Summary: Herman Douglas placed 3rd in the Sixth Adonis Index Contest in the Open category. Check out his photos: Herman has been working out since 9th grade, so he's a pretty experienced lifter. While he has a lot of experience in the gym, he was never in a really exceptional shape. And because he was afraid of losing all the muscle he ate a lot of calories that in reality prevented him from losing any fat. Herman is 5'9'' and was always scared of being lighter than 200 pounds. Like he said, it is pretty ridiculous to think that somebody his height should weight that much. If you are working out that sort of weight can look good in a shirt that perception drastically changes when you take it off. For Herman it wasn't until his wife took some pictures of him, especially of his back. Only then he realized how much fat really is on his body. Most guys never really care how they look from the back and focus on the mirror look only. When Herman saw that there is a lot of fat hiding from him or from what he can see in a mirror, he was really surprised. He thought he was in much better shape. After a friend introduced him to the Adonis Index he started to wonder if this new approach would get him some results. It still took him some time to get over the fact that he needed to drop not just 10 pounds, but really somewhere around 30 pounds of fat to get in decent shape. Stop Using Weight as a Fitness Indicator A lot of guys think that they need to get to 200 pounds and while it's impossible for the vast majority of guys to be that heavy while being lean, there is no need for that either. If you think you need to get big and hit the 200 mark as soon as possible, you are looking at it from the wrong perspective. Ask yourself this: "Do I want to look good and enjoy all the benefits of having a killer looking body?" If so then stop focusing on getting bigger and rather take a look at yourself and concentrate on a specific shape and proportions. Shape and proportion are what matters and what will determine whether you are in good shape or not, not how much you weigh. There are several issues with using weight as an indicator whether you look good or not. Weight itself tells you nothing. Weight is directly proportional to your height. A 6'4'' NBA player will have genetic potential for building more muscle mass than an average 5'10 gym rat. So setting up a weight goal without considering other factors just points out on a lack of perspective. Be different from other guys and don't set your goal for weight gain, focus on the ideal shape and proportions instead. When Herman first heard from his friend that he should be 30 pounds lighter, he wasn't ready or in a state to hear such advice. The idea of being over 200 lbs was still in his head and he was afraid of letting it go. He was happy with the weight and he looked good in clothes. He just didn't want to admit to himself what was really going on. He, like many other guys was scared that what he believes may not be true and didn't want to shatter his belief system. It took him a while, but seeing his friend getting in shape, he decided to give this new idea a shot and at the end he is glad he did. What Herman Did to Get in Shape Once he got over the belief that he needed to be heavy, he could start eating less calories and actually lose weight. At first he needed to lose a lot, so he was eating roughly 1000 calories per day, however this was getting tougher every week and he was forced to raise his caloric intake and he gradually went from 1000 to 1800 over the next couple of weeks. And this is something you can expect to happen, if you have a lot of fat to lose (let's say 30 pounds) then at the beginning you will be able to eat very low, however as you progress and get leaner, you will have to start eating more and more and slightly optimize to maintenance once you get to a single digit body fat number.
