Derek

Hey guys, I didn't know where to put this so I thought I'd try the photos section. I just entered a couple of my pictures into the bodybuilding.com spokesmodel search this year and would love it if you guys could put in a vote (or several) for me! The winners will get to be on the cover of Ironman magazine, as well as work the bb.com booths at the Olympia and the Arnold Classic. So cool! You can vote by going to http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/2011-bodyspace-spokesmodel-search-voting.htm. My screen name is Treesize, and I'm near the bottom since it is alphabetical. Let me know what you guys think of the pics I put up, and thanks for checking it out!! P.S. Anyone can vote once per day, so feel encouraged to hit it often!

WOAH!! that means you move up to 4th on the list!! I'll be trying for some pb's on the weekend. My goal is for 700lbs total. I hope i dont die!! Thanks man! Good luck and god's speed!

Grats man! Looking fantastic!!

lol. Big some day... Can't wait! Will you be staying near Richmond? If so you can come to my Gold's and work out all you want, of course. Our photographer is Kimberly Frost (kimberlyfrost.com). She normally does portraits and periodicals but she's awesome with physique shots as well. Train hard!

Yay! Hey man no worries, my schedule hasn't been easy either . Can't wait!

Thanks! We try to stand out

Thanks man! Height is 5'11'' and weight is 185 and (hopefully) rising. Maintenance calories are between 3000 and 4000 for me and if I'm trying to gain weight, as I am now, I push that up over 5000. I have a fast metabolism and my body would really rather be about 165 so I have to eat a ton. Check the topics labels on the right margin of our blog and you should see one labeled 'diet planning'. That's Marcella's nutrition spreadsheet which I have found really helpful. Give it a whirl!

I deadlifted a single at 500lbs just for you guys. Thanks for the motivation!

sounds good to me

Solid lifting man, but those projections are just estimates, they shouldn't be used on the table. There are all kinds of reasons why someone might fall well short of their projected 1rm. True. That's fair, I'll have to try a max soon then.

DL to 525 please! (projected from 445x7) BW 185

Glad to hear it man! I hope our info helps you silence the naysayers!

The numbers I listed earlier would put my squat around 530lbs and my deadlift around 495lbs based on a 1RM calculator I used. My bodyweight is now 184 and (hopefully) rising.

Awesome! I'm glad I inspire . Thank you for the support and keep at it, if you work hard and train smart you will achieve your goals!

I'm 5'11'', so right in between

Thank you for the motivation! I hope to make my debut looking even bigger and better

Thanks! I'm making great progress on my legs this year, which I'm really happy about since I want to do my first competition in December

Got some new lifts I'm excited about posting!: New best set of squats: 445x7 reps Deadlift: 425x6 Front Squat (I know it doesn't count but I'm stoked): 315x8 I don't know what that puts my 1RM's at, but my legs are improving for sure. I haven't tried bench and I'm afraid that one might have dropped a bit. BW is still 182ish

Thank you on both counts! We're actually not getting married until June 20th, but that's pretty soon! I'm glad you like the photos and hopefully I will get a couple more on here before too long . It looks like I may sign up for my first contest this upcoming December... scary!

Sounds awesome!

Haha, I'm glad you guys like our awesomely dorky love story. We're pretty fond of it ourselves . We're even having our World of Warcraft characters as cake toppers at our wedding! Thank you so much for the praise, I don't really know what to say, but I always hope to sway peoples opinions about veganism by setting an example. Thanks for spreading the links around too, the more people that start reading about what we all do the better. As for the conference, what are the dates? WE are about an hour from DC, but I hadn't planned on attending because July is a pretty busy month. I'd love to try and come and possibly meet up though!

Thanks everyone! The abs are mostly genetic I think. Even when I don't train them too much they stay pretty big, but while I'm doing heavy training on everything else I do things like leg raises with a weight between my feet or medicine crunches etc. When I'm trying to lean up though I do only high volume stuff like bicycle crunches. And I rarely train obliques and never use weight for them so I don't increase my waist. BTW to everyone here, our pictures were just posted on a big local magazine's website! http://rvamag.com/articles/full/8098/in-honor-of-frazetta

Wow, that was a crazy fast transformation. Great job!

Thanks guys! I'll add more soon, and I'm working out hard so that whenever my next shoot is I'll look even better

I always try to go full depth (somewhere between 90 degrees and parallel thighs to the floor) unless my bad knee is acting up, in which case I do about 3/4 of the way down. My limiting factor actually seems to be my lower back more than my legs because that is what seems to get tired first, and I can leg press quite a bit even after squatting.