I hadn't planned on making a Year 2 progress post, but my comment in this thread about skinnyfat transformations got more replies than I would have expected. One of them dubbed me Supermanlet, an epithet that I'm not sure I deserve but which filled me with pride. The overall appeal to my vanity got the best of me, so here I am with a frackin' novella about my progress.
Basic Stats
Topic
Information
Gender
Male
Current Age
29
Height
5'4"
Current weight
129 lbs
Athletic Experience
I played the shit out of Epyx Winter Games on Commodore 64
Lifting Experience
2 years
Pictures
I'll start with some pictures. There's a long-winded, rambling wall of text below, which I know most people don't want to read. Those that are interested will only be interested if the pictures pique their interest. So, pictures first. (RES users note, some of these galleries have image comments that are not visible with RES)
June 2012 Gallery: A handful of selfies I took for comparison one week before I joined the gym. This wasn't the start of my positive changes, but I consider it the starting point for when I got serious about making changes.
February 2013 Gallery: I didn't keep progress pics for the early months where the most drastic changes occurred, but I did take some in February.
June 2013 Gallery: Anniversary progress pics taken exactly one year after the June 2012 pics.
July 2014 Gallery: Pics taken this summer, showing two years of progress.
Year-by-year image: A side-by-side image, attempting to match the lighting and pose from last year
Clothes-on progress: Unfortunately, I can't just walk around shirtless everywhere I go. I'm forced to wear clothes that hide my progress. Here are a handful of pictures taken over the years to see what the change looks like with clothing over top of it.
I'm somewhat of a smallfry at 5'4". In the June 2012 pictures, I weighed 137 lbs. In June 2013, I weighed 122 lbs. My current weight is 129 lbs. I'm almost 100% certain that I'm the smallest guy I've seen at my gym.
Background and Personal Fitness History
My prior athletic experience is pretty much nil. I bowled until I was in grade 7, and lifted weights (machines only) for a few months in grade 9. I did track and field in high school because a girl I liked convinced me to join, but I performed terribly. Otherwise, nothing. My entire adult life has been spent hunched over computers and/or gaming tables. I've had some marathon gaming sessions, but even the thought of going for a run was nauseating.
I've had body image issues at least as far back as third grade (my grade 3 teacher wrote in my record card that I had trouble with other kids making fun of me for being so skinny). When I got my first apartment at age 20, I weighed under 100 lbs - the literal 98-pound weakling of Charles Atlas fame. I wasn't anorexic, but I undoubtedly looked like I was. I resolved to gain some weight through a powerful diet plan called Eating Like a Lazy Bachelor. I adhered to this diet religiously from 2005 until 2011. This diet consisted of a steady stream of frozen pizzas and hot dogs, as well a delicacy of my own design: I would tear open croissants, and stuff them with peanut butter and shredded cheese. The diet had its perks, but somewhere along the line I forgot that I started eating like a pig to reach a reasonable BMI. By 2011, my weight was in the 150-155 lb range. That might not sound like much, but that was on a 5'4" frame with narrow shoulders and waist, and only enough muscle mass to handle slouching in front of a computer all day. I went from being ashamed of my bony physique to being ashamed of what resembled a hairy, second trimester baby bump. Most people didn't think I looked overweight, which I attribute to an all-black wardrobe of oversized shirts hiding the baby bump, and my Riker hiding my lack of a jawline. Some co-workers thought it was a bad idea to lose weight because I was already "so skinny." They hadn't seen me shirtless to learn the lumpy, skinnyfat truth.
In 2011, I started worrying about things from the health perspective, in addition to my already robust sense of aesthetic shame. I became troubled by how unfit I was, and how pathetically inadequate my body was for what should have been simple physical tasks. I started to question what I was doing to my life expectancy, and how young I would be before I could expect my first heart attack. This motivated me to make some small changes at first. I started to pack a lunch to work, instead of relying on Oh Henry bars and Doritos from the break room to tide me over until my Evening Gorge. I got an elliptical machine at home, but didn't really start to use it until I realized I could read my textbooks on it (I called this my educise). At first, it only took about 5 minutes at the lowest resistance setting to completely wipe me out.
