Shrug your shoulders...your chest moves up towards your neck. Its very awkward but its the only way I can activate my upper chest fibers

Where does the bar come to at the bottom of your rep when you shrug? Bottom of chest or middle?

Hits my chest in the middle/upper part

Hows everyones summer Physiques coming along? This thread needs more than 2-3 posters!

My calves are huge and my tan is strong. Ladies can't get enough of my good.

For this summer's physique, I decided to start at the end of last summer -- instead of May.

I'll never have a "six pack" but that's not what I am going for. Hell even when I was wrestling 12 months out of the year and had body fat % around 6 percent i didn't have cut visible abs.

that's besides the point. my goals are to be strong and healthy. that's all. I lift 3 days a week and ride my bike 4-5 days a week.

Thats the way to go about it...slow and steady wins the race! Once you get down to the 10% mark you REALLY need to clean your diet up if you want to get leaner. been doing a 40/40/20 macro break down with my meals timed specifically around my workouts. 3800 cals on a cut and when i bulk I will increase cals 100 cals per week progressively for 8-10 weeks at a clip so I dont get any "rebound" effect from introducing more carbs into diet.

Even if you're not big into excursive, taking a break from your computer and taking a good 30 minute walk will make a big difference. You will feel better, you'll burn off a little fat, and you'll do your heart and muscles some good too.

My dog guarantees I'll have at least an hour of walking per day total. If it weren't for him, I would have been in much worse shape over the last 7 years.

I started the keto diet on May 4 and am loving it so far! I've only lost 4lbs but a lot of stubborn belly and thigh inches. Also I don't get tired after eating now and have way more energy in general. I find it helps to treat each day as a new day and not focus on the end point so much.

One thing I would really like help with is my eating.

It isn't that bad(maybe it is), just not consistent with my exercise.

My weekly exercise is

Run - Mon/Tue/Thur/Fri/Sun

Mon/Fri/Sun - Soft sand runs with Sunday being a big one (70-90min) - mon/fri - 25min

Tue/Thur - road run 20 - 35 min - HIT

Bodyweight exercises - Mon / Wed / Fri (ie dip/chinup/pushup / no weights - all 50mins each)

An example of my eating - well how about I use what i'll consume today.

Breakfast -
- rolled oats
- table spoon of almonds
- table spoon desecrated coconut
- table spoon mixed dried fruits
- cinnamon
- low fat milk
- table spoon chia
- chopped up banana
- with cup of coffee

Lunch
- 175g tuna (olive oil - hate spring water)
- roll with seeded mustard (some of tuna) salt, pepper, tomato, onion, cucumber
- eat what is left of the tuna can separately
- bottle of water

Dinner
- spaghetti bolognese large portion of meat sauce and pasta
- bottle water
- self saucing pudding with ice cream as a dessert (only been having this lately as it is winter here and being lean makes me facking COLD!)

Might have more water or add in fruit inbetween each meal, but that is about it.

If it makes any difference - my stats
6'5 / 110kg
No idea of my body fat percentage - cannot imagine it would be huge though.

Any guidance as to eating aside from the obvious(pudding :1orglaugh)

This is pretty bad no offense. Youre all over the place and there is no balance of proteins/fats/carbs. Youre 6'5 and male...eat like one! Ill find my diet and post it up for ya. Currently at 5'7 184lbs

Here's an example of what I follow on the regular.

Meal 1:
12oz liquid whites
4 slices Ezekiel bread OR 1.25 cups rice
¼ cup berries (black/blue/rasp) (OPTIONAL)
2 fish oil caps
multi vitamin

(2-3hrs)

Meal 2:
8 oz Steak
1 cup green veggies

(2-3hrs)

Meal 3:
6-8oz Chicken or tukey or tilapia
1 cup jasmine rice or 8 oz yam

(2-3hrs)

Meal 4:
8 oz chicken, turkey, or tilapia
1 cup green veggies

(2-3hrs)

Meal 5: 1-1.5 hr before workout
6 oz Chicken or 6 oz tilapia
8oz sweet potato OR 1 cup jasmine Rice (10oz or 1.25c on legs and chest day)


Intraworkout (during)
1.5 scoops aminolinx by ProSupps + ½ scoop Karbolyn

Meal 6 :Immediately POST WORKOUT::
1.5 scoops Whey hydro isolate
1.5 scoops KARBOLYN

