Dan5290: From "scrawny" to "Men's Fitness model"

[Dan5290]

I needed a place to verbalize my progress and excitement. So here it is. I'll start with the basic stats, then get into some details:

Pre-Starting Stats (when I first started working out in Sep. '06):
Age: 19
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 152
Body Fat: 14-15%

Starting Stats (As of the time of the creation of this thread):
Age: 19
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 160
Body Fat: 11-12%
Bench Press 1RM: 125 (I know, I am pathetically weak)
Squat 1RM: Never maxed out, as I've been working on form, but probably around 150ish.

Goal Stats:
Age 20:
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 188
Body Fat: 9%
Bench Press 1RM: 200
Squat 1RM: 250


My Story:
I'm an ecto, always have been. I've been uncontent with my scrawniness ever since as early as 8th grade, but it's only gotten worse. A couple times in high school I tried to do something about it, but I had no idea what I was doing in the weight room (working out with kids that didn't even squat, did ineffective body part splits, etc.), and I wasn't eating right. Needless to say, I didn't see results, and didn't stick with it. Ever since then I've vowed that eventually I would do something about it. Finally, the time has come.

At the start of this schoolyear (sophomore in college) I started working out consistently, and now I'm a little obsessed. I read the book Body For Life and that was the foundation for my nutritional knowledge, but soon realized that, as an ecto, I needed to eat far more than that book recommended. So I've spent the last two months getting into a bit of a routine and getting used to weightlifting again, practicing form, and adapting my nutrition. I've lost a few pounds of body fat, and gained about 10 lbs of lean body mass. I haven't been on a set program, I've just been making sure to focus on the compound exercises (haven't been doing enough squats though).

Lifting:
I'm on a short break right now (a lot of stress and no sleep because of this past week), but on Friday I'm going to start Rippetoe's Starting Strength program and see where that gets me. After 1.5-2 months of that I'm going to take a week-long rest, and re-evaluate. If the weights are still going up (probably will be, I'm really weak) I'll go for another session of the program. I'm going to keep this pattern until I stop progressing. After that I will reassess, and figure out what I need to do.

Cardio:
I was doing some HIIT on the treadmill every other day (on non-workout days), but stopped a few weeks ago because my weight was stalling and because I heard that's not the best source of cardio if you're trying to bulk up. Anyway, I'm going to start swimming 1-2 times a week on non-workout days once I get a couple weeks into the program.

Nutrition:
I live in a college dorm, so Nutrition is the area I have the most difficulty with. First of all, it's extremely difficult to count calories and protein, because I'm not cooking most of my own food...I have to guesstimate a lot. Second, since I am mostly not preparing my own food, my choices are limited. Third, I have to eat BIG at my three main meals, and eat much smaller throughout the day, because my meal plan only affords 3 meals per day.
With that said: I've been getting a little sloppy lately (cheeseburgers, pizza, etc.) in an attempt to put on weight, and that fact combined with the absence of cardio is making me put on weight a little too fast, I think. So as of this week, I'm going to go into a much cleaner bulk for a little while. As soon as I start up with the cardio (swimming) I'll let myself get a little messier again.

Supplementation:
Right now the only thing close to a supplement that I take is a whey protein shake or two every day. I'm open to recommendations if you feel that there is something else that is essential. I may invest in some kind of flaxseed oil, but I'm not sure. I eat plenty of fish, olive oil, almonds, etc. through the week so I do get a lot of good fats. I HAVE NEVER, DO NOT, AND NEVER WILL TAKE ANY FORM OF STEROIDS. No creatine either. I'd like to do this as naturally as possible.

Goals:
I tend to be a perfectionist, so I aim high for everything; this is no exception. I would like to get up to 185-190, and get my body fat down to <10%. I have no desire to get a huge bodybuilder body. The body that most closely resembles what I want can be found here (most noteably: Greg Plitt, Jeff Gum, Brian Wade). I realize I will never look as good as them, and I am ok with that. But I want to get close, and I realistically believe that I can achieve this.
My medium-term goal is to get to 170. I've never topped 170, and getting to that magic mark would be a major morale booster.
My short term goal(s) is to gain 5lbs per month. (A little more than a lb per week).

Pictures:
No pictures yet. I did take some about a week ago, at or near my "Starting Stats," but I haven't got them developed yet. I will try to post those by the end of the month, as well as with some progress photos. I will try to post progress photos at the end of this month.