The progress I made with such small changes was very encouraging, and in summer 2012 I had more spare time than I was used to, so I doubled down and got started for real. I fully committed myself to looking good naked.
Lift Progress
I log my progress using Jefit for Android, and have done so since the beginning. All of the 1RM numbers below (aside from the StrStd screenshot) are taken from the 1RM calculator in Jefit based on my workout logs. I have never tested my 1RM for any exercise, and don't intend to. I'm in this mainly for aesthetics and a bit of general health; I'm not interested in powerlifting, so the weight on the bar is of secondary importance to me. I've changed programs and rep ranges a few times, so the calculated 1RM numbers swing on occasion. I also haven't been doing all of the barbell compounds for the full 2 years I've been lifting.
1RM (est)
June 2012
Nov 2012
July 2013
July 2014
Squat
63
231
224
239
Bench
130
158
187
Deadlift
239
320
Squat numbers, aside from the most recent, should be taken with a grain of salt. My squat form has been inconsistent over time, and I've deloaded on several occasions to fix my depth. Unfortunately, my logs don't show when I was being a shithead doing partial reps.
StrStd screenshot
The spreadsheet used to produce the graphs below can be viewed on Google Docs
Squat
Graph of squat progress over time
I did squats in sets of 12 until December 2013, and for a long time my depth was terrible - so the lack of progress in the graph is misleading, as the early progress is basically just bad data.
This isn't going to be a popular opinion around here, but squats are the bane of my existence. I hate them so much. I never skip them, but I just absolutely fucking hate squats.
Squats are the only exercise that I worry about failing, and have never pushed myself to failure. By contrast, I bench to failure very regularly.
Sometimes it seems like every time I add a little weight, I take away a little depth. I was doing 4x5 at 225 lbs with questionable form in March, so in April I deloaded and switched to pause squats for a while to work on depth again. Currently, I squat 3x5 at 205 lbs. Depth is currently fine, but I still feel weak at the bottom, and haven't added any weight for more than a month.
Bench Press
Graph of bench progress over time
I didn't do barbell bench presses for my first six months at the gym. I was actually a little bit scared of being under the bar, so I did dumbbell chest presses instead. That changed when I dropped a dumbbell on my chest, and decided I would rather have a bench with a rack and safety bar to rely on when I fail.
My bench press would not be accepted in competition, as I don't touch my chest and pause. This is due to a combination of an immovable safety bar on the bench, and a tiny chest; I have to take a painful back arch to get my chest above that safety bar. I bring my arms below parallel, which is good enough ROM for me.
Deadlift
Graph of deadlift progress over time
I started doing deadlifts in July 2013. Before that, I only did RDL's for higher reps.
I love deadlifts, but have been consistently frustrated by grip as a limiting factor. No matter how much grip training I do, my tiny little handlets can't hang on to the bar. After repeated grip failures attempting to hit 260x5, I thought I'd give hook grip a try, but found that my fingers aren't long enough for it. I finally decided it was time to buy straps. I've used them twice, and very much enjoyed an easy step up to 275x5.
Overhead Press
I know that Fittit loves them, but I don't do barbell overhead presses. I stick to dumbbells for my shoulders. My gym only has one rack and not many barbells, so dumbbells are just easier to fit into my routine
Other Lifts/Accessories
Planks: Planks are my absolute favourite ab exercise, and I've included some variation of the plank since I started in 2012. At the start, I struggled to hold a shaky plank for 90 seconds, with a pool of sweat forming on the mat under my face. Within a few months, I was able to hit seven minutes. I switched to the much more difficult RKC plank variation, then added weight when that wasn't enough. Currently I do three sets of RKC planks, held for 90 seconds with 35 lbs on my lower back.
Dragon flags: Also awesome. First tried these in March 2013, and was only able to do 4 forced negatives. My current PR is 12 full reps (though the first rep off the bench is a bit shaky).
L-Sits: Started doing L-Sits on parallel bars just this past January. PR is 43 seconds (a failed attempt to hit 45).