1 HOUR LATER

Meal 6:
12oz liquid whites or 8oz tilapia
1cup any green veggie
2fish oil caps + 1 serving natural PB


If still awake::: another meal is okay must be 6oz tilapia OR can of tuna (plain)

SLEEP

NOTES:
-OFF Training DAYS- cut carbs in HALF
-Fluids - Must have at least 1.5 gallons of water per day (count the Green Tea as water). Stay away from fruit juice. Keep the sugars low to zero.
-Splenda, truvia, mustard, hot sauce, sugar free ketchup, and seasonings are all okay
-CHEAT MEAL—1-2 cheat MEALS per week (sushi or steak house)

Put one of your films on, got everyone out of the house.

Ah, to my favourite hater:

The fake lady doth protest too much, methinks.

Hey, none taken at all, I am hopeless with researching foods - hate it with a passion.

wow - you eat a hell of a lot!!

Your food bill each week must be enormous.

I do have the fish oil / multi and only other thing i have is whey protein.

So many questions about food, how about I keep it simple, if that is possible.

Where should I start? Eat more? More of what - how do balance proteins/fats/carbs? I am like a child with this kind of thing - hopeless - love eating, hate how complex it can become (seems complex when you are on the outside looking in).

I understand you do large amounts of weights, so how did you arrive at your diet? Worked it out yoruself, sought advice? Just learnt over the years? The whole balance / what is in each food - makes my head explode.

Goals :

I also am not looking to gain size, if anything just tone up a bit. I figure I do enough exercise and actually enjoy being fit ( I was a smoke 2 years ago and 20kg heavier ).

Stop the running. Or at least curtail it some. Steady state cardio is nowhere near as good as HIIT cardio. I could got into a bunch of reason why it's better, but just do some research on Google. More time efficient, and you burn calories throughout the day.

The important part is to spend 10 or 15 minutes moving in some way that gets you huffing and puffing and sweating. I do sprints at the baseball field near my house a few time a week. Running is for suckers...unless you enjoy it, then keep doing it. But work in some high intensity interval training. The fat will start melting off.

I'm not running to lose weight, training for a fun runs / half marathons that are coming up later in the year. :thumbsup

I do a little HIIT, but that is more to mix things up than to lose weight. Enjoy the running portion of my exercise more than anything else, nothing like finishing a great beach run in the morning and jumping in the water for a cool down. :)

Where are your vegetables? Spaghetti sauce doesn't count. :) Seriously add some leafy greens to your daily routine. I've been steaming bok choi and putting a fried egg on top for breakfast and it's lovely. Try to add: spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, bok choi, kale as your daily veggie. Don't fear the veg!

Your exercise looks fine, but just remember that you work out to maintain fitness/muscle. The only way to lose weight consistently is through changing the diet/intake. GIGO applies here. :)

Good luck with everything!

Thanks Elli

I cook roasts / casseroles etc so all the vegies you can think of in those meals.

I tend to add in leafy greens for my lunch and everynight is not pasta night, that was just me using today as an example.

Tomorrow - brekky / lunch are the same - dinner is chicken drumstick casserole that i cooked on the weekend - onion / potato / carrot / parsnip / celery and a bit of pumpkin & brown rice.

In summer, i tend to eat far more fruit during the day too - apples / oranges / pears - winter (now) not so much as it isn't appealing at all.

I like to cook up big on the weekends and portion it out, freeze and heat it up during the week. Cooking takes up so much time, even the preparation does.

I have hired a personal trainer 3 days per week the next 3 months and I have quit all alcoholdrinking for the rest of the year.
Expect to see major results by the end of this summer.
Today is my third week of training and I feel much better already.
I will start a diet but not today, not sure what diet to go for? Maybe 5:2

I am still working out. Took almost a month off when i went to China. Now i am back on the horse. Feels good to have the strength back. Diet has improved a lot. I can see the improvements in my face and my gut.
I have a long road though because i still drink a little too often and when i do, i always end up eating a bunch of crap.

Don't "diet".

Just keep away from processed foods and try not to go over you maintenance calories. Diets can't last...and when they do inevitably stop, you'll lose the progress you made. I would go with a new "eating lifestyle" that involves common sense, lots of water(lots) and an occasional cheat to keep from going crazy.

