Bryan Johnson Transformation

It’s been a while since I uploaded pics of guys, so thought it was about time I turned things around. Bryan’s from BodyBuilding.com, and he made a pretty impressive transformation from an already toned 190lbs physique to a nicely ripped 215lbs physique. Kudos to him – looks incredible. I also like the tunnels But that’s just me!

His diet’s really interesting. Very structured, but also just has the basic buildings blocks. I’m thinking that I need to change up my diet as I’ve been too ‘indulgent’ recently.

Philip Lowry Transformation

Phil is pretty incredible. In the space of under a year, he gained 20lbs of muscle. It’s insane.

The article’s interesting… he talks a lot about his training plan, but not his nutrition (other than he had a plan). What I think could make a great plan is to mix Phil with Bryan – take Bryan’s nutrition plan and Phil’s training plan (pretty intense). That could work quite nicely

Revising Goals

This is good. Having now completed 4 weeks of training, I have a better understanding of what I can achieve, and what I can’t.

As discussed in my results for Week 4, I’m not losing as I had anticipated (or wanted). It’s harder than I thought – which is fine… it’s a learning.

I still have some subtle confusion about this past week… based on my numbers, if I go from the previous Friday, I would’ve lost 2.5lbs. Going from the Mon morning, I lost 0.4lbs. On the positive, I’m now losing fat and not muscle (well, on this occasion – I don’t expect it to continue for long!).

It’s that previous week that caught me off guard. I didn’t do great nutritionally – and I think that’s having a far greater impact than I had anticipated. We’ll see what this coming week brings.

So – nutrition is an important element, without a doubt. But keeping active is also hugely important. My training plan is changing as of Monday – I’m including an additional 3 cardio workouts a week (I’m debating when’s the best time to do them – M W F or T T S, so as not to conflict with my weight training – I don’t want to cannibalize all the muscle gains / maintenance). That’s TBD… but perhaps it’s a moot point, since I ought to be pushing up to 20 mins of intense cardio 7 days a week the following phase of the plan! So it doesn’t really matter when. I might as well do it M W F.

On the note of being active, I recognize that come December, I’m going to be on the slopes a lot at weekends. My hope is that I’ll be able to spend a lot of time out on the slopes – and I know last year, it enabled me to lose a lot of weight! A surprising amount! So if I’m able to go on Sat and Sun, it’ll mean 1. I’ll go backrupt quite quickly and 2. I’m pushing my weight loss even further and faster. Also – it’d provide an exceptional abs workout, since you’re always activating the core in the experience.

So this led me to think about my original goals… how they are upon reflection of the experience thus far… and my snowboarding goals (aka being tres active).

My original plan was to lose between 10-13% bf by Costa Rica, and then in the New Year, return to a mass gain plan. I always considered it would conflict with the snowboarding at weekends – expending that much energy while trying to gain will naturally count each other out. So – what I’m starting to think and realize is that my plan will have to change…

As discussed in my Week 4 results, my goal for Costa Rica is now a bf %age of 20%. That’s an optimal goal. And I think it’s a safe, reachable goal too. My longer term goal is to get down to that 12-15% bf level… and perhaps now if I extend this fat loss phase through April of next year (the Peru trip), that’ll allow me to achieve this goal. Then, in summer, which is a bit idiosyncratic, I can try and go into a mass gain cycle again – since it turned out that I can pretty much gain without putting on any fat!

It means a lot more hard work. But – I have to admit – I’ve never felt better in my whole entire life. While energy levels are sometimes low, they’re stable and I have the mental acuity I’ve been longing for. I’m more deliberate in my eating, what I choose to do, and I know that I’m treating my body right – with nutritious, valuable food. And – touching wood while I’m saying this – my skin’s doing really good… 4 weeks in from the trek. There are a couple of minor breakouts… but realistically, they’re minimal. I’m very content with where it’s at right now. And I really hope to maintain it.

So – I guess what I’m saying is that things are good – I’m a tad saddened by the lack of progress in the past 2 weeks. But it allows me to focus. Fitness, energy levels, mental acuity – it’s all coming together. And I know I can’t expect miracles to happen overnight. I’m already fitting into pants that I haven’t been able to for months, so that’s a highly encouraging sign! I’m getting there – I just want to be rid of this self-conscious element. Be active, healthy and perhaps one day have that glow. Maybe. I’m got the mental side down… now just the physical. Fingers crossed.

I’m motivated, excited and dedicated. This could be really awesome. I truly hope

Week 0.5 Weigh In

It’s called 0.5 since I’ve only been here since Tues! But OMG… this weigh in reminds me of when I first started this training thing and I had amazing results on my first measurements day.

First off – no measurements this time. I’m going to do it at the end of each ‘phase’ of the cutting cycle – aka every two weeks. It’ll mean I get more results between each check. And at 2 weeks I’ll do the all important love handles, at 4 weeks, all measurements.

So – back to what’s important:

• Weight: 191.5lbs to 189.3lbs = -2.2lbs
• Bodyfat: 47.3lbs to 45.3lbs = -2lbs
• Bodyfat: 24.7% to 23.9% = -0.8%

This is huge – in 4 days I’ve lost 2.2lbs. But that also includes 0.2lbs of muscle. Boo. Small loss in the great scheme of things – and it’s to be expected. But in total – this is HUGE.

