I might as well jump into this accountablility thing. Here are my pics, taken a few minutes ago (4/24/05).
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/j/mjs600/april-me.jpg
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/j/mjs600/april-goofy-me.jpg
Yes, the second picture is supposed to be funny. My face does not always look like that.

In these pictures I am 5'11'', 188lbs, and unfortunately I do not know my body fat, nor do I have the means to measure it currently. All I know is it is much higher than I would like :P

My goal is mainly to get rid of the fat and become more fit. The weight itself doesn't really bother me. I just really want to be able to fence again without doubling over from exertion.

loto...

Here are two websites where you can enter measurments (waist, hips, etc.) and get a BF estimate. The exact number is not so important (IMHO) but the estimate is a good measure of progress. Whatever method you choose, if you stay with it you'll have a great gauge of your progress. Try these...

http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/pi.shtml

http://www.he.net/~zone/prothd2.html

How do you plan to accomplish your goals? Weight training? Diet? Cardio? All?

BTW..what's your hampster's name? :lol:

.

Welp, using the first site (and the second estimate based on weight and waist) I have a bf % of 18.9%. Much lower than I thought, but then again I am terrible at estimating. My plan of action, which I've been chugging away at for a week now involves Core exercises, Cardio, and upper body ( I only have a single dumbell, so I do mostly bodyweight exercises ) on M/W/F, Lower body and Core on T/R, and Cardio on either Saturday or Sunday.

I've also cut calories back to about 2100, which is about 2lbs of loss a week. All reasonably health foods, too. I could probably stand to bake instead of stir fry, more, however. I probably won't ever bulk, because the bigger I am the bigger target I make :P

As for the hampster, her name is Panda. My fiance named her :P Going on three years old, too.

Thanks for the help!

There is also www.mybodycomp.com. Good luck with your goals!

So, I've been on and off the wagon for the past two years, but as of last summer I managed to more or less get myself together and make some good progress over the year I've been working. School got in the way, of course, but my net gain is still positive.

Here is where I am at now:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/~mjs600/july-me.jpg

That weird reflection is the flash hitting my mirror.

Here is what I've been doing for the past month (up to this point I was a three time a week, full body guy.)

Day 1,3
A1 3x8 Bench Press
A2 3x8 Seated Cable Row
B1 3x8 Military Press
B2 3x8 Pull-Ups
C1 3x8 Dips
C2 3x8 Cable Lat Pulldowns
3x8 Hammer-Strength Neck (RUGBY!)
Misc. Rotator Cuff Work

Day 2,4
A1 3x8 Front Squat
A2 3x8 Leg Curl
B1 3x8 Deadlift
B2 3x8 Leg Extension
C1 3x8 Adductor
C2 3x8 Abductor
3x8 Calf Raise
3x8 Incline Weighted Sit-ups

I do one set of the first letter exercise, then immediately do a set of the second letter exercise. After the second letter, I rest for 30 seconds and continue until the letter group is complete. I take a minute rest between letter groups.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I run a 5k at a decent pace. I'm really itching to get to a 23 flat 5k for the third week of july, but I'm only at 27 right now.

Tuesday and Thursday I do 20 minutes of HIIT on a rower. I love it, since it isn't as hard on the joints as doing sprints but I still get some benefit from it.

Saturday is a rugby day.

Sunday is a day of rest.

As for my diet, well, I haven't kept track as well as I know I should. I'm averaging about 3000 kcal on a good day, with a lot more fruits and veggies than I used to eat (I can finally stomach V8!) I still weigh 180lbs, but I'm pretty sure my body fat has dropped considerably from the 23% it was at, but I haven't had a chance to have it checked. I've got a bit of a beer gut that I'd like to get rid of, but at this point conditioning and power are my priorities.

Anyway, I thought I owed you guys an update since a lot of this was made possible through information I learned about here. Any comments, questions, or suggestions would be great.

Cheers!

great progress report. You have a solid routine and that shows through. About your BF I would estimate around 14-16% currently. If you dialed in your meals you should be able to loose the stubborn fat around your mid section.

Great progress! And I like your routine. Keep it up!

Thanks for the kind words, fellas. It is much appreciated.

I honestly didn't think my bodyfat looked that low, but hey, I will definitely take what I can get! I think I'm going to start paying more attention to what I eat after this weekend to see if I can't get my bodyfat a bit lower. I'm already wearing pants that are 3-4 sizes smaller than when I started, which is great!

Thanks again!

Hey, congrats! :tu: Looks like you've lost a load of fat from your mid-section. Arms and shoulders are starting to look a little more defined too from the fat loss. Keep up the good work.