Building Strength, Losing Weight, No Hypertrophy

Training
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hi,

im trying to get back into training again but i have a few goals. these goals are.

-to increase absolute strength
-to build minimal hypertrophy
to lose stomach fat

i have been thinking of using the westside template because its the most efficient for continous gain without plateau. that said westide seems to develop a considerable amount of hypertrophy. is there a way to modify this program to cut out the excess hypertrophy and focus more on developing absolute strength and leaness.

Thanks

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something else i forgot to mention is im not strong enough to run very long distances so i want to develop strength first. this should help me initially to gain strength and allow me to run longer and also lose weight. i can’t even to calisthenics because im so weak.

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Strength will not help you run very long distances. In fact, they are opposing forces generally speaking. Lifting helps sprinting.

I dont suggest Westside and hate it personally, but if you gonna do it, just do it. Adjusting programs is silly, they are made by experts and rely on specific conditions to work. If you adjust it, then its not even that program, its just a mosh posh of stuff. Then when it doesnt work, people end up blaming the program they never even did.

Sorry for the generalizations but I’m assuming you are a beginner from your description. Just pick a program, and stick to it. Go hard, and of course to lose weight we all know the run more eat less formula is it.

Lift hard, run, eat right goal accomplished

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If you are a beginner as in you’ve only done 3 or fewer years of PL, I recommend against Westside style of training unless you’re working with a coach or group experienced with the system.

The system could work for you if implemented correctly, but I don’t think most beginners can implement it well by themselves.

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If you can’t even do calisthenics, then I’d first start with doing assisted calisthenics instead of jumping on a strength template.

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[quote]Zerpp wrote:
If you can’t even do calisthenics, then I’d first start with doing assisted calisthenics instead of jumping on a strength template. [/quote]

Hmmm… good point.

OP, what do you mean by calisthenics? Like which ones in particular?

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calisthenics like pushups, pull ups etc etc

but i need to develop some strength in order to do this.

i mean how can i develop strength quick enough to atleast get going?

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the only reason i picked a westside barbell program is because it avoids plateaus. i have seen modified programs like joe franco westside barbell modified.

so there is no one online profession that contact i can contact of email.

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I’d start off doing easier versions of those.

An extreme easier example of pushups would be doing them with your hands on the wall. You could put your hands on a chair if you’re stronger than that.

Chins are a trickier one if you can’t at least do a couple. You can start by using steps to get to the top position of a chin up and lower yourself down as slowly as you can for a few reps.

Are you comfortable with bodyweight lunges?

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Youre not gonna have to worry about plateaus for a while at that level. Also, tou shouldnt worry about plateaus til, ya know, you actually get to one.

There are westside programs aimed at beginners if im not mistaken, if you like to look of it, go ahead and do it, imo

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mkral55 - so where can i find these programs…

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Calisthenics are the simplest indicators of how athletic you are. Why even walk into a gym or get under a barbell, if you can’t do a pushup or a bodyweight squat or a pullup. How much do you weigh? This would be understandable if you were 300 pounds and undertrained. That would call for even simpler tasks; like walking around the block once or twice a day until you drop some weight.

But if you’re anywhere from 100-200 pounds and you can’t do simple calisthenics, then you probably aren’t a very good athlete. If you can’t do calisthenics, I can almost say for certain, you probably don’t know how to bench, squat or deadlift properly either. If you can’t do those properly and continue to add weight, you are bound to hurt yourself.

Sorry my posts seem to be more bashing than helping, but you’re jumping over crucial steps.

I’d begin with assisted pullups-- with a partner helping you or a band, pushups against a wall, and body weight squats. Work on those for a while, when they become easier to you mentally, then work your way up to actually doing the full pushups/pullups etc.

This thread should be in the beginners section

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I’m beginning to think this a troll. Account joined since June 2011, but can’t do calisthenics.

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zerpp im not a troll i registered in 2011 but i had a busy lifestyle then. i have now finalized my divorce and after about 5 years i want to get back into it. the last gym i went to was known in our neighbourhood as “the big guys gym”. at the time the instructor had me on a linear style of periodization. which was ok but i noticed i would lose certain attributes by the time i came back to that attribute. it was a different attribute each week. so strength on week 1, hypertrophy week 2 etc etc.

when i say i can’t do calisthenics i mean i can but with much difficulty. i was hoping that with enough weightlifting i could improve my calisthenics.

your right in that im not athletic but i am trying to be.

it could be that i do a good strength program and after i get strong enough i can transition my exercises in to more calisthnics and less weightlifting because the ultimate goal is leaner muscle with maximal strength training and belly loss.

