You have got great arms, and I can tell that your legs are quite awesome as well. But your waist is a bit freaky, what are your measurements?
I have single digit BF% myself and I don't watch what I eat either. I think it's in our genes. My dad and uncle has the same "problem".
So far I have gained 10kg of lean mass in a year. I was at a very very bad state last year, 5 foot 9 and 47kg.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Oct 31 2012, 10:14 AM

Maybe when I have reached 60kg I'll post pics. If I don't encounter any hiccups along the way, I should be able to reach there some time around December. Right now I'm too shy.

All you guys get right now is my description. Measly 12.5 inch biceps, visible six pack though needs to be more bulging, 19 inch thighs, slightly thick neck and traps are just beginning to show. Oh and my waist is around 28 inches.

See why I don't want to post pics?

It's a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I do worry about the 'invisible' signs of unhealthy eating, like a high cholesterol level, blood sugar level and such, I don't know I'm not a doctor. I think my intense workout have that addressed though.

Your arms are huge man! Mine's only 12.5 inches, and my waist is 28 inches.
I think I see the principle that you are working out with, and that helps me motivate. Because I hear a lot of people giving me advice that I need to get "fat" first before I would workout and gain the muscles. I have been ignoring that and just continually eating and working out at the same time, and avoiding the flab, like you. The other problem with that advice that I can't follow it is that I gain fat so slowly and lose them so fast, there is no way in a year I could start working out. If I don't do it immediately, how can I get strong just by eating? I'd be practically useless with small muscles and big body fat.

So yeah I'm glad that it is possible to do without being flabby first. I don't know how large I'll get, and I'm not really into bodybuilding. Just trying to get big enough like gymnasts, or welterweight MMA fighters (though a bit leaner than that).

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Oct 31 2012, 11:21 AM

So you are an ectomorph. Like me! You were almost at the same weight as I am when getting started. Though I can't tell whether you're taller or shorter than me from your pictures.
You have gone further with body weight, while I'm still at my early stages. You give me more confidence.
I'm gonna surprise my friends when we get together for our convocation.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Oct 31 2012, 02:51 PM

I'm 5 foot 9.
So you're about 174-175 cm, same as me, I'm 175!

Can we switch bodies?

I'd love looking light but in actuality heavier. Gives that 'sleeper' look which people underestimate. Plus I can gain more weight while I can still wear size M shirts.

Any idea how many calories you take in a day?

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Oct 31 2012, 08:29 PM

In the spirit of this thread, here's my pic.
Still a long way to go from my goal of 70+kg. Now I'm 58 kg at 5'9".

My mum put that up in the kitchen.
Here's a better pic I took out of my Facebook. I see I need to work on back and chest a bit more. Maybe my waist too. Also my legs, but you can't see it here. Oh heck, everything needs to be worked on, but I'm glad I stayed in proportion.
This is at 58kg...I wonder what I'd look like 70+?


This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 1 2012, 01:59 PM

Because I'm leaner right?
I think I'm skinnier looking than many guys my height and weight.

When I started I was 47kg at 175...My rib cage was showing, my abs were completely flat, my waist was a mere 26 inches. I have vowed that I will never be that weak ever again.


FYI I don't do weights. I'm planning on mastering body weight exercises first before going on to free weights. That's how I like to progress.

Right now I'm progressing towards one-arm pullups, PROPER hanging leg raises, one-legged squat and one-arm pushups. Once I got those 4 mastered I'd go for weights. I won't stop there though, I'd still do serious progressions with body weight exercises, like bridges, flags, planche pushups, handstand pushups and so on.
IINM I have been working out seriously for 13 months. Since then I've gained 11kg. I did lose some weight when I was sick for 2 weeks, probably close to 2kg of weight loss. I ate only once a day and in very little amounts for more than a week.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 1 2012, 04:03 PM

Maybe you could up your cardio a bit. Like, have a cardio day for a day or two a week.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 1 2012, 05:29 PM

Though what he says about cardio causing him to lose muscle, I'd have to disagree. He mentioned 20 minutes on treadmill and then lifting. I think he stayed on it for too long. I do cardio days but a bit more intensely and for short bursts.
My cardio days are like this:
-100 "diamond" pushup in 5 minutes.
-Medium speed jogging for 5 minutes.
-Double crunches for 5 minutes.

