Amazing Discovery

[fa_jing]

;) drum roll please....


I have a GUT!!!!


WTF!! I can't believe it. I haven't had really any fat on my body since I was 16 years old.

I thought I was all bad and sh!t, with my new workout regimen I've gained 12 or so pounds in the last 7 months. I'm just over 6' 1" and weigh 190 with no clothes....

Then last night, I reached down and...PINCHED an INCH!!! Yup, got a little Buddha Belly going on...though it ain't from Qi Gong cause I haven't been practicing...

Could it be that metabolism thing? Since I'm 28 1/2 years old...supposedly this is when it kicks in....

It's kind of fun to hold it, grab it, etc.--like a new toy. However, it's got to go. This is not how I see myself....

At least I've started jumping rope again....I'll just have to wait and see if I can work it off - won't be making any changes to my diet - I eat pretty well, although perhaps too many carbs.

Gonna up the cardio and see if I can sweat it out over the summer...I'll try to maintain this weight while building muscle - on the plus side, I've just discovered the benefits of Pistols - Pavel says they are more of a strength building exercise rather than a mass builder - I've figured out that this is because the emphasis is mostly on the concentric part of the motion, while the eccentric part requires relatively little effort. Still I have a nice soreness, felt they were very taxing.

I'm still working out with the Power Pushup, and doing Pull-ups and bent-over rows...hopefully my belly will help me to add muscle...though I really think it is superfluous and won't make a difference.

[Water Dragon]

LOL @ I'm 28 and 1/2 years old.

[Robinf]

Cardio alone will not melt off the fat.

You need to balance fewer calories in along with exercise. I don't think it's carbs alone but the total number of calories.

You drink regular soda on a regular basis?

[fa_jing]

No, I don't drink soda or eat sweets or any of that.

But I am known to eat alot late at night. Especially rice and pasta.


WD: I'm a half-year older than the other kids in my Kindergarten class, so I like to shove it in their faces. Mommy says I'm going to be a big boy soon so you shut up. Ooops, I said a bad word....

:D

[Ford Prefect]

Rice and pasta late at night are interchangeable with lard and ass.

[fa_jing]

Hey!! I resemble that remark!!!!

[Black Jack]

No kidding,

I am 28 and 1/2 years old as well. Weird.

I had a suprise yesterday at the gym though it was not the extra pouch thing. It was a benchpress thing. I went up!

I tired something different and instead of going through my standard sets of adding weight I said "F" it and went from my high rep warm-up set of 155lbs right to 225lbs then from their to 245lbs then past my max to 260lbs with a spotter.

For some reason I felt much stronger not going through the lower weights and I was a happy camper at the end!

Uhhh-Huhhh Who's Your Mother :D

[Serpent]

Yep, it ain't a carb thing or anything other than loading up at night. Don't eat for at least an hour, if not two or three, before bed and keep up a strict cardio routine.

[Judge Pen]

Ok, this is weird. I'm 28 and 1/2 also and I'm 6'1" and weigh 190. Fa jing, do you have an unknown twin out there?

[fa_jing]

Yes, but do you have the beginnings of a gut?? :cool:

P.S. Black Jack, my best BP was 260 too! (several years ago)

will wonders never cease ?!!!

:p

[Judge Pen]

I, too, have the beginings of a Buddah belly. I'm trying to come to grips with that as well. As for BP, I never could get above 250.

[fa_jing]

I actually followed a routine shown to me by a champion drug-free powerlifter for 4-5 months to hit that number. Then I suffered a major upper-back injury doing upright rows and quit lifting. I've finally gotten back on track and feeling relatively healthy- I think I'll be back to my old strength levels in a couple months now.

I'm pretty keen on breaking 275, then 300 in the BP and possibly 315. We'll see.

[Black Jack]

300 bp would be my goal.

Right now I am stacked I got a new best. My stomach is not as defined as I want. I used to have KILLER abs. My new goal is better abs and freaky forearms.

