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iATOT Official "Get your skinny ass/fat ass in shape" contest!

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Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
So is the contest dead? I intend to continue updating my journal periodically and posting monthly pictures regardless. I do believe it has helped keep me motivated.
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Two thirds of the starting contestants dropping out after the first month of a five month contest does not bode well. Right now, only 8 of the 27 contestant's journals have been updated in the last two weeks. Nobody is asking any questions about diet and exercise or how to stay motivated and this thread is rarely on the first page. I don't imagine that this is what TallBill envisioned.
 
Originally posted by: Coquito
Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
So is the contest dead? I intend to continue updating my journal periodically and posting monthly pictures regardless. I do believe it has helped keep me motivated.
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If anyone doesn't update, then it's on them to either pack it in, or crank up the effort & prove they can help themselves.
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I agree.

TallBill, what's the status?
 
MSN has a pretty good article on twenty ways to keep yourself in a workout routine. I think I'll re-read it tomorrow, but in the mean time I'll bump up the thread with it.

Tonight was a close call for me. I got in a good session but I almost went to bed without it. I'll have to work on that. The article suggests planning workout sessions in advance, giving them a time slot where you're busy and can't do anything else. I haven't done that so far, but I'll try
 
Ok guys, heres the deal. 6 out of 27 contestants have sent me pictures. Its already 10 days past the due date, so I see little hope of updates from anyone else. Here is the list of people that I've received updates from:

Coquito
crt1530
NiteWulf
AbAbber2k
amish
dullard

I'm going to wipe out the first post in about 24-48 hours and do the update. At that point, if we just have 6 contestants, then we just have 6. 10+ days is way to much time to even try to keep people involved.

If we do stay with 6 contestants, then the logs become more important as well since its a hell of a lot easier for people to read through 6 logs then 27.

Maybe I have incidentally proved the overweight/lazy connection? I dunno, but I didn't expect so many people to give up/drop out so quick.
 
I think I was expecting a pm, but I've also not been keeping up with my journal and I haven't been keeping up with an exercise routine either. With the car accident we had + the car shopping (dealerships *shudder*) I just haven't gotten around to it and I'd been really hoping to get in another session with the trainer and actually get a routine worked out. Also, I'm lazy(seriously). I have to head to work now but I should get home around 8 tonight and if I have time after dinner and working on my bike I'll try to post pics up but they will be pretty much the same as last time. The only thing I've managed to really change so far is to eat much more protein/eat better. We did one group session with the PT and it was a hell of workout and my legs were screaming but when I could walk again 3 days later and made it back to the gym I had forgotten most of the exercises.
 
Oh and the other thing I've managed to do is to pretty much cut out my daily run, because everyone hates cardio. I think I'm going to start doing it again until I figure out lifting exercises to replace it.
 
Originally posted by: Turin39789
Oh and the other thing I've managed to do is to pretty much cut out my daily run, because everyone hates cardio. I think I'm going to start doing it again until I figure out lifting exercises to replace it.
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lifting doesn't replace cardio
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
Ok guys, heres the deal. 6 out of 27 contestants have sent me pictures. Its already 10 days past the due date, so I see little hope of updates from anyone else. Here is the list of people that I've received updates from:

Coquito
crt1530
NiteWulf
AbAbber2k
amish
dullard

I'm going to wipe out the first post in about 24-48 hours and do the update. At that point, if we just have 6 contestants, then we just have 6. 10+ days is way to much time to even try to keep people involved.

If we do stay with 6 contestants, then the logs become more important as well since its a hell of a lot easier for people to read through 6 logs then 27.

Maybe I have incidentally proved the overweight/lazy connection? I dunno, but I didn't expect so many people to give up/drop out so quick.
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Honestly, I've had so much sh!t (family, work, bronchitis, depression relapse) over the last few weeks that I haven't even posted on AT that often. Let alone exercised or updated my journal. The main thing that prevented my exercise was virtually non-existent sleep patterns due to anxiety/mild post-traumatic stress. Takes a lot of focus just to motivate myself out of bed in the morning.

That said, I've made something of a recovery over the last week (found some sleeping pills that actually work) and intend to restart my exercise regimen sometime this week. Given the warning, looks like I'll be starting tomorrow (9/12 EST). I'm back at square one, but at least it's a start.

As for why this sh!t didn't stop me before, then I had a 9-5 job to keep my schedule in line/get out of the house (where most of the problems are), not to mention my job was right next to my gym. Now the internship's over, and I'm skipping a semester of college to stay with my current psychologist, and staying at home.

I know this post sounds kinda whiny/excusatory (word invention FTW?) but it's the factual truth. I'm not asking for a hug here. Whether I'm in or out, I'll keep updating the journal once I get my routine back. (Now that my sleep has stabilized, this should be fairly easy.) At the very least, I can tag along and follow the thread.
 
although I'm not in the actual competition I wanted to post my update so far. I leaned up at the beginning of the summer, and somewhat maintained during the summer months and slacked before I went to cancun in July, then when I got back from cancun my back was messed up so I took off for like 2 weeks when i got back from cancun and started up again early August. Here is where I was when I started.

