Before/After pictures after 6 weeks of dieting
22 years old, 5’9", ~180lbs in “before” pics, ~170 in “after” pics
Diet:
6 day low carb (<40g), 1 day moderate carb (<250g, all clean)
Protein was about 1.5g per lb bodyweight, with rest of calories coming from fats (started out being about 45p/5c/50f)
Decreased calories about 200kcal each week for first 3-4 weeks (from fats mostly) until i reached about BW x 11.5 total calories. then i kept calories there and increased cardio every week until i finished.
Training:
4x/week full body
Cardio consisted only of uphill walking on treadmill with the speed, incline, and frequency gradually increasing over the 6 weeks.
during last 3 weeks, i did 3 days/week of the program in Cosgrove’s Last 10 Pounds article.
Did not lose any strength, but didn’t gain any either. Felt very burned out both physically and mentally by the end of the 6 weeks, which was expected.
Although I can say that i’m generally happy with the progress i made in the past month and a half and got rid of some fat that really needed to go, i know i still need to lose about 10 more lbs before i reach the level of bodyfat i really want to be at. But for now i’m going to switch gears and start gaining some muscle. My goal now consists of getting back up to 180lbs while adding as little fat as possible.
Oh yeah, first i’m going to follow the Shredded in 6 Days article, mainly just out of curiosity, as i’ve never tried anything like that before. Pictures will be posted in a few days.
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I’m thinking that i want to compete in a natural BB comp sometime, maybe in a year or three, or however long it takes to gain enough muscle. i would appreciate all criticism and will welcome any comments on what i need to work on. thanks.
Dude you look fine right now. Ten more pounds and you’ll start to be underweight. If you did a full on water depletion, then carb-up protocol, you’d be looking flawless.
I think, unless you’re looking to hold onto this level of leanness for an extended period of time, it’s time to jump into that mass building you’re talking about.
Congratulations on a successful diet. Get yourself a professional BF% reading if you’re interested.
nice fat loss.
Have you made most of your gains on full body program? or was it just for losing weight?
Could you also give the specifics of your workouts? I think this is impressive if full body workouts were what you did most of the time.
great job man, your delts really popped out after the diet, great v-taper. Although defined, your upper back could use a little more thickness, otherwise great proportions.
If I was you I’d enter a latissimus dorsi specialisation cycle with lots of weigthed chin-ups, pull-ups, t-bar rows and barbell pull-overs as prefatigue. It would increase your already great v-taper.
also OP, just a word of advice, it took me a while to learn this too… on your back pose, when you get into the post you do now, try to flex your lats… bring your shoulders down and out at the same time. hard to explain, but if u look at ur back pic, it looks like you have no lats because your upper back muscles are flexed upward.
[quote]theceka wrote:
nice fat loss.
Have you made most of your gains on full body program? or was it just for losing weight?
Could you also give the specifics of your workouts? I think this is impressive if full body workouts were what you did most of the time.[/quote]
thanks
The workout i did during this fatloss phase was:
6x3 - Back Squat, Flat BB Bench, Dead, Chin
3x12 - Lunges, DB Inc Bench, Good Morning, BB Row
5x5 - Front Squat, Inc BB Bench, Leg Curl, DB Row
3x10 - Bulg Split Squat, DB Flat Bench, RDL, Pullup
most of my gains were made on push/pull programs, with the rest from full body and upper/lower.
most of the time i did push/pull 4x/week hitting each muscle group 2x/week, with two days having a horizontal upper body push movement, vertical upper body push, and quad dominant, and the other two being the opposite.
as far as direct arm, abs, and calf work, if i did do them, it was no more than a couple sets of one exercise at the end of the workouts.
i’m going to start Joel Marion’s Stripped Down Hypertrophy program this week, for the next three weeks, and then move into a higher volume, lower frequency body part split. I was never a big fan of body part splits, but since i’ve never actually done one before, i may respond well to it, so i think it’s worth a try.
[quote]kayveeay wrote:
also OP, just a word of advice, it took me a while to learn this too… on your back pose, when you get into the post you do now, try to flex your lats… bring your shoulders down and out at the same time. hard to explain, but if u look at ur back pic, it looks like you have no lats because your upper back muscles are flexed upward.
[/quote]
yeah you’re right. after looking at the picture, and trying out what you said, i totally know what you mean, thanks.
posing is something i’m definitely going to need to work on if i’m ever going to compete. these pictures are basically my first time doing those poses, and i realize how important it is to get good at them
and i appreciate those of you who commented on how i should work on my back. i will definitely take that into account. it’s a lot easier to recognize your weak points when you post pictures up for the world to see and get other people’s opinions. thanks again
and today was (finally) my last day of drinking 3 gallons of water for the Shredded in 6 Days thing i’m experimenting with. Having to pee every 20 minutes for 4 days is probably the most inconvenient thing ever.
can’t wait to start my carb-up tomorrow, even though i’ll probably be thirsty as hell by tomorrow night. I will post updates tomorrow, and hopefully some pictures on monday, assuming i don’t fuck it up somehow.
Excellent work! THe difference in your midsection is impressive, (as is the rest).
I agree with an earlier poster, you shouldn’t try to go another 10 lbs lower, you will lose way too much muscle. If you are indeed serious about a natural contest, you’d have to go 3, maybe 5 for the conditioning you’d need (jimcordova.com ← contest pics are at 5’9 and 170 lbs)
