2018 Spring/summer Goals and progress thread

[induced_drag]

ID I’m in the same boat. I’m further than you by a slight margin in regard to leanness, but it’s still there. The lower abs and lower back even look soft to me in guys that are on stage in pictures sometimes, so it’s a mind thing imo. You don’t need to get any leaner, but if you want to it seems like you have found the tools to do it.

Lean makes a regular guy like me look pretty big. We went to a public water park on the 4th and I was carbed to the gills feeling sloppy bloated, but apparently I looked decent judging by the people looking at me in the background of the pics (or I just looked weird, was catching a lot of weird looks).

It’s funny because I’m jealous of your leg vascularity, while at the same time leaner in the waist. My arms are pretty crazy now, forearms to shoulder is veiny. Carb up and pullback is what seems to make me look the best, but I’m still trying to experiment with carb ups, my last on3 was pretty much just eating waffles until I exploded .

The legs started out at 15mm skinfolds and have whittled down down to 4ish (depending on how much water/sodium) Even if I gain 30lbs, they never get much above 5mm now. That is why I dont buy first to go, first to come back thing.

I agree on the carb effect when you lean out. It has pronounced effects. I went overboard on the 4th and visited a few friends I had not seen in about a year. I drank quite a bit....My cooler which I brought a 12 pack came back empty and I know I was getting a bunch out of their fridge as the night went on. Jello shots were floating around too . I ate pretty much everything in sight. (I generally only drink a few times a year,....but sometimes with old friends, things just happen when you are having a good time haning out )

Then next day in the gym, was a leg day and it was the freakiest I have ever looked. 4 or 5 guys (who are all in great shape) all came up and commented on how good I was looking. Not in a weird way....just giving props. It was appreciated coming from these guys for sure.

I am going to keep going. It's 1230 and I am on my 3rd cup of coffee. I dropped the few tbs of milk from my coffee, and swapped with C8 MCT powder. I use just under 2g so it is about 15cal and wont affect blood sugar. Makes a great coffee creamer. I am starting to swap this with my simple sugars PRE-workout. If you are not aware the 8-carbon medium chain tryglyceride is processed the most quickly and know to give the best energy boost. This is great stuff for keto as well. But it also has energy benifits when running lower carbs.

I purchased nutricost C8 MCT powder off the largest internet retailer of about anything. It is the best price and that brand is about 1/2 the cost of some others. (sticking with forum rules as you cant post links to bb.com competitors. I dont think bb.com carries powdered MCT though...)

[Cantplankwell]

Though I should check in here. Hit a moving average of 169.6 this morning. Waist is around 35.5" Have not been this light since maybe my early 30s? Lost around 20lbs since the first week of April. After the sketchy/excessive eating last week this was a pleasant surprise. Running out of notches on my belts (and weight belt) Trying to get to about 165 and 33-34 waist. Skipping breakfast on days I dont lift...and shoehorning in some road-biking has been helping. Squatting has been getting harder tho.

[ectoBgone]

Without seeming like a 110lb teenage girl walking around saying how 'fat' she is.....there are a few sides of it.
...
Of course, there are the things one can't change. Muscle insertions, skeletal proportions...

Got a good chuckle out of that one. Yeah, I can appreciate that. I've got orangutan length arms for my torso size that makes it feel like a huge uphill battle for muscle bellies.

Once it does, I believe I can keep it off. Last to go, first to come back is not what I have observed. The last to go has very little blood flow and does not mobilize easily. It does not lay down quickly either. Quads are a great example. It is slow to lose, but now even with a bulk of 30 lbs, my skinfolds will stay under 5mm. (My first cut my skinfolds we're 15mm) It is the vat that comes way before skinfolds go up. So there is plenty of buffer to stay lean in appearance even if you are not perfect in the diet. I have learned to ride this line pretty good and stay leanetand leaner over the years. It is just I have been unwilling to cut as deep as I would need to inorder to even out my fat distribution again.

That's pretty interesting. I can't say it' something I've noticed but I haven't been in the game long enough, and more importantly, consistently enough to notice. It's something I'll keep an eye on and see if it holds for me too.

[induced_drag]

Got a good chuckle out of that one. Yeah, I can appreciate that. I've got orangutan length arms for my torso size that makes it feel like a huge uphill battle for muscle bellies.



