My fitness story.
So, I've always been underweight. I'm one of those individuals who is both gifted and cursed with a fast metabolism. My body won't keep fat, period. Add on top of this a genetically uncooperative stomach (permanent reflux, lactose intolerant, fat intolerant, sodium sensitive) and I have a very difficult setup for gaining weight.
I was depressed for many years of my life. Between about '03 and '07, it was bad, and I'll admit I was suicidal. Fortunately for me, I hate pain, so I could never bring myself to actually kill myself.
Sometime in '07, something snapped, and life resumed. I've moved on, and am now a fairly happy individual. However, my bout with depression had consequences. My diet consisted of nothing but junk for at least 2 years. I very rarely ate more than 500 calories in a day, and none of it was healthy. Since my body had no fat to consume, it turned on the muscle.
When I emerged from the funk, my weight was no more than 105 pounds. For a guy who's 6 feet tall, that's critically low. I had ZILCH muscle on my body - I looked like a walking skeleton.
Then, I got into weightlifting. Slowly at first, and gradually over the months adding more exercises and intensity to the workouts.
As of today, my weight's 130 pounds. I've gotten advice from professional bodybuilders for how to properly work a muscle group, and my eventual low-end target is 150 pounds. Optimally, I want to hit 170, but that's a long way off. I lift weights regularly, doing intense resistance sets using dumbells. I'm not huge yet, but I have visible muscle.
When I weighed 105, I could hardly lift my computer, let alone a dumbell. Now, I can heft my 16-kilo (33ish pound) tower without a second thought, and carrying it doesn't tire me. I currently use 25-pound dumbells for my arm exercises, and I started with 8-pounders.
To anyone out there like me, who's at a critical point of underweightness - you CAN come back from it. The key is in the food more than anything. Make sure you eat a healthy, high protein diet, and ease into a pattern of working out. Before you know it, there will be muscle growing back onto your body.
I was depressed for many years of my life. Between about '03 and '07, it was bad, and I'll admit I was suicidal. Fortunately for me, I hate pain, so I could never bring myself to actually kill myself.
Sometime in '07, something snapped, and life resumed. I've moved on, and am now a fairly happy individual. However, my bout with depression had consequences. My diet consisted of nothing but junk for at least 2 years. I very rarely ate more than 500 calories in a day, and none of it was healthy. Since my body had no fat to consume, it turned on the muscle.
When I emerged from the funk, my weight was no more than 105 pounds. For a guy who's 6 feet tall, that's critically low. I had ZILCH muscle on my body - I looked like a walking skeleton.
Then, I got into weightlifting. Slowly at first, and gradually over the months adding more exercises and intensity to the workouts.
As of today, my weight's 130 pounds. I've gotten advice from professional bodybuilders for how to properly work a muscle group, and my eventual low-end target is 150 pounds. Optimally, I want to hit 170, but that's a long way off. I lift weights regularly, doing intense resistance sets using dumbells. I'm not huge yet, but I have visible muscle.
When I weighed 105, I could hardly lift my computer, let alone a dumbell. Now, I can heft my 16-kilo (33ish pound) tower without a second thought, and carrying it doesn't tire me. I currently use 25-pound dumbells for my arm exercises, and I started with 8-pounders.
To anyone out there like me, who's at a critical point of underweightness - you CAN come back from it. The key is in the food more than anything. Make sure you eat a healthy, high protein diet, and ease into a pattern of working out. Before you know it, there will be muscle growing back onto your body.
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Comments
That was on the first set though. Second set I could only do 3, and finished the last 3 reps to 6 with my 15-pounders.
Third set I could only lift the 25s once. It's progress though... never done 7 straight reps with em before.
inch by inch, climb
Mount Fuji!"
-Kobayashi Issa
Schedule
Probably not perfectly balanced, but I think it targets quite a lot of muscle groups considering the basic level of my equipment
You can see where I'm just starting to show definition in several places. Hoping to keep bulking and make it more obvious.
Oh, you also get to see my ugly mug, complete with glasses that never stay fully up my nose.
Can't remember what I used for squats... will have to check that out next week.
Calf Raises, 3x8 holding 25 pound dumbell
Lunges, 3x8 holding 2x 15 pound dumbell
Set a PR on my triceps for the third week in a row... 9 reps @ 25 pound dumbell. They're sprouting like a dandelion in the morning.
The pattern should be established... just a matter of following it and eating now.
Starting up my regular 3-day split again on monday.
Progress seems to be happening reasonably well enough. If all goes well I should need to buy 30-pound dumbells in about another 4-8 weeks.
Also: woot for obliques. I seem to has em.
I recommend a book called Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoes.
is that seriously that mans name? like Rip Steakface or Crud Bonemeal?
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFHlJ2voJHY)
O man that's great story and I congratulate you on losing weight so much. Every one has craze to lose the weight as much as they can do it. Congrats once again...