SWMassman Leans Out...

[SWMassMan]

After hitting a high of 322 lbs., I decided it was time to lean out. The most recent pics here are of me at were taken yesterday at 307 pounds, a loss of about 15 lbs in one month.

Since my arms remained 21" and my pants are way looser, I'm hoping the majority of the loss is fat from my middle.

This whole leaning out process is new for me, but I'm enjoying the results and the feedback from others who notice the improvements. I'll keep this up until I don't like how big I look...the whole point of this is to look bigger. :-)

Still lots of work to do, but I am encouraged....

[brent]

I love the thickness, but you still look great. Your arms are still HUGE!!!

[digger]

Congratulations! Was the Arnold weekend good inspiration?

[SWMassMan]

Oh yeah...people kept telling me I looked huge, but I know that leaning out will make me look even bigger!

[strongman2006]

Originally Posted by SWMassMan

Oh yeah...people kept telling me I looked huge, but I know that leaning out will make me look even bigger!

Keep at it, buddy! You're definitely showing more definition in the arms. Guess I better follow suit.

[SWMassMan]

Down to 299 pounds as of yesterday...lowest I've been in a couple of years. Arms are still 21" though, so yay for me!

Here's a before back shot taken January 31, 2009


and here's a similar pose from yesterday...

[SWMassMan]

Almost 40 lbs gone mostly from around the middle...

Here are a couple of more candid shots from this last week....

Charlie and I getting ready for dinner...no wonder we're so happy!



Want a piece of this, punk?

[atomicmuscle]

Hey SWMassMan !
I posted an Expo photo you shot
on my thread.
I mentioned that you had a Flicker gallery with a million of photos...
...so, if you get a ton of messages requesting a link, you'll know why.

Hope all is well
-AM

[SWMassMan]

Taken tonight 5/25 @ 274 pounds.

[SWMassMan]

Taken this weekend on an abandoned road off I-17 in Arizona...

[brent]

I'm glad you're still big!

[SWMassMan]

Oh yeah....leaner means looking bigger! ;-) At least that's my goal...

[chicken legs]

Originally Posted by SWMassMan

Almost 40 lbs gone mostly from around the middle...

Here are a couple of more candid shots from this last week....

Charlie and I getting ready for dinner...no wonder we're so happy!



Want a piece of this, punk?

Yes I'll have a slice..please

[SWMassMan]

Here's a before and after back shot. Pretty good, if I do say so myself...but just wait a few more months!

[Mdlftr]

Wow! 45# trimmed, along with 9" from your waist -- Great v-taper!


Good on you!

Mdlftr

[RyBearATL]

Uh...wow! Excellent!

[SWMassMan]

Side chest this time. Just a little of the belly left to go....

[RyBearATL]

I know you probably think of yourself as "smaller" but you look a lot healthier, too. That much weight must have side effects....

[SWMassMan]

Let me know what you guys think. I'm liking the new me more and more...

[arpeejay]

You're looking great, John! Keep up the good work!

xoxo

Richard

[wolfotehmoon]

Impressive. You're dropping it like it's hot! (Note: I apologize, it was the first thing to come to my mind :P)

[SWMassMan]

One from earlier this month, beginning of August. About 256 pounds here....

[condemned88]

Originally Posted by SWMassMan

One from earlier this month, beginning of August. About 256 pounds here....

You're turning yourself into a beast! Looking great!!!!!!!!!!!!

[arpeejay]

Looking good, John! Yer a monster!

xoxo

Richard

[SWMassMan]

Here's a new before and after. New pic is from this weekend where I am 11 weeks out from my first bodybuilding show. Before pic is one year ago. All in all, I never thought I could do something like this...glad I was wrong!

[RyBearATL]

Keep it up! You're doing fantastic. I'm really looking forward to you in competition shape!

[strongman2006]

John,

You're doing GREAT, buddy! You've inspired not only me but many on this board.

Thanks for showing your dedication to all of us.

Rick

P.S. I guess I should keep the "Real Life Morphs" thread alive with new pics of me leaning out to 306 lbs.

[SWMassMan]

I decided to go on a mini-bulker for a couple of months while my training partner gets ready for a bench press contest at the Mr. Olympia this year. The key here is to stay as lean as I can while adding muscle.

Here I am about a month into it. I'm now 245 pounds. How's it look?

[wolfotehmoon]

O_o Wow. I'd say you're doing a pretty awesome job! It's crazy how much your physique has changed. How big are your arms? 18, 19"?

[RyBearATL]

Looks excellent to me! Keep it up.

