Quote :

"I started out 2011 at about 215 lbs, 6'3". By February I was at ~221. I wasn't exercising and I was eating a lot, so I suspect that gain was entirely fat. I had gotten down to about 185 lbs in early 2010, so it was slow but steady fat gain after I stopped exercising and controlling my calorie intake. At the beginning of February, feeling pretty fed up with the state of my body, I began a modified P90x program. This consisted of HIIT (Interval Training/Sprints) 3 times a week, Ab Ripper X on the same day (core exercises, basically). Additionally, I would do push up/pull up circuits once a week. I'd basically do 6 sets of pull ups (wide grip, chin ups, overhand grip), 6 sets of push ups (standard width, military width, wider width, decline push ups), and also some dumbbell rows. On another day, I'd do arm/shoulder work - dumbbell shoulder process, curls, dips, tricep extensions, flies. In retrospect, this program was kind of silly, but I did see results. From February to August, I went from ~221 to ~197 lbs. I also put on a decent amount of upper body muscle and got faster over that period of time. Obviously, a lot of that weight loss resulted from a tightly controlled diet. I stopped eating out all the time and started eating 6 meals a day. It was around August that I realized I had hit somewhat of a plateau and that I needed to step up the intensity or modify my routine. I also knew that I was not devoting enough time to the big muscle groups (primarily, legs - the posterior chain). Unfortunately, I had no real experience with the big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, presses), and I was kind of worried about hurting myself. About that time (late August, early September), I began a strength conditioning program with MattJMM2, consisting of 3 sessions a week. Each session has consisted of squats with various combinations of bench presses, overhead presses, deadlifts, and chin ups. We've also done a lot of dumbbell (arms/shoulders), core, and mobility work. With respect to the compound lifts, we've done different programming, but generally it's been based around 3 sets of 5 at whatever my work weight is, with some max effort and speed work days sprinkled in. During these few months of working with Matt, I've made a lot of progress. Went from being totally uncomfortable in the squat position to squatting 300 lbs last week. Bench press max is sitting right under 225, though I'm pretty confident that I could do 225x1 now. Aside from strength, I've seen a huge improvement in the way I look. My shoulders and arms are bigger and more defined. My core is stronger than it has ever been. I've added a substantial amount of muscle mass to my butt, legs, and chest. I was about 197 in August, got up to 211 around two weeks ago, then started using intermittent fasting (as outlined by leangains.com) and I'm down to ~207 already. If you're like I was, and looking to get serious about your physical fitness, I would highly recommend MattJMM2's services. You can experience a tremendous transformation in 3-6 months time - right in time for Summer 2012. This goes for ladies, too. You're not going to get bulky from strength training, but you will get toned and you'll turn heads like never before.!"

Thanks for the nice review

And great work so far!

[Edited on November 28, 2011 at 9:06 PM. Reason : ;]

11/28/2011 9:04:57 PM

it's too damned cold to go running. someone go do it for me and then pass the cardio benefits along to me, k?

11/29/2011 7:46:28 PM

Sorry, MattJMM2 restricted my cardio so as to not interfere with my lift recovery.

11/29/2011 8:34:12 PM

And how is it working out for you?

You can add in a little bike riding or whatever activity you enjoy...

But if your goal is to get bigger and stronger on the main lifts, you must prioritize. So add it back in if you want, but if your progress gets stagnant, you know what to do.

11/30/2011 9:06:38 AM

anyone tried the Body by Vi stuff?

my roomates(two girls) want to try it and I havent really heard anything about it. Im getting them on p90x today.

thanks

11/30/2011 2:23:51 PM

^^ Haha. True story. I'm not complaining, but I do feel a bit lazy sometimes when explaining that I only workout three days a week without them knowing those three days are intense and I am usually a bit whooped the next day.

11/30/2011 3:16:20 PM

efficiency

11/30/2011 3:31:23 PM

Just bought new running shoes yesterday, about to hit the road this evening before work. Cold be damned, I'm not going to let pilgrimshoes be in as good a shape as me at his bachelor party.

Might start p90x back up after Xmas, undecided still.

11/30/2011 4:38:33 PM

Quote :

"anyone tried the Body by Vi stuff? my roomates(two girls) want to try it and I havent really heard anything about it. Im getting them on p90x today. thanks"

A girl I went to high school with always talks about it on facebook. And now she's losing inches. Isn't it like protein shakes?

