Scroll down to check out my progress. It has been slow but steady. If you have been reading my last updates, you’ll know that I was still on my fat-cutting phrase when I stopped working on this blog more than a year back. Ever since, the new job commitment and the girl-friend commitment, in addition to cooking for and taking after myself for the first time in my life, have not been the most conducive to my training, to put it nicely.

But to cut to the point, I am generally happy with my progress so far. I have gotten stronger, much stronger, while cutting down a good amount of fat, and am looking much more ribbed.

CAUTION: I am not suggesting that you should try cutting fat and gaining strength at the same time. This is something I do because it seems to work for me and because I have no other choice. I would have a good week of working out, gaining some weights along the way, and lose pretty much all of it on the weekends when I am with my girlfriend and cannot eat properly. I noticed this pattern and was okay to go along with it since I see myself still getting stronger while leaner at the same time, though the progress was very slow. Trust me, given the chance, I’d rather focus on one thing at a time.

Sorry to jump off on that caution, but I think it is important to take note of that. Now, here is the most important part: how I have been training in the last year and a half.

For the a good part of one year, I basically was very successful with losing weights while maintaining my strength. For an ectomorph, losing weights is easy, but the tricky part is keeping the muscle while shredding only fat. At first, I continued to train with the four major compound exercises (Deadlift, Squat, Bench Press, and Press) along with other assistant exercises. Then for a few months, I kept only Squat and Deadlift and incorporated P90X. All of these got me no stronger, and even though I was still losing some fat, I knew I could do better.

The answer was 5/3/1: The Simplest and Most Effective Training System to Increase Raw Strength by Jim Wendler. It was the shortest book on training I have ever read, but three pages in and I knew I have finally found it–the program that would got me out of my plateau. Check out my more detailed review of the book and my progress from it here.

For now, check out my latest photos.

• I am still on my cutting-fat phase
• I have cut 7 pounds in the last 8 weeks. I should cut more than 7 pounds in 8 weeks. But since losing weights (even though just fat) is just the opposite of what I have been trying to do for so long,  I think 7 is a good number. Especially for an ectomorph, losing weights (muscle) is such a dreadful thought, subconsciously I still don’t want to see my weights drop. Also, I am trying to be a bit conservative here–losing weights slowly rather than quickly and lose some muscle too (should be the same when bulking up, gaining slowly rather than quickly and add some fat).
• I have cut a bit more than 2% body fat, from 18% to 16%.
• I am still lifting 4 times a week with the same exercises as when I bulked up. I am still making some progress too. However, my squat and press got weaker after the 2-week winter break. I am now building up to my pre-break level. Progresses on compound exercises (press, bench press, squat, except for deadlift!) are small and slow. But progresses on other assistant exercises (bicep curl, dumbbell shrugs, etc.) are still steady.
• I am running again now. Initially I started out running a bit over what my body (bones, joints, ligaments, etc.) could handle. But now I am doing a beginner’s running program. Seems to be working great! More on this in a few weeks.

Now, here are my excuses for not posting regularly:

• I have posted a good amount of entries, which together should be more than enough to help you train properly. I want to go back and work on every single post to make sure they have the proper titles, keywords, recaps, photo illustration, etc.
• I have NO time for the blog now. My classes are taking up more time than expected. It was a rather big mistake to miscalculate how much time commitment my classes demanded. Now I am stuck with them and cannot drop any.
• Plus, I have to worry about finding a job now. And this is the main reason. I can keep posting on this blog only if I can think about it before going to bed. But now that I am thinking about job/career every night, I cannot come up with any idea for a new post.
• I am training everyday now. 4 days lifting and 3 days running. Thus, more training time, more school work time, plus concerns about job/career, while a day is still only 24 hours. Obviously, I cannot write anymore

Hopefully I can get everything under control soon. If I can be more efficient, I can have one or two hours a week for this blog. Then I can post once or twice a week. But before that happens, my priority is with training and finding a job.

