My transformation - One Year and 60lb of Muscle Later!

[achilles]

Hey there,

This is my first post on these boards - long time lurker. But I'm on the cusp of celebrating one year since I first started bodybuilding with the aim of getting HUGE and well... it's been such an incredible journey, I thought you guys might like to hear about it!

My stats on September 15th 2006 were:
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 163lb
Arm (flexed): 14"
BF: 12%

As you might imagine by looking at those numbers, I was skinny like a rake. Always had been - if I was ever teased at school, it was because compared to the other boys, I was a stick. But even from a young age, I dreamed of putting that behind me - becoming huge like the bodybuilders I admired in muscle mags. Thing was I didn't think I'd ever be able to do it. Those guys had genes I didn't, right? I would have loved to have joined a gym, but I had no confidence in my body. Flash forward to 2006, and even co-workers are still making mention of how skinny I was. So I decided - I've had this dream long enough, it was time to do something about it!

I don't know quite how to preface the result of my first year's training, so I'll just start off with the stats. As of today, my stats are:
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 220lb
Arm (Flexed): 18"
BF: 14%

And here is my BEFORE and AFTER photo to show you what that looks like!
http://pics.livejournal.com/ccroft/pic/000ahch7

Before: March 2006: 155lb, 13.75 inch arms. After: May 2007: 205lb, 17.5 inch arms

To say I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd get so big, so fast would be an understatement! When I started training last year, honest to god, I said to myself "Hm, I don't want to be unrealistic. I'll aim for 18" arms by the time I'm 30." After two months of working out at home though with free weights, I knew I was on to something, as by November my arms had gotten to 16". I posted a video on YouTube showing off my guns (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9nuHW1dcOc), and the response was really encouraging!

But a lot of other muscles werent developing at all - there's only so much you can do at home. So in order to take my physique and training to the next level, I did what was for me, the unthinkable... I joined a gym! It was a big deal for me when I signed up on December the 1st, and I was nervous as heck - but luckily for me I found a great place, and met the incredibly friendly owner who was an ex-champion competitive bodybuilder himself. The real training began!

Over the next few months my muscles continued responding to all the training and GROWING like crazy - I was going five days a week, eating loads. Often I get up at 3am to train before starting work. I began posting bi-monthly bodybuilding progress updates on my YouTube account (http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=croftinnz) and people watched me grow! Before I knew it I was swelling up to 180lb, then 190lb, and finally in March I broke the 200lb barrier, with peaked arms at 17"! But I didn't rest on my laurels and just the other day I got a measurement of 18" after an arm workout. Goal achieved 7 years early!

In real life though, to say others have 'noticed' the change though would be an understatement. People sure do take notice when you suddenly change and pack on so much muscle so fast! As I mentioned in my bodybuilding blog the other day, I have so many stories to share now about comments on my new size that I could fill pages every week. Customers, co-workers began to make comments about December - the kind of totally without prompting "Hey, you've been working out!" kind of stuff. Its been a steady progression of more and more remarks since then, and nowadays the common reaction from people I knew is one of disbelief - especially if they haven't seen me for awhile! Some people keep saying they think I'm on steroids, and they don't believe me when I tell them I'm not! Others ask me when I'm going to compete myself. Some people will feel my arms when they talk about how big I'm getting - totally without asking I might add! Random comments from strangers in the street? You bet! One time I was just walking to work in the summertime - and as a car full of teenagers cruised past, they started yelling out "Ahnold! Ahnuuuullld!" It took me awhile to wonder what they were doing - my name isn't Arnold! But then I realised they were comparing me to Mr. Schwartzenegger himself. Not bad for a guy who was being called skinny still just the previous year.

