -- I've been keeping it since 11 Apr. I write everything I eat down in it.

EDITED to include the link. Duh

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJ...wner=scrummie2

I'm also realizing I've been forgetting to update my weight - there was one day I got on and was at 227, I think it was just water. Next day back up to 232. I cycled off creatine for that week so I'm guessing I just flushed out my lean mass. I've been at 232 for a month now.

[scrummie2]

UPDATE 28 May

Well, didn't get my cardio in last night -- I had to move my stuff into another room at the base they are keeping me on, and that took up my whole evening. I briefly entertained getting up early to do the hour and then hitting the gym again that night, but decided to sleep instead. So I owe myself a cardio workout. At least it wasn't a lifting session.

Tonight, back and biceps, 30 minutes on the elliptical. Can't wait already.

[scrummie2]

Awesome workout last night, back and bi night. Mostly same poundages as I recorded on the post above, but I'm going to need to find a better biceps routine. I went out and bought a bunch of muscle mags today to try to get some ideas/fire the imagination.


Did a weigh in this morning for the first time in a week and a half and was down to 223.6 (they have a digital scale in the gym)! Lightest I've been in like 4 years, certainly! And the biggest weight adjustment I've yet seen. And received a nice comment today from a buddy that basically my belly is gone -- he thought I looked skinny in the waist. Of course, this is with my shirt on...I've still got a good 20 pounds of fat lurking around down there. I think I could circle the three areas -- aroudn the bottom of my tummy, and under each pec. But all the same, awesome to see some scale weight droppage.

I stayed relatively well hydrated yesterday so I don't think it was all water loss.

So I'm going to do some math and see if I need to adjust anything to keep the gains coming -- I'll show my work below to the best of my ability.

By my math:

Last check on 5/18/08
- Weight 232
- Body Fat 20mm in three readings, equals 20-22%
- Body fat 51.04 lbs
- Lean tissue/bone 181 lbs

5/30/08
- Weight 224
- Body fat 19mm in three readings, still equals 20-22%
- Body fat 45 lbs
- Lean tissue/bone 179 lbs

In the figures above I'll give myself the benefit of the doubt and use the high bf% number for a week and half ago, and the low number for today, because hey, we're all about positive thinking here and the calipers are reading a consistent mm shorter than a week and a half ago.

SO in an ideal world if those numbers are correct, of the 8 pounds lost (232-224) 2 of it was lean mass, and 6 of it was body fat. A quick gain week, and although I hate to lose 2 pounds of mass too much underconsumption means you're going to lose some of it. I didn't feel weaker in the gym, so I won't stress. Now in reality I'm sure some of it was water, and hey I could go in there tonight after eating a day's worth of meals and drinking my gallon of water and be back up to 230...which is why it's so important to tape/measure/weigh yourself at the same time and in the same conditions every day. I think the morning is the best time to do it, before you eat/drink anything. For calipers specifically you can't test your body fat after working out as your cells expand with water and you will get higher readings.

For the 2 pound loss in lean tissue, I don't believe that's enough to warrant a change in BMR calculations (the formula I use, which I got from Tom Venuto's website, calculates BMR based solely on lean mass), and I will keep my caloric goal at 2400-2700 a day.


What did I do differently for the week and a half, besides not worry about the scale? Hmm, I did increase the number of starchy carbs/white potatoes I am meating, and I added yogurt. Whatever that means.

Cheers!

[rockstarmama]

Hey Love - like my member name?! Impressive that you are journalling so well - this is always the toughest part for me.

Anyway - there is a way here to build your own page - with stats and pics and things.... thought I might take a few minutes today to do that. I'll put in my currant stats - and see if I can't post-date some too.

So, I know I said I just wanted to finish is, but I was not doing well on BFL.... it was holding me back! I was feeling restricted by the limited cardio and strict weights. I am having a much better time with the plan that I have created for myself....

Anyway - looking forward to a great workout today, but at the moment, boys are really up and moving this morning!

[scrummie2]

Awesome babe...I sent you an e-mail...


