Intro from 2112, Happy to be here, Here's my deal.
Hello,
I've been coming here to read posts and blogs for the past year or so in order to educate myself, and just signed up. Let me say, I am here to learn from people who know much more about the topics discussed here than I do.
Here is my deal. I'm 37 years old, I'm 5' 10" and weight 145 lbs (yes, you read correct). My body fat is about 10%, my BMI is about 20, and I am in the 7th percentile of people my age and height.
I have been doing strength-training off and on for about 20 years (since college). In college I was a track athlete, then I used to do BJJ (Jiu-Jitsu), but mainly box now. I have a boxer's body, and just like Manny Pacquiao, have always had to go to incredible lengths just to keep my weight up.
Now, the first impression will obviously be "this guy ain't eating," or "this guy must be lifting 10 lb dumbbells for sets of 25 reps." Believe me, I wish the problem were that simple.
Now, admittedly, I certainly have not always eaten well. Also, I involved myself with strength training programs that involved too little weight for far too long. I cannot deny either of these things.
However, there have been numerous long periods (2-year stints) over the past 20 where:
a) I was consuming 4000-5000 calories a day of the type of diet outlined in the forums here (low-sugar, high quantities of brown rice and potatoes, 150 grams of high-quality protein a day, egg whites, chicken breasts, vegetables etc) consisting of 5-6 meals a day, in addition to low-sugar gainers.
b) I was not boxing or doing ANY kind of cardio activity whatsoever, and
c) I was actually doing a 4-day a week weight training program that involved only compound exercises (squats, deadlifts, power-cleans, bench presses and pull-ups) and low reps. (this has been fairly recently).
Despite this, I have never eclipsed the 150 lb mark. The closest I have come is 149 1/2 lbs a few times. In fact, I have taken this past year and a half off from any kind of boxing training, and have focused only on weight lifting.
I have been to doctors over the years, when my immune system was beaten down or I'd lost too much weight and they ran all the tests. Everything came back negative. At one point I thought I may have had anemia, or low testosterone. However, the few times I was tested for anemia, it came back negative, and my libido has always been super high.
I have always said that I would never use performance-enhancing drugs or do anything but all-natural strength training. I don't even like to take aspirin. Well, never say never.
That's my story. I will continue to come here and do my research and hopefully learn from others on this site, and eventually make my decision. I've read a lot of the beginner posts over the past year, but any good suggestions on blog posts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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