before and after pics & the psyche

Ok... well I'm just writing this to vent for a minute I suppose. In the past I've taken before and after pics, and usually I'm very pleased. But I took some pics and I'm not happy with the way I look without my shirt off.

I have not really been doing anything specific to lean out, that's my first problem... I USUALLY adjust my diet/supps to encourage low bloat and lean gains... but the downside to all of that is I've never gotten 'huge' and i know my strength suffers a little as I am less worried about strength and more worried on the way I look.

Ok, so I started lifting before summer, and the idea was that I wasn't going to care about my stomach, and that I was going to lift so that I grew, and grew strong... not worry so much on the cutting.. even though most people cut so they look great with thier shirts off during the summer season...

well I look pretty f'n big with my short sleeved shirt on or a tank top.. but I feel FAT when I take my shirt off. Growing up I used to be the chunky kid and gaining was never that difficult for me, it was the gaining of the right stuff that was always the challenge.

OK... i JUST looked at before and afters... my befores I'm MUCH SMALLER than I am now... I just have BF that I can't stand... I've always hated BF... but I guess now I know why people never bulk in the summer... so when they take thier clothes off they don't feel all bloated and shit...

someone told me something recently and now I finally get it.... he told me this:

When you lift for size and bulk up, you look huge with your clothes on (the right clothes of course lol) .... but when you lift lean and diet down, you look huge with your clothes off... and now it makes total sense to me..

I'm USED to leaning down all the time.... trying to build muscle and not look fat was always a challenge... but at the same time, I never gained as much as I have at this point.. and I'm pretty strong in regards to where I normally would be... I want to gain enough to be around 225-230 before I lean down.... but I'm not sure I can get through the mental part of not feeling fat before I cut down...

I'm 5'10" (between that and 5'11" somewhere)
208lbs at the moment .... and this is the heaviest I've ever been... I want to post pics... but I'm just not personally happy w/ the way I look. I think I'd be better off showing a series of shot of me at the gym in a tank top rather than posing with my shirt off ... just because I'm not used to bulking....

the mind is a crazy thing... try before and after pics to keep yourself motivated.. it will help you adjust your diet, lifting, and supps as you move towards your goal.. and be careful you don't psyche yourself out... stay motivated...

on the other hand.. regardless of how fat I feel right now.. I got a new tatoo... well i guess technically it's 2, but they don't make sense with out each other...

this pic won't do me any justice... but at least you'll all get to see the new ink... lol.. i've gotten some cool comments on it so far...

You look like a mean bastard bro, haha just messin with ya. Its tough trying to bulk up AND cut down on the b/f. But me personally, I try to bulk up much as possible WHILE keeping a low b/f because the smaller your waist the bigger you will look.

bigworm6 said:

You look like a mean bastard bro, haha just messin with ya. Its tough trying to bulk up AND cut down on the b/f. But me personally, I try to bulk up much as possible WHILE keeping a low b/f because the smaller your waist the bigger you will look.

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your' absolutely true... and i'm floating in a 34 waist right now too.... i just HATE having bloat and BF... I haven't had it tested in a long time... i've just gone on how I feel and how I look as well as fitting into clothes...

I guess that is another number to get checked.. that way one can always judge progress by numbers too..

and you said 'just messin with ya' .. you saying I'm NOT mean? ... you got a problem... LOL .... that was gay...

have tried incorporating some peptides and maybe some low dose t3 to help keep the fat at bay? by the way your not looking very "chunky" there

honestly.... i hate that pic the more i look at it... my waist looks like it stays the same width right up to my shoulders... my arms don't do my lats any justice... but oh well...

and in regards to what you said... i agree... but when you're wearing a shirt.. the size looks BIG .. I'm NOT SMALL that's the thing.. I have to keep telling myself I'm lifting for size and strength.. I just hate taking my shirt off... when I used to take pride in it....

I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not FAT .. I'm just BIG .. .and NaughtyCowgirl has been trying to keep my spirits lifted and encourage me.. as well as reassure me on my size transformation since christmas.... and it helps.. i'm just used to being much much LEANER... but when I'm lean with low BF... I look pretty big, and my strength is nice... but I'm usually between 190-196.... and I decided to take a total 180 and cut down once I get to around 225-230... so if I'm lucky maybe I'll be a large 210 instead of pretty nice 195... 15 of lean muscle on my frame and height would look impressive... it might take me forever.. but as of right now.. i'm fucking determined...

I get pissed if the waist on my pants is tight to button. Just always keep a tank top
on under your shirt. Try to think of it as a luxury problem. You are able to put on the
xtra weight and feel big. Not seeing a before pic. I have to agree w/Irishpride - you
dont look chunky (or fat) in the picture. Ink looks good - I would have put "child"
instead of "solver" - LOL

Don't worry bro...I think most of us feel the way you do sometimes. Just keep on working on it through diet and exercise.

well i am a big fan of t3, i've used growth... but i'm not gonna do t3 during this round untill i'm ready to lean out... in regards to peptides... money money money... that i just don't have... or trust me...

hell... i've never done a test only cycle before in my life.... i usually add tren/winstrol/eq and for test esters i'll use enth and frontload with prop @ 50mg/day for the first 20 days...

right now i'm on 1g test cyp or enth depending on what's avail.. no eq, no winstrol, no tren, no t3... and i used to take 1mg arimidex or 10mg nolva ED to keep water retention down too... ... *sniff* ... ahhh.. those were the days i guess...

appreciate the words... and the difference between "child" and "solver" ... is that i'm not there to cause problems.. but if someone has a problem with me i'll solve it by giving them my "right problem" in the mouth, and my "left solution" will be the end of the issue ...

mcgaret said:

I get pissed if the waist on my pants is tight to button. Just always keep a tank top
on under your shirt. Try to think of it as a luxury problem. You are able to put on the
xtra weight and feel big. Not seeing a before pic. I have to agree w/Irishpride - you
dont look chunky (or fat) in the picture. Ink looks good - I would have put "child"
instead of "solver" - LOL

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oh yeah.. and pics.. ii had a GREAT set of before and after's from years back.. but the only other pics i have online in the members section is from about 5-5yrs ago... ... remember though, i was pretty much out of the gym for almost 4yrs... meaning... no more than 5 weeks straight at any given time...

i've been back hardcore for about 6months now... after a 4year break.

