|
Name: Josh Warborg
Before:
After:
Like many people on the site, after looking at photos of myself, I realized I was out of shape. I was a classic 'skinny fat' person. I lifted a bit during college but had turned to more cardio focused activities after college. Years of mountain biking and marathons left me somewhat muscle-challenged up top. My wife began to refer to me as T-Rex for my skinny arms and shoulders and strong legs. Long hours at work, family time commitments and poor diet did not help the situation as I headed into my mid 30's. One day I came up with the fine idea of holding a bodybuilding contest between me and my neighbors. I had set up a basic gym in my garage a year earlier and wanted to reclaim it from the spiders that had invaded. I issued a challenge to 3 of my neighbors: we would take before and after pictures and the person judged to have made the most improvement would win $250 from the losers.
  Click Image To Enlarge.After Looking At Photos Of Myself, I Realized I Was Out Of Shape. Though the contest fell apart, I still felt like a winner because of the progress I made. The big change for me was diet. The contest really inspired me to learn about proper nutrition. I had tried to get lean a number of times in my life but it wasn't until I unlocked the secrets of multiple small meals and high protein and low carb that I got results. Diet was definitely responsible for 85% of the results.
The first thing I did was research. I doubt there is a single page of Bodybuilding.com I did not read. I'd lifted on and off for years so I understood what to do in the gym. I really had to figure out the diet routine. I set up a spreadsheet that calculated weight and body fat given a certain level of caloric intake and expenditure. I based this on the calculators found on Bodybuilding.com. The spreadsheet ended up predicting my outcome to the pound.
My first goal was to gain muscle. For the first 2 months, I did the 'see-food' diet. 6 meals a day with roughly 4000 total calories per day. I stuck with healthy, low GI carbs, low fat and lots of protein. I also lowered my cardio. I often bike to work so I cut down on that. By the end of the short bulking session, I weighed 197 and my strength increased dramatically. For the last 2 months, I dieted. I followed a traditional low carb, high protein, low fat diet of roughly 2000 calories. I upped my cardio so that I was getting in 5 cardio sessions along with the same 5 weight sessions per week. For cardio, I did bootcamp type workouts, ran stairs and cycled. My commute to and from work involves a couple major hills that helped burn off the fat.
 Click Image To Enlarge.I Really Had To Figure Out The Diet Routine. In the second two month period I cut from 197 to 178. I don't think I lost any muscle which was a concern as an ectomorph. I also used Saturdays as a 're-carb' day and increased my total calories substantially. Carb cycling and having a Saturday cheat day really helped keep my energy up and tamped down the temptation.
Meal 1: Meal 2: Meal 3: Meal 4: Meal 5: Meal 6: Meal 7:
Meal 1: Meal 2: Meal 3: Meal 4: Meal 5: Meal 6: Post-Workout
I often travel for work and have a hard time staying consistent at allocating a certain day for a certain body part (e.g. if it's Tuesday it must be shoulder day). I alternate each workout and take a day off before restarting the rotation.
Day 1: Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
Day 2: Back, Legs & Biceps
Do not be afraid to order exactly what you want at dinner (think Meg Ryan in "When Harry Met Sally"). I found if you ask you can get anything you want prepared any way you want as long as you are willing to pay anything the restaurants wants for it! Commit! Take 4 months to change your life and don't stray. Once you make the commitment and get the results, it is not that hard to maintain. Throw away the clothes that don't fit once you are done. You're not trying to lose fat (implying you someday want to find it). You are trying to get rid of fat. Once you throw the old clothes away, it becomes a very expensive proposition to gain the fat!
 Click Image To Enlarge.Once You Make The Commitment And Get The Results, It Is Not That Hard To Maintain. Take pictures and set a goal. Tell everyone you know about your goals so you will feel like a fool if you quit. After a month, take a second round of pictures. If you have stuck with the program you'll see the change and that will inspire you to keep going. Male Transformation Of The Week Recommend this article to a friend by e-mail here!
Related Articles
|
||||||||||||||||
Sign in for more FREE features and tools!
|
|
Give Us Feedback:
Report A ProblemSite Feedback |
Follow Us:
|
Bodybuilding.com Newsletter
Receive exciting features, |
