NaterMania

yea, you'd have to get creative with the total gym but it could be made pretty useful for a lot of this stuff!

Elbow felt good today, I can tell it's not as strong as the left now but I think it'll be 100% by the end of the year and I don't think any load progression will be impacted. The way everything is feeling I am literally itching to move forward... I'm waiting until my birthday on Nov 22, but when I turn 30 I'm going to be using 32.5 or 35 lbs.

Still 215-217 but slowly leaning out. I will probably show up in May at 220-ish but as lean as I was in September or maybe slightly leaner. Will post some vids soon.

I am playing around with dumbbells + cables at the same time, 70 lb dumbbells plus 70 lbs on each cable handle for bench press is ROUGH!!! 4 reps is all I've got, but with the same DB and just 50 on each handle I can get 10 reps. What is interesting about this is that my shoulders actually feel more stable during the movement, perhaps because of the required chest activation... not quite sure. I've only done this once, but my one nod to aesthetics will be to build up my chest a bit and this will be a big part of that. I really like how it feels. Between this and the straight arm work I should be set.

Wasn't it Sandow's early cable system that had a dumbbell on the handle? Keep flowing your instincts they are leading you to interesting places.

Have you tried any of the Pehlwani methods? Meels, gadas etc? Excellent for the full upper body and shoulder girdle, plus its a lot of fun.

Mr Brady said:

Wasn't it Sandow's early cable system that had a dumbbell on the handle? Keep flowing your instincts they are leading you to interesting places.

Have you tried any of the Pehlwani methods? Meels, gadas etc? Excellent for the full upper body and shoulder girdle, plus its a lot of fun.

Never tried any Pehlwani anything, I don't even know what that is!

My instincts are definitely going interesting places... Dillon and I are apparently doing the same exact things again without having planned it at all. He's very intuitive, I am impressed. I have found quite a number of interesting findings, some day I'll talk about them more openly lol! Until then, may the free flow continue!

It's the same with me, though from a different angle, intution got me far with yoga, and turned me here and some others directions when it was time. For the thinking trainee, its have those intuitive leaps, and seeing them bear fruit that makes it worth it.

Intuition is totally changing what i teach now, and its fantastic, just to let the practice build itself from that reservoir of years of experience.

As small as my accomplishments GB wise are, that's the thing that keeps me going in my own training. One thing i constantly find interesting is the 'waviness' of the whole process, what worked last year doesn't now, and learning to ride the wave.

Its also why i'm not always happy with all the fitness fads and gurus it just doesn't work like that. Look at all the discoveries you've made over the time i've known you, constantly evolving, not static.

Well then there is some guy like Ayeedee on the Strandpullling forum who's done the same routine for 30 years with great results to show what i'm saying is nonsense too!

Meel Swinging -

QPEe7uTuuho

That is a big piece of wood!

Good lawd...

Update: elbows feel ok, if I strained the UCL it isn't very bad. It won't be 100% until the end of the year so I won't do a straddle planche video until New Year's or so but by then it should be reasonably solid. Ring strength sim is unaffected fortunately, but I wish I had videotaped the straddle planche I did right before I got arm barred... Ah well.

Workouts: Rope climbing work, a variation of foot supported rows, GH& BL pulls, serratus anterior push ups, back extensions, handstand work, free-motion rings sim and muscle up sim. I'm also starting to deadlift again and do some front squats both unilateral and bilateral. Gonna rebuild my butt but try not to get the legs too big. That means much higher volume with deads than squats. Hollow holds are worked into the ring sim so I'm not doing much of that by itself but I do need to get more core work in, I have been lazy.

Also, jumping rope Buddy Lee style. It is AWESOME. Lower legs already getting noticeably stronger. Highly recommended for everyone!

I am also adding some weight lifting specifically for chest, and bands for shoulders. I have been lazy with my shoulders.

I have to take a workout class in school which will probably mean I have to lift weights :x. But I will be doing your suggestions here which will at least make it beneficial! .