It’s a huge motivation too… if the results of these 4 days can be stretched (ie. continue losing 2.2lbs over a 7 day period rather than just 4 days), I’ll be on my target for 170lbs. In fact… calculating it… over an additional 9 weeks (excusing the half week), 2.2lbs a week = 168.5lbs – just under my ideal weight! Woo hoo!!! That’s impressive.

I was thinking about introducing weekly and monthly expectations for weight loss – but no need. I just need to keep losing it at a rate of 2-2.5lbs a week, and I’m at my goal for Costa Rica!

I have to admit that I do feel a tad tighter today than I did over the holiday. Nothing extreme or particularly noticeable from an aesthetic viewpoint, but I think my body’s picking up that this is a HUGE change!

Learnings from Part 1

Upon reflection, I’ve learnt a couple of things about my training ability from Part 1…

• I can gain mass fairly quickly
• I need to adjust my plan every two months – after the two month mark in Part 1, I kind of lost momentum and size
• I find it hard to put on fat no matter how much I eat while in a mass gain cycle
• I find it difficult to lose fat while I’m on a mass gain cycle

So I totally think that Part 1 was a complete success… incredible improvements, and it proved a lot to myself too. It all leads to the following:

• When I am mass gaining, I put on relatively little fat. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want (within reason) and still succeed. This’ll drive my goal for Phase 2…

Part 2 – Starting…

Now back from holiday – boy was it amazing. We did so much – I can hardly begin to discuss what we did. Truly incredible.

I have to admit that I did miss training while away – and I certainly didn’t eat well! But there was a lot of walking, a lot of exercise and activity.

So while I was away, I did think about what I wanted to achieve – and my goals are evolving slightly.

First off – want to start with a foundation – measurements of where I am today:

• Weight: 191.5lbs
• Body fat: 47.3lbs
• Body fat: 24.7%
• Neck: 15″
• Shoulder to shoulder: 20″
• Chest (underarm to underarm): 17″
• Bicep relaxed: 14″
• Bicep taught: 14.5″
• Waist: 35″ around
• Hips: 39.5″ around
• Thigh: 24.5″ around
• Calf: 14.5″ around

So that’s my foundation… I have to admit that I’m surprised I actually lost weight while I was on holiday! That’s quite a shock. And for the first time, I’m below 25% bodyfat… not a whole lot under it, but I’m under!

I’m going to talk about learnings and then goals in the next couple of posts.

xxx-hockey

So I came across this guy on bodybuilding.com. Another amazing profile. Probably not a ‘goal’ for me, since he’s just too cute, and got that whole skater / surfer / preppy / jock thing going on… but I’m happy with eye candy for the time being.

He’s got good definition all over, and well proportioned. Plays hockey (hence his name), and perhaps that sporting attitude has meant fitness has been a bigger part of his life (lucky bugger!).

More pics after the break… lots more…

Progress Pics

FINALLY uploaded my progress pics. Yay! You can check em out.

There are 8 sets of pics up there now, seemingly conveying 7 weeks worth of training. I’ll be honest that from an aesthetic perspective, I’m not quite as far along as I’d expected to be? But I’m not thinking these photos are showcasing everything that’s been going on…

Damn – wish I had that first pic 3-4 weeks before I started Now that’d be a HUGE difference Sweet.

UPDATE: I was just thinking about the ‘lack of difference’ between my first shot and my last. Yeah – it’s been 7 weeks. And it’s been a process of muscle gain. For the majority of people who five into transformations, it’s about them getting ripped. It’s about removing the fat surrounding the muscle they already have.

For me, I’ve never had a whole lot of muscle to be honest. Realistically, I’ve been rather pathetic! Poor little nerd… and I knew that going into this process. My goal was to support my weight – and gain weight. Fat loss would be a positive side effect, but not a key goal.

If I wanted to see a huge change – I should’ve focussed on fat loss. But the net result would’ve been something I’d've been unhappy with. I wouldn’t have been satisfied with a scrawny body. I’ve got to build my foundation and then rip down the supports (the fat) that held that foundation in place. That’s coming – but I wouldn’t expect it till next year.

So in summary (LOL) – a great weekly achievement, is the creation of 1lb of muscle. 1lb of muscle spread across my body has minimal impact. Absolutely tiny impact. So visually, very hard to see. However, when I start getting shredded – that’s when all the hard work will start to be showcased.

Rick Decker Transformation

Again – a transformation from bb.com. This time Rick’s moved from being buff – to a really lean bodybuilder (with the tan too).

The transformation is really incredible – but I have to admit, I’m preferring him how he started… in fact if I could be where he started, I’m be extremely happy! But I have to state clearly that I’m just stating a personal preference here for aesthetics – not being negative by any means.

The other reason I’ve noted Rick is because he has a great training plan! I’ve added it to my training section. Photos after the break.

Check it Out…

Was browsing bodybuilding.com, and happened across these AMAZING pics. Not sure who they’re of… I almost think they’re stock photos, but I don’t care – they’re amazing.

Long, long, long way off from anything I could achieve, but it’s always nice to share eye-candy me thinks.

It’s funny – I almost think he looks like a GQ model, but one who has lots of muscle – he’s got that GQy face… but then a fucking buff body.