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2006/03/26, 11:09 PM
My best friend just got out of prison a few days ago and stopped by for a visit. When he went in I weighed 245 pounds and was so out of shape it was disgusting. I figured he would be amazed at the changes I had underwent while he was away.
Well he strolls in and BAM!! He is huge and ripped!! I asked him how he got in such good shape and his answer was lift weights. No special diet, no protein shakes, no Creatine. Asked him about his diet and it was basically three meals a day of whatever the state was serving.
I am furious and disgusted. I have trained hard, ate my stupid 5-6 meals a day and done everything by the book and haven't gotten anywhere near the results that he has. My motivation has flew out the window and I am on the verge of quitting my training if I don't start seeing more results.
What is the point if I am not going anywhere?
Today I upped my max lifts for each rep until I thought I was going to tear something internally. Don't know how long I will be able to keep this up but don't know what else to do.
Thanks for reading my cry baby tantrem!
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2006/03/26, 11:29 PM
He probably had nothing else to do but work out. Lots of people come out of jail ripped. I wouldn't get discouraged, especially since you have made good progress.
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2006/03/27, 12:03 AM
Yeah I figured that too but he says he was only allowed 1 hour a day.
I am really discouraged and have been moping around since yesterday after he left. My wife noticed something was wrong and when I told her she said I was being silly. She says I have a warped sense of what I look like and that he really wasn't any bigger than I am.
Either I have truly lost my mind or she is lying just to make me feel good.
I have well and truly lost my desire.
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2006/03/27, 07:21 AM
He must have different genetics than you do.
What is your routine and how much have you been lifting?
You have to compare yourself to yourself and your results have been good. There will always be someone bigger and there will always be someone smaller.
If you aren't growing there has to be a reason. let's reevaluate your training and eating plan.
Sounds like you easily get discouraged. You need to sit down and figure out why you are doing this and set some new goals.
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If you have a strong enough why you can bear almost any how.
- Nietzsche
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2006/03/27, 07:43 AM
hi im just new to this forum. Bigger doesnt essentially mean better.. for me personally i rather look good and thiers a limit to how big i would wnat to be.
what are your goals? if u want to get bigger you just have to increase your calorie intake its teh only way really.
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2006/03/27, 02:48 PM
As always, thanks for the replies and perspectives!
My routines have been straight from the FT fitness plan. I have done several cycles of the lean and tone, a few of the progressive gains and a few of the mass building programs. As far as intensity I reach failure on the last two sets of each exercise consistantly.
My eating has been what I would consider "clean". A sample daily diet would be as follows
5 skinless chicken breasts
8-12 servings green beans
4 cups brown rice
1 serving protein powder
1 cup 2% milk
8 ounces of Gatorade (mixed with my PWO shake)
4 cod oil capsules
another example would be
10 servings of Tilapia (low in calories so need to eat a lot)
10 servings steamed broccoli
6 servings pinto beans
1 serving protein shake
8 ounces of Gatorade as above
4 cod oil capsules
I use Creatine, ZMA and protein powder on a daily basis regardless of whether it is a workout day or not.
Last night I ordered some Carb PRo in the hopes that it will help me meet my carboydrate requirements each day. Each serving has something like 200 calories and 55gr of carbs.
I had been relatively pleased with the results I had been getting up until about 4 months ago. Things seemed to come to a grinding halt. In addition my veins were bulging out everywhere. Now they only show when I am working out. This leads me to believe that I am going backwards instead of forwards. I switched programs and still no more gains. The icing on the cake was when I saw the results he achieved in the same amount of time without following a strict eating regimen.
I thought I had set realistic goals since they were to achieve a muscular and lean build without believing I would reach massive proportions. The picture I had in my head was something along the lines of Brad Pitts physique in the movie Troy. Not huge but well muscles with some definition. I 1 1/2 years I have achieved neither.
If the above goal is unrealistic I just don't see what is?
Thanks again for the input and any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!
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2006/03/27, 05:31 PM
"I thought I had set realistic goals since they were to achieve a muscular and lean build without believing I would reach massive proportions. The picture I had in my head was something along the lines of Brad Pitts physique in the movie Troy. Not huge but well muscles with some definition. I 1 1/2 years I have achieved neither.
If the above goal is unrealistic I just don't see what is?"
So. Do you believe that you can get big? belief is a big part of it all.
Is your pwo shake right and do you get it within an hour of training (best, immediately pwo)?
I think at this point you want to focus on a solid mass gain program, no frills. Just a lot of hard work and a lot of rest and a lot of food. You figure your friend was working out and eating, and probably getting a lot of rest.
