What 220lbs. At 6% Looks Like According To Dexa

[gradeaphysique]

Just had my yearly Dexa scan - 219.8lbs. at 6.1%. Gained ~18lbs. over the last year and came in at my leanest ever. Been on 0 carbs this week, should be ~230lbs. after filling up this weekend.

The redacted number is from last summer's rebound - wanted to just show dieted down numbers for comparison.

Obviously most of these results are from my training over the last 12 months, but I'm very proud that for the last 8 weeks, in the depths of dieting, I've only trained on my Bowflex. If any of you had doubts about them, they're clearly sufficient for maintaining muscle.

While I love nothing more than getting under heavy weight and pushing myself to the absolute limit, I think I'll slot in more moderate work somewhat regularly (going back to a real gym for the first time tomorrow). I feel one of the reasons I had such good gains over last year and maintained them only on a Bowflex was because my body had much less stress and fatigue from not benching 365-405lbs. every week, not Hack squatting 540-630lbs. every week, etc. I really wonder if training hard like that on previous diets actually made me lose a bit of muscle rather than retain it.

My local Dexa facility had a buy one / get one free special so I'll get another in probably 2 months on my rebound and update this thread.

Happy to answer questions on training / diet / supplementation / what I did over the last year. I've learned a lot from this board and enjoy giving back.

Love it, gives perspective to the idiots that are afraid to state they're over 20%. So many people that are fat as hell claiming 12-15%.

 

[IronLion2]

Protein:

• 35% micellar casein
• 30% grass-fed whey protein concentrate
• 20% grass-fed beef protein isolate
• 15% rBGH / soy-free whey protein isolate

Boosts:

• Multi-vitamin and mineral
• Protein enzyme
• Carb enzyme
• Probiotic

I need to hop on that rBGH train

 

[danieltx]

@airman great job! Fascinating to see the genetic differences in how we can end up in similar size and condition with such different diets. You have some years of age on me and seeing older guys in great shape is the most motivating thing for me - that's my end goal.

 

[sazo75]

Still stringy these days, but much better ha ha. Anyways here is what the 2800 calorie diet got me looking like





Not sure what bodyfat I'm here, but I think I'm pretty close to you. And again not posting pics, for a look at me, just hate guys that post what might be ridiculous claims, and never provide pics to back it up.

While calories are a big factor, so are activity levels, and AAS, how active are you throughout the day like what type of job do you have and how much cardio do you do? Also, what type of "supps/aas/ fat burners?" were you on?

 

[Capin]

Danieltx
Obviously what your doing is working but you should look into sodium loading during your zero carb cycle. It worked wonders for me!
My dexascan put me at 15% 258lbs prior to dieting for my last show.
I got down to 3.2% 217lbs by using a zero carb diet with water and sodium loading the last few weeks.

 

[jeroendebleser]

Looking great daniel, great work!

 

[airman]

@airman great job! Fascinating to see the genetic differences in how we can end up in similar size and condition with such different diets. You have some years of age on me and seeing older guys in great shape is the most motivating thing for me - that's my end goal.

Older guys!?! Stop throwing reality in my face ha ha. But thank you appreciate the props!

Also, just starting to prep for North Americans (even though my gym is still closed, borders closed, so might be pointless) and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself, and end up eating 800 calories per day lol

While calories are a big factor, so are activity levels, and AAS, how active are you throughout the day like what type of job do you have and how much cardio do you do? Also, what type of "supps/aas/ fat burners?" were you on?

As far as activity level, I barely have any. Workout first thing in the morning for about an hour. Have a 1 hour commute each way to work, and sit at a desk for 8 to 9 hours a day. So really minimal activity. My cardio for the prep was walking my dog in the evenings after work. Started at about 20 minutes per walk, and near the end it was up to about 40 minutes. Now these weren't leisure walks. Have a husky that loves walk, run, so my pace would average anywhere between 3.4mph to 3.7mph. So a pretty good pace. The last few weeks, I would do about 12 to 15 minutes bike or treadmill as a warm up prior to workout.

