John Stone's Picture Gallery and Video Archive - Page 245

comp818 · Tue, July 24th, 2007, 12:57 AM

John, since I have to take my body fat reading by myself, the FatTrack PRO Digital Body Fat Caliper is not for me. Can you recommend any other caliper that I can use by myself?

Devery · Tue, July 24th, 2007, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by comp818

John, since I have to take my body fat reading by myself, the FatTrack PRO Digital Body Fat Caliper is not for me. Can you recommend any other caliper that I can use by myself?

Just my two cents...I use the Omron Body Logic Model HBF-306BL. It provides me accurate and quick results in just 7 seconds. It's a very helpful tool that allows me to track my progress and also helps keep me motivated.

***John Stone*** · Fri, July 27th, 2007, 04:50 PM

Just checking in.

I'm having a relaxing vacation so far, but I've been busting my butt in the gym. My workouts this week have all been outstanding. In fact, I just finished one of the best leg workouts of my life.

My strength is coming back even faster than I imagined, and that's been very motivating. I can't wait for Monday's back workout.

The builders will finally break ground on our new home this Tuesday morning, so that's going to be exciting. I'll continue to update my new home construction journal while I'm on vacation. Other than that, I'm not going to be spending much time on the computer until my vacation is over, so keep training hard and I'll see ya again on August 6th!

JasonR · Tue, July 31st, 2007, 03:46 AM

Incredible progress man. Are you takin' it easy on the vacation?

How do you have the time to get in meals and such?

***John Stone*** · Tue, July 31st, 2007, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonR

Incredible progress man. Are you takin' it easy on the vacation?

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm having a great time. Watching movies, going to the beach, hanging out with the Lisa and the dogs, doing projects around the house and getting some great workouts in.

They broke ground on the new house today, so I'll be spending time on the job site everyday for the rest of the vacation (and continue to update my new home construction journal). I'm excited about that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by JasonR

How do you have the time to get in meals and such?

I just make the time. It's all about planning. For example today one of my meals was 30 minutes into my meeting with the builders. I just had a protein shake and some almonds. Met my target macros and it took 2 minutes to consume. Longer trips require a cooler. It's really not hard at all.

***John Stone*** · Wed, August 15th, 2007, 08:09 PM

I guess I haven't been posting any pictures lately because I'm maintaining and nothing too exciting is happening on the visual side of things: I'm not losing fat, and I'm not really gaining muscle. What I am doing, though, is getting stronger with each workout. Today was chest & side delts day, and it was another excellent workout (I'm 2 for 2 this week!)

My shoulder is holding up incredibly well considering the weights I'm using. In fact today I beat my all-time best (for reps) incline bench press and weighted dips record, and my shoulder didn't even have the slightest hint of pain.

Here I am wearing my game face (

) while putting on my dip belt and getting ready for the 1st of 3 sets of very heavy weighted dips. My goal was 3 sets of 6, and I was using 10 pounds more than I used last week, which was also a PR:
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I'm adding plates here just in front of the dip station:
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This is after 3 sets of 6. I did it, and as you can tell I was very happy--partially because I beat my PR, and also because my shoulder didn't bother me. The dogs were happy, too (I'm looking at Loki here): they love my dip belt because they think they are going to go for a walk when they hear it rattle.

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I've got another 6 weeks before my bulk starts, and I'm going to keep focusing 100% on strength gains while keeping my body fat around 8%.

MGB · Wed, August 15th, 2007, 08:16 PM

Hey John -- You probably already know about these, but I use a powerhook + belt for my dips. See this page:

http://www.powerhooks.com/

Works incredibly well.

I usually do 3 sets of 5-8 reps with 105lb dumbell.
I haven't been able to gain on this in a long time. I went up to 110 and it started to hurt my (formerly seperated) shoulder.

Anyhow, the powerhooks make doing weighted dips very safe and fast (just one weight, the dumbell).

nms73185 · Thu, August 16th, 2007, 10:04 AM

Hey, since you work out at home do you ever have anybody around to spot you when you go for heavy lifts? I'm sure by now you probably know yourself and your capabilities pretty well, but do you ever feel like you could push yourself even harder if you had a spotter?

***John Stone*** · Thu, August 16th, 2007, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nms73185

Hey, since you work out at home do you ever have anybody around to spot you when you go for heavy lifts? I'm sure by now you probably know yourself and your capabilities pretty well, but do you ever feel like you could push yourself even harder if you had a spotter?

I go to failure all the time--the Titan has safety spotters.

nms73185 · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 01:03 AM

Wow, I wish every machine had those. Then I wouldn't be interrupted at the gym to spot somebody between sets

.

Lookin' good at 8% though. Honestly I can't spot a difference between July 1st and now. If I could follow halfway through your footsteps I would consider that phenomenal success. Really inspiring.

Jedi · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 06:27 AM

Hi John, just a quick question. I see you are still maitaining at 2100-2400 cals per day, I am kind of surprised you haven't increased that by say 100-200 cals per week?? Is it simply because your cheats are adding lots of extra calories? Its just it seems still very low to be regaining fat though i do understand that 6% is super mega lean and hard to maintain. I ask in part because i am finally more or less at goal weight and want to transition to maintenance. i think i am around 16% and really don't want to regain any fat at all. is this an impossible goal do you think? By the way you are still looking great

***John Stone*** · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nms73185

Lookin' good at 8% though. Honestly I can't spot a difference between July 1st and now.

