1)The best advice I ever got was in a magazine as a poster. It said: There are two rules for bodybuilding:
a) Everything works
b) Nothing works for long
(I’m 39, been training since I was 22. Was 6’2" 150 lbs with 5% body fat, am 6’2" 200 lbs with 9% body fat. I work as a firefighter so being in good condition is a real benefit to my career. In the best shape of my life. I can vouch for these rules.)
2)Hire a GOOD trainer once in a while for a period of several months. I thought I knew training and I did, but it’s what I didnt know that’s made me strong and fit today.
3)Read, talk, ask… test. If something sounds good, test it on yourself, if you get results, put it in the reportiore, if not, discard it.
4)Keep notes and journals, nothing gets you in the gym on a lazy day like reading how much stronger you are today than a year, 2 years or more ago.
5)One last thing, always remember that no one workout will make any difference at all, but the cumulative effect of all your workouts over time will have huge effects.
I am not a vet, but I did not see any mention of variety. Many of the guru’s talk about how quickly the body can adapt and how this can impact your ability to reach certain goals (hypertrophy, fat loss, etc.). Make sure there is adequate variation in your sets & reps, as well as the target muscle exercises.
Charles Poliquin has written extensively on this.
Warm up to the point where you are sweating using cardio then stretch then begin the workout and stretch for warming down i find this works for me and of course always always use good form , i am 44 and having torn a L5 disc a couple of times as well a rotor cuff injury …these injuries occurred on the times i had not warmed up properly, the above sequence works for me but everybody is different
I’m 53 done a lot of things. Paying the price now. Everything posted are words of wisdom.
The only thing not mentioned is ICE everything before injury. If I feel a little glitch, I ice it imeadatly.I have back problems. I start/end every day w/icepack for 15 min.
Never give up flexibility for muscle.
Get a good rythm w/lifting, make it a cardio workout.
Acupuncture is good medicine for joints.
Form is absoutly important.
Do your weakest areas first and last.
Make it fun, stay focused.
Ricisan
Ok I am not an old guy but I have been lifting for 11 years and during that time I have had a broken shoulder (military injury) and was confined to a wheel chair (another work injury). I made sure I was lifting even in a hospital bed, So I think I would qualify as someone who might be able to give advice so here it is:
-
You don’t always have to lift heavy.
-
Eat a good breakfast.
-
Do joint mobility every morning.
-
Get to sleep before midnight because I think that the more hours of sleep you get before midnight the better quality your sleep will be.
-
You dont need to be every supplement that comes out often times you can just stick to the basics and make great gains.
-
I have used steroids before (I am aged 24 now), I used them in the army and then when I was confined to the wheel chair I was given ‘the sauce’ because the doctor didn’t want me to lose my muscle mass from my legs (something to do with receptors). Only use steroids as a last resort (if you had to) after years of good diet and solid training and then use them with care, try and get a good doctor while your doing Roids as well.
-
You will get the most bang for your buck with compound lifts - USE THEM, but also use some isolation exercises to round out your physique and to stop imbalances.
-
take good care of your shoulders, knees and back.
9)Realize that you don’t need to follow a routine exactly the way its set out in an article - look at the routine as an example of how you would implement the advice from the article. The only time you should follow a routine to the ‘T’ is if you pay a trainer to write one out for you.
-
Learn to really listen to you body, I remember the first time I started to listen to my body, I was squatting and I noticed that I was really pushing up with my right leg, so that told me that I really needed to strengthen my left leg. the next week I started training my legs unilaterally and the end result was that my squat jumped up 20 lbs in 2 weeks (4 sessions).
-
Be patient, If you wanna bulk I would suggest that you do a clean bulk and gain over a longer period of time, you will appreciate the gains more and you will keep them for longer. the only time you should bulk quickly is if you have to for a job or something (if you want to join the military but you don’t weight enough).
-
Perfect your squat and deadlift form as soon as possible.
-
take days off and just relax, I have also found that on days off if you eat just a little above your maintenance caloric level you will recover better.
-
Use active recovery on your days off and get a massage once a week (you don’t have to pay for them get your girlfriend/wife/partner etc). This will also help your recovery.
15)If you have a weak link I would suggest that you train it first in your workout. Also make sure you structure your workouts around your goals.
- have fun and make sure you enjoy your workouts if you stop enjoying your workouts you will stop working out (9 times out of 10).
17)Eat well, train hard and enjoy the fact that you have a strong good looking body, also if your a guy and you see a girl you want then go and talk to her, if shes hot give her one for me… hahaha
18)If you cant do something without pain dont do it.
