10Pushups’s BodyBlog

I’ve been struggling for years at trying to put on muscle. I tried so many things, but finally found something that works.

My whole adult life (25 years), my arms have been 12 inches around. The biggest they ever measured was 12.5, and I think I was heavily carb loaded at the time.

Today, my arms measure 13.5 inches. That is a major triumph for me. My goal had always been 13 inches, but now I’ve upped that to 14 inches. That’s where I will stop. That’s a comfortable amount for me.

So, how did I do it? What was the big change versus all the times I tried and failed? Eating.

It seems that I am one of those guys that has to eat a lot to put on muscle.

My guess is that during the period I gained the most muscle, I ate about 200 grams of protein per day and about 3000 to 3500 calories. My protein supplement includes Creatine and L-Glutamine also.

At the same time as I started eating more, I changed my workout program somewhat, and eaten more (and a different brand of) protein supplements. I can’t say with 100% certainty that eating a lot that has made the difference, but that is the only major difference.

So, of course I have put on a fair amount of fat. But, in the past year or so I have doubled the amount of weight I can bench press, so a lot of it must be muscle. One can only improve so much without muscle gain. Most of that change has come in the past few months.

In December, 2007 I was bench pressing (on a particular Life Fitness machine) 90 pounds. Today I am bench pressing 180 pounds on the same machine. I realize this doesn’t equate to a real life bench press of 180 pounds, but the point is that it has doubled. So, I’m thrilled at that.

Most of my gains were while I was in Canada for a month. I am back at home in Bulgaria right now, so I can’t completely continue with the program I was using that was so successful. But, I suspect that I will manage to reach my goal of 14 inch arms in the next few weeks. Things look promising, with about a 1/4 inch increase in the last 10 days. At that rate, I’ll reach my goal by February 5th, which is the end date for my program.

Hopefully, I won’t gain too much more fat during the next few weeks. Once I reach my goal, I go into muscle maintenance, and weight-loss mode. I suspect that even in maintenance mode I will very slowly gain muscle for a while. I don’t plan to stop lifting weights, though I will not be increasing the weights I lift. I’m strong enough, or at least will soon be.

I worked very hard last year, lost lots of weight, but never managed to produce any measurable or noticable muscle gains.

Now, I’m 10 or 15 pounds heavier than I was. I’ve been getting back in shape aerobically for the last few months. I haven’t managed to lose any weight despite hiking 250 KM with very little food over a 10 day period. Weight loss is a funny thing. If I were to go by the "tables" of energy used for activities, I would have lost somewhere between 10 and 15 pounds. I suspect that when I am in good condition, my body uses calories very efficiently. I probably actually lost two or three pounds, but didn’t have a correct weight before I left. But, the lack of weight loss is not so important since I’m not overweight in any way. In fact, when I was 10 or 15 pounds lighter, I was probably underweight. Right now, I’m concered with putting on muscle.

I have done lots more reading since last summer and have learned much. Last year I was trying to lose fat while gaining muscle. That’s totally possible, but I was trying to lose fat too fast. I was constantly in Ketosis, which while great for losing weight, is really horrible for gaining muscle it seems. It really messes with your hormones, in particular your testosterone level. I feel like I am just recovering from it now.

So, now I am on to a much more sensible program. I’m not just eating lots of protein this time, but am making sure to eat carbohydrates with it. I’m also trying to eat my carbohydrate/protein mix when I am in a carbohydrate deficit, after working out or in the morning before eating anything else.

I’m also following "the rules" as best as I can for increasing testosterone levels. My latest free testosterone test shows me about 10% higher than a few months ago, so that might mean I am on track. Though, it could be just a result of less stress and better sleep.

I just started lifting weights again. I’m feeling confident that this time I’ll succeed with my muscle gain goals even though I’ve failed a dozen other times on various "programs".

Ever an optimist.

I never realized that there is a difference between "firm" and "tight" skin. There is. There are lots of creams that will firm your skin but none (or perhaps one) that will tighten it.

I’ve been using various skin creams in hopes of "tightening" my skin. I confused "tight" with "firm". I thought removing wrinkles meant that the skin would get tigheter. It doesn’t. You can have less wrinkles, but still have loose skin. It seem impossible, but it’s true.

What’s the difference between "Frim" and "Tight"? "Firm" means that the skin itself has enough collagen and elastin to feel firm, and avoid wrinkles. "Tight" means your skin doesn’t sag. It’s a big difference.

Creams containing hydroxy acids and retinol definitely make your skin nicer. Using them makes your skin look younger and feel younger. But, they do nothing to reduce sagging skin from aging or weight loss.

