Man Cave - Any Guys on MFP?

chrisdavey

I prefer the powerlifting type training rather than body building. BB's routines quite often seem to have a lot of isolation exercises and I much prefer the big compounds. A lot more efficient. Also, want to go and see a proper olympic lifting coach next week to get my olympic lifting technique checked out. Good explosive movements!

Teemo

I never do cardio while bulking. Light cardio while maintaining. HIIT + higher volume dumbbell workouts when cutting.

I've been curious about cross-fit / plyometric workouts but I don't think that's really my thing.

rileysowner

Bump

rileysowner

I prefer the powerlifting type training rather than body building. BB's routines quite often seem to have a lot of isolation exercises and I much prefer the big compounds. A lot more efficient. Also, want to go and see a proper olympic lifting coach next week to get my olympic lifting technique checked out. Good explosive movements!

Agreed. I have not read the recent BB stuff, but when I did it back in the 80's the stuff most recommended for putting on muscle was compound moves like Squats, not the isolation stuff. However, most of the routines they published in the magazines were of guys who bulked up long before and were the top of the heap in competition, thus they focused on isolation exercises. I fell into the trap of doing that and thinking it would put on lots of muscle, then I smartened up. Hey I was a teenager-twenty something at the time. Now I want to minimize my workout time, and I am not looking to get huge I just want more muscle than I have. I have seriously considered getting the Adonis Index stuff, but at this point I will stick to what I am doing as it seems to work. My primary goal is to lose the fat, when that is where I want it, and I bring my calories up more, then I will put a lot more effort into building muscle. I know exactly what to do, but it will take more food than I am currently eating to do it. Another 2-4 months and then I can focus on muscle building.

mrjason

New guy checking in! Grunt!

JohnnyNull

I regret all the hours and hours I put into foolish BB routines. I say foolish because it's not really my goal, so it's not really my tool. And the BB stuff is mostly what gets slung around all over the place. Especially when I was in HS and college. I'll do a little here and there to mix things up, but it's very much the least important thing I do.

When it comes to Olympic lifts, I'm on the fence. I've read Bompa say that they just don't activate enough musculature or nerves or whatever the hell it is.

For explosive things, I'm much happier lifting weights with explosive speed, and doing some plyometrics. Sometimes with weights, sometimes without.

Bompa talked about something he called Maxex training, I think it was. I'm sure there's been dozens of people with dozens of names for it since. But it's essentially a blend of weighted plyo's and where you lift a reasonably heavy weight, then do explosive movements of the same primary mover. So, bench, then drop and do a series of explosive push-ups. Or squat, then do some type of leaping/bounding. That kind of thing. Pretty *kitten*-kicking, overall.

@Teemo: Yeah, I looked into Crossfit a bit last year. Very silly, overall. Also, telling that the lead instructor dude I saw looked to be about 350#, and as wide as he is tall.

dengarrett

Yo! I wondered if and where the guys were.

For work outs - my staples are Wii Active Sports, Active Sports Plus, and sometimes the plain old Wii Fit games. I tend to have trouble with knees, so I steer clear of the routines that stress the joints. I sometimes will use a balance ball. For strength, I bought exercise tubes and follow the Active Sports routines. For about $25 you can get a full set of tubes that will give you all the strength workouts you need for any muscle group. I also spend a lot of time on my recumbant bike. I will typically do 20-30 minutes strength and arobics with Wii, and then 30-60 minutes on the bike. Total calories burned about 700 or so with max efforts. And I am something of a geek so I use a heart heart rate and a body bug to try to make sure my calories burned are accurate.

For meals - honestly I eat whatever I want, but I plan ahead on the calories. If we are planning a high calorie meal for dinner then I will plan exercise and meals ahead of time to make sure I am covered. But I do have some staples - salads for lunch and some homemade breakfast bars my wife makes and a banana or two for breakfast through the week.

