Pictures everyone?

I see some massive looking dudes here. Some of you look downright scary!  
cool.gif

Testokitty, cool to see another Finnish weight lifting enthusiast. I envy your low bodyfat! My setpoint seems to be hovering around the 13-16% mark. Looks like I'll need to (somehow) add more mass to boost my metabolism in order to get down to 10-12%.

Here's a couple of pics of me. Current stats are 179 cm height (just a hair short of 5´11"), 83 kg weight (183 lbs), 14 % ish bodyfat, age 22. I've been lifting for 3.5 years. I made great progress during my first two years of lifting, going from 150 lbs to 180 lbs with a starting bodyfat of 13% (estimated from old pics) and the same bodyfat when I got to 180 lbs. Sadly it seems I've hit a brick wall now, so I pretty much look the same today as I did after those first 2 productive years (though I have made some decent strength gains after that). I'm having my test levels checked as soon as I can afford the appointment just to make sure there's no hormonal dysfunction keeping me from making gains.

I took this first pic during an SD at around the 2.5 year mark. Now, I only started doing deadlifts during my current HST cycle (please, put down your pitchforks and torches, people!  
biggrin.gif
), so my back may not be quite as thick as it is wide, as you can clearly observe in the second pic. I have pretty good lats and shoulders (I can easily do 6 reps of one arm dumbell rows with 147 lbs, or 67.5 kilos), and weak arms.

forearmsebu2.jpg


This one was taken around that time as well, if I remember right:

selk1wb8.jpg


And finally, here's a recent one. I was looking a bit flat that day (not enough carbs):

min004wr5.jpg
 
Thanks man!
smile.gif

... if I could have somehow kept up the pace at which I was progressing during those first two years of explosive growth, I'd be a monster by now. There has to be a way to reclaim at least a fraction of that rate of progress. I'm not done growing, not by a long shot (185 lbs at 10% bf would be a a good target to aim for).

BTW Lcars, you're one of those scary looking dudes I was referring to. I'm pretty certain nobody even thinks of giving you trouble.
cool.gif
 
well im not sure about the scary part
biggrin.gif
.but thanks,as you get bigger you tend to command a little more respect.

but back to your post: your progression in the first few years of training is always the best,gains begin to slow after that for most people.

your body adapts to the stimilus and without going into too much detail your body fights for homeostasis,basically balence(it makes sure your not holding too much muscle(stupid body
sad.gif
).you are also getting closer to your genetic max than when you started,the body can only support so much muscle,depending on body type and diet.

i mean i can only put on half as much muscle in a year than i used to
sad.gif
.but hey im closer to my goals now.but youve got great potential and with a good mind set you can achieve your goals of 185lbs@10%

by the way im 99.9999% sure you have nothing wrong with your test levels.i spent many years in and out of the gym due to "hitting a brick wall" .it happens too us all.
 
Your gains go from "I can fly! I can fly!" to the building of a house, brick by brick. Add a brick and nobody notices. Keep adding bricks and...

It's a mental obstacle everyone has to overcome, insomuch that gains slow down drastically the closer you get to your genetic potential, but you have to remember the bricks. That's what keeps you in the game. Not to mention the endorphin highs!
smile.gif
 
Wise words, quadancer and Lcars.
Thankfully, motivation is something I am not lacking in. As long as I have four functional limbs, I'll keep on pumping iron.

There's still plenty of muscle to add. And besides, I never aspired to be huge to begin with (what would be the point in being an ox like mound of muscle? I fail to see the appeal in that!). I just want to be somewhat bigger and leaner than I am now. And not necessarily by a huge margin.
185 lbs at 10% bf sounds like a realistic goal, I think.
 
Well, everyone else is doing it so I'll post some up too.

This is my progression from 300lbs of lard walking with assistance to 170lbs of triathlete who is soft and saggy then to where I am now.  
The first pic was taken at work at 280lbs about a month before the bad day that I couldn't walk on my own came - up until that day, being fat wasn't a problem...then the legs went and I had to do something different.
Then the last couple are in October after HST that started in July...30lbs bigger, yes there is some fat gain but I really don't care.  Still bulking all the way through until spring - maybe even through the summer with a brief 2 month cut near the end of summer if we do a late summer trip to the beach.

 

http://img82.imageshack.us/img82....MG][/url]
[url="http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sidebioct06mo5.jpg"][IMG]http://img388.imageshack.us/img388....MG][/url]

Somehow two of the thumbnails turned into URLs, but the URL links work to see the pics.

Also, there is nothing to be done for the saggy skin except take the time to eventually fill it with muscle.  I [i][b]WAS[/b][/i] a 300lb tub of lard in the beginning.  No amount of improvement will get rid of the surgical scars.
 
Very nice work Vagrant, also you may have increased your life span by at least 50% or more
smile.gif

Keep up the good work...well done!!!!!

O
 
Thanks guys. I don't really care about the lifespan. Just the quality of life. Walking and working is so much better than rolling and being the fat stinky guy on the rascal running over everyone's toes going down the doughnut aisle (which you have to pass through to get to the veggies) in the store.

My lifespan will be short anyway. The demylenation is now hitting my brainstem more often. One night, I'll just forget to breathe and wake up dead. So while I'm here, I'm working on becoming the biggest, most muscular, best looking corpse I can become. And enjoying life to the absolute fullest possible. Besides, sometimes doctors are wrong so why not be the fittest I can be just in case I get stuck here for another 40 or 50 years?
 
Vagrant, great results and great attitude. I hope you continue to frequent this board and post comments regularly. Always an inspiration.
cool.gif
 
LittleBigHorn: Thanks man, but no need to envy
biggrin.gif
And you're right, nice to see other finnish iron-lovers here
smile.gif
As someone already said here, you always make great gains during 2-3 first years, and then the progress gets slower. But I agree with the lcars comment that you have made nice gains and wish you good workouts!
 
your right the base is there,just keep hitting the gym and youll be at 200lbs in no time.

good luck.

wink.gif
lcars
 
this was taken sept. 22, 2006

5'9'' 155lbs.  Skinny and want to gain!

Been working out for about 9 months to 1 yr, off and on.  Will be starting HST on monday
 
mill z

your not skinny. 155lbs is not a lot but you have very good muscle proportion and size for that wgt ( and amount of lifting) and low bodyfat. this is a good site with lots of great info. do a lot of reading, lift hard (and smart) and with that build you will go far.

nice clouds btw.

good luck
 
If you wouldn't have given your weight I would have guessed you weighed about 175 pounds. You look pretty darn big for 155 pounds! Are your legs proportionate to our upper body?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top