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Yeah, I just like to use them as a guidepost. Obviously I'm proportioned a bit differently than the type of person the calculators are designed for. For one thing, my waist will never be small enough for me to be a real bodybuilder or anything. But interestingly, Casey Butt's predicts around 230 @ 10% which is just about where I was at after my last cut. I was most likely closer to the 13% or so, so I think I probably have a good 5 to 10 lbs of lean mass I could put on still.
I tried my proposed workout tonight and my arms felt like they were going to explode afterward. Might be difficult to do all the metabolic work throughout the cycle if the pumps are going to be this painful. Arms were swollen to 17.5 after the workout. Ow.
I tried my proposed workout tonight and my arms felt like they were going to explode afterward. Might be difficult to do all the metabolic work throughout the cycle if the pumps are going to be this painful. Arms were swollen to 17.5 after the workout. Ow.
I'm going to stick with it for four weeks or so and see what happens. I've never really overtrained before, don't think I can with something like this. I think that by switching it up bro, I can confuse the muscles and shock them into growth. Those muscles won't know what to do, forcing the body into growing.
Started using this app for my phone that is based around the MyFitnessPal site to help track my calories a little better since I've been mostly just eating whatever for the last couple months. Their calculator suggests I get 3500 calories a day in order to put on 2 lbs a week. Haha... I barely maintain on that.
Started using this app for my phone that is based around the MyFitnessPal site to help track my calories a little better since I've been mostly just eating whatever for the last couple months. Their calculator suggests I get 3500 calories a day in order to put on 2 lbs a week. Haha... I barely maintain on that.
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Those will be fab numbers to hit if you get there. Ankles and wrists definitely thicken up after a lot of heavy lifting so maybe you will always have room to grow if you can keep those ankles and wrists expanding! 
Your chest measurement seems to be the one furthest from the estimates of your max potential. Is this due to lat/upper-back thickness or is it more pecs?
My pecs are what let me down. I had nearly no muscle tissue to speak of in the chest area when I was a kid. It's improved a bit but I have some right side pec weirdness going on that will always spoil any symmetry and probably affects my pressing strength. My bench sucks but that's also due to my ongoing shoulder issues. I'm used to seeing your back in your avatar which always looks decently thick so I'm guessing it's your pecs that could do with a bit more encouragement?
Your chest measurement seems to be the one furthest from the estimates of your max potential. Is this due to lat/upper-back thickness or is it more pecs?My pecs are what let me down. I had nearly no muscle tissue to speak of in the chest area when I was a kid. It's improved a bit but I have some right side pec weirdness going on that will always spoil any symmetry and probably affects my pressing strength. My bench sucks but that's also due to my ongoing shoulder issues. I'm used to seeing your back in your avatar which always looks decently thick so I'm guessing it's your pecs that could do with a bit more encouragement?
I personally feel I need more lat width but pecs have always been a weak point for me, which is why my bench is so crappy compared to my other lifts. I was in the same boat when I was young, you could see bones and such in my chest. My back is plenty thick just not quite wide enough for my liking. So... I think a combination of needing more lat width and more thickness in the pecs will get me to that measurement. Not sure though, it's hard to tell by just looking in the mirror, I'll have to take some pictures of my lat spread and see how it looks. I mean, I'm used to looking at pictures of bodybuilders with unrealistic lat spread, so it could just be that my expectations are too high for that muscle group.
Consequently, seated rows and pulldowns seem to create a lot more strain in my lats afterward than what I was doing before. Nothing seems to work particularly well for pecs though, it's just slow growing in that area no matter what I do really. And I can dip a rather obscene amount of weight, so I think I just have crap genetics for pecs.
Consequently, seated rows and pulldowns seem to create a lot more strain in my lats afterward than what I was doing before. Nothing seems to work particularly well for pecs though, it's just slow growing in that area no matter what I do really. And I can dip a rather obscene amount of weight, so I think I just have crap genetics for pecs.
Yeah dips piss me off because I can dip a ton but it doesn't seem to be helping my triceps or pecs grow as much as I would like. I think part of my problem with lats is that I have a naturally thick waist so my lats have to be that much wider for them to look good.
I might have a decent workout partner soon. A guy I used to work with contacted me because he needs a partner who is not a moron. He's not huge but he is a strong guy for his size, used to powerlift in school and etc, so we will see if he is serious. I think he is. I do sometimes get people wanting to be my partner because they think it will somehow make them huge and they never work out, they always quit after a few weeks when they don't immediately become the size of the hulk. So... perhaps.
