Ello, my name is Bryan and I've been a guest on these forums for some time now. I've been on an extended vacation and from what I gather it seems that this is the new forum, as I can't find a lot of the older posts in here. Anyway, I'm not sure how long this forum has been around, but I want to say I first started looking here in 2005 or early 2006. I didn't know anything about weightlifting or bodybuilding at all when I first started out. I basically walked into the gym and copied what other people were doing. I was pretty ignorant at the time: I was working out all kinds of muscle groups in the same workout, and I was working the same muscles several times a week. My nutrition was completely off; I didn't know anything about protein or creatine back then. My first real workout was a 5-day split that Brit Beef posted for beginners. My current workout today evolved from that, with some exercises thrown in that I've found from my Muscle & Fitness mags. Now I take whey protein, creatine, and I'm currently trying out NO-Xplode, all because of this forum. I guess it's about time I registered.
A little about myself. I'm 22 years old and live in Austin, TX. My lifting career has been a series of starts and stops. In high school I was 5'11'' and weighed 125 pounds. For obvious reasons I decided I wanted to get bigger but I didn't know what I was doing so I never could break 140 pounds. When I turned 21 I started working as an EMT and stopped working out. I was constantly working 24 hour shifts, and was either out of time or too tired to workout anymore. My nutrition also took a major hit: because of our work schedule we would usually eat fast food. Many times my only meal for an entire day would be $10 worth of McDonalds...which is a lot. My metabolism went to hell and I ballooned to 185 pounds. Now I have a new job and I'm starting over. 2 months ago I started working out again, and since then have dropped down to 158 pounds. I look and feel better than ever before, and I'm also the strongest I've ever been. My workouts and diet are far improved from what they used to be, and I'm even getting more attention from the ladies now...which is nice
Basically, I'm where I'm at today because of the awesome people on this forum. I built my bodybuilding foundation off of this website, and continue to pull in information about supplements, diet, and training. While I'm by no means a bodybuilder, it feels great to have friends see me again and comment on how much weight I've gained since high school, or how much weight I've lost since starting my new job. Here's a pic of me now, my new goal is to hit 185 pounds again...but with a hell of a lot less fat this time around. Keep the wisdom coming, without you guys (and gals) I would still be a 130 pound turd. I'll keep you all up to date on my progress so you can see all the good you guys are doing for people like me. Many thanks.