Also - several things are coming together at once for us. We decided my wife would stay home to help take care of my grandson (so we know he is well taken care of). This led us to reassess our finances. We have cut $400 from our monthly grocery budget! A lot of the way we did it was cut out processed foods. My wife makes homemad breakfast bars instead of the Quaker chewy kind at half the cost. Same for bread - we already had a bread maker and can make a loaf for half the cost of store bought. Even the dog treats - the Blue Dog Bakery treats are great, but quite expensive. She now makes em.

We are also signing up for a CSA this growing season for the first time and planning to do some freezing and canning.

rileysowner

bump

chrisdavey

just finished first cycle of 5/3/1 on bench and SOHP. Made PB's for both Can't squat or DL at the moment because of injury

Still doing mma 2-3 times a week.

Doing lean gains style intermittent fasting for the last 3 weeks and has been working well.

Umm... also just started an additional volume workout. PLP pushup, lunge, pullup. Start at 10 each on day 1, add 1 extra of each every day for 2 months. Doing squats instead of lunges because of injury.

rileysowner

I thought of trying the lean gains approach to intermittent fasting, but Eat Stop Eat seems to work ok for me at this point. Maybe in the future.

chrisdavey

I did ESE a couple of times but it just seemed like each time it was a serious mission to get through whereas LG style for me has been pretty damn easy. I normally eat 1-9pm give or take an hour or so. Liking it so far

rileysowner

I have no problem fasting 24 hours. I could easily to longer if there was any value in it. To each their own, but the more I discover about the benefits of intermittent fasting the more I am encouraged to keep it up.

thkelly

looks like this thread just died off....

rileysowner

It comes back now and then. It usually slips off my topics pretty quickly because of the number of posts I have made in other threads.

jfinnivan

I've been lurking here for a while. This is my first post.

I've been concentrating on cardio for the past 6 months, and will continue for another 6 months. After that I'll be jumping back into weight training. I got tendinitis in my left forearm, and lifting has been tough, so I decided to give it a break. I'm heavy into the martial arts, and I have a test coming up about a year from now. Part of my test involves being shirtless while your sensei punches and kicks you in the abdomen, shoulders, arms, legs, etc. After that, you perform a kata, still topless The last time I did this, I weighted far too much, and it wasn't pretty. My goal is to be in the best shape I can be for my next test. It's a challenge keeping up with the young guys who are approaching their prime at the dojo, though I can still hold my own. I'm 53, so I have to work a little harder these days.
I've been running 10-12 miles per week, as well as doing lots of pushups, situps, and stretching. That, combined with karate classes a few nights per week, is what I can fit into my schedule.

For food, I'm following the MFP plan, and it's been working OK for weight loss. I've learned that I can binge every once in a while. It delays the rate of weight loss, but overall, I'm still approaching my goal weight.

rileysowner

Getting closer to my goal weight, and now I am considering switching things up when I get there. I was thinking of adding the Stronglifts 5x5 approach and see how well it works for me.

thkelly

Getting closer to my goal weight, and now I am considering switching things up when I get there. I was thinking of adding the Stronglifts 5x5 approach and see how well it works for me.

that's awesome. 82 lbs is crazy. congrats.

i don't use the strong lifts program exactly, but low reps and heavy weights is my favorite way to train.

Douggerr

Just bumping.

chrisdavey

Getting closer to my goal weight, and now I am considering switching things up when I get there. I was thinking of adding the Stronglifts 5x5 approach and see how well it works for me.

I've done stronglifts and like it. Also done a bit of 5/3/1 which was also good but a bit more advanced. I'm injured at the moment so just doing what I can to maintain. When I'm recovered I plan on going back to starting strength.

rileysowner

At the moment I am injured as well with a chronic meniscus tear. It usually only bothers me for a few hours at most when it acts up, but this time it has been several weeks. Still 2 weeks to get into the sports injury clinic to have it evaluated. It is slowly improving, but heavy lifting or for that matter even things like body weight lunges are out for now.