I might have a decent workout partner soon. A guy I used to work with contacted me because he needs a partner who is not a moron. He's not huge but he is a strong guy for his size, used to powerlift in school and etc, so we will see if he is serious. I think he is. I do sometimes get people wanting to be my partner because they think it will somehow make them huge and they never work out, they always quit after a few weeks when they don't immediately become the size of the hulk. So... perhaps.
This dude has been coming in to work the last few nights and talking to me, trying to convince me to come down to his gym and train. Now this may sound weird, but I actually get approached a lot by people wanted me to come down to their gym and workout, or people wanting me to be their lifting partner, and semi-frequently I have people approach me to ask about lifting and/or diet. So it's not unusual for someone to be trying to talk to me about this kind of stuff. But this guy has a gym that focuses a lot on martial arts and also has a (supposedly) well equipped weight room.
I'm starting to seriously think about it. I may at least go visit on Sunday and see what the place is about. I did Wing Chun Kung Fu for four years prior to getting into weightlifting, and martial arts has always been a passion of mine. I've not done MMA and know very little about ground fighting or grappling. All I've studied was Kung Fu, a very small amount of Judo and I wrestled when I was a kid, that's all. We chatted quite a bit about what styles we have studied, etc... From what he tells me, they have almost no bigger guys there, the majority of their fighters are under 200 lbs and so they could use more heavies. This isn't the first time someone has tried to persuade me to get into this particular sport either, I really don't know why people assume that I would be a capable fighter if I got into MMA, and usually I just tell them no or say I might come down and then blow them off. But... for some reason this time I find myself intrigued.
So we will see what happens and what I decide. Obviously if I got into that, it would cut into my gym time and alter my training goals considerably.
I'm starting to seriously think about it. I may at least go visit on Sunday and see what the place is about. I did Wing Chun Kung Fu for four years prior to getting into weightlifting, and martial arts has always been a passion of mine. I've not done MMA and know very little about ground fighting or grappling. All I've studied was Kung Fu, a very small amount of Judo and I wrestled when I was a kid, that's all. We chatted quite a bit about what styles we have studied, etc... From what he tells me, they have almost no bigger guys there, the majority of their fighters are under 200 lbs and so they could use more heavies. This isn't the first time someone has tried to persuade me to get into this particular sport either, I really don't know why people assume that I would be a capable fighter if I got into MMA, and usually I just tell them no or say I might come down and then blow them off. But... for some reason this time I find myself intrigued.
So we will see what happens and what I decide. Obviously if I got into that, it would cut into my gym time and alter my training goals considerably.
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Getting involved in any sport ends up taking more time away from other things so I guess it'll depend on what you think of the place once you've had a chance to check it out and then how much time you think it's going to take to practice new skills. It's always great to be able to put training to good use. That's why I like O-lifting now because it's a challenge and the thought of eventually competing has given me a good reason to keep pushing myself to get stronger.
I don't know anything about MMA. I did Judo as a kid. It was great for fitness but we never trained with weights back then. I can only imagine how intense a bout would be between two strong 100+kg men. Pretty mental.
Whats the likelihood of injury? That's something I have to take into account more these days. But then, I'm old!
I don't know anything about MMA. I did Judo as a kid. It was great for fitness but we never trained with weights back then. I can only imagine how intense a bout would be between two strong 100+kg men. Pretty mental.
Whats the likelihood of injury? That's something I have to take into account more these days. But then, I'm old!
The over/under for gym fella wanting 'something for nothing & the chicks for free' is 74.5%. Having said that, there's certainly a lot of potential benefits in there for you - $$, gym membership, training access, self-defense (fighting) capabilities, friendships etc. Having said that, most of the MMA guys I know look a lot more like this:
...than the sizeable guys you get on cable. But then at amateur level, BW matters slightly less (from my understanding).
Wing Chun is a great foundation for MMA, that and jujitsu. You really don't want to give up any vulnerability or commit too strongly, it's such a dynamic combat sport. Compared to boxing, where you're really only in serious trouble if you a) telegraph, b) get the counter in the head.
Some of the holds can really f**k up your shoulders, without a doubt it's the prime example of amateurs being more dangerous than professionals; so just beware.
Frankly, re: the gym dude, he just sounds like he wants better coverage within his gym - and which manager wouldn't? Bigger guys bring in more teenager and uni-age kids, they also lend a degree of credibility that merely ripped guys don't.
nativetroutbum
Member
Most MMA guys I know are incredibly fit, lean, and flexible; IMO the professionals are some of the best athletes in the world; not quite as elite as olympic gymnasts, but approaching that level.