There’s only one possible exception to this rule that creames don’t tighten skin. DMAE may tighten skin. But, the evidence seems weak.

I’ve been using virtually every cream imaginable to tighen my skin. It hasn’t been an entire waste of money. My skin is smoother and looks nicer. My once very deep stretch marks are now less so. I’m going to continue with my skin care program, but with realistic expectations. If my wrinkles and stretch marks get better, then that’s enough.

I’m now using only three ingredients: DMAE, Glycolic Acid, and Retin A. I think they all work for improving skin. My skin feels nicer than some people half my age. But, my skin still sags and I still have wrinkles.

That’s why I’ve started getting Alma Accent RF treatments. I’ve had one treatment on my abdomen so far. I’ll need to have six. My initial impression is positive. The area treated feels different from the surrounding areas. I can’t say that I see any tightening yet, but they say it takes two or threee treatments until you do. If this works, I’ll have it done on my butt, and parts of my face. The treatment can cause fat loss, so it’s important to not use it anywhere you don’t want to lose fat. I have enough problems with fat loss on my face. I’ll have to be careful about where specifically I do it.

I just finished a "eat everything imaginable in hopes that with the fat, I’ll gain muscle too" phase. It didn’t work. I see absolutely no increase in muscle. But I did manage to gain 10 pounds of fat. Some say I needed it. But, I like my body better when I’m super lean. I’m probably around 12% body fat right now. I liked 6% much better.

My face definitely liked the weight gain. It looks much better.

Now I have to lose those 10 pounds. Not fun. Back on my "Protein Sparing Modified Fast", which works very well for me. But, it will take 3 to 5 weeks to lose what I’ve gained.

I won’t be intentionally gaining weight ever again. It can’t be healthy to gain and lose, gain and lose.

I’ve lost roughly 70 pounds in the last two years. I haven’t decided what’s worse, loose skin or being overweight. I think from an aesthetics point of view I’d rather be 20 pounds heavier and have nice tight skin. But, I feel so much better when I’m lean.

I’m feeling very strong and athletic these days. I went for a 45 kilometer (28 mile) hike over a mountain last weekend with a 16 kg (35 pounds) pack, and wasn’t even tired at the end. I could have hiked another 20 or 30 kilometers. I love that.

Two weeks ago I started using various creams to tighten up my skin. I had been hoping to tighten it by adding muscle, but I’m having a lot of problems adding muscle.

The creams (Alpha Hydroxy Acid, DMAE, Retinol, Retin-A, Copper Peptides etc.) I am using are scientifically proven to tighten skin. The question is: How much?

It’s only been two weeks, but I think there is some effect already on my face. Ultimately, that’s the most critical thing. If things continue as they are, I think by six weeks I’ll be satisified with my face. I may need to get Botox injections in my forehead though because my skin wrinkles much easier with less fat below it.

A few weeks ago I was in for Intense Pulsed Light treatment of my Rosacea (reddening of the skin near my nose). The doctor said that if I had a laser treatment I would have good results. I won’t do that unless absolutely necessary.

My belly is the next most important, and I have seen no improvement so far from the creams. Actually, it seems I am retaining a bit of water right now and my belly looks worse than usual. I don’t think it’s the cream’s fault. I still have hopes that excercise, creams and time will resolve it. If not, I’ll probably go for Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) treatments or possibly some sort of laser treatment. I don’t want to do anything radical like surgery.

My butt is by far my worst skin problem, and no cream alone is going to fix it. Fortunately, I don’t go around wearing thongs on the beach, so it’s not that critical. I’ll continue to try to add muscle and use creams, but I suspect the only thing that will fix the skin is either laser or surgery.

Something interesting that I came across recently that makes improving my skin even more unlikely. There are fibrous strands that connect your skin to your muscle. These strands normally hold your skin tight against your muscle. But, it seems these fibres stretch when you gain weight and never recover. That’s part of the reason that skin sags. It’s not only that the skin has lost elasticity, but that these fibres are not holding it tight anymore. I don’t think any amount of muscle gain will fix this unless the new muscle is created between the old muscle and the skin like the fat that was replaced. But, I don’t think that is how it works.

So, the short of it is that there may not be anything we can do except make our skin less heavy by losing the fat that it is attached to it. If the skin is light enough perhaps the elasticity of the skin will be enough to support itself.

So based on this, I’ve decided to try losing some more weight in hopes that it will help with my skin. Most people think I am already too thin, but I’m willing to try anything.

After Note: Copper Peptides are somewhat controversial. For some people it has the opposite of the desired effect and causes loose skin. So, I’ve stopped using it except to treat scars.

