Pics of an immense change.....Naturally

[theforce3169]

The first is me when I weighed 310 in 1996,the second is me in 2002, the third and fourth is me in the past 6 months.........this was done with over the counter stuff......now its time for the next level........always looking for suggestions.........6'2", 210, 36 years old......Thanks All

Make it a Good One.....Always....

Shawn

[BullDogg20]

good work, you must feel really good about your self, with such good changes to your life.. keep it up!!

[EcToMoRpHiAn]

Nice sleeve... any theme?

[mwolffey]

good job bro...keep up the good work

[theforce3169]

Truth be told, there is really no theme on the arm that is completely sleeved (courtesy of the California Dept of Corrections)......I just told the dude that I liked women and evil shit........still do, but I was pretty ****ed up in the head when I got em........
The one that shows california in bars is just my little statement about what I think of californias attitude towards corrections......which, believe it or not is changing for the positive in recent years.
I just remember going to court shackled all the time and seeing that serene bronze plaque of the trojan person petting a sheep or some shit in a peaceful bay with ships afloat and thought.....what a friggin hypocrisy.......

ANYWAY......thanks to everyone for the kind words....really......I do need suggestions on how to begin properly cycling......(yeah I know read the stuff in here......there's alot of stuff in here....can take years to sort thru it all).......once again thanks and any opinions, suggestions or ideas on proper lifting, cardio, and cycling are welcomed

I posted a thread in the newbie section that goes into this in detail........

Make it a Good One......Always.......you never know wtf is going to happen next.......LOL

SC

[SwoleCat]

Whatever you do, keep things natural.

Not sure if you were thinking about using AAS, but you are no where near ready for such an endeavor. Don't do more harm than good, you've come this far already.

~SC~

[CENADICT]

good work bro

[TinTin78]

Nice hair man, I really liked that, and also great progress man keep it up!

[IXISiDiuSIXI]

that one pic looks like u model for under armor or something lol. Nice progress tho definitely! big change congrats

[Cdub]

glad to see you didnt take the easy way out and got get that surgery to lose weight. Keep up the good work

[chest6]

Good progress. Dont even think about steroids at this point..

[*Narkissos*]

Whatever you do, keep things natural.

Not sure if you were thinking about using AAS, but you are no where near ready for such an endeavor. Don't do more harm than good, you've come this far already.

~SC~

I have to agree.

And congrats Shawn

Nark

[LX-1]

if he were young id say stay away from the sauce, but he's 36. not to mention his hormone levels are low so at the very least he should be on hrt...juice is the best option. just make sure to eat and train correctly bro.

[*Alex*]

very nice........good luck

[eatit]

wow, you was fat. And now your not at all. Good work buddy. What kind of diet did you follow?

[theforce3169]

LOL, I would like to say I am disciplined, but I feel that I am not. This being because of some of the articles I've read here about protein, carb, calorie and fat intake......what to eat, when to eat it, I've never been able to discipline myself that stringently.
........I have been reading alot of stuff here and I feel just as confused as I did when I started working out almost 5 years ago.
Basically, when I first started, I had ALOT of time on my hands and was weighing around 260-267. I went to the gym EVERYDAY. I did two miles on the tread mill everyday. I huffed and puffed my way. Seriously, now looking back I am sure I did alot of damage.
So, it was treadmill with random weightlifting. I always did split routines. Meaning on a day I would do chest and upper back, doing one set on chest and going to my upper back set. I'd go back and forth 3-4 sets and do 3-4 different routines for chest and upper back.......

ANYWAY......DIET........
At first, I cut out eating chocolate or sweets (cake, cookies, candy bars...all that), I stopped drinking whole milk (I went to nonfat) and stopped drinking sodas.
THEN....I only ate three times a day (the ol' starvation diet....I didn't know any better).

For Breakfast, I would eat 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (using I can't believe its not butter), and one bowl of some type of cereal that was low in fat and sugar (like wheaties, cheerios, raisin bran, etc)

For LUNCH, I would eat like a p'nut butter and jelly with fat free chips, or a fat free hot dog with chili with a glass of nonfat milk.

For Dinner, I would eat something like roast beef or chicken breast with corn/green beans with instant mashed potatoes or rice. With the nonfat milk

SO, that was kinda how my diet was. When I dropped down to 186, a trainer walked up to me and told me that I needed to start eating at least 5 times a day, up to 7 times he said.

