You are strong for your weight. SO what's stopping ya ?
Muscle up is basically a violent pull up but the trick is to ROTATE YOUR WRISTS FORWARD ON THE BAR AS YOUR CHEST IS IN THE AIR AND CATCH YOURSELF.
Handstands are core strength, balance, and shoulder strength. Start by doing those planches, pike pushups (knees on the table then shoulders out), doing the HSPU's assisted on walls and having a partner hold you.
For pull-ups.
5 sets
5/3/4/5/5
Rest a day.
5/3/3/5/6
Rest a day.
5/5/5/5/5
Rest a day
Add + 10 lbs
4/3/4/3/4
Etc. etc.
Rest a day
6/5/5/4/7
Rest a day
Add + 15 lbs
4/4/4/4/4
The jist of it is it's a specific movement that simply gets better with practice and repetition. That's it. No tricks really. Higher volume. Negatives. Stronger Grip. And lotsa practice. Simple, but consistency is key.
Do as many as you can. Rest 1 min - 90 secs. Do as many as you can. Repeat.
If you wanted to supplement your pullups add heavy barbell rows with a strong contraction, deadlifts, and lots of rows. You need to find your weak link (is it lats, is it forearms, is it at the bottom is it at the top) and fix that sh!t up.
Also get your form right. That means chest up, head up, Back arched, and IMAGINE PULLING YOUR ELBOWS DOWN TO THE FLOOR. Don't be afraid to tense up every muscle in your body including your abs and glutes.
Source: Trying out for USMC which requires 20 and went from 5 --> 18 deadhang in a few months. Also did some gymnastics and asked an expert on iron cross and muscle ups lol.
Can always count on J$ to give some good advice. Thanks, homie. Even though everyone says GTG'ing works, I've actually yet to try it, as most of my training still revolves around gaining mass (though I do my best not to get stuck at a certain weight in a lift too much). My plan though is that after this 1-2 month block with CC, I'll push my DL and OHP with some good ole Power to the People. Once I get to the full pull-ups stage of CC though, I'll definitely try what you've outlined up there. Good cues by the way. I read an article by Eric Cressey on some pulling cues and he mentioned that one about drawing your elbows down instead of back. Feels much better.
Interesting too about the gymnastics part. Despite how macho bravado dickheads see gymnastics, I think it's just awe-inspiring. Have a little but of a streetdance background and at one point, our coach required us to have some gymnastics training too. At 16 years old that time, starting out felt awkward. Really still wanna pull off solid handstands and learn some of the basic stunts though.
I've been hitting the gym now since this year started with my girl. I actually just got home from it. I need to make this move, get fit. Anyone here recommend some tips on gaining weight?
You get any progress since that thread you made a while back? Without further adoo...
With regards to training, time under tension is gonna be your best friend. I other words, the more you can work a muscle at a high intensity (important note), the better your gains will be. In simple terms, aim to get a pump with a heavy weight, and no other exercises lend themselves well to heavy weights like compound movements. A year of rotating deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, pull-ups, bench presses (though I've never actually benched in my life), and rows will do you good. GOOOOOOOD.
When it comes to eating, just eat real food, and it most of your day's intake after your training. I actually made my absolute best gains in size and strength when I got off using whey powders post-workout and just started pounding all the meat, rice, sweet potatoes, fruits, and veggies I could throw down. No need for the extra supplements that may or may not actually work.
Other than that, just get good sleep and do your best to stay stress-free and have an awesome life.
Your situation sound similar to mine (daughter wife no time ect). 4 years ago I went out and bought my own home gym and haven't looked back. So much easier than having to go to the gym! Just wake up, hit your pre-workout sup, and bang out the weights...then go on with the rest of your day.
Not sure if you have the space or not. But it's definitely worth it.
Thanks... and thanks to rezz as well.
Have another one on the way, and will likely have to get a van (note: FEEL SO OLD. GAH.).
Am seriously thinking about installing a heater and converting the garage into a gym.
Anybody here ever try going through Convict Conditioning?
I decided that since its the New Year, ill start off with the basics of bodyweight, but damn after doing this, i feel humbled. Just did Inverted arows and Kneeling Push-Ups today and wow, the standards for progression among the movements is no laughing matter. The Kneeling PUs werent really a problem but i couldnt believe i found myself struggling a but with pulling off 10 strict inverted rows, and theyre just Step 2 in the Pull-Up series.
I'm reading through the book and I think I'm going to give it a try. It's just going to test my patience a lot if I go strictly by what he recommends, which is about one month working on each step until deciding to move on regardless of fitness level.
