All my life I have been the tall, lanky kid. I went through a period of time during college where I worked out consistently and ate healthy, but even then I just kind of toned the skinny limbs I already had. I did however have a flat stomach, no six pack definition unfortunately...but flat nonetheless, which was the thing I was most proud of. Even though at the time I would have told you I was doing all I could do to get the body I wanted, I never took the time then to research what I was doing wrong. Why wasn't I gaining muscle or getting that six pack I felt I deserved?
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| This (or something close to it) was the goal but... |
Well as boring as it sounds, that is what I hope will be the difference between the results I got back then and the results I hope to get now. Research! I've done my homework. The internet really is useful for more than just youtube videos and facebook. Who'd of thought right? Back then I was doing all the wrong things with my diet and my exercise. Yes I was eating healthier, but I wasn't eating the things that would help me gain lean fat that could be turned into muscle. Protein is key. So I plan to increase my protein intake as well as supplement with some protein powder. Yum huh? I know you're jealous. Also, the workouts I was doing was mainly consisting of exercise machines where I'd do many reps and cardio. Both of these are how you tone up and/or lose weight; neither of which I was trying to do. But I didn't know any better at the time. Ignorance...not really that blissful in this case. Now my goal is to still use my at-home gym, but to also start using free weights. In doing both, the key will be fewer reps but pushing my body with more weight/resistance. Along the way I'll have to either increase the number of reps or the amount of weight I am lifting or my muscles will become complacent just like I have become over the past 6 years. I'd like to believe that at least the first year and a half of this 6 years was not fully my fault. I took a job as a manager of a retail store where I began working 12+ hour days sometimes 7 days a week and either missed a lot of meals or ate from the junk food section of the store because it was all I had available to me. I lost around 30 lbs in the first month or so that I worked there because I was always on my feet running around the store, wasn't eating properly or at all, and wasn't getting the sleep I needed. All my hard work I had done working out was lost. I didn't have the time to go to the gym anymore, and after that I just kind of gave up on myself. I kept telling myself that it wasn't worth trying to get healthy again because it was lost too quickly and I didn't get the results I really wanted in the first place. Boy was I wrong because...
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| ...this is what I've become. At least in my head. |
Now I think I have realistic expectations from all this. I don't want to be a bodybuilder. All the veins popping out and my muscles having muscles is just as bad as being a "fat boy" in my opinion.
I just want to look something like this below...
Is that too much to ask?
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| Hawaii Five-Oh Yea...I look good!!! |
Now I know guys aren't supposed to care about "swimsuit season," how unmanly of us to even think about it right? But this guy wouldn't mind turning some heads come June when he hits the lake with friends. I'd like to not be embarrassed when I take my shirt off. Now while I know my six pack dream is probably not attainable by June, a flat stomach should be. So that is the goal for this summer. The picture to the right is the goal for summer 2012...watch out world. I'm not expecting to be a Greek Adonis or anything, but just a stronger version of myself. I know it's not going to be easy. The hard work it is going to take scares me to death. But I'm finally ready in my life to put forth the effort needed to attain my goals. I know I might have to adjust my diet even more so along the way or even my workouts as I see
what works and what doesn't, but I'm going to
get as close as possible to this as I can.
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