There is a big difference between training MMA and training MMA toward competing. You can train many of the different aspects of MMA without too much injury risk and you can keep those skills in your back pocket until you need them on the street when someone tries to pick your pocket... But training toward competing; training toward the goal of actually fighting is a different story. Most injuries in MMA happen while training before a competition because much of that training is basically fighting a training partner a 99% intensity.
If I had the time and $$$ I would definitely be spending my time at a local MMA gym. If they are going to give you a break on the cost, go for it! Incredible functional workouts with the added benefit of self defense skills. I hope you check out the gym and it turns out to be a good fit for you!
There is a big difference between training MMA and training MMA toward competing. You can train many of the different aspects of MMA without too much injury risk and you can keep those skills in your back pocket until you need them on the street when someone tries to pick your pocket... But training toward competing; training toward the goal of actually fighting is a different story. Most injuries in MMA happen while training before a competition because much of that training is basically fighting a training partner a 99% intensity.
If I had the time and $$$ I would definitely be spending my time at a local MMA gym. If they are going to give you a break on the cost, go for it! Incredible functional workouts with the added benefit of self defense skills. I hope you check out the gym and it turns out to be a good fit for you!
Actually my size is sort of what worries me about it, because if I did get into it, and this guy was talking about training with the goal of competing, well I'd have to be going up against other big guys... I will have to look into the weight classes and see how those work. Depending on the range of weights for the heavier guys, it could be kind of crazy. I mean, I don't want to be 240 going against a 280 lb monster or anything. Not sure if I would even get that far into it to be competing anyway, I like my ears a lot and don't really want to mess those up. Just training would be fun though.
I'm probably going to try to go check it out tomorrow, I want to get my 11 year old son into it too. He's too soft and not at all active like I was when I was his age, so I think getting him into jujitsu could be good for him. He seems mildly interested in it.
I'm probably going to try to go check it out tomorrow, I want to get my 11 year old son into it too. He's too soft and not at all active like I was when I was his age, so I think getting him into jujitsu could be good for him. He seems mildly interested in it.
nativetroutbum
Member
The "unified rules of MMA" indicate 9 different weight classes. Those on either side of 240 are Light-Heavyweight (205) and and Heavyweight 265. Superheavyweight is unlimited. Some promotions use a Cruiserweight class (230).
Nearly all MMA competitors completely dehydrate themselves prior to weigh-in, so their true weight is at least 10 pounds heavier than their weight at weigh-in. Some MMA competitors stretch this into realms of "un-real" such as UFC Fighter Anthony "rumble" Johnson who fights at 170 but walks around in the 220 BW range... prior to one fight, he was reportedly weighing 240 pounds before beginning to cut... Obviously this is hideously unhealthy.
Wrestling is widely considered the best base skill for MMA. It would be awesome if you and your son could train at something together... awesome bonding and general relationship building. My son is 2, but as soon as he is able (age 4-5) we plan to get him into wrestling and gymnastics. I'll be helping coach wrestling, but I know nothing about gymnastics
Nearly all MMA competitors completely dehydrate themselves prior to weigh-in, so their true weight is at least 10 pounds heavier than their weight at weigh-in. Some MMA competitors stretch this into realms of "un-real" such as UFC Fighter Anthony "rumble" Johnson who fights at 170 but walks around in the 220 BW range... prior to one fight, he was reportedly weighing 240 pounds before beginning to cut... Obviously this is hideously unhealthy.
Wrestling is widely considered the best base skill for MMA. It would be awesome if you and your son could train at something together... awesome bonding and general relationship building. My son is 2, but as soon as he is able (age 4-5) we plan to get him into wrestling and gymnastics. I'll be helping coach wrestling, but I know nothing about gymnastics
Warning, more vanity pictures...
My girl for some reason decided to make a flow of pictures showing my changes over the last eight years, with the first picture being six months prior to when I started HST. I had attempted to do this earlier in the thread but couldn't find anything. This one is a bit more complete. Inexplicably, 2007 and 2010 are missing completely, but it's interesting to look back.
