Trying to build a body like Alcide from True Blood

JonKragh
JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hey all-

Awesome community here!

My goal is to build a physique in the realm of Alcide from True Blood in minimal time per day.

I know that will be very tough, but it is my target.

I'm a 35 year old programmer, so I sit behind a desk all day. Maybe you can relate with your job?

I've done two significant transformations in my life before. A "body for life" transformation many years ago. And a transformation in 2012 (pic in my profile) centered around bootcamps and diet.

I'm looking to workout no more than 30 minutes a day and keeping my diet in check with this great site.

Here is an example of a routine I do in about 20 minutes:
3 circuits of ten reps of each: Bicep Curl, Dumbell Bench, Pull-ups, Shoulder Press, Barbell Row, Dips, Burpees

Hit me up with a friend request!
Jon

P.S. More info in my profile

Replies

  • Poofy_Goodness
    Poofy_Goodness Posts: 229 Member
    Here is an example of a routine I do in about 20 minutes:
    3 circuits of ten reps of each: Bicep Curl, Dumbell Bench, Pull-ups, Shoulder Press, Barbell Row, Dips, Burpees

    Alcide would not neglect leg day.
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Here is an example of a routine I do in about 20 minutes:
    3 circuits of ten reps of each: Bicep Curl, Dumbell Bench, Pull-ups, Shoulder Press, Barbell Row, Dips, Burpees

    Alcide would not neglect leg day.

    Agreed! My circuits are 6 days a week - 2 days are legs!
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    good luck in that
  • tonynguyen75
    tonynguyen75 Posts: 418 Member
    Picture for reference?
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Picture for reference?

    Not sure how to reply with a pic - but here's a link:

    http://www.trueblood-news.com/the-joe-manganiello-interview-go-big-or-go-home
  • FunSizedK
    FunSizedK Posts: 144 Member
    http://www.pinterest.com/pin/221309769160483395/
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Well first he got big with heavy weight lifting then he cut body fat with circuit style training.

    http://www.details.com/health-fitness/celebrity-workout/201108/joe-manganiello-true-blood-alcide-herveaux-werewolf-hbo

    Start lifting heavy and eating enough food to grow. Once you get big enough cut the body fat by eating at a deficit.

    Or you could do smaller bulk cut cycles to keep from getting over fat.
  • Blakewc
    Blakewc Posts: 106
    My friend

    There is just no way to do this in 30 mins. You are leaving out all the lifts that He did to get that body, Squats and deadlifts and a lot of others. A blanked set of 10 reps isn't going to do the trick either. You can get that body no worries, it's just going to take a little more than you a thinking.
  • gracebrom
    gracebrom Posts: 1
    Logged in under my wife's account -- deleting
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
    I think Joe Manganiello may have some genetic advantages over most of us, and gets paid to work out as part of his job. Just be sure your expectations are realistic.
  • timbrom
    timbrom Posts: 303 Member
    Fellow programmer (embedded systems) here. The 30 minute a day constraint is going to make it a bit difficult. Would you be able to do more like 60 minutes 3 days a week, rather than 30 minutes 6 days a week? Having a day of rest in-between sessions for recovery is ideal. You don't get big by lifting heavy weights, you get big by recovering from lifting heavy weights.

    I'd start with focusing on just getting strong. I'd get Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe. Think of it as a technical manual for barbell training. Goes into more depth than you thought possible about the 5 major lifts. Nail your linear progression and get strong. While doing that, pick up Practical Programming for Strength Training, also by Mark Rippetoe, and Wendlers 5/3/1.

    Also, keeping your diet in check isn't a useful idea if you want to get big and strong. Eating like they're about to stop making food is. You'll add some fat in the short term, but especially with the added muscle that comes off easy.
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Hey all! I love the replies and the reality check.

    My goal is to go towards that type of physique under my own constraints.

    I know it's very unlikely to achieve his results, but it is a target to tailor my workout towards.

    Keep the replies coming!

