you ever do DC or HIT routines (besides the starting one)?
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]fisch wrote:
Alright I have to ask, did you use to post as Bricknyce? Not 100% sure that’s how it’s spelled, but the “Brick” part of your name and your posting style seems similar to me, and since your join date was 2012 and I believe Bricknyce stopped posting before that. There’s other correlations as well. I ask because I remember reading a lot of his posts and they were a big part of my education starting out.
Otherwise, cool thread. I always like reading your posts.[/quote]
Thanks for the compliment.
Unfortunately I acted inappropriately and disrespectfully on this board in my past. I’ve sincerely apologized several times for that behavior since returning. [/quote]
I didn’t realize it was a negative issue at all, my bad. I don’t recall reading anything inappropriate in the past but sorry for bringing it up. I just remember a lot of “common sense” stuff about training I heard for the first time that didn’t click until it was mentioned.
[quote]fisch wrote:
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]fisch wrote:
Alright I have to ask, did you use to post as Bricknyce? Not 100% sure that’s how it’s spelled, but the “Brick” part of your name and your posting style seems similar to me, and since your join date was 2012 and I believe Bricknyce stopped posting before that. There’s other correlations as well. I ask because I remember reading a lot of his posts and they were a big part of my education starting out.
Otherwise, cool thread. I always like reading your posts.[/quote]
Thanks for the compliment.
Unfortunately I acted inappropriately and disrespectfully on this board in my past. I’ve sincerely apologized several times for that behavior since returning. [/quote]
I didn’t realize it was a negative issue at all, my bad. I don’t recall reading anything inappropriate in the past but sorry for bringing it up. I just remember a lot of “common sense” stuff about training I heard for the first time that didn’t click until it was mentioned.[/quote]
It’s OK; I was just trying to explain what happened.
Thanks for the compliment. I’m glad I helped.
what is it that you do again for a living? sorry if you mentioned it already, but im curious as people say you are in the biz so to speak of fitness.
[quote]Waittz wrote:
what is it that you do again for a living? sorry if you mentioned it already, but im curious as people say you are in the biz so to speak of fitness. [/quote]
I don’t work in “the industry” but want to in the future (I have some ideas). I’m a registered dietitian for a nursing and rehabilitation home and I have masters in nutrition and exercise physiology. My former professor and thesis mentor is VERY involved in the industry and used to write for this site. So, although not being a know-it-all, I think I know SOME stuff.
What have been your best lifts? If you could go back to your mid-20’s what type of training program and diet would you use?
[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:
What have been your best lifts? If you could go back to your mid-20’s what type of training program and diet would you use?[/quote]
350 bench, and 500 deadlift and squat at 27 years old as an obese and bloated 240 to 250 pounds (there was one time where I myself wanted the full house look and was just interested in putting up numbers). NO, they are NOT great lifts and granted I could’ve gone farther with those lifts, but again, and yeah, this might sound “pussy”, I don’t think I ever properly designed my life to compete in anything nor was consistent enough to be better than “OK”.
It’s kind of disappointing I admit because I would have liked a better result for something I loved so much and invested in(I don’t mind going further into personal and life matters relating to lifting if anyone wants to know; there are some good people on here and I like to be transparent and honest). Now I just want to share my passion for fitness and nutrition with others, write diets, stuff like that.
I REALLY regret not taking a ton of photos of when I was OBSESSED with all this at times-probably the reason I burnt out at times and why it had a negative effect on other areas of life at times. This is why balance is very important for lifelong consistency. I believe my inconsistency throughout the years was because of obsession. It seems all I’d do was work, go to the gym, talk about lifting, go to shows, read magazines, post on forums, and so on.
Then other areas of life would suffer and I’d say, “Screw this hobby! I’ll just keep in shape”, leading to lost time and inconsistency. Then I’d get the bug again, and the same cycle would happen. Like some here would say, for some REGULAR GUY like me who was never destined to do any sort of damage, I “DID IT WRONG”. I think the young guys on here like yourself and some others are just better at juggling their lives with competing than I was.
I’ve never been insanely strong or insanely muscular, but I think I’ve done “OK”. Now I’m just back at “Men’s Health”, “in shape” status.
