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

Sacrifices for Results

A ton of people mean well by setting goals. Too many of those people don't fully apply themselves to achieving their goals. A good percentage of those people reach a short-term goal, become complacent and never achieve their long term weight loss, strength gain, marathon performance, etc.

My training partner (http://www.swonkdiesel.blogspot.com/) wants to gain weight. Being strong will be amplified with more weight as his base.... he is currently shooting for 190lbs. Some of you reading this might gauk, giggle, or some other g word about 190 lbs. Some of you want to get DOWN to 190.

He is a classic hard-gainer. Eats and eats, drinks liters of protein drinks. He wants to be healthy, gain good weight, and not trash his body so he is willing to try any educated way to gain weight. We read somewhere that taking shots of olive oil (that's right, read it again) three times a day would boost his daily total calorie consumption by around 900 calories. He tried it yesterday. He also gave it up yesterday.

Nay-sayers might call him a chump for giving it up after one day. Go take a shot of oil and get back to me. He did not give it up without adopting another clean way to gain weight. Eating two teaspoons of peanut butter three times a day will account for about as many extra caolories... and the big thing is IT IS DO ABLE. Adopts a method to get to a goal and will achieve his weight gain goal

Maybe some of you that are trying to lose weight should exhaust any and all possibilities to achieve your goal. How important is achieving your goal to you??? Adopting a healthier lifestyle so you live past 45 years old sounds worth it to me.

I had a buddy tell me he quit smoking 7 times, so it would be easy to do it again... I feel like people that set a weight loss goal without completely applying themselves to it are similar to my chainsmoker friend. They say things without being completely behind their goal.

Say what you mean, attain your goal.

Easy