Did chest and tris two nights ago. I think I need to switch it up to where my chest workout comes up "first" in my cycle -- I'm pretty beat by the time I get into the gym on chest day. I guess the way it works out I normally take off two days of lifting in between legs and shoulders, and then do shoulders, back, and chest all in 4 days with a day off somewhere in there...by back is coming along nicely though and I'm thinking I want to hit chest fresher. Anyway, went down a rep on the bench for my four sets -- 4 x 6, 5, 4, 4 @ 225. I could have gotten 6-7 with a little help from a spotter. But then on the other exercises, went up a rep -- 4 x 10, 10, 8, 8 @ 90 on incline dumbbell press, 4 x 12 @ 55 in flyes...maybe it took me a while to wake up. The problem I'm running into on the bench is certainly mental, I know it -- 225 doesn't feel heavy ever really, it just goes from feeling doable to all of a sudden nothing.

For cardio last night, 30 mins on the elliptical doing intervals at level 4 and 8-10, then 30 mins brisk walk @ 3.9 mph @ 9% incline. The walk probably burned more cals then the elliptical.

Legs tonight...already screwed up my diet by eating 3 bags of crappy Quaker instant oatmeal, so I'll be on a sugar rush the rest of the morning.

[scrummie2]

Great leg workout tonight, although I didn't go up in weight I did go up in reps -- topped out again with 4 @ 365. I did get two sets of 6 in at 345. One of my buddies was benching heavy though and called me over to spot him, which pretty much tired me out -- he was doing negatives and that basically meant I was deadlifting 345 up off his chest 4 times for 3 sets. He did get 2 clean reps at the weight though, which is impressive. I'll get there...just need to keep at it.

Finished up my leg workout with 30 mins on the elliptical. I'm actually finding that getting a low-impact cardio session in after heavy squatting is keeping my legs from being too sore - I guess it gets the lactic acid out of them.


In other news, looking at my workout log I'm actually just starting WEEK 8 of my 12-week transformation. All the more impressive I guess with current gains. And I'm actually excited that I have an extra month to go before my first set of pictures. Plenty of time to get some more good results in, and for the diet to keep working. I had originally been on a 2 on 1 off split with one extra rest day -- and have not been taking the rest day, is the issue (so all my workout weeks were six days instead of 7 -- which added up to my workouts being a week ahead of my eating. I'll go back to the eating schedule as the one I'm on.

Next measurement due the 5th -- was down to 38.5 at the waist yesterday morning.

[scrummie2]

got some initial stats up on bodyspace. I'll update them with my starting stats from 6 April here soon, and start using them.

[scrummie2]

Well, another good day of eating underway, but I will say this about having nothing but a bad cafeteria filled with "comfort food" to pick stuff from -- eating good means eating boring.

At home I love to cook -- grilling nice filets, chicken breast, baking, you name it I cook it -- for special occasions I usually go get a 7 bone standing rib roast and plop it in the grill for 3-4 hours until it's nice and medium rare. I'm excited to get home where I can cook healthy meals -- I already know how to, it's just a matter of doing it and I'm confident I could probably introduce more fat into my diet than I eat now. Issue at home was more choosing to run out for italian food or deciding that instead of a chicken lasagna with low fat stuff and whole wheat pasta, I'd make a regular one with tons of mozzarella and ricotta and ground beef.

Out here though, it ends up being at least 1 or 2 turkey sandwiches a day. Soldiers overseas have few things to look forward to if you are an American -- we can't drink booze, we work long hours, and one of the ways the military tries to compensate is by providing us with chow halls that are worse than the average college cafeteria, in that they don't even offer the real healthy options most times. I mean there is always a salad bar, but rarely grilled chicken to put on it, for example. The end result ends up being me often being so not excited to even bother walking over to grab my turkey and wheat bread #3 meal -- but you have to to keep that metabolism running.

Weight has been holding steady at between 222-226, so I'm confident that the good weigh-in I had earlier in the week will stick and hopefully be improved on come my next progress check.

[scrummie2]

Last two days were good workout days, although I need to do something about my arms. I mean I know I can't put on big mass while I'm on a cutting diet, or at least that's what all the books say, but I'm going to kill these things anyway because I want them big...I mentioned before I've never been good about training arms, and they need to become a focus.