I admit I’m not the best multi-tasker and to those who somehow manage to take care of life AND compete, I give the utmost respect. I’ll also admit that if someone dumped a million bucks in my pocket so I didn’t have to work much for the time being, I’d become a full time, obsessed gym maniac, even if the reward was to only be involved in this culture and not gaining anything else.
(The above is NOT–repeat, NOT–meant to discourage anyone, but rather a reflection of how I did somethings with this lifestyle the WRONG way. I can go further into it, but I don’t know if anyone would like me to.)
I think I did alright with my diet but I winged stuff too much even though I knew better–you know, too much “eyeballing” and “guesstimating”. Anyway, I always performed and felt the best on a moderate fat, moderate carb diet: 1.25 or so grams of protein per pound, 20 to 30% fat, rest carbs. I really should have kept more tabs on myself and that’s why I say what I say here: staying RELATIVELY lean all year round is good for most who want to do something with their physiques.
If I ever competed, I think I would’ve done my own nutrition and would have gone by experimentation. I think I likely would have done a ketogenic diet with refeeds the first time around and if there more times around and that didn’t work, gone with a carb rotation diet.
I think I was pretty happy and would’ve been happy with the routines I spoke about. I think the Bill Starr 5 x 5 routine is great for beginners and if I recall correctly, it’s what Mark Rippetoe drew from to create Starting Strength. The Westside program I followed for strength produced very fast results and some areas gained size very quickly, particularly the forearms, triceps, upper back, glutes and hams.
As for bodybuilding, I always liked the split I wrote I used. It yielded pretty good results. I was never a high or low volume guy, more like midway/moderate volume with sets near failure or failure in which the next rep is gonna be crappy. I’ve always used strict form for most lifts but feel some lifts lend to some “Body English”, even for safety, such as bent rows, bicep curls, lateral raises, and shrugs. I’m also a big advocate of pre-exhaust for stubborn muscle groups.
Maiden, thanks again for posting this thread and engaging in this conversation.
I’ve made some meaningful friendships from this site (as in real life hanging out, not just FB talk and lifting with someone) who share the same interests I do or are just good people. If anyone ever wants to chat about nutrition or fitness feel free to PM or somehow find me on FB. I love talking about health, diet, bodybuilding, and going to events. Next up are NY Pro and probably Crossfit Mayhem competition in NJ. Might go to Bev Francis’s Atlantic States too (same location as NY Pro).
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]Waittz wrote:
what is it that you do again for a living? sorry if you mentioned it already, but im curious as people say you are in the biz so to speak of fitness. [/quote]
I don’t work in “the industry” but want to in the future (I have some ideas). I’m a registered dietitian for a nursing and rehabilitation home and I have masters in nutrition and exercise physiology. My former professor and thesis mentor is VERY involved in the industry and used to write for this site. So, although not being a know-it-all, I think I know SOME stuff. [/quote]
Very cool
[quote]Waittz wrote:
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]Waittz wrote:
what is it that you do again for a living? sorry if you mentioned it already, but im curious as people say you are in the biz so to speak of fitness. [/quote]
I don’t work in “the industry” but want to in the future (I have some ideas). I’m a registered dietitian for a nursing and rehabilitation home and I have masters in nutrition and exercise physiology. My former professor and thesis mentor is VERY involved in the industry and used to write for this site. So, although not being a know-it-all, I think I know SOME stuff. [/quote]
Very cool[/quote]
Thank you .
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:
What have been your best lifts? If you could go back to your mid-20’s what type of training program and diet would you use?[/quote]
350 bench, and 500 deadlift and squat at 27 years old as an obese and bloated 240 to 250 pounds (there was one time where I myself wanted the full house look and was just interested in putting up numbers). NO, they are NOT great lifts and granted I could’ve gone farther with those lifts, but again, and yeah, this might sound “pussy”, I don’t think I ever properly designed my life to compete in anything nor was consistent enough to be better than “OK”.
It’s kind of disappointing I admit because I would have liked a better result for something I loved so much and invested in(I don’t mind going further into personal and life matters relating to lifting if anyone wants to know; there are some good people on here and I like to be transparent and honest). Now I just want to share my passion for fitness and nutrition with others, write diets, stuff like that.
