How long did it take you to get truly "buff" and sculpted muscles ?

As Dom Mazzetti (aka the Brofessor) put it in one of his videos - The day you started lifting is the day you became forever small... Because you will never be as big as you want to be. Everyone that has been lifting for a while knows exactly what I mean - the constant dissatisfaction with the results and always chasing more gains.

Let me start with the before and after picture (we need follow the established plot here). The guy on the left is my past-self (being 17) and the guy on the right is my present self (clarifying just in case).

So I was a skinny kid, as you could probably tell. I started working out at the age of 16, because I was quite embarrassed to show up in beach shorts… something that I apparently overcame a year later, as result of some abs showing up. You know what’s funny? I though that I was muscular back then. Man, was I wrong.

I’ve been seeing the same attitude with so many beginners. Almost all lifters think they’ve become buff after a few months of training. It must be some kind of a syndrome. Then reality hits and they realize that they have a long way to go. The difficult part is to get through this deceptive part. It took me about a year or so to realize that I was not the kind of a big deal I thought I was.

I am pretty sure that most of you can achieve similar or even better results than I did, if you follow a structured training, nutrition and supplementation plan. The two pictures are 9 years apart. So obviously I am not here to brag about gains or progress. For me the result has never been the absolute goal. I’ve always valued the process more.

As Gary Vaynerchuk (amazing entrepreneur, author and public speaker) said: I love the process and the grind more than the "pay off". There is some irony that the best results come when you just “let it go” and concentrate on the process (which usually happens when you love the process). Throughout the years I’ve been bigger (the abs take some damage most of the time), but I’ve also been leaner. A couple of times I pushed myself to go really low on the body fat percentage, such as here:

When you concentrate on the process, rather than the result, you forget to stress about irrelevant things such as what the scale shows, or how big your biceps are. You are told by your friends and relatives that you’ve changed. And this, my friend, is more encouraging than any number on the scale.

So why am I talking so much about the process? I am doing so because I want you to understand that this is a journey that you will benefit the most from if you enjoy what you do. If you have a really competitive mindset, then you will never be satisfied with what you get… it’s pretty much like chasing a chimera - you never get it.

I am probably going a bit off topic here, so let me get back to your question. It took me about 5 years to have what some may consider being “buff” and being described as a person with a sculptured body. However, in my eyes it is never enough and there is always room for improvement.

So I am yet to see the day when I am truly buff.

Hope this helps.

UPDATE: Since I’ve posted the answer, I received a few questions about what my workout routine is and what do I generally eat. I’ve recently released a fat loss program in which I share most of my techniques on nutrition, training and supplementation, so for those of you who are interested, you can check out