To be quite honest, I'm kind of ashamed that I haven't written this blog entry sooner. I think that it is a gaping hole that I should have filled a long, long time ago. When I was in Peru, my future brother-in-law, Francisco, started asking me about how to get into shape. He quizzed me about many things, including how much time he needed to spend a day getting into shape.
I asked him how much time did he have. He replied, frustrated, that he wanted to know how much time. I again asked him, how much time did he have. He didn't get it, and frankly most don't. There isn't a specific amount of time. There is no easy, cookie cutter answer to this question. People frequently dig themselves into a hole when attempting to get themselves into shape. They think that there is a certain amount of time that they absolutely must do in order to get into shape. Then, if they don't have that amount of time, then they can't exercise. This is a huge mistake. It shouldn't be that rigid. You should look at the time you have not like: "Oh, I only have 20 minutes, I can't exercise!". Instead, think: "I only have 20 minutes, how can I make the most of it?"
Yes, you can absolutely get a good workout in only 20 minutes. Francisco didn't believe me. I asked him what to do. I asked him what COULD HE DO? He told me that he could do 20 pushups and only 2 pullups. So, I told him alternate between the two for 20 minutes. He asked me if that was the best workout. I told him that if it was what he could do and what he had the time to do, then it certainly was. He couldn't comprehend that it could be that simple.
Yes, you do need to modify your life to fit in some exercise but don't shoot yourself down by setting up this rigid protocol that must be obeyed. Any exercise is better than none at all. 20 minutes of pullups and pushups may not be as good as an hour but it's better than 0 minutes of pulling and pushing. Your routine should, to some degree, tailor to your life as well. Use some creativity in shaping your exercise routine. If you do it right, you can make a lot of progress out of just 20 minutes. Above all, be positive. Don't look at your time limitations as a death sentence to your training. FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT WORK!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Rope Climbing, A forgotten Gem
I´ve rediscovered the joys of rope climbing in the past month and a half. The idea crept into my mind and I finally broke down and bought a 25´section of 1 1/4" manila rope. In time, I´m going to sink some telephone poles in my back yard and create a rope climbing station so that I have a place to do them. I personally believe they are that invaluable for overall physical fitness.
They are an advanced exercise for sure and I´m still learning the ropes of the ropes. When I got my chunk of rope, I couldn´t do the climb with the feet. I work on it, just in case I have a problem and my hands can´t make it. Yeah, I just grabbed the rope with my hands and just climbed up and down, no feet at all. Tough guy, for sure!
I quickly found a defect in my arm training. The sides of my arms hurt like hell. The reason why is because there is a muscle that runs along the side of the elbow. It´s purpose is to stabilize the elbow joint while the bicep flexes the arm. Since this is barely discussed and commonly forgotten about, I disregarded it. This amounted to a painful mistake on the rope. To strengthen it ( if you´re going to climb the rope, I strongly urge you to do this!), take the following exercise:
1. Place your arm at a 90 degree angle with the forearm parallel to the ground in front of your chest. Clench your hand in a tight fist.
2. Place you opposite hand on your fist.
3. Raise your fist up, keeping your elbow flexed at 90 degrees while resisting with the opposite hand. Do five at maximum tension
4. Repeat with the opposite side.
Also, some loosening up and stretching is almost mandatory before doing the rope. Also, if you´re following the exercise format that I gave in my previous post about bulking up, I´d recommend that you move the DVR/DSR/Iso section up first and do the calisthenic section after. Fingertip pushups are a great augmentation to the rope climb.
The true worth of the rope climb lies in the fact that it is utilizing both isotonic and isometric contraction in one single exercise. While you´re using one arm to reach up and grasp the rope, your opposite arm is going to be locked in place, holding your bodyweight to the rope. This is an intense isometric contraction for sure! The subsequent lift is a powerful, pull-up style movement. This is an exercise that forces your body to obey your mind´s wishes. If the body doesn´t, you could get hurt. It´s a powerful training tool but it requires some common sense. I recommend that you have very powerful arms, are proficient in closed grip pullups, chinups and towel pullups. Above all, you have a positive mindset. If you don´t, then skip this one!
