Starting a total transformation

[Omnium11]

Thanks

Hiim: I agree your back looks much bigger. Lats especially, those pullups must be having an effect =P

Great job Millenium! Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check back in =P

And yeah that is incredibly fast running lol. I like to 'run' at my granny pace of 6 mph lol. My mom currently runs faster at 6.5 haha
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Tomorrow is the 1 month mark. Pictures coming tomorrow.

[hiimnotcool]

Sweet! I'm glad there are noticeable gains in the back. It's crazy how fast back muscles start to develop. I've only had the pull up bar for two weeks and have only done pull ups like 5 times so I'm pleased so far.


I just ran 3 miles. My legs are sorrrrre.


I think the 1 month transformation award goes to Omnium! Good job man you're doing incredible.

[Cerberus]

^agreed.


I just ran two miles. My calf muscle started to tighten up a bit near the end of my run. It hurts a little bit. Tomorrow will be my day off from running, so hopefully it will be good to go by Thursday.

[millenniumman75]

A day of rest is recommended if you run. Since I run four times a week, I have a remainder. I run on Sunday and Monday - the Monday run is rough, especially in the summer, but I pull through it.

[Lateralus]

I wish I could run like you guys. I do two miles a couple times a week and I run some steps at the nearby high school stadium bleachers, but if I try much more I get horrible shin splints that last several days. I think it's because I'm a bit of a toe runner and I have crappy shoes.

I've gone almost a month now on eating only low sugar foods and only drinking water and protein shakes. I have also been lifting 5 days a week. I'm just about where I want to be physique-wise although trimming all the body fat brought me down from 182 to 175. So even though I've gained muscle, I'm still 7 lbs lighter. A bit disappointing but appearance is more important than the numbers I suppose.

[Brightpaperwarewolf]

Originally Posted by hiimnotcool

Heres an updated pic of my Back/Shoulder area since I havent done one of those for awhile. Already notcing differences there!!

My stomach's not improving anymore so I'm not sure what to do. I'm a little pissed cause I want abs!!! It's really frustrating


This is day 28 I think



This is day 49 or so

Hell yeah, the back is starting to show.

4 keys to a six pack.

1. Form. It's so important to do exercises in proper form, otherwise you are cheating yourself.

2. Do them slow. It's more effective to do 20 sit-ups slowly with good technique rather than 200 fast and sloppy. You'll feel how much more intense it is.

3. Variety. There are like thousands of ab exercises out there. You can also modify existing exercises like doing a sit-up in a decline and not hitting the surface of the bench at any point or using a dumbbell as weight.

4. Diet. If you really want them to show, you are going to have to count calories so you make sure you don't burn too much and you want to gain, just muscle, little fat. So you'll have to high-protein diet, minimize carbs a bit (yeah dude you gotta cut down on the beer) and eat only good ones, but you run a lot so you'll still need them. You have a vigorous program that burns a lot, more than you realize and abs are muscles that need to grow as well. The first 3 will make your abs strong regardless. But if you want killer abs that show, step 4 is necessary.

[STKinTHEmud]

Originally Posted by Brightpaperwarewolf

You have a vigorous program that burns a lot, more than you realize and abs are muscles that need to grow as well.

On that note: I'm of the camp that it's best to work your abs no more frequently than any other muscle. Abs need time to recuperate to grow bigger just like any other muscle, so I do them only once a week. A lot of people seem to have the impression that working abs will directly burn your belly fat, but that's not true: cardio burns it best. Any opinions?

[hiimnotcool]

Originally Posted by Brightpaperwarewolf

Hell yeah, the back is starting to show.

4 keys to a six pack.

1. Form. It's so important to do exercises in proper form, otherwise you are cheating yourself.

2. Do them slow. It's more effective to do 20 sit-ups slowly with good technique rather than 200 fast and sloppy. You'll feel how much more intense it is.

3. Variety. There are like thousands of ab exercises out there. You can also modify existing exercises like doing a sit-up in a decline and not hitting the surface of the bench at any point or using a dumbbell as weight.

