[Mr Moley]

I wouldn't exactly call it perfection though

So hi guys. I haven't introduced myself properly yet. Decided to join as i thought it would benefit me greatly having everyone's experiences at my finger tips.
My name is Joel Cousins I'm 16 and i live in Wales, in the UK.

Here's my progress so far. Ive been taking a picture of myself for the past few months but these are the longest ones i have. The first is me weighing...

14 stone 1lb....197 pounds?






And here me today weighing in at 11 stone 10lbs...164 pounds?


This photo isnt the best as i had a ****ty night last night and i'm feeling like **** here haha. Gimmie a week and ill post another of me in top shape.
Around 11 months of hard grafting at the cardio machines and weightlifting.
How do you think im getting on? My abs are starting to come through slightly but I'm gonna have to burn off a lot more fat if i want them there solid. My aim is to lose all the fat by the end of january...reckon that's possible?

It may be a silly question but can you tell anything about my genetics from the latest picture? How do you think im doing?

All criticism welcome!

Thanks for reading. I'll answer any questions posted.

[Mr Moley]

Could a mod move this to the members section please?

Sorry i obviously can't read.

[gringo220]

Nice work! Keep up the progress!

[Iron_Mercenary]

What does your diet and training look like?

[moorey]

Originally Posted by Mr Moley

I wouldn't exactly call it perfection though

So hi guys. I haven't introduced myself properly yet. Decided to join as i thought it would benefit me greatly having everyone's experiences at my finger tips.
My name is Joel Cousins I'm 16 and i live in Wales, in the UK.

Here's my progress so far. Ive been taking a picture of myself for the past few months but these are the longest ones i have. The first is me weighing...

14 stone 1lb....197 pounds?






And here me today weighing in at 11 stone 10lbs...164 pounds?


This photo isnt the best as i had a ****ty night last night and i'm feeling like **** here haha. Gimmie a week and ill post another of me in top shape.
Around 11 months of hard grafting at the cardio machines and weightlifting.
How do you think im getting on? My abs are starting to come through slightly but I'm gonna have to burn off a lot more fat if i want them there solid. My aim is to lose all the fat by the end of january...reckon that's possible?

It may be a silly question but can you tell anything about my genetics from the latest picture? How do you think im doing?

All criticism welcome!

Thanks for reading. I'll answer any questions posted.

Welcome, well done on the progres to date.
The best way to get some feedback is to post diet, workout and supplements being taken.

[trainhard19]

nice job bro, i know wat its like to lose weight... its real hard but once u reach ur goals its all worth it... if u want check out my weight loss before and afters in the pics section

[Mr Moley]

I'm currently on a high protein low carb low fat diet.

Eating often as possible maybe every 3 hours or so.

Trying to keep the calories as low as possible. Lots of chicken, tuna steaks and salads. I don't have a set diet but i eat very clean.
Oats in the morning.
Chicken or tuna salad in the afternoon.
Tuna or chicken sandwhich/baggeute kinda thing around 1.
Oats or egg on toast or something around 3:30 to get some carbs for the gym.
Another chicken or tuna salad in the evening.
Then tuna or so later on.

Supplements
EAS Myopro whey protein. First thing in the morning with water. post workout with water and last thing before bed with milk to slow down digestion through the night.
No xplode pre workout.
Just ordered creatine mono.
Also taking multi vitamins, cod liver oil and extra vitamin c. I'll be ordering BCAA's sometime soon. Probably with my next paycheck.

[Mr Moley]

My workouts consist of a split all the time.

Monday = shoulders, chest and forearms. (light ab training)

Tuesday = biceps, triceps and traps. (hard abs)

Wednesday = back (hard abs)

Thursday = Rubgy training. (no abs)

Friday = legs (light abs)

Saturday = repeat monday with more emphasis on shoulders.

Sunday = Rugby game.

After my weights session ill burn 1000 calories doing cardio. I vary my cardio from machine to machine and ive started doing interval training now to switch things up a little and keep the body guessing.

[mr_bhana]

Thats good progress for 11 months bro, good job. It looks like you got everything in order

[Mr Moley]

This hasnt been for regime for the last 11 months by the way.

Only for the past 3-4 months Ive really been getting strict and down to it. At the start of my training i wasn't doing solid weights sessions or as strict on my diet but things seem to be going the right way.

More comments the better guys.

Thanks

[chrispghmuscle]

You've had great progress, most would have given up.. Great job.. Keep working because it's working for you..

[Mr Moley]

Most would have given up but i'm a stubborn twat when it comes to things like this.

I'm unsure whether i want to become serious about bodybuilding :/

I'd really love to. But school and being in a band and having a girlfriend take up alot of time.

It's hard to choose.

If someone goes to the gym with me tomorrow i think ill hit some poses and let you guys see what there like. Up for some muscle criticism?

[Iron_Mercenary]

Originally Posted by Mr Moley

My workouts consist of a split all the time.

Monday = chest and triceps. (light ab training)

Tuesday = back, biceps, and traps. (hard abs)

Wednesday = shoulders, and forearms (hard abs)

Thursday = Rubgy training. (no abs)

Friday = legs (light abs)

Saturday = repeat monday with more emphasis on shoulders.