I see you've jumped up to other steps to gauge where you're at, but do you plan on doing everything from step one as well? I think I'm going to just because I want to test to see if I can actually follow a set program for that long, but its definitely going to be an accessory to what I'm doing in the weight room.
Last edited by sunsfan1357 : 01-05-2013 at 08:58 AM.
I'm reading through the book and I think I'm going to give it a try. It's just going to test my patience a lot if I go strictly by what he recommends, which is about one month working on each step until deciding to move on regardless of fitness level.
I see you've jumped up to other steps to gauge where you're at, but do you plan on doing everything from step one as well?
Nice! Glad to have someone go on this journey along with me. Yeah, I decided to skip the first few steps on the squat, pull-up, and push-up progressions. It was more of a "just because I can" decision and I ultimately don't have the patience to do so, but I'm making sure to pay my dues to by doing higher-rep sets of the earlier steps as warm-up, usually doing close to the number on the progression standard. I'm trying to see if I can achieve mastery of those steps concurrently. The earlier steps for me aren't really a test of strength, but really more for my patience and endurance. Even though those vertical pulls are easy as hell, my rear delts start burning after 15 reps.
Plus I'm not really one to go by the book. I usually experiment new stuff I learn with some stuff that's worked for me, like now, I'm using ladders in training my pull-up and push-up progressions. Will definitely work up to the progression standards though before I move on.
Have another one on the way, and will likely have to get a van (note: FEEL SO OLD. GAH.).
Am seriously thinking about installing a heater and converting the garage into a gym.
Good to hear! (except the 'van' maybe lol) Craigslist or Kijiji are your friends when it comes to buying equipment. Don't go to the local bodybuilding store and buy your gym, you'll spend a fortune.
I was able to put together a sweet-ass gym for about 1200 bucks. If I went and bought the gym I have new, I'd be looking at well over 5 grand. So the savings are significant.
My Gym:
PowerRack
Adjustable Bench
2 4x6 Rubber mats
2 Olympic Bars
1 CurlBar
Pair of Adjustable Dumbbells 0-80lbs
Pair of 90lbs dumbbells
Dip station
weight tree - holds plates
Olympic Plates - 4x45 4x35 4x25 8x10 8x5 8x2.5
Exercise Ball
Pair of 25lbs kettlebells
You don't have to go as crazy as I did. This is more than you need. Good luck and keep me updated.
You get any progress since that thread you made a while back? Without further adoo...
With regards to training, time under tension is gonna be your best friend. I other words, the more you can work a muscle at a high intensity (important note), the better your gains will be. In simple terms, aim to get a pump with a heavy weight, and no other exercises lend themselves well to heavy weights like compound movements. A year of rotating deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, pull-ups, bench presses (though I've never actually benched in my life), and rows will do you good. GOOOOOOOD.
When it comes to eating, just eat real food, and it most of your day's intake after your training. I actually made my absolute best gains in size and strength when I got off using whey powders post-workout and just started pounding all the meat, rice, sweet potatoes, fruits, and veggies I could throw down. No need for the extra supplements that may or may not actually work.
Other than that, just get good sleep and do your best to stay stress-free and have an awesome life.
Thanks for the response. What I've been doing is hitting the gym at least 3 times a week or more, starting like this year. I've been doing sets of 3 each muscle workouts, I don't lift though. The planet fitness I go to don't really have weights like that. When I go home I do extra workouts that I can do alone like sit ups, crunches, push ups, etc. I'm curious to know, how long after will I see results? Like 5-6 months? I know 1-4 months I will feel better, feel healthier, but will toning start around 4-6 months+?
And by lifting do you mean barbells? The weights they have there are on machines unless that counts as lifting. I guess that counts then? Sorry, I'm a noob. And you mean the thread I made a long time ago? About buying a home gym? If so my money ran low and I will perhaps make a purchase this year when it gets warmer.
Thanks for the response. What I've been doing is hitting the gym at least 3 times a week or more, starting like this year. I've been doing sets of 3 each muscle workouts, I don't lift though. The planet fitness I go to don't really have weights like that. When I go home I do extra workouts that I can do alone like sit ups, crunches, push ups, etc. I'm curious to know, how long after will I see results? Like 5-6 months? I know 1-4 months I will feel better, feel healthier, but will toning start around 4-6 months+?
And by lifting do you mean barbells? The weights they have there are on machines unless that counts as lifting. I guess that counts then? Sorry, I'm a noob. And you mean the thread I made a long time ago? About buying a home gym? If so my money ran low and I will perhaps make a purchase this year when it gets warmer.