As with when I started bulking up, everything did not go according to plan this time around either. Here are a few mistakes that I have made:

• I started running without first reading about it:
  • I started off running faster and quicker than I should. Now I get a little bit of what is called shin splints, or maybe stress fracture. Whatever it is, I could have prevented it by carefully researching this subject first.
  • I ran with friends who are much better at running than me and followed their advice, assuming they knew what was best for me. This is equivalent to starting out going to the gym with some guys who have been lifting a few years and listen to all their advice without doing any careful research yourselves.
  • Simple as the idea of running may seems, it would have saved me a lot of time and effort had I read about running first. There are a lot of little things about running that never have I thought about but play a crucial role in preventing injuries and sustaining progress.
  • There are even detailed programs to follow. Running without following a well designed program is like working out without a particular program with specific instructions on which exercise to do, techniques to perform, rep and set range to follow, etc.
• I went skiing for the first time yesterday!
  • Actually, I spent the majority of time trying to snowboard, which is harder than skiing. This led to an endless series of falls, two of which were so bad I honestly heard my bones cracking. Now my neck can barely support my head.
  • So besides the fact that I missed training, missed meals, and missed sleep/rest, I also hurt myself badly. And none of that has anything to do with my goal of getting into the best shape of my life.
  • To me, in hindsight, the experience was hardly worth the cost. But my friends are already talking about the next time we can ski again. Should I go again? Hell no. Would they understand my reason? HELL NO!

As someone reading another person’s story, you see these mistakes as failure on my part to do what is right. Even though I have talked about these common mistakes many times in this blog, I still make these mistakes every once in a while. Laugh at my mistakes if you want, but HEED the story and avoid making the same mistakes.

Instead, I am trying to make every single post in this blog more interesting and easier-to-digest. I have been inserting more photos/images into all the post currently on this blog to help illustrate my point better. I am also looking into embedding relevant and inspirational clips to as many posts as possible. One more thing that I am considering is to embed a slideshow to every single post on the blog. The more media in a post, the easier it is to digest the content.

Anyway, enough with that. Here is a great clip from the movie “The pursuit of Happyness.” I like Will Smith (not just because he transform his skinny body from the Fresh Prince of Bel-air to Ali) and I think his movies are all great. This movie is among his better ones. If there were one thing I remember from this movie (it’s not true), this moment in the movie would be it:

This clip is shorter and more to the point, but it lacks the context. Either way, watch them both.

I was not always like this though. Like most people, I used to yearn for a thousand little things. From reading glossy magazines, from looking at other cool people, from watching exciting commercials, I kept adding to my list of wanted stuff and skills almost every other day. Soon, I spent more time on daydreaming about these trivial objects and knacks than on finishing my actual tasks at hand. And the thing is, none of these desires are strong enough to seriously push me to take action toward attaining them. They were just there all the time, nagging on me constantly, making it impossible to focus on anything. I was never satisfied with what I had. I always wanted more. I was never really happy.

For you ectomorphs training to become stronger and bigger, it is imperative that you spend the majority of time, energy and money on training at least for a short period of 12-16 weeks (then you can gradually add more goals). How, then, can you stay focused on training when you want a thousand things? How can you keep your burning desire for a muscular physique when it is lost in a sea of other yearnings? How can you keep feeding your hunger for gaining massive muscle while you have to feed countless other hungers? It is simply impossible.

So:

• Control your desires. Pay attention to where you get your desires.
• Limit your desires to only 2 or 3. Having only ONE desire for a short period of time (e.g. 3 months) is the best!
• Make sure your burning desires are strong enough to push you through when the going gets tough. If you are not willing to jump through hoops for your desires, then get rid of them. They will just make you unhappy.

RECAP: Have only 2 to 3 desires (training for a bigger and stronger physique is one of them) and make sure those desires are strong enough to push you on till you’ve achieved what you want.

Related posts: How many goals should you have beside your training goal?