That's pretty interesting. I can't say it' something I've noticed but I haven't been in the game long enough, and more importantly, consistently enough to notice. It's something I'll keep an eye on and see if it holds for me too.

Yep we all fight the battle against our parts that are not as great as we would like. The leaning is something I can surly say. Once you take the time to drop stubborn Sub-q, you can keep it off pretty easy. Your VAT rises much quicker (much better blood flow). So as long as you keep an eye on that, you are good to go. I could even see the point in a surplus where I started to spill over. It was just after the 4 month mark (250 cal surplus). Trying to push out to 5 months would all picl up midsection sub q back that I had previously lost. Staying in a 3 month window is very safe if you dont go overboard on cals.



Tonight is a refeed night. I have really been pulling in cals hard.

Took my son to see Incredibles 2 on Sun and there was a scene in the movie where they were eating Chinese food. It looked so good. When I got out of the movie, I told my wife how good the food looked. She said she was thinking the same thing . Funny how real looking the renderings are in those movies. I said I'll grab takeout on the way home from the gym.

Sitting at my desk about 20 minutes post-feast and veins are popped out everywhere.... With my appetite suppressed as IF has done, I had a hard time finishing my food. I left room for some caramel M&M's though No roof for icecream tonight. I am back on the horse!!!

[sy2502]

I can officially declare my 2018 goal attained! I competed, I took 2 3rd places, one in the Masters 35+ and one in Open D. I think I brought a good package overall, age be damned. For the 1st time I didn't feel undersized in a NPC competition, about time! So while I will work on overall size as always, I'll also pay attention to some weak areas. I don't know if I will do another competition, this one was tough, but then I always say it's my last competition



More photos on my prep thread, link in my signature.

[blue9steel]

I can officially declare my 2018 goal attained! I competed, I took 2 3rd places, one in the Masters 35+ and one in Open D.

Great job! Some tough competitors but you came in looking pretty lean and muscular, definitely earned it.

[induced_drag]

I can officially declare my 2018 goal attained! I competed, I took 2 3rd places, one in the Masters 35+ and one in Open D. I think I brought a good package overall, age be damned. For the 1st time I didn't feel undersized in a NPC competition, about time! So while I will work on overall size as always, I'll also pay attention to some weak areas. I don't know if I will do another competition, this one was tough, but then I always say it's my last competition

More photos on my prep thread, link in my signature.

Really nice job! Congrats.

Now you can have that refeed you were wanting. You deserve it! (and now I am the one feeling like I am whithering away )

[tblodg15]

Congrats sy! That's awesome to compete in the first place and to place well on top of it is an amazing accomplishment. I know you were worried about the others size so that's great that you didn't feel undersized.

[ectoBgone]

More photos on my prep thread, link in my signature.

You look fantastic. Huge respect for your accomplishments.

[sy2502]

Thank you so much for the compliments everybody!

[Plateauplower]

Thank you so much for the compliments everybody!

Awesome job! Checked the pics in your journal. You looked great! Way to bear down and get it done. Truely inspiring.

[ectoBgone]

I entered the thread starting a re-comp after a long hiatus. Goal was to get down to around 12% bodyfat where I could start a lean gain phase. Whether or not I hit the precise bodyfat figure, I reached what I consider to be the right point to change directions.

Timeframe: 2/16 -> 6/16 (with two weeks in between where I did a de-load and diet break)
Weight: 176 -> 166
Waist: 34.5 inches -> 31.5 inches

From previous "cuts" where I was only focusing on fat loss and was not in a de-trained state where I could expect some lean tissue gain, I can say with pretty high confidence that I tend to lose 1 inch of waist for every 5 lbs of weight loss. By those numbers, my re-comp would suggest that I lost 15 lbs of fat and added 5 lbs of lean mass, and that feels about right. Either way, I'm happy to have undone the half decade of idleness and be close to where I was before the wheels fell of the bus.

Inspired by ID, I decided to take a quick video for assessment. This isn't posing it's more like mirror gawking just to get an idea where I'm at. No pump, just warmed up from some yard work. Not sure why the lighting was making my recording so fuzzy, some of the abdominal lines are a little sharper than the video shows, oh well.