Don´t come here and blame me if you hurt yourself. Consider yourself warned if you´re too weak to do these. I take respnsiblity for my own actions. You should take responsiblity for yours. Otherwise, be careful and have fun!
They are an advanced exercise for sure and I´m still learning the ropes of the ropes. When I got my chunk of rope, I couldn´t do the climb with the feet. I work on it, just in case I have a problem and my hands can´t make it. Yeah, I just grabbed the rope with my hands and just climbed up and down, no feet at all. Tough guy, for sure!
I quickly found a defect in my arm training. The sides of my arms hurt like hell. The reason why is because there is a muscle that runs along the side of the elbow. It´s purpose is to stabilize the elbow joint while the bicep flexes the arm. Since this is barely discussed and commonly forgotten about, I disregarded it. This amounted to a painful mistake on the rope. To strengthen it ( if you´re going to climb the rope, I strongly urge you to do this!), take the following exercise:
1. Place your arm at a 90 degree angle with the forearm parallel to the ground in front of your chest. Clench your hand in a tight fist.
2. Place you opposite hand on your fist.
3. Raise your fist up, keeping your elbow flexed at 90 degrees while resisting with the opposite hand. Do five at maximum tension
4. Repeat with the opposite side.
Also, some loosening up and stretching is almost mandatory before doing the rope. Also, if you´re following the exercise format that I gave in my previous post about bulking up, I´d recommend that you move the DVR/DSR/Iso section up first and do the calisthenic section after. Fingertip pushups are a great augmentation to the rope climb.
The true worth of the rope climb lies in the fact that it is utilizing both isotonic and isometric contraction in one single exercise. While you´re using one arm to reach up and grasp the rope, your opposite arm is going to be locked in place, holding your bodyweight to the rope. This is an intense isometric contraction for sure! The subsequent lift is a powerful, pull-up style movement. This is an exercise that forces your body to obey your mind´s wishes. If the body doesn´t, you could get hurt. It´s a powerful training tool but it requires some common sense. I recommend that you have very powerful arms, are proficient in closed grip pullups, chinups and towel pullups. Above all, you have a positive mindset. If you don´t, then skip this one!
Don´t come here and blame me if you hurt yourself. Consider yourself warned if you´re too weak to do these. I take respnsiblity for my own actions. You should take responsiblity for yours. Otherwise, be careful and have fun!
Look Backward to Move Foreward
The fitness world has regressed in the past 50 years. Since the popularity of weight training, supplements, gyms, and steroids have exploded upon the fitness world, it´s residue has tarnished the fitness world in a most unfortunate way. Along the way, those who wanted to get fit have surrendered to the notion that fitness of body comes from these and not from within. It comes from your mind. It comes from your desire and your focus.
This is what the fitness books of 70-100 years ago preached about. Authors like Sandow, Maxick, Atlas, Tilney, Jowett, Swoboda, and Van Digglen spoke at length about the need to have a focused mind to develop a powerful body. This may have been born out of necessity. Weights were hideously expensive so having piles of weights would have been incredibley expensive. So, they supplemented by using their mind to direct an intense contraction to the muscle that they were working while using a light weight. This eliminated the need for having all of the expensive iron. The anvil-lifting wonder George Jowett commented in his magnum opus Unrevealed Secrets of Man that he never lifted a weight more than 25 lbs while training. The weight merely served as a way to magnify and focus the contraction that the mind was doing. This may have been an improvisation, but it was a much smarter way to work out.
Unfortunately, this is utterly lost upon the modern fitness world. Now, machines and massive weights provide the resistance. There is little focus on the of the mind on the task at hand. If there were, then there wouldn´t be televisions at gyms, would there? Every lifter has a story of how they have given themselves muscle tears, ripped tendons off their bones, injured themselves, etc. A quick search of Youtube will give you the hideous picture of the lack of focus, attention, and intelligence in the fitness world.