In fact arms and chest are for some reason the two things I've always disliked training the most, pretty much the opposite of every other guy in the gym.

I was supposed to take the night off on the 3rd, but decided to hit my back, and then last night was supposed to be a rest night, but I felt like doing cardio so I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes of HIIT - but I'm really feeling that my needs some rest so I'm going to make myself do nothing tonight but sit around on my bed and nap.

Here's a status picture -- if you compare to the ones above, I'm feeling pretty good. This one isn't with my shirt off (those are coming in four weeks), and it's pre-workout so I have no kind of pump going on at all, but I like that when I started that t-shirt I'm wearing was pretty tight. I'll leave a circle on my face for modesty's sake. Current weight: 223. Starting weight, 237. Net body fat lost, though: over 35 pounds (10%).

[scrummie2]

221.0 at this morning's weigh-in. Waist down to 38" even.

Bodyfat readings 19.7%-20.7% with my calipers...steady 16mm readings on them. Next check on 13 Jun.

[scrummie2]

Legs last night, after taking a full two days off from the gym completely. I feel great -- I was definitely needing the rest day. It's amazing how hard it is to force yourself to NOT go to the gym once you've gotten back into the lifting zone -- I mean it was funny, all the old methods of rationalization I used to use to get out of going to the gym, I was trying to use them to make myself GO..."Oh, if I miss one night it might throw my whole cycle off...oh, if I miss tonight it's the first step to just quitting in general..."

Bottom line was my body has been getting punished in there and it needed the rest, and I needed the sleep. Muscles need time to grow.

Leg workout was good -- I'm going to start using my workout journal a little more efficiently and recording the EXACT workout I did last time on the daily workout, instead of just using last week's log as a gauge to poundages...poundages won't go up every week, but reps might, and I need to be checking that stuff.

Five sets of squats last night -- 10 x 275, 8 x 315, 5 x 345, 6 x 345, 5 x 345...didn't see myself getting up to 365 last night. I think my metabolism is in full blast and it may be cutting some of my strength gains, but on the other hand squatting 365 as a sub-240 pounder different than squatting it as a 220 pounder, and I don't mind. Topped off the workout with 25 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical, restoration at level 4, interval at levels 8-10 for two minutes each.

Another great feeling though -- back down another notch on my power lifting built -- I only have two notches left on it and it will be too big. When I started I was using the fourth notch in, and sucking in to get in on that -- then the fifth notch, now the sixth (there are 8 total). When I left lifting four years ago I was at the fifth notch and had never used the sixth -- which officially means that my waist now, after almost 3 months of hard training AND clean diet, has surpassed where I was after 5 YEARS of hard training but crap diet (I purchased this weight belt in 2002, while I was still lifting fairly hard but probably around the same % body fat due to poor diet and lots of boozing). It just goes to show you how important what we put in our body is.

Shoulders tonight. Good luck to everyone else on their goals!

[scrummie2]

Cardio last night -- 30 minutes of HIIT which was actually 45 because I had to jump off the elliptical twice, once after 5 minutes because my legs needed to be stretched and once after 10 because the battery in my iPhone was empty and I had to run to get my iPod. I just started over. 20 minutes to close walking on an incline.

Weight down to 218.2 today...under 220 for the first time in years. Over the last 2 weeks it's been a steady 2-4 pounds a week, a good loss rate. BF consisten 16mm, which is 19.2% on my accu-measure table.

I need to get a tan so my upcoming after pictures look better...got to find some way to get to a pool...

[scrummie2]

Been off the journal for awhile. Good on lifting, good on diet -- for me, to be honest, problems with diet stem from me sometimes not getting to the dining facility to eat a real meal and instead relying on a whey protein shake and a protein bar -- I need to be getting in at least three meals of real food.

Calipers have me down at 17.6%, but whereas last week at 18.4% I felt lean and buff, this week I feel fat and bulgy -- I'm attributing it to not drinking enough water the last three days AND the fact I've started an NO-Xplode cycle. I have not been drinking near enough. Body weight in fact was up .6 of a pound this morning for weekly weigh-in to 218.8. I'm thinking I'm retaining water like a camel as I'm not needing to pee much.