I know you read Poliquin articles too, right? Have you experimented with probiotics? I am getting one but wanted to see if you had any trials with it yet.

If you're gonna get probiotics, make sure they do not need to be regrigerated (or if they do, that they are refrigerated before and after you buy the,) and make sure they are guaranteed at expiration date, not production date.

Thanks for the tip! I just got Poliquin ones. The Proflora thing. Makes everything much easier!

I make my own kefir and it is fantastic as well as unrealistically strong. 5-10 billion active cultures per mL. I drink 100-200mL at a time.

TO make your own kefir buy the best milk you can find, remove half a liter, and add a quarter liter of kefir. Shake, and keep in a dark place. The warmer it is the faster it makes, but generally 5-8 days is how long it takes for a gallon of milk to become proper kefir. For sanitation I simply use the same jug the milk comes in, and I take a clean knife and cut a small slit in the top for excess CO2 to escape through. Never had a problem.

Its great you could find the starter, i've looked all over for it here but no luck. Thankfully we have some pretty awesome yogurt.

You have noticed improvements in digestion and mood ect ect? I am probably one of the more lactose intolerant people out there so I can't use milk in anything unfortunately.

Yes. Lactose is destroyed by the bacteria so all you have left is glucose and galactose.

Cole, they don't sell kefir over there? Seriously?

Cole did you look via internet?, in spain is pretty easy to get it that way. Try ebay or some forums.

That's an interesting idea om, wouldn't have thought of that, thanks.

I literally just use store-bought kefir. It's easy and foolproof hehehe! I need foolproof.

Well, I worked with 32.5 lbs on free-motion ring strength and let me tell you something, it is way harder than 30 lbs.

Great idea Sliz, I'm gonna have to try and make kefir that way...I need foolproof too, doubt I can be trusted with kefir grains.

Apparently Niklas is growing his own and was just kind enough to offer me some when he comes down for the HB workshop.

Thanks friend!

Updates so far:

Front squat sets are with 190 lbs and are still easy. I'll use this for 2 weeks and then go up to 195 if it keeps feeling easy. It's no different than 185. 2 sets 5 reps.

My right brachialis must be strained as a mug! I have never felt anything like this... I was obviously doing a lot more work during that short roll that ended in the arm bar than I thought. It hurts specifically just below the deltoid when I do any curling motion!

Well, straight arm work is going well. I'm using 32.5 lbs and it feels fine. I feel muscular strain again just distal to the humeral epicondyles (basically all the forearm muscles, just past the elbow) which supports my initial theory that elbow pain from straight arm work is much more related to the forearm muscles being too weak than the biceps tendon. Obviously both can be the case, but the forearm muscles just have such tiny bellies and tendons by comparison, it just makes sense that they are where the majority of the problem will be. This seems to be the case. I am making excellent progress in my subjective opinion, and using my homemade rings as cable attachments is frikin brilliant if I do say so! I am working no lean muscle ups with 50 lbs per arm and it's still pretty tough to do 8-10 good reps so I'm going to keep using 50 lbs for a while. Probably go to 52.5 in 4-6 weeks.

I can also feel the long head of the biceps, specifically, doing work now. By May or September it will probably be visibly large compared to the short head.

I am right around 215 naked weight, and probably 10% BF. This is pretty awesome. OAC is feeling the same as always because of the weight gain, which means I am getting stronger. Brachialis growth is definitely also showing up and is probably 100% due to the OAC work. I am starting to work these more again.

FL is very strong right now, I am happy with this.

Finally, I want to share an important discovery: pulling your neck back with your traps and the top spinal erector (NOT looking up) makes a HUGE difference in overall muscle activation. By huge difference I mean it makes things work better.

To learn how to perform this, do the following:

1) tuck chin towards chest. Not hard, but just shy of where you start to feel a little tension. You should be looking slightly down.

2) without letting your chin lift or eyes move from where they are focused pull your head backwards. You will feel muscles near the top of your upper back working, that is mostly your uppermost spinal erector. This is one of the ones that is KEY for press handstands, both directly in performing one and indirectly through maintaining proper posture during assistance work related to press handstands.