Pullups: Jefit changed how assisted/unweighted/weighted pullups are recorded, so I don't have my oldest logs, but I think I remember struggling to do pullups with 70 or 80 lbs of assistance. I now use a dip belt to add weight, and my PR is 35 lbs for 8 reps.
Training Regimen
I'll start with my current program, then give some of the history of my previous (occasionally questionable) routines.
My current routine (since the start of May) is based on Layne Norton's PHAT template. This is a five day routine, with two days lifting heavy for strength and power, and three days of bodybuilding-style training. The most significant changes I made are as follows:
added deadlifts on the Lower Body Power day (Norton only includes one lower body compound on this day)
added ab exercises to both lower body days (because I love abs, and this gives extra incentive to not skip leg day)
added grip and forearm work on Chest and Arms Hypertrophy day (because I really need the grip work)
changed the order of many movements and added some supersets (because I can handle fatigue better and lift more with the changed order)
changed a handful of rep ranges from sets of 20 to sets of 15 (because sets of 20 are murder)
added some oblique exercises on 'rest' days (because I couldn't find time to fit obliques in elsewhere)
The full routine breaks down as follows
Monday: Yoga, HIIT on rowing machine, obliques, and low intensity cardio
Tuesday: Upper Body Power Day
Wednesday: Lower Body Power Day
Thursday: HIIT on rowing machine, obliques, low intensity cardio, and yoga
Friday: Back and Shoulders Hypertrophy Day
Saturday: Lower Body Hypertrophy Day
Sunday: Chest and Arms Hypertrophy Day (this lists both wrist roller and wrist curls - I do one or the other, not both)
I've been extremely pleased with my results from this routine, especially in adding mass to my arms, which have always been too thin. I may have to scale back to a 4-day program in September due to schedule constraints, but I'll do everything I can to stick with the full 5-day split.
I also do moderate intensity cardio on lifting days if there's enough time after the workout to grab a book and hop on a bike or elliptical before the gym closes.
All of my past routines included a lot of cardio in addition to the splits outlined below, usually targetting a heart rate around 155 (max heart rate 200). I do all of my reading on cardio machines, and I am an avid reader. I'm a part-time student that reads textbooks in full, in addition to my personal readings. I've spent close to 4 consecutive hours on an elliptical machine while reviewing a text for an exam.
June 2012 - July 2012 Routine
For my first six weeks, I worked with a personal trainer, following a Push-Pull-Legs split, with core exercises at the end of every workout. Fittit loves to hate on personal trainers, but while many of the trainers I've seen at Goodlife Fitness gyms have been rubbish, this was a positive experience for me. The trainer had some bodybuilding experience, and provided a lot of help in learning good form and balanced programming. I definitely got off to a better start than I otherwise would have without him - I would have educated myself eventually, but with the mindset I had at the time, I most likely would have ended up doing machines only with an over-emphasis on chest and arms.
August 2012 - February 2013
My grip started to falter towards the end of my Pull day (by the end of the workout I had a hard time closing my left hand), so I put together my own 4-day split to divvy up the pulls a bit more. I also alternated between a week focused more on free weights, and a week focused more on heavier weights with machines (though neither week was entirely free weight or entirely machine). My approach probably wasn't ideal, and it's certainly not what I'd do if I was starting over again.
Tuesday: Arms
Thursday: Shoulders, Abs, a little chest
Saturday: Legs, Obliques
Sunday: Chest, Back, Abs
I made a lot of progress during this period, because Newb Gains, but it was undoubtedly the worst-programmed routine that I've followed.
March 2013 - August 2013; December 2013 - April 2014
I became a Redditor in late 2012, and found Fittit some time after. I was looking for a new routine, so I looked at the Fittit FAQ for suggestions. I settled on a variant of the 4-day upper/lower split Muscle Building Workout Routine, with the addition of ab work on lower body days. This routine worked very well for me. There was a stretch from the start of September until Xmas when I didn't have time to lift, but otherwise I stuck with it until I switched to PHAT in May of this year.