Since I forgot to include my legs I grabbed a quick shot of them cold.


quads.jpg

These can be compared with my early April update at Post 62. You can see some of the fluff has come off and other areas have filled out a little more, probably in part due to being back on normal calories.

All in all, I am content with how it went. I am most happy with the fact that I STOPPED dieting and have transitioned into a focus on gaining. I have been a perpetual dieter obsessed with being ripped and every time I have dieted down I ended up disappointed because it just hasn't looked that good anyway. I need to grow, so that's what I'm off to do.

[induced_drag]

Inspired by ID, I decided to take a quick video for assessment. This isn't posing it's more like mirror gawking just to get an idea where I'm at. No pump, just warmed up from some yard work. Not sure why the lighting was making my recording so fuzzy, some of the abdominal lines are a little sharper than the video shows, oh well.
o.

Chest developlment is very good. If I had any advice, it would be work your back as much as you can. Deadlifts, heavy bent rows. That is what will thickn you out overall (expecially from the side). Your chest is great, and if you bring your back up to it, I bet you would be surprised at how much it changes things. Nice work!

I am still going with IF. This is almost too easy. Here is 5 weeks into dieting. The main advantage I see is the appetite suppression. This is almost too easy.

I have full glute striations (not that anyone wants to see that ). It is almost weird looking. Looks like I got bit by a shark. Starting to see 'christmas tree' in my lower back. Just hanging on to stubborn midsection, but skinfolds are steadily dropping. I think this will be the easiest I have ever dieting and I believe it will allow me to get to a level of leanness that I have been unwilling to push to before.

[ectoBgone]

If I had any advice, it would be work your back as much as you can. Deadlifts, heavy bent rows. That is what will thickn you out overall (expecially from the side). Your chest is great, and if you bring your back up to it, I bet you would be surprised at how much it changes things. Nice work!

Always open to constructive feedback, so thank you, it's appreciated. I agree about the back and it's what I have been prioritizing lately. Back is always first on upper body day and I plan to hit it hard.

I am still going with IF. This is almost too easy. Here is 5 weeks into dieting. The main advantage I see is the appetite suppression. This is almost too easy.

Fascinating. Congrats, skin is definitely looking tight there.

[avaccaro]

Long time lurker and I'm just 3 pounds off my target of 160 lbs. 41 y/o and I am 5"10. This is a pic after arm/shoulder day today. Looking at the transformations over the past several months and you guys are inspiring.

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[ectoBgone]

Long time lurker and I'm just 3 pounds off my target of 160 lbs. 41 y/o and I am 5"10. This is a pic after arm/shoulder day today. Looking at the transformations over the past several months and you guys are inspiring.

Attachment 8957731

Ripped, good work! Welcome.

[dazlittle]

Long time lurker and I'm just 3 pounds off my target of 160 lbs. 41 y/o and I am 5"10. This is a pic after arm/shoulder day today. Looking at the transformations over the past several months and you guys are inspiring.

Attachment 8957731

Nice work, looking good.

[drkelly74]

When i originally posted in this thread back at the beginning of March, I had a near term goal of drilling another hole in my belt one notch/inch smaller. I also had a year end goal of benching 225 for 5 reps. At the time I could only do 225 for 2 reps. After a month or so, I gave up on the smaller belt goal in pursuit of the benching goal because it was more fun, LOL. By late June/early July I had managed to bench 225 for 4 a few different times, and even got 235 for 2, and 245 for 1. Then I went to the beach for a week in mid July, lol. I was very active walking, digging in the sand with my son, and boogie boarding, and lost some weight and size around my waist. My bench strength was down big after 9 days off from the gym. I decided to give the one notch smaller belt goal another shot until Labor Day. I'm two weeks in so far, and have another 4 weeks to reach that goal. I read someone post recently that 5 lbs lost for them equals 1" smaller waist, so 5 lbs over the next 4 weeks is my goal. I'm already down about 2.5-3 lbs over the past 2 weeks. After Labor Day weekend I will return to my year end benching goal of 225 for 5. Current stats are 6'2", 199 lbs, 33" waist.

[ectoBgone]

I read someone post recently that 5 lbs lost for them equals 1" smaller waist, so 5 lbs over the next 4 weeks is my goal.