So I'm trying not to panic I'm going to make it a point to get my water flow up again (I should be going to the bathroom 4-5 times a day, yesterday only twice). I'm coming to the last two weeks of this 12-week cut, and although I've had great results so far I've read that those are the best weeks, so I guess I'm just being paranoid.

Got to start thinking of what my next plan is for next 12-weeks...whether I keep doing what I'm doing or I mix something up.

Cardio night tonight. If anyone is still stopping by please post a blurb

[Wild_Weasel]

Good job on the bf% reduction. I need to get some calipers and see if I am making/will make any progress on my cut.

I have the same problem of not drinking enough water. I know how you feel. When I do drink enough I feel like I'm peeing about every hour. It's almost annoying.

I hope NO-Xplode works well for you. Several people I know love it. I personally experienced good things with it but I think I built up a tolerance to it after a few weeks. Everyone is different I guess.

Good luck on your cut. Cool journal too.

[scrummie2]

Thanks for stopping by brother!

I'm going to stick with the Xplode for at least a few days -- if I still feel bloated and look puffy even after upping water intake I'll save it for a bulking cycle methinks.

[scrummie2]

Relooking at my records I actually think I was at 27% BF to start, not 33%. Seeing pictures of other people at 33%, I look nothing like them -- and my readings on calipers then could have been wrong. Sad as far as not having lost as much, but still, impressive if I am in fact at 17.6% now. I'm going to do some new math:

Stats at start of program:

Weight: 237 lbs
Waist: 43 inches
BF %: 27%

Current:

Weight: 218 lbs
Waist: 38 inches
BF: 17.6%

So:

Total weight lost: 19 lbs
Bodyfat reduction: 9.4%
Lean Mass at start: 173 lbs
Body fat pounds at start: 64
Lean Mass currently: 180
Body fat currently: 38 lbs

Drop in body fat (lbs): 26 lbs
Rise in lean mass: 7 lbs

There you have it.

I think for the next stage of the cut, I'm going to DROP calories instead of add them...I'm hearing from many other endos that they can go 1800 or so and still not lose muscle -- I'm going to try that for the last two weeks of my cut and see what happens. New caloric goal: 1800-2000 (instead of 2400-2600). Cheers!

[scrummie2]

Cardio tonight -- got in 30 minutes of HIIT on the elliptical -- had to get a quick workout in tonight because I have to head back into the office at 9 PM for a few hours.

Got the water consumption back up -- over a gallon and a half today -- and am right at 1800 calories or so for the day. I think it'll be a good shock to the system to go extreme low-cal for the next two weeks, just to see what happens. I have a feeling my body has adjusted to the deficit and needs another kick in the butt, and upping the cardio would be hard (I already get 5 sessions in a week, sometimes six).

Back and biceps tomorrow...or a day off, depending on how I feel. Cheers!

[scrummie2]

Actually, I'm noting I had the most gains in weight dropped when I went to 2400-2700 cals consistently, NOT 2200 ish...so I think I'm actually going to keep making an effort to eat more consistently, this last week with no gains my caloric intake actually dropped to around 2200 on average, I think it slowed my metabolism down

[scrummie2]

Legs last night -- topped out at 1 set of 4 at 375, and I felt like I could do more, but last night was a low volume night -- the excessive squats kill me for HIIT for a week after, so I'm going to keep it to 5-6 sets heavy weight/low reps (4-10) and then just call it on legs, I go pretty high resistance on the elliptical.

I posted some progress picks in the main Losing Fat forum: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=108667711

There was an interesting thread on the squisyness of fat -- on how it gets really soft just prior to loss -- that's how mine is now, and how it was before my last big drop in weight, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm about to go on a quick drop after being at 218 for two weeks (but dropping 1% BF). I think that might be the way my body rolls -- holds on to fat, until it drops it in big 5-10 pound bursts. I'm cool with that.

