Body Transformation: My Success Story

Motiv

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
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211
Big Daddy said:
Do you know who's the guy on the right? I don't know that many bodybuilders, but that guy looks like Frank Zane... a famous bodybuilder from the 70s - which is to say, he probably was on steroids. And none of us would reach that level of muscular development even with gear (dude was 5'9 and 200 lbs off season, but he's closer to 185 at 4% body fat as that seems to a contest shot).
I realize those models represent the pinnacle of bodybuilding for world-class contest levels. However, I also believe the principles of getting into great shape only magnify from beginner to advanced, but they don't change. I just grabbed that picture quickly to try and illustrate the general contrast between building oneself into an attractive shape (that appeals to women) versus just massing all over the place (not knocking Marcus Ruhl at all, the guy on the right—just trying to illustrate the point of shaping). I think we all know the sort of guy who just keeps building his biceps without working on legs or core, or the guy who gets huge by doing a lot of conventional heavy lifting and just ends up with a big neck and bottle-shaped body—or never burns his fat, so you can't see the abs or good definition anywhere. Building an attractive male body is an art, but it's one that anyone can learn if you don't get yourself caught up with "rules" that aren't helping you.

As for Hollywood actors versus "normal" people, I thought this might make an inspiring comparison below.
Chris Evans on the left—John Barban on the right:
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To my eye, both of these men have almost identical builds, yet one of them is a Hollywood actor who got in shape "fast," while the other has been working his way to that shape (and size) for years (in fact, Barban may even be a bit bigger than Evans, and he actually maintains that shape year round). As far as I know, neither of these guys have ever used steroids. All I'm really trying to say here is, the physique of either of those two gentlemen is very attainable—by "normal" guys. It may take a little longer or shorter, depending on one's starting point as well as unique strengths and weaknesses, but given time, it really can be done by anyone. I find it exciting to see just how much further I can continuously push my physique from regularly testing my limits, yet always at a pace that's appropriate for my current level.

As for accountability, I find it gets too complicated the way most people try to do it—counting all the numbers over and over again (with weights as well as calories—then usually getting frustrated if they couldn't lift as much one day as a previous workout or somehow didn't hit the "target" goal of calories perfectly). All that really matters in my opinion is that: one, you actually do your workout for the day; two, you push whatever energy you have to the absolute maximum with good form on every exercise; and lastly, you eat when you're hungry, control your portions, and stay clean for 80% of your calories (i.e. chicken breast, veggies, brown rice, etc.). Of course, there's also recovery: we have to get our rest. If I meet those general goals, I consider my accountability met. Then, I just make tweaks along the way based on how my progress pans out over time. For example, these days I want bigger shoulders, so I just add more shoulder exercises two-three times per week to my stock workout.

Here's a video with some theories about eating I find very interesting, and I think you will too:
How To Naturally Increase Testosterone - With John Romaniello

You shouldn't feel afraid to experiment. It's your body, after all, you only live once, and it's the only one you're going to get… no one on this planet is better qualified to tell you what works best for you than you.

I put faith that the men who design the programs I've tried (which is now three) put their lifetime of expertise and experience into the structure of these workouts. I think the base goal in executing any workout is always the same: pick weights to where you can do the rep count listed while bringing yourself as close to failure as possible, all while keeping with the rest times listed. That can actually take a lot trial and error to figure out (at least for me). The weights I will get the most out of for a given exercise all depend on the context of the entire workout, so any new workout I'm trying takes a lot of "feeler" sets before I can finally execute the whole routine to full effectiveness—but I think that's all part of the fun. The concept of mind-muscle connection is very, very important—focus on the quality of muscle contraction for each and every rep—that's much more important than going heavier. To that end, I don't hesitate to go with a little slower tempo, and I've also read that slower lifting produces more testosterone.

Again, I absolutely believe that living a lifestyle of health and fitness shouldn't feel like a prison sentence or an extra full-time job—it can and should feel natural and enjoyable! For those of you who have yet to get started, you'll know what I mean when you get that endorphin rush from a great cardio session, or that testosterone boost from a good lifting routine. Nothing makes you feel like more of a man—well, aside from depositing that manhood into your latest conquest. Build a bigger, better man, and you will conquer all the harder. :)

-M

P.S. Regarding what you said about not looking "big" with clothes on, remember Chase's fashion primer article?
Fashion for Men: The Primer on Looking Amazing

Since you're already cut around the abs, you may just want to wear smaller shirts. I've taken this to heart and wear very form-fitting clothes these days, which does a lot to accentuate my modest size—making me look bigger. Below is one of my favorite summertime shirts. I actually had this one tailored to further taper down the waist, so that it would bring out my V as much as possible:
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lux7

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon Man
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880
Mischief said:
Facebook page as an experiment to see how attractive women react—as far as the virtual world goes, it has been confirmation of everything people like Drexel teach. I am literally sticking my neck out as a Christian Grey type for all to see, and huge numbers of attractive women have come out of the wood work to "like" my pictures (for whatever that's worth).

