Four More Years!

Off Topic Rate My Physique Photos
21

[quote]You need to be more specific. What kinds of training have you tried? You mentioned powerlifters giving you advice - have you tried training like them? Have you tried any of the programs on this site?

While I understand your annoyance at such a vague answer, I think the previous poster has a point. Generally if you train very hard with all the main compound lifts (and allow time for progression), and eat like a horse, you should make gains.

How do you think guys in prison get big? No fancy equipment, not even good food, but just the basic lifts done hard and heavy and OVER TIME the body adapts to the stress.

I am not a terribly experienced lifter myself but seeing the replies on this thread so far I am trying to help.
Wish you the best.
[/quote]

I can’t be bothered to describe 4 years of training, it would take all day to type up and no one wants to read it.

My issue with the “train hard, eat hard” advice is that its grossly ambiguous. Luckily I’m not a noob and know some extra details to fill it in, but to anyone that just hears that and goes ahead and trains, they could end up doing any of millions of possilbe ways of training.

And whether a workout is “hard” or a weight feels “heavy” is completely subjective and means nothing. I could say that a 100kg feels “heavy”, and also that its “light as shit”, depending on the situation and audience. The words are meaningless.

[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
Instead of only eating carbs in the evening, try eating them before 1 pm and post workout only. This will allow you to eat a greater amount of carbs and possible help with your recovery.

As for your sleep, all I can think of is maybe try ZMA.

If you are still wanting to train more than your program lays out, you are not training hard enough. Up the weights, shorten the rest times, whatever. You should be wiped out after a good workout. 20 rep squats is a guaranteed fit for the person who likes to workout too much. You wont want to breathe, let alone lift more after one of those workouts.[/quote]

I eat about 1500g carbs/week, which should be plenty.

ZMA isn’t going to help with my sleep, unfortunately. Its some seriously entrenched insomnia that will take some hard work to set right.

Don’t tempt me with the idea of tiring workouts, dude. I love lifting and if it wasn’t so horrendously damaging I’d train myself into the ground every single day. I guess people have different concepts, again, of what “wiped out” means, and all that. To me, if I finish a workout feeling anything but “fresh” and “invigorated”, I know I need to take a bit of time off and start again lighter, else I’ll head downhill fast.

Thanks for trying to help, dudes, but I really wasn’t expecting or wanting any advice here. When you don’t know me or my situation its hard to give advice thats relevant, so I wouldn’t come to a new forum and ask for it.

I’m starting a new few-months today, so we’ll see if I’m any stronger by September.

Thanks

–Joe

22

[quote]Mr ian wrote:
are you Jesus? [/quote]

a ginger jesus. whatever next?

23

Believe me. After 20 rep squats, no part of you will feel refreshed unless youre just being a pussy about it.

If youre having trouble recovering, try to up your carbs a little. It might help.

Your insomnia could be due in part to your tendency to overtrain. YOU need to stop making excuses and have some self control if YOU want to see results. Its as simple as that. There is nothing about wanting to train too often that you yourself cannot control.

24

I hope all that dirt on you is from your stones workout… because if it isn’t , you need to wash your shit.

25

Maybe I haven’t read the whole thread closely enough, but just based on the pics and first few posts, am I the only one thinking TSB?

26

[quote]coachese wrote:
Your main problem is a Stonehenge that is in danger of being trampled by dwarves is NOT very menacing.[/quote]

Ha ha…you beat me to the Spinal Tap reference. :slight_smile:

27

Sorry if I offended you in my previous post.
I would recommend TBT by Chad Waterbury.

28

what you need is a bosu ball and a kettlebell

29

[quote]fage wrote:

Thanks for the replies, dudes. The troule with this business is that you don’t know if what you’re doing is working until a few months later. I can only try a handful of approaches each year, and a year goes quickly. I’ll be 21 soon and I finished puberty when I was about 13. My Testosterone is about 350ng/dl, and its only going to get worse, so I’m aware of the quite urgent need to start making progress really fucking soon.
If I still haven’t got any strength gains by about November, I will force a few kg of mass gains, regardless of how fat I get, then cut it back quickly and see if it left me with any more muscle.

–Joe[/quote]

No, you are incorrect. If you are not getting stronger, doing more reps, etc on a week to week or every couple week basis then you are doing something wrong. This is especially true the less experienced (i.e. weaker) you are.

I think EDT would be the perfect solution for you because it has built in progressions. If you do six weeks of EDT and increase your weight and reps as directed, then you will, by definition, have gained. There’s basically no personal responsibility or choice about it, you do it, make your reps, add weight etc. etc.

I suggest you pick up a copy of Charles Staley’s Muscle Logic and go to town.

30

What you need is someone to talk to, maybe a professional psychologist. You sound like you have issues that you are trying to deal with and you are using training as a outlet. Luckily you didn’t turn to alcohol or drugs.

Your insomnia and over training might be related to a more serious mental issue. And from reading your post and your replies you already know that.

So instead of talking to a trainer, talk to someone who can help with your other issues.

31

[quote]Mr ian wrote:
are you Jesus? [/quote]

Second funniest post of all time.

32

[quote]fightingtiger wrote:
Believe me. After 20 rep squats, no part of you will feel refreshed unless youre just being a pussy about it.

If youre having trouble recovering, try to up your carbs a little. It might help.

Your insomnia could be due in part to your tendency to overtrain. YOU need to stop making excuses and have some self control if YOU want to see results. Its as simple as that. There is nothing about wanting to train too often that you yourself cannot control.[/quote]

Yea, I’d feel totally raped, which I know by now to correlate well with being about to make no progress at all.