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[quote]Zerpp wrote:
Calisthenics are the simplest indicators of how athletic you are. Why even walk into a gym or get under a barbell, if you can’t do a pushup or a bodyweight squat or a pullup. How much do you weigh? This would be understandable if you were 300 pounds and undertrained. That would call for even simpler tasks; like walking around the block once or twice a day until you drop some weight.

But if you’re anywhere from 100-200 pounds and you can’t do simple calisthenics, then you probably aren’t a very good athlete. If you can’t do calisthenics, I can almost say for certain, you probably don’t know how to bench, squat or deadlift properly either. If you can’t do those properly and continue to add weight, you are bound to hurt yourself.

Sorry my posts seem to be more bashing than helping, but you’re jumping over crucial steps.

I’d begin with assisted pullups-- with a partner helping you or a band, pushups against a wall, and body weight squats. Work on those for a while, when they become easier to you mentally, then work your way up to actually doing the full pushups/pullups etc.

This thread should be in the beginners section
[/quote]

x2 on all points.

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[quote]@JC_Tree_Trunks wrote:
Strength will not help you run very long distances. In fact, they are opposing forces generally speaking. Lifting helps sprinting.

[/quote]

not true at all

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Ah, sorry for the quick accusation then. Nonetheless I still stick to my point of getting better at calisthenics before going onto weight training. Set some goals, like 30 pushups in a row, 100 situps, 10 pullups, etc. something along those lines. But that’s my opinion and others may have different ones.

Hopefully someone like Chris Colucci can chime in on this. He knows his stuff.

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[quote]Master Windu wrote:
these goals are.
-to increase absolute strength[/quote]
Train heavyish in a lower rep range.

Monitor total training volume per bodypart, keeping it relatively low.

Monitor diet, add cardio.

Jab, cross, and uppercut. Done. :wink: But if you had to prioritize, which is the number one goal right now, increasing strength or dropping bodyfat?

What’s your height, weight, and general fat level (not a percentage. Do you have a gut hanging over your belt, are you kinda average looking, sorta lean, etc.)?

What are your current maxes on the big three? Since you do have some experience training, a program to build strength could be slightly different if you currently squat 100-something or if you currently squat 400-something.

Lifting weights to get better at bodyweight exercises is like squatting in order to leg press more. It might carryover, but directly training the thing you want to improve is usually a more direct way of improving it.

The most appropriate training program will depend a bit on your primary priority, but I’d say look to lift heavy 3-4 days a week with some kind of cardio 3-4 days a week (depending on how fat you currently are). That’s as ballpark as I can get for now without more information.

Let me get this straight… you want to start lifting weights to get better at calisthenics in order to be so good at calisthenics that you can stop lifting weights. Does that sounds just a little bass ackards to anyone else?

Not sure why you keep saying this. No program is guaranteed to avoid plateaus. When they do pop up on any program, you make necessary adjustments to continue seeing progress.

Joe DeFranco’s Westside for Skinny Bastards is designed to build strength and muscle, hence the “skinny bastards” part.

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To Chris Colucci

[quote]But if you had to prioritize, which is the number one goal right now, increasing strength or dropping bodyfat?[/quote]Thats a tough question…i hate myself because i have never been really strong, even in high school. I have thin wrist, i am hate how i look in the mirror.

I mean sometimes simple tasks seems big to me. so i am quite skinny but my gut is slightly large. fat is important from an aesthetic point of view. but in all i would pick strength first because my overall strength levels are appalling for a man. I used to struggle to pick up my girlfriend off her feet when she asked me to carry her upstairs.

[quote]What’s your height, weight, and general fat level (not a percentage. Do you have a gut hanging over your belt, are you kinda average looking, sorta lean, etc.)?[/quote]height is 5’11, my weight is 171.8 lb.im kinda average looking in regards to my body fat let me just say you know your fat when you look down and can’t see your “johnson”. my body fat in percentage is 22.5" My long term target is to get that back to 10-12.5%

Ive attached a picture so you know what i mean.

[quote]Lifting weights to get better at bodyweight exercises is like squatting in order to leg press more. It might carryover, but directly training the thing you want to improve is usually a more direct way of improving it. [/quote]understood. I thought generally that weight exercises help bodyweight exercises.

thanks for the reply

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Oh I forgot to add I can lift about 50 pounds alltogether (if we are adding the weight of the actual bench)