Hi. long time reader, first time poster. You know the score. Anyway, this all started pretty much in the middle of March when a few friends and I were sick of being out of shape and we decided to have an ab contest/challenge. Starting April 1 and ending June 15, we had ten weeks to see who could produce the best results. At the end of the comp. all the entrants will go to Baja California and the losers will pay for the winner's trip. not a bad deal, right? slightly flimsy premise, but this has definitely been a lifestyle change for me, and won't end on june 15. there's three weeks and change left till the deadline and I wanted to get your feedback on my pics. for some reference points, when I started out I was about 195-200 pounds, don't know the bodyfat %, and I'm six feet tall.

I was constantly changing my plan from reading these forums, starting with just reducing the amount of food I would eat and spreading the meals out over the day, to today, where I have 3 protein shakes a day and eat more "clean foods" nothing fried, low refined carbs, etc.

for working out I started out on the recline bike, doing about 30 minutes a day and a weightlifting routine where I did a full body circuit that consisted of 1 set of 15 reps.

now I do a split routine back/biceps, chest/triceps every other day and do 4 sets of increasing weight/decreasing reps. for cardio every other day I'll do what I think is HIIT either on the treadmill or the elliptical, and a longer 45-50 min. session on the bike or stairmaster. once a week I run outside and do hill sprints (~150 meters on a 15-20% grade) and when I have the time I'll go for a long bike ride up and down the beach (I live in southern california)

I'd like to thank all the posters in this forum for your helpful advice and I love the positive nature of this forum! so...here's the pics. rip em apart! I need to win!!

*edit*

at some point I think about 4-5 weeks into the comp. I had my BF% measured on a machine at the gym and it was 11.8% but I don't know how accurate that was. anyone care to estimate? thanks again

**edit again**
I said my starting weight was 195-200, now I'm down to about 175-180. if this helps at all

Hi. long time reader, first time poster. You know the score. Anyway, this all started pretty much in the middle of March when a few friends and I were sick of being out of shape and we decided to have an ab contest/challenge. Starting April 1 and ending June 15, we had ten weeks to see who could produce the best results. At the end of the comp. all the entrants will go to Baja California and the losers will pay for the winner's trip. not a bad deal, right? slightly flimsy premise, but this has definitely been a lifestyle change for me, and won't end on june 15. there's three weeks and change left till the deadline and I wanted to get your feedback on my pics. for some reference points, when I started out I was about 195-200 pounds, don't know the bodyfat %, and I'm six feet tall.

I was constantly changing my plan from reading these forums, starting with just reducing the amount of food I would eat and spreading the meals out over the day, to today, where I have 3 protein shakes a day and eat more "clean foods" nothing fried, low refined carbs, etc.

for working out I started out on the recline bike, doing about 30 minutes a day and a weightlifting routine where I did a full body circuit that consisted of 1 set of 15 reps.

now I do a split routine back/biceps, chest/triceps every other day and do 4 sets of increasing weight/decreasing reps. for cardio every other day I'll do what I think is HIIT either on the treadmill or the elliptical, and a longer 45-50 min. session on the bike or stairmaster. once a week I run outside and do hill sprints (~150 meters on a 15-20% grade) and when I have the time I'll go for a long bike ride up and down the beach (I live in southern california)

I'd like to thank all the posters in this forum for your helpful advice and I love the positive nature of this forum! so...here's the pics. rip em apart! I need to win!!

*edit*

at some point I think about 4-5 weeks into the comp. I had my BF% measured on a machine at the gym and it was 11.8% but I don't know how accurate that was. anyone care to estimate? thanks again

**edit again**
I said my starting weight was 195-200, now I'm down to about 175-180. if this helps at all

I wouldnt mind looking like that 2d pic now -)

awesome progress... you look longer and slimer now :tu:

Not working out your legs at all? Quads and Hamstrings are two of the largest muscles in the body. The larger a muscle is, the more cals it burns, therefore it would be in your best interest to do at least some squats and deadlifts. You've made great progess by the way, keep it up! :tu:

i second that.
squats will get you abs quicker than crunches will.

looking good!

Not working out your legs at all? Quads and Hamstrings are two of the largest muscles in the body. The larger a muscle is, the more cals it burns, therefore it would be in your best interest to do at least some squats and deadlifts. You've made great progess by the way, keep it up! :tu:

AARGH! Thats the one thing that EVERYBODY says to do, and for some reason I just have some kind of fear of doing squats and deadlifts. okay, would you recommend doing squats to start off?

thank you all by the way for your comments.

AARGH! Thats the one thing that EVERYBODY says to do, and for some reason I just have some kind of fear of doing squats and deadlifts. okay, would you recommend doing squats to start off?

thank you all by the way for your comments.

See what your comfortable doing 10x but not a easy 10x. Then do that 8x, add 10lbs and do that 6x, add 10lbs and do that 4x. Keep your back straight, drop down far enough that your upper part of your legs are parallel with the ground (I pretend I'm sitting into a seat). Something new (at least to me) is doing your squats with the bar on your upper chest. The reason for this is that there is a lot less stress on your shoulders and by putting it on your chest you are more than forced to keep your back straight. IF you do try that method drop the weight by at least 20lbs because it is harder.

See what your comfortable doing 10x but not a easy 10x. Then do that 8x, add 10lbs and do that 6x, add 10lbs and do that 4x. Keep your back straight, drop down far enough that your upper part of your legs are parallel with the ground (I pretend I'm sitting into a seat). Something new (at least to me) is doing your squats with the bar on your upper chest. The reason for this is that there is a lot less stress on your shoulders and by putting it on your chest you are more than forced to keep your back straight. IF you do try that method drop the weight by at least 20lbs because it is harder.

Definetly looking more ripped. A couple more months and you should see a nice six pack. Keep up the good work, im sure you're extremly satisfied with the results.

Definetly looking more ripped. A couple more months and you should see a nice six pack. Keep up the good work, im sure you're extremly satisfied with the results.


thanks. like a lot of people on this board, I feel like I owe a lot to nonfat cottage cheese ;) and the state of mind that surrounds it, if you know what I mean.

can't wait to get in the gym and start a leg program. Do you guys feel that a lot of people (because this is how I was for years) neglect leg workouts because they run/bike/whatever?

People neglect legs because all they care about is abs, pecs, and biceps (in that order).