I’ve been on a weight lifting program for three months now, and though I have had some significant strength increases, I have had no measureable differences in muscle mass.

I can see that I have minor increases in muscle on my chest and abdomen. But, due to the concurrent weight loss there has actually been a decrease in some of my measurements.

I’ve taken the last two weeks off; partly because of discouragement, and partly because I’ve changed living locations.

I’ve decided to change my weight lifting program. I had been doing the "Body for Life" program, but it did not seem to work for me.

I’ve decided to go from the 5 set approach of "Body for Life" to a 2 set approach. The first set is a warm up set of 2/3rds what I plan to lift in my second set, and the second set is the maximum amount of weight with which I can achieve at least 5 repetitions. If I achieve 8 repetions on the second set, I increase the weight the next work-out.

The problem with the 5 set approach was that I was so worn down by sets 1-3 that when I did set 4 (the big weight set), I couldn’t lift that much. With the 2 set approach I can lift more, and I think that may be what I need.

I’m giving this approach at least a month. If I see strength increases, I’ll keep with it. If not, I’ll think again.

I talked to my dad on this past weekend, and as far as he knows no-one in my family has ever had any significant amount of muscle. My father, uncles, grandfather were all farmers, yet they never got muscular even with large amounts of heavy labour. They all got very strong, but not muscular. My dad had tests done while in hospital for arthritis treatment and he was much stronger than his muscle measurements would suggest. Something about "coordinated firing". Basically, it seems his muscles were very efficient. Darn… why can’t my family have "inefficient", but medium-sized muscles.

So, it might just be that it’s going to be very difficult for me to gain large amounts of muscle. I’m not giving up. I’ll keep trying different approaches until something works for me.

I never intended to get as thin as I am. I’m 6′ 1" with a 30 inch waist, a 36 inch chest, a gaunt face and I simply look too thin.

I’d stop losing weight right now except I have a "loose skin" problem, and I’ve read that perhaps it may recover if I get to a low body fat level and stay that way for a six month period.

So far all the weight loss has just made my skin worse. But, the only places that look truly bad are the areas that still have a significant layer of fat.

Based on how fast I have lost fat in these areas, it seems that I have to lose between 4 and 6 more pounds. That’s not so much, except that I’m already at the lowest weight I’ve been as an adult.

It also seems that the areas with loose skin can be filled with muscle if losing the weight doesn’t help.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weight loss will do the trick because I only have two weeks until my beach holiday and I really don’t want to scare people!

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I managed 10 proper pushups.

This is something that is simple for most guys, but for me it was definitely an event to celebrate.

But, having said that, I still have almost no muscle on my body. Apparently it takes a lot less muscle to do a pushup than I thought!

Determining one’s body fat percentage seems to be more or less impossible. None of the options except DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) produce results that are in any way reliable. I have no idea where I would go to have DEXA done.

I’ve decided that all I really care about is how much of a layer of fat there is over my muscle. I’m not going to worry about intramusclar fat since I excercise a lot (which gets rid of intramuscular fat) and that’s all I can realistically do about it.

Since all I care about now is fat thickness, I bought myself a set of body fat calipers and will use them to judge my body fat amount.

Based on the Jackson-Pollack 7 site/4 site/3 site measurements, I’m at most 11.5% body fat. The 7 site version indicates between 6.7% and 9.5% body fat (depending on what age I enter in the forumula). I’ve decided to consider myself 10.5% body fat as of today at 162 pounds. That leaves me with 8 pounds of body fat to lose to reach my goal of 6%. Basically my goal is now to have a maximum skin fold of 6 mm in each of the Jackson-Pollack 7 measurement sites. I think that’s reasonable. I’m already under that at most of the measurement sites.

I’m between 3 mm and 12 mm right now at the Jackson-Pollack 7 measurement sites.

I had been expecting to travel for a few weeks, but my plans changed and I only ended up travelling for a few days.

I’m in Europe now and have a scale again. I’m not sure that’s such a good thing because the needle on the scale hasn’t moved much. But, despite that, I have lost more than 1 inch off of my waist. I can’t really see that I have gained muscle, but I think that I must have.

It’s interesting that a pound of muscle contains only 600 calories of energy while a pound of fat contains 3500 calories of energy. Based on that it seems entirely possible that I’ve been gaining pounds of muscle at a similar rate to the fat I’ve been losing lately.

There are some physical signs that perhaps I have actually put on muscle lately. I was working out yesterday, and I think I did a proper pushup. Actually, I may have done six of them. But, I’m not 100% certain. I’m not sure I was quite low enough. That’s the part I have trouble with when doing pushups. But, if I’m not quite doing pushups correctly, I am very close.

That 10th pushup isn’t far off.