10 month progress update.... pics!

[astrojohn]

Okay, here's the back story...I've finally reached a point where I feel comfortable posting pics and think it might even motivate a few more people.

I was always on the tiny side, I'm 23 now and 5'8", always had a youthful look etc. I went to college at 129lbs, stayed around there through sophomore year, and junior year I started packing on the pounds. I spent every waking moment in our lab trying to pass my CS classes. I was over stressed with school and didn't have any time to take care of my body, I used to be into mountain biking and snowboarding, but I ended up gaining too much weight and had no free time to persue my hobbies. The only time I had was on weekends and I usually spent every moment just getting trashed w/ my friends. I was around 155 in my junior year, which wasn't bad because I had actually gotten taller, yea, very late bloomer.

When senior year hit I was taking 7 classes plus labs each semester just to graduate on time and ended up getting really sick for pretty much the whole year. Things went very downhill. As the last semester came, I knew my life wasn't too good, I was always sick, I was out of shape, and I looked horrible. I remember looking down at my gut one day and just saying that was it, when the semester was over I was going to make sure I fixed this. I peaked at 182, 5'8" and not an ounce of muscle. A girl literally beat me at arm wrestling, I had to get my shit together. I started a diet but still had no time for the gym because of all the studying needed. I dropped to 172 on the day of graduation.

I pretty much went through a total life transformation. I spent about a month or two after graduation focused only on getting a great job and losing all the weight, fixing my life up.

I got a bunch of certifcations, landed a job in the Bay Area that started with about 2 months of training in MA, from August to October, after that I moved out here.

I focused on HIIT training on my bicycle, eating clean, and supporting it all with weight training on the side from June til August. I dropped 35 lbs in 3 months, consistently dropping about 2lbs a week. 6 meals a day, all 40/40/20 with cardio in the morning. When October came around I was too skinny, I dropped the weight but I was skinny fat, so I just spent the last couple months focusing on lifting.

It was tough during the move out here and traveling back home for the holidays, but I spent a couple weeks without any training at all, which bummed me out.

I bought a chinning bar, a bench, and 160lbs of free weights. I found I wasn't making time to go to the gym, so I put the equipment in my apartment so I wouldn't have any excuses.

I stuck to the basics, free weights, along with situps, chinup/pullups, and pushups. When I started with the pullups a few months ago I couldn't even do one, now I can do 'em with like 20lbs between my feet. When I started w/ the situps I was doing 1 or 2, now I do plenty more, and with a backpack of rocks on my chest, same with the pushups, I maxed those out and started just doing them with a backpack of rocks, lol - it's very surprising the way your body can adapt.

My original BF was recorded at around 23% and now, 9 months later, it's at ~16%.

I didn't take any real before pics because I was wayyy too self conscious. I wish I did now.

Anyways, here's the pics. Apologies for the wacky faces, I wasn't sure when the camera was snapping hte pics, so I look like i'm shitting my pants.

Sophomore year (La Salle tshirt):
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/n4350...04426_3465.jpg

These pics are from my senior year (these are 10-12 months ago), when I had to get with the wake up call and get my shit on track (180~ and 172~):

(left side)
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/n3500...57175_2944.jpg
(right side)
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/n4350...28280_4460.jpg

This is after about 4 months of the program, I was getting way too skinny:
(led zep shirt)
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/n4260...20793_1098.jpg

And here's a couple pics from just now:
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20002.jpg

Obligatory lame flex shot:
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20010.jpg

Face like I'm wetting myself:
http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20001.jpg


I'm gonna try and cut down to 10% now for the summer if possible....


If your curious about my equipment, I did most of it with just a bicycle and this bench which was like $40:

http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20006.jpg

This chinning bar:

http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20007.jpg

And here's my erg that Genmay just helped me decide to buy

http://www.jmasci.net/progress/progr...pics%20008.jpg

So I'm really happy about where this all brought me, and never be depressed about anything in your life, because in the past 12 months I brought myself to a place that I never thought I would have been. I was depressed before, constantly ill, and all over miserable. I made some posts awhile ago about this, literally 1 year ago here, about the anxiety and depression I was dealing with. I reached that point where I had to say 'fuck this shit, I have one life and I'll be damned if I let anything get in my way'. I basically decided where I wanted to be and made sure nothing stopped me from getting to my vision.

