Grow, Grow, Grow!

Been real busy last several weeks so I haven’t had time to make my usual posts here. Will still update every couple of weeks with long format posts about progress and in between that inspiration and short stories.

For now, I’m dipping my toes in the refreshing waters (?) of Bluesky. I already found some of y’all over there! Feel free to follow as I will likely be posting more frequent bite-sized content there. Tastes like early twitter to me (for those old geezers who still ‘member).

Week 16 | Oct 18th | 191 lbs | +14 lbs[-1 lb from last]

Check-in pics + something fun

If you're tired of waiting for updates, @embracemeallthetime is the blog to follow for more! What are you waiting for?

Well, well, well... First time since this adventure stated that I've lost some weight! However, I'm feeling sliced and diced like never before. I can see veins everywhere, even my abs. Still strong at the gym means the recomp is still on track. Additional adjustments ahead, I'm excited for moar!

Love what I see in the mirror every day: fur is growing back, muscles are always pumped, veins are always there, pulsating with blood and nutrients. I find myself flexing constantly, admiring my work in progress: enjoying what I see while dreaming about what I will become...

I'm so in love with the gym! It's my battleground, my domain, the place where I get to become what I'm destined to be. Every workout, every set, every rep gets me closer and closer to that. Every minute spent there fills me with excitement and fulfillment. Strong like a bull, determined like a maniac, I bend the iron to my will, commanding it to shape me like a god.

I'm an alpha through and through. I'm always bouncing my chest, or my biceps, or flexing my abs... I revel in the feeling of every muscle of my body completely connected to my mind. People love catching glimpses when I'm there. They ask if I'm a bodybuilder preparing for a contest. I smile or laugh a little and maybe even puff my chest for kicks. Other have even more daring requests...

I'm loving this journey I'm in. Loving the process, the changes, the feeling of masculinity and alpha maleness. I keep saying it but it's true: this is just the beginning, the sky is the limit. Join me!

Some fun outtakes from check-in day. Damn, am I lean here:

Bonus: Vacuum practice!

Well, well, well... Nothing like a Throwback Thursday to use as an excuse to recap my progress so far, while adding something interesting to the mix. Get ready for some transformations!

I've chatted with several of you about how motivating and hot muscle transformations are. I'm glad to have found here so many people on similar journeys, who also find them inspiring. One recurring topic around this is that, however inspiring they are, many of us tend not to have good before pics (or any before pics, for that matter). I myself didn't get into the habit of taking objective progress photos until after I started working with my coach this year.

However, I took a dive in ye olde virtual photo trunk of memories to try and find some of my own pics from yore. And boy, have I got a treat for you. But more on that later. For now, let's start right here, right now:

Ongoing recomp 179 lbs - 192 lbs ~3.5 months

This comprises the period I've been documenting in this blog. I hadn't had the chance to see these pics side by side, but I must say I love the improvements. It's been satisfying to see the scale go up while keeping a nice level of leanness (and maybe even improving a bit).

What has been most surprising about this period so far is how small adjustments in diet/supplementation/training have kept rendering steady results. Still a bit more to go on this phase, but I'm liking what I'm seeing...

Last cut 219 lbs - 179 lbs ~4 months

This was from earlier this year when I started to work with my coach. I hadn't realized how poor my diet was and how much stuck in a rut I was when it came to training. Learned a lot from this period, but more than anything the outsize impact of food when it comes to this game.

To think I used to believe the guy on the left was "fit"... I had been training on and off for many years and consistently for about 4.5. So, there was a good amount of muscle built underneath the fat layers. However, you just cannot out-train a bad diet (sadly).

Regardless, going back to that weight with my current condition and bf% is a short term goal for sure. Even if a good chunk of the weight was fat, it was so good to feel “bigger” than now!

Throwback weight loss ~180 lbs - 160 lbs ~3 months

These are probably some of the oldest "physique" photos I have. This was a couple of years after I started going to the gym way back when. I recall I took a hiatus for an extended period of time, which made me gain plenty of fat. In addition to that, I was at the worst shape of my life: I couldn't even bear the StairMaster for more than 5 minutes!

I learned that when you are very out of shape, it takes a relatively short amount of time to get in decent shape: By the end of the third month, I had lost a ton of fat, improved my cardio capacity and regained some of that lost work ethic at the gym... It's getting to exceptional shape that takes that extra effort! Unfortunately, the guy on the right decided to keep coasting for several years...

