Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Project Hyperplasia: Results are in

So for the passed 14 days I have been wearing a 37.6lb weighted vest every waking moment. I recorded body weight, body fat percentage, and some circumference measurements-- shoulder, chest, waist at umbillicus, hips, thigh at 4 inches above proximal patella, thigh at 7 inches above proximal patella, and calf. You can see my pre-study measurements here.

Post-study measurements:
Body weight 233lbs
Bodyfat percent 18.1%
Shoulders 52in
Chest 47.5in
Waist 39in
Hips 46.75in
Thigh 4in above 22in
Thigh 7in above 26in
Calf 16in

Thanks to Jake Beggs for the measurements.

Results:
Body weight +5.6lbs
Bodyfat percent -0.3%
Shoulders -1in
Chest +0.5in
Waist -0.5in
Hips +0.25in
Thigh 4in above No change
Thigh 7in above No change
Calf No change

Evaluation:
Obviously I am a little disappointed in no change in three categories.... well, pretty much no change at all aside from weight gain. I am encouraged that my weight went up almost 6lbs yet there was a slight decrease in body fat %. Call them what you want, the rest of the measurements were so close I am going to call them insignificant. With as much cramping as my calf muscles had nightly and how tight my quads were I was hoping for some type of increase, but you can't say I didn't try... wearing a 37.6lb vest (around 16% of my body weight) felt like enough weight to stimulate growth, but maybe the amount wasn't high enough.

Observations:

  • I got more strange looks than usual
  • I am ridiculously slow with an extra 40lbs on my frame
  • I got some respect from people that didn't expect me to actually wear the vest that long
  • I got to show people that I am very interested in trying anything to find out more about fitness, exercise, and health
  • A 40lb denim vest is an excellent conversation starter
  • I was thirsty all of the time while wearing the vest. On average I took in around 200oz of fluid a day.
  • I didn't feel like I was increasing my caloric intake very much throughout the last two weeks
  • If you have bad posture, I wouldn't recommend trying this out. Adding weight to a poorly supported structure is going to cause injury
  • Wearing the vest made me stretch more after working out
  • I know I can deadlift more than 425 because I did a set of six while wearing the vest
  • I am curious to see what my weight does now that I magically lost 40 lbs
My body weight went up with little change in body fat percentage, my squat is up 20lbs, and I was able to take the study all the way through. I don't know what project is next yet, but I'm sure it going to be solid.

Please let me know any and all comments below

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dude, you are sick....but I like it. Wearing a 40lb vest all day, that's something. Very dedicated.

Rob Sinnott, MS, CSCS said...

Shawn-

40 extra pounds for two straight weeks started getting really annoying after about day five, but I wanted to see what results I would get from it so I didn't stop. Thanks for the comment.

 
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