As far as supplements. I did 375 Test E, 300 Tren E, 300 Mast E per week. Did clen mostly through out the prep, with a week or two off here and there at 50mcg per day and got up to 100mcg per day. Last 5 or 6 weeks, build up oral winny to 100mg per day, 80mg Anavar per day. For final 7 weeks, I did try HGH for the first time experimenting at between 2iu to 4iu per day. Not sure if it actually did anything as I was already very lean. Not sure if I will even spend the money on GH this year, as I'm not sure it was worth it. (maybe expecting too much, maybe it actually was doing great and I didn't realize. I guess I will assess a few weeks into diet without it).

So overall, I don't have a high activity level, and I don't think I did anything crazy supplement wise. Hence why my opinion is that it was the eating prior to the diet that set me up to be able to diet at higher calories. That and probably my ectomorph genetics. But like I said, I had preps in the past where I wasn't as experience, chased the scale too much and was eating way below 2000 calories per day. Ended up looking horrible.

 

[cmryan]

Older guys!?! Stop throwing reality in my face ha ha. But thank you appreciate the props!

Also, just starting to prep for North Americans (even though my gym is still closed, borders closed, so might be pointless) and hopefully I didn't just jinx myself, and end up eating 800 calories per day lol

Awesome work man!

Have a husky that loves walk, run

A husky that's active? Gotta see it to believe it lol. I love huskies but if they don't get activity they'll force you into it by escaping wherever they are and running everywhere.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

The fact is, everyone is different and everyone responds to cal deficits and cardio slightly differently.

I lived in Brooklyn for 6 years and i worked out with a high level amateur (who is semi of a big name on YouTube) and he could get to 5-6% without cardio. NONE. Diet wasn't insanely low either. Then there are other guys who NEED to be doing an hour + a day to get to that level. The key is to figure out your own body....and its trial and effort and hard.

Last contest I was LOW cals AND doing around 1-1.5 hrs of cardio daily to get to 6%. No contest right now but I'm doing cardio EOD (40 mins) and strictly trying to control bodyfat with diet. I'm probably 9% right now at 260 and eating 3k on WO days and 2400 on cardio days.

It's basically playing the perfect game and trying to figure it out as you go. I think the most important factor to me was TRYING TO DO THIS in a non-competition setting....just so i could see which was easier on my body and mind. Honestly, the contest diet was brutal mentally and physically. And that type of setup is impossible to maintain. I would love to maintain 6-10% for longer....and that takes finding the perfect amount of suffering where you arent HATING LIFE and you can still kinda eat once in awhile. Just my 2 cents.

 

[danieltx]

Wanted to share some updated pics without cluttering up the Pic You Took Today thread.

I've continued keeping calories low and doing 15-30 minutes of cardio a day, but did start my rebound this week by upping protein and adding a little bit of fat in my daily diet. Adding in Karbolyn intraworkout tomorrow.

Below are some postworkout pictures from late last week. Likely came down to 5% body fat, by far my best look ever.

 

[thethinker48]

Wanted to share some updated pics without cluttering up the Pic You Took Today thread.

I've continued keeping calories low and doing 15-30 minutes of cardio a day, but did start my rebound this week by upping protein and adding a little bit of fat in my daily diet. Adding in Karbolyn intraworkout tomorrow.

Below are some postworkout pictures from late last week. Likely came down to 5% body fat, by far my best look ever.

Those goddamn quads man

Not sure if how flat you are right now, but they simply refuse to flatten out lol

 

[danieltx]

Those goddamn quads man

Not sure if how flat you are right now, but they simply refuse to flatten out lol

In all fairness it was just after finishing 12 sets of leg press, but it was Saturday and I'd only had 75 grams of Karbolyn that I consumed that morning - no carbs since the previous Sunday evening. I credit their size and volume to a lot of heavy, intense Hack squats and leg presses in the 8 - 12 range. I actually haven't Hack squatted in 5-6 weeks so I'm looking forward to how they respond on this rebound as I start squatting again.