190lbs (give or take)
Flat Bench - repping 225lbs x 6 times or so.
Straight bar curl - 105lbs x 6
Dumbell Shoulder presses - 70lbs x 6-8
Close grip bench (tris) - 125lbs x 8

And I have just been doing varying stuff for my legs and back and haven't been doing deadlifts or squats because my lower back still isn't 100% so I don't wanna do something and screw it up. My goals over the winter are as follows.

Possibly get to 210lbs.
Flat bench barbell - 275lbs x 3-5
Shoulder Press Dumbell - 85lbs x 8
Straightbar curl - 135lbs x 6
Closegrip bench - 185lbs x 6

Currently I'm at the following:
200lbs (w/gym clothes on but no shoes on)
Flat bench barbell - 245lbs x 6
Shoulder press dumbell - 80lbs x 6-7
Straight bar curl - 115lbs x 6-8
Closegrip bench - 155lbs x 6-8

So I'm definitely on my way and seeing good gains. I've been just eating and eating anything I want while taking quite a good amount of supplements. It's definitely making me have noticeble gains and everyone is telling me how I look significantly bigger than I was looking over the summer, which is good.

Of course those aren't the only excercises I'm doing and I'm also seeing great steady gains in every other exercise I'm doing as well. It kind of sucks because I do incline bench press with dumbells and the max my gym has is 85lbs, and right now I can do 3 sets of 8 with those easily. I may switch to barbell, but I like the dumbell better. Whenever I did the barbell previously, my chest did not feel as big up top as it does when I do the dumbells.

I'm hoping to finally do squats this weekend for the first time in a long time and hoping that it doesn't hurt my lower back. I plan on going very very light when I do them as well to make sure everything is okay
 
purbeast0, are you seeing significant bicep growth using high curl weights? I keep reading more and more about low weight, slower speed, squeeze the bicep at the top. I've been doing it for a short bit now and my arms are growing much faster then when I kept going up and up on the weight.
 
I was already disliking my shoulder press exercises and so was the GF (too difficult and unstable, especially with exhausted triceps from an earlier exercise). Then, last night when I was doing them, I heard the loudest joint pop I've ever heard in my right shoulder. There is a little bit of pain in the shoulder, but most of my arms hurt after the last exercise, so I don't know if the shoulder pain is from the workout or from that pop. Now, it cracks/pops every time I move my arm above shoulder height.

So, what are good Shoulder Press workout replacements?

I was considering an upright row dumbbell lift. I basically need something for my upper body (shoulders, delts). Would that be a good replacement, or should I go with another one?

Have a great night everyone, and a good workout if you can.
 
Originally posted by: Safeway
Originally posted by: mb
Originally posted by: AbAbber2k
Originally posted by: mb
Great timing, I just yesterday met my goal of losing 25 pounds :\
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Nothing wrong with setting new goals.
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Aye, my goal now is to not gain any back 😀
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That's the wrong mindset. Set your goal at 10 pounds lighter.
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I guess I should have entered the contest. I've lost another 15 pounds since my post in this thread on 7/20/07 for a total of 40 pounds (probably 45 or more, but I didn't weigh myself for the first few weeks I started exercising).
 
Originally posted by: mb

I guess I should have entered the contest. I've lost another 15 pounds since my post in this thread on 7/20/07 for a total of 40 pounds (probably 45 or more, but I didn't weigh myself for the first few weeks I started exercising).
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Nice going man, keep it up!
 
Apologies on the lack of updates here. Between work, school, homework, and social life I haven't had much time to do much of anything. As far as progress goes, I'm down 17 lbs in 6 weeks, which is a bit much but i'm extremely overweight (323 -> 306) so not too crazy. My new eating habits have been going very well. Protein everywhere. Been doing a ton of reading on dietary science on t-nation.com, great site. Try to keep my meals as either Protein+carb or protein+fat. Very little carb+fat.

Just started a weight lifting program last week using Mark Rippetoe's program from his book Starting Strength.

Workout A:
Squat 3x5
Bench 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Workout B:
Squat 3x5
Military Press 3x5
Bent over or Pendlay Rows: 3x5

Mon/Wed/Fri split, alternate workouts so ABA, BAB, etc. Sat/Sun off. I usually do 20-30mins of low intensity cardio afterwards on a stationary bike.

All the set numbers are working sets. I usually do 1 or 2 warmup sets. At first I thought i'd be squating too often, but I've come to love squating. Just not the soreness aftewards 😉. Deadlifted for the first time friday. LOVED IT. I did a ton of reading and watched a lot of videos on proper form, was scared of hurting my back. Worked up to 175x5 my first time deadlifting and really had only minor soreness in my lower back the day after.

As far as the contest goes, it wasn't ever my motivator. I'd be fine with not being included in the judging, but i'll probably still post updates occasionally.

Anyone have any recommendations on reducing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)? AtLarge nutrition makes something called ETS, the main ingredient is Microlactin. I've been looking at picking up some just straight up microlactin, but wanted to see what others use.
 