Personally, I would save the money from the trainer and educate myself -- most of those guys don't know shit, as I've seen from watching them in my gym. Making some 200 pound girl do situps...fucking ridiculous. Unless you like spending money for the motivation.

This stuff isn't difficult, and all that's needed is some common sense and willpower. But if you're in a bad spot now, don't think you're going to see major results by the end of summer, except for lost money to a trainer. Like Choopa said earlier, slow and steady wins.

You cant "tone" a muscle you can however become more "toned" by leaning out. Or you can add mass to grow the muscle, maturing it, and making it more defined. Toning up is adding muscle and getting leaner at the same time or as i like to call a "Recomp" or Recomposition. Burn some belly fat, add some mass, bodyfat percentage goes down, scale goes up! :)

Ive been training for almost 7 years and didnt really learn the ins and outs of nutrition up until about 3 years ago (low and behold these past 3 years are where I made the most progress). Honestly if you legitimately do not have a clue...hire someone but not from your gym. Hire a professional nutritionist or meal prep coach...a session will be about $75-150 and they will TEACH you everything you need to know and maybe even work with you for a couple of months to tweak and hone in our your diet. You cant just plug a bunch of numbers into a calculator to get to an end result. Everyone's body is different and will respond different to different diet types and different caloric intakes. The key to looking a certain way year round is consistency. I have not deviated from the diet above for over a year and am within single digit bodyfat percentages.

A good tool is myfitnesspal just to keep track of and log your calories. In not a big fan of calories in vs calories out arguement as I have burned fat while in a caloric surplus. It is possible to burn fat while still eating in excess...meal timing is key

ill pay some strippers to exercise for me :) that kool?

Good to hear that you're eating a bit better, but those veggies you listed are all roots except for the celery. You still aren't taking in any leafy greens. :) Try steaming a pot of broccoli and stirring it up with some cream cheese when it's done. Delish and quick n' easy!

You just took something healthy and absolutely destroyed any nutritional benefits by adding cream cheese :1orglaugh. A good way to get your fruit/veggies in is blending. Got myself a vitamix and love making smoothies with it.

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this point. I see absolutely nothing wrong with some natural dairy fats and proteins being added to healthy vegetables.

What is with people wanting to blend or puree all their veggies these days? Does nobody just grab a handful of celery stalks or make a salad anymore? I've been sauteeing bok choi for breakfast all week and topping it off with a fried egg over easy. Soooo good!

Salads barely count as nutrition when compared to kale, broccoli, spinach, etc.

Also, if you're going to blend, use frozen because (supposedly) veggies that sit on a shelf waiting to be bought are losing nutrients -- while bagged veggies have the nutrients flash frozen to keep for a long time.

It really starts with diet, eat better and you will have more energy and want to move. Good luck everyone! :thumbsup

Hitting the gym 4 times a week. Back to boxing now twice a week. I run twice a week too.

Yes, the leafy greens are very nutrient dense. But you could always make salads out of baby spinach, avocado, sunflower seeds, and peppers. :)

For those that exercise hard what are your thoughts on smoking a cigar?

First I'd like to say - I'm an ex-marine. I'm looking at 54yrs old soon. I'm 6'3" 225lbs. Run 15-20mi per week. I do a century bike ride each Sunday. I lift free weights 4-5 days/week. Right now all of this in the Florida summer heat, even lifting (no air conditioning in the gym).

Thanks to a clean, no processed food diet, I cut my weight down from 255lbs. Large part of the cut was to make it easier on my aging body/injuries for the running/biking.

Now back to the cigars (If you're still reading). I cut down to 1 cigar a day or every other day to help with the boredom/stress of sitting at the computer working 7 days a week averaging 10hrs a day.

Yes, I know smoking is bad, but any thoughts on cigars and working out? Yes, I can say Arnold and Sly smoke cigars.

What do you do to help with boredom/stress of working?

Don't stop doing what you love totally or you'll go nuts. I love a joint and a glass of jack Daniels here and there...it's my psychological release valve.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Phil.

I understand with re to *tone* - my thoughts were - get toned as in lose a few kilos.

I'll take your advice and seek out a nutritionist to get a better handle on what to eat. I do remember a friend did this a few years ago and was given a monthly eating chart with cheat days in it and he had huge weight loss over a 12 month period.

