For the heavy sh*t, yeah. But that' s pretty much par for the course. I think I got a pretty good deal on most of it.

Oh, I forgot...

Beginning my library...


Dip stands...


Coming together... slowly...



I also decided to order some plyo boxes today. Three sizes: 12, 18, and 24 inch. The pull up bar should be interesting. If you look at the pics you can see it laying on the lifting platform. That' s because my sister and I couldn' t find a joist to mount it on! We' re gonna try again tomorrow, but she said we may have to build one! Damn, I' m glad she' s on my side!

Dude, that' s just awesome. It' s coming together very nicely. How much did that rack cost you? I' d like to get one but don' t want to blow a ton on it.

You even went all out and got some Rippetoe books. You' ll have to let me know how they are. Crossfit inspire you to get those?

I noticed those weights on the rack (the metal ones) don' t seem to have the Olympic standard holes. I could suggest that if they don' t you go out and get two 5lbs plates and two more 10lbs plates. Go for the regular plates rather than bumper plates for those. They will be cheaper and will be smaller (the 10lbs ones included) than the bumper plates to even if you drop the bar the bumper plates won' t allow the metal to hit. You don' t want to force yourself into only making 20lbs gains every time you increase weight by have 10lbs as your smallest weight.

Loving the set up. We' re going to need some before pictures so that we can see the gains you make from lifting.

Well, I was lucky, in that my roommate that just moved in had a bench that could convert into a rack already! He' s looking forward to starting a regular exercise program as well, so it just worked out that he likes the CrossFit idea.

And yeah, CrossFit did inspire me to get those books. I especially find the Barbell Training one useful as a good place to start. LOTS of info in that one!

Your right about the weights not being Olympic sized, as they came with the bench that he had. I will make it a point to go out and grab a couple more weights as you suggested. I also need a bumper tree to hold what I have.

Unfortunately, my sister couldn' t help me look for a joist to mount my pull up bar this week, so that' s gotta wait. Bummed about that, but it' s all good. Unfortunately, the neighborhood that I live in is fairly new, so there are no big trees around here. Otherwise I' d just strap the Olympic rings to it and go for it. Oh well.

We' re going to need some before pictures so that we can see the gains you make from lifting.

I knew you were gonna say that. It won' t be pretty. I' m in pretty bad shape, as it stands!

Everybody' s in pretty bad shape compared to Rampage dude.

C' mon, post a " before" photo in a little while. I' ll throw one up as well, and we' ll compare growth in a couple months. I' m a chubby bastard on top of it, I' ve got to work through anothere layer of fat before I start seeing any real gains again, so there' s no way you can be that bad.

Semi-bump.

To coincide with a push in my weight-training and aerobic workouts, I' ve decided to try a change in diet. I' m getting to the point now where I' m not going to see a noticeable difference unless I cut my BMI by 3-5 points... meaning weight training and the occasional jog just ' ain' t gonna cut it any more. I' m going to have to seriously change the sh17 I' m putting into my body to see some real results, so I' m trying a high protein, low fat, reduced calorie diet for 2 weeks, to see if I can make it stick. They say it takes 14 days to change a life habit, so this should be just enough time to test this out.

I' ll be posting every few days with my progress, and fessing up when I finally crack and rob a Taco Bell.

Doing alright thusfar. I broke and had a coney dog over the weekend. It' s amazing how fast your body adapts to eating healthy. I felt like crap all that night.[:' (]

My meals have been around this:

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal/Grain Cereal
Fried Egg (sans yolk)
Juice or Water

LUNCH
Chef Salad

MON/WED/THUR WEIGHT LIFTING SNACK
Nuts, on occasion energy bars, but I find I get more energy from straight-up protein like macadamias or peanuts.

DINNER
A serving of meat, usually something potato like, and whatever vegetables I can make appetizing, juice or water.

Not bad man. Jut a couple suggestions-

1- Make sure the juice you drink is 100% juice to be sure it' s not filled with sugar.

2- The salad you are having for lunch, make sure it has dark green type of lettuce, not iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional at all. Also, having chicken or turkey as a topping for it is a plus. It' s a good idea to have some sort of protein every meal.

3- For the nuts you are eating try hitting up almonds. They are much better than peanuts in nutritional value.

4- For the potatoes be careful on how they are prepared and how much you have. I baked potato with no toppings is 278 calories on its own.

Overall though you' re doing really well.

1- Make sure the juice you drink is 100% juice to be sure it' s not filled with sugar.

Pure orange and Cranberry, no sugar added.

2- The salad you are having for lunch, make sure it has dark green type of lettuce, not iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional at all. Also, having chicken or turkey as a topping for it is a plus. It' s a good idea to have some sort of protein every meal.

Yep. Spinach and romaine, with turkey, lean ham or chicken on top. Either that or a hard-boiled egg, which I' m not particularly fond of, but y' know, protein' s protein, so I can' t much complain.

3- For the nuts you are eating try hitting up almonds. They are much better than peanuts in nutritional value.