This was also when I completely overhauled my wardrobe and started dressing like a normal person, instead of hiding my physique under a mass of baggy black clothes.
Body Progress
The pictures above should explain my body progress pretty well. The biggest change was clearly in the first year. The second year handed me a considerable setback that I had to dig out of. For over three months at the end of 2013, I simply didn't have the time to lift weights at all. I adjusted my diet for the reduced activity, but failed to track my weight to gauge whether I set my calorie budget correctly. Apparently I did not, and ended up losing about 6 lbs. I spent a large chunk of the winter recovering lost progress. I had a lot of all-nighters and nights with only an hour or two of sleep over those months, and lack of rest probably slowed my progress further. I was able to add some mass before it was time to cut for the summer, but well short of my target.
Since my initial fat loss, my body weight peaked at about 132 lbs this May. Since then, I cut slightly down to 129 lbs. I've been maintaining that weight for the summer, and have managed to very slightly drop body fat percentage while holding total mass steady. I'll refocus on gaining mass again soon. I don't like to call it bulking, because I prefer to gain in a very slow, controlled manner to minimize fat gain.
I am nothing if not methodical, so I weigh myself and check my body fat percentage (using a handheld BIA device) first thing every morning. That data is recorded to make sure it's trending in the right direction.
Some graphs showing the moving average of those measurements:
* Graph of mass and lean mass over time
* Graph of body fat percentage over time
* Spreadsheet of recoreded measurements
Diet
I set a calorie budget. Currently it's set at 2800 calories/day to maintain (or very, very slowly cut). I originally tried to set my calorie budget by tracking my activity (including wearing a heart-rate monitor), but that never produced good results. My best results come from adjusting the budget according to the trend it produces in my daily weight measurements. I log everything that I eat, aside from some spices and seasoning that have no or negligible caloric and macronutrient content. I've used a couple different apps for this, but the one I stuck with is MyFitnessPal for Android.
I allow myself a maximum of one dietary cheat day per week. In practice, my cheat days still hit my calorie and macro targets for the day, but hit them with less healthy foods (like Hamburger Helper); the weekly cheat days are just a chance to ignore things like fiber and micronutrient content. Cheat days that disregard my calorie target are very rare. I can remember only three occasions in 2014, one of which was due to a hurricane.
I treat my dietary goals as commandments from up on high. I follow them as if Gandalf told me the safety of the One Ring depended on it. This is a graph of my daily calorie intake over a 90 day period to show the level of consistency that I maintain. I measure servings with a kitchen scale or measuring cup. I don't eyeball or estimate serving sizes (with the exception of peanut butter, because I've measured it so many times already). I adamantly refuse to eat anything if I don't have nutritional data for it.
Macro split: I set a minimum of 1g protein and 0.5g of fat per pound of body mass per day, just because they're easy numbers to work with. Other than those minimums, I pay no heed to my macro distribution. I find that a very high protein diet (close to 1.5g/lb or more) helps with satiety and makes it easier to avoid exceeding my calorie budget, but I don't treat that as a rule.
Meal timing: Irrelevant. I avoid having a full stomach during intense workouts, and avoid workouts when I'm starving. Otherwise, I eat when I'm hungry.
Supplements used: Protein shake with breakfast, made with almond milk, one scoop of Optimum Nutrition whey, and one scoop of creatine monohydrate. No other supplements related specifically to workouts. I take multivitamins to avoid potential gaps in my micros, fish oil for general health benefits, and probiotics to avoid the flatulence that my diet otherwise produces.
Snacks: Apples, bananas, Kashi granola bars, and Quest protein bars are my main snack items. Sometimes beef jerky, if I'm patient enough to measure servings. I rely heavily on dry roasted almonds and sunflower seeds as end-of-day snacks to hit my daily target; my meals get me close to the target, then I measure out enough nuts or seeds to bring me within 3 calories of the target.
Snacks: Water. Lots of water. Aside from my morning protein shake, I drink nothing but filtered tap water (filtered so as not to sap and impurify all of my precious bodily fluids).
