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Name: Michael Lindberg
Before:
After:
I was never a big guy in high school, and never thought about what I ate. When I got to college I wouldn't say I was out of shape but I was definitely scrawny and I was eating terrible food and drinking way too much. I started lifting the day after one of my football friends saw me in a beater and squeezed my arm with a mocking look in his eye.
  Click Image To Enlarge.I Started Making It A Serious Part Of My Life. In my junior year I spent a semester on an entirely different continent than my fiancé, and I was determined to impress her for when we finally got to see each other again. She was in a place in Costa Rica where she didn't get internet so there was no way for us to see each other, so I made the commitment to transform my body for when I saw her again.
 Click Image To Enlarge.I Made The Commitment To Go To The Gym Everyday. I started going to the gym every morning no matter what. I started off not knowing exactly what I was doing but I would be in the gym every morning no matter what.
The first real encouragement I got was when some of my friends started noticing my dedication and the changes I was making. Their encouragement really helped me to keep it up, and the gym became what I looked forward to everyday. If I was busy I would make sure to schedule commitments so that I could still work out. I really started researching what I was doing in the gym and my workouts evolved appropriately. It turns out I was really overworking myself at the beginning, doing far too many sets with not enough rest time. The first real workout I tried I had found online, which said mass building came from lower reps and high weight. I had been doing higher rep exercises, so I cut down on the number of sets and dropped my rep range, which is where I noticed the first big mass change that happened to me. It was winter when I ran into one of my friends at the gym and he told me that he had recently done a bodybuilding competition, and it really spoke to me because he started college small like me.
 Click Image To Enlarge.I Made The Biggest Physical Change During The Three Months Before The Competition. He constantly told me to do a competition that he was doing in April with him, and at first I thought it was ridiculous and that I was nowhere near ready for something like that. But after a month or so he had changed my mind, and while I was still unsure I registered for the competition online. There was no turning back now! The couple of months after that were some of the most influential months of my life to this point. Those months taught me how important proper nutrition and diet was to building up your physique, something I had never had the commitment to do before. I had still eaten whatever I wanted so long as I ate enough protein. But with proper nutrition my body responded more positively to everything I was doing to prepare. My parents got me Arnold's Modern Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding for Christmas and I took a lot of what I started doing from that. I committed myself entirely to preparing for the competition, and my fiancé was incredibly supportive, which made it possible for me. Whenever I had doubts about competing she was there to reassure me that I had what it took. Being unsure of yourself is a lot easier when someone else is that sure for you.
 Click Image To Enlarge.That Made Me More Motivated To Train With Everything I Had. The competition rolled around and armed with the knowledge given to me by a bunch of friends on BodySpace, I felt prepared. We got to the competition early and I was not nervous at all, which was a huge surprise to me. I hate being in front of people and I just felt that I had done everything I could for this, and if the judges didn't like it there wasn't much I could do at this point. Everyone at the competition was also extremely nice, so it felt like a very comforting environment. I got up on stage and turned out to be the only lightweight in the open class, so I won that. I was also in the Light novice class with 3 other guys, and I just wanted to place 3rd or better. They called out the first name, and I was thrilled I didn't come in last. They called another name, and I realized it was down to me and one other guy. They paused, and then called out second place going to the other guy! I was completely not expecting it, and couldn't do anything but smile and look down at my fiancé who was sitting in the front row in surprise. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. And that same football player who got me started by mocking me asked for lifting advice in my senior year of college, which convinced me I was on the right track.
I have experimented with a few different stacks as I've gotten serious to find out what works best for me, and for a while now I have been using NO-Xplode along with Dymatize's Super Amino 4800 with a multivitamin twice a day. I also use EAS 100% Whey Protein.
Snack: Lunch: Snack: Dinner: I make sure to eat something every 3 hours and to eat 2g of protein per pound I weigh.
I would do abs between the sets of my first two exercises of each day alternating between upper and lower abs.
I guess the biggest suggestion I have to anyone getting started is to make a plan and REALLY stick to it. Weightlifting is something you can't cheat your way through; you only get out of it what you put into it, which is what makes it so appealing to me personally. Not having time isn't an excuse for not lifting, you can find ways to make time to lift for just an hour a day, you just have to be creative and be dedicated to making the change. Don't get discouraged! And never be hesitant to ask someone for advice! Chances are they would be flattered to be asked, and would be more than happy to share what they know with you.
 Click Image To Enlarge.You Only Get Out What You Put In. I would also definitely recommend buying Arnold's Modern Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, it is incredibly helpful for beginners as well as experienced weightlifters! 
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