    Appreciate them but want to make sure I don't seem like I expect his exact results (I'm not crazy!)!
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Well first he got big with heavy weight lifting then he cut body fat with circuit style training.

    http://www.details.com/health-fitness/celebrity-workout/201108/joe-manganiello-true-blood-alcide-herveaux-werewolf-hbo

    Start lifting heavy and eating enough food to grow. Once you get big enough cut the body fat by eating at a deficit.

    Or you could do smaller bulk cut cycles to keep from getting over fat.

    This sounds like what I'm thinking.

    Since I'm not starting from total scratch, I've started with a calorie deficit and am still gaining muscle right now.

    So we'll see.

    I will post results in a few weeks of my own experiments!
  • treesloth
    treesloth Posts: 162 Member
    I recommend:

    1) Full-body hair transplantation. You might need to solicit donors to get the right color mix
    2) Going about on all fours. It'll take a while, but in time you'll start to develop the musculature to really get around at a proper speed.
    3) Become easily manipulated by women. This might not directly affect your physique, but it will help with portraying the character.
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    I recommend:

    1) Full-body hair transplantation. You might need to solicit donors to get the right color mix
    2) Going about on all fours. It'll take a while, but in time you'll start to develop the musculature to really get around at a proper speed.
    3) Become easily manipulated by women. This might not directly affect your physique, but it will help with portraying the character.

    lol!
  • LogicalReflex
    LogicalReflex Posts: 233
    I'm a student studying an IT Technicians Course at the moment.
    Been trying to learn C# on the side but its hard trying to squeeze everything in since my college is a 2 hour journey away from my home.

    But yeah Good luck on your transformation.
    Maybe try insanity?

    It's brilliant but will leave you sweating and aching all over
  • bakemma
    bakemma Posts: 161 Member
    FYI, your amazing where your at. No changes needed. ;) lol But good luck on your goal. Your obviously already well on your way.
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    My friend

    There is just no way to do this in 30 mins. You are leaving out all the lifts that He did to get that body, Squats and deadlifts and a lot of others. A blanked set of 10 reps isn't going to do the trick either. You can get that body no worries, it's just going to take a little more than you a thinking.

    Hey! Thanks for this reply!

    Maybe you & others can help add lifts to my routine.

    I want to do 6 days of circuit training under 30 minutes for each routine.

    I intend the routines to vary.

    What's with this 30 minute constraint?

    B/c that's the time I can swing and I really want to focus on pushing hard and getting the most out of every minute.

    So routines with too much rest between sets, work against my 30 min goal. So I'm doing circuits.

    I believe, maybe naively, that I can get the results I want in this minimal timeframe. It might not be Alcide level but I hope to get close enough for me.

    I work REALLY hard when I workout (basically one breathe away from puking the whole time). I go to failure.

    So effort will not be an issue.

    I have the following equipment:

    A power tower (pull ups, leg raises, dips), 2 benches (one that can hold Olympic weights with leg attachments), Bowflex adjustable 1052's and 1090's, Olympic Bar, EZ bar, a bunch of olympic weights, and a TRX (knockoff).

    I workout alone, and want to lift safely.

    I'd like to add a power rack at some point so I can squat and bench and go to failure with my olympic weights. But bight now I have to keep barbell squats and barbell bench out.

    What other *must have* exercises should I put into my circuits with this equipment?

    Thanks much!
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    FYI, your amazing where your at. No changes needed. ;) lol But good luck on your goal. Your obviously already well on your way.

    Thanks so much!! :smile:
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Fellow programmer (embedded systems) here. The 30 minute a day constraint is going to make it a bit difficult. Would you be able to do more like 60 minutes 3 days a week, rather than 30 minutes 6 days a week? Having a day of rest in-between sessions for recovery is ideal. You don't get big by lifting heavy weights, you get big by recovering from lifting heavy weights.

