Ramping Up The Next Exercise Phase To Cut Up - Recently Lost ~10 Pounds

in #exercise5 years ago (edited)

Through lean natural food and staying active, I've dropped ~10 pounds recently.

The muscle I built up for baseball is paying off with dominating stats and power this season, and now it's time to tone up for more speed. The way my recent home run rocketed told me the story in a nutshell. Hard work pays off and it feels good. Age is but a number.


I've been hammering away with squats and legs (increasing the weight each time), and this is adding good muscle volume. My core is seeing significant improvement as the spot where the pounds are clearly coming off. I've done so much core and trunk work underneath for my rotation-based sport, and can now finally see the benefits. If I wasn't pushing it with my legs, I probably would be down a few more pounds, but I need to have a strong base for durability on the field.

My clothes are fitting great, or I shrunk everything in my last laundry run. Where I had a little extra around my stomach, it's now gone and flat.

I also feel that I look much younger. Someone trying to guess my age this weekend was 6 years too young on their first guess, and 9 years too young on their second. The look on their face (and the others) was worth it when I filled them in when their third guess was still way off.

The lesson is that anyone can do this if they commit to the cause. Our bodies reward us when we take care of them, and really reward us when we do the extra work. You are what you eat and drink. Do yourself a big favor and get rid of processed foods, soda, unhealthy snacks, sugar and chemicals. Your body will jump for joy when you take care of it.


One way I tricked myself to do extra work was a rule for a minimum of 44 push-ups a day, even if I worked out (except on baseball days when I pitch). That really helped my chest, shoulders and triceps stay active and develop as a baseline. I've also tried to build on a minimum of 22 bar squats and 22 bar curls at home to this (which I've not been as disciplined with since hurting my back). This base work keeps my metabolism active and body growing stronger.

After missing a full week at the gym with a pulled lower back, I'm healed up and more than ready to keep this up. Even though my back was locked at times, I still forced myself to do push-ups. It hurt, but I felt better for staying true to my cause afterwards.


Here's a half-selfie to cover my quota for a while. I like the layers of reflection in the backdrop. I took one like this 5 month ago so it was time for an update. I've come a long way, especially in the last month.

I consider this millennial art.

I also now see that the barber messed up the hairline on the back of my neck the other day.

Here's the scale from tonight in clothes/shoes, and after a big chicken salad. If I had to guess, I'd put myself at 198 pounds now. When I was lifting hard earlier in the year and eating a lot to bulk up, I was near 210 pounds. My peak was 212.

I don't want to lose much more. I'll probably settle into an equilibrium between the muscle I gain roughly equaling the fat I lose. If I got down to ~192, which I could easily do in a few weeks, I'd probably feel good at the park on the weekends, but I want to keep lifting hard and stay at this level to maintain my strength for baseball.

In general, I'm simply trying to take advantage of my youth while I still have it, stay healthy, and have a strong foundation for my future. Many people talk about it and aspire, but don't take action. The harsh reality is that time is working against us. We only have our bodies for so long, and they will atrophy if we don't keep them strong. Laziness and apathy are our enemies here.

I've always had quick success and results when I commit to the cause. I'm lucky in that sense, but much of it is muscle memory from all of the years before. I've historically let life get in the way from making myself the priority to waste precious maintenance/progress, so I'm trying to take advantage of this window for as long as I have it.

So far so good.

Thanks,
@steemmatt

My latest Radiohead drum cover.

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keep pumping em man!
definitely will have an effect on the baseball game. :)

And that's how it's done dedication and consistency. You're a good role model. Millennial art...good one!

My Dad used to say MOVE IT OR LOSE IT. True dat. Well done you.

Hey are you on Discord? Xx #riverflows4691

Don't worry I don't want to chat you up... or do I, given you are all buff now?

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I'm glad you're keeping up, your half selfie looks great and compared to the last one, you have made a lot of improvement.

I haven't been as consistent as I want to be but I always try. I recently picked up running and restricting myself to only two meals a day. I've lost some weight and I feel lighter and nimbler than ever. The goal is to burn the fat first then go back to body/muscle building by August.

Hah, I'm impressed that you remember that one and could even spot a difference. I did it all backwards vs your plan. I built up first and am trimming down second. I prefer it that way for some reason. I was still in good shape before, but I had no interest in being toned while powering up.

I vote that you don't wait for August. Do both now. Double the work, triple the rewards.

My eating is a bit unique. I usually eat most of my calories from the late afternoon onward. I don't really have a traditional breakfast or lunch. When I do eat, it's very protein rich and low carbs. Any carbs are most often whole wheat. My "cheat" food is humus with wheat crackers, and my "cheat" drink is orange juice with 50% reduced sugar. I barely have dairy anymore outside of eggs or a little greek yogurt. One of my most common snacks is 8 eggs cooked in olive oil. It never gets old. My metabolism is strong, so I don't need to do this, but I lose weight quickly when I do.

You may not need to adjust to run a lot or have less meals. Try to rework what you're eating first and see how that helps.

My schedule won't allow me to he too picky about what I eat. I eat carb based meals with some protein in the form of meat(most Nigerian meals are like that) but I burn most of it and feel hungry as hell in a short space of time. I must eat breakfast, must.
I also find fruits and vegetables to be very useful and they have paid off.

My schedule won't permit me do both trimming and bodybuilding but by August, I'll have more time to, will do both then. I'll do bodybuilding exercises at home though; push ups etc.
Thanks for the advice, I'll do more running, I have shitty metabolism, my body accumulates fat really easily.

I also haven't checked my weight in a while. I was 83kg last time I checked, will update the outcome after I check.

Push-ups and air squats every day can be a way to build momentum and increase your metabolism while you wait for August.

There is always no success without hardwork

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