During the planning stages of my 2003 visit to the Grand Canyon, I learned that one could rent and ride a donkey down the Grand Canyon. The only catch is you couldn’t weight more than 200 pounds. I weighed 210 pounds and was damn proud of it. There wasn’t a chance in hell that I’d give up 10 pounds to ride that donkey. I’d rather carry the donkey.
For those new to this site, I’m a former stick boy. When I left Army basic training at age 17, I was 165 pounds and 6′ 3. Long story short, I started weight training in 1994 and then stumbled onto low-rep training in 2001. My weight went up to 210. Not bad for an ectomorph.
Image from How to Eat Right For Your Body Type by Dr. John Berardi. Typically Ectomorphs are taller and Endomorphs are shorter. Other than that this image is a good representation of somatypes.
From 2001 through May of this year, my weight has been between 208-212*. It doesn’t budge. Well it hasn’t until recently. My recent revitalized interest in nutrition and cooking has caused my weight to fall. Today I weighed exactly 200 pounds. Uh oh! Even though I’m clearly leaner than I’ve ever been, it is a bit scary to drop 5% of my weight in such a short time, considering how long it took to gain that weight.
I might need a vacation to a country with liberal pharmaceutical laws if I’m ever going to approach my fitness role models.
* In late summer 2003, using a pro-hormone supplement which has since been made illegal I got up to 222 pounds. Once the supplement ran out, the weight came right back off.
old timer
Aug 7, 2008 — 7:54 pm
You might want to check your premises.
When I was approaching the end of my cancer treatments, I remarked to my doctor that I was looking forward to putting on some weight (6’2″, was about 187 at the time). His response was “I hope it’s not too much weight you want, as you are at the upper limit of your ideal weight now”.
So, I’ve been glad I don’t have to play the ‘bulk up’ game any more. I’ve been stable @ around 180 for a few years now.
Below is a link to a site that does various body weight/BMI calculations, FYI.
http://halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm
MAS
Aug 7, 2008 — 10:32 pm
BMI = BS. According to the BMI, Mike Tyson was obese when he was the top boxer in the world. BMI treats muscle no different than fat.
Body fat percentage is the ONLY true metric. Too bad many doctors are clueless on this point. Doctors are there to help us avoid disease, they are not there to help us achieve optimal physiques.