11/30/2011 6:32:05 PM

I suppose, I think its more recipes than anything really but I have no idea.

some of the stuff Ive seen posted sounded delicious.

Pinterest Fitness section has me inspired. those hot ass girls on there just make me wanna get ripped.

12/1/2011 2:16:32 PM

Intermittent fasting is extremely easy to stick to and seems to work. My meal cycles have been working something like this:

Training day:

8:00: Wake up, drink 30g whey protein
8:30 - 9:30: Squats/Presses/Deadlifts/all that good shit
10:00: Big ass breakfast consisting of meat, cheese, eggs, milk, and carbs. 1200-1600 calories.

Between that time and 5-6 PM, consume another 1500-2000 calories. High in protein, but also plenty of carbs.

6:00 PM - 10:00 AM the next day - eat nothing.

You really don't need to be that strict about it. If you eat a little more than you should, it's not a big deal. If you don't fast one day, it's not a big deal. I'm just making a conscious effort to do 3 or 4 14-18 hour fasts during the week, with my biggest windows of consumption centering around work out days.

On non-training days, I aim for 2500-2800 calories, which is doable in two meals.

When you just know you're not going to eat for that 14-18 hour fast, it's easy to stick to. You don't think about it. You don't spend hours planning out tiny meals for the whole day. You get to eat large, satisfying meals. And, surprisingly, I really don't get that hungry.

This interview is a pretty good IF primer: http://www.leighpeele.com/martin-berkhan-and-intermittent-fasting-interview

[Edited on December 1, 2011 at 2:41 PM. Reason : ]

12/1/2011 2:32:25 PM

^ i did leangains for a few weeks and loved it. I'm not on the program right now due to some external factors with a crazy schedule, but ill be back on it again soon.

The alternate version which I was doing was not eating all day and then eating everything sight from 4 PM - midnight.

Sometimes I'd be a little hungry around 11 AM or so but once the fat burn kicked in it was a breeze. I didn't start at 4 PM all at once I started at noon and then moved it back a half hour every other day. Made an easy transition.

Not only did I have great success losing fat, but I enjoyed the diet more than normal ones where I always felt hungry. I'd highly recommend everyone try this

[Edited on December 1, 2011 at 3:01 PM. Reason : a]

12/1/2011 3:00:47 PM

Quote :

"Pinterest Fitness section has me inspired. those hot ass girls on there just make me wanna get ripped"

I have a fitness board with my faves as inspiration.

12/1/2011 4:26:24 PM

wow, I REALLY pissed my knee off at the gym yesterday. I don't know what I did, but I made everything a metric crap-ton worse. Hell, I stretched out really well before and after and this is the thanks I get. grrrr. sounds like no more leg work until this crap heals up or the PT guy says so.

what say yall? ice the fuck out of it? I've had some "popping" on the inside tindon to my hamstring when I do leg curls. on some days, simply lifting my leg up to my hamstring could make the tendon slip. it didn't really hurt, but it was discomforting. the past week, though, I've had increasing pain "inside" my knee. nothing bad, just a little dull ache here and there, especially going up stairs. and, last night, when I got back from the gym, I couldn't straighten out my leg without that aching occurring, and it actually was bad enough that I simply couldn't straighten it out at all. today, it's been full on aching all day, even when I am sitting down. it's been pretty bad. got my knee brace on, but that's not doing anything. tomorrow I'm gonna schedule the PT that my doctor recommended yesterday for it.

before, running on it didn't hurt it or seem to make it worse, though heel walking during my cooldown stretches would piss it off for a few seconds. should I just ice it and stay off of it?

12/1/2011 5:26:47 PM

^ ew that doesn't sound good. basically lots of rest and ice.

When I hurt my knew i tore all kinds of cartilage up in it. and i couldn't do a damn thing to make it heal any faster. took 3 months. I hate not being able to work out.

12/1/2011 6:38:27 PM

^^I have some similar problems in my left knee, although not quite as intense sounding as yours. It hurt going upstairs, especially after running, but I never had any pain otherwise, like straightening out or anything. I stayed off of it for 3 weeks and it barely made a dent in improving. I basically stopped running for a couple months and its starting to get better now. Pretty disappointing when you are trying to lose weight

12/1/2011 8:17:46 PM

^^^ Stop using machines. Machine based movement is inferior for many reasons. If the tissues are aggravated, don't keep stretching them.

