A Beginner Needing Help

Ok, so I have finally decided to get into a health routine, problem is, I have on and off experience with weight training. Some important details I would think people should now about me to help me out.
I’m 28, 6’6", 170lbs. I take in about 2500 calories a day. I am very thin, from what I’ve been told, I’m a hardgainer. I am looking for something like a gymnist look. I love body weight excerise (when i do it) and guerilla training.

I have in the way of supplements: tribulus(Twinlab), L-arginine and L-ornithine 1500mg each, L-glutamine, creatine monohydrate, and designer whey weight gainer(most of this stuff was a gift, for I have no clue what supplements to take).

I do not have gym avaliable to me, which is why I am partually attracted to body weight workouts (i.e. Matt Fury workout, and others) i do not know were to start. I am into martial arts, and extreme sports like parkour(free running) and rock climbing. So i don’t need to bulk up(to much) I just want to look healthy and be in great athletic shape.

I would love if someone could get me going in the direction of what I should be doing? I would be greatful. I have tried on my own and have gotten confused with conflicting data, so i am reaching out to others in the field/hobby to take pity on this silly confused S.O.B. and please help me out.

Thanks

So you don’t worry, I won’t tell you to get huge or anything since that obviously isn’t your goal, even if it’s rather frightening that you and I weigh the same and you’re half a foot taller than I am…

From your list of hobbies and goals it looks like you should check out beastskills.com. There are various bodyweight training articles (such as the handstand pushup and a crazy no hands one arm chin up) and plenty of tutorials on how to set up/perform gymnastic style techniques such as the iron cross. I would also avoid Matt Furey workouts as many of his statements clash with common strength training knowledge and can be potentially dangerous.

For most bodyweight exercises, you can take a common exercise such as a pushup and make it harder to complete by either adding some kind of resistance (think backpack full of water bottles) or by decreasing your mechanical advantages (feet elevated, one arm/one leg, etc.) Dips are also excellent bodyweight or improvised weight exercises. For sport specifics, I would suggest trying some speed-strength squats to help in your martial arts/parkour.

If there are any farms or dirt fields near you, these are always a good source of large rocks to lift/throw/carry/whatever else you want. If you want to try some improvised weights, I used a metal bar ripped off a shelf, some rope, and any heavy object I could tie up as a barbell for about a year, it worked pretty well actually.

Also for sport specifics, don’t neglect dynamic flexability. I cannot stress how much more power you can place into your strikes (particularly kicks) when you improve dynamic flexability. I’m really not sure what the extent of parkour is but I assume you need good dynamic flexability there as well.

You might also want to put some effort into working your shins. This can soften your landing after a jump and decrease your “down time” between jumps/flips/tricks etc. This also helps prevent ankle injuries which totally ruin your day, week, and probably month as well.

If you check out the titanium ankles video at dogentricks.com you should get a good idea of what I mean.

For your supps I really can’t give you much help as I tend to not use much. If I recall correctly, the L-glutamine should help you the most but I’d suggest getting a second opinion on that. Protein powders and MRPs are going to be your best friend since the increased level of activity will cause you to get hungrier more often and I doubt you’ll want to prepare enough whole meals to suit your needs.

I suppose that’s all I have for now, if you have some questions, just ask. I was in your position a while back mixing TKD with tricking (martial arts mixed with gymnastics and a catchy name) with no weights so I get where you’re coming from.

~Retro

Thanks for the heads up on the site. I would mind gaining 20-30 lbs, as I now weight 180lbs. I think I would not only look good, but be in extreme health. My ultimate goal in to be in Law Enforcement.
So I want to get in extreme athletic shape. So I am open to some weights, but5 would like to keep it limited. thanks again for your reply.

Do a search for “Are You a Beginner.” This is a post that Vroom made that should answer most of your questions. There are two parts to this post. Also, if you want to gain any weight you should invest in food. Eat a lot and use the supplements to ‘supplement’ your diet.