"Began life as a very skinny kid, but to twist that old saying, inside every skinny kid is a fitness model struggling to get out. I got out of being the skinny kid on the block when I developed a passion for fitness after high school." - Jeff Gum, IconMen.com
^That is a quote that keeps me going. I have no desire to actually become a fitness model, but I do want that kind of body.

Thanks to the admins of this site, it's great to have a place like this to "waste" bandwidth in hopes for some encouragement and feedback.

Anyway, I appreciate anyone who follows this or offers any feedback or advice. I know I'm a little early on this, as I won't be officially "starting" until Friday, but this isn't a wasted thread, I will be updating constantly beginning Friday.

Thanks!

[Steve Von Till]

You sound like the same body type as me, as I was 6'0 150-155 coming out of high school. I never really considered weight training up until last year. I'm 28 now, and just quit smoking a couple months ago after 10 years or so, and decided to go in detox mode and start exercising/weight training. I have been on machines only the past month, trying to build up some strength before free weights.

As a beginner I can't tell you much but what I can tell you is I know how you've been eating like a slob your whole life and never gaining much if any weight but your metabolism is starting to slow down and **** is going to start catching up to you. I recommend NOT eating the garbage foods and going for the clean bulk. 90% of fat you will accumulate will end up in your gut, butt, and thighs, and you will continue to have toothpick arms and legs. (I am at this point now)

Good luck dude and keep us updated.

[Dan5290]

You sound like the same body type as me, as I was 6'0 150-155 coming out of high school. I never really considered weight training up until last year. I'm 28 now, and just quit smoking a couple months ago after 10 years or so, and decided to go in detox mode and start exercising/weight training. I have been on machines only the past month, trying to build up some strength before free weights.

As a beginner I can't tell you much but what I can tell you is I know how you've been eating like a slob your whole life and never gaining much if any weight but your metabolism is starting to slow down and **** is going to start catching up to you. I recommend NOT eating the garbage foods and going for the clean bulk. 90% of fat you will accumulate will end up in your gut, butt, and thighs, and you will continue to have toothpick arms and legs. (I am at this point now)

Good luck dude and keep us updated.

Thanks for the advice man, I appreciate it.

Congrats on quitting smoking, and good luck with your training. I was on machines for a little while just to get back into it too...before long you'll be in full swing, don't worry.

[Dan5290]

Ahhhh, first workout after a week off (due to stress and lack of sleep), and it felt pretty good. Weighed in at 163.5 today. Here was the workout:

Squats:
3x5x65
(Decided to keep my weight low 'cause I realized I needed more work on form. I'll probably increase by 10lbs every workout from here on out.)

Bench:
3x5x85
(Will increase by 10 for next workout, then probably 5 for each subsequent workout).

Deadlift:
1x5x95
(Way too much weight for my first time deadlifting. I'm gonna drop it down to probably about 65 next workout and see how that goes. Yeah, I know, you don't have to say it: I'm pathetic.)

Misc:
Did a couple pullups, a few dips, and some ab work (hanging leg raises, decline crunches, etc) just because I wanted to. I know, I know, I messed with Rippetoe's. Won't happen again.

No comments on diet today, today was kind of a screwy day so I don't really remember what exactly I ate and at what time.

[Endeavourer]

Good luck mate, sleep, lift, eat, go massive!!!

[Dan5290]

Good luck mate, sleep, lift, eat, go massive!!!

Thanks! I appreciate the support.

I'm looking forward to posting some good progress pictures in a couple months...although I think strength may have to come a little before size: I am a weakling. On that note though, I'll either be seeing big progress in numbers, or big progress in pictures...either one is fine with me, 'cause as long as one is up the other is bound to follow. Hopefully I'll have something to motivate other skinny guys with.

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 159.5
(Not too worried about day-to-day weight fluctuations, as long as it doesn't drop any lower than this. This should be the low end of where I thought I was. Hoping to stay in the 160's, and get to 165 by about January 1st.)

Squats:
6x75
5x75
6x75
(Was concentrating so hard on form that I forgot to stop at 5 reps. :P )

Military Press (dumbbells):
5x25
5x25
5x25
(Going to try to up by 5lbs Every week. If that doesn't work, I'll try 5 lbs every two workouts. If that doesn't work...then I suck.)

Pendlay Rows:
5x65
5x55
5x55
(First time ever doing them. Took some getting used to.)

Miscellaneous:
1 set of back extensions

1 set of hanging leg raises
1 set of 15 standard crunches
1 set of 10 weighted decline crunches


Positives: I love Mondays, it feels great to lift again after the two days of rest over the weekend. I feel like I'm really getting a good handle on proper form for squats, and I think I'll be making good strength gains on this program.
Negatives: My roommate took home his fridge, so I have to keep my milk, yogurt, chicken, etc. in the girls' room across the hall for the next week. Meaning I only have access to it when they're home, which can be very inconvenient. Bah, I can't wait until next semester when I can really dial in on my diet.

