How can I get a physique like this guy?

[unexpected]

my point is, most people stop working far short of their genetic potential, and then blame their genetic potential for the difference.

Very, very few people are willing to work hard enough to reach their genetic potential. People will work out 5x a week, go plaster themselves on the weekends, eat McDonald's, then when they don't get a 6 pack, they blame their genetic.

To take you for an example (I love you....), you keep calling yourself an extreme ectomorph, but we really have yet to see what happens when you follow a proper diet. Maybe, instead of being an extreme ectomorph, you've just trained yourself not eat a lot? And maybe, I'm not an extreme endomorph- I just loved to eat? Maybe, just maybe....we're morphs?

Seriously, though, if it's August, and you complain about being 120 lbs, and you still haven't tracked your diet and calories, I'm going to stab you with a fork. Man up, get off the computer, and go have a protein shake, right now.

You should be good at this! If you can stomach that spirullena and chlorena garbage, you can definitely consume more protein shakes to gain weight.

 

[javyn]

ROFL, touche. Well if it makes you happy, I had 4 eggs, oatmeal, and some spirulina for breakfast. I save the whey for later because whey first thing in the morning ***** me all up to where I just don't want to eat until 4 pm. I definitely think I've trained myself badly from a young age. My meals start out miniscule in the morning and get progressively larger until dinner, that one meal alone is over half my daily calorie count usually. I think my best bet is cutting my huge dinners in half so I can eat more, early on, the next day. edit: I think the way I've always eaten is now called "The Warrior Diet", but I definitely don't look like a Warrior....

 

[unexpected]

that makes me only mildy happy. Why don't you throw in some turkey bacon with that breakfast? or some lox?

 

[robertorex]

Originally Posted by javyn

My diet is just horrible, that's my problem.
FTFY. I've learned that diet makes such a huge difference in terms of your results in the gym. The most important thing is being able to control your food supply. Buying and cooking your own food is the first step to looking however you want to look. You may feel you don't have time to cook, but I used to think that way too and I realized it was just an excuse for not cooking. Once you get in the habit it becomes a lot of fun.

 

[javyn]

Yeah. I started early this week to make a concerted effort to eliminate as much fat as possible in my diet, so I can replace that stomach real estate with protein and low GI carbs.

 

[Coldsnap]

lol, you can look like this in 3 months. ******, its all genetics.

 

[robertorex]

Originally Posted by javyn

Yeah. I started early this week to make a concerted effort to eliminate as much fat as possible in my diet, so I can replace that stomach real estate with protein and low GI carbs.

I've done the opposite and eliminated as much carbs, low GI or otherwise in my diet in favor of protein and fats, especially saturated. I find that I'm actually losing fat now. I think I just respond well to low-carb diets.

 

[unexpected]

Originally Posted by Coldsnap

lol, you can look like this in 3 months. ******, its all genetics.

Thank you for intelligently contributing to this discussion.

 

[awxg]

Isn't there a Penn & Teller Bullshit episode explaining how this really is just genetics for the extremely unfortunate?

 

[ppllzz]

Genes!!!!

(as has been said many times before)

 

[turbozed]

Originally Posted by javyn

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Always assumed that the static contractions my abs got from the compound lifts was plenty enough stimulation, but what's the harm in digging out the ab wheel and giving it a try.

While your abs will get stronger from the static contractions from the compound lifts, most strength programs say that you can toss em in at the end of your workouts if you like. You want to do a good amount of tough isometric exercises instead of a million pushups though.

From the SS Wiki:

What ab exercises should I do, and how should I do them?

Volumes have been written on this subject, so I will briefly explain a few good ab exercises

1. NS Situps - (NS = Needsize, the creator of this exercise) - lie on a slant board, start at the up position, lower yourself until your upper body is parallel to the ground, hold for 5 seconds, return to the top. Add weight to your chest (i.e. hold a plate or DB or a sandbag across your chest)

1. Leg raises from a chinup bar

1. Leg raises on a slantboard

1. Ab pulldowns

Do you really want your abs to show?

 

[turbozed]

Originally Posted by robertorex

I've done the opposite and eliminated as much carbs, low GI or otherwise in my diet in favor of protein and fats, especially saturated. I find that I'm actually losing fat now. I think I just respond well to low-carb diets.

Me too. Carbs were the worst for me in terms of energy levels and body composition. I've been on my low carb (< 50 grams) diet for a while. I eat when I want to, and in large quantities. Since then I've lost about an inch and a half from my waist (I can wear my size 29 jeans I bought in Shanghai again) but my bodyweight has remained the same. I think this is a good indicator that I'm shedding bodyfat and retaining lean muscle mass.

Personally, my body responds better to this diet than a simple caloric deficit diet. Before doing this, I was eating only twice a day and really not getting much nutrition. Instead of losing weight, I was storing fat around my stomach and my body reacted by slowing down my metabolism and lowering my energy levels.

Here's a good video explaining insulin response and fat storage in very simple terms:

 

[MetroStyles]

Has anyone actually put on slabs of muscle on a low-carb diet? Obviously such a diet can work wonders for losing fat, but I wonder about it for bulking.

 

[rjmaiorano]

^^ That was a funny video.

 

[rjmaiorano]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Has anyone actually put on slabs of muscle on a low-carb diet? Obviously such a diet can work wonders for losing fat, but I wonder about it for bulking.

I don't see it happening.