Just reply to this thread, and tell us who you are, goals and bit about yourself. Most of the posts in this forum are locked as it's a great place for the beginner to start and find some good information in this forum.

But this thread up top is just to say *HI* so we can see new members.

Welcome to DB!

Well im 17 years old and a full time college student. I came to this site because need ideas that work on how to tone my body more. I am 5 foot tall, about 120 lbs .. i have 28% body fat which isnt very good and im looking to improve. I also want some help with my eating habits. I am constantly eating because im bored or theres food around so i eat. im not over weight or anything but i do not have the body i want to . i was looking for a good eating diet sot hat i am not over eating.
Last year for High school, i was 5th in the staet for powerlifitng for my weight class .. i was 112 at the time. I benched 120 squat 190 and dead lift 225.
A little more about myself - i love to play sports , very into soccer. i love to vacation , meet new people and get new experiences. I am really looking for someone who knows a lot about health to help me so if any one can i would appreciate it .. thanks !

Welcome to DB, Tracy-
I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice when you post something in the training and nutrition sections. This is just the introduce yourself thread.

Hello Everyone,

I am 30 years old with a wonderful wife and three kids. Two boys which are the oldest and the youngest and my daughter is the middle child. I have been lifting weights since 1986. Through high school I lifted for improving in the sport I was in but since I have been out of school I have fell hard for bodybuilding. The thought I can change the size and shape of my body intrigues me. I know through genetics I can not look exactly as my heros like Arnold, Franco Columbo, Lee Preist, and Kevin Levrone but I love trying. Now back to me:

I am currently:

205 lbs...down from around 215 lbs. at height of 65 inches.
Waist at a terrible 38 inches down from 42 inches though.

Max weights are:
Flat Bench: 365
Incline Bench: work out with 275 for 5
Deadlift: workout with 405 for 5 to 6 reps...have not max out recently but in 1997 I lifted 425 during competition weighing at 180.
Squat: Workout with 475 lbs. for 5 to 6 reps.

I am currently getting ready for a competition in November. Cardio is at least once a day for at least 35 minutes. I am trying to reduce the fat but keep the strength and this is the hard part. I will try to persuade the wife to take a picture of me right now and then a picture during competition. Wish me luck and nice to meet you all.

Welcome to DB, torresj- And good luck with that competition, keep us posted.

Well, here goes nothing. I'm just starting to get into bodybuilding again after 6 years off. I'm 25 years old, I trained hard when I was 18 and didn't train at all until I was 24. Now, I used to consider myself a hardgainer since I have very small bones and used to look like a "twig-let". So when I first started training I ate like a monster and spend an entire summer in the gym. I was tired of being made fun of for being small in high school so when I graduated I did something about it. I even broke up with my girlfriend to concentrate more on my workouts.
In those 3-4 months I gained about 30 lbs of which it appeared that none was fat. My bench went from 225-365 also. ( apparently I worked out at a growth spurt time) Of course at the time I was ignorant on lifting so I thought a strong bench is what you're supposed to have. However, I was trying to me Mr. Macho and throw up 375 and I blew out my shoulder. Since then I never rehabilitated it nor worked out.
The time I spent off I started out eating the same way I was when I was training.....oops big mistake. I got pretty dang pudgy....ok FAT I GOT FAT. I tried working out every now and again but it just wasn't working how it did for those few months so I gave up. NOW, I am back into it as hard as I was before Fall of '03 I was 230 at 26% bodyfat, Now I am 235 at 15% bodyfat at 6'0".
I want to compete so badly in bodybuilding but I don't think I have the genetics to even compete at a local show. I have the idea in my head that I have to get up to about 250+ before I can look competitive.
Hopefully you all can help me. I'm now a certified personal trainer so I know what I'm talking about but for some reason I can work my magic on me. I've transformed a lot of bodies into something to be desired but I can't seem to get mine to what I desire. I know genetics plays a huge role in bodybuilding but i feel there has to be something I can do to at least compete once in the novice class at an NPC show. There is one that female friend of mine is cometing in fall of '05 and I told her that I'd do it too if I felt I would place better than last.
As you can tell from my bench improvement I know how to train for powerlifting. This last month I decided to try to get my bench back up despite my past injuries, and just through proper training I'm at least back up to working 245 for sets instead of the 185 I was using.
I know this is just a bunch of jumbled ideas but I wanted you all to know where I was, where I'm at, and whee I'm going.
I'm glad to be a part of this forum and I will be here every day.

XXXRicanXXX

Welcome to DB XXXRicanXXX. Good intro as well. I got the whole story feeling and I see where you are coming from. I'd guess that the injury you suffered is still holding you back. I mean, who would want to repeat that incident? But in order to compete, you don't need to be a certain weight. There are guys at 185 lbs that look damn huge. And people at 210 lbs that are competition shape. I'm sure you know this already like you said, it's genetics for sure that play a big role in this sport. At the same time, you are older and your training should be structured differently.

And by this I mean, you were 18. Ball to the wall. You ate big, you trained big, you got big.

6 years later.. you are wondering how you can get there again.

Same philosopy really. Eat big, train big. And you don't really need to bench 365 lbs to have a massive chest.

You have the genetics to compete at a local show. There are tons of guys who don't know how to diet, that compete and look pretty flat. If you spend the time on the diet, I'm sure you would acheive that goal.

Looking forward to some posts. I'll help you out the best I can.

torresj, as cpl said, keep up updated. Always interested in comp stories and such.

Tracy_04, you'll find tons of info here. You just have to set the display to show the last 365 days worth of posts then the default of 30 days.

Hi,

I am 27 and live in South Africa, I found this forum by chance while surfing the Net. I am very keen on getting some good advice and tips on training. I have been training for 2 years and am not entirely happy with my results, I am sure I can learn more here.

Ryan

****UPDATE****

Goal: drop 10 pounds of bodyfat, accumulated by being previously hospitalized while ill, and build up former atrophied muscle

Misson: Accomplished!

9 pounds dropped, diet totally revamped, no more coca cola, energy level of a teenager!

All..

Thanks to DB!

Beginners, congrats on finding this site..

now strap yourselves in

and get ready to become....

honestly, there are diets that will make you look "harder" in about a week. It's all about using glycogen stores then reloading the cells with glycogen. When that happens it takes the water from your skin into your muscles making you appear more defined. However, it won't make a person less fat, fat is a whole other issue, AND the diet is intense. There is a version outlined in this month's Muscle and Fitness magazine.....the only good thing this month unfortunately.
The diet is what bodybuilders do to lose that very last little bit of "softness" a week before competition. But don't forget that they diet anywhere from 8-20 weeks before the competition to safely lose fat.

Hello

Hi Rosalynd,

I'm sure you are going shape up just fine against the other ladies, all I can say is don't take any short cuts, stick to your training and a good diet and your'e results will come. There is a lot of people with great advice on this forum so I am sure you will get all the info you need.

Ryan