I REALLY regret not taking a ton of photos of when I was OBSESSED with all this at times-probably the reason I burnt out at times and why it had a negative effect on other areas of life at times. This is why balance is very important for lifelong consistency. I believe my inconsistency throughout the years was because of obsession. It seems all I’d do was work, go to the gym, talk about lifting, go to shows, read magazines, post on forums, and so on.
Then other areas of life would suffer and I’d say, “Screw this hobby! I’ll just keep in shape”, leading to lost time and inconsistency. Then I’d get the bug again, and the same cycle would happen. Like some here would say, for some REGULAR GUY like me who was never destined to do any sort of damage, I “DID IT WRONG”. I think the young guys on here like yourself and some others are just better at juggling their lives with competing than I was.
I’ve never been insanely strong or insanely muscular, but I think I’ve done “OK”. Now I’m just back at “Men’s Health”, “in shape” status.
I admit I’m not the best multi-tasker and to those who somehow manage to take care of life AND compete, I give the utmost respect. I’ll also admit that if someone dumped a million bucks in my pocket so I didn’t have to work much for the time being, I’d become a full time, obsessed gym maniac, even if the reward was to only be involved in this culture and not gaining anything else.
(The above is NOT–repeat, NOT–meant to discourage anyone, but rather a reflection of how I did somethings with this lifestyle the WRONG way. I can go further into it, but I don’t know if anyone would like me to.)
I think I did alright with my diet but I winged stuff too much even though I knew better–you know, too much “eyeballing” and “guesstimating”. Anyway, I always performed and felt the best on a moderate fat, moderate carb diet: 1.25 or so grams of protein per pound, 20 to 30% fat, rest carbs. I really should have kept more tabs on myself and that’s why I say what I say here: staying RELATIVELY lean all year round is good for most who want to do something with their physiques.
If I ever competed, I think I would’ve done my own nutrition and would have gone by experimentation. I think I likely would have done a ketogenic diet with refeeds the first time around and if there more times around and that didn’t work, gone with a carb rotation diet.
I think I was pretty happy and would’ve been happy with the routines I spoke about. I think the Bill Starr 5 x 5 routine is great for beginners and if I recall correctly, it’s what Mark Rippetoe drew from to create Starting Strength. The Westside program I followed for strength produced very fast results and some areas gained size very quickly, particularly the forearms, triceps, upper back, glutes and hams.
As for bodybuilding, I always liked the split I wrote I used. It yielded pretty good results. I was never a high or low volume guy, more like midway/moderate volume with sets near failure or failure in which the next rep is gonna be crappy. I’ve always used strict form for most lifts but feel some lifts lend to some “Body English”, even for safety, such as bent rows, bicep curls, lateral raises, and shrugs. I’m also a big advocate of pre-exhaust for stubborn muscle groups.
[/quote]
Those lifts certainly arent anything to be ashamed of. Better than “ok” imo but that depends on the perspective you’re looking from.
I agree on the body english for those lifts you mentioned except shrugs. It’s such a small movement that I dont think body english is such a great idea imo. But that’s probably a discussion for a different day.
Thanks for the in depth reply I admire your passion for the sport and lifting in general.
Had to bump this. As someone who has strength as a main goal but cares about how I look too I sometimes find it a tough balance to strike especially because I’m not naturally lean. You mentioned switching between a bodybuilding split and westside. How do you feel you maintained strength on the bbing split? I feel like i want to venture to bodybuilding style training for a bit as I’ve mostly always leaned towards powerlifting. I want to either finally try out a split or maybe something like PHAT with westside “power days”.
[quote]Mtag666 wrote:
Had to bump this. As someone who has strength as a main goal but cares about how I look too I sometimes find it a tough balance to strike especially because I’m not naturally lean. You mentioned switching between a bodybuilding split and westside. How do you feel you maintained strength on the bbing split? I feel like i want to venture to bodybuilding style training for a bit as I’ve mostly always leaned towards powerlifting. I want to either finally try out a split or maybe something like PHAT with westside “power days”. [/quote]
I can understand your concern, but I look at what the seriousness of it all. Regarding me, I knew I’d never set the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds on fire, so regressing in strength during a bodybuilding phase or not progressing in symmetry during a powerlifting phase weren’t serious concerns for me. My life and appearance to others would not be affected either way (who outside of this hobby would be able to or care that much about judging some shirtless guy’s body?)
So you have to ask yourself how important whatever you want is? Is it really going to affect you so much if you take off from strength training and go on a bodybuilding split and cut down for awhile?