Thats it from me. I hope these bits of advice help.
Simon
Any advice on keeping joints healthy??
Im 14 deading close to 500, I dont wanna be 18 with arhritis.
[quote]Fuzzy-47 wrote:
Any advice on keeping joints healthy??
Im 14 deading close to 500, I dont wanna be 18 with arhritis.[/quote]
If you were deadlifting close to 500 I doubt you would have bad joints. Lifting heavy doesn’t cause bad joints but if you want to have good joints do joint mobility drills every morning
[quote]Simon Forsyth wrote:
Ok I am not an old guy but I have been lifting for 11 years and during that time I have had a broken shoulder (military injury) and was confined to a wheel chair (another work injury). I made sure I was lifting even in a hospital bed, So I think I would qualify as someone who might be able to give advice so here it is:
-
You don’t always have to lift heavy.
-
Eat a good breakfast.
-
Do joint mobility every morning.
-
Get to sleep before midnight because I think that the more hours of sleep you get before midnight the better quality your sleep will be.
-
You dont need to be every supplement that comes out often times you can just stick to the basics and make great gains.
-
I have used steroids before (I am aged 24 now), I used them in the army and then when I was confined to the wheel chair I was given ‘the sauce’ because the doctor didn’t want me to lose my muscle mass from my legs (something to do with receptors). Only use steroids as a last resort (if you had to) after years of good diet and solid training and then use them with care, try and get a good doctor while your doing Roids as well.
-
You will get the most bang for your buck with compound lifts - USE THEM, but also use some isolation exercises to round out your physique and to stop imbalances.
-
take good care of your shoulders, knees and back.
9)Realize that you don’t need to follow a routine exactly the way its set out in an article - look at the routine as an example of how you would implement the advice from the article. The only time you should follow a routine to the ‘T’ is if you pay a trainer to write one out for you.
-
Learn to really listen to you body, I remember the first time I started to listen to my body, I was squatting and I noticed that I was really pushing up with my right leg, so that told me that I really needed to strengthen my left leg. the next week I started training my legs unilaterally and the end result was that my squat jumped up 20 lbs in 2 weeks (4 sessions).
-
Be patient, If you wanna bulk I would suggest that you do a clean bulk and gain over a longer period of time, you will appreciate the gains more and you will keep them for longer. the only time you should bulk quickly is if you have to for a job or something (if you want to join the military but you don’t weight enough).
-
Perfect your squat and deadlift form as soon as possible.
-
take days off and just relax, I have also found that on days off if you eat just a little above your maintenance caloric level you will recover better.
-
Use active recovery on your days off and get a massage once a week (you don’t have to pay for them get your girlfriend/wife/partner etc). This will also help your recovery.
15)If you have a weak link I would suggest that you train it first in your workout. Also make sure you structure your workouts around your goals.
- have fun and make sure you enjoy your workouts if you stop enjoying your workouts you will stop working out (9 times out of 10).
17)Eat well, train hard and enjoy the fact that you have a strong good looking body, also if your a guy and you see a girl you want then go and talk to her, if shes hot give her one for me… hahaha
18)If you cant do something without pain dont do it.
Thats it from me. I hope these bits of advice help.
Simon[/quote]
Great post, thanks
[quote]Desideratus15 wrote:
Simon Forsyth wrote:
Ok I am not an old guy but I have been lifting for 11 years and during that time I have had a broken shoulder (military injury) and was confined to a wheel chair (another work injury). I made sure I was lifting even in a hospital bed, So I think I would qualify as someone who might be able to give advice so here it is:
-
You don’t always have to lift heavy.
-
Eat a good breakfast.
-
Do joint mobility every morning.
-
Get to sleep before midnight because I think that the more hours of sleep you get before midnight the better quality your sleep will be.
-
You dont need to be every supplement that comes out often times you can just stick to the basics and make great gains.
-
I have used steroids before (I am aged 24 now), I used them in the army and then when I was confined to the wheel chair I was given ‘the sauce’ because the doctor didn’t want me to lose my muscle mass from my legs (something to do with receptors). Only use steroids as a last resort (if you had to) after years of good diet and solid training and then use them with care, try and get a good doctor while your doing Roids as well.
-
You will get the most bang for your buck with compound lifts - USE THEM, but also use some isolation exercises to round out your physique and to stop imbalances.
-
take good care of your shoulders, knees and back.
9)Realize that you don’t need to follow a routine exactly the way its set out in an article - look at the routine as an example of how you would implement the advice from the article. The only time you should follow a routine to the ‘T’ is if you pay a trainer to write one out for you.