4. Diet. If you really want them to show, you are going to have to count calories so you make sure you don't burn too much and you want to gain, just muscle, little fat. So you'll have to high-protein diet, minimize carbs a bit (yeah dude you gotta cut down on the beer) and eat only good ones, but you run a lot so you'll still need them. You have a vigorous program that burns a lot, more than you realize and abs are muscles that need to grow as well. The first 3 will make your abs strong regardless. But if you want killer abs that show, step 4 is necessary.

Hey thanks for the reply! I definitly agree with you about the form and speed. I really don't go for tons of reps with the exercises. I try to keep it 15 reps or so for each exercise. I do about 15 exercises per ab workout and I usually do them 3 days per week. I was actually thinking about adding hanging leg raises becaus those are said to really target the abs too. I have the arm slips to attach to the bar so it'd be easy to do. Also was thinking of buying the exercise ball and a weighted ball becaus my abs really popped back in 2007 when I was using those.

I definitely know I need to limit carbs. It just really sucks because I love beer. I don't know if its worth it to me to give up beer just to have a six pack that shows. Would giving beer up UNTIL I get the abs work? I know it's easier to maintain muscle then actually build it. My carbs are mainly from fruits and veggies but I usually eat 2 slices of whole grain bread everyday because I have a peanut butter sandwich and a whole wheat tortilla wrap.

My arbs are already showing and it's probably a matter of just losing the rest of the fat to get them completely visible. I can feel the abs beneath the fat and they're really hard and defined. I put myself in a bad position with all of the beer drinking and no exercise but I think I'll just let it happen naturally and quit trying to force results. The key is to just keep working and if you do that the results will naturally come, right?

[judge72]

Six pack abs take time to achieve. You have to have a very strict diet. This is most important.

Next you have to do a lot of cardio depending on how much fat you have to lose. Never go over an hour or you'll start using muscle as energy. Forty-five minutes 5 to 6 days a week is good.

Lift 3 to 4 days a week, depending on your split. Compound movements are very important. Dead lifts, squats, bench press, shoulder press, dips, etc. The more muscle you have the faster your metabolism will be.

Train your abs like any other muscle. Do your upper, lower, and obliques one to two times a week. This is the smallest part of the six pack equation.

You could do a 2000 sit ups a day and never have a six pack. You have to have single digit body fat levels, and this can only be achieved through diet, lifting and cardio.

[Brightpaperwarewolf]

Originally Posted by hiimnotcool

Hey thanks for the reply! I definitly agree with you about the form and speed. I really don't go for tons of reps with the exercises. I try to keep it 15 reps or so for each exercise. I do about 15 exercises per ab workout and I usually do them 3 days per week. I was actually thinking about adding hanging leg raises becaus those are said to really target the abs too. I have the arm slips to attach to the bar so it'd be easy to do. Also was thinking of buying the exercise ball and a weighted ball becaus my abs really popped back in 2007 when I was using those.

I definitely know I need to limit carbs. It just really sucks because I love beer. I don't know if its worth it to me to give up beer just to have a six pack that shows. Would giving beer up UNTIL I get the abs work? I know it's easier to maintain muscle then actually build it. My carbs are mainly from fruits and veggies but I usually eat 2 slices of whole grain bread everyday because I have a peanut butter sandwich and a whole wheat tortilla wrap.

My arbs are already showing and it's probably a matter of just losing the rest of the fat to get them completely visible. I can feel the abs beneath the fat and they're really hard and defined. I put myself in a bad position with all of the beer drinking and no exercise but I think I'll just let it happen naturally and quit trying to force results. The key is to just keep working and if you do that the results will naturally come, right?

If you keep working at it at the pace you are, it'll come, but you' still have to cut down the beer to get better results. Not giving it up completely but spacing it out and drinking a bit less. Doesn't have to be taken to the extreme and give it up completely, that's no fun. What's the point of doing all this if you can't sit back and enjoy a beer? It's just about balance. Also I thought about it and I think that might be skin and that's just a matter of time before that extra skin is gone, it's a part of weight loss.

Personally, you should just try to do it for bragging rights you could say "hey I had an awesome six pack, taken a picture. Then let go a little.

[millenniumman75]

Originally Posted by judge72

Next you have to do a lot of cardio depending on how much fat you have to lose. Never go over an hour or you'll start using muscle as energy. Forty-five minutes 5 to 6 days a week is good.

