Phillip
Phillip decided to lose some weight, and his "love handles" Here is his story and before/after pictures:
"When I started last December, I was more interested in fat loss than in muscle
growth. I did 30 vigorous minutes of panting and dripping on an elliptical
trainer three times a week. Then, I figured that since the weight room was right
next door, and I was already hot and sweaty, I might as well do some lifting.
Also, I had heard that lean muscle tissue raises the metabolic rate and helps to
burn calories. Furthermore, I had always been flabby and weak and thought it
would be interesting to see how strong I could get. So for those reasons I asked
the trainer at the Y to teach me how to use the machines. She taught me to do
one set to failure in 8 to 12 reps. I still think this is fine advice for a
beginner. (I understand that advocates of HIT regard it as fine advice for
everybody.) I stuck with that program from December thru April. By then, most of
my flab was gone and I had gotten quite a bit stronger. (I keep a log of reps
and poundages.) But I was getting bored with the same old machine routine, so I
bought "Getting Stronger" by Bill Pearl and started lifting free weights. Since
then, I have changed my program every few weeks just to stay interested. I do 3
sets of each exercise. On Bill Pearl's advice, I do not train to failure. My
ectomorphic body will probably never be huge, but my strength keeps increasing,
and my muscles are becoming very well defined. My wife loves to run her hands
over them! It has been less than a year and I think I look great. I can't wait
to see what happens in another year!
As for my diet, well, I never did exactly "go on a diet." I just started paying
attention to what I was eating. I quit driving out to McDonald's for lunch. I
quit relieving my mid-afternoon boredom with a snickers bar and a coke. I would
make a carrot salad for a bedtime snack instead of a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich, or just go to bed hungry and wake up to a healthy breakfast. Now that
I'm thin enough and working out regularly, I just eat whenever I'm hungry.
That's one nice thing about being an ectomorph."
Reset Feb 27, 04