Finding the right program for training is the most important task and also the most difficult. I think most people fail to realize that and end up wasting so much time, energy, and money. I was lucky to have the whole three months of summer to look for a good program. Now that I think about, it was pretty simple actually. Granted, I was panic at times and super confused at times, but looking back now, I don’t think it could have been any other ways.

Bodybuilding.com is a great source of information, especially its forum. Just looking around the forum for a bit and sooner or later you will run into a post about the Starting Strength program. From then on, it’s only a matter of time before you pick up the program for yourselves. Why? First of all, so many people were doing the program, and so many people were committing so much time to help others on the forum. When enough smart people talk about something for a long enough time, it is bound to be something legitimate. Second of all, just look at the review of the book on Amazon. I have never seen any book with that level of reputation and positive feedback. They even have a wiki just for the book, just google it. Finally, I saw other people who had done the program, and the results had been great overall. I don’t know about you, but that was enough for me to buy the book and study it cover to cover.

The program was great for me. I was squatting and deadlifting with better form than most people in the gym. I started out 135 pounds for both squatting and deadlifting, and ended after three months with 230 pounds and 240 pounds, respectively (3 sets of 5 reps). Everything went great for me. I did not get injured even though I performed really hard exercises. I did not miss any session even though it was in the school year (not even when I had the finals). I did not sleep less than 7 hours or skip a meal even when I had two midterms the next day. I was well on course for a great physique at the end of the next summer.

Then I went to London to study abroad. Well, let’s just say I was lucky not to get any weaker or smaller.

Back in the United States for the summer, things went well again. I kept the 4 basic compound exercises (Squat, Deadlift, Bench Press, Press) and added other assistant exercises to target all muscle groups on my body equally. I also had to change the set and rep range now that I am not training for strength but for muscle. Over the summer, I gained 17 pounds from 173 to 190 pounds. Into the school year, my goal is to get to 200 pounds by December. Then, I will start losing fat.

136 pounds. 10% body fat.                                                             192 pounds. 16% body fat.

I was always very skinny. Since the moment I became conscious of myself and everyone around me, the common theme has been ridicules from people towards my pathetic bony frame. Even to the other skinny Vietnamese, I was always the skinniest. Emancipated if you will.

Like everyone else, I picked up working out randomly and without any clear goals. You know, just followed some friends to the gym and did some bench press and bicep curls day after day. The first month or two I gained around 6 pounds of muscle (from 125 to 131 pounds, 5 feet 10). For the next two years, I gained from 131 pounds to 146 pounds (15 pounds, 10 of which was belly fat from drinking too much freshman year). Then, I saw an infomercial of the P90X program. That was the first time I saw an infomercial in my life, and I had to say: it was hell of a great infomercial. I got the whole program, and made a risky decision: spend the whole 3 months of summer following that program. No job, no internship, no anything. My one and only goal for the summer was to see that program to the END… and to gain 15 pounds.

Looking back, I realize all the things that I did wrong. However, I am glad that I have made that decision. Even though the program was not for massive muscle gain (it was actually for shedding fat), it was an extremely tough program that transformed me into a MAN mentally. Every single day for the whole summer, I had to endure pain, and I could not miss a single workout. Not a SINGLE workout for the whole 90 days. I was totally focused on finishing the program. Even though the program selection was wrong, at least at the time I had faith in it. The fact that I had a program to work with for the whole summer helped start me off on my journey without hesitation. Even though the program selection was wrong, I was given two very clearly defined goals for the summer: 1. Finish the program. 2. Gain 15 pounds. And that was all that mattered.

Fast forward three months, I did finish the program, and I did gain exactly 15 pounds. Even though I lost a ton of money on food and from not having a job, it was totally worth it for me. The fact that I set two big goals and actually achieved them (finished an extremely tough program and gained 15 pounds (for an ectomorph, that was like a dream)) was a great source of self-confidence for me. Think about it, how many people in the world have been able to set a goal of that magnitude and actually reach it? Not many I would say.