If you don't think you have control over your life, you're wrong. You have complete control and it's up to you to make the most of yourself. Thanks for the encouraging support you've given me in the past, I hope th is motivates anyone who was as bummed as I was to realize that you can overcome any challenges that get in your way. Now go out and live!

[Intrinsic]

damn dude, nice job. Are you taking protein? you should join a gym and get stacked , you definately need some dumbbells too to get those arms going, look at some of these dumbbell exercises:
http://www.shapefit.com/biceps-exerc...cep-curls.html
and you didn't mention diet, was there anything you drastically changed or was just exercising your method?

anyways, im on a mission too:
heres me at 220, three months ago:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/eee4967079.jpg
now heres me today at 195:
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/cce532e7c4.jpg
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/7ce1ef7c5c.jpg
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/9c9dd6403c.jpg

2008 is the year mang lets get off our asses

[sheaux_down]

I sadly appreciate that you went to the effort of using a tripod to take your pictures.

Thank you.

[SilkSteel]

Originally Posted by Intrinsic

2008 is the year mang lets get off our asses

right on. I'm going to the gym for like the first time ever tomorrow.. a bit anxious/excited. I'm a skinny son of a bitch so I'm just tryin to put some weight on.

[astrojohn]

quoted instead of editing: I meant to say that the start weight was 182 and the current is 138

[bob101]

dude you have a dorky fucking smile. don't cut anymore. start putting on muscle

[wizzfish]

dot foldering for inspiration.

[Nevermore]

Originally Posted by sheaux_down

I sadly appreciate that you went to the effort of using a tripod to take your pictures.

Thank you.

But he still shot into the mirror

Keep up the good work mang, ill be making a thread about myself in a few weeks

[bsdd]

nice work, but keep on packing on muscle, you're still looking thin good luck!!

[el_diablo007]

Good work dude!

[fuck canada]

Originally Posted by bob101

dude you have a dorky fucking smile. don't cut anymore. start putting on muscle

QFT, eat you skinny bastard

[Gibonius]

Good work dropping the fat man. That's a hard thing to do.


I agree with some of the other people that you could use some more mass. You'd just look too skinny at 10% (would be like 125 lbs assuming you don't gain more muscle). I see guys like that at the gym, not a good look IMO. It looks like someone's kid brother broke into the gym.

I think with your frame you could stand to gain 20 lbs of muscle and still be "thin." If you managed to add 20 pounds of muscle (and no fat, which wouldn't happen), that'd actually put you at 10% BF. That's a much better look for an adult.




I've been working on a body composition makeover for awhile now. I was reasonably lean @ 200 lbs and 6' when I got to grad school, didn't eat enough for a while and lost much of my muscle tone. Then I got a little fat, hit 220 lbs'. I started working out September of 2006, so a year and a half. I kind of dicked around the first couple months, been lifting seriously for a little more than a year now. My weight's been all over the place, mostly by design. I dropped down to 208, decided I wanted to add some mass, and did that for a LONG time. I hit 230 lbs and 17% BF this December and it was time to drop some weight. Now I'm down to 215 and ~12%. Starting to really like my lifting numbers too. I haven't lost any strength from when I was 230, which is nice. I'll probably post a progress log around the 2 year mark, I'm waiting to see if I can hit a couple milestones first.

[SGT Rob]

Wow, excellent job guys!

[Vendetta]

Atta boy...uh...boys

[yoj]

I went from 120-125 (5'7'') in my senior year of high school to 146 today when I weighed in at the gym! I've got a bit fatter but mostly lean muscle and of course the water weight from creatine :s. I've started to be consistant with my weighing (every wednesday now) and I went 142 143 144 146 over the last month . I'm hoping to get to 180 before next christmas then do my first cut! I can't wait to cut... stuffing my mouth day in and day out is not fun. Grass is always greener I suppose.