One of the last highlights of my transformation I have to mention is how my wardrobe has changed. I used to wear size M t-shirts as standard. Then they started getting TOO tight - so I started buying size L. But, seriously, I began getting too big for those! These days its XL as standard. My old clothes look like they belong to my nonexistent little brother. Just recently I reached a GREAT milestone, and I busted the sleeve of one of my old size L shirts with a bicep flex - it's been viewed 21,000+ times on YouTube, maybe some of you guys have seen it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGalZ1IdwXU

In short - its all been a dream come true. In April next year I'm going to break another previously unthinkable barrier, and compete for the first time. I've been building size and mass so far, but I'm not far off switching my focus to getting ripped. And I'm not going to stop bodybuilding - no way! If this is what I can do with one year, give me two, give me three... give me the lifetime I have ahead of me! There's no such thing as too big in my book. My BF has enjoyed the transformation too ;-)

That's about it. Sorry this post was so long, but I've been meaning to write it for awhile. I've also kept a photo progress gallery of the last year (pretty much) at http://pics.livejournal.com/ccmuscle/.

Peace,
- Croftinnz (Achilles).

[Londonboy]

Achilles,

To say you look fantastic is an understatement. To say "job well done" does not come close to capturing the awe you have inspired. I hope you know that your story, your sharing, and your achievements will help many other people to continue to aim for their goals. Congratulations and keep up the awesome work.

Londonboy

[indygary]

awesome change, congrats. i've been following your videos for a while now. added you on LJ.

[1bigwoof]

Hello Achilles,

I've followed your youtube progress for awhile. It's great to know that you've been on the forum here as well. Thanks for taking the time to post and introduce yourself to the others who weren't acquainted with you yet.

Your dedication to the iron is evident. Seeing the pics makes your transformation all the more enjoyable. I look forward to continuing to follow your transformation to hugeness. 18" down...20" to go! Keep up the good work!

[monstermusclebe]

Awesome work dude -- but I invite you to think about sticking it out in the gym and in the kitchen for another year before you think about competing. Not because you can't do it or don't have the looks/muscles for it, but because competing takes away from your muscle growth for 3-6 months! Go for more size and mass FIRST, dude. Then show the world your stuff another year from now -- after you truly know you ARE a bodybuilder for yourself FIRST and for OTHERS second.

[jcnutt]

Achilles aka Croftinnz.. I have been watching your progress on youtube and I am also amazed at your rapid growth. Looks like you found the right mix to take a very solid body and turjn it into a very powerful and muscular body builder to be... keep up the great work, and keep going a bit longer..more mass, always more mass, then rip it down to shreds and you will have great success.

[nvb2]

Very inspiring, and an awesome change. Good luck for your future goals and progress.

[omelissokomos]

Congratulations on your transformation Croftinnz. Like a couple of other guys here, I too have been following your progress on YouTube, which has been phenomenal to say the least. Thanks for sharing your experiences which I'm sure has been and will be an inspiration to others.

[arpeejay]

It's great to see you here, Croft. As with so many others, I've been following your progress avidly. You're our own musclegrowth fantasy come to life and the longer you keep it up, the happier we'll be! I'm looking forward to seeing you at 300 lbs. in about a year and a half!

xoxo

Richard

[Corwin]

Totally amazing transformation. Keep growing!

[Speaker]

Keep it up and keep us all posted! I for one wanna see you hit 250!

[achilles]

Wow, thanks for all the replies so far! I didn't know how my post would go down. Amazing that so many of you had already picked me up on YouTube!

Like I said before, its early days for my bodybuilding and growth so far, and I'm really excited about the possibilities (and stats) that lie ahead!

I'm not planning on cutting until about January 08 - that gives me another solid 4-5 months of bulking and building mass yet! I want to continue to get bigger and bigger continually too, but there WILL come a point when shedding some fat will have to take place... sigh! Getting bigger is so much fun ;-) But to be honest, a year's mass building cycle +60lb, with only a 2% change in BF? I'm certainly happy about that! I just want to get my feet wet with my first comp - it'd be easy to put it off for ages and keep chickening out ;-) But by the time I enter I'll have been training for about a year and a half solidly - doesn't feel so early. I have a couple of coaches at the gym - those ex-champion bodybuilders I talked about - who are helping me prep, and they were trying to encourage me to enter a comp this August (Just gone last weekend actually). I definitely wanted to give myself more time though, and I think it's gonna pay off - we'll see come April 08!