Of course there was some down sides: I gained 8 pounds of muscle all in my lower body and 7 pounds of fat. It turned out the program was great for lower body, but did not work so well for upper body (I could not really blame it anyway; the program was not for gaining muscle mass). Also, afraid that I would not reach my weight gain goal, I ate more than I should have. On the other hand, I learnt a few important lessons:

• I got down the basics of eating to gain weights for an ectomorph
• I was confident that no program from then on could be more extreme than P90X.
• Training had become my habit and my mindset. I knew how to schedule everything so that I would not miss a single session or any meal.

Now that I had gone through the whole summer of solely extreme training, I was so ready to find a new appropriate program and to incorporate training into my busy college life.

Read “About me. Part two.”

Breakfast: 8:30am-8:50am

• 1 bowl of cereal (70 grams Carb from Cereal, 20 grams Carb from Milk, 90 grams Carb in total; 10 grams Protein)
• I use Cheerios from General Mills (NO SUGAR) mixed with a little bit of Cocoa Krispies from Kellogg’s. I find this mixture to be the best one so far because it is not too sweet (you can control how sweet it is by varying the amount of Cocoa). Trust me, eating cereal will be WORK once you have to eat two bowls everyday for a year.
• You can also eat oatmeal instead of cereal. I find it convenient for me personally to eat cereal.
• You should eat cereal because it has a lot of carbohydrates and does not have anything unhealthy (unless when it has too much sugar).

1st snack: 10:30am-10:50am

• One weight gain shake (65 grams Carb, 50 grams Protein)
• I use 2.75 scoops (83 grams) of Serious mass and 1.5 scoops (45 grams) of Whey Protein Optimum
• I use the scoop that comes with Whey Protein Optimum
• Here is my review for all these supplements.

Lunch: 12:30pm-12:55pm

• One sandwich with Roast beef, Swiss cheese, and Lettuce (45 grams Carb, 25 grams protein)
• Hand down most popular and convenient food for lunch
• I notice that the prepared frozen food is very affordable and not that unhealthy either. I think it is not a bad choice at all if you want some variations.

2nd snack: 2:45pm-3pm

• 2 chewy granola bars and some other snacks (50 grams Carb, 10 grams Protein)
• OR: 1 serving of these prepared food (e.g. Chicken parmersan pasta) (50 grams Carb, 30 grams Protein)
• OR: another sandwich (45 grams Carb, 25 grams Protein)

Post workout: 5:45pm-6pm

• One weight gain shake (65 grams Carb, 50 grams Protein)
• Skip this meal on non-training day

Dinner: 6:45pm-7:20pm

• One plate of pasta with chicken wings and broccoli with tomato or basil pesto sauce (100 grams Carb, 40 grams Protein)
• Believe it or not, I eat this same dinner everyday for the whole summer without ever getting sick of it. I think that if you can find one meal that you really like and eat it in the right amount every time, you will never get bored with it.
• Pasta, just like cereal and oatmeal, is the best source for good carbohydrates.
• To me, this dish is a godsend. It will be extremely hard for you to gain weights without eating pasta.

3rd snack: 9pm-9:15pm

• One protein shake (2 scoops-60 grams) (50 grams Protein) Whey Protein Optimum

4th snack: 10:15pm-10:30pm

• One bowl of cereal (60 grams Carb from cereal, 10 grams Carb from milk; 10 grams Protein)

5th snack: 11-11:15pm

• One protein shake (2 scoops-60grams) (50 grams Protein) Casein Protein

Total: 475 grams Carb, 295 grams Protein.

NOTE:

1. I did not calculate the fat level because it is not easy and also not important to do. Most of what I eat everyday is low on fat, so I don’t have to worry about eating too much of it. I mix my pasta with a table spoon of Olive Oil too, so I know for sure that I get some good fat in there. In total, including the fat, my daily calories intake is about 3400 grams, which was what I needed to gain muscle.
2. I had to eat so often because it is impossible for me to eat a big meal in one sitting. That sucks! I know. But I worked around it, and everything has been fine so far. But if you can eat twice as much as me in one sitting, then everything will be much easier for you.
3. This plan is by no means the best meal plan out there. It caters to my personal preferences and busy schedule of the summer. I still have to tweak it here and there sometimes, and so should you.
4. This plan helps prove to you that even if you work or go to school full-time, there is no excuse for not eating enough nutrition to get big.