Common meals: My diet doesn't vary much from day to day, and there are some things that are pretty much constant every day.
Weekday breakfast: Protein shake, Kashi granola bar; 330 cal, 31g protein, 8g fat, 29g carbs, 4g fiber
Weekday lunch: 200g grilled chicken breast, 500g raw baby carrots, 2 medium bananas, 1 large or 2 small apples, 1 Kashi granola bar, 1 serving of All-Bran Buds with a butterscotch pudding cup; 1191 cal, 37g protein, 20g fat, 188g carbs, 37g fiber
Weekend breakfast: Protein shake, bagel with natural peanut butter (12 whole grain bagel), 1 medium banana, 1 serving All-Bran Buds with butterscotch pudding cup; 805 cal, 43g protein, 19g fat, 123g carbs, 22g fiber
And one of my favourites that I don't eat daily, but often enough to consider it a cornerstone of my diet:
Hamburger: 2 lean beaf patties (I buy pre-made PC Blue Menu) on a thin whole grain bun, natural peanut butter, Montreal steak spice, 1 slice of mozza cheese; 670 cal, 64g protein, 27g fat, 39g carbs, 7g fiber (less if you skip the cheese or PB). Seriously though, whether you're dieting or not, hamburgers need to be doubled up, two patties per bun. It's the only way to eat hamburgers.
Personal Challenges
My greatest challenge has always been a lack of free time and its corollary, a lack of sleep. I have my full-time day job; I've been working to get a better degree for myself, and as far as student commitments go, I am fucking hardcore; I've carefully maintained a course-load that my university considers to be part-time while the government considers me to be a full-time student; I also do part-time consulting work, and the workload for that can vary considerably. All of that adds up to a lot of demands on my time, and not much opportunity to get sleep.
I never set out to specifically track my sleep, but I use Sleep as Android for my alarm clock, and it just so happens to log me sleeping hours and produce pretty graphs. Since I started using the app last year, I've averaged 6.08 hours in bed per night. That's less than ideal, but the bigger problem is how erratic my sleep schedule sometimes is. The deep dips on that graph are nights that I never got to bed, or only got to bed for a couple hours. There are also occasional days where I absolutely crash and sleep for 16 hours or more. I do not have healthy sleeping habits, and I'm quite positive that the all-night work sessions are stealing my gains.
Future Goals
I look good naked, but still want to look better naked. I'd say that Steve Cook has my goal physique. I'd like to gain about 20 pounds from my current weight while keeping my body fat percentage as low as it is now. Realistically, I think I should be able to gain 10 lbs per year, so another two years could take me there. Then again, I think I've always been aiming for an extra 20 pounds, so maybe I'm eternally cursed to forever want to weigh 20 lbs more.
I don't have many specific goals in mind for lifts. I'd like to be able to bench 2 plates for 5 reps eventually, but at my size, I don't anticipate that happening for quite some time. Now that I'm using straps and don't have my grip holding me back on deadlifts, I'm hoping I can manage to get up to 315x5 before Xmas.
Other Random Comments
I wear gloves on all of my pushes and pulls except for deadlifts and barbell rows. I like to keep my hands soft and girly, and there's nothing wrong with that. You don't have to tell me that the gloves should match my purse. I think I've already heard that joke from every person who's ever heard Rip say it. Either say something original, or shut up about it.
I'm OK with any and all questions in this thread, so long as the mods are. Worst case scenario is that I'll ignore comments that I don't like.
About This Progress Post Format
Created using the reddit fitness progress tracking post template.
Edit: I'm adding a bit more info to answer questions that have appeared repeatedly.
Question: How do you keep your calorie counts so consistent?
Answer: With nuts, seeds, and a kitchen scale. I eat meals to get close to my calorie goal, without going over. Then I measure enough nuts or seeds at the end of the day to cover the remaining calories. My food diary for most days will show something like 8g almonds, or 32g sunflower seeds, etc. 1g is 5.8 calories, which lets me get within 3 calories (+/-) of my goal.
submitted by poindexter1985 to Fitness
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