[Weee]

Hi Everyone,

My name Is Ken, I just turned 25 years old, and I weigh about 177lb this morning and about 3 weeks ago I was measured at 23% bodyfat. About 4 months ago I was 200lb and in the worst shape of my life with 27% body fat. The body fat measurements were done by caliper and I have a bad tendency to have a lot of belly fat, so I'm not 100% sure about the measurement, but the relative number matters to me more.

In September I completed the Long Beach Sprint Triathlon, so I enjoy swimming, cycling, and running.

Up to and during the entire training period for the triathlon, except the last two weeks beforehand, I was eating approximately 1600 net calories a day (factoring in exercise using dietpower calculator) and I didn't do any weight training for two months.

After the triathlon, I was within 1lb of my original goal weight, of 175lb as a result of the training and hard dieting. The previous time when I was in shape about 3 years ago, I was down to 162lb and I had no muscle definition, and this time I decided that I didn't want to look "skinny" I'm eating somewhere between 2000 and 2400 calories a day now, and slightly gaining weight. I'm also in the early stages of training for the L.A. Marathon in March. All of my weight training is equal to or exceeded my pre-diet performance, actually everything is exceeding but my chest, which was lagging for a while but is showing signs of life (I added a dumbbell press so I can work to exhaustion without a spotter more easily and also balance my two sides more)

I take a whey protein shake with skim milk first thing in the mornign and last thing before I go to bed, and I always have a large chicken breast for dinner with or without vegetables, and a bowl of rice, chicken, and veggies for lunch. I eat a nature valley sweet and salty peanut bar for breakfast after the shake. I snack during the day because I always feel hungry now, usually a bar or some fruit.

Ok, so to the point, my thoughts are, since I want to gain muscle, and lose fat, that I will have miniature building and cutting phases. Basically, if I reach 180lb, I will cut back my calories (mostly carbs) until I reach 175lb. I'll measure my body fat each time I reach 175lb, and I hope it will be lower at each go.

I lift two days a week,

Day 1:
Chest, Triceps, Quads
Dumbbell flat press: 1 Set 8 rep
Barbell flat press: 3 sets 6-8 reps
Butterfly Machine: 3 sets 8-10 reps
Dips: 12 8-10 6-8
Tricep Pulldown (Rope): 3 sets 6-8 reps
Leg Extensions: 3 sets 10 reps (sometimes 1 leg at a time, sometimes both)

Day 2:
Back, Biceps, Hamstrings, Abs
Pullups (Wide Grip): As many as I can focused on lats
Pulldowns: 3 sets 8 reps
Rows (Various types): 3 sets 8-10 reps
Concentration Curls: 3 sets 8 reps
Leg Curl: 3 sets 10 reps (sometimes 1 leg at a time, sometimes both)
Chinups: As many as I can focused on biceps

Optional:
Preacher Curls

I also do abs and shoulders on alternating days depending on what I have time for, and I use a Powerball Gyro Exerciser for forearm and grip strengthening, which has actually helped quite a bit.

I run 2-3x a week at least 3 miles per run and more on sundays, working up toward that marathon. 8 min/mile is my cruising jog pace, and I"m workign that down to 7 hopefully over the next few months. My best 5k time so far was 22:30 but I think I would do more in the 21 minute range now.

I'm Feeling very longwinded and undirected here, but I'm introducing myself, and sort of layign out my goals for me to see also, I was going to post this in the chat but I decided to move it here, hope it's the right place.