The Fitness Guide

[Jackal]

Then:



Now:



If I can do it, anyone can. Lazy bum that I am.

[Matt]

Oh c'mon, at least take off the shirt....don't leave me hanging

Anyways, looks like youve made SERIOUS progress.....I too have increased the intensity of my workouts, mainly because I made that my #1 priority! Nothing is a better motivator than results!

[[Q]]

man, I think I'm gonna wait until the summer when I finally graduate from this university and I'll have all the time in the world to get ripped. a couple weeks ago, I finally cracked the 130 lb mark for the first time ever lol

[cyanide]

Great posts, Jackal, and the before and after pictures are !!

Some comments:

Joe: Actually, alcohol's probably the biggest reason why you gained weight. It not only slows down metabolism, but the amount of calories in alcohol is insanely high. What makes it worse? Drinking it at night. Night is when the body's metabolism is low. Also, eating breakfast will help you lose weight, as strange as that sounds. Read the following post for an explanation of why 5-6 meals a day is important.

Actually, I believe most nutritionists would argue that 6 or 8 smaller meals a day is not a solution.

I wouldn't say 8 meals as I feel that's a bit excessive and difficult to manage, but 5-6 meals work better than 3 meals a day. I'll explain. 6 meals a day is actually 3 big meals and 3 smallish meals in between. The purpose of that is to limit the amount of food you take in one sitting and to keep the body neither stuffed nor starving. Most people (myself) would be starving after 4 hours for my second meal if I ate 3 times a day, getting myself to overeat when I do get a chance to eat. The excess food becomes fat as the body can only process so much food in one sitting. As for starving, the body eats muscle in addition to fat, which isn't ideal either. By eating every 2-3 hours, it keeps the body's metabolism high (higher metabolism burns more fat) and keeps the muscles intact (more muscle means a higher metabolism). Eating 5-6 meals a day is the fundamental diet for anybody into fitness or keeping healthy.

[Indy]

Jackal do you ever take off that braclet or watch?

[Jackal]

The bracelet no, the watch at work and while I sleep.

The bracelet was given by my group of friends on the island when I was leaving for Holland, it's my lucky charm of sorts. The watch I take off because I don't want it to scratch and stuff.

Why the question though?

Thanks for the positive feedback fellows.

[Drex]

Wow Jackal, you sexy beast.

I have a problem with my weight. I'm weighing 93 kgs. That's about 205 lbs. or so. I'm not fat, you know, I don't look fat because I'm built like a rugby player, if you know what I mean. Now, I'm not trying to make excuses or anything , I've never been skinny and I never will. But I ate like crap this past year, first year away from home, learning how to cook, cooking every day, etc.
The thing is, I'd like to have a balanced diet now, but I have no idea how to make myself one. I know that if I want to lose those extra pounds, I have to work out, too.
So, any of you biatches will help me?

[j.23]

jesus christ jackal, you look awesome. would've been better if we had some rear shots though

ANYWAYS

i'm 5'8 155 pounds. i used to be chubby but i'm in pretty good shape now, except i have excess fat in several places. so my goal is i want to tone up, i dont want to get huge i just want to turn my fat into muscle. i was thinking of doing circuit training, can anyone give me some pros and cons about doing it, and how often i should do it?

also, should i change my diet? i drink quite a bit of water and green tea and i rarely have any sugary drinks except maybe a glass of orange juice when i wake up thats it. i eat quite a bit of sushi and steak, and brown rice. i know when you're working out you need to have quite a bit of protein, but i think it might conflict with my medication because i have gout (arthritis in the big toe, due to uric acid (usually from protein) crystallizing in the joints). advice would be great.. muchos gracias.

keep pumping.

[cyanide]

Drex & j.23: You could find answers with the first post of the thread. It helped Jackal be the awesome sexy beast that he is today.

As for circuit training, it's a great way to lose weight, but to gain muscle, a combination of weight training and diet is needed. As for the conflict with protein and arthritis, talk to a personal trainer and a nutritionist to get a better idea of what you should be eating so that it doesn't interfere with your medication and workouts.

[Jackal]

Okay, since you guys haven't ripped on me and been total bitches and have actually been quite motivating about the whole thing...

Naturally it's still a work in progress, I'm still trying to get rid of the fat around my abdominal area, which you can see is still there. The cardio has been upped and I'm trying to eat the best foods I can to achieve the overall weight drop, it's tough...but it's going.