-
Learn to really listen to you body, I remember the first time I started to listen to my body, I was squatting and I noticed that I was really pushing up with my right leg, so that told me that I really needed to strengthen my left leg. the next week I started training my legs unilaterally and the end result was that my squat jumped up 20 lbs in 2 weeks (4 sessions).
-
Be patient, If you wanna bulk I would suggest that you do a clean bulk and gain over a longer period of time, you will appreciate the gains more and you will keep them for longer. the only time you should bulk quickly is if you have to for a job or something (if you want to join the military but you don’t weight enough).
-
Perfect your squat and deadlift form as soon as possible.
-
take days off and just relax, I have also found that on days off if you eat just a little above your maintenance caloric level you will recover better.
-
Use active recovery on your days off and get a massage once a week (you don’t have to pay for them get your girlfriend/wife/partner etc). This will also help your recovery.
15)If you have a weak link I would suggest that you train it first in your workout. Also make sure you structure your workouts around your goals.
- have fun and make sure you enjoy your workouts if you stop enjoying your workouts you will stop working out (9 times out of 10).
17)Eat well, train hard and enjoy the fact that you have a strong good looking body, also if your a guy and you see a girl you want then go and talk to her, if shes hot give her one for me… hahaha
18)If you cant do something without pain dont do it.
Thats it from me. I hope these bits of advice help.
Simon
Great post, thanks[/quote]
Glad you liked it, let me know if you ever want any help/advise.
Simon
don’t listen to people
trust your instincts
have balance in your life
Yeah Simon, great point about girlfriends giving massages. The single greatest tool- a woman. She’ll motivate you, encourage you, massage you and kiss your wounds, while cooking a steak. Good times
This is a great thread, and I’ve learned a lot from the guys posting here. I want to add a couple, although I’m not really old enough to be considered a true vet…I just found two things that need to be said again and again, IMO, so please forgive the impudence 
O great elders of the iron.
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Read.
-
Read.
-
Read.
4-9)…Read.
- Pay attention to anecdotal advice/evidence, but take it with a grain of salt. As Cosgrove says,
"In training, the only thing that matters is the result. It doesn’t matter what used to happen, what you think should happen, what a textbook tells you is happening, what the experts say, or what a bunch of borderline-retarded pencildicks on a forum post about.
What matters is actually what happens! Once a coach really understands this and can let go of any preconceived notions of what “should” have happened, he can really get results."
Anecdotal evidence is often ignored by pubmed ninjas and buffoons, but if the research is wrong, it’s wrong. Period. If you close off your mind to people saying “xyz worked for me” then you suck. Likewise, if you always take their advice on x, y, or z, then you’re an idiot. Middle of the road, baby.
[quote]Aragorn wrote:
This is a great thread, and I’ve learned a lot from the guys posting here. I want to add a couple, although I’m not really old enough to be considered a true vet…I just found two things that need to be said again and again, IMO, so please forgive the impudence O great elders of the iron.
-
Read.
-
Read.
-
Read.
4-9)…Read.
- Pay attention to anecdotal advice/evidence, but take it with a grain of salt. As Cosgrove says,
"In training, the only thing that matters is the result. It doesn’t matter what used to happen, what you think should happen, what a textbook tells you is happening, what the experts say, or what a bunch of borderline-retarded pencildicks on a forum post about.
What matters is actually what happens! Once a coach really understands this and can let go of any preconceived notions of what “should” have happened, he can really get results."
Anecdotal evidence is often ignored by pubmed ninjas and buffoons, but if the research is wrong, it’s wrong. Period. If you close off your mind to people saying “xyz worked for me” then you suck. Likewise, if you always take their advice on x, y, or z, then you’re an idiot. Middle of the road, baby.[/quote]
You dont have to be a vet to understand important messages. I like the point you made.
Isn’t Young Buck a rapper???
G-G-G-G-G-G G UNIT!
Hearing the old timers say, “hey i used to be as big as you.” and “you know you are doing that wrong” makes me ill.
Todays athletes are greater in every way accept attitude. I’ll admit that todays athletes are way too cocky.
My generation of athletes need to push themselves much harder than the oldtimers used to cuz we have to be much faster, bigger and stonger.