[Dan5290]

AAAAAAHHHHHHH!

It's 5:00 in the morning, I woke up because of hunger, and due to the fact that my fridge is gone I have no good source of protein right now. Damnit, this is going to be a frustrating week.

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 160.9 lbs

Workout:
Didn't squat today...I realized that my form still needs a lot of work, as I don't think I am getting to parallel when I keep my knees from going past my toes. I don't know if it's a flexibility problem, or if my legs are just too weak, or what. But anyway, last night I did a whole bunch of bodyweight squats in front of the mirror for practice. Here's what I did do today though:

Deadlift:
8x65
6x75
(Just did a random amount of deadlifts with whatever weight I could comfortably handle. This is only my second time deadlifting, and I just really wanted to get a lot of reps in to work on form and get some practice.)

Bench:
5x95
5x95
5x95
(I increased the weight 10lbs from last time, and I handled it pretty comfortably. From here out though, I'm going to increase by 5lbs every workout.)

Accessory Work:
2 sets of about 10 reps of hanging leg raises
2 sets of weighted (10 lbs) decline crunches

Nutrition:
It's frustrating not being able to eat what I need to when I need to, but oh well, it'll be over soon. I realized also that I need to keep the bulk as clean as I can...I've been slacking too much. Which leads me to:

Goals and Progress:
After reading Christian Thibedau's (sp?) article about bulking again, I've realized that I'm getting a little too impatient. I think I'd rather go much slower and make my gains as lean as possible. I just need to concentrate on strength gains, and make sure my diet is in check. From here on out I'm going to aim for about 2-3 lean lbs. per month. Here's what my short-medium term goals are looking like now (assuming that my current weight is, on average, 161):
Jan. 1st - 163
Feb. 1st - 166
Feb. 20th - It's my birthday, so I'm going to kind of use this as a benchmark. By this time I want to be AT LEAST consistently above 165.
March 1st - 169
April 2nd - 172
May 1st - 175

Progress has been a little slow as of late, but I've accepted that it's probably due to the nutrition, lack of sleep, and a little bit of stress. I have, however, noticed definite improvement in my lower back. Also, I can actually feel muscle in my quads now without flexing.
Side note: I took an arm measurement today, and it's about 11 1/8" (pathetic, I know). I'll use this to compare for future gains. I did a couple measurements a while ago, earlier in my training, and I was at about 11" even, maybe a tiny bit less. Regardless, I'm using today's number as a starting point.

I will post before pictures and 6 week pictures some time next month.

Thanks for reading if you did!

-Dan

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 161.2


Squats:
5x85
5x85
5x85
(I think I got the form down. Gonna start increasing by 5 lbs every workout now. I'm excited. )

Military Press (dumbbells):
5x25
5x25
5x25

Pendlay Rows:
5x55
5x55
5x55
(Second time doing them. I'll put some more weight on the bar next week.)

Close-Grip Chin-Ups:
5xbodyweight
4xbodyweight

Dumbbell Curls:
5x20
3x20
(Just did this as a little add-on, 'cause my biceps haven't been getting worked much lately.

Miscellaneous:
1 set of 12 reps hanging leg raises
1 set of 9 reps hanging leg raises
8x10lb weighted crunches
Side Bends


Notes: Workout felt pretty good. Squats felt great. Over the weekend I'm gonna look for some type of ab routine, 'cause right now I don't really have much structure...I just kind of do whatever I feel like. That needs to improve, but other than that I feel like I'm doing well. Making progress on the lifts and the body weight.

[Dan5290]

Well, I've been busy, so I haven't gotten a chance to update in a while. I was still at it last week, but got sick, so I decided to take this past week off. My workouts will resume again tomorrow. Here are my weigh-ins from last week:

Monday: 162.2
Wednesday: 162.3
Friday: 163.0

Movin' on up. We'll see what it's at tomorrow, but I should be right in line with my January 1st goal. I've also noticed tons of visible progress in my legs, and some good progress in my pecs.

I will be posting tomorrow's weigh-in and workout sometime tomorrow.

