How Long Till Results?

[tjcny]

I've been training for over four months and I see some results. However, can anyone give me a general rule of thumb about how long it takes to look really good. I know that this presuppoes a lot, but how about you best shot.

[midgetcop]

That's pretty near impossible for anyone else to answer....first off, we don't know your current physical condition, we don't know your exercise regime, and we don't know what your definition of "good" necessarily means.

[Gearloose]

Originally Posted by tjcny

I've been training for over four months and I see some results. However, can anyone give me a general rule of thumb about how long it takes to look really good. I know that this presuppoes a lot, but how about you best shot.

Take a look at this: http://www.yellowjacketsystems.com/trikes/index.html

This is my personal log of the first year of my own training. It is no indication of how your own training will go, but does show a month by month progress of this particular 53 year old guy. My avatar picture is more recent; taken in September, 2005.

If you are young, and not overweight to begin with like I was, then you should be able to make some good gains if your diet is where it should be and you are consistent in your training.

One thing to remember: Real gains take many months, sometimes even years of dedication and work for hard gainers.

Just a side note:

Those supplement ad "before & after" photos in the fitness mags that show incredible gains in a few weeks are mostly bogus. The models are already in shape in the "before" photos, but are slouching, lit with flat, low contrast lighting, lacking tans, body hair removal, body oils to highlight musculature, etc. There are numerous photographic tricks used to make the before and after photos more dramatic. Sometimes the models are in pre-contest "off season" shape in the "before" shot and merely need to lose a few pounds over a couple of weeks to get cut up and show the muscle they already had. Don't forget Photoshop either.

[midgetcop]

Originally Posted by Gearloose

Those supplement ad "before & after" photos in the fitness mags that show incredible gains in a few weeks are mostly bogus. The models are already in shape in the "before" photos, but are slouching, lit with flat, low contrast lighting, lacking tans, body hair removal, body oils to highlight musculature, etc. There are numerous photographic tricks used to make the before and after photos more dramatic. Sometimes the models are in pre-contest "off season" shape in the "before" shot and merely need to lose a few pounds over a couple of weeks to get cut up and show the muscle they already had. Don't forget Photoshop either.

Don't forget - they always look *miserable* in the 'before' pic, and then super-ecstatic in the 'after'!

[threenorns]

i spoke with someone who got one of those ads as a modelling assignment.

she was provided with whatever she needed to lose something like 40lbs in six weeks: food, supplement, steroids, the whole nine yards. she did 2hrs cardio a day, weights daily, no days off. the suit in the "Before" pic was a horribly unflattering cut that made her thighs look half again as big as they were - the one in the "after" pic, needless to say, was an expensive suit carefully cut to maximize her *ahem* assets.

if she didn't lose the weight in the specified time, she didn't get the contract and i think she had to repay the budget they gave her.

[.V.]

Sorry dude, no answer there. See Gearlooses avatar - that's a couple of years. See mine? That's a couple of years (starting at 300lbs). Look around for Todd's, that's 10 years. Look for MostMuscle - that also is many years of very hard work.

Everyone is different and the dedication to nutrition and hard work is different for everyone.

Just stick with it and see how far it takes you. Be happy with the results you get - but not happy enough to get content and stop.