He probably didn't cycle between lean out style training and mas gain - he probably just did consistent heavy training.
is your friend available to workout with you? He may be able to spur you on to more growth just by pushing you past your comfort zone at the gym.
In 1 and 1/2 years I bet you have increased your health, your self-esteem and your physique has improved. brad Pitt may have different genetics, and you also have to consider he has professional trainers. I also know he had a body double - those were nor his legs in the close-up fight/chariot scenes. he doesn't have nice quads. I think it is probably fairly common but unspoken in hollywood to take a small cycle of steroids for certain roles. I am not saying Pitt did, but i am saying that some stars fluctuate amazingly from slender to built..
What are you averaging for caloric intake with those food amounts? What are you weighing in at now?
Focus on Squatting, deadlifts, benching (bb and db, incline and flat), pull-ups/pull-downs, rows, shoulder presses. Create a two or three day split, two or three exercises for the specified body part, and try this rep scheme - i am really liking how it feels - my muscles feel pumped and full. i feel stronger than i have in a long time.
1st set 10 reps with a warm-up weight
2nd set 6-8 reps slightly heavier
3rd set heavier yet, 3-4 reps
4th and 5th sets - heavy as you can for 4-6 reps
the next exercise you can skip the ten reps and go right into the moderate wieght range.
Keep your workouts under an hour and get your pwo shake in right away.
how much/what type of cardio have you been doing?
When is the last time you had a full week off? take a week, fully recover, remap your strategy, replan your goals, rewrite what is necessary to get there. Then get to work.
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If you have a strong enough why you can bear almost any how.
- Nietzsche
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2006/03/27, 09:17 PM
Woops I must have timed out since my last post came up as Null. Maybe I need to work on typing exercises too:)
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2006/03/28, 07:51 AM
Look up bb1fit's post on postworkout shakes and follow his formula, once you get the carb powder. that will be more effective, i think.
If you want to gain, you might gradually increase your calories up towards 2,600.
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If you have a strong enough why you can bear almost any how.
- Nietzsche
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2006/03/28, 09:14 AM
Seems to me if your wanting to get big you should be doing heavier lifting in the 5-8 rep range, not 8-16. Also 2250cals / day also doesn't seem enough for someone focused on gaining mass. Don't think the extra cardio is going to aid your mass building either. Just my humble opinion. On a side note, you look like you've already made some great progress, so I think you just need to shift your focus to total mass gain.
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Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
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2006/03/28, 11:21 AM
On a note about your friend - they may only get to use the machines for an hour but what did he do for the rest of this time??
He had no stress about his daily life(it is pre-planned for the most part) he did have to worry about a job or what food to get on the table. & the jail food is set up with a dietiation so he got all of his nutrition without him thinking about it.
Now comes the problem of him keeping it up which most can't
I hope he doesn't do whatever it was that he did to get in there & good luck on him getting a job
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Reddy
All people smile in the same language
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2006/03/28, 02:33 PM
Thanks again everyone!
I have thought about going with a strictly mass program for several cycles but the added fat that comes with each cycle is a bit worrisome considering I was fat in my previous lifestyle. I guess you gotta take the good with the bad huh?
The additon of the Carbpro will bump my calories up to the 2500 range. I guess I will monitor my overall weight and appearance to see if the increased calories is the solution or if I need to look elsewhere.
I sincerely hope my friend stays on the right track as well. We've been best friends since we were four years old. Somewhere along the way he took a different path than I did however we remained best of friends through even his worst times. I am hoping that since he made the effort to get in shape it will encourage him to stay away from the things that got him in trouble.
On a side note he actually had a full time job while incarcerated. His day started at 5:00 a.m., work all day and then workout at 7:00 p.m. for 1 hour. He is going to join Golds Gym and if he sticks with it I may join as well to see if he can help me break through my plateau.
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2006/03/28, 06:23 PM
In prison all you do is eat, sleep and workout. people do squats in the cell with a cellie on back pull-ups, push-ups, dips ect. I know alot of people that came out big and ripped from both prison and bootcamp. I would suggest joining the gym with him would prolly be alot of motivation for you.
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2006/03/28, 06:47 PM
If you think about it he had greater focus on recovery than you...because eventhough he didn't time his meals or take supplements....HE RESTED....and that's huge
He also ate everything and more that was available to him in those 3 meals....
