Hey all,

Still relatively new here. Been a fan of the site for a few years now, but just now getting into the forums. Quick back story, I was the fat kid growing up (got to around 290lbs when I was 14). I got on the ball in highschool, by my 16th birthday I was around 195lbs and maintained until I was about 20. I always lifted, but swam alot and maintained more of a "long/lanky" frame. Right before I started my career as a firefighter, I worked at a bakery for a few months (dumb move) and got back up to around 220lbs. Add another 20lbs for my 1st year on the FD eating those oh so tasty and not so healthy firehouse meals, I got up to 240lbs. So january 06' I got back on the plan and have not veered from it, nor do I tend to ever again.

Since getting lean again, my leanest being 10.2% bf at 205lbs. For these past 2 years I have really been afraid of gearing my training towards size and focusing mainly on staying as lean as possible. While not a terrible thing, at one point I got down to 190lbs and felt/looked immaciated. I was eating enough, 2200-2400 cals/day, but over doing the cardio. I was doinf beach runs for about 30-40 miles a week on top of sports 3-4 days a week and lifting 5 days a week.

Anyways, I've been in a bulking cycle since about december and have been doing pretty good, but I can always do better. I feel great and believe I am making some solid gains. Started at 210lbs 11%bf and am now 225lbs 12.5% bf and still look pretty lean.

I have 3 progress pics I've included, clockwise they go jan-05 225lbs bf%?,jan-07 192lbs bf=11% or so,jan-08 218lbs bf=12.3%. I will come back and add my routine and diet later on. Gotta hit the gym now.

ok here's my diet currently.

breakfast (6-days/week, sunday is for waffles and/or panckaes)

3 eggwhites 3 whole eggs
1 Thomas english muffin multi-grain light (these are awesome)
1/2 multigrain oatmeal with 1tbs splenda brown sugar, 10-15almonds, and 3/4 cup bluberries
1 slice cheddar cheese (for egg sandwhich)
3 slices center cut lean bacon (for sandwhich)

totals around 800 cals

light and fit yogurt before gym

60 cals

lunch

turkey roastbeef wrap
large baked potatoe with catsup's as topping
medium sized salad with croutons/dressing and pine nuts

yields close to 800 cals

snack medium size sweet potatoe w/ smartbalance light and some splenda brown sugar

350 cals or so

dinner

chicken/steak/fish lean cuts
brown rice/baked potatoe
lots of broccoli or brussel sprouts

about 600-700 cals

maybe some low fat cottage cheese for late night snack

100-200 cals

protein shake before going to bed

totaling around 3600 cals daily w/protein shake cals factored in

my exact break down I'm not quite sure on, probably something like this

protein 250g
carbs 330g
fat 60-80g
fiber 30g

I'll try and get this more exact in the future

I also take some supplements. Axis-HT,Nitrix,NO-Xplode, Cellmass, CLA Extreme, Joint Repair, Amino acids (both liquid and powder) and I use Syntha-6 for my protein cause it tastes the best.

Workout routine

I've been in the gym for 10 years, I read all the magazines and am a wealth of knowledge when it comes to exercises.

I lift 5 days/week, 2 days rest, and do cardio 3-4x/week. I usually strive for 4 sets/exercise, 1 warm-up followed by 3x10 with ascending weight, aiming for failure on my last set. I mix it up alot with circuits, super sets, drop sets, heavier weight lower reps, all that stuff. I try and keep it dynamic and switch things up every few weeks. You guys mention alot of routines on here and will probably try a few over the next year.

-Marc
23yrs old
6'2"
225lbs
12.5%

p.s. Can anyone on here recommend a good scale for weighing yourself at home? Most of the ones my friends have are terribly inaccurate.


updated

p.s. Can anyone on here recommend a good scale for weighing yourself at home? Most of the ones my friends have are terribly inaccurate.


My research into a good scale last summer led me to the Tanita brand. This (http://www.amazon.com/Tanita-BF680W-Scale-Monitor-Athletic/dp/B0009V1YPU) is the scale that I got. I don't pay any attention to the body fat reading because it's wildly inconsistent even just from day to day, but the body weight reading is always very reliable. I find that it's precision lets me fine tune my caloric intake way better than the analog scale I had before. With the old scale, it might not look like I gained any weight from one week to the next and I might be inclined to increase my calories. With this Tanita scale, I can easily see that I did gain weight, it was just less than one pound.

I guess it's expensive as scales go, but I found it absolutely worth it. It has great measurement reliability, even though it goes all the way down to 0.2 pound increments.

Thanks Ectomorphic. I just bought the scale, also picked up a food scale since I want to start being more calculated with my diet. Thanks again for the scale advice.

What EXACTLY does your routine look like? What are your lifts like (bench, squat, deadlift etc)?

What a great transformation Marc! Good job.

Thanks Ectomorphic. also picked up a food scale since I want to start being more calculated with my diet.

This is probably the best thing you have done. :tu: As I read your first post I couldn't help but wonder how you come up with your macro numbers if you are measuring "about" this much of everything. There is no way you can accurately measure your grams of protein, carbs and fats by eyeballing it. With that said, now you will be able to dial in your nutrition a lot more precisely. I hear a lot of good things about the Tanita scales. I do not own a scale as I weigh myself in the gym every week. This assures accuracy and consistency. All scales are different for sure. Good job once again and good luck in your future success! :gl:

Review your weight program. Don't mix it up so much, now that you got rid of some unneeded weight, time to increase the weights you lift. Don't switch around so much with routines, get a good basic one that builds muscle and stay with it for good while at least 6 weeks. How do you know what works or doesn't work?

Note: I changed 12 weeks to 6 weeks because people are in such a hurry.