This is a vital postural adjustment that needs to be learned. Not only is it able to restore proper thoracic and cervical curvature but it also helps you use the muscles you're supposed to use. Injury prevention + more strength = WIN.

Well, I am working full body every other day right now and seeing excellent results. In-between days are just mobility, jump rope, some jogging perhaps.

You guys will notice that I am doing something different every few months, and there are a few reasons for this:

1) I'm running quite a lot of 1 man experiments to see how different workout variations affect my body and strength results. This has been giving me excellent insight into the many differences between a hypertrophy routine vs an athletic performance routine.

2) Sometimes your body simply needs a different routine for a while. I am finding, just as many good trainers will tell you, that sometimes I just need a slightly different focus in my training.

3) I go through phases where I am more motivated and less motivated, and my workout style will reflect that. When I am less motivated my primary focus is on maintaining my gains and that's it. When I am more motivated I am looking to make further improvements. There is a big difference in time commitment here. Right now I am more motivated and will probably stay motivated until New Year's at the earliest

I am about to go run some experiments on neck and trap combined work... this should be fun. I will report back on this in a week or two when I have had enough time to rack up some initial results.

slizzardman said:

Well, I am working full body every other day right now and seeing excellent results. In-between days are just mobility, jump rope, some jogging perhaps.

You guys will notice that I am doing something different every few months, and there are a few reasons for this:

1) I'm running quite a lot of 1 man experiments to see how different workout variations affect my body and strength results. This has been giving me excellent insight into the many differences between a hypertrophy routine vs an athletic performance routine.

2) Sometimes your body simply needs a different routine for a while. I am finding, just as many good trainers will tell you, that sometimes I just need a slightly different focus in my training.

3) I go through phases where I am more motivated and less motivated, and my workout style will reflect that. When I am less motivated my primary focus is on maintaining my gains and that's it. When I am more motivated I am looking to make further improvements. There is a big difference in time commitment here. Right now I am more motivated and will probably stay motivated until New Year's at the earliest

I am about to go run some experiments on neck and trap combined work... this should be fun. I will report back on this in a week or two when I have had enough time to rack up some initial results.

That's perfectly natural. I, and practically everyone I know, experience motivation in waves. Mine, and I expect yours, too, tend to gradually get more intense. I can't stop working when I'm really super motivated these days! I know it will end, though, and I'll need some mental respite, but I try to maximize the time while I can. Some days you really can't stop working. It's almost as if you can sense your goals burning burning in your mind and they feel so close..

Full body every other day sounds intriguing! The workouts must take a while if you don't use a bunch of supersets/giant sets, maybe even with them lol! Combined neck and trap work sounds very, very intriguing. I've been doing a mini-workout of neck raises/extensions with a neck harness, forward neck flexions with a plate on my forehead, and side flexions with a weight three times a week (3x50 reps). I like it and my neck is slowly growing stronger and thicker (good for avoiding KO's!), but it takes quite a while to do it. Haha, I keep imagining someone doing explosive hang pulls with a band around their head for isometric neck flexion

I'm experimenting with neck extension along with scapular retraction. Seems to feel good so far!

Not too many supersets, I find that while they are better for endurance conditioning they are not as good for more strength-oriented work. Besides, I'm only doing 2-3 sets per exercise. I AM using supersets for my ring strength work, since it's not really strength work at all. I do a set and then I do 2 minutes of jumping rope at 180-240 jumps per minute. 3-4 jumps per second, all kinds of footwork. Not very easy, but it is working quite well and is a lot of fun!

I am hitting full body 3x per week, focusing on different movements every workout day. I am actually going to be moving to a true every other day schedule, 4 days one week and 3 the next. This is truly optimal for what I want right now.

My workouts are taking something like 90-120 minutes. It requires a 1/2 gallon workout drink, with about 40g of protein and 40g of carbs or so in it. So far legs have been more haphazard but I am changing that. Next workout is tomorrow.