That was me but everyone is very different here. My fat predominantly goes to lower back and I seem to get very little from the sternum upwards and not a lot in the legs, so your mileage could vary quite a bit here. Regardless, congrats on the bench goal and good luck on knocking down your second!

[drkelly74]

That was me but everyone is very different here. My fat predominantly goes to lower back and I seem to get very little from the sternum upwards and not a lot in the legs, so your mileage could vary quite a bit here. Regardless, congrats on the bench goal and good luck on knocking down your second!

Whenever I gain fat/get heavier, my fat all seems to be visceral fat as I believe it is called, right in my belly. I'm pretty sure your rule will apply to me, but we will see. My waist already feels smaller from just dropping 2.5-3 lbs.

[Cantplankwell]

Well I am out

I started at approximately 187-9 ish. This morning I weighed in at 163.2, My waist, measured at the navel went from 38.5 or so to 33.25" At first I was not going to post these pictures as I am very overly critical with myself, especially after seeing pics of other folks. But I guess it did not happen if there are no pictures. It would be nice to come back every year about this time and make comparisons.






A few of things

I was a lot "fatter" than I thought I was, probably closer to 30% (or more) than 25%. Fat is fat, a number does not matter.

This was not overly hard, until towards the end when I started to get aggressive with my calorie reduction. Almost every day I approached it in a methodical manner as I learned on this forum. After awhile it just becomes a habit.

There is clearly a very strong case for a healthy dose of hypertrophy here. I am not going to get that from weightlifting, even doing physically taxing complexes. I have some work to do with my current program for a few months, then I am going to invest in some good old fashion muscle building over the winter...an area I dont know much about.

[blue9steel]

Solid progress, great job!

I was a lot "fatter" than I thought I was, probably closer to 30% (or more) than 25%.

That discovery happens to pretty much anyone who has been overweight. I know every time I lose more weight I shake my head and I'm like "You're kidding me, still not done?" I've just learned to accept that it's a journey and keep plugging away at it.

[ectoBgone]

Excellent progress, Cantplankwell, big difference! Transitioning into a muscle building phase is both tricky and rewarding. It takes more patience to see the results but feels great to lift with fill caloric support. Stay on the path!

That discovery happens to pretty much anyone who has been overweight. I know every time I lose more weight I shake my head and I'm like "You're kidding me, still not done?" I've just learned to accept that it's a journey and keep plugging away at it.

TRUTH!

[gipper53]

Checking back in after two months. Forgot to post on July 17th with progress. Lost about 15 lbs since my June 17th post where I was around 202. Yesterday stepped on the scale at 187.8. 185 will reach my original goal of losing 50lbs. I want to drop 60lbs total then start my bulk this fall. I'm so ready to switch gears from fat burning to muscle building, but not there yet.

Damn it feels good...have not been in the 180s since high school. Gained 15 lbs my first year of college and kept getting fatter. Got down to about 193 for my wedding in 2003, steadily climbing in my 30s until my peak of 235 in January this year. Finally starting to see the faint outline of abs coming through, and my 34" pants are getting loose. Almost time to step into 32" size.

Like they say...there is no secret to this. Just be consistent on training, eat like you're supposed to and adjust as you go along. The results will come, just have patience.

[Plateauplower]

Nice job gipper53, stay after it. If you are careful you will only need to do that big cut once.

I’m staying lean, I have been bouncing around from the low 180s bloated to mid to upper 170s. I know I should be eating around 2600 cals for a small surplus, but that’s not easy. It seems like when I eat more I get hungrier, then I eat more. So I have been zig zagging with my calories, essentially eating to hunger but being selective with what I eat. Days I want to increase calories I simply include more carbs from fruits, oats, yogurt etc. if I want to pull back calories I drop my carbs back down and feel reasonably satiated getting by on less calories. If it wasn’t such a PIA I’d upload some current pics . I’m enjoying though and starting to get a little strength back as well. I’ve been doing a ton of volume on a 3X per week fullbody program at a new gym and loving that as well. If I could figure out a way to sleep more I’d be golden. About the same weight today as Avi but leaner and more filled out, so I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing as it seems to be working. The higher calorie days are nice and average seems to be about 2600.

[gipper53]

Nice job gipper53, stay after it. If you are careful you will only need to do that big cut once.