Are you using freeweights? Because in prisons that's what they mostly have.....and the results can be trully staggering for someone who has never worked out....especially compared to someone who uses machines/cables/bodyweight exercises
He may or may not have used steroids....if he went there for at least couple of years then it's possible he could change himself without them...however steroids in prisons are quite abundant so I wouldn't put that past him either...
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2006/03/28, 07:14 PM
He did mention that he used almost exclusively free weight whereas my routine is a 50/50 split of free weights and machines. Perhaps I need to add a nicer bench and weight stack to my home gym?
As far as resting I actually think I got more rest than he did since they have a work program where he built mobile home walls for 10 hours a day.
Honestly I thought about him using steroids when I first saw him since he has a history of, shall we say, chemical use. I asked him straight out and he said he didn't but who knows. He was in for a few years so maybe it was just plain ole' hard work. Funny you mention steroids because when I talked to him today he said he was introduced to a source on his very first visit to the gym!! Now I'm no rocket scientist but if I were dealing in illegal substances I wouldn't offer them to someone I have never seen or met before. The good news is he turned them down so maybe there is hope for him yet LOL!!
Today made the third workout where I have upped my intensity to the point of what I feel may be physical injury. It makes for an EXCRUCIATING workout but I feel like I am going somewhere again. Funny how your mind can trick you like that. I swear my shoulders feel like they are partially dislocated though.
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2006/03/28, 07:17 PM
By the way, forget Brad Pitt, I now want a physique like Menace LOL!!
You are a freakin beast man. How long have you been at it and what does your workout routine look like?
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2006/03/29, 12:01 AM
Easier to put on mass with free weights.
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Hungry and mean!
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2006/03/29, 06:08 AM
Check out my journal thread in powerlifting forum...I have kept a pretty accurate account of what I do...but keep in mind what works for me may not work for you...
First off it's more than possible to add as much as 40-50lb of lean mass in 3-4 years...given the life he probably lived inside the prison....
If you are going to invest in anything new...make it be:
Power Rack---#1 piece of equipment in any home gym...it should rate 1500lb and have adjustable pins every 2-3 inches and have adjustable safety bars....you can do just about any exercise on it without a spotter
Barbell
Plates: 2.5,5,10,25,45,100
Adjustable Bench that's sturdy and can handle a lot of weight....
Optional:
Adjustable DBs
Bands
Chains
Chain Belt
2-3" Olympic Fat Bar
Generally speaking freeweights are way superior to machines in stimulating the muscles and CNS....and in overall carryover to the real world....machines can stimulate muscles to a degree but they neglect stabilizers and in essense allow your muscles to look big without actually being strong....hence every guy in the gym who can rep stack of chest press machine but can't do his own bodyweight on freeweight bench press with good form....
also if you haven't been training hard on deadlifts, squats, rows, pull ups, dips, etc....then you have been missing out on a lot of results...
There really isn't a magic formula...it's trial and error process to see what works for you...and being consistant...doing something semi-right for a long period is superior doing something right for a very short period then stopping ....
If your friend made those gains in 2-3 months then yea....your steroid suspicions would be more accurate but with 3-4 years on his hands and nothing but time....to eat, sleep, workout...then it's not that astonishing...
However keep your mind on yourself and your successes....who gives a $hit what your friend did? he worked just as hard for those gains as you did for his...perhaps he did something better ...why not ask him what he was doing and try that...ask him to show you proper form on exercises you're unsure off...etc...use him as a tool on your own road to success...
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2006/03/29, 06:12 AM
as you did for your own*
-need a spell check..LOL
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2006/03/29, 09:37 AM
Dude, I am the same way as your friend(except never been to jail). There is no secret to getting big and ripped. I don't really use supplements and I don't drink protein shakes. I go to the gym and go balls out until I can't lift no more. I start at 12 reps and end at 1. I don't do no fancy excersises either. I keep it simple and lift heavy.
My diet:
Breakfast
Oatmeal with granola and walnuts, Orange juice
Lunch
Grilled lemon chicken sandwich in a whole wheat pita
Carob chip cookie with protein in it.
Dinner
Whole wheat pasta with chicken.
That's it and I drink water all day.
Keep it simple bro and lift hard, I gaurantee you will see results with that approach.
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2006/03/29, 02:55 PM
Much thanks to all who responded!
He is coming by on Saturday and we are going to train together. Hopefully I will learn firsthand where I have been lacking and make the necessary adjustments to jumpstart my growth again.
I'm also going to hit the local Play It Again Sports to see if they might have the equipment you suggested Menace.
I'll post again Saturday night to share the differences in our programs. Maybe it will be obvious why his results were much more dramatic than mine.
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