Progress Pics

[Mike_Rojas]

Here is a link of my progress from February to April:

Here's my upper body:
http://216.171.173.34/misc/

Here's my lower body:
before: http://216.171.173.34/misc/wheels1.jpg
after: http://216.171.173.34/misc/wheels2.jpg

I went from 175 to 190. What do you think? Did I gain too much fat?

Thanks for any comments.

 

[JollyRogers]

Welcome to the board..

Looks as though your chest has expanded more in that new pic, your arms are thicker too, great job man, keep it up

 

[b fold the truth]

Naaa...you didn't gain too much fat at all man. You look like you are making good progress!!!!

B True

 

[Lee]

lookin good man, def notice a difference in yer chest and arms.

 

[coolcolj]

You must store your bodyfat really evenly - cause your stomach ain't protruding. Only notice it in your face.

You look thicker overall, notice it in your arms and shoulders the most.

 

[Lee]

yea man, doesnt look like you gained any fat, lucky bastard

 

[Mike_Rojas]

You must store your bodyfat really evenly - cause your stomach ain't protruding. Only notice it in your face.

You look thicker overall, notice it in your arms and shoulders the most.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I've actually gained mostly in my lower body.. I had to buy new pants. Full squats went from 5x5 with 190 to 5x5 with 250. I gained some strength in upper body too.. overhead press 5x5 with 115 to 5x5 with 135 and bench 225x4 to 245x5. This was in 7 weeks. I have lost a lot of definition (prob can't tell from pics) but I can always cut later.

Whenever I feel in a slump I just go to the board and read for a few minutes, then I'm raring to hit the weights. Thanks for keeping me motivated!

 

[Zander1983]

Not too shabby! Gaining 15 pounds with some nice improvements to your lifts is never a bad thing.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Now my next goal is to get as strong as Spatts

 

[Zander1983]

Its not 18 days, spatts. Feb to April.

 

[spatts]

15 pounds in 18 days probably isn't purely muscle unless you're on something, but whatever it is you're carrying it very well!

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Thanks Spatts, but it was 15 pnds in 50 days or so... the only thing I'm "on" is lots of protein and calories.

 

[spatts]

Oh yeah...I probably tried to block out March...with good reason.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Oh yeah...I probably tried to block out March...with good reason.

What's the good reason for blocking out March?

 

[spatts]

It's the month before taxes are due...I'm an accountant. Or I should say WAS an accountant (until yesterday).

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Oh I see. So you quit your job to focus on your lifting career?

 

[spatts]

That's what I did for a long time...just getting back to it, I suppose. I spend most of my weekends traveling around training or hosting lifters here at my house/gym. My world pretty much revolves around my family, my training, and the people in my life that train.

What's this have to do with your progress pics, anyway!?! Show us some wheels!

 

[BigBadBootyDaddy29]

Nice improvement, nice added thickness in the shoulders and arms, and you don't look fat to me bro, keep gaining and gaining.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

What's this have to do with your progress pics, anyway!?! Show us some wheels!

Ok Spatts, here's my wheels. The before pic doesn't show much, but I think you'll be able to tell the difference.

before: http://216.171.173.34/misc/wheels1.jpg
after: http://216.171.173.34/misc/wheels2.jpg

Excuse the non-existant calves.

 

[spatts]

NICE!

 

[megad]

holy shit those quads are huge compared to your upper body... good work man
i gotta get me some of those

 

[Mike_Rojas]

holy shit those quads are huge compared to your upper body... good work man
i gotta get me some of those

Thanks!.. all I did was full squats twice a week with sets of 5, trying to add more weight while mantaining good form. No leg ext, leg curls, hack squats, etc... just good old fashioned squats. I need to do more calf raises, obviously.. I just hate training calves.

I also ate a lot more... including a gallon of whole milk a day for a while. But the drawback is having to buy new pants! I wish my upper body grew that easily.

 

[spatts]

That's where you went wrong....buy shorts.

 

[Mike_Rojas]

 

[megad]

Your not alone, I hate training calves as well. I'm lucky though, because with my sport, basketball, you don't even really need big calves. Most NBA players' lower legs look as though they belong on a chicken.
Maybe I should try full squats though, I always hear good things about them. Now, I going just past parallel and have been getting decent results

 

[Mike_Rojas]

Your not alone, I hate training calves as well. I'm lucky though, because with my sport, basketball, you don't even really need big calves. Most NBA players' lower legs look as though they belong on a chicken.
Maybe I should try full squats though, I always hear good things about them. Now, I going just past parallel and have been getting decent results

I used to squat to parallel, but when I switched to full I got much better quad development. It takes time to adjust to the fuller range of motion, so don't push it. You won't be able to use the same weights for a while, but when you work your way back up you'll have better legs.

I like going deep, no more "did I go deep enough??". Just go down until your hams touch your calves. Use a weight you can control in good form.

 

[collegiateLifter]

unless its some kinda camera effect, it looks like your legs really exploded in size. good work.

 

[coolcolj]

Your legs blew up!

 

[Lord_Suston]

Dude your legs blew up, good work man

 

[Mike_Rojas]

unless its some kinda camera effect, it looks like your legs really exploded in size. good work.

No special camera effects, just setting the timer on my camera and running to stand on my chair

Thanks for the replies. I'd love to go do some squats right now, but I've got a sore throat. I want to beat you to that goal of 405 CoolColJ.

 

[Rex999]

Looking good! I wish I had quads like that

 

[DrBones]

How much are you squatting for sets of 5 mike?
Your Quads are definitely your best bodypart...

 

[gonelifting]

I agree with everyone. Great improvement especially legs. Are you still doing 2X legs a week? If so what do your other bodypart workouts look like? You may be shortchanging yourself with upper body depending on your routine for you to do legs twice a week.
I`m not saying there`s something wrong with it. but you may be digging into your other gains. Or you may just have great leg genes. lol Great work

 

[Mike_Rojas]

How much are you squatting for sets of 5 mike?
Your Quads are definitely your best bodypart...

full squat PR's:
5x5 with 250 (but going up every week)
1 set of 5 with 275
Max 325

I agree with everyone. Great improvement especially legs. Are you still doing 2X legs a week? If so what do your other bodypart workouts look like? You may be shortchanging yourself with upper body depending on your routine for you to do legs twice a week.
I`m not saying there`s something wrong with it. but you may be digging into your other gains. Or you may just have great leg genes. lol Great work

I work my upper body a lot.. it just doesn't grow much

My routine centers around:

Bench
Squat
Military Press
Chins
DB Rows

I generally stick with sets of 5 (except for chins and rows which are usually sets of 8-10).

My maxes are:

Bench: 270
Full Squat: 325
Strict Press: 165

So my leg strength isn't out of proportion.

 

[Latamier]

Your off to a good start bro. Keep it up!

 

[Lee]

thats where the 10 of the 15 pounds went, to yer wheels, nice improvement

 

[Curious George]

Quads look great. You have some great genetics for legs there.

 

[Nonerz]

legs get the most improved! gotta love those squats...good for you!

training calves has always been fun for me...I love them on the leg press--something about gravity working against me!