100% Whey Protein Gold Standard. It tastes great. Not too sweet, which makes you wanna throw up after drinking for a while. When I say great taste, I don’t mean it tastes like milk shake. If you want something that tastes as good as milk shake (or even better), try Muscle Milk by CytoSport. I did love drinking muscle milk for a while, but before I finished the first bottle, I threw up (yes, throwing up) the whole thing because it was too sweet. That said, maybe you have a sweet tooth, and if so, get the muscle milk. You can check out the price per saving of different protein brands by clicking here. You will see that the 100% Whey Protein is very reasonable for such a big brand name. I have been drinking it for more than a year now. Works great for me. Note: You can buy it much at a much better price by subscribing to it on Amazon. You can cancel the shipment or change the shipping date anytime you want. No string attach. Basically you get a better price with no harm done.

100% Gold Standard Casein Protein. Same brand. This kind of protein is for drinking before going to bed. Sleeping 8 hours means that you will be fasting for 8 hours. No protein during that entire time?! That’s crazy. This protein is advertised to have slower digestion time, which will be great for these 8 hours fast. Honestly, I don’t know if this protein shake really takes longer to digest. But I have been using it for a year now, and I like to believe that it really works as expected. The taste is a bit weird at first. But after four or five times, it should be fine. What I love about the Optimum products is the fact that I can drink them for years without getting sick of them. I don’t care much if it tastes really good (remember my throw-up incident with muscle milk?). As long as I can keep drinking them without experiencing any negative feelings, it’s great for me.

Multi Pro 32X. Multi-vitamin for people like us. I have to say that I have only tried two multi-vitamin products so far. The first one I bought was Animal Pak. Everyday for Animal Pak you have to take one package of a dozen tablets the size of your eyes (a bit exaggeration, but they are huge to me). I could not swallow one tablet, not to mention the whole package. But if you can swallow all of that, then the consensus is that it is a great product. The multi pro is just one small tablet every night. Honestly, I don’t think anyone can tell the difference of taking the multi-vitamin or not. It is more a prevention act than anything else; you prevent yourself from getting sick by taking enough nutrition. You don’t have to buy this particular brand, but you HAVE to buy some multi-vitamin. Click here to check out different brands and their stats.

Serious Mass. This is a weight-gainer product. I think it is the best one in the market right now. Click here to check out different brands and their stats. The cheapest product is Ultimate Nutrition Muscle Juice, but it has a lot more sugar and fat in it than Serious Mass. Also, Serious Mass is only 4 cents more expensive per serving anyway. I have done enough research on weight-gainer products, and in terms of nutrition value and price, Serious Mass is the best one. I have been using it for 5 months; nothing to complain about so far. Note: do not consume the amount suggested on the package. That is just gonna make you fat. I normally consume 2.75 spoons (the spoon provided with the 100% whey protein bottle), which is about 150 grams, taken twice daily.

Those are all the supplements I am using now. You may have heard about many other types of supplements. But nothing is as essential as these 4 products. For us ectomorphs, to eat enough calories (protein/carbohydrates/fat) daily to get huge by consuming just normal food, it will take forever. Virtually IMPOSSIBLE! Especially proteins. That said, I think you should already know that supplements must not count for more than 1/3 of your calories intake daily. Even 1/3 is a bit excessive already. I personally take (2.75 scoops Serious mass with 1.5 scoop Whey protein)x2, 2 scoops Casein protein and 1 tablet of the multi-vitamin before bed.

Under special circumstances, you can take a bit more of these supplements to fulfill the calories (protein/carbohydrates/fat) daily requirement. But that should be REALLY RARE.

RECAP: As an ectomorph, you almost must take some supplements. But DO NOT overuse them.