Werd, I’ve had times in the past where I ate far too little and too few carbs, intentionally. These days I get about 400g on workout days.

“Excuse” or just a “reason”, whatever. I know its up to me to control myself, I wasn’t saying that I’m doomed to failiure because I ofton lack self control, but highlighting that as an issue I need to change.

33

[quote]Norwell Bob wrote:
Maybe I haven’t read the whole thread closely enough, but just based on the pics and first few posts, am I the only one thinking TSB?[/quote]

wtf is TSB?

It could be anything from “Tremendously Sexy Badass” to “Totally Shit Body”.

What does it mean? If its some T-Nation thing, I wouldn’t have heard it

34

[quote]Irish Muscle wrote:
if you cant sleep, then stay awake purposly for 3 full days. Then on the third day, go to bed at 10 pm.

sleep all night and wake up early at 6 am. you will still be tired as hell.

stay awake all day then go to sleep again at 10 pm.

once you keep getting up early you will feel tired so you shoulod be tired by evening time and get into a rythm and keep the routine goin. this should get your body clock back on track and the three day period of no sleep will get you exhausted and boost you into the sleep routine.

if it doesnt work, then im sorry.[/quote]

yea, good call. My problem isn’t with falling asleep but with STAYING asleep. I wake up 1-8 times per night, usually I sleep for 4 hours then just wake up every 30 mins after that, never truly asleep.

I have exams in a few days then after that I think I will try something like you suggested.

–Joe

35

TSB = “Tube Steak Boogie”… i.e. “somebody is fucking with us”…

That said, I’ve now gone back and re-read your original posts and I take it back. My fault, I apologize. I read it too quickly, transposed a couple words, etc etc.

Anyways, I can totally sympathize with the sleep thing. I’ve had the same problem for years, and was diagnosed a couple years ago with narcolepsy. Might want to talk to a doc and have a sleep study done to see if there’s something amiss.

I tend to stay up later than I should (I hate the thought of “wasting time” by sleeping), and I usually have to wake up early for work. If I get 6 hours in the sack, I’m lucky. Add to that the fact that I’ll usually wake up a couple few times in the night, yeah, I’m totally not sleeping enough.

I’m sure this is affecting my progress (or lack thereof) in the gym, and probably causing my T-levels to dip (something else you may want to look into).

That said, I can’t really offer too much helpful advice for sleeping through the night… but I have had decent luck taking melatonin and “Simply Sleep” together, the latter of which is the sleep agent in Tylenol PM, without the Tylenol.

Maybe try eating a can of chicken and a handful of peanuts before bed, too. Make sure your room is very cool and pitch black, too (two things I don’t have the luxury of, since my wife likes it warmer and leaves the door open in case the kids wake up).

Try that work a week and let us know how you make out.

Good luck,
Rob

[quote]fage wrote:
Norwell Bob wrote:
Maybe I haven’t read the whole thread closely enough, but just based on the pics and first few posts, am I the only one thinking TSB?

wtf is TSB?

It could be anything from “Tremendously Sexy Badass” to “Totally Shit Body”.

What does it mean? If its some T-Nation thing, I wouldn’t have heard it
[/quote]

36

[quote]fage wrote:
fightingtiger wrote:
Believe me. After 20 rep squats, no part of you will feel refreshed unless youre just being a pussy about it.

If youre having trouble recovering, try to up your carbs a little. It might help.

Your insomnia could be due in part to your tendency to overtrain. YOU need to stop making excuses and have some self control if YOU want to see results. Its as simple as that. There is nothing about wanting to train too often that you yourself cannot control.

Yea, I’d feel totally raped, which I know by now to correlate well with being about to make no progress at all.

Werd, I’ve had times in the past where I ate far too little and too few carbs, intentionally. These days I get about 400g on workout days.

“Excuse” or just a “reason”, whatever. I know its up to me to control myself, I wasn’t saying that I’m doomed to failiure because I ofton lack self control, but highlighting that as an issue I need to change.[/quote]

There is a very large difference from feeling exhaused after a workout and from being overtrained. I find it ironic that you correlate a hard training session with being overtrained, but then also never feel like you have gotten a good enough workout and train such a high frequency or volume that you end up overtraining.

I think you are probably overthinking everything. Pick a program. Do the program, nothing more, nothing less. You keep telling us why you cant do the things that you need to do to make progress. Stop talking about what you cant do. That mindset is annoying for others and self defeating for you. Get on a good basic program, 20 rep squats or Starr’s 5x5 are good ones. Stop overthinking everything. Stop making excuses and do what you need to do.

37

a couple things.

1.Cutting fast is not a good thing for your goals. Gain 30-40 lbs over a year .5-1lb per week ragarless of your perceived composition, following 3-4 reputable programs in that time. Hold it for 6 months then SLOWLY cut for 6 months while lifting heavy and continuing to eat.

2.you are seriously fucked in the head

38

[quote]pushpulljunkie wrote:
a couple things.

1.Cutting fast is not a good thing for your goals. Gain 30-40 lbs over a year .5-1lb per week ragarless of your perceived composition, following 3-4 reputable programs in that time. Hold it for 6 months then SLOWLY cut for 6 months while lifting heavy and continuing to eat.

2.you are seriously fucked in the head[/quote]

In my experience, slow cutting is a horrible waste of time and leaves me very prone to fat gain afterwards.
When I cut I eat ~1000cals/day for most days during one week - no carbs, lose a couple of lbs, no muscle or strength losses, then get back to eating 3-5000cals/day. I do that every so ofton if my bf% gets out of hand. I can’t think of any reason why long slow cutting would be better.

39

You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.