My strength would be lower after a bodybuilding phase, but would come back after a month or two during a powerlifting phase.
Are you going to compete in either? If so, will it likely be at a high level one day? To me, if it’s not going to be at a high level or this is done just for recreation, then it’s not as important (again, MY opinion).
Kirk Karwoski once considered doing a bodybuilding show, but didn’t because that WOULD stifle his powerlifting accomplishments and he knew he had a limited time frame in powerlifting.
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]Mtag666 wrote:
Had to bump this. As someone who has strength as a main goal but cares about how I look too I sometimes find it a tough balance to strike especially because I’m not naturally lean. You mentioned switching between a bodybuilding split and westside. How do you feel you maintained strength on the bbing split? I feel like i want to venture to bodybuilding style training for a bit as I’ve mostly always leaned towards powerlifting. I want to either finally try out a split or maybe something like PHAT with westside “power days”. [/quote]
I can understand your concern, but I look at what the seriousness of it all. Regarding me, I knew I’d never set the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds on fire, so regressing in strength during a bodybuilding phase or not progressing in symmetry during a powerlifting phase weren’t serious concerns for me. My life and appearance to others would not be affected either way (who outside of this hobby would be able to or care that much about judging some shirtless guy’s body?)
So you have to ask yourself how important whatever you want is? Is it really going to affect you so much if you take off from strength training and go on a bodybuilding split and cut down for awhile?
My strength would be lower after a bodybuilding phase, but would come back after a month or two during a powerlifting phase.
Are you going to compete in either? If so, will it likely be at a high level one day? To me, if it’s not going to be at a high level or this is done just for recreation, then it’s not as important (again, MY opinion).
Kirk Karwoski once considered doing a bodybuilding show, but didn’t because that WOULD stifle his powerlifting accomplishments and he knew he had a limited time frame in powerlifting. [/quote]
That’s a really good way to frame it. I do plan on doing a meet at some point but I won’t be setting any powerlifting records either. haha. I think I might have to give some bodybuilding type training a try then, it’s been along time, and in essence training is something we do for fun, so why not.
Thanks! That’s very funny! 
I meant every word
[quote]Mtag666 wrote:
[quote]BrickHead wrote:
[quote]Mtag666 wrote:
Had to bump this. As someone who has strength as a main goal but cares about how I look too I sometimes find it a tough balance to strike especially because I’m not naturally lean. You mentioned switching between a bodybuilding split and westside. How do you feel you maintained strength on the bbing split? I feel like i want to venture to bodybuilding style training for a bit as I’ve mostly always leaned towards powerlifting. I want to either finally try out a split or maybe something like PHAT with westside “power days”. [/quote]
I can understand your concern, but I look at what the seriousness of it all. Regarding me, I knew I’d never set the bodybuilding and powerlifting worlds on fire, so regressing in strength during a bodybuilding phase or not progressing in symmetry during a powerlifting phase weren’t serious concerns for me. My life and appearance to others would not be affected either way (who outside of this hobby would be able to or care that much about judging some shirtless guy’s body?)
So you have to ask yourself how important whatever you want is? Is it really going to affect you so much if you take off from strength training and go on a bodybuilding split and cut down for awhile?
My strength would be lower after a bodybuilding phase, but would come back after a month or two during a powerlifting phase.
Are you going to compete in either? If so, will it likely be at a high level one day? To me, if it’s not going to be at a high level or this is done just for recreation, then it’s not as important (again, MY opinion).
Kirk Karwoski once considered doing a bodybuilding show, but didn’t because that WOULD stifle his powerlifting accomplishments and he knew he had a limited time frame in powerlifting. [/quote]
That’s a really good way to frame it. I do plan on doing a meet at some point but I won’t be setting any powerlifting records either. haha. I think I might have to give some bodybuilding type training a try then, it’s been along time, and in essence training is something we do for fun, so why not.
[/quote]
I forgot to reply here. Yes, when we look at it like that, it takes enormous pressure off and puts things in perspective. Obviously, you don’t want to do things half-assed on the one hand, but on the other hand, there’s only so much someone will likely pour into some single pursuit if the reward or result is limited. So I say, do a good job and try hard, but don’t sacrifice to the point where you can’t have different expriences.