That´s why I say that we have fallen behind. If anything, we need to look back at the way it used to be. We need to use our minds to develop our bodies and not rely on foreign objects to do the work that our minds should be doing. Work out without distractions. Focus your mind on the body part that you´re working on. Develop a connection between your mind and your body. This may not be as easy as piling on 100 lbs of weight on your shoulders but it will yield a much healthier, stronger body as well as a better, more focused mind.
Start looking backwards now...
http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/
If you´re reading this, Thanks, Gordon Anderson, for all of the good work that you´ve done here. It is invaluable. You´re the tour guide to the past, and a damn good one at that!
This is what the fitness books of 70-100 years ago preached about. Authors like Sandow, Maxick, Atlas, Tilney, Jowett, Swoboda, and Van Digglen spoke at length about the need to have a focused mind to develop a powerful body. This may have been born out of necessity. Weights were hideously expensive so having piles of weights would have been incredibley expensive. So, they supplemented by using their mind to direct an intense contraction to the muscle that they were working while using a light weight. This eliminated the need for having all of the expensive iron. The anvil-lifting wonder George Jowett commented in his magnum opus Unrevealed Secrets of Man that he never lifted a weight more than 25 lbs while training. The weight merely served as a way to magnify and focus the contraction that the mind was doing. This may have been an improvisation, but it was a much smarter way to work out.
Unfortunately, this is utterly lost upon the modern fitness world. Now, machines and massive weights provide the resistance. There is little focus on the of the mind on the task at hand. If there were, then there wouldn´t be televisions at gyms, would there? Every lifter has a story of how they have given themselves muscle tears, ripped tendons off their bones, injured themselves, etc. A quick search of Youtube will give you the hideous picture of the lack of focus, attention, and intelligence in the fitness world.
That´s why I say that we have fallen behind. If anything, we need to look back at the way it used to be. We need to use our minds to develop our bodies and not rely on foreign objects to do the work that our minds should be doing. Work out without distractions. Focus your mind on the body part that you´re working on. Develop a connection between your mind and your body. This may not be as easy as piling on 100 lbs of weight on your shoulders but it will yield a much healthier, stronger body as well as a better, more focused mind.
Start looking backwards now...
http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/
If you´re reading this, Thanks, Gordon Anderson, for all of the good work that you´ve done here. It is invaluable. You´re the tour guide to the past, and a damn good one at that!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
As requested... How I bulked up to 180 lbs
It´s a timely topic for me to discuss how I added about bulked up to 180 lbs. I might need to re-read it. You see, I´ve been horribly sick and I dropped about 12 lbs while honeymooning in Peru. So, I´m in dire need of some muscle mass, much like Joe who requested this post. I have never put it all down in writing how I did it. I did write on my eating habits back in a June 4 post (for ease of reference... http://thebodyweightfiles.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-im-gaining-some-weight.html) Now, I´m going to discuss my exercise habits.
First and foremost, as much as I wanted muscular bulk, I didn´t want worthless muscle. I have a physically demanding life in general and being worthlessly bloated just isn´t an option. So, I had to Tailor my workouts so that I was achieving a bigger and versatile physique. So, each workout was a combination of DVR´s, DSR´s, isometrics and calisthenics. Much of the exercises was high intensity rather than high repetition. This results in more muscle. I did´t completely neglect high rep work since it has real life carry-over though. As a result, my rep count on my exercises stayed pretty constant, even as I gained weight.