[Dan5290]

Well, finally back at school. This means that everything will be more consistent, from my diet, to my lifting, to my posting. I'll finally be able to update this regularly again.
Here are my previous three weigh-ins:

163
162
165.8

And today's stuff:

Weigh-In: 163.0

Squats:
5x85
6x85
5x85

Military Press (DB):
5x30
5x30
5x30

Chin-ups:
7xbody
4xbody

Seated Cable Rows:
8x60
5x80
5x80

Accessory Work:
Abs:
2 sets of hanging leg raises
2 sets of weighted crunches
1 set of side bends

Back Extensions:
8x10
6x20

Calves
Don't remember, just did two quick sets because I was in a hurry.


Notes:
- I have had UNBELIEVABLE progress in my legs. I am very happy with it.
- I have, for the first time since I started a few months ago, noticed some visual gains in my chest. This is very encouraging. It was the only body part that I hadn't had any real visual gains.
- My lats are starting to fully develop

My goal is to be consistently above 166 by the 1st of February, and I think I can definitely achieve that. I might even be able to get a little higher. My "aim for the sky" goal is 170 by my birthday (February 20th). I am going to try extremely hard to hit this goal without compromising bf (e.g. I'm not gonna gorde myself with junk just to hit a numeric goal).

I AM SICK OF BEING SKINNY. I love my low body fat, but I'm sick of still looking small. In the past few months I've gone from "scrawny" to "skinny with some muscle". The next step I think is "skinny with a lot of muscle", and sequentially, "muscular".

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 162.9

Squat:
5x90
5x90
5x90

Bench:
5x120
5x120
5x120

Accessory Work:
2 sets of hanging leg raises
2 sets of weighted crunches
1 set of side bends
2 sets of back extensions


Notes: I was a little disappointed that my weight hadn't jumped any higher, but I had a GREAT workout today. Next week I will be doing 5 reps of my previous 1 RM. That is an exciting feeling.

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 164.6

Squats:
5x95
5x95
5x95

DB Military Press:
5x35
5x35
4.5x35 (just barely missed that last rep)

Chin-Ups:
7xbody
3xbody
(After squats and military press, I just had nothing left for these. The first set wiped me out.)

Seated Cable Rows:
8x70
6x80
5x90

Curls:
5x25
5x25

Accessory Work:
Abs
Back extensions
Calves
(I don't feel like listing it all right now).


Notes: Well, it's encouraging to see the scale move again...I've been eating like a horse all week. I can't wait to see where I'm at on Monday. The next two weeks will be HUGE for me, as I should be setting PRs almost every time I hit the gym. This is exciting.

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 166.6


Squats:
5x100
5x100
5x100

Bench:
5x125
5x125
5x125

Accessory Work:
3 sets of weighted decline crunches
1 set of hanging leg raises
3 sets of back extensions
2 sets of calves

Notes:
Decent workout today. Squats were difficult, but I got through 'em. I'm progressing very well on Bench, it's very encouraging.
My weight jumped quite a bit. I'm going to keep eating how I've been eating and see what I weigh in at on Wednesday. If my weight has increased to 167 or higher, I'm going to drop my calories by just a bit and make sure I'm eating nothing but CLEAN foods.

[Dan5290]

I exceeded my school's network bandwidth quota last Wednesday, so I wasn't able to post my workouts. This post will include my weigh-in from last wednesday, as well as my weigh-in and workout from today.

1/17/07 Weigh-In: 166.6

Today:
Weigh-In: 165.9

Squats:
5x115
5x115
5x115

Military Press (DB):
5x40
5x40
5x40

Seated Cable Rows:
8x80
5x100
5x100

Accessory Work:
Hanging Leg Raises
Weighted Hanging Leg Raises
Weighted Decline Crunches

Notes:
Stilll making progress on the scale...I'm right in line with my goals. The lifts are going well, although I feel I might be close to stalling on a couple. My hope is that I can get to my birthday (about this time next month) without having to deload. I will be taking progress pictures soon, but I don't know when I'll have them up.

[Dan5290]

Here's Wednesday's weigh-in and workout, next post will be today's stuff:

1/24/07
Weigh-In: 167.1

Squats:
5x120
5x120
5x120

Bench:
5x135
5x135
5x135

Dips:
8xbody
7xbody

Accessory Work:
Hanging leg raises
Weighted decline crunches
Calf raises

[Dan5290]

Weigh-In: 168.1

Squats:
5x125
5x125
6x125 (forgot to stop at 5)

DB Military Press:
5x40
5x40
5x40

Seated Cable Rows:
8x100
5x110
5x110

Accessory Work:
Hanging leg raises
Weighted decline crunches
2 sets of curls

Notes: Making great progress in both strength and weight, but still a ways from where I want to be.