Find someone who really knows what they are doing to teach you how to squat, dead lift, and other corrective exercises to get things mobile, stable and back in alignment.

12/1/2011 9:02:18 PM

Dropped 22 lbs in the last month.

going to start pushing more on rowing as cardio...as it's pretty fun.

12/1/2011 10:04:06 PM

For your health!

message_topic.aspx?topic=621141

12/2/2011 11:13:50 AM

I think I've slowly managed to put on 5 or so lbs recently. I'm mostly stopped running sports and I've been lifting. I'm trying to build lean muscle. I don't think I'm ever going to not be skinny anymore, but I can at least hope to develop some definition, and I'm trying to challenge my muscles more.

I'm thinking of making a set of December goals.

No holiday candy. Build some muscles.

12/2/2011 11:17:43 AM

^The path to your goals lies in barbells.

12/2/2011 7:39:19 PM

Jingle Ball run (5K): 26 minutes! New personal best

12/3/2011 1:36:04 PM

GG Cass! That's fast!

12/3/2011 4:58:33 PM

i've been eating pizza, but it's meat lovers so i'm getting my protein!!

12/3/2011 7:20:21 PM

I have a treadmill in my living room, but for the last year I have been going to the gym to use the ellipticals instead of exercising at home. Today, I decided to do an hour of cardio on the treadmill while watching football instead. I have a program on the treadmill that will set the speed constant at 3mph and adjust the incline until my heartrate is holding steady at 130bpm. Last year, I was holding a 5-6% incline at that heartrate. Today, I was holding a 10-11% incline at that heartrate for an hour. It feels good to know that all the extra cardio work I've been doing this year has improved my cardiovascular health that much.

12/3/2011 11:50:50 PM

Quote :

"^The path to your goals lies in barbells."

I know right?

I've got these:


http://www.amazon.com/Golds-Gym-WARRANTY-RECHARGEABLE-PURCHASE/dp/B004OZW5YQ

They're nice, although I should probably be buying some heavier weights to put on them soon. You have 40lb / 2 = 20 lb each which is kind of sad. Now, you can take the weights off one and put them on the other, meaning, have one 30 lb weight, but I don't like doing one at a time.

I'll do the gym infrequently since I can't do many of the outdoor things I like right now. Whenever I know I have enough time I'll take creatin before hand, and I'll drink some protein shakes in addition to what I otherwise eat.

My neighbor in the next cubicle made the comment today that I eat like a horse. Still, at 135 lbs at 5'10", this makes me laugh. I mean, whatever. My body is going to weigh what it's going to weigh, and as long as I know I'm eating healthy I'm not going to beat myself up. I do want some better toning around my core and more mass on my arms. And a tan. And a million dollars.

12/4/2011 12:39:18 AM

There is a mighty difference between lifting 20lbs dumbbells and training with heavy barbells.

Your body is going to weigh what you condition it to. If you want to get bigger you must eat more calories than you need and lift heavy enough weight to cause structural and hormonal adaptation.

There's no other way around it. Unless you want to get on the juice, but even then you still have to lift heavy and work hard.

12/4/2011 9:48:45 AM

^^Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.

12/4/2011 11:47:40 AM

Quote :

"^^Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. "

I've read the 2nd edition. 2/3 the way through the 3rd. It is a fucking amazing resource if you want to become strong and knowledgeable about lifting weights.

My only beef with it is that it assumes a certain level of mobility. Many folks can not obtain a full squat, dead lift, or pressing positions with out mobility work.



[Edited on December 4, 2011 at 12:18 PM. Reason : moar]

12/4/2011 12:17:38 PM

Yeah I still have trouble with the cleans. My job has given me years of joint damage unfortunately, so I interspersed alot of mobilitywod stuff with Rippetoe's stuff and it's made me a helluva lot stronger and more mobile. I feel better than I have in a long time.

12/4/2011 2:39:12 PM

I was in a workout video today... as the big girl in the back doing the modifications

and never have I ever worn so much makeup during exercise

12/4/2011 3:43:51 PM

Feel pretty fat right now. One week off from working out. Bulging disc healing and I cannot wait to get back into the gym!!!