BeeElMarvin

I'm pretty fortunate that my place of work actually has a workout room - albeit obsolete as hell! I use the weights, the treadmill and the stationary bike there, and I take in my laptop to view various workout DVD's. I work with mostly women, and NOBODY else really uses the room! Oh yeah, every once in a while somebody gets a wild hair - you know - wedding, reunion etc. - and decides to upset my routine, but usually it's all mine! LOL

1. While Strength Training - Is there a creative or unusual exercise you do for strength training your Chest, Back, or Arms besides the traditional presses, rows, and curls? I've heard about kettleballs and seen some odd exercises at the gym.
- Nothing unusual, I suppose. I've recently been trying that Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. WTF! She kicked my *kitten*! LOL. I do the standard lifts - curls, bench etc.

2. Beer, Brats, and Football - One advantage I see that guys have is we will occasionally treat ourselves with wings and beer, etc every once in a while. Do you do this, if so - what’s your standing rule? (i.e. got to be good 5 days before I can loosen up on a Saturday for the game). Does it harm you or hurt you? Yeah, I do. I at least have a few light beers on the weekends - and I occasionally have some wings or pizza, but I can't eat like I use to - I get too full and it screws up my stomach!

3. Do you incorporate sports into your regimen (Racquetball, Karate, etc) - do you find it effective? I'd like to, I don't find the time for golf like I'd like to. My plan is to get new bicycles for my wife and I this month and I'd like to start canoeing soon.

4. What is a staple in your new diet that works well and keeps you full. I have Type 2 so, I really limit my carbs - cauliflower has been a staple, and my garden is gonna come in real handy soon!

BeeElMarvin

I agree about the powerlifting versus b.b. I did alot of powerlifting combined with cardio (running) back in college - long time ago - but it was real effective.

Smilbuta

1. I vary my workout regularly, so as not to get into a rut. Try new machines and or free weight routines.

2.I have a cheat meal once a month, I eat my *kitten* of for that meal and that meal alone. After i am done, all leftovers go into the trash. so i am not tempted later. A typical cheat meal will include for me a pizza, a chocolate cake, Burgers, fries, Ect. IT also promotes shocking your body having a really bad meal.

3. Soccer.

4. Chicken, Turkey.

alleyag

Hi all!

1. While Strength Training - I stick to the basics dead lifts, squats, military press. I do use other exercises but they are compound movements like hang cleans. I try to shy away from a lot of isolated exercises and use calastenics at high reps for muscle separation.

2. Fortunately I have a very supportive wife and friends! If its a gathering for beers and wings. My wife will bake chicken wings which are rather healthy with just a little hot sauce. She's a good cook so the friends don't mind. And I've always been a light beer drinker so I stick to mgd 64. Only 64 calories per beer. Moderation not deprivation for clean healthy living.

3. No sports for me. I have a very busy routine and run 40-60 miles weekly. Well now I'm cutting that down now to gain muscle but increasing weight training to compensate. So too many workouts to incorporate sports. I would be over taxing my body.

4. Staples in my diet are plain oatmeal, almonds and thick protein shakes. All of this are extremely clean healthy food and fill me up great.


Feel free to add me if you like. my diary is public and would be glad to offer any advice or answer any questions I can on cutting up. I've gotten down to 160 lbs at just under 5% body fat. I'm now 163 at 5% . Stay motivated guys!

