Methods for gaining muscle and losing fat

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Quote from Baron:

...I prefer to supplement with things that actually have some long term usability and real promise to them. The best thing I've found recently is ursolic acid. It's not liver toxic, and it has recent scientific research behind it, not some junk research paper from 1962 like so many of the prohormones and "designer steroids" out there.
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I don't pretend to be up on the chemistry of it all, and I haven't even heard of ursolic acid until you referred to it, but I have a rather hard time believing that your physique is attributed in any meaningful way to what essentially amounts to apple peel or rosemary concentrate, or some such. Forgive me if I'm somewhat skeptical, and be assured that I would be pleased to be wrong, but I think the physique you present suggests at least a nodding acquaintance with something a bit more...robust, shall we say.

On the plus side, I do hope Max follows your reported regimen and eats pizza and ice cream after his thirty-minute workouts, and then pigs out on Sundays. The results he's sure to get couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
 
Quote from Baron:

I am 5' 10" and I weigh about 188 in that photo. My ultimate goal is to get to a lean 200 lbs. Actually, most people that see me in person think I'm already over 200 but the scale says something different.

My workout splits are different that what you may have seen before.

Monday - Upper Body
Tuesday - Lower Body

Wednesday - Cardio and Abs

Thursday - Upper Body
Friday - Lower Body

Saturday - Cardio and Abs

Sunday - Nothing.

In terms of sets and reps, I have lightened things up recently because I don't feel very comfortable pushing up super heavy weight for low reps any more. I just feel like an injury is inevitably going to happen if I were to keep that up. So these days, each set I do is in the 10 - 15 rep range. I go to failure on all sets.

The number of sets I do changes depending on how I feel. One thing I've learned is that most days I feel "average", and some days I either feel like shit or feel extra good for some reason. If I feel bad, I do two sets per exercise. An average day would be three sets, and a day that I feel awesome would mean I would go for four sets. This way, instead of not working out at all on a day I feel like crap, I just do a lighter workout that I can get through quickly. Doing it that way keeps me in the routine which helps me stay motivated.

I should also mention that the two upper body workouts I do each week hit all the same body parts (chest, back, arms, shoulders), but the actual exercises change from one workout to another just to keep things from getting boring. Same logic applies to the lower body workouts.
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Great material Baron and a tip of the hat to your results. Very impressive.

I recently started a weight reduction and lifting program. I'm much older than most folks here so after some homework I settled on 15 rep sets. I'm now doing one hard set and I'll get to 2 and possibly three in the future.

Anyway, I'd like to know how many warm up sets you do before the first hard set and how is it constructed. For example: 50% of the first heavy set for x reps or....? and then ...

Also, after your first hard set (say it's 15 reps) and then a short rest period: Do you reduce the weight and go for another 15 reps or, leave the weight the same and go for however many reps you get?

TIA.
 
Quote from Brass:

I don't pretend to be up on the chemistry of it all, and I haven't even heard of ursolic acid until you referred to it, but I have a rather hard time believing that your physique is attributed in any meaningful way to what essentially amounts to apple peel or rosemary concentrate, or some such.
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Wow. That's a hugely ignorant statement. Just so you know, the company that produces and markets ursolic acid is owned by Patrick Arnold, the organic chemistry wizard who became famous for introducing the world to "4-AD", the world's first prohormone (now a banned substance) that baseball player Mark McGwire was taking when he set the home run record in 1998.

Just like he did back in early 90's, Patrick Arnold is now shedding light on another cutting-edge compound, which is Ursolic acid. Here he is explaining how ursolic acid works:

"Researchers learned that Ursolic acid turned 18 genes on, and turned 51 genes off. Two of the most potent ones to be turned off were ones strongly associated with muscle shrinking – atrogin-1 and MuRF-1.

The most potent one to be turned on was the one that encodes IGF-1 in muscle. The local production of IGF-1 is perhaps the single most instrumental process in the muscle hypertrophy response, as it initiates the key steps of creating new muscle cells and protein synthesis via the kinase Akt."

So there you have it. Ursolic acid shuts down the genes that cause your muscles to shrink and turns on the genes that cause new muscle cells to be created.

I'm sorry you don't "pretend to be up on chemistry at all" and that you "have a hard time believing" that ursolic acid does anything. But I think will stick with the findings of legit genetic researchers and the opinion of the sports world's most famous underground chemist :eek:
 
Quote from Baron:

Wow. That's a hugely ignorant statement. Just so you know, the company that produces and markets ursolic acid is owned by Patrick Arnold, the organic chemistry wizard who became famous for introducing the world to "4-AD", the world's first prohormone (now a banned substance) that baseball player Mark McGwire was taking when set the home run record in 1998.

