I lost another 1/2 in on my waist this week. All of my lifts are WAY up, so I know I am losing fat and gaining muscle.

Now I just need to get my pasty butt into a tanning booth so I can take some pics.

I think I may be losing little muscle, but I'm not sure. I'm doing HST, so my really can't tell yet about the strength, because I'm not up to my max yet. I lift as intensly as I can, though. Maybe next time I try this, I'll use the more traditional weight routine. I'm doing a LOT of cardio and just think some muscle must be going. Any real good suggestions, besides the supps I can't afford, for not losing any more LBM? I am taking home stacked ECA (not always A), R-ALA, Green Tea, and bunches of vitamins. Got a little Lipoderm-Y left, but was waiting till I got down some more to use it. Oh, and taking L-Tyrosine with the ECA also. Hoping to get some more yohimbe to use in the mornings before early cardio (I don't take it with the E). Are we gonna' be able to talk about E any more after the bann?

I don't think it is becoming a scheduled drug, and there is talk in the industry about the ban being reversed. I will go to "my bosses" here to see what the ruling would be on that.

I think it is a safe topic. I take a hard line against drug talk in here, but grey GRAS supplements are just "thinking outside the box".

Hmmm ... the cheapest thing I can think of to take to prevent the cardio wasting is 1/2 of a whey isolate shake 45 minutes prior to cardio. It has the high BCAA content, but may slow fat loss a little.

I think with your level of muscularity, you can burn the 80 protein calories as afterburn. LOL.

Yeah, I've been taking 1/2 a scoop whey protein with 1 tablespoon of Enova oil before I leave for the gym and then 1 scoop of just whey protein immediately after cardio workout. LIke I said, may just be my imagination about the muscle loss, cause it's been years and years since I've been this lean and might just be a perception thing, LOL!

You should be covered then. Some muscle loss is to be exepcted.

Your pics are great! I can see the differences from pic to pic.

What are you doing for side delts? If you capped those boys off, it would add a whole new dimension to your physique.

Well, I'm not doing any "isolation" lifts really, just a very basic routine on this HST thing. When its over (today is last day in first week of "5's"), I'm gonna' gp back for awhile to a regular kind of split with much more arm, delt, trap stuff. Here is what I'm doing now:

M,W,& F full body consisting of

Alternate first two exercises every workout
First day Squats 3x5, SLDL 3x5
then next workout substitute Deadlifts 3x5, Leg presses on incline sled 3x5
followed every workout by:

Shrugs 3x5
Weighted Dips 3x5
Seated Rows 3x5
Flat Bench 3x5
WG Pulldowns 3x5
Lat Raises3x5
Pec Dec 3x5
Seated Smith Press 3x5
EZ Bar Curl 3x5
Tricep Pushdown 3x5
Behind Back Barbell Wrist Curl 3x5
Standing Calf Raise 3x5

If I have energy, I throw in a few isolated execises at end, usually for arms.

Well rounded program ... very nice actually.

Yeah, when you do some isolation work ... add in lateral raises for your medial delts ... and maybe at the end of your Smith military presses, do half reps from the top and lower just to the top-of-your-ear level .. I would say hairline, but I shave my head. :P That'll give your side delts a burn.

I just like the look of big meaty medial delts. They give an impression of a smaller waist, and when combined with some thick traps, give a real "power" look.

You have the drive and determination, I figure you can give it a go.

I just wanted to thank you gentlemen for giving me such inspiration. I know I'm way overweight compared to anyone else here....but I've started CKD on Monday....and I love it! It always feels so good to weight train. Thank you for all the great info on the diet and training. My husband and I are very excited to watch our progress over the next several months.

Chip....looks like you're doing a great job. I can definately see the difference and commend you on your hard work!

Thanks guys!!