[BIGJOEY]

bro this may sound like i am trying to be a ass but when you were 319 you looked like every other big fat guy out there. you didnt build any quality muscle which is evident when you leaned down. to be honest you need to bring your body fat down some more before you do any more bulking. your still high in body fat and i would venture to say 20% or maybe more.
If your trying to build lean muscle you are approaching it the wrong way. trust me we all have made that mistake its how you correct it that counts.

[CelticMuscle]

On 06-08-2010 you said "New pic is from this weekend where I am 11 weeks out from my first bodybuilding show". Now I expect that 06/08/2010 = June 8 2010 (because American dates are backwards to the UK, month first then date), which puts 11 weeks later as August 24th 2010. However yesterday then you then announced "I decided to go on a mini-bulker for a couple of months while my training partner gets ready for a bench press contest at the Mr. Olympia this year".

Could I therefore ask which of the following is correct?

a) You couldn't commit to the contest due to the fact that you wanted to get big and not ripped?
b) The contest was too expensive?
c) Something else?

[SWMassMan]

Originally Posted by CelticMuscle

On 06-08-2010 you said "New pic is from this weekend where I am 11 weeks out from my first bodybuilding show". Now I expect that 06/08/2010 = June 8 2010 (because American dates are backwards to the UK, month first then date), which puts 11 weeks later as August 24th 2010. However yesterday then you then announced "I decided to go on a mini-bulker for a couple of months while my training partner gets ready for a bench press contest at the Mr. Olympia this year".

Could I therefore ask which of the following is correct?

a) You couldn't commit to the contest due to the fact that you wanted to get big and not ripped?
b) The contest was too expensive?
c) Something else?

C. Something else. I got down to 225 pounds at around 10% but had lots of loose skin that wasn't going to tighten up by showtime. My coach and I decided that trying to do a lean bulk might help add some muscle to fill out the loose skin. There are always other shows and I want to do this right.

[SWMassMan]

Originally Posted by BIGJOEY

bro this may sound like i am trying to be a ass but when you were 319 you looked like every other big fat guy out there. you didnt build any quality muscle which is evident when you leaned down. to be honest you need to bring your body fat down some more before you do any more bulking. your still high in body fat and i would venture to say 20% or maybe more.
If your trying to build lean muscle you are approaching it the wrong way. trust me we all have made that mistake its how you correct it that counts.

No comment. Thanks for your response.

[inm]

Originally Posted by BIGJOEY

bro this may sound like i am trying to be a ass but when you were 319 you looked like every other big fat guy out there. you didnt build any quality muscle which is evident when you leaned down. to be honest you need to bring your body fat down some more before you do any more bulking. your still high in body fat and i would venture to say 20% or maybe more.
If your trying to build lean muscle you are approaching it the wrong way. trust me we all have made that mistake its how you correct it that counts.

BJ, I seriously suggest you read the threads I posted somewhere else here, esp. this one:
http://tnation.t-nation.com/free_onl...55650&pageNo=1

All the big natural guys there admit, finally, that even if they eat clean and keep lean now, they all went through a period of "heavy bulking" in their early phase. That's the reality of becoming big naturally. My own experience confirms, that until I 'agreed' to be and look fat for a while (even if not to SWMassMan's level), things just didn't budge. when I leaned out (even though not to competition level at all), all the hard work paid off.

my Endomorph body simply feels 'at home' being 14-17%, and to grow I need to get above that. That's the hand I was dealt, and it took me some years to understand and stop resist it. Now I enjoy the results

[BIGJOEY]

like most you missed the whole point of my post. but its cool. as for your link to t-nation . whats your point? we aren't discussing you. i was refering to his bulk and how guys get number crazy with out building muscle the proper way. btw nobody really uses the ecto, meso ,endo terms any more. Any good well trained pt or conditioning coach would be using the type 1 a , 2a, 2b, 2c classifications . not going to get into some pissing match over this. just saying doing a bulk for the sake of it with out gettting results is not the smart thing to do. you end up wasting time and in the end have nothing to show for it, nuff said

[inm]

Originally Posted by BIGJOEY

like most you missed the whole point of my post. but its cool. as for your link to t-nation . whats your point? we aren't discussing you. i was refering to his bulk and how guys get number crazy with out building muscle the proper way. btw nobody really uses the ecto, meso ,endo terms any more. Any good well trained pt or conditioning coach would be using the type 1 a , 2a, 2b, 2c classifications . not going to get into some pissing match over this. just saying doing a bulk for the sake of it with out gettting results is not the smart thing to do. you end up wasting time and in the end have nothing to show for it, nuff said

I apologize if I articulated too strong.. no intention for a match of any type, BJ . its just that I meet this "I want my abs throughout the mass process" attitude, that is holding many people back, very often. SWMassMan's case (sorry, SWMassMan ) may not the best example, but I do think the concept holds true.
Repects.

p.s. the link is not about me. (I wish!)