The main differences are somewhat subtle: cuts are not quite as sharp, vascularity is reduced a bit. Most people don't notice, but I do.

The fat that I lost going from 8% BF down to 6% BF mostly came off my lower abdominals and just below my belly button, and that's where it returned as I went the other way back to 8%.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi

Hi John, just a quick question. I see you are still maitaining at 2100-2400 cals per day, I am kind of surprised you haven't increased that by say 100-200 cals per week?? Is it simply because your cheats are adding lots of extra calories? Its just it seems still very low to be regaining fat though i do understand that 6% is super mega lean and hard to maintain.

I'm not so surprised. I had a few extra cheat meals and cheat snacks over my vacation, and that is where I added a little fat, rising from 6% BF to 8%. I'm maintaining perfectly right now on my posted diet. For example, this week my diet has been spot-on (straight out of my meal plan with no deviations), and my weight and body fat have been almost perfectly flatlined.

I'm 38 years old, my metabolism is pretty slow, I work a very sedentary desk job and I am never hungry on my current diet. I feel full after my meals, I have plenty of energy and my strength is increasing with every workout while I maintain my present body fat level. I see absolutely no reason to eat more food than I'm eating now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jedi

I ask in part because i am finally more or less at goal weight and want to transition to maintenance. i think i am around 16% and really don't want to regain any fat at all. is this an impossible goal do you think?

I don't think it's impossible at all. Just carefully monitor your stats and transition slowly. If you are maintaining but still feel hungry, then I think you'll need to slowly ramp up your caloric intake and perhaps add in some activities to further boost your metabolism, such as a few HIIT sessions.

You look fantastic!

Jedi · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 01:28 PM

Thanks for the reply John it made lots of sense. Pretty amazing to be maintaining 8% I think

Yep i may increase my HIIT sessions, I have intentionally only be doing 3-4 cardio sessions a week so i cd add some later. May well train for a trathlon anyway which will increase cardio and calorie needs.

OH_Broker · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 05:25 PM

John,

Like so many have said before, you are such a great inspiration. Just 3 months ago, I weighed in at around 245 lbs. Since then, I'm down to 210 lbs. I feel great, look great and am gaining so much knowledge from this site and from others (my wife thanks you too

). Thanks for proving all it takes is hard work; that is the simple truth. Have a great day!!

Happy Monster · Fri, August 17th, 2007, 06:18 PM

I find my weight stays the same (65 kg) over the last few years, unless I consistantly undereat or overeat. And that's without calorie counting or eating from a set plan. Do you think we have a 'natural' weight that our bodies try to maintain?

***John Stone*** · Sat, August 18th, 2007, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OH_Broker

Like so many have said before, you are such a great inspiration. Just 3 months ago, I weighed in at around 245 lbs. Since then, I'm down to 210 lbs. I feel great, look great and am gaining so much knowledge from this site and from others (my wife thanks you too

). Thanks for proving all it takes is hard work; that is the simple truth. Have a great day!!

Thank you! I'm glad that this community has played some part in helping you improve your health. That's always awesome to hear. Congratulations on the very impressive fat loss, you've obviously put in the time and effort and earned every bit of it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Monster

Do you think we have a 'natural' weight that our bodies try to maintain?

I've read that is the case, and I suspect it may be true, but I honestly have not put enough study or thought into the subject to provide any kind of reasoned answer.

H177 · Sun, August 19th, 2007, 03:37 AM

i havnt had a look at your thread for quite a while... but gee john!! ur looking awesome... dribble

***John Stone*** · Sun, August 19th, 2007, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H177

i havnt had a look at your thread for quite a while... but gee john!! ur looking awesome... dribble

Thank you!

TheTransition · Mon, August 20th, 2007, 03:09 AM

Hey John, i got a quetion about your cutting routine...Do you still lift as heavy as you can or do you use the light weight, high rep method?

***John Stone*** · Mon, August 20th, 2007, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheTransition

Hey John, i got a quetion about your cutting routine...Do you still lift as heavy as you can or do you use the light weight, high rep method?

I always lift as heavy as I can for the given rep range.

Here's what I did on my last cut (this information taken from my training page):

Cutting (2007)
These are the training principles I followed for my 2007 cut:

3 exercises per body part, except biceps, calves & triceps which will be 2 exercises per body part (calves will be worked twice per week).
3 sets per exercise.
First three sets of bodypart: 5-7 reps.
Second three sets of bodypart: 10-12 reps.
Final 3 sets of bodypart: 12-16 reps.
The first exercise is a big compound movement (squats, BB rows, deadlifts, military press, etc).
Keep it intense: 1 minute rest between sets, 2 minutes rest between exercises.
Strict form.
Approximately 2 second concentric, squeeze, 3 second eccentric.
Mind/muscle connection at all times - FOCUS.
Change exercises every 4 weeks