 

[thethinker48]

In all fairness it was just after finishing 12 sets of leg press, but it was Saturday and I'd only had 75 grams of Karbolyn that I consumed that morning - no carbs since the previous Sunday evening. I credit their size and volume to a lot of heavy, intense Hack squats and leg presses in the 8 - 12 range. I actually haven't Hack squatted in 5-6 weeks so I'm looking forward to how they respond on this rebound as I start squatting again.

I joined a new gym, so for the first time I have access to a hack squat machine. Looking forward to progressively adding some weight to that exercise.

Got a bad knee (acl, and meniscus), but squatting down is getting way better now. We have a belt squat machine too which I'm happy about as well.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Wooo dude have fun.

A good hack squat changed my training forever. Took the need to squats completely out (i was a hip squatter anyways and hit 700+ that way...never any tension on my quads tho) Hacks are the best.

And belt squats?! you lucky SOB. Probably the piece of equipment I'm the most jealous of.

I joined a new gym, so for the first time I have access to a hack squat machine. Looking forward to progressively adding some weight to that exercise.

Got a bad knee (acl, and meniscus), but squatting down is getting way better now. We have a belt squat machine too which I'm happy about as well.

 

[maldorf]

Wooo dude have fun.

A good hack squat changed my training forever. Took the need to squats completely out (i was a hip squatter anyways and hit 700+ that way...never any tension on my quads tho) Hacks are the best.

And belt squats?! you lucky SOB. Probably the piece of equipment I'm the most jealous of.

I agree. Hacks work great if you use the right foot placement to take some stress off the knees. They feel great! Belt squats are a favorite of mine also. Its too bad that more guys don't get to use the belt squat. Its the only exercise that feels like it's going to shred my quads right off the bone, in a good way.

 

[USMuscle9403]

I'm jealous of the hack squats alone. Probably my favorite quads exercise and my current gym lacks one

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I felt like i couldnt do Hacks for years because of the sheering force on my knees. It was brutal at the bottom. But honestly, with the addition of some bands to unload a little at the bottom, it feels 1000% better. Far too many guys bounce out of the bottom and really put bad tension on their knees. I did this for years and it didn't help leg growth much at all. I've had to humble myself quite a few times on hacks.

I agree. Hacks work great if you use the right foot placement to take some stress off the knees. They feel great! Belt squats are a favorite of mine also. Its too bad that more guys don't get to use the belt squat. Its the only exercise that feels like it's going to shred my quads right off the bone, in a good way.

 

[IronLion2]

I felt like i couldnt do Hacks for years because of the sheering force on my knees. It was brutal at the bottom. But honestly, with the addition of some bands to unload a little at the bottom, it feels 1000% better. Far too many guys bounce out of the bottom and really put bad tension on their knees. I did this for years and it didn't help leg growth much at all. I've had to humble myself quite a few times on hacks.

Everyone rolls their hips forward and dump the weight on the knee, it's more of a knee extension than a squat. I have a panic attack watching newbs hack.


@danieltx plz stop with the updates you're making me impatient to start my reverse diet. JK, how'd you use the humulin?

 

[danieltx]

To clarify one thing on Hack squats, I don't like the traditional sleds - just can't hit my quads that good on them. This is the Freemotion Hack squat I prefer:

And Hammer Strength has a linear Hack press that also hits my quads pretty well:

**broken link removed**

@danieltx plz stop with the updates you're making me impatient to start my reverse diet. JK, how'd you use the humulin?

Just like last year, I'll start with Humulin R preworkout since I'm now adding Karbolyn intraworkout. I do 10 grams creatine / 28 grams EAAs (4 servings Purple Wraath) / 75 - 150 grams Karbolyn depending on body part being trained.

As I add more carbs to my daily diet, I'll add more Humulin R around meals as needed. And on weekends it's obviously in play with cheat meals.

 

[maldorf]

Everyone rolls their hips forward and dump the weight on the knee, it's more of a knee extension than a squat. I have a panic attack watching newbs hack.


@danieltx plz stop with the updates you're making me impatient to start my reverse diet. JK, how'd you use the humulin?

Need to place the feet out toward the end of the foot plate too.