Well, I have four of those 5-6. I try to throw in a 9-mile bike ride on Saturday, so I guess that makes 5. My legs are one of my best features - you've seen my picture thread. I get compliments on my calves. Most guys don't even bother with the legs - they get all muscle top-heavy and stuff. .

[Cerberus]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

Well, I have four of those 5-6. I try to throw in a 9-mile bike ride on Saturday, so I guess that makes 5. My legs are one of my best features - you've seen my picture thread. I get compliments on my calves. Most guys don't even bother with the legs - they get all muscle top-heavy and stuff. .

yeah, man, your legs are really muscular. I was impressed when I saw that picture. I have a leg day every week. I know how important they are. I neglected them for a little while in high school and hiking became harder and my legs would start to burn just hiking. I hardly ever see anyone doing squats at my gym -- hell, I never see anyone doing dead lifts either. Everyone seems to focus on exercises that don't seem to help very much. Free weights and compound lifts FTW.

BTW, I friggin love this thread. Thanks for starting it, Ominium11. It's such a positive thread on an otherwise generally negative forum

[STKinTHEmud]

Originally Posted by Cerberus

yeah, man, your legs are really muscular. I was impressed when I saw that picture. I have a leg day every week. I know how important they are. I neglected them for a little while in high school and hiking became harder and my legs would start to burn just hiking. I hardly ever see anyone doing squats at my gym -- hell, I never see anyone doing dead lifts either. Everyone seems to focus on exercises that don't seem to help very much. Free weights and compound lifts FTW.

Too true. My pet peeve is when 5 or 6 teenagers hijack a squat rack, pull up a bench from the other room, and bench press in the squat rack for about 30 mins or so on my leg day.

[Omnium11]

Thanks guys

Really good posts everyone!

I agree cerb, I was feeling a bit crappy just now but reading all these real positive replies and the great helpful info from so many people has really cheered me up. This sounds cheesy as hell but I seriously doubt I would have had the motivation to do this all on my own. Blogging about this with you guys and sharing our gains and experiences has really helped stay motivated and get through the tough periods.

I was planning on wallowing around all night until I fell asleep but now I have new found motivation to get off my *** and work off the pizza and wine I had earlier today. Gonna hit the bench press and hit it HARD as well!

Feeling better already! :-D

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Alright feeling great now. Did my chest / triceps, doing shoulders now.

WARNING: Boring summary of my day: =P

Anyways earlier today I went and saw my grandparents who I barely know. I felt little anxiety throughout the whole thing which I think really means I'm progressing well, will have to wait for a big family gathering with all sorts of relatives because I usually get very anxious with those. I attribute the lack of anxiety to doing meditation previously (Also yesterday I was completely in the zone as far as meditation goes) Eventually I ended up drinking wine and once I started I pretty much drank 1/3 or 1/2 of the bottle myself. Then I got started on the pizza. =P I figured I would not worry about this though because it is a rare and special occasion. I would say the whole ordeal was pretty positive. Also proud of myself for not resorting to the ativans. Later though after the wine wore off I started feeling kinda crappy and had bunch of negative thoughts and such and also tried talking to a girl that works at a gas station. Wasn't successful but wasn't really bad either. She just had a completely bored / neutral look on her face the whole time. Anyways my mind started making stories and dwelling on all these things and started creating lots of problems about the girl encounter and also about seeing my grandparents.

Anyways its amazing how the mind can completely take a day that was pretty darn good and in one of its fits can only see the negatives and find negatives that never really were. Only creations and projections that it creates. I think it was the yin to the alcohols yang though which created this negativity. Alcohol makes a bit of euphoria and in return I get some anxiety as a result when it wears off.

Anyways pics are coming tomorrow I promise =P Today I just got real busy and all my clothes are in the washer now.

Am probably gonna retain a fair amount of water here but that will make muscles look bigger.

[Lateralus]

Ok so here's a pic, kinda dark and grainy on my 3 year old cell phone. I want to improve my abs a bit still, but otherwise I don't really want to be much bigger (if at all).

I wish I had taken a "before" pic from a month ago before I started the low sugar diet and lifting 5 days a week. I guess I looked similar to this, but I had quite a bit more body fat so there was less definition.



