Whitecrow: Yea man, totally serious…and as far as they can tell, it is not cancerous, we will know more in time. But as of now it is messing with some stuff in my body, but nothing worth mentioning! thanks for asking though man!
JudsonFit: Foam/PVC rolling/LAX stuff is the WAY bro. That plus contrasting showers can fix me pretty quick…And i think everyone could benefit greatly from both of those books…And recommending books!?! I can recommend thousands! But if you mean, just about training…then I’d say read “Starting strength” through twice, then read it again…the thing does just such a great job of explaining your body mechanics and how to structurally use your skeleton in relation to a BB…I definitely would not be as strong as I am today without it…Def check it out.
Previously Jlutz asked:
"Alpha, what would be your best bulking tips? I know you only like to get your carbs from veggies while other elite bodybuilders stress complex carbs around their workout times.
You posted that picture of yourself back from '02 where you were pretty skinny compared to where you’re at now…how were you able to pack on nearly 30-35 lbs of muscle? What was your diet like back then? Has it always been no carbs but veggies and shakes? Did your bf ever get out of control during this time of packing on so much muscle?
Thanks."
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Ok, to get back to a more in-depth answer for this:
To begin, remember that I am not trying to do bodybuilding, nor have I ever really been that into it. Of course When I was younger I wanted to get huge, but with fighting and grappling, getting huge was never really an option because of weight classes. I still have the same mentality now. I can appreciate the time and discipline it takes to build such large amounts of muscle, but to be completely honest, if you cannot run, jump, and fight better because of it, than what the heck is it there for? Intimidation? I stay a little bigger and stronger (220-225) walking around most days of the year because it is the result of an easier lifestyle where I am less regimented and working less hard. But there is no question that I am my best and most dangerous at 185. It is a great mix of speed and strength, However, it also requires me to look at every single thing that I put in my mouth.
That said, my best bulking tips: Hmmmm I guess they would be:
1-Lift like you are trying to BECOME stronger, not LOOK stronger.
2-Eat as much clean food as you possible can.
3-Do your proper recovery work and rest. You do not grow in the gym.
4-Do this consistently and as often as you are able.
To be completely honest though, the resl answer is, Make getting bigger one of the top priorities in your life.
Think of Arnold in pumping Iron. Put it before, girls, beer, family, friends, everything. THAT is truly how people become great at things.
I personally never put it that high on my list of priorities. But self-evident truth still remains, Your life will blatantly reflect what you put the most effort and time into.
If you want to be the best body builder of all time, you are not going to get there playing baseball, drinking with your buddies or clubbing with your girlfriend. Everything comes with a price. Decide if what you are focusing on is worth paying for, and if it is, than the price is often unyielding, single minded focus. The enemy of great is good.
Concerning the complex carbs around workouts: Well, different things work for different people. We all have different ancestors and different digestive systems. If eating brown rice and fruit loops post workout helps some people out that I say do it. I would to if I were able, but it just makes me fat and sluggish.
My girl is middle eastern, and her body can handle lots of complex carbs, fruit, vegetables, a decent amount of meat, and very little fat. If I try eating like her, I can notice the difference in my body composition and performance within a few meals.
On the other hand, MY gut likes LOTS of protein, and handles fat and vegetables very well. But if you stick starchy carbs in front of me or a lot of fruit, I get fat looking at them. This is something I have learned over the years, and I know that getting fat is not something I like. So I stay away from them.
I think the important thing is for people to keep a food log and experiment with different things so they can know how Their own body works, as opposed to just trying to do what someone else has already learned and is currently working for them. Just my 2 cents though.
Ok, as far as me from back in the 02 picture. Well, I had just graduated college, and knew NOTHING about diet and good eating. I was taking protein first thing in the morning, post workout, and before bed. Other than that It was whatever I felt like eating. That lasted until 03 when my metabolism changed and I my abs suddenly disappeared. For the first time in my life I did not have them and could not figure out why. That is when I started reading up on nutrition.
I was reading a LOT of John Berardi and his way of doing things. He talked so much about eating lean protein, vegetables and good fats that I ate nothing but that. My body and performance almost instantly changed for the better. It took a long time for me to figure out what I could and could not get away with (actually I am still figuring it out) and that is how my diet evolved into its current state.
I credit switching from split routines to TBT and eating like this, to how I am reaching where I am today. Well that , and of course a TON of hard work and discipline. Ever since I lost my abs back when I was 23, and started learning about nutrition, they have never really gone away again.
Do not misunderstand me though! They have many different levels of definition! But they are always there even through all of my mass gain.