In that order, and 2 min. rests in between. I don't experience any muscle loss. I still gain roughly 1-2 kg a month and stayed lean throughout the year even as I gain weight. As I am still in the bulking phase, I eat 3000-5000 kcal a day, and like I said, still stayed lean. And Seasick, boxers and MMA fighters, even heavyweight ones do intense cardio and don't lose muscle, they can't afford to. You must be doing something wrong somewhere. Like I said, maybe too long and not enough intensity? Their training is for strength not size, but doesn't matter, their principle is the same, try to keep as much muscle and as little fat as possible.

But if what you (darklight79) say for his case, that it is not advisable for him to do cardio, then I trust the expert's opinion. His diet would need serious tweaking. 6-8 slices of bread a day? Isn't that like, close to 900 kcal already?

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 1 2012, 10:21 PM

Oh and darklight, don't you mean 0.75g of protein per lb of bodyweight? Because 0.75 pounds is 1.6kg, so eating 1.6kg of protein per pound of bodyweight is probably equivalent to eating a whole cow's worth of protein.

Oooh, I have a question. Since I gained extra muscle size on my abs, and the side ab muscle, the lower portion of my abs seems to stick out just a tiny bit (the lowest of the 6-pack), which I haven't noticed before. Not beer gut like as you can see from my pics, but if I turn to my side you can see that bit sticking out but not really showing much. I have trouble telling whether that is fat or muscle. I won't mind if it's muscle and training my abs further will increase its size, but if its fat...well then that'll be the first time I've gained any considerable amount of body fat. I look lean enough though. I'm a bit confused. Is it just how my abdomen is built?

Oh right, thanks.

Hmmmm...it's not jiggly. When I flex all 6 of my six pack are clearly visible and pretty hard. They're actually quite visible even without me flexing but they're a bit shallow.
I think I'm gonna try and see if I'm only bloated a bit. I'm gonna drink plenty of water and go easy on the eating for just a day starting tonight. Get everything nasty out of my system, see how it goes. Then tomorrow night when I'm all nice and dehydrated and intestines have very little in them I'd look in the mirror. I see many comments in other forums on genetics (that's how the ab is built for some people), gluten intolerance, lack back muscles, over-intake of caffeine, bad habits doing sit-ups, etc. If I still have my gut sticking out, then oh well, what the heck.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 2 2012, 09:52 PM

I want your arms.

Oh, and my worries are gone! I had nothing but a few crackers, a glass of coffee and 2 eggs today. My tummy is actually quite flat.
What enhances the illusion more is my flat chest (dang). So really I was just bloated.

I need to spread out my meals a bit more.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 3 2012, 07:45 PM

Question!
Do you get those traps (near the neck) by accident or do you do any specific isolation work?

I'm still in the early stages so I don't know if will have them. In fact with my slim waist, small lats, and flat chest, having them pop out would make me look weird.
They have been getting visually bigger, and I've compared pics of me this year and last year and my traps and neck are larger now. But heck mine are so crap compared to you guys' trapezius muscles. I've seen people do shrugs using crazy weights, and side raises...what compound lifts can make them stronger and larger, are barbell rows good?

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 5 2012, 04:13 PM

Duly noted.

OMG really?
There were times when food available wasn't really any good, and they were like, freaking weird stuff and disgusting or not appetizing (I'm talking about my cafeteria at poli not long ago). I was (and still am) bulking, so I thought, "what the heck". I just learn to force down food no matter how crappy they taste, and just remember that it's nutrition. If it's nothing too bad nutrition value wise, I'd just cram it into my mouth.

Unless if by sickening you mean, literally sickening.

This post has been edited by tunertoobe: Nov 7 2012, 01:38 AM

I guess that's to provide the calories for the long and stressful flights. Good to avoid fatigue but not really for someone who's watching over their diet.