Now I need to get some better running shoes and learn to stop toe running so I can get into good aerobic shape. I couldn't keep up with you guys right now if my life depended on it!

[Cerberus]

^ That's about how I want to look. Your abs and muscles look really good and defined. What's to improve about your abs? I've never had abs like that. Fantastic job. What's your height and weight, if you don't mind my asking?


Updated weight: 163-164 lbs.

These weight fluctuations really throw me off, but that's what I get for getting wasted on the weekends. I weighed around 165.5 -167 last week when my water weight was lower, so I've lost a healthy amount of weight. I'm pretty happy with the amount of muscle I've been able to retain so far. Now I just need to get some abs like the above poster. Oh, and I completed my chest/tri workout today.

Edit: I hiked around with my dog for around 40 minutes.

[hiimnotcool]

Originally Posted by Lateralus

Ok so here's a pic, kinda dark and grainy on my 3 year old cell phone. I want to improve my abs a bit still, but otherwise I don't really want to be much bigger (if at all).

I wish I had taken a "before" pic from a month ago before I started the low sugar diet and lifting 5 days a week. I guess I looked similar to this, but I had quite a bit more body fat so there was less definition.



Now I need to get some better running shoes and learn to stop toe running so I can get into good aerobic shape. I couldn't keep up with you guys right now if my life depended on it!

You have the same body that I'm going for! Really defined but not overall huge. By looking at my pictures how long do you think it will take to get where you're at? Really impressive, must haveb been alot of hard work to get where you are. What was your body like before you began working out?

Also, what do you mean 'toe running'? If you mean running on the ball of your foot that's what I do too, but if you literally mean you run on your toes without any other part of your foot touching the ground then yeah altering that a bit may help

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by Cerberus

^ That's about how I want to look. Your abs and muscles look really good and defined. What's to improve about your abs? I've never had abs like that. Fantastic job. What's your height and weight, if you don't mind my asking?


Updated weight: 163-164 lbs.

These weight fluctuations really throw me off, but that's what I get for getting wasted on the weekends. I weighed around 165.5 -167 last week when my water weight was lower, so I've lost a healthy amount of weight. I'm pretty happy with the amount of muscle I've been able to retain so far. Now I just need to get some abs like the above poster. Oh, and I completed my chest/tri workout today.

Thanks. I would like to just have larger abs and more definition in the lower abs. Ryan Reynolds has the abs I'd like to have someday but that will take a lot of painful hard work. And no I don't mind your asking at all: Height: 6'1" Weight: 175 lb.

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by hiimnotcool

You have the same body that I'm going for! Really defined but not overall huge. By looking at my pictures how long do you think it will take to get where you're at? Really impressive, must haveb been alot of hard work to get where you are. What was your body like before you began working out?

Also, what do you mean 'toe running'? If you mean running on the ball of your foot that's what I do too, but if you literally mean you run on your toes without any other part of your foot touching the ground then yeah altering that a bit may help

Yeah I'm not into the huge bodybuilder look either. It's hard to say how long it will be for you but almost certainly less time than me, because you're more dedicated than I was and your back got insanely improved in just 20 days or whatever it was. It takes me forever to gain muscle because I have problems eating enough of the right foods. Anxiety screws with my appetite. Recently I've been able to eat well fortunately.

Before I began working out which was years ago, I was the same height (6'1") and 130 lbs. Basically I was a stick and I rarely saw anyone skinnier than I was, that didn't help my anxiety either. I literally saw people laughing at me at the gym, consistently. Knowing all that I know now, I'm sure I could've gained that muscle much faster but what's done is done.

By toe running I mean the balls of my feet like you said. I don't remember where I heard toe running but that's what I've called it. Anyway I was reading about shin splints because I get them bad, and apparently one thing you can do is strike with the heel first and spring forward off the ball of the foot. Running shoes are designed for the impact in the heel as well. By impacting at the ball, it stresses the tibia and supporting muscles quite a bit which often leads to shin splints or even stress fractures. I guess for some people it's ok to run like that but I need to break the habit for my legs' sake.

[judge72]

Your in great shape Lateralus. Good job man.