Just like he did back in early 90's, Patrick Arnold is now shedding light on another cutting-edge compound, which is Ursolic acid. Here he is explaining how ursolic acid works:

"Researchers learned that Ursolic acid turned 18 genes on, and turned 51 genes off. Two of the most potent ones to be turned off were ones strongly associated with muscle shrinking – atrogin-1 and MuRF-1.

The most potent one to be turned on was the one that encodes IGF-1 in muscle. The local production of IGF-1 is perhaps the single most instrumental process in the muscle hypertrophy response, as it initiates the key steps of creating new muscle cells and protein synthesis via the kinase Akt."

So there you have it. Ursolic acid shuts down the genes that cause your muscles to shrink and turns on the genes that cause new muscle cells to be created.

I'm sorry you don't "pretend to be up on chemistry at all" and that you "have a hard time believing" that ursolic acid does anything. But I think will stick with the findings of legit genetic researchers and the opinion of the sports world's most famous underground chemist :eek:
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I familiarized myself with some of the literature after reading your earlier post wherein you mentioned the substance. Even so, I find it hard to believe that your results are meaningfully attributable to it. Again, rest assured, I'd be pleased to be wrong, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time.

But just to be clear, are you saying you did not look anything like you do now before you started taking ursolic acid? Because, quite frankly, certain aspects of your physique look like it may have been a bit juiced at one time or another. Notably, your traps. Again, I am not drawing conclusions, merely making observations. I have worked out for pretty much all of my adult life and have seen people come and go at various gyms over that period, and, from my observation, I don't think that your physique can be attained solely with 35-minute workouts four times a week along with good nutrition and proper rest. Therefore, I surmise there may be, or may have been, an Element X. And so, my question is: are you saying that ursolic acid is that Element X?
 
Quote from Brass:

And so, my question is: are you saying that ursolic acid is that Element X?
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Yes.

So let me ask you a question. If being 5' 10' tall and weighing in the mid 180's is the realm of the supernatural in your opinion, what exactly do you think a 5' 10' male is capable of weighing (and looking like) after working out 6 days a week for 4 years straight? Please consider the following factors being consistent during that time: increased protein intake, the supplementation described earlier, a reasonable diet, and adequate rest.

Or better yet, post a picture of a male that you believe to be representative of what's completely natural and possible given the factors above, and with no "Element X" involved.
 
Quote from Baron:



So let me ask you a question. If being 5' 10' tall and weighing in the mid 180's is the realm of the supernatural in your opinion, what exactly do you think a 5' 10' male is capable of weighing (and looking like) after working out 6 days a week for 4 years straight? Please consider the following factors being consistent during that time: increased protein intake, the supplementation described earlier, a reasonable diet, and adequate rest.

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Good question Baron. 180 doesn't seem unreasonable at all..

You are ripped and look exceptional, that's all muscle. Ripped at 185 puts you in top 10% of exceptional development for the height i'd imagine.

To place your physique pics in perspective, what do your arms measure cold but flexed?
 
Quote from Baron:

Yes.

So let me ask you a question. If being 5' 10' tall and weighing in the mid 180's is the realm of the supernatural in your opinion, what exactly do you think a 5' 10' male is capable of weighing (and looking like) after working out 6 days a week for 4 years straight? Please consider the following factors being consistent during that time: increased protein intake, the supplementation described earlier, a reasonable diet, and adequate rest.

Or better yet, post a picture of a male that you believe to be representative of what's completely natural and possible given the factors above, and with no "Element X" involved.
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Okay, thanks for answering my question.

No, I don't think your build is in the realm of the supernatural, nor did I suggest it was. You look to be in great shape, and I'm happy for you. It was not specifically size that drew my attention, but rather what I have come to regard as signature marks that certain other substances seem to impart on the body. Again, I wasn't commenting with certainty, so I don't see your need to get defensive. I was merely inquiring because it seemed unclear to me and I explained why.

Now that we have that settled, may I ask how long you have been taking ursolic acid, and how your physique compared before you started taking it, but had otherwise followed your current workout and dietary regimen? Assuming, of course, that your current regimen otherwise preceded your present ursolic acid supplementation. If not, please advise.
 
Baron is 40.

That should be great motivation that anyone who works hard can get a hard body. He started at 36.

Think about that.

Baron, powerful thread, and thank you very much.
 
Quote from Brass:

Now that we have that settled, may I ask how long you have been taking ursolic acid, and how your physique compared before you started taking it, but had otherwise followed your current workout and dietary regimen?
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I've been taking the Ursolic acid for roughly 6 or 7 months. So to answer your question, you are welcome to do the before/after comparison yourself by checking out the pictures I posted on pages 2 and 18 of this thread, as those pictures represent essentially the exact same workout, diet, protein intake, and rest factors. The only difference in the second pic is the addition of the ursolic acid for the past 6 months or so.
 
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