12/4/2011 6:35:04 PM

I've taken off the last two weeks from leg training due to work travels and focusing on cardio, and now my legs and back are extremely sore. Maybe I'm sleeping in an awkward position, but I was hoping that taking a little time off would help me heal up and drop weight, not feel worse.

12/4/2011 7:25:33 PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16048121

Marathon training 'may pose a heart risk'

Quote :

"MRI scans on 40 athletes training for challenging sporting events like triathlons or alpine cycle races showed most had stretched heart muscles. Although many went on to make a complete recovery after a week, five showed more permanent injuries."

12/7/2011 7:49:54 AM

I mean, that's no real big surprise IMO. Just like how you see hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in quite a bit of athletes.


I was told I can test again on December 15th! So I'll be tested for my orange stripe belt (orange/purple) - have to ax kick a board... I'm a little nervous about that one. BUT, my spin kick and spin side kick are looking fab

12/7/2011 9:14:49 AM

^^^ I always get pretty achy feeling when I go a couple days without working out too. It does suck when you're trying to rest intentionally, but I guess it's also good motivation to not slack.

12/7/2011 9:15:53 AM

I've definitely been trying not to use this as an opportunity to slack. I've cut back from 45 minutes of lifting and 30 minutes of cardio a day to 15 minutes of DC-style lifting and 45 minutes of cardio. I think it's helped me trim down a bit, but I was also hoping it would help me heal up with a couple of minor aches and pains. Unfortunately, it seemed to make the aches and pains worse.

12/7/2011 9:52:29 AM

man, I need to get out there are do long runs again. I just can't get the motivation to do a 2nd lap around the lake when I go by myself.

I also need to stretch some.

12/7/2011 10:10:25 AM

Cass called me out on the fact that I've not posted in here in a while. I've got a facebook group I post in now, but I'm going to put up my new "current" pictures here in next Sunday some time.

And gonna start P90X in January. Pretty excited about that one.

12/9/2011 3:27:14 AM

bout time for the 2012 challenge to start

12/9/2011 8:56:22 AM

So I got my final time from the Jingle Bell race last weekend - 26:25. I placed 268th overall out of 900 people and placed 10th for females (out of 90 women) in my age group!

My plan going forward to find a race once a month. I have the Krispy Kreme Challenege in February and plan on doing the St Patty's Day run in March but does anyone know of any races in January I can sign up for? At this point I am sticking to 5Ks and 8Ks.

12/10/2011 11:36:11 AM

very nice, Cass!

I usually stick to signing up through http://www.active.com & http://www.setupevents.com

12/10/2011 1:31:49 PM

^ yup those are both good.

i'll be down for KKC

12/10/2011 3:44:28 PM

Made it to purple/orange belt

12/14/2011 4:49:09 PM

I'm taking the "gain mass" challenge during these winter months. Lift, eat, sleep, lift, eat, sleep. I am up from 143lbs when I started this last August (2010) to 164lbs now and I haven't changed my pants size a bit (32) so I guess I am doing something correctly. My goal is 170lbs and then maintaining that while I continue my barbell training.

12/14/2011 9:28:28 PM

Nice work dude, what are you squatting now?

12/14/2011 10:04:27 PM

I had a nagging groin strain (injury?) so I took last week off to let my body recover. With that I am only at a paltry 160lbs but they felt strong so I should hit 165lbs on Friday. Now it's the press at 95lbs that's giving me grief when coupled with chin-ups and dips. But I'll get through it.

12/14/2011 10:32:11 PM

2012 thread is right around the corner! Anyone want it? I think I should take my name off of it. Fun while it lasted! Good luck in the new year.

12/14/2011 10:40:32 PM

The press can be a tough one. Make sure you are gripping the bar correctly in the heel of your palm, and keeping your elbows in front of/directly under the bar at all times. Aim to graze the tip of your nose on the way up and down.

The groin pain can be a few things, my guess is that you aren't sitting back enough and getting your knees out hard. The tissue in question is probably inflamed, backing off a bit is OK

12/15/2011 6:32:12 AM

i think Grimx would be a good person to lead. maybe even Minka or LunaK.

12/15/2011 8:42:42 AM