Progress Pics of me about 1 year later.

[tmor6]

So I've been a lurking on this site for about a 10 months now. Finally joined the site a few months ago and have been posting periodically. I decided it was time to share my story and post up a before and after picture.

I started lifting about 10 months ago. I was tired of being out of shape with a weak body, and I needed to make a change. A buddy told me that this was a great site to reference to get started. At first, I began to lift a little bit at my house because I was embarrassed to go to a gym. I didn't want to go out somewhere and put 95 pounds on a bench press. So I borrowed some equipment and started working out at home. On my first offical day, I did 95 pounds on the bench press in sets of 8 for a total of a 3x8 of 95 pounds. I felt like my arms were going to fall off, but I kept at it.

In January, 2009, I bought a gym membership because I could finally bench press 135 pounds in sets of 8. On Superbowl Sunday, I benched 200 pounds. I couldn't believe it. I never thought I would be able to bench 200 pounds. I continued working out on the 5x5 madcow program for the next 4 months. Before long, my bench had shot up another 95 pounds. Now I feel great, and am happy about my body and my abilities. I want to get bigger and stronger.

(FYI: I used Bench press to show progress, I understand the importance of a well rounded routine.)

The first photo is my before I started lifting. The picture was taken about 14 months ago: 6'1", 165 pounds.

The second picture I took myself about 3 weeks ago. 6'1" 210 pounds. I am very happy with the progress, and am excited to see what the next year will bring.

Stats when picture was taken:
Bench Max: (estimated) 125 pounds
Squat Max: (estimated) 185 pounds

Current Stats:
Bench: 295 pounds
Squat: 405 pounds

I will post up more pics later between the before and after to show progress a bit better.

[given'er]

That's great progress for ten months. Keep up the great work!

[jp2]

wow, nice work

[tmor6]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the positive feedback. I'm pleased with the results thus far and wanted to share it. It was stories and pics of guys getting into shape and getting bigger that made me what to do it myself. Hopefully in another year, I'll have even better progress shots.

[mcdonough9395]

Nice. Looking solid dude.

[tennisrox4]

whats your routine?

[kornmong]

God, you got yourself some guns on you now lol, what ever you did it worked well done

[kornmong]

Ive been working out 5 months longer and only gained 0.5" on my arms and you gained tonnes, you turned into a beast, guess its the eating at it again lol

[Trainwreck]

Nice work. How many inches did you put on your arms in those 10 months?

[tmor6]

whats your routine?

The first 3 months or so, my goal was to shock my body into growth. I ate a lot, and I lifted 5 days a week. I know this is contrary to what a lot of people say about muscle growth and all ("muscles grow outside of the gym") but for me, lifting 5 days a week seemed to work well. My typical rountine for the first 3 months was:

Flat Bench: 3x10, 2x8, 1x6, 1x3
Upright Rows: 3x12
Curls: 3x12
Close Grip Bench: 3x10 (light weight)
Sit-ups: 3x25
Squats: 3x12

After that, when I could finally lift some weight, I changed it up to a modified 5x5 routine. I still wanted to get high reps in (3x10) with decent weight, but I did more sets. So it turned into something like 3x10 and 2x5. I started to add more core stuff and more shoulders/pecks/tricep. Like overhead press, deadlift, flys ect...I'm sure I "over lifted" but I wouldn't change a thing. When I left the gym, my arms were tired everyday and it felt great.

I have a chart that I made with all of my lifts (included weight and reps) from Jan-May. If anyone wants them, PM me your e-mail address and I'll send them.




Nice work. How many inches did you put on your arms in those 10 months?

I don't actually know-that's a great question. I have t-shirts now that I can't even get on:)

[impalatpi66]

good work and keep it up

[Girn26]

damn dude thats a huge bench increase for 10 months

[Unholy]

Great work man. I would clean up the diet a tad and drop some BF. You will be amazed at what kind of physique changes you went through. I bet 10-15lbs off will make you look 20-30lbs heavier and increase your weight:strength ratio quite a bit!

[tmor6]

damn dude thats a huge bench increase for 10 months

haha, yeah...I didn't expect to get anything near what it is now. The routine definitly helped a lot, but the biggest thing that helped me was using proper form. There are a lot of video links on here that are excellent resources for improving lifts.

Great work man. I would clean up the diet a tad and drop some BF. You will be amazed at what kind of physique changes you went through. I bet 10-15lbs off will make you look 20-30lbs heavier and increase your weight:strength ratio quite a bit!

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I've been trying to clean the diet up and have seen a 5 pound decrease in weight over the last 4 weeks. My end goal weight is between 192-198. So I'd like to loose another 8-12 pounds.

[ilikedirt]

Nice results! I pretty much have the same body now that you had 10 months ago. Right now i'm trying to change it!

[pablonba]

Im amazed about how you put mass in your arms! Congrats

[tmor6]

Im amazed about how you put mass in your arms! Congrats

Thank you, I appreciate the it...and I'm pretty amazed too. I wonder how much of it is genetic because my dad is a big guy and so is my younger brother.

[tdizzle5]

Nice work!