Planet Fitness? Is it true they've banned doing Deadlifts at their branches? Ifnso then you need to get the **** outta that place.
Haha Just kidding. Honestly though, I've never trained with machines in my life and don't plan on doing so in the future. They have been shown to cause faulty recruitment patterns in trainees (in other words, they can actually cause bad form once you use barbells and dumbbells because of the fixed posture of the bars/handles) and they take a lot of stabilizer muscles out of your movement which you could get some extra strength from too. Personally, I'd rather do move and look for a gym with olympic bars or start off with bodyweight movements.
Planet Fitness? Is it true they've banned doing Deadlifts at their branches? Ifnso then you need to get the **** outta that place.
Haha Just kidding. Honestly though, I've never trained with machines in my life and don't plan on doing so in the future. They have been shown to cause faulty recruitment patterns in trainees (in other words, they can actually cause bad form once you use barbells and dumbbells because of the fixed posture of the bars/handles) and they take a lot of stabilizer muscles out of your movement which you could get some extra strength from too. Personally, I'd rather do move and look for a gym with olympic bars or start off with bodyweight movements.
Eh. I'll look into a home gym once my dad gives me my $1k back. Also I've been getting these stretch marks like really pink marks (they look like stretch marks) on my arms near my shoulders/arm above my armpit area. I do push ups, and shit. Will this go away? Is it normal? Their becoming scary.
Eh. I'll look into a home gym once my dad gives me my $1k back. Also I've been getting these stretch marks like really pink marks (they look like stretch marks) on my arms near my shoulders/arm above my armpit area. I do push ups, and shit. Will this go away? Is it normal? Their becoming scary.
Its completely normal. They won't go away but they'll fade once you hit the sun, get a tan and the skin sorts itself out after a while. They'll become less and less noticeable. It simply occurs due to rapid muscle growth, stretching the skin.
So I'm feeling pretty bummed out. About two and a half weeks ago I pulled my hammy sprinting. I iced and bandaged it for about a week, elevated it and all that stuff. It felt good all of last week, but decided to wait it out. Today is the day I decide to go back to the gym, I'm doing squats and I hear it pop again. It wasn't even a heavy set for myself, I was on my third rep of 295.
Anywho, does anyone else have any advice for things I can try differently this time around? I guess I could have warmed up even more before lifting today, but I made sure to focus on my hams and didn't feel any trouble at all until it popped. I should still be able to do upper body stuff, right?
I guess the worst part is that one of my 'resolutions' for the new year is to run a race (5 or 10K) each month of the year and with this set back I don't know if I'll be ready for one at the end of the month.
Last edited by sunsfan1357 : 01-07-2013 at 07:47 PM.
Eh. I'll look into a home gym once my dad gives me my $1k back. Also I've been getting these stretch marks like really pink marks (they look like stretch marks) on my arms near my shoulders/arm above my armpit area. I do push ups, and shit. Will this go away? Is it normal? Their becoming scary.
It's normal and they won't go away but you can help them fade them using cocoa butter or some other medicated creams.
I've been doing 15-20 min HIIT after my workouts lately rather than standard 25-30 minute moderate intensity cardio and I'm seeing great results. My abs look much more cut and aesthetic and I've finally got a defined six pack. it also shortens the amount of time I'm at the gym.
It's normal and they won't go away but you can help them fade them using cocoa butter or some other medicated creams.
I've been doing 15-20 min HIIT after my workouts lately rather than standard 25-30 minute moderate intensity cardio and I'm seeing great results. My abs look much more cut and aesthetic and I've finally got a defined six pack. it also shortens the amount of time I'm at the gym.
Christ.
H.I.I.T CUTS FAT like no tomorrow. As do sprints, barbell complexes, kettlebell swings, circuit training etc.
I go 90 seconds 6.6 and 30 seconds 10.5... its tough because my sprint is a lot faster than the latter but I get fukkin exhausted recuperating after the burst on 6.6.. gonna experiment with 3.8 and 12.0.
Re: Ish Official Fit-club
?
Even though everyone says GTG'ing works, I've actually yet to try it, as most of my training still revolves around gaining mass (though I do my best not to get stuck at a certain weight in a lift too much). My plan though is that after this 1-2 month block with CC, I'll push my DL and OHP with some good ole Power to the People. Once I get to the full pull-ups stage of CC though, I'll definitely try what you've outlined up there. Good cues by the way. I read an article by Eric Cressey on some pulling cues and he mentioned that one about drawing your elbows down instead of back. Feels much better. 
Really still wanna pull off solid handstands and learn some of the basic stunts though.
Re: Ish Official Fit-club