I cut the workouts into days of focusing on my legs, arms, chest and shoulders, back, and abs. Since I wanted the bulk to end up in my arms and legs, these parts got two workouts a week. It broke down like this:
Monday: Arms
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Chest and shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Saturday: Abs
Sunday: Back
For each workout, there was a basic structure as well. I fooled around with it a bit and changed the exercises done each time but the basic structure remained. Here´s how it goes for me:
Warm-up with some light movements and stretches
1. Calisthenics
2. A DVR or DSR
3. Isometrics
Sometimes I´d add a second set of DVR or DSR in after the isometric. All of these exercises were done with maximum tension and the DVR and DSR´s were done for only 5 reps. Often times, I´d do two or even three different types of calisthenics. I´d rest only for 5-10 deep breaths in between exercises, no more (unless I took in water). The calisthenics are done without a break in between. When doing the calisthenics, I take a number of calisthenics that I can reasonably do and hold myself to that number, no less. I didn´t do my maximum number of calisthenics because after the previous exercises, I´d never get to that number. So, if I could do 16 towel pullups, I shoot for 13. This alone was plenty challenging, believe me. Overall all, most of my workouts wouldn´t exceed one hour. Most were 25-40 minutes.
I feel that the combination of the different BW exercises was critical. Each has a specific attribute(s) that is important to overall fitness and real life strength. Calisthenics are very important because they force the muscles to work together to create power. The DVR and the DSR´s are great to zero in on specific muscle groups. Isometrics are fantastic because often times adding power to a movement gradually is needed in life. Plus, there are times when we need to maintain contraction powerfully for a period of time to get a task done. I felt I was successful in creating a physique to be admired as well as one that was functional for day to day life. Most of all, they are the best way to add a lot of intensity in a short period of time.
Of course, this was my experience with my body. Feel free to experiment when it comes to you. I´m building a different body than you are. You may need a different training program than me. Still, I hope that you take into consideration functionality when you´re training for the body of your dreams. What good is it if it can't do anything with it? You might as well grab the stanozolol, creatine, fake tanning lotion and the weights.
First and foremost, as much as I wanted muscular bulk, I didn´t want worthless muscle. I have a physically demanding life in general and being worthlessly bloated just isn´t an option. So, I had to Tailor my workouts so that I was achieving a bigger and versatile physique. So, each workout was a combination of DVR´s, DSR´s, isometrics and calisthenics. Much of the exercises was high intensity rather than high repetition. This results in more muscle. I did´t completely neglect high rep work since it has real life carry-over though. As a result, my rep count on my exercises stayed pretty constant, even as I gained weight.
I cut the workouts into days of focusing on my legs, arms, chest and shoulders, back, and abs. Since I wanted the bulk to end up in my arms and legs, these parts got two workouts a week. It broke down like this:
Monday: Arms
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Chest and shoulders
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Arms
Saturday: Abs
Sunday: Back
For each workout, there was a basic structure as well. I fooled around with it a bit and changed the exercises done each time but the basic structure remained. Here´s how it goes for me:
Warm-up with some light movements and stretches
1. Calisthenics
2. A DVR or DSR
3. Isometrics
Sometimes I´d add a second set of DVR or DSR in after the isometric. All of these exercises were done with maximum tension and the DVR and DSR´s were done for only 5 reps. Often times, I´d do two or even three different types of calisthenics. I´d rest only for 5-10 deep breaths in between exercises, no more (unless I took in water). The calisthenics are done without a break in between. When doing the calisthenics, I take a number of calisthenics that I can reasonably do and hold myself to that number, no less. I didn´t do my maximum number of calisthenics because after the previous exercises, I´d never get to that number. So, if I could do 16 towel pullups, I shoot for 13. This alone was plenty challenging, believe me. Overall all, most of my workouts wouldn´t exceed one hour. Most were 25-40 minutes.
I feel that the combination of the different BW exercises was critical. Each has a specific attribute(s) that is important to overall fitness and real life strength. Calisthenics are very important because they force the muscles to work together to create power. The DVR and the DSR´s are great to zero in on specific muscle groups. Isometrics are fantastic because often times adding power to a movement gradually is needed in life. Plus, there are times when we need to maintain contraction powerfully for a period of time to get a task done. I felt I was successful in creating a physique to be admired as well as one that was functional for day to day life. Most of all, they are the best way to add a lot of intensity in a short period of time.