    I'd start with focusing on just getting strong. I'd get Starting Strength, by Mark Rippetoe. Think of it as a technical manual for barbell training. Goes into more depth than you thought possible about the 5 major lifts. Nail your linear progression and get strong. While doing that, pick up Practical Programming for Strength Training, also by Mark Rippetoe, and Wendlers 5/3/1.

    Also, keeping your diet in check isn't a useful idea if you want to get big and strong. Eating like they're about to stop making food is. You'll add some fat in the short term, but especially with the added muscle that comes off easy.

    Thanks man! That's a sweet homemade power rack you have too!

    Our profession really needs to get in better health! It helps the mind. And the mind in everything in programming.

    I'm sort of a full stack web guy. I've done a lot different things but am now focused now on REST Apis, HTML5 javascript apps, lots of DB work (SQL & NoSql) & .Net on the server.

    Will check the texts you referenced!
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Well first he got big with heavy weight lifting then he cut body fat with circuit style training.

    http://www.details.com/health-fitness/celebrity-workout/201108/joe-manganiello-true-blood-alcide-herveaux-werewolf-hbo

    Start lifting heavy and eating enough food to grow. Once you get big enough cut the body fat by eating at a deficit.

    Or you could do smaller bulk cut cycles to keep from getting over fat.

    This sounds like what I'm thinking.

    Since I'm not starting from total scratch, I've started with a calorie deficit and am still gaining muscle right now.

    So we'll see.

    I will post results in a few weeks of my own experiments!

    Yea you have a good start on it already. If your goal is mostly aesthetics then you just need to decide if you want to shed more body fat with the current muscle you have or get a little bigger and then cut. The amount of muscle you are going to add with a circuit/conditioning program while in a calorie deficit is going be pretty low.

    Getting lean is all about calorie management so the 30 minutes per day workout should be fine as long as you are doing enough resistance training to maintain your lean body mass.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    When you get there, please post your phone number! Good luck! :drinker:
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Logged in under my wife's account -- deleting

    Dude! Don't delete your wife just because you made a mistake. It wasn't her fault!

    :angry:


    ETA: Oh, sorry. I misread your post. Never mind. Carry on. :drinker:
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    FYI - a MFP member here kindly pointed out that Joe Manganiello (Alcide) just released a book on his workout & diet.

    The Kindle version was released & delivered to me today.

    So far at first glance I learned a few new exercises to add to my circuits and that circuit training works great for him.

    He says that he continued to gain size in every muscle in his body while reducing waist size - getting his suits re-tailored twice.

    http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Cutting-Breaking-Mental-Building-ebook/dp/B00BSBR4MM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1386092021&sr=8-4&keywords=evolution
  • mcouey84
    mcouey84 Posts: 31 Member
    Jon - I'm with you on this. I absolutely think that you could achieve an Alcide look with a 30min/day training program. Have you considered something like this:

    http://www.criticalbench.com/doggcrapp-dc-training.htm

    It's an overview of Dogg Crapp/Dog Crap training - high intensity, short rest, major muscle group, training to failure, etc. Not only can you expedite your muscle growth with a regiment like this, but it can also increase your cardiovascular efficiency...for those late night pack runs :)

    Keep in mind that while your training may only consist of 30 minutes, you have the rest of your waking hours to focus on a diet that will ensure a constant flow of nutrients to your growing muscles! Also consider the "speed" of proteins (slow vs fast digesting) throughout the day and even before bed so you don't leave them wanting!

    Just a thought, good luck to you!
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Thanks much man!

    I'm determined to make this work! I will check out the program you linked.

    I've kinda rolled my own program for now. I've been working hard on the diet and workout hard for 20-24 mins a day.

    * I just put my 2 week progress pic in my profile.
  • prettyface55
    prettyface55 Posts: 508 Member
    Gooooooood luck!!!!:flowerforyou:
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Gooooooood luck!!!!:flowerforyou:

    Thanks much!
  • JonKragh
    JonKragh Posts: 28 Member
    Hey all - just a follow up. Here was my 30 day progress on this goal:

    oxcPZHzl.jpg?1

    Happy holidays all!

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