DOMS gets better as your body gets more used to working out. The lifting program you are on is highly successfull. You should see great gains while you are on it. Just keep working hard, eating right and continue to see good results.

Sleep and muscle massage should be enough for DOMS. I take Cyto Gainer which has Glutamine in it which supposedly helps with overall recovery.
 
TallBill ... yea I'm seeing my arms getting bigger for sure. I can feel it in shirts that I wear too. I typically do high weight straight bar curl for 6-8 reps, 3 sets of that. then I do dumbells afterwards and I always squeeze at the top.

I just wanted to paste in here that yesterday I hit another milestone of mine on the flatbench and was pretty happy.

I did 245lbs x 8 last night, and then I decided to try 275lbs for my first time ever, and I got it up 2 times on my own. I didn't think I was even going to get 1 of em up because the 245x8 took a lot out of me.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
TallBill ... yea I'm seeing my arms getting bigger for sure. I can feel it in shirts that I wear too. I typically do high weight straight bar curl for 6-8 reps, 3 sets of that. then I do dumbells afterwards and I always squeeze at the top.

I just wanted to paste in here that yesterday I hit another milestone of mine on the flatbench and was pretty happy.

I did 245lbs x 8 last night, and then I decided to try 275lbs for my first time ever, and I got it up 2 times on my own. I didn't think I was even going to get 1 of em up because the 245x8 took a lot out of me.
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Awesome! I deadlifted 455 today, up 30 pounds from just a week ago. Not sure how, but whatever!

Video

Your close as hell to 300, a good milestone!
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
Originally posted by: purbeast0
TallBill ... yea I'm seeing my arms getting bigger for sure. I can feel it in shirts that I wear too. I typically do high weight straight bar curl for 6-8 reps, 3 sets of that. then I do dumbells afterwards and I always squeeze at the top.

I just wanted to paste in here that yesterday I hit another milestone of mine on the flatbench and was pretty happy.

I did 245lbs x 8 last night, and then I decided to try 275lbs for my first time ever, and I got it up 2 times on my own. I didn't think I was even going to get 1 of em up because the 245x8 took a lot out of me.
Click to expand...

Awesome! I deadlifted 455 today, up 30 pounds from just a week ago. Not sure how, but whatever!

Video

Your close as hell to 300, a good milestone!
Click to expand...
Very nice effort! You have a lot more in you. Your weight looked to be on your forefoot (instead of your heels) and you shot your hips up before the bar even left the floor. You were pretty much doing a SLDL. Look at the bar path and your body position when you set the weight down. That's pretty much how it should look when you're going up. Your back and legs should be working together, not one at a time. Think about keeping your ass down and keeping the weight back on your heels. Taking the bar out of the power rack and getting a slightly wider stance with your toes pointed out wider might help you with both of these issues. You'll be over 500 in no time.
 
Originally posted by: crt1530

Very nice effort! You have a lot more in you. Your weight looked to be on your forefoot (instead of your heels) and you shot your hips up before the bar even left the floor. You were pretty much doing a SLDL. Look at the bar path and your body position when you set the weight down. That's pretty much how it should look when you're going up. Your back and legs should be working together, not one at a time. Think about keeping your ass down and keeping the weight back on your heels. Taking the bar out of the power rack and getting a slightly wider stance with your toes pointed out wider might help you with both of these issues. You'll be over 500 in no time.
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Yeah, my hip has been bugging me for a little bit now which kills part of my leg drive. Thats funny that you commented on me setting the weight down, because thats exactly what I was thinking that it should look like on the way up. I'll try going wider with toes out. Thanks.
 
Originally posted by: TallBill
Originally posted by: crt1530

Very nice effort! You have a lot more in you. Your weight looked to be on your forefoot (instead of your heels) and you shot your hips up before the bar even left the floor. You were pretty much doing a SLDL. Look at the bar path and your body position when you set the weight down. That's pretty much how it should look when you're going up. Your back and legs should be working together, not one at a time. Think about keeping your ass down and keeping the weight back on your heels. Taking the bar out of the power rack and getting a slightly wider stance with your toes pointed out wider might help you with both of these issues. You'll be over 500 in no time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my hip has been bugging me for a little bit now which kills part of my leg drive. Thats funny that you commented on me setting the weight down, because thats exactly what I was thinking that it should look like on the way up. I'll try going wider with toes out. Thanks.
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Wow nice lift there man, 455lbs is a lot to be deadlifting.

I too thought you were doing straight legged dead lifts at first heh because the way you did it.

When I was at my prime deadlift wise, the day I broke my ankle (and sprained my other one) I did 365lbs x 5, 5 sets of that. That is the highest I ever went I think.

Ever since then though deadlifts have never been the same for me. Once my ankles healed and I started doing deadlifts again, I could no longer do the normal form where I'd hold the bar outside my legs. I started to then do deadlifts sumo style. It's where you hold the bar inside your legs and put your legs out.

For some reason it just doesn't put a straight on my back as much.

However I've had back issues and completely cut out deadlifts for some time now. I just started squatting again yesterday because my back feels better, and if sqauts feel fine for a month or so I'm going to put deadlifts back into my routine.
 
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