Huh. I' ll pick up a tin next time I' m at the store. Thanks for the heads up.

4- For the potatoes be careful on how they are prepared and how much you have. I baked potato with no toppings is 278 calories on its own.

Baked, with dry seasonings, and fresh garlic, although I do on occasion throw a bit of sharp cheddar on for flavor.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. It' s getting progressively harder day to day, in part because I eat like a monster. On the other hand though, when I do, it' s usually pretty solid stuff, so the hard part for me is portion control, not necessarily what I' m shoveling down the gullet.

You' re lifting along with this right? If you are what kind of workouts are you doing? Just to give you a heads up if you are doing weight training it' s fine to go over the 2000 calorie a day limit that' s oh so common. I think last I read for people that do a decent amount of physical activity such as weights or serious cardio it' s better to eat closer to around 2400 or 2600 calories. Your body needs it to keep up with the muscle rebuilding.

Since you have your meals pretty well spread you may even want to have a small snack between breakfast and lunch this will help curve the appetite. Also, as I mentioned before I too am a bottomless pit. If food kept being put in front of me I' d just keep eating until I fell asleep. The thing you have to remember is difference between satisfied and full, they aren' t the same. As soon as you don' t feel hungry anymore stop eating. I' ll be completely honest, I fail at this all the time. Still it' s always in the back of my mind and I' ve have greatly decreased my single sitting intake.

You' re lifting along with this right? If you are what kind of workouts are you doing? Just to give you a heads up if you are doing weight training it' s fine to go over the 2000 calorie a day limit that' s oh so common.

I know. Ideally, I get to lift 3 days a week, but it winds up being two, along with some cardio due to my schedule, so I' m trying to take in about 1800 calories right now for the days I can' t lift, with a bit more on the days I know I' ll be lifting (a snack before lifting, around 200-300 calories).

Thought I' d check in. Chee how' s the gym goin? been using it frequently? Eddie, how' s the diet going?

I' m currently just starting to work out again. Roughly a month and a half ago I f*cked up by knee trying to max out with overhead squats at 185# and then went for a 7 mile run. I couldn' t walk for a few days after that. That messed up the vast majority of workouts I normally do and kept me from running. I did run that half marathon up in Ohio a couple weekends ago which wasn' t smart since my knee was still bad.

For now I' m taking a long break from running. I' m using swimming as a replacement. Did some deadlifts last night to get back into the swing of things.

Well, Rampage, I am NOT using the equipment as often as I should. Just two times a week, as it is. I' m still waiting for my squat rack, which I purchased about two weeks ago, and my plyo boxes, which I ordered almost a month ago!

I believe that the squat rack is at the post office, though, so today I' m gonna give em a call and see if I can go pick it up. The really annoying one is the plyo box, which I ordered from some guy off eBay. He actually manufactures the things, and he ran out of materials for about a week, or so he says. So I alloted him some extra time, but I haven' t heard anything, so now I' m considering taking action.

Today' s the big day, though. I' ve gotta go in to work at noon, but I plan on leaving early. Hopefully, no later that 2. Then I' m gonna travel on over to the Crossfit gym here in Murrieta! I said f*ck it! I can' t seem to motivate myself, so I might as well seek out some like minded individuals to help me out! It' s gonna be expensive, but I' m hoping it' s worth it. I think it will be.

It' s been going rather well actually, so long as I' ve got some independence.

Still living with my family, I eat more meals with them than I' d like. My family' s view of eating healthy is very ethnic (you could be 300 pounds, and a type two diabetic, and you' d still get the " no meat on your bones" lines), which is part of what got me into my state of " unfitness" .

I' m still working out three or four days a week, and I' ve really been pushing myself as far as muscle building goes. I' ve been avoiding the looming after-workout munchies by walking up to the local Subway after weight training, and then walking home on that. That was my one big hole in my diet, I' d come home after classes and working out, and be absolutely starved, so I' d over-size my portions, and then feel like crap for the rest of the evening.

Despite the drawbacks though, I' ve lost about five pounds since I started, and definitely gained muscle definition (pics when I feel like it. Chee Saw, get yours up too, we' ll do before (semi/before) and afters together).

More on this when I get a minute.

Chee, what do you think of the books you got? I' m thinking about picking a couple of those up. The main one I' m looking at is the Starting Strength 2nd Edition. Any good?

ORIGINAL: Rampage99

Chee, what do you think of the books you got? I' m thinking about picking a couple of those up. The main one I' m looking at is the Starting Strength 2nd Edition. Any good?

I would highly recommend picking that one up. All of the ones in the picture are at least interesting to read. Really, the only one I regret getting is the Gym Bible. Since I don' t go to a commercial gym it was kind of a waste. The Navy Seal one is a pretty interesting read, though useless as well, unless I decide to do some environmental training, such as high altitude or oceanic.

Yeah, pick up Starting Strength. It' s indispensible as far as I' m concerned. Just remember, get it from Amazon. It was cheaper there than at the bookstore.