For my first anniversary, I was aiming to be 220lb, and I met that - though when I set my goal last year, it was 200lb (and had to revise it upwards!). Now I'm aiming to be at 240lb this time in 2008, but I keep surprising myself, so who knows! ;-)

I'll leave you with one last little fun factoid - my close family, my parents and sister, uncles and aunts etc live on the other side of the world, since I emmigrated to New Zealand a few years ago. They only get to see me every few years, we correspond via phone and email, and they last saw me Feb 2006. I have been DELIBERATELY keeping my bodybuilding & transformation a secret from them... so that when I return home in 2008 (December), they will get the SURPRISE OF THEIR LIFE !

Peace,
Croftinnz

P.S. Any questions or requests, just hit me up! I love to talk and share :-)

[not2bright]

Croft, I've been following your progress on YouTube for a while now. You've made some great progress and are a true inspiration.

Keep it up!

[Jace]

That is so awesome! Congrats on all of your success!

[jackedgunz]

All I can say is un freakin believable. How much time do u spend workin out during a week? Keep up the great work!

[thufirhawat]

Wow...very nice and impressing work on the muscle take! Keep on the great transformations!!!

and thanks for sharing it with us

[SteepMike81]

buddy, that is totally awesome and VERY inspiring for us little guys who are looking to gain muscle. keep up the good work!

[Bazorba]

Another one here who has been following your progress on YouTube, and I am impressed.

I also read your stuff on LJ, and you are as eloquent as you are handsome/beautiful/whatever you want to call it

[arpeejay]

What's "L J"?

xoxo

richard

[omelissokomos]

Originally Posted by arpeejay

What's "L J"?

LiveJournal.

http://ccroft.livejournal.com/
http://ccmuscle.livejournal.com/

[achilles]

Heh, well, there go my blog addresses.

Welcome to anyone who adds me on LJ. I think the CCroft one in particular demonstrates there's more to my life than muscle, as some might be led to believe! My first calling was as a writer anyway... but muscle has attracted me more of a following, somehow

[msclundylvr]

Achilles, I'm curious. You look so fantastic and your progress is simply amazing, but what is your "Achilles heel." I mean seriously, you are quite the stud. Could you possibly have a flaw like the myth?

[achilles]

Originally Posted by msclundylvr

Achilles, I'm curious. You look so fantastic and your progress is simply amazing, but what is your "Achilles heel." I mean seriously, you are quite the stud. Could you possibly have a flaw like the myth?

Oh god! If I have a fatal flaw, it must surely be reading The Evolution Forum too much now. This site has always been right up my alley... and aware of that, I probably only looked at it once every six months.

But since posting this thread, I've been back more... (often checking in the morning before training). And of course, I can't resist perusing the MGS section... and then suddenly, I don't want to go to the gym anymore. I tend to get *ahem* pre-occupied. So in answer to your inquiry, if I have a flaw, its enjoying Muscle Growth too much ;-)

As the bonus aside, I actually first picked up the nick 'Achilles' for online use, because I thought Brad Pitt in that role in the movie Troy was the hottest thing ever. True!

[Notbigenuff]

I'll add my congratulations too. Quite a remarkable change and I'm glad that you decided to show it off here where it would be most appreciated! Pretty cool when you can be your own muscle growth story. Good luck!

[massingUP]

Hey Achilles,

Will just add my voice to the chorus here and say congratulations on your remarkable transformation -- like so many here, I've been watching for a while on YouTube, but it's always interesting to get the backstory.

Thanks so much for posting, and here's looking forward to that 240# goal next: after that, the sky's the limit!

- J.

[msclundylvr]

Originally Posted by achilles

As the bonus aside, I actually first picked up the nick 'Achilles' for online use, because I thought Brad Pitt in that role in the movie Troy was the hottest thing ever. True!

Well, I believe I know what movie I will be renting next...

[nj.]

Your 'before' image looks exactly like me right now. I just started really trying to do something about it, and if I still needed motivation you certainly provided that here!