[joedoe]

I have had a gut all my life. I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never have a flat tummy :(

[IronFist]

Originally posted by fa_jing
Then I suffered a major upper-back injury doing upright rows and quit lifting.

What happened?

IronFist

[fa_jing]

It's a long-ass story, IF. I've had both upper and lower back injuries over the years. I think some of the lower-back injuries may have contributed to the upper back injuries and vice-versa, but I'll focus on the upper-back injuries for now. My first upper-back injury occured when I was quite young 9, 10 years old- putting on a turtle-neck shirt I threw out my neck - could hardly turn it in one direction. My parents never took me to see a doctor, just had me stretch and things went back to normal after a while. When I was 14 and 15, I threw out my back in the rhomboids area for two consecutive summers playing tennis - in both cases, I was literally seat-ridden for a week and couldn't even move or hardly walk. Again, no medical attention. Things got better, and I took up TKD soon afterward and didn't have any problems, at least that I could detect. I also lifted weights for a few months without trouble. So things were alright for few years. When I was about 19-20 years old, I started lifting weights. I felt fine and made great progress for a year - but I was noticing things like my left shoulder wasn't developing at the same rate as my right. After about a year had gone by, my friend was noticing the form on my military press and was like dude, you're not keeping the bar level at all. At this point I had structural problems and tried a little harder to use good form, but I could feel a wierd sensation along the right side of my spine. I basically payed it no mind and kept trying to improve. Finally one day over the summer, I was supersetting upright rows with Military press and doing the upright rows, on one pull I felt something between a crunching and ripping sensation in my back. Again, the area was around the Rhomboids. I actually finished my workout minus the rows, but I was in pain. Things haven't been the same since. I continued to lift off and on as I could, but made no progress whatsoever and was in pain all of the time. I eventually threw out my lower back too moving furniture so I finally quit lifting.

A few years later, I had Chiro and Rolfing done. I was diagnosed initially with a bulging disk and a leg-length difference (which may or may not be bunk) Alot of my symptoms cleared up with the treatment, but I wasn't ready to return to serious exercise. I went away on vacation for several months, got skinny, came back and had more Rolfing done. At this point I started to study Wing Chun. I found that I could do it and it was beneficial for my back. I did 6 months, then had a problem with my teacher and quit - he stole money from several people I know - I took a few Yoga classes and continued to practice yoga - very helpful-- I crapped around for a while then got this job out here in Chicago - initially I was down in Virginia for a few months - 3 1/2 years ago I finally moved up here. I started to study Wing Chun and Mantis, quit Mantis after 6 months because of the nerve damage in my wrist (long-ago skateboarding incident), took up Wing Chun and JKD in earnest - I found that I could hit the heavy bag, jump rope, punch with weights, etc without too much problem - my back would get sore but not too bad, I never felt like I couldn't train - the key was exercising the arms individually, because my right shoulder rides significantly higher than the left - so two-handed motions cause torque in my body structure. Had some accupuncture done a while ago - I'm continuing to improve, added pushups and pullups to the mix recently - now got a Power Pushup, strength is returning --- do my Hindu Squats, jump rope, have begun Pistols, pistols + 15 pound dumbell, do some other work with 15 pound dumbells - Would like to go back to the gym, would concentrate on dumbells rather than barbells, to avoid the torque - getting stronger, alignment slightly better. I've fallen off of the stretching a bit but I'm still pretty limber - since I've had to quit MA due to a concussion, and I'm not going back for a while yet due to time and family considerations. In my life, I've suffered the following injuries:

Fractured toe (big deal)
Broken Left Ulnar bone, severed ulnar nerve - had nerve replacement surgery
Fractured right wrist
Fractured right hand
Fractured ribs
Lower back injured several times - now very strong
Upper back injured several times - working on it
Damaged Calf muscle - about 85% now
Second - impact concussion

I feel alright, though