Also a big congrats for being able to discipline yourself like that, under 10% body fat is impressive - what percentage body fat did your abs begin to show and also how do you measure or get your bodyfat measured?

Well, I'm not an expert like the others, however I was a heavy smoker about 2 years ago (pack a day plus) and now love to have a cigar here and there. I'd probably smoke one 2 or 3 times a week and like to try different cigars as a treat.

I run as much if not more than you each week and it has very little effect on my running if any, nothing noticeable, so keep on doing what you enjoy!!

Totally agree - :thumbsup

Not a big fan or dairy or cheese personally. Look at the source of where its coming from. Unless its made from raw milk I want nothing to do with it :). Have a look at my diet I have plenty of veggies throughout the day, probably more than most. I see nothing wrong with blending or making a shake, it saves time, is convenient, and im getting in all my essential nutrients. I eat quite a lot so the cooking, weighing, and meal prep takes time. Last thing I want to do is be cooking and cleaning any more than I already do :1orglaugh

True!:) But I love to cook, so the prep is half the fun for me. Eating so much in smoothie form doesn't really appeal to me, but I do understand it's time saving.

I've researched a lot into the raw milk issue, and decided that Canadian milk is clean enough for me. I make my own yogurt out of milk with no additives, and I buy hormone-free cheeses.

I love to cook too. But cleaning, cooking 20 lbs of meat a week, and weighting is a job within itself. Between my GF and I we eat a combined total of 21Lbs of chicken/turkey a week. Just to put it into perspective for you. Get up for work at 7, get home at 6, gym, home at 8 meal prep, rest, repeat. Mind you thats not including my breakfast's either so even more cooking in the AM if no oats are prepped in advance

Get some some ground bison (all protein, no fat) and make an omelet with it. It's a yummy muscle meal.

Anyone ever use NO Explode? I've used it in the past, and switched to Bullnox for a while.

I just started another cycle recently, and my workout pumps have been off the charts -- and the energy levels seem to get better the longer the workout lasts. I was looking yoked in the locker room mirror.

When you look at yourself pumped, do you think "ok, in a few months I want to look like this on my off days".

No Xplode caused me some bad gastro issues. On the rare occasion I do use preworkout I prefer MusclePharm Assault...has aminos, creatine, and caffeine. If you really want skin tearing pumps..pop 1/2 a viagra and a caffeine pill preworkout. :thumbsup

doing half iron man. no weight lifting required ;)

Ok sounds good, I hate diets :)
What I did when I hired my PT was to check out the hottest and fittest female trainer on the gym and said that she was the one to get me in shape.
This helps me get motivated to go to the gym and I know I will always do my best just because she is a hot girl!
She is really serious about me getting fit so I am always crawling from the gym.
But it feels just great anyway.
I was thinking I will need a personal trainer the first three months at least otherwise I will loose interest in two weeks just as usual.
Then when I start to get in shape maybe I can motivate myself to keep going on more than now?!

did a 3km swim, feel like a million bucks

That sounds crazy busy! Good for you for being so dedicated!

It is busy, its hectic, and it cuts into having a "social-life" to some degree ONLY if you let it. I wouldnt have it any other way :thumbsup

I saw something in the gym yesterday I've never seen. There was an old dude who was doing Bruce Lee axe kicks between his squat sets. Then he topped it by doing nunchucks between flat bench sets. And he was actually pretty good with the nunchucks.

has anyone seen anything weirder than that while working out?

Done.

Every morning I run, play basketball, and every day - usually at night - I ride my bike.

Today is Sunday, and before 9am I ran and played basketball. I won't ride tonight because I have plans today, but I spent most of my day at the local water park so I'll get in some exercise. Yesterday I did 12 miles on the bike and it kicked my ass - mostly because I'm used to flat terrain and this was hilly.

I topped out at 246 two months ago, this weekend I am 235.

Done.

Every morning I run, play basketball, and every day - usually at night - I ride my bike.

Today is Sunday, and before 9am I ran and played basketball. I won't ride tonight because I have plans today, but I spent most of my day at the local water park so I'll get in some exercise. Yesterday I did 12 miles on the bike and it kicked my ass - mostly because I'm used to flat terrain and this was hilly.

I topped out at 246 two months ago, this weekend I am 235.