Awesome. Congrats!

[Mdlftr]

Achilles!

I just came across this whole string and read back and to the LJ strings.


Your size and Strength gains are AMAZING! It's great to read and see such amazingly quick progress such as yours! I'm 6'3" myself and weighed around 150# at your age. I'm around 206# now in my late 40s and, while I don't work out as often or as consistently as you do (job, family, many other demands on my time), I am still making progress. It's taken me 20+ years to get to this point, with lots of digressions along the way. Your posts "sort of" answer the question, "what would happen if I lifted really consistently and focused exclusively on getting bigger."

Good luck with your future progress!

Mdlftr

[DaBigGuy1]

Hello Achilles,

I just stumbled across your post, and all I can say is congrats!! Isn't it the greatest feeling to get to that goal, and an even greater excitement to plot and plan to grow bigger and bigger still?

I know the feeling all too well...... it's FANTASTIC!

Keep us posted and keep getting bigger and better for many many years to come!

Max Lifts!

Ron IIII------IIII

http://start.at/ronsplace

[achilles]

Thanks again everybody :-)

I just dropped by this thread again because I just passed the official one-year training anniversary (Sept 15th), and I put together this image as a comparison. Here ya go :-)

http://pics.livejournal.com/ccroft/pic/000bczx6

Still feels like I'm dreaming sometimes... never expected this kind of size change to happen to ME

[gogr2]

DAMN!!!! That's awesome.... Love the fact that you are wearing the same necklace, but it is much tighter on you in the second pic...

Keep it up big guy!

[bigbearny]

Dude! you're a beast! and damned sexy too

[WorshipMuscle]

Congratulations Bro!
Your gains are amazing. Must feel awesome with that muscle you've got.
Keep going.

[hulkoutlvr]

OMG, how hot is that? WOW! You are definitely a hottie, and cute as hell to boot! I too love the comparison of the necklace in both pics. Now if we could just get you to model one of your pre-bodybuilding shirts for us. . . .

[vlad]

it's crazy, it's seriously like something out of one of the stories on here. I must reiterate the "omg you're so hot" sentiments being tossed around, btw. And you sound like my neuroscience prof (also from NZ) in your youtube vids. Can't wait to see what happens to you next!

[DaBigGuy1]

Originally Posted by achilles

Thanks again everybody :-)

I just dropped by this thread again because I just passed the official one-year training anniversary (Sept 15th), and I put together this image as a comparison. Here ya go :-)

http://pics.livejournal.com/ccroft/pic/000bczx6

Still feels like I'm dreaming sometimes... never expected this kind of size change to happen to ME

And coming from the same school of "skinny", I know EXACTLY how you feel... it is like being in a dream state, even to this day. You wake up and sometimes it is hard to believe that it is your massive body you are waking up inside of ... it feels GREAT, doesn't it?

Hence, "Muscle Growth"

Ron III---III

[strongman2006]

Originally Posted by DaBigGuy1

And coming from the same school of "skinny", I know EXACTLY how you feel... it is like being in a dream state, even to this day. You wake up and sometimes it is hard to believe that it is your massive body you are waking up inside of ... it feels GREAT, doesn't it?

Hence, "Muscle Growth"

Ron III---III

Here's something simple I do to keep me motivated and you can try it too. Despite being over 300 lbs. and quite solid, I push myself for greater gains and visualizing what more I can become. And one single quote from a popular video game does it for me as I keep repeating it every night before I go to sleep and still works to this day:

"I'm NOT a person anymore ... I'm THE HULK!"

-- from the prologue of "The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction" video game

[tarmangani]

A very impressive before and after. Congratulations. I like the way that chain now accentuates you big bull neck.

[zho]

Hah, it's so weird to see you on here Croft :P Internet's a small place it would seem. I keep track of your videos on youtube from time to time (I asked about Juno Reactor once :P) and I gotta say, you're making some great progress, good on you. Can't wait to see contest-ready pics. :P

[menergy]

What a transformation. You have given me inspiration to finally grow the muscles and get huge.