Of course, this was my experience with my body. Feel free to experiment when it comes to you. I´m building a different body than you are. You may need a different training program than me. Still, I hope that you take into consideration functionality when you´re training for the body of your dreams. What good is it if it can't do anything with it? You might as well grab the stanozolol, creatine, fake tanning lotion and the weights.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
My Bitter Disgust for Steriods
I just received a nice compliment on my old post about Ron Coleman. His frustration with the rampant steroid use in bodybuilding mirrors my own. It's a sad state of things but every major bodybuilder since the mid 60's has been a creation of steroids. Steroid use was embraced by both Bob Hoffman and Joe Weider early on and that pretty much assured that steroid use would become intertwined with weight lifting from then on. Thanks to bodybuilding's influence, weight training has become the premier form (and as far as most are concerned, the only form) of strength training out there. Wherever you find weights being used, steriods aren't far away. They've become that intertwined.
The Germans found out how to make synthetic testosterone back before the Second World War. It has been suggested but never proven that they administered testosterone to their soldiers in order to make them bigger, stronger and meaner (I personally don't believe this. Like every other evil empire, the Germans kept meticulous records of everything they did. So far, nothing confirming testosterone use in soldiers has surfaced). Most of this information was seized by the Soviets after the war. They promptly began administering steroids to their athletes in the Eastern Bloc. They immediately began to sweep all of the athletic events, including the Olympics. Not to be outdone, Bob Hoffman figured out what they were doing by sticking Dr. John Ziegler on the case. He wanted a better steroid than what the Soviets where using. Dinabol, the first commercial steroid, hit the market in 1958.
To see the stark difference that steroids made, Take a look at these pictures. Reg Park was the concensus-best bodybuilder just before Dinabol hit the market.
In the Mid-to-late 60's, Sergio Olivia was the man to beat. Look at the huge difference in his build as opposed to Reg Parks just 8 years earlier.
Why the bitter disgust? Um, where do I start? I'll just limit this to my single, biggest bitch about the whole situation: that you somehow need chemical enhancement to gain strength. Ever since steroids became such an integral part of the bodybuilding, the notion has been spread to get strength, you need something else to get strong, even if it's not steroids. Just look at the posters that sell gym memberships. I'm sure that you'll find a juiced body selling them. The steroid ideal has become the physical ideal. This infuriates me to no end. Lying to people and saying that weights are the only way to get strong gets me going enough as it is but to further the lie by hinting at the need for steroid use just sends me over the edge.
All you need is some good exercises, healthy food, the right mindset, and some focus of mind and body on your muscles. This was used by many long before the boom of supplements and steroids. It was all people had and they somehow managed to get strong and healthy without them. Believe it or not, it still works today, regardless of the potion peddlers selling their shit with a shaved, oiled, and juiced up body say.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Charle Atlas' Most Enduring Gift to The Fitness World
I'm writing this post right now in Lima, Peru. I'm at my in-laws apartment and across the street, there is a pretty garden-variety gym. On their sign, they have a picture of a man with a massive, obviously steroid-built physique. Like I said, it's a pretty normal sight to see in any gym anywhere in the world. Since it was shut out of the bodybuilding revolution, we never saw this in the Bodyweight world, and we have none other than Charles Atlas to thank for it.
At the time when steroids and weights locked in their venomous embrace back in the late 50's, Dynamic Tension was the biggest bodyweight course (it probably still is) out there. To anyone who has it, Charles Atlas had a thoroughly holistic approach to fitness that few have been able to match to this day. He was far more interested to building an attractive and functional physique as well as a complete man. He never changed the course, so he was obviously uninterested in trends and fads. Atlas' vision of what a man should be built like was not subject to the whims of the public and the styles of the day as expressed in the media.
He preserved that in the Bodyweight-based physical culture. We weren't infected with that hype-driven urge to inject god-knows-what and how much of it into our bodies in order to satisfy some bizarre carnal pleasures. To even think of using steroids when training with bodyweight doesn't even sound plausible, does it? It sounds as alien and implausible as seeing the Pope in a pornographic movie.