Bringing it home: smallest to current 160 lbs - 192 lbs ?? years

Before I found the old pics, I honestly didn't remember how small I was back then. Of course I still feel small, but man, was that boy on the left downright scrawny! Regardless, having 30+ lbs of mostly muscle on top of that guy sure feels good. I'm just getting started. Lasered-focused and more committed than any time before. Here's to the next 30 lbs (and the ones after those, too)!

1. What do you do for cardio? 2. Ever had a workout so taxing, your heart almost jumped out of your chest?

Wish you all the best!

I'm glad you're enjoying watching me as much as I enjoy watching myself. (Though probably not as much as I do, actually!)

Cardio is something I used to disregard before but I have found to be very important, as much as I hate it. It increases and maintains athleticism which is needed to push hard during weight training. What has worked the most for me is a healthy combo of different types of cardio. I shoot for these goals every week:

5x30-minute sessions of fasted Zone 2 steady state cardio [incline treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc.]

2-3x10-minute sessions of Zone 3/4 HIIT [spin bike, hill sprints, boxing, etc.]

20-30 minutes of walking, trying to hit 10K-12K total steps per day. This is normally spread out during normal life [commuting, going out for lunch, grocery shopping, etc.]. If I ever find myself waiting for something (a coffee, an appointment, lunch order] I'll take a quick walk around the block instead of just standing there - great life hack!

Week 14 | Oct 4th | 192 lbs | +14 lbs

Check-in pics, shaving pics, flexing pics, oh my!

What an interesting couple of weeks these have been! Progress is steady and upwards. I’m amazed how small adjustments traduce to big results. It keeps me going for more and more: heavier weights, more reps, more sets, bigger muscles, more alpha.

I’m following this recomp plan to a t: Weight is still going up towards that 200 lbs mark while keeping decent definition. This week feels like cheating as I had to shave my beloved fur for reasons beyond my control. And, boy, I already miss it! Bye, bye chest hair, RIP in pieces... However, in exchange, I got these pretty sweet looking shreds. Must’ve shed about 10 lbs worth of fur, I guess!

BTW, I need someone to shave the back to even everything out... Any volunteers in the audience?

Feeling better and better with each passing week. Feels like I have a pump on all day long, muscles are hard as steel, and my veins just won't stop popping up. Donated some blood a couple of weeks ago and the nurse was practically salivating: "Those look juicy!" were her exact words!

Performance at they gym is just beyond. Breezing through the workouts, upping the weights, always working up skin-splitting pumps. I'm right in my element! People keep looking up to me, asking for advice or help, or simply staring in awe. Some others also start in lust, too...

Not just at the gym either. At the train, or in the street, or other places, people just stop me to ask how much I bench or how can they get big like me too. "Food, weights, and time" I say and it's definitely true. It's so satisfying to notice people given you furtive glances. Love to randomly flex, or bounce my chest in public places just to elicit that attention. And some people cannot get enough either: they'll ask me to do it again and to teach them how to do it!

I feel great! I look great! I am great! I'm really getting in touch with my inner muscle daddy, letting myself run wild whenever I can. I feel more masculine by the day, more alpha, ready for anything. This is what's meant to be and more!

Grind, grind, grind! Eat, lift, sleep repeat! Always improving, always growing, always evolving. Are you willing to join me in this journey towards destiny?

A couple of days ago I was at the gym, working on my pump, wearing my favorite stringer. I was doing some dumbbell extensions when I noticed a boy checking me out on the mirror. It was clear he was looking at my sweaty, hairy, smelly armpits. I smirked a little and kept cranking out the reps for my eager audience.

Later, I moved to the cable section to work on my biceps. Soon enough, that boy was right across from me. He was pretending to use the machine, but mostly he was getting a front row look at my pits. I made sure to flex between sets to really show off the hard work.

Afterwards, I hit the sauna to relax. No surprise, after less than a minute, the same kid comes in. He was blatantly stealing glances at me as I was hitting some stretches, my muscles glistening, drenched in sweat. I looked straight at him and asked “Like what you see?,” then I pointed to my armpit and said “Wanna take a hit, boy?” He lowered his gaze, his face went bright red, and he kind of just stuttered. No longer making eye contact, he stood up and bolted out of the sauna, almost dropping his towel in the process!

I couldn’t help but laugh at the scene and wonder why after all the ogling he wouldn’t take the w… People are weird sometimes, I guess.

So what about you, do you wanna take a hit?