mike_littlerock

I had to throw in my 2 cents.
1. While Strength Training - Is there a creative or unusual exercise you do for strength training your Chest, Back, or Arms besides the traditional presses, rows, and curls? I've heard about kettleballs and seen some odd exercises at the gym.
- I LOVE kettlebells, but I will caution you that there is technique involved and its not just swinging one around. the most common kettlebell lift is really a great training tool for the hip power you need in Olympic style lifting. someone also made a comment about "bodybuilding" training versus powerlifts. Again, technique is important in olympic moves but if you know how to properly execute the lifts safely, you will know that the big compound moves are amazing. they build a great foundation of strength and really get the heart pumping. I used to do more bodybuilding push/pull routines but now focus on compound explosive movements (O style) in the weight room, and agility and plyometrics as a complement. for cardio i only do HIT type cardio as I feel that works best for me. I train at an old school gym, LOTS of Olympic lifts, no fancy machines, heck they dont even have A/C so you better bring water when its 95F outside in Arkanas. lol. what I do might not be your cup of tea, but it works for me and I am having a blast doing it.
NOTE: crossfit. I saw someone say that their crossfit instructor was a big boy. I will note that this is just a franchise, and these gyms will vary city to city. I do worry about the level of education for some of the crossfit places, and gyms in general. I have seen some stuff that scares me in terms of the form demonstrated, and comments in threads that shows me that the trainer is not worried about overtraining a customer, which can be dangerous from health and financial standpoint.. health because clients might get injured, and because if you hurt someone too much you might make them quit (therefore no more $$ for the trainer/gym)

2. Beer, Brats, and Football - One advantage I see that guys have is we will occasionally treat ourselves with wings and beer, etc every once in a while. Do you do this, if so - what’s your standing rule? (i.e. got to be good 5 days before I can loosen up on a Saturday for the game). Does it harm you or hurt you?
I am following Dr. Berardi's diet (precisionnutrition.com). I eat every 3 hours, protein and veggies in every sitting. I allow myself 10% of my meals as "cheat meals". for example, week before last I had a fantastic pizza and loved every bite. I will note that when you get used to eating clean, that something like a pizza will make you feel like you took an ambien. I used believe that pizza, fried chicken and hot wings are three of the major food groups. I do go out with my buddies once a week or so for a cold beer (I love NewCastle brown ale).

3. Do you incorporate sports into your regimen (Racquetball, Karate, etc) - do you find it effective? I train at a sports performance gym, so we incorporate tons of agility drills, sled work, etc.. The bulk of the customers are athletes, so this fat boy has to scramble to keep up and I dont back down. the variety introduced into the workout keeps it fresh, and keeps me free from injuries as we are working on strong and stable joints and a strong core. I used to train in MMA, and perhaps I will get into that again when I get to/near my goal weight. We do keep very busy during the summer and are on the lake just about every weekend.

4. What is a staple in your new diet that works well and keeps you full. I have Type 2 so, I really limit my carbs - cauliflower has been a staple, and my garden is gonna come in real handy soon! I LOVE grilled boneless/skinnless chicken breast, heirloom tomato's, broccoli. I used to eat green beans (canned, because it was so handy) like they were going out of style because they are very low Glycemic index foods. Unfortunately, the new research coming out about HBA in the canning process of green beans and acidic foods such as can tomato's made me stop eating canned beans. if you have not seen the studies, HBA is asorbed into green beans and canned tomato's (and other foods to a lesser degree) and it is treated by your body as ESTROGEN.. im trying to get in shape, and I certainly do not need estrogen rich foods. I joke with my wife that I will have a can of green beans and then sit and watch chick flicks with her. lol.
(regarding HBA/estrogen dont take it from me, google it and decide for yourself)

brian90

Hey guys. Glad to see this thread. I will respond to the questions when i get a second. Feel free to add me.

R4z0r4Mm0

...awesome thread - lots to read! Thanks everyone.

Bryce58

Bump, bump .......dink

rileysowner

Bump.

thkelly

let's get this thread going again. i'll post a question and see if that helps

1. do you have a short term fitness goal?
2. what about a long term one?

my short term goal is to have a 1000 lb total in the bench press, squat and power clean. right now i'm stuck at 855 lbs
my long term goal is to run an ultramarathon. the Canadian Death Race is the one i'd like to run one day.