I started out small in 2004, roughly around 140 lbs I'm pretty sure. Got pretty fat in June of 2006, that was the fattest I had ever been at that point. In 2008, I was doing HST and then DC, and got even fatter, peaking at 230 lbs. You can see where I lost progress between 2008 and 2009, which was when I went through my divorce, didn't get to see my kids for almost a year, although I eventually got them back and ended up having custody of them myself. I lost a bit over 30 lbs during that time that I didn't have my children and looking back, I think it was due to depression. I really hated falling under 200 lbs. And then between 2009 and 2011 I apparently got serious... Ending back at roughly 230 lbs again in September of 2012, although I'd say a much better body composition than when I was 230 in 2008.
It's funny to see how my face gets all fat, then thins out, then gets fat again. And I guess I had no glass cleaner in 2005 because that mirror is disgusting. Anyway, just my little anecdote about HST. Are my results exceptional? No. You can clearly see in this pictures that it is merely steady progress over the course of almost a decade. Anyone can do it. Just takes time and dedication. I've had a lot of curveballs thrown at me during my eight years of HST too from divorces to health problems and missing entire months of training due to working hellish hours... and if I can do this with all that going on, then people who can be more consistent than I was should be able to get better results in a shorter span of time, right?
A guy at the gym the other day, small little 180 lb dude who was roughly my height, back and arms riddled with acne from the steroids he's taking (I'm assuming) wanted to train with me... somehow thinks that will magically make his steroids work better so he can get bigger. I told him that he's got to start eating, just doing dumbbell bench press then hurling the DBs on the floor as hard as you can won't make you big. Food is what makes you big. He's like "I eat bro, I eat..." Inject all the stuff you want, you aren't going to grow without smart eating... then he asks me what sort of cycle I'm on. Seriously?
My girl for some reason decided to make a flow of pictures showing my changes over the last eight years, with the first picture being six months prior to when I started HST. I had attempted to do this earlier in the thread but couldn't find anything. This one is a bit more complete. Inexplicably, 2007 and 2010 are missing completely, but it's interesting to look back.
I started out small in 2004, roughly around 140 lbs I'm pretty sure. Got pretty fat in June of 2006, that was the fattest I had ever been at that point. In 2008, I was doing HST and then DC, and got even fatter, peaking at 230 lbs. You can see where I lost progress between 2008 and 2009, which was when I went through my divorce, didn't get to see my kids for almost a year, although I eventually got them back and ended up having custody of them myself. I lost a bit over 30 lbs during that time that I didn't have my children and looking back, I think it was due to depression. I really hated falling under 200 lbs. And then between 2009 and 2011 I apparently got serious... Ending back at roughly 230 lbs again in September of 2012, although I'd say a much better body composition than when I was 230 in 2008.
It's funny to see how my face gets all fat, then thins out, then gets fat again. And I guess I had no glass cleaner in 2005 because that mirror is disgusting. Anyway, just my little anecdote about HST. Are my results exceptional? No. You can clearly see in this pictures that it is merely steady progress over the course of almost a decade. Anyone can do it. Just takes time and dedication. I've had a lot of curveballs thrown at me during my eight years of HST too from divorces to health problems and missing entire months of training due to working hellish hours... and if I can do this with all that going on, then people who can be more consistent than I was should be able to get better results in a shorter span of time, right?
A guy at the gym the other day, small little 180 lb dude who was roughly my height, back and arms riddled with acne from the steroids he's taking (I'm assuming) wanted to train with me... somehow thinks that will magically make his steroids work better so he can get bigger. I told him that he's got to start eating, just doing dumbbell bench press then hurling the DBs on the floor as hard as you can won't make you big. Food is what makes you big. He's like "I eat bro, I eat..." Inject all the stuff you want, you aren't going to grow without smart eating... then he asks me what sort of cycle I'm on. Seriously?
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Thanks for the words. I appreciate it. However... I try to make the point to people when I show them what I've done that I am nothing special and they can do it too. I don't believe I have great genes for building muscle. I have always been naturally stronger than other people my same size pretty much my whole life, and actually my frustration at people always underestimating my strength due to my small size was one of the primary motivators that got me into lifting. Whether all this is due to lever arms, center of gravity, etc, I don't know. But building muscle was always a big struggle. Just putting on weight at all is a huge struggle, even now. If I can do it, I don't see why anyone else can't?
