Strong Lifts: Before, After

I guess I should be giving the customary before and after photos. So here we go. The left photo is before I started strong lifts and the right one is after. As I mentioned in my previous blogs, I do not maintain photos as I should be. Perhaps I never will. We will see. However I do have several photos from my various visits to friends / parties / outings / hiking trips. So I should be able to find something for almost anything :).

Don't know if anyone can notice, but I have gained a few pounds in the right image. The right photo is not from my peak weight of 127 lb (think I was 125 lb at the time), but I have slightly bigger arms, shoulders, chest and belly. Here is one more.

This is the photo that is taken when I was at my peak body weight. But since my hands are not visible I did not use it for the before after comparison. I look bigger than the previous 2 photos. But at 17% fat I am not sure if the size increase is a result of muscle or fat. Whatever the case may be, I am definitely stronger than 3 months ago. I will take that any day.

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Stats for Oct 2009

So it has been a month since I started bulking up. How am I doing so far? Here are the raw numbers Exercises Squats: 170 lbs, 8 reps Deadlifts: 185 lbs, 10 reps Bench Press: 110 lbs, 4 reps Pull ups: Body weight + 25 lbs, 7 reps Overhead Press: 75 lbs, 6 reps I am doing well in all exercises except bench press. The exercise that is already closest to my goal for end of december is my pull-ups. I can already do 7 reps with 25 lbs hanging off my waist! You can check out my previous post for the goals I have set. Body weight and fat Weight: 120.8 lbs Fat %: 12.2% I am able to add weight as expected. But my body fat % shot up too much. My goal for end of december was to weight 125 lbs at 12% body fat. But I am already over the limit for my body fat %. So I have to lower it and at the same time increase my weight. Very unlikely. I might have to revise my goals, but I will see how it goes and hope to make better predictions for my next bulking phase. It is not at all easy to ke...

Protein powder or a meal: Which is better?

I always like to eat a well rounded meal right after I workout instead of drinking protein shakes or eating protein bars. That is the reason I workout right before lunch. It works well. Protein bars and drinks should only be supplements to your diet but should not be the raw material for building muscle. The natural way to build body is to eat the natural food that is available. I found this interesting video on the same topic. Makes sense doesn't he? Eat solid natural food and lots of it right after your workout. At the end of the meal drink a glass of orange juice or grape juice. This will give you the insulin spike that you need and also some vitamin C to prevent muscle loss after the heavy bout of weight lifting. Give it a try and see the difference. I support eating a protein bar or drinking protein shake during workout session if it lasts a longer than 45 mins. But don't eat or drink so much that you will not be able to eat the huge amount of food that you will h...

The Graphs: November 2009

Here are the weight and fat graphs for November 2009. Body Weight Chart For the first few days the weight gain was slow, but after a couple of weeks the weight went down. Clear indication that I was not getting enough calories. That was when I increased my calories from 1800 to 2000. See my previous post for more details about it. As soon as I increased the calories I saw a sudden and quick weight increase for a couple of weeks and then it started dipping. I am not sure of the reason, but it could be because I was over training. I rested for the first week of december so that should give enough time for my body to recover. Body Fat % Chart The flip side of gaining weight is the fat. I have been constantly gaining fat. Even during the time when I could not gain any weight I was still getting fat. Perhaps over training, muscle loss and calorie deficiencies could be the reason. I have to take better care of my body. We will see how december goes.

Skinny to Strong

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