There are many great things that Charles Atlas did but as far as I'm concerned, that was his greatest gift to physical culture. He kept the purity in at least one, very important facet of physical culture. He kept those of us faithful to Bodyweight on the right path to perfect physical manhood when the rest of the fitness world plunged into the abyss.
At the time when steroids and weights locked in their venomous embrace back in the late 50's, Dynamic Tension was the biggest bodyweight course (it probably still is) out there. To anyone who has it, Charles Atlas had a thoroughly holistic approach to fitness that few have been able to match to this day. He was far more interested to building an attractive and functional physique as well as a complete man. He never changed the course, so he was obviously uninterested in trends and fads. Atlas' vision of what a man should be built like was not subject to the whims of the public and the styles of the day as expressed in the media.
He preserved that in the Bodyweight-based physical culture. We weren't infected with that hype-driven urge to inject god-knows-what and how much of it into our bodies in order to satisfy some bizarre carnal pleasures. To even think of using steroids when training with bodyweight doesn't even sound plausible, does it? It sounds as alien and implausible as seeing the Pope in a pornographic movie.
There are many great things that Charles Atlas did but as far as I'm concerned, that was his greatest gift to physical culture. He kept the purity in at least one, very important facet of physical culture. He kept those of us faithful to Bodyweight on the right path to perfect physical manhood when the rest of the fitness world plunged into the abyss.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
How important is looking fit?
Pavel in his books has often disregarded the look of strength and fitness and I thought it was very refreshing. After all, the fitness industry is at least 70% geared towards how to look fit and often disregards how important it is to be fit. You only need to look to the circus freak-like de-evolution that bodybuilding has descended into as proof. So, for a person to shit all over that faulty mentality definitely appealed to me. Still, I just wouldn't want to look like Pavel. He's just too skinny. Is that really that wrong? I don't think so. I still think that there's some very valid reasons to look strong, fit and healthy. It still has some merit.
One thing that I learned this year when I wanted to gain some muscle-weight is how much having some physical presence has in the work place. I realized how much more seriously that I've been taken seriously since I'm not this skinny kid on the job. I'm not the only one whose noted that. I've heard of business executives who've taken up bodybuilding just for this reason. In the world of first impressions, looking fit and strong also translates to looking capable of doing the job. I know many people don't want to admit to this but until you experience it, you may not be inclined to believe it.
I'll agree all day that modern fitness has taken this drive to look a certain way too far but I don't see the solution to this as completely disregarding looking fit as having any merit. It's all a balance and I don't see the answer to this problem as tipping the balance completely in the other direction. Looking the part still means something.
One thing that I learned this year when I wanted to gain some muscle-weight is how much having some physical presence has in the work place. I realized how much more seriously that I've been taken seriously since I'm not this skinny kid on the job. I'm not the only one whose noted that. I've heard of business executives who've taken up bodybuilding just for this reason. In the world of first impressions, looking fit and strong also translates to looking capable of doing the job. I know many people don't want to admit to this but until you experience it, you may not be inclined to believe it.
Being overweight often tells a lot about a person without the person ever saying anything. I remember an obese employee who worked at our shop years ago. He looked kind of slow. That wasn't an illusion. He was incredibly slow because of his obese body. He could only do a fraction of what our more physically fit employees could do in a day. Plus, he was always sick and frequently injured. The book definitely matched the cover. Once again, we may not want to admit it, but it's true that the appearance of physical health and strength (or lack of it) makes a difference at work.
Another incredibly valid reason that has been stated by self defense expert Sammy Franco to look strong is deterrence. It's a known fact that criminals don't typically prey on what looks like a strong person. They go for the seemingly weak and incapable. Deterrence is always best in self defense and walking around looking like a pillar of strength will help keep you safer.
I'll agree all day that modern fitness has taken this drive to look a certain way too far but I don't see the solution to this as completely disregarding looking fit as having any merit. It's all a balance and I don't see the answer to this problem as tipping the balance completely in the other direction. Looking the part still means something.
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