I’m staying lean, I have been bouncing around from the low 180s bloated to mid to upper 170s. I know I should be eating around 2600 cals for a small surplus, but that’s not easy. It seems like when I eat more I get hungrier, then I eat more. So I have been zig zagging with my calories, essentially eating to hunger but being selective with what I eat. Days I want to increase calories I simply include more carbs from fruits, oats, yogurt etc. if I want to pull back calories I drop my carbs back down and feel reasonably satiated getting by on less calories. If it wasn’t such a PIA I’d upload some current pics . I’m enjoying though and starting to get a little strength back as well. I’ve been doing a ton of volume on a 3X per week fullbody program at a new gym and loving that as well. If I could figure out a way to sleep more I’d be golden. About the same weight today as Avi but leaner and more filled out, so I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing as it seems to be working. The higher calorie days are nice and average seems to be about 2600.

Thanks a bunch! I will be sticking with this, it's turned into a healthy addiction at this point. I'm so pumped about how I intend to look by next summer. I'm finally at the point for the first time ever in my life where I could take my shirt off in public and not feel totally embarrassed. Not that I take my shirt off in public, but the fact that I could

I hear ya on the strength gains. I'm at the point where increasing strength is getting very hard for me being on the constant cut. I'm doing deload weeks about every 6-7 weeks because I just feel drained by then and fail to meet target reps. Feel great again after the deload, but by the time I'm ready for the next deload the weight I'm lifting has barely gone up. I've been eating more carbs on lifting days which helps. I've accepted this is how it will be until I'm finally eating for gains rather than weight loss. I guess the fact that overall strength is still increasing rather than dropping is a good sign at this point, even if at a snail's pace.

[induced_drag]

I started this tread back in March with a goal to finally 'get in shape' this summer. I always stop short of really where I want to be. After stumbling upon intermittent fasting, I was really able to make that push I never wanted to go to.

This is where I am at finishing out summer. Tan fading....but I can finally say I feel like I am in decent shape. Of course, I can improve, and still will for the next few months leaning out just a bit more.

[Plateauplower]

Nice work ID, I just had a overfeed weekend. Went out to our favorite Mexican place for lunch and had several slices of pizza for dinner. Gained about 8 lbs lol. Back to it today and will bring my weight back down to low 180s. Lifts are all going in the right direction and I feel pretty good. Just need to keep my weight below 190 so I don’t have as long to diet when I pull back hard again. My son starts Ju Jitsu tonight in the facility where my gym is, so I’ll have additional opportunity for some cardio and misc stuff after he gets settled into that. I have gained at a much faster rate than I intended to since July but a lot of it I should water and I havnt added too much fat yet, lifting belt is in the same notch and up 10lbs.

[Cantplankwell]

I started this tread back in March with a goal to finally 'get in shape' this summer. I always stop short of really where I want to be. After stumbling upon intermittent fasting, I was really able to make that push I never wanted to go to.

This is where I am at finishing out summer. Tan fading....but I can finally say I feel like I am in decent shape. Of course, I can improve, and still will for the next few months leaning out just a bit more.

Good work...you look great!!

[induced_drag]

Nice work ID, I just had a overfeed weekend. Went out to our favorite Mexican place for lunch and had several slices of pizza for dinner. Gained about 8 lbs lol. Back to it today and will bring my weight back down to low 180s. Lifts are all going in the right direction and I feel pretty good. Just need to keep my weight below 190 so I don’t have as long to diet when I pull back hard again. My son starts Ju Jitsu tonight in the facility where my gym is, so I’ll have additional opportunity for some cardio and misc stuff after he gets settled into that. I have gained at a much faster rate than I intended to since July but a lot of it I should water and I havnt added too much fat yet, lifting belt is in the same notch and up 10lbs.

Learning to be flexible in my dieting (sometimes even a little overboard) is why I think this is so easy for me. I really dont feel I am missing out on anything. Just not eating like a pig every day. I am going to continue leaner and then possibly ramp up a very small amount in the winter. I am going to really push for those hard skinfolds ALL OVER now. I am not struggling at all to maintain this, and I just slowly creeping leaner and leaner. I too have seen how quick you can shift back up 10lbs as soon as you bring carbs in. The fun part now is just moderating it so you can "have your cake and eat it too!"

Good work...you look great!!

Thank you.