I started doing that and because my metabolism had sped up so fast, I was able to eat almost anything and get away with it. But, I stuck to eating semi-healthy like i had been.

Since I dont like vegetables (except the starchy ones), and do not like eating ANY fruit, I bought a "Juiceman" and started juicing fruits and veggies.

I never had a concept of what a serving was and only in the past 2-3 years started looking at how much of what I was eating. RECENTLY, I'm on the idea of balancing my fats, carbs, calories, and protein. It's really hard cause I don't know much about anything. I see alot of conflicting ideas on caloric intake. I had one trainer do 3200 calories and another one do 2300. The 2300 calorie trainer was because I told her my goal was fat loss. I understand now that being overweight all those years has given me some excess, loose, flabby skin.....Especially in my stomach, and love handles area.......SO, I try to stick with anything between 2700-3500 per day (usually on the lower side). I do eat or supplement my protein to take in 220-260 grams a day

BOTTOM LINE is that I lost all that weight because of persistent exercise, cutting out sugar, chocolate and soda, and because I had been fat my whole life and had never worked out....so anything was bound to work!!!!!

SO, here I am.....not really too knowledged, but am kind of. What I really need, or hope for, is a realistic diet that is going to work for me. What I am doing is keeping me in the best shape Ive ever been in, but I feel I am stagnant, and diet may play a part in that

I really think my stagnation is from my workout routines. I have actually lost alot of strength at one point and have only recently got that strength back. I have'nt moved up significantly in weights in at least over one year (especially in my arms)

Anyway, that's my noise.....

[theforce3169]

if he were young id say stay away from the sauce, but he's 36. not to mention his hormone levels are low so at the very least he should be on hrt...juice is the best option. just make sure to eat and train correctly bro.

Well, I am trying to make sure I am doing that. Trying to find out what exactly to do about the diet and exercise part. Read my other reply to see where I stand on that. What I do works for staying in my current shape, but I don't feel like I am moving forward all that much.....I've actually lost strength in the past. I've been lifting the same weight for some time now and feel stagnant.
I started my first cycle totally unknowledged..I was using Test Entante for 7 weeks and stanolzol for about 3 or 4. With the stan, I started getting alot of cramping and inflammation, and EXTREME pain that would keep me from being able to walk, or sit, depending on where i went. I stopped about 4 weeks ago and have met someone who looks like they know what they're doing. But, I want to wait another month or two before I try again

[theforce3169]

Whew, its late and after rereading some of my stuff, I realize I am rambling.....I'm off to bed......gn

[HULKBOY]

Well, I am trying to make sure I am doing that. Trying to find out what exactly to do about the diet and exercise part. Read my other reply to see where I stand on that. What I do works for staying in my current shape, but I don't feel like I am moving forward all that much.....I've actually lost strength in the past. I've been lifting the same weight for some time now and feel stagnant.I started my first cycle totally unknowledged..I was using Test Entante for 7 weeks and stanolzol for about 3 or 4. With the stan, I started getting alot of cramping and inflammation, and EXTREME pain that would keep me from being able to walk, or sit, depending on where i went. I stopped about 4 weeks ago and have met someone who looks like they know what they're doing. But, I want to wait another month or two before I try again

WHY??? no offense brother but your lacking the ever important BASE to even think about AAS again..IMO it was stupid to even do it in the first place..try a different training split mix up excersises shock the muscles.. no need for AAS..

[theforce3169]

WHY??? no offense brother but your lacking the ever important BASE to even think about AAS again..IMO it was stupid to even do it in the first place..try a different training split mix up excersises shock the muscles.. no need for AAS..

Well, I am trying to read all of these articles and posts about workout routines and trying to figure out where to go next. I was reading today somewhere on here if you want to bulk, then do heavy weight with low reps
5-7. Seven is supposed to be the last rep you can do with proper form. And 5 is the minimum.

I did my leg routine today based on that idea. Of course, I had to find the right weight. I kept finding that I could push out like 10 - 12 reps, but I was able to narrow it down. The result feels great, I stretched before and after and I still feel the aching (already). We'll see how it feels tomorrow.

Does anyone have an opinion on cardio? Someone in here talked about cardio being imperative to keeping lean muscle mass. This person did a cardio routine twice a day tho. Once in the morning and once at night 30-60 minutes each.

That's my noise......