Also again, please remember that I was NOT trying to do bodybuilding, but rather get stronger each and every workout. I was still fighting all of the time, so I could never really do a true Bulk in the body building sense. But it is definitely NOT my opinion that you need to get fat to gain muscle. There are plenty of people who will stand against that contention. But that is the same mindset that says that no one can lift/be built like me without the aid of steroids. (Which I have never done).
IMO that is no better than a lame petulant child. If someone does something great that I cannot do but am envious of. I immediately want to find out how they got there and then will work my arse off to get there and eventually beat them.
What I will not do is tear them down on the internet because it makes me feel better about my meager accomplishments. But I digress.
Oh and, No, the strictly shakes, vegetables and fish oil only started with this current job where I can literally go 4-5 days without any good food options. It is out of necessity, not out of choice. My job is absolutely terrible for getting in workouts and eating healthy, but it is just like everything else in life. Some people will overcome, others will just make excuses, fail, and blame others for it.
Ok I think that answered all that you asked.
Sorry for the long winded response, but I hope that helped!
Previously AdamF Asked:
“How about something along the lines of outlining how you structure your training? Id certainly be interested to read how/why you do the exercises and giant sets you do…Im not sure if you’ve already mentioned it elsewhere - if you have just ignore me!”
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Well, Since my schedule is not normal at all, and what WAS supposed to be a great training can often be spent in some other crappy part of the world/nation, my training has to differ from most.
I do the inserts/extracts for my heart/cardio/conditioning. These are pretty random, I just try to make them all sound hard as crap on paper.
If they are hard on paper, they will usually destroy you in real life.
The weights are generally kept light enough that they do not really tax my muscles for that day, but make my lungs feel like they are going to explode.
Where it comes to programming the strength portions of the workouts, I always think of a few things:
-What do I need to work on?
-What did I do before/what am I doing next?
-What do I hate doing the most (this will ALWAYS be at the top of the list of things to do the most)
-I always do my pulling movements before my pushing movements and try to stay in the same plane of motion.
-What are my goals/what am I training for.
-Considerations of CNS/Muscle recovery vs. Maximum output
-Since I may get anywhere from 1 to 6 training days in this week, do the workouts follow a natural progression to be repeated (can day 1 be followed directly by day 5?) or can I have 4 days off between days 2 and 3?
-Rep Ranges
Sometimes I will just write out lists of all of the Lower body pull movements, lower body push movements, single leg lower body push/pull movements, upper body vertical pull movements, Upper body horizontal pull movements, etc…
Then I will look at them and essentially plug in the staples, followed by the ones that I need to work on, or the ones that I hate the most. And then form it from there.
It is rather rudimentary but seems to work for my personal progression.
A lot of people try to do similar workouts and have trouble because they are not as accustom to that kind of workload or are not getting the nutrition/rest/recovery that their body is screaming for.
All of my years of fighting and martial arts really helped put me in tune to what was physically going on with my body. It just kind of carried over to my lifting.
Another thing to mention is that most people bash TBT and say that it did not work for them because they were trying to fit too many things in their program. There is not room for 6 different exclusive arm exercises in the week.
And most are not willing to train through the pain of extreme DOMS, minor injuries, or broken backs. I just was. Time will probably show that they are right, but pushing myself and changing preconceived notions of what is and is not possible is something I enjoy doing.
Anyway, I hope that kind of covered what you asked, if it did not or you have any follow up questions, just shoot.
Thanks man.
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Pity for the guilty is treason to the innocent."
-Ayn Rand
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11 May 2010: Training (Active recovery)
Insert:
Finish the Deck of Cards as fast as possible:
Hearts = Burpees
Spades = Squat jumps
Clubs = Mountain Climbers
Diamonds = Clapping push-ups
Jokers = 400 meter sprint
8=8Reps, Jack=10, King=12, Ace=13 Etc…
(I stole this insert directly from Sealfit.com BTW)
Extract:
Grab a 65lb DB in each hand and do a burpee…
As you stand up do a squat press…
Repeat 99 more times as fast as you can…
Notes:
-This was NOT active recovery…this was BS!!! Both did not make me feel so good!!!
The rest of this evening is going to be spent LAX ball rolling, contrasting between a bag of ice on my lower back and a steaming hot bath tub, and stretching while watching old school Batman: the animated series cartoons…
Then I have big plans to medicate myself into a deep slumber!!!
I’ll probably be back on here to check in with some other people’s logs, so leave any questions you might have…
Hopefully doing this recovery stuff will help me pull 640 off the ground and BB Incline 420 Thursday afternoon…Come on LAX Ball!!!
Thanks for reading
Thanks alot for reading my PM! It means alot.