Man, I'm so sure I'm going to regret doing this. Rip away.

[j.23]

couldn't help but to point out the nice bikini tan you're sporting there, sport

[cyanide]

A huge transformation, no doubt, and even more amazing is how little time it took to get to that stage. Excellent work, and keep it up

[Pera]

Just goes to show how a little exercise can do good for your body. I can see a major improvement. Especially around your shoulders. The abdominal area as you said needs work, but I can already see a six pack evolving. How much weight have you lost overall?

Don't get lazy now on us. Get that body in shape and don't hesitate to post some more pictures when you're finished with your fitness program.

[Jackal]

Bikini tan my ass, that's the portruding stomach covering the light.

I wear boxers!!

Thanks Cy, your guidance has helped in all the weight loss.

Pera...six pack abs are a distant dream as of now. (Well for now atleast.) I've got to get my BF% below 8% for those to even begin showing, right now I've got a BF% of 13, I started off with 23.2%.

I've lost a total of almost 20 KG's.

It's only recently that I've really started upping my cardio and lessening my weights though, so let's see...let's hope it provides some progress. I've also been loading up on the tuna and breast meat instead of just boiling my food. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my will strong as of now.

[shadowgrin]

I think Jackal should cover his nips with some masking tape.

Get that body in shape and don't hesitate to post some more pictures when you're finished with your fitness program.

Why do you want more pictures of Jackal?

[Pera]

Get that body in shape and don't hesitate to post some more pictures when you're finished with your fitness program.

Why do you want more pictures of Jackal?

I'll leave that one to your imagination.

I for one am interested in Jackal's final result.

@Jackal. 20KG's is a lot of weight to lose in such a short period of time. I admire your effort. At least you're not putting it on hold. Like: "I'll do it next Monday or next month.". I hope you won't stop doing your updates in this thread. Its always a joy to read other people's progress reports.

[Matt]

I saw a friend today for the first time in 3 months....first thing he asked was have i been working out. Those 3 months coincided with a rededication to my workouts

Also, I want to push myself a little harder....a friend of mine is now a certified personal trainer and he's putting me on a program. If i get the results he does then I'll be very happy.

time to hit the weights....

[Drex]

When's the right time for working out? Before breakfast? After? In the night?

[cyanide]

When's the right time for working out? Before breakfast? After? In the night?

One hour after breakfast is "ideal," and so the earlier the better. However, since most people work or go to school shortly after, anytime before 4pm is fine, but no later than 6pm. Working out in the evenings isn't so great since it's just shortly after bedtime.

[Jackal]

Ello bitches.

How's everyone else doing? Any mixing it up in the routines or usage of new supplements? Let me know!

[[Q]]

anybody try Muscle Milk? my friends have had good results with it and I plan on trying it in the summer.

[Jackal]

Muscle Milk? Just googled it and I can safely say I've never seen it over here.

I have bought a new brand of protein though, I'll head back to EAS after this because this one (Precision Engineered Isolate Whey Proteine) tastes like manure.

But yeah, wanted to switch it up so my body doesn't get "used" to the EAS formula.

When you try muscle milk let me know if it's any good. But given it has milk in it, I'm guessing it has more calories than just whey protein mixed with water...

Anyways, lemme know! We'll eventually get it here too.

[Jing]

I've never tried it, but I've eating dinner with a couple of the UMass basketball players, and they are always drinking Muscle Milk, so it must work somewhat. Never been much for drinking protein drinks and whatnot, maybe should start trying.

[[Q]]

well Im pretty sure it comes in a powder like everything else, it just has "milk" in its name. pretty sure you can just mix it with whatever you like.

[cyanide]

Muscle Milk? Just googled it and I can safely say I've never seen it over here.

I have bought a new brand of protein though, I'll head back to EAS after this because this one (Precision Engineered Isolate Whey Proteine) tastes like manure.

But yeah, wanted to switch it up so my body doesn't get "used" to the EAS formula.

Never heard of muscle milk too, but I'll check it out. Muscle milk...

Interesting about mixing up protein powder. Is it possible the body gets used to a particular brand even though it's pretty much the same stuff? Kinda like drinking one brand of milk over another?

Anyway, I was working out off and on the past month but it's been hectic around here (moving soon) and I'm just recovering from a cold. My gf got me Under Armour stuff for my birthday so there's no excuse to not work out. I'm targeting next week or earlier.