I have been lurking around and have finally gotten the time and willpower to start really working hard in transforming myself back into a lean strong body. I hope that keeping a journal of my progress will be helpful and will give me the motivation to stay with it. I don't have any calipers so I was wondering what my body fat is at this point. I have attached a couple of pictures below for any guidance and help that can be offered.

Well, it only took you a year to write your first post, how long until the next? Just kidding, jstone. Welcome. It's obvious you are (or have been) no stranger to body building. You've got great muscle mass. Looks like you just need to lose some body fat and you'll be set. Unfortunately, I don't know how to gauge that on others but you don't look that far out from where you'd probably like to be.:gl:

I have been a reader of this site for a long time but finally need a push to get back to the shape that I once was. I am now teaching at a University and have the time and energy that I was lacking during the time getting my graduate work done and having 2 kids. I know, excuses but they are what they are. Being 6'4" I have been a "hard gainer" for most of my life but over the past year or so my metabolism has slowed and I am gaining weight more easily than ever. I do need to lose some fat and have done so over the past 6 weeks or so. Currently I weight approx. 218 and would like to get back down to about 205-210. That was my playing weight in college and I felt like it was a good size for me.

I look forward to being a part of this community now. I hope that I can give as much information as I am hoping to receive.

Hi J, if I had to guess I would put you at 14% BF :confused: Purely a guess. Most importantly though you appear to be athletic and in shape and if you want to become more lean it will simply be a function of excersize and solid diet.

If you have been a hard gainer then I would not count on cardio to be your method of cutting, but instead a solid heavy lifting routine 3-4 times a week.

If you have been a hard gainer then I would not count on cardio to be your method of cutting, but instead a solid heavy lifting routine 3-4 times a week.

Why is that? I currently play basketball in the mornings 3x a week for about an hour and then walk at least 27 holes of golf each week as well. Is this amount of cardio sufficient?

I have a pretty good routine lifting 4x a week currently. I am not sure if the lifts and number of sets is good for getting down to where the abs are back into plain view. I would like to get down to about 10%bf before I try and add some more muscle mass.

Well, if you say you are a hardgainer then you dont want to incorporate too much cardio in light of the fact it can be too catabolic for someone who has a hard time putting on or holding onto muscle mass.

I would say the level of cardio you already get from what you mentioned is definitely sufficient.

Tuesday: Back Day

Workout:

Lat Pulldowns 5 x 8-12 Reps
Pull-Ups 4 x 10
Rows 5 x 8-12

I didn't eat very well today. On Tuesday's and Thursday's I teach 3 classes in a row from 11:30 until 3:45. I didn't plan very well and was unable to eat from about 10:00am until almost 4:00. I have a fridge in my office so I need to do a better job of having a quick meal between classes. Next semester I do not have the same schedule so eating should be much easier. However, I have 12 more weeks like this so I need to make the best of it. Tomorrow will be a better day!

Basketball this morning gave me a good sweat. I have a little pain in my foot and hope that it is not Plantar Fasciitis. It may be time to get a new pair of basketball shoes. It is hard to gauge the life of basketball shoes when you only play indoors with them. The outside of the shoe still looks fine while the insides can be completely broken down. Being that I wear a size 14, I usually buy my athletic shoes online. When I used to get shoes for free, it was nice to have the latest shoe. Now that I have to pay for them myself, I look for last year's model. I am getting old!

No workout today although I may go into the garage and hit abs today just for fun. On my off days I really miss the workouts now. I guess that is a good sign of finally creating lifting as a habit again. While I don't have quite the home gym that JS does, I do have a fairly complete system. I should post a picture.

Off to influence young minds...

I haven't been as good as I should with this journal and it is frustrating to me. I have been swamped with lots of extra things lately. The biggest issue that I have been dealing with is the fact that we just found out my wife is pregnent. She is not someone that deals with pregnancy easily and this makes it difficult for the whole family. However, that is just an excuse. I need to take my training to another level and work harder.

Last night I squeezed in a quick chest workout. I haven't been able to workout chest in almost 2 weeks and thought that I would lose some of the strength I had been getting back. Here was my workout

Flat Bench
135x12
150x12
165x12
180x6
190x5

Incline Bench
135x12
145x12
155x12
160x10
165x7

Dips
4x15

Abs
4x30
Leg Lifts
5x15

congrats on the baby John...my bestfriend/ex is pregnant, she is now 3.5 months, the first 3 months were really hard on her...it was a very stressful time, but now she is doing ok less paranoid than before...so only advise i can give you is to support your wife as much as you can, it will be a learning and growing experience for you both

good luck with taking your training to the next level

Yesterday was a great Workout! I got home from a long day of teaching and really hit my back and biceps hard. I can see that if I continue to perform that workout as I did yesterday, I will really see some lat development over the next few monthes.

My back was really sore this morning but I still forced myself to head to the gym to play basketball. Getting up at 5:45am is not something I enjoy doing AT ALL but I have really learned to discipline myself into getting up for a very good cardio session 3 days a week. However, this morning most people decided to sleep in and only 3 people were in the parking lot where we play when I arrived. Rather than waste a day of waking up, I drove one parking lot over to the track at the University where I teach and ran three miles instead. Playing Basketball is definately more intense than running 12 laps on a track but at least I got some cardio in. I didn't have my iPod to listen to either so I had to hear my size 14's pound the track the entire way.

Today is Leg day. I will be doing this after golf this afternoon.

Have a good weekend!

I haven't posted in a few days so will give a brief synopsis of what I have been doing over the past few days.

Sat:
Walked 18 holes of golf.

Workout: Legs

Squats:

135x12
165x12
195x12
225x10
225x6

Leg Extensions:

90x12
100x12
110x12
120x12
130x12

Calf Raises:

I do these after each set of squats with the same weight for up to 30 reps.

Sunday:

Chest:

Flat Bench
135x12
150x12
165x12
180x8
190x6

Incline Bench
135x12
145x12
155x12
165x12
175x10

Dips:
4x15

Monday:
2 hours of full court basketball: I played as if I was playing 3 years ago. It wasn't quite where I was but I felt great. It was good to be considered again as one of the best players on the court again. The strength returns have really made me play more physical like I used to as well.

Tuesday:
Slack day. I was a bum.

Wednesday:
Today is going to be a make-up day from yesterday. I am going to do my shoulders and biceps workout I was supposed to do yesterday this afternoon after class. I hope it will not affect my back workout for tomorrow.

Sat Workout:

Pullups:
5x5 Wide Grip (unassisted)
5x10 Regular (assisted)

Shrugs
1x20
1x15
1x10
1x5
1x4

I had to cut this workout short in order to get a haircut.

Sunday:

Chest (really good day)

Flat Bench:

135x12
150x12
165x12
180x9
195x6

Incline Bench:
155x12x5

Dips:
4x15

Abs:
4x35

I am really starting to see the dividends of working out again. The body is starting to respond to the workouts I have been doing. Although the scale really hasn't changed much, I have felt like the strength I have gained back is worth the non-movement of the scale. What does that all mean? I am not so sure. I am still learning all of this stuff and figuring out diet along the way. I just know that the workouts are helping, despite my lack of great eating habits.

Have a good week all!