This made me curious, what does Drexel say?

My point of view, which can be very off mark of course, is that, M, you look very much approval seeking with those pics and behaviour on social media.

When a girl does it, a few guys will consider it childish and many will lust after it.
Don't know the stats, but my suspicion is when a man does it, it's the inverse: few girls will lust after it and many will consider it childish.

On the body transformation: impressive indeed, congrats!!
 

Motiv

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
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211
lux7 said:
Mischief said:
Facebook page as an experiment to see how attractive women react—as far as the virtual world goes, it has been confirmation of everything people like Drexel teach. I am literally sticking my neck out as a Christian Grey type for all to see, and huge numbers of attractive women have come out of the wood work to "like" my pictures (for whatever that's worth).

This made me curious, what does Drexel say?

My point of view, which can be very off mark of course, is that, M, you look very much approval seeking with those pics and behaviour on social media.

When a girl does it, a few guys will consider it childish and many will lust after it.
Don't know the stats, but my suspicion is when a man does it, it's the inverse: few girls will lust after it and many will consider it childish.

On the body transformation: impressive indeed, congrats!!

This is definitely something I have thought much about, lux. I, too, would be curious to know what Drexel has to say (and Chase, for that matter)!

I will not deny that I certainly have naive and childish aspects to my personality, but I choose to no longer be afraid of them. In what I think is the spirit of Chase's approach to life, I charge forward as risk-forward as I can, letting the world do with me what it will. Behavioral limits need to be pressed—I believe that is the only path to maturity.

At this point in time, I have been toying seriously with the concept of blatant narcissism—quite purposefully. I've misspent most of my life being in a shell of fear over what people think of me. I've also heard (and experienced through a recent lay of my own) just how sexually attractive genuine narcissism can be in a man—even hard core arrogance. The last girl I was with literally told me how much she loved how "arrogant" I was. Twisted? Perhaps, but it made me feel good that I had broken a threshold.

At some point, I will learn by how much to reign it in and go from there. I believe a man must be true to himself and fearless about the way he genuinely feels in order to gain the ability to take control of who he wants to be.

Cheers!
-M
 

lux7

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon Man
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Yeah, if it's part of a strategy and conquer fear of judgement go for it.
Arrogant can be ok, but I'd be wary of narcissism, that's a pathology and doesn't seem to lead to much improvement.
 

Motiv

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
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lux7 said:
Yeah, if it's part of a strategy and conquer fear of judgement go for it.
Arrogant can be ok, but I'd be wary of narcissism, that's a pathology and doesn't seem to lead to much improvement.

Maybe I am sick, but I would rather be "sick" and feel alive than "healthy" and smothered. There are elements of the human condition most assume to be "bad…" why? What are we afraid of?

Hell, what we do as aspiring seducers is considered unhealthy by the majority of people, yet we on this board know better—we understand more.
 

lux7

Cro-Magnon Man
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Don't take it personally M, I mean that if the aspiration to reach is that of a pathology, unless it's for a short term period towards something better, well, you can do better than that.

But again, don't take it personally, just a suggestion/idea.

All the best :)
 

Motiv

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
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lux7 said:
Don't take it personally M, I mean that if the aspiration to reach is that of a pathology, unless it's for a short term period towards something better, well, you can do better than that.

But again, don't take it personally, just a suggestion/idea.

All the best :)

It's all good man—I have no hard feelings. I just want to get to the bottom of what motivation and true strength really is—where they come from. It is not my intention to cast a devastating shadow upon this board.

I do seriously question the definition and concept of "pathology"—evil as well, for that matter. When one is willing to look at the full ramifications of each and every decision we make on a daily basis, I reckon the concluding definition of health/sickness and good/evil become very debatable. One thing that is very clear to me, however, is power/helpless.

As I suggested over in Mr. Rob's cool thread about enduring pain and discomfort Fasted 43 hours in the woods. Journal entry during this time, deliberate magnification of my darker half seems to result in a proportional increase in my positive side. This is all done in the spirit of discovering my true potential, and I do feel my personal character grows stronger through this process.

-M
 

Motiv

Tool-Bearing Hominid
Tool-Bearing Hominid
Joined
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Messages
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In effort to steer this thread back to the point, I would love for all of you who are interested in improving your body to watch this video. I genuinely do my best to apply what Barban talks about here: the concept of lifting in such a way as to stimulate maximum muscle growth versus simply moving a high number through space. This is actually an amazing video in my honest opinion! If you ever find yourself feeling discouraged from frivolous discussions chiding you over how much weight you can (or cannot) lift, you will love this…

Enjoy!

 
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