Katrina

Well, here's the progress pics after another week. I'm up a couple of pounds, but that's not unusual, my digestive track could account for that! I've also been in a very heavy lifting cycle (I know not the best time when trying to cut like this!) and could have added a little muscle? Anyway, the diet WAS hard to stick to this week and I did take in more calories than I should have, but not too, too much..hehe. It's getting harder, maybe close to time for a week break. I did a couple of HIIT sessions and walked at least 50 miles total this week, plus my lifting, and I'm, well, just starting to get a little burnt out on it, but still have the determination. I wish I could afford a good appetite suppressing suppliment (drug), maybe like bromocriptine (ala Lyle McDonals recom.) or something like that, because that truly is the hardest part of all this for me. Well, anyway, progress was small this week, but progress none the less.

Well, I am as bummed as they come today. I finally had my body-fat measured at Gold's Gym this morning and the girl said it was 23% I was so convince it was at the most 20%, but I really thought a bit lower than that. I then went to my workout and it sucked 'cause I was so bummed, although I did put a little of that anger into some of my lifts, but not much. Couldn't eat worth a damn on my first carb-up meal! Well, I did manage to eat enough then and after I got home to induce a small carb coma so I guess I'll hit the sofa (beat from heavy lifting 3 times this week too) and hope things look brighter when I wake up 'cause it's definetly just one of those real suck a$$ days

Well, here is the April 2nd update, lost another pound or so, but not that much visible difference this week. Will be dieting and working out one more week and then will be taking a week off from both to reset my metabolism/recoup and do "stratigic deconditioning" for my HST lifting program.

BTW, caliper measurements are only as accurate as the tech holding the device. Not sure about the person who measured you, but the trainer at my gym looked really ham-handed with the calipers. I'd say trust your eyes and your measurements and factor in the caliper results as just one more piece of data.

Cheers,

Friday

Measuring BF is subject to enormous differences anyway, so looking at your pictures I agree more to the 18% level in your march pictures and I think you may be coming to 16% on the latest.

Did they use calipers of BIA?

Didn't understand the abbr. in that one, the girl used the same kind of inexpensive calipers that I have at home. She was probably right, and I was just fooling myself. I think from what I've been told lately, guys my age carry more fat INSIDE the body, so age is a factor. And, the pictures really do look make me look a little leaner than I truly believe I am. Doesn't matter really, I won't stop trying until I get to where I want to be!

I started a break from both dieting and weight-lifting yesterday. I am planning on it lasting for 11 days, until April 19th. I'm hoping to be able to control myself enough to only put on a few pounds in that time, although I have not done well so far. Eating like crazy, but I guess I need a little of that to get it out of my system psychologically and also to get my metabolism back up to high gear physically. Got my fingers crossed that tomorrow I can get down to the nitty gritty and start eating sensibly with a few added complex carbs without overdoing it, which is for me, easier said than done. Wish me luck guys,

Chip

Hoi Chip,

BIA is ...
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Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis or BIA is considered one of the most reliable and accessible methods of screening body fat. In conventional BIA, a person is weighed, then height, age, gender and weight or other physical characteristics such as body type, physical activity level, ethnicity, etc. are entered in a computer. While the person is lying down, electrodes are attached to various parts of the body and a small electric signal is circulated. Simply explained, BIA measures the impedance or resistance to the signal as it travels through the water that is found in muscle and fat. The more muscle a person has, the more water their body can hold. The greater the amount of water in a person's body, the easier it is for the current to pass through it. The more fat, the more resistance to the current. BIA is safe and it does not hurt. In fact, the signal used in body fat monitors can not be felt at all either by an adult or child.


Tanita's Patented BIA Method
Tanita has patented a revolutionary new way of measuring BIA that is faster, easier, less intrusive and includes a precision scale making this a simple one-step process. In fact, Tanita was the first company to introduce the world to the body fat monitor/scale. Tanita's monitor looks just like a bathroom scale. A person inputs age, gender and height, then steps onto the platform. Electrodes in the foot sensor pads send a low, safe signal through the body. Weight is calculated automatically along with body fat content in less than a minute. All Body Fat Monitor/Scales and UltimateScales feature Tanita's patented BIA method.







I also have the internal fat problem and I have a protruding belly!
So I´m not quite where you are. But I also make progress. If you would like an easy diet look at my posts about the Warrior Diet. Life is a feast.

Althoug it was not so funny at first, myself being convinced this was THE diet, others not seeing any progress. I don´t hear that anymore!