Sunday = Rugby game.

After my weights session ill burn 1000 calories doing cardio. I vary my cardio from machine to machine and ive started doing interval training now to switch things up a little and keep the body guessing.

I revised your split for you. The way you had things set up before certain muscle were not allowed enough time for adequate recovery. On Tuesday your triceps would have still been torn apart from monday, since triceps are involved in pressing exercises for chest and shoulders. Also, on Wednesday your biceps would have still been fatigued from Tuesday, since biceps are involved in the pulling exercises for back.

I suggest giving this new split a try for the next few weeks and see how it works for you.

[Mr Moley]

BRILLIANT... thank you very much.

This is what i will try for a while. thanks again.

[Iron_Mercenary]

You're welcome!

[mikeh40+]

good work bro,
keep up with your training, all the hard work is paying off!!

[matty_gym_class]

Your looking awesome man, such good progress and you seem to have some knowledge on bodybuilding and nutrition aswell. The workout was pretty neat aswell apart from what iron said but thats a easy thing to sort out. Remember eat CLEAN and lift HEAVY!

Keep it up bro, laters.

Im Matt btw :)

[ollythomas]

amazing transformation man! you look great!

[Malgate]

well done mate, you look good, you can see the effort you putting in is starting to pay off

[Mr Moley]

Ok so i think my body fat is stubborn.........

It just won't get off. 1000 calorie cardio sessions nearly every day along with a great weight training program and a good diet. And i still have fat at the bottom of my stomach covering my abs :(

It's been almost a year now since i started my training and i aimed to get great abs but having 2 weeks left before january is up i dont think im gunna do it :(

Any advice?

[Iron_Mercenary]

You may be overdoing it on the cardio. Low body-fat comes from having lots of muscle as well. You may be burning off equal amounts of muscle and fat with your cardio.

[Mr Moley]

So you think cut the cardio down?

By how much exactly?

[SimplyHuge]

moley,

when i saw the first pics i was like "he lifts?" BUT, when I saw the last pic, i was impressed. you made some really good progress, and it looks like youve put in the time with the diet and exercise.

one thing to mention is to make sure you "keep" the weight off. your body needs to adjust to the new lower weight, so that it doesnt fluctuate back towards the old. the longer you stay lean, the better. after a while, you can start eating less strictly and it will affect you less because your body has stabilized at a new and lower bodyweight.

for now, keep on doing what you are doing. if you really want to get shredded, then start watching your calories. keep track with either a log, or what i like to do, is something like this:

1. Decide on how many meals you want to eat a day, for this example, lets say "5"

2. Decide on the calories per day you want to allow. Start with maybe 2000, and if after one week you havent lost any weight, then drop it to 1800, and 1600, and so on. when i was trying to get shredded i was eating about 1500-1800 calories per day.

3. if you choose 2000 calories per day, then that means each meal should be 400 calories (400 x 5 = 2000)

4. look on your labels to make sure you are getting around 400 calories per meal. instead of trying to track every calories, just make sure each meal is the right amount, and at the end of the day you will reach your goal.


ab tip: train lower abs the hardest. always start with the lower abs before doing upper abs. try to really "feel" the movement and squeeze the ***t out of every rep.

just some tips from soemone whose been there. I hope they help. you look great right now, so keep up the good work!

[Mr Moley]

Thank you VERY much man. MUCH appreciated :)

Any ideas for lower ab workouts you could give me?

Thanks in advance.

[SimplyHuge]

I usually kept my ab workouts short, but very intense.

I normally did 2 "giant sets"

It would look something like this:

Flat Bench Leg Raises: 20-50 Reps
Roman Chair: 20-50 Reps
Regular Crunches: 20-50 Reps

Each set is performed one after the other with NO rest inbetween.

After you do all three exercises, then take a minute or two break and do the 2nd set.

You can vary the three exercises some, but try to always stick with the first one. Ive found it to be one of the best overall ab exercises.

When you do the bench leg raises, hold onto the back of the bench with your hands, and then point your toes straight out and slowly raise your legs up. Try to keep the legs at a 45 degree angle as they are rising. your stomach should be doing the crunching to raise hte legs.

YouTube - Bench leg raise - core exercise

This video is "close" to right, but the guy is going to fast, and is not keeping his legs at a 45 degree angle. he is point his feet straight up over his body at the top, and there is no tension on the abs. you want to keep tension throughout the whole movement, so at the top, keep your legs straight out at a 45 degree angle. at the bottom, do not rest your abs, but flex to keep your legs just slightly above the parallel mark. this exercise is very effective if done correctly.

[SimplyHuge]

i have some other ab exercises that i found effective too if you want some help. the key is to concentrate on "feeling" the exercise and not just running htrough the motions. ask yourself "am i trying to just reach a number with these crunches, or am i trying to get abs out of them" some people just shoot for "100 reps". who cares if you can do 100 easy reps that are ineffective. it would be better to do 20 hard reps that will cause growth.



above is a pic from when i was dieting to get ready for a show. i am trying to once again achieve that level of conditioning, but hopefully with some more size this year.

good luck in your goal, and let me know if i can help in anyway

a good ab workout will help in getting abs, but their mainly made in the kitchen. keep up the diet and the training!