With regards to your question - I had a bad winter from 2011 to 2012 and lost some size, but regained most of it... maybe some of it was reproportioned into different muscle groups? Seems like my delts were better in 2011 than they are now. Re: strength, I haven't actually gone that heavy in a very long time for most lifts. Haven't maxed out on deadlifts in quite a while either, so odds are my maximal strength was likely better in 2011. Actually through most of 2012 and even now, I miss workouts a lot and sometimes go a week or two without doing anything in the gym, so I haven't made a whole lot of progress. Typically I go and hit it real hard for a few weeks straight then get inconsistent for a couple weeks due to work, etc, then go back at it again for another few weeks. Things should get better in another week or so when my situation at work changes and I'm in charge of my own schedule again.
I want to test my max 1 RMs in a few months once I get some consistent training under my belt and then we will see how things are.
With regards to your question - I had a bad winter from 2011 to 2012 and lost some size, but regained most of it... maybe some of it was reproportioned into different muscle groups? Seems like my delts were better in 2011 than they are now. Re: strength, I haven't actually gone that heavy in a very long time for most lifts. Haven't maxed out on deadlifts in quite a while either, so odds are my maximal strength was likely better in 2011. Actually through most of 2012 and even now, I miss workouts a lot and sometimes go a week or two without doing anything in the gym, so I haven't made a whole lot of progress. Typically I go and hit it real hard for a few weeks straight then get inconsistent for a couple weeks due to work, etc, then go back at it again for another few weeks. Things should get better in another week or so when my situation at work changes and I'm in charge of my own schedule again.
I want to test my max 1 RMs in a few months once I get some consistent training under my belt and then we will see how things are.
I've been in management for the last fifteen years or so. Management, pretty much regardless of where you are at, which company, which field, is always a hectic profession. I'm not doing IT work in addition to managment for the company I'm with now though so I actually have quite a bit more free time than I used to.
Currently, I work at Qdoba. I started working there at the beginning of this year. It is a mexican style restaurant chain. It's a little hectic because company policy is that regardless of what you were hired in for, you have to start at the bottom and make your way up the ladder which they tell me is going to take a year or so. They do try to accelerate the training for people like me who are supposed to be eventually taking a higher position in the company. Nice thing is that they started me out at the same pay I was getting at the last place where I was one position from the top. I don't really like working in a restaurant, running shifts, especially since stuff comes up semi-frequently where we are busy and so I have to stay, or whatever. But on the other hand, I'm getting paid an hourly wage instead of salary, so when I have to work extra, I'm actually getting paid for it. That will change in a year or so when I get out of the restaurant and start managing multiple units.
I don't really like working in the food industry, but it will be worth it in the end. All in all, it will probably take me two to three years to get to an operational manager level where I can then finally relax a little. One of the other guys at that level is this one huge dude who I met recently, he must have had 20 inch arms. I'm assuming he finds adequate time to train since he is able to maintain an inhuman level of size. Nice thing is that he instantly liked me better than the other guys who are trying to get to his level since none of them are into weightlifting.
Currently, I work at Qdoba. I started working there at the beginning of this year. It is a mexican style restaurant chain. It's a little hectic because company policy is that regardless of what you were hired in for, you have to start at the bottom and make your way up the ladder which they tell me is going to take a year or so. They do try to accelerate the training for people like me who are supposed to be eventually taking a higher position in the company. Nice thing is that they started me out at the same pay I was getting at the last place where I was one position from the top. I don't really like working in a restaurant, running shifts, especially since stuff comes up semi-frequently where we are busy and so I have to stay, or whatever. But on the other hand, I'm getting paid an hourly wage instead of salary, so when I have to work extra, I'm actually getting paid for it. That will change in a year or so when I get out of the restaurant and start managing multiple units.
I don't really like working in the food industry, but it will be worth it in the end. All in all, it will probably take me two to three years to get to an operational manager level where I can then finally relax a little. One of the other guys at that level is this one huge dude who I met recently, he must have had 20 inch arms. I'm assuming he finds adequate time to train since he is able to maintain an inhuman level of size. Nice thing is that he instantly liked me better than the other guys who are trying to get to his level since none of them are into weightlifting.
Sci
Well-Known Member
You look really built in the latest photo. Everywhere.
Only weakness seems to be triceps, as you have mentioned before. Lats are probably fine, lats just hide under fat, but I know what you mean by "unrealistic lat spread" of roided Pros. My lats really are small, but I noticed they "stick out" more when I am lean.
Good job, a testimony to consistency.
Only weakness seems to be triceps, as you have mentioned before. Lats are probably fine, lats just hide under fat, but I know what you mean by "unrealistic lat spread" of roided Pros. My lats really are small, but I noticed they "stick out" more when I am lean.
Good job, a testimony to consistency.