I am hitting multiplane, horizontal and vertical pulls, vertical presses (not sure if I can handle horizontal presses more than once a week for 1 set... I will see. Starting off very slow with that.), horizontal and vertical combined push pulls in all 4 major directions, and some accessory work for traps. It's a lot of work, but I am seeing very steady results. This is more about performance than size gain, but I intend to get up to what I think my ideal weight will be, which is 220-225 @ ~6-7% BF. That's a lot of muscle to gain, and it is steadily piling on.

I expect something like 1 lb of muscle every 3-4 weeks for the next year or so will get me there.

Current stats:

215 at ~10-11% BF.

That's a lean mass of 191.3 to 193.5 lbs. Fat mass is 21.5 to 23.7 lbs.

225 @ 6% is lean mass of 211.5, with a fat mass of 13.5 lbs.

That means I need to gain about 1.7 lb of muscle and drop 1 lb of fat each month for the next year. I think I can handle that.

I am actually loving how I am feeling right now, so let me babble about that!

I have managed to cobble together a pro-anabolic, anti-estrogenic, anti-inflammatory AND moderately alkaline diet!

I'm eating buckwheat for starches, 2 lbs of spinach per day, broccoli and perhaps some cauliflower with butter and coconut oil and salt for seasoning, and I have a good bit of balsamic, red wine and apple cider vinegar with my spinach. I have some chicken breasts occasionally, depends on how I am feeling, but all in all these are the major sources of my calories. I will have Chinese Broccoli and probably purple yams as well, though I need to investigate the estrogenic properties of purple yams if they are even known.

I am also consuming 1-2 liters of grass fed, non-homogenized whole milk kefir per day (home made) and the bulk of my protein comes from casein powder during most of the day (20g every 2 hours or so) and 40-50g of whey spread through the workout and immediately post workout.

I am managing to stay at more or less peak positive nitrogen balance at all times, and I will probably be picking up a sizeable chunk of grassfed beef tallow to make sure I'm getting the stearic acid I need to optimize my testosterone levels. In the meantime milk fats, nuts (almonds and a non-peanut mix are my main sources, with walnuts in there sometimes as well) are making up the portion of my calories that is not protein or carb replacement. In other words, I am making sure I consume as many carbs as I burn, more or less, and all the excess calories are from fats. I am measuring them fairly closely.

Here's why: 1-3 non-consecutive days per week I will ONLY consume the carbs that I need to replace and have no fats at all. Because I have so many fats in my diet my body is very good at burning fat for energy at a cellular level. I figure that if I keep fat metabolism highly up-regulated then on my occasional fast days where I'm only getting 30-40% calories I will be at a minimum of an 1800 calorie deficit. That's 1/2 lb of fat in one day, as I am giving my body 100% of the carbs and protein it needs and no more. This allows me to eat for the exact size, more or less, I want to be at the end of the month and still drop body fat easily. Doing this just 1 day per week allows me to drop 2 lbs of fat per month while building 1-2 lbs of muscle, which is more than I need to reach my goals in 12 months. I would like this to happen in 10 months, but if it takes 18 that's fine too.

I intend to enjoy my life while I do this, so the timeline is fairly flexible but I will be ultra beast when I graduate! I will be far, far superior in both looks and ability at the next September seminar! May too, but I'm really looking forward to September. That should be a real eye opener.

Fat loss is happening rapidly. With my current diet I seem to be unable to keep fat on I forgot to mention that as part of the anti-inflammatory part of my diet I stay 100% gluten free. The buckwheat is alkaline, gluten free and therefore 'anti-inflammatory', AND anti-estrogenic due to the large quantity of dietary fiber it has. 11g per serving. Beat that, I dare you. To top it all off, the stuff tastes great!

Remarkable what a difference that makes.

Anyhow, I just ran numbers and if I keep all my muscle and drop to 6% I will be 204 lbs. Don't be surprised if you see my weight drop somewhat rapidly, level off, and slowly climb. I don't plan on see-sawing very much, I prefer a slow climb.

The buckwheat is sprouted, right?