Aw… bless him and his Internet Mouth
Hey guys i’m new…lol bear with me im 19 bench 425 box squat 750 dead lift 565 fresh into college years from high school and i just hit every platue on the head and i’m stuck wanna know if i could get a good plan for more of a bulky phsyic and i’ve never took any suppliments except protein so i wanna knw the in and outs
[quote]Big bax wrote:
Hey guys i’m new…lol bear with me im 19 bench 425 box squat 750 dead lift 565 fresh into college years from high school and i just hit every platue on the head and i’m stuck wanna know if i could get a good plan for more of a bulky phsyic and i’ve never took any suppliments except protein so i wanna knw the in and outs [/quote]
lol
oh yeah?
I thought I would share some of the knowledge that I have learned here on T-Nation and the things that I have been doing in the last year to meet my goals of 12% BF, Power snatching 225lbs and getting to 12 solid pull ups. What are your goals and what are you doing to get there?
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Do 15-20 min anaerobic cardio in the AM on off days (Tues, Thurs, and Sat). Such as Jump Rope,Run, Bike, Row, Heavy Bag, ( Max Effort 15 sec Light Effort 90 sec ),
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Eat Breakfast (example: Oatmeal and a protein shake)
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Increase protein intake to 1 - 1.5 grams per pound of LBM
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Lower carb intake below 100g and eat very little simple carbs after 3:00pm (or 6 hours before bed)
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Lift at least 3x per week concentrating on the big Heavy Lower rep lifts, Bodyweight, Kettlebell and Olympic Lifts.
a) Bench Press
b) Dead lift
c) Pull Up
d) Squat
e) Power Snatch
f) Dips
g) Chins
h) Bent Row
i) Hang Cleans
j) Kettlebell Swing Snatch -
Increase good fat intake and supplement with Fish Oils and Flax Oils
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Do 15-30 Min of cardio after lifting (Jog, Swim, Bike, Row) (this a tough one but has paid off for me)
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Keep a food log and keep caloric intake 500 calories below maintenance to take advantage of caloric deficit.
Macro Breakdown and Caloric Target Calculations using LBM.
(Example) 245 lbs. X .78 (22% Body Fat) = 191 lbs. Lean Body Mass
Protein: 1.5 x 191 = 287 grams X 4 = 1148 CALORIES 47%
Carbs: .42 x 191 = 80 grams X 4 = 320 CALORIES 13%
Fat: .57 x 191 = 108 grams X 9 = 972 CALORIES 40%
= 2,440 TOTAL TARGET CALORIC INTAKE
This Calculation should put you at 500 calories below maintanence which should equal around a pound a week fat loss.
(Carb calculation excluding post workout shake.)
Re-Calculate every couple of weeks to compensate for Fat loss !
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Eat 6 small meals a day using P+C and P+F rule.
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Drink 15 - 20 Glasses of water daily
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Drink a Post workout shake, Surge!
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Foods to Eat
Good Protein Foods:
Fish (salmon, tuna, cod) , Eggs, Chicken breast , Cottage cheese, Milk protein isolates, Whey protein isolates, Lean red meat
Good Carbohydrate Foods:
Vegetables, Mixed beans, Low glycemic index fruits, Oatmeal/oat bran, Mixed grain bread, Small amounts of protein-enriched pasta
Good Fat Foods:
Flax oil, EPA/DHA (Fish Oils), Olive oil, Raw Mixed nuts
13.foods to avoid:
Bad Protein Foods:
Fatty meats
Fatty dairy foods
Most lunch meat
Whole milk
A lot of soy
Bad Carbohydrate foods:
Regular bread
Sugar added foods
Most cereals
Soda
Fruit juice
Bagels
Fruit bars
Candy
Bad Fat foods:
Margarine
Vegetable oil
Corn oil
Heated or fried oils in general
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There is no difference between the way a male and female should train to increase lean muscle mass and decrease body fat.
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When you fall off the wagon (and you will) Get back on.
KraigY
I’m 41 and started training in August of 1980.
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If a muscle group is sore give it more time to heal. Muscle growth happens while you eat & rest.
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Slow contractions will build muscle faster but they will also beat up your joints.
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Switch up your workout routine every 4 - 6 weeks. Include 7 days active rest after you peak at your highest intensity level at the end of your cycle. During the 7 days take time to play ball with the boys or take an aerobics or yoga class with the hottie of your choice.
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Remember there is a lot of BS published in the magazines. Don’t try to follow the latest workout from Mr. Olympia unless you get paid to workout.
2007 USPF San Diego Deadlift Champ
i got a question about my biceps im a lineman and really need to get them big so i can play im 14 and i reguarly bench 105lbs and i maxed out at 125lbs to thats sounds as though im week plz someone give me some imput