Get in shape Contest!!

[Alx.]

I promised i'll post more pics of my progress so here it is.



Sorry for not taking all of the crap out of the background i'm horrible at shopping pictures.

Still doing the same routine: Skipping, bag work, push ups/pull ups, squats, mitt work. Soon going to start running again.

Haven't been in the gym in 2 months because of my ****ed up work schedule but i still exercise at home, planning on returning in march

[New England]

Look at my arms in that pic, they look like toothpicks. I look like a T-Rex, like Ricky Hatton minus the 6 pack he has. Believe it or not they were even skinnier than that 11 weeks ago. I seriously had girl arms in October.

ok kelvin

you want guns, huh?

this will sound crazy, but i'd look to work stuff other than your biceps. work those too, but you'll be looking to do other things to help with your arms. your bis are generally what we / the ladies associate with strong arms. they can actually make your arm look smaller, though, if the proportions are off.

work your tris and your delts. that's what will give you that strong armed look. forearms, too. forearms will help tremendously with your strength in all areas. how many exercises do you really do in a gym that don't involve grip? probably at least half of them. stronger arms will provide a greater level of stability and control.

additionally, your body is constantly seeking proportion. if you want big arms you'll need big legs, a big core, big back and chest, etc.

sounds silly, but if you want big arms you gotta lift heavy legs.

if you're limiting the amount of food you eat it's a lot harder to put on any size. i generally advise people to do one or the other to start out. many people try and slim up first, which is fine. you're better off putting on mass first, and then cutting it away later to emphasize your lean mass. if you really want to be ripped, that's the best way to go about it. that's how the top weight lifters / bodybuilders do things. you don't need to want to look like one of those guys to appreciate their level of expertise and ability. if you're going to lift weights you should


simply put, if you want to get bigger you've got to eat more. if you want to get smaller you eat less. doing one, while working toward the other in the gym (or your bedroom ) is less efficient. it's much better than nothing, but it's making your goals more difficult to achieve.

[THE REED]

Mr Reed, how much should I "cut" to, do I need to get to a specific bodyfat before I bulk?

Id look to get in the 12-15 area before bulking... and when you do bulk it doesnt mean eat anything you want... do it smart or youll just get fat while building SOME muscle... a lot of people lazy bulk, they think its an anything goes diet. Its not. You incease your caloric intake, but you dont gorge.

[New England]

Id look to get in the 12-15 area before bulking... and when you do bulk it doesnt mean eat anything you want... do it smart or youll just get fat while building SOME muscle... a lot of people lazy bulk, they think its an anything goes diet. Its not. You incease your caloric intake, but you dont gorge.

if you want to "bulk" to the fullest extent you 100% gorge. you eat many times a day until you feel full. i agree with not eating junk, as you want to take that space up with nutritious foods, and not simply dead calories.

[THE REED]

if you want to "bulk" to the fullest extent you 100% gorge. you eat many times a day until you feel full. i agree with not eating junk, as you want to take that space up with nutritious foods, and not simply dead calories.

No, you dont.. I have years of experience with it... you eat over your maintenance level but overeating just adds fat... the point is to give the muscles the necessary fuel to grow as much as possible... but gorging and overeating will go beyond what the muscles need and just add fat.

Find out what your maintenence caloric intake is and add 500-1000 calories to start. Anymore than that youre not helping your muscles anymore unless youre doing extreme body building like ronnie and cutler... guys like those are the exception and theyre maintence level is much higher than avg.

[T.Horton]

I'm an old man so I think trying to keep up you whipper snappers will be good for me. I turn 38 on the 30th of the month. I am in reasonable shape but I really going to get dedicated on my birthday. Post pictures at some point as well.

[ShoulderRoll]

Still doing the same routine: Skipping, bag work, push ups/pull ups, squats, mitt work. Soon going to start running again.

Are you doing bodyweight squats? Or with weight?

[-Kev-]

Thanks for the motivational posts/advice guys/new england. Alx you're in great shape, sort of how I want to look but I want to be a bit bigger, I got a long way but i'm motivated to go all the way and do what I have to do.

[New England]

]No, you dont.. I have years of experience with it... you eat over your maintenance level but overeating just adds fat... the point is to give the muscles the necessary fuel to grow as much as possible... but gorging and overeating will go beyond what the muscles need and just add fat.
[/I]
Find out what your maintenence caloric intake is and add 500-1000 calories to start. Anymore than that youre not helping your muscles anymore unless youre doing extreme body building like ronnie and cutler... guys like those are the exception and theyre maintence level is much higher than avg.

that's not true at all man. overeating/gorging is about putting more food in your stomach. if it's lean food you will not be introducing extra fat, but putting on some weight during your "bulking" period is not the end of the world, as you won't be eating all lean foods when you put on mass. it's a part of the process. allowing whatever you eat to go unused and turned into fat over time isn't an inherent part of that process.

again, you don't need to be a top flight bodybuilder to take meaningful bits of information away from what they do. they make the best gains the quickest. the main differences between what they do and what an amateur does are the drugs and the food. they gorge and then fast. and they take drugs to allow themselves to make greater gains and recover faster to allow for more gains without breaking down.

simply adding 1000 calories is not "bulking." certainly not in the same sense as the rest of the bodybuilding community talks about it.

jay cutler walks around at well over 300 lbs... you don't get that way eating like a bird. a big man eats a ton of food. get big, then boil it down. that's the essence of adding lean muscle. he'll eat 5-7 thousand calories when he's putting on weight and lifting heavy. he's obviously bigger than kelvin, who could never eat 7000 calories in a day i would guess, but the general principal (that you put on this weight before you cut it away,) is there.


when you're bulking you eat until you feel full many times each day. at first you'll feel like you are gorging, but eventually you get used to it, as your stomach is quite elastic. it's amazing what you can do when you condition your body.

what you're introducing to kevin is not bodybuilding, or bulking, which is fine. it's just eating another 500-1000 calories a day and exercising. what i am suggesting will get you much bigger gains, which is putting on weight by eating more and lifting heavy for a period of 2-3 mo, and then cutting it away for a month or two. take a break for a week or two (or more if you are old, less if you're young,) and do it again.


you make fine points. what you're suggesting is healthier. however, my methods will get you much bigger gains.

[Al3x]

Start weight - 354
Current - 268
Goal - 230
Height 6ft6

I lost the majority of the weight with straight up calorie counting and working out. I will be training for the next 90 days (everyday) 1 hour minimum. I do boxing training 2 times per week for 2 hours, and will start running 2 miles daily 5x per week and upping it as required.

Is it possible to lose that much weight in the time I cant see me ever being much lower than 230 maybe 220 but I cant see it.