I lost 45lbs in 2011 but I looked sick. I did a ton of cardio and no weight training. No six pack or nothing. In June of this year I started to do Starting Strength and saw enormous gains on my squat, deadlift, bench and overhead press. I started in June at 235lbs and ended in November 30th gaining 30lbs more or less. I purposely ate like a monster to gain weight and get my lifts up. I'm done now and started to diet down. I'm following Lyle McDonalds "Rapid Fat Loss" diet to shed a few pounds before I get my lifts up again.

On a heavy squat a few weeks ago I popped my low back. I figured throughout December and part of Januray I might as well diet down to a decent weight while I rehab my low back and lift light to get my back healthy again. So it's going to be a bout four weeks or five of dieting strict wtih Lyle's method. I'm too fat now and the last thing I want to do is be a fat powerlifter. Progress is still being made on upper body lifts but squats and deadlifts were reset to light, and I'm adding weight back slowly every workout till I hit my numbers again. After that I'll use the Texas Method to keep progressing and get strong.

I don't do cardio. I do Farmer's Walks for conditioning. Treadmills and other useless "machines" just wastes your time. Anaerobic conditioning is also a lot better for your heart and cardiovascular training. I've never made such gains before I started to lift heavy ass weights three times a week.

No more wussy curling in the squat rack or stability ball bullshit. Lift heavy or go home. For those interested, strength training is the one that will make you hold on to your muscles when you diet down. If you need to, add in some endurance type but not much. It's proven in science studies and I can give you the studies if you're curious. Get off the treadmill and start lifting three days a week. I promise you, you won't regret it.