Looking at my progress pics, I've got to say I am really excited. This is the second time in my life I've transformed my body from fat to in-shape -- and you know, the first time I never really learned how to be comfortable in my own skin. I'm so excited to walk around now in a t-shirt, with nothing to hide -- to just be proud of where I'm at, but to also be comfortable with the idea that there are more goals to be attained. One of the reasons I failed before is because I was always on a diet -- I got skinny but didn't know how to BE skinny. So I'd binge and then purge, repeatedly -- and eventually the binging got the best of me. That 8 years of fitness I lived has paid dividends -- there is NO WAY I'd be where I am at now after only 3 months if I hadn't worked so hard during those years to build a solid base -- but even better is the comfort and, indeed, EXCITEMENT that fitness is a life style, and there is always something to look forward to attaining. I used to think of that as a bad thing.

As I wrap up this cut the big thing I've noted from the last 11 1/2 weeks is that diet is 80% of my success. There are guys I've gotten to know in the gym over the last three months who are there as much as I am, and yet now they come up to me asking for pointers because they have seen big changes in me but not in them. And it's because they haven't cleaned up their diet. And the next thing is cardio -- if you are dropping fat, you have to do it and you have to do a lot of it.

And last is the lifting -- so many people focus on this as the big part, and don't get me wrong, it is -- I'm in there because I want to be a BEAST -- but that's the point, it's fun and if you're in there 5 days a week and looking for excuses to make it 6 it's because you love throwing weight around, the way I always had before...but I didn't do diet or cardio before, and it took me YEARS to get to even where I am now after three months.

Cheers all! Off night from lifting tonight, I'll get in for 1/2 hour of HIIT and then maybe 1/2 hour of easy walking on the treadmill.

2.

[Nara62629]

hey good story keep up the good work. i'm actually in almost the same boat where u started. its nice to be able to see how guys similar to me are getting it done.
i got out of the military in 06. i got out at 204 but in great shape. over the course of 2 yrs, a baby and College i gained 50 lbs. finally got disgusted with my out of shapeness and my huge gut, so its time.
great B&A pics btw, you're really showing progress. i hope to be able to post great after pics...anyhow keep the log up, i need the moto.

[scrummie2]

Thanks for stopping by dude! You'll be posting the pics soon -- just keep at it, stay disciplined, and keep your eyes on the prize...the good news is having been in great shape before I honestly believe our bodies remember it and want to get back there again -- they just need us to feed them right and give them room to lift and run.

[scrummie2]

Ugh, bad diet day today -- not from a cheat standpoint, but more just haven't been around to go to the dining hall and am on my third meal of yogurt from my fridge and protein shakes -- have only sat down and eaten real food this morning. So a little mini-velocity diet going today. It doesn't usually effect me in the gym (we'll see, tonight is shoulders) but I think it slows my metabolism down a bit. I left my stash of protein bars at my barracks room, as well -- found one in my drawer that hadn't been eaten by mice, but that's it for food around here until the dining hall opens.

[scrummie2]

Shoulders last night.

Seated dumbbell press: 4 x 8 @ 85. I'd been having to drop down to the 80s on my last two sets before, so was glad to get all 4 sets at 85...will try to move up to the 90s for one set next week.

Lateral/front/rear delt raises - 3 x 12 @ 30/35 for each. I try to do these with as little rest between sets as I can -- by the last set of front raises I'm cashed.

Barbell shrugs - 5 x 10 @ 315 - again with little rest between sets.

I didn't do calves tonight (normally I do these after shoulders) - my leg hurts from my sciatic nerve issue (it's been bothering me the last week) and that pain has gotten down to my calves.

Wrapped up with 30 mins on the elliptical, non-HIIT -- just did the hill workout.

Back and biceps tonight.

[scrummie2]

Actually took the night before last off and hit back and bis last night. Was pooped though and called my cardio 10 minutes in...my legs were tired. I'll still hit my 5 sessions/week goal this week, it just means I've now used up all my cardio days off (I give myself 1-2 a week, depending on how I feel). 216 even on yesterday's weigh-in, though, and 16.4% BF on my calipers. 12 weeks hits on Saturday.

I think I'll change my split to incorporate an arm-only day -- I'm feeling like I want to focus a bit more on the glamour muscles for a few weeks - arms and chest. I'm happy with my back size and leg size.

Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Calves/Abs
Quads/Hams
Arms/Abs

I'm thinking I might give this a try...really hit my arms once a week.