I could put pictures of my fat ass on here that would make you feel better about yourself. Lol! I look huge when I have a shirt on always getting girls grabbing my chest and arms but when they want to see the abs thats a different story! I cant see them, hell I dont even know if they are there! Lol!

Sweetie you look awesome just the way you are. I wish you would give yourself more credit.........FYI.......love the ink.........hmmmmmmm

Ok I'm gonna bust out with two wise man's sayings here. Just remember that "Rome wasn't built in a day", and "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Everyone on here is trying to improve themselves in some way. You just need to decide if you want to get bigger, and live with a little fluff while your in the bulking phase, or if you want to get shredded and lose some muscle. You said you've always been a easy gainer, so that is your strength, I would run with that. As big as you are, I wouldn't want to start a problem with you bro. Nice Ink. I cant see what the tat on your right arm is from this angle.

klowndog said:

Ok I'm gonna bust out with two wise man's sayings here. Just remember that "Rome wasn't built in a day", and "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Everyone on here is trying to improve themselves in some way. You just need to decide if you want to get bigger, and live with a little fluff while your in the bulking phase, or if you want to get shredded and lose some muscle. You said you've always been a easy gainer, so that is your strength, I would run with that. As big as you are, I wouldn't want to start a problem with you bro. Nice Ink. I cant see what the tat on your right arm is from this angle.

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thanks... and the right arm is a praetorian soldier (personal body guard of Julius Caesar) ...

Oh cool like Titus Pullo. Have you seen Rome on HBO? Its the shiznit. Thats my favorite show of all time?
Yeah, since you're a fast gainer, you should try supersets. Only rest 30 seconds between each set, and I don't know how many you need to do, but just keep doing them until you're drenched in sweat and lightheaded. Push it to the limit. It's up to you. If you really want to up the results, you're gonna have to up the ante. The more muscle you pack on the more calories your body will burn just staying alive. Git R Dun bro.

Stick, I got my best results (okay, second best results after a test prop, tren, and winny cycle) from just 800mg of test enanthate per week. I set personal records in all my lifts and I kept the bodyfat down by doing moderately low reps and short periods of rest in between sets. I would only do 2 sets on my big lifts and 3 for smaller muscle groups. I would rest about 20-30 seconds in between sets doing stretches and deep breathing. It was almost a cardio session as I would move from workout to workout so quickly. I would spend about 20-30mins in the gym. I was at my all time strongest, biggest, and leanest. I kept my diet pretty clean for the most part, but I still would have a cheat meal every other day or so. I have a hard time eating a ton of food so it was difficult for me to gain a ton of weight, but doing this I got to about 195 lbs and about 10% bodyfat...never checked for sure, but I could see my abs when flexed which is a very difficult feat for me.

Also doing my special workout routine I actually started to grow large lats, traps, back, and chest. Those were always weak points for me, but through dedication and hard work they started growing and kept growing. My lats, back, and traps are actually some of my strongest features now.

Please post what you did in another thread, BS. I have had a hard time with my lats and chest (although not traps).

onestly.... i hate that pic the more i look at it... my waist looks like it stays the same width right up to my shoulders... my arms don't do my lats any justice... but oh well...

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Stickler, you're a huge dude, bro. Maybe you should post a pic doing a front lat spread. We're all our own worst critics, but then that is what helps keep us motivated. Hang in there.

Saud, to keep it short and sweet. Heavy cable rows, cable pull-downs, and dead lifts. Those 3 made my lats, and back grow like nothing else. Incline bench and incline flyes for the chest. All high weight 2 sets each. shooting for 6 to 8 reps each except for flyes. I would shoot for 10-12 for flyes and 3 sets.

BiggerStronger said:

Saud, to keep it short and sweet. Heavy cable rows, cable pull-downs, and dead lifts. Those 3 made my lats, and back grow like nothing else. Incline bench and incline flyes for the chest. All high weight 2 sets each. shooting for 6 to 8 reps each except for flyes. I would shoot for 10-12 for flyes and 3 sets.

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bigger.. i do everything you have listed above... AND for the past 4 months my rep count has been 6-8 and upping the weight almost every week.. it's been great...

trust me.. the size is there... mentally i feel small b/c i'm not seeing the definition i used to have... mentally i'm messing w/ myself.. and just trying to get through it... i think that's all it is...

Stick, That's awesome. That means you are progressing. Like others said you need to keep on track. Either keep getting stronger and bigger or cut and lose bodyfat. Those are your choices. It seems like you want to get bigger and stronger so you need to be easy on yourself, because it's going to require you to gain a bit of bodyfat during the process, but once you hit your goals you'll be able to cut down to a more comfortable bodyfat level and still be bigger than you were in the past. It's a very difficult task for most of us to find that level of diet, exercise, and rest (and supplementation) that allows us to gain muscle mass while not gaining fat or even better losing fat while gaining muscle mass (probably not likely at all). You are looking good bro. No need to feel any less about your progress. I'm trying to do the double whammy myself and it is hard. I'm trying to lose the fat, but keep the muscle mass. So I feel the same bro.

I just try to keep telling myself that I'm a work in progress and I will eventually reach my goals. Take it day by day and do the best that you can do.