Lifting Heavy Things Can Be Fun

Training Beginners
1

Hey all. I�??ve been reading T-Nation for awhile and picked up a lot of useful advice and training tips. Once I began going to the gym and applying the advice, I found lifting could be fun.

Back in college I would go to the gym, but never actually enjoyed it. I blame that on the standard gym patron mentality. Bench, Curls, Leg Extension, and abs workout, so basically I had no idea what the hell I was doing! It was a chore and one that didn�??t hold my interest for any period of time. A month or so on, then two months off, then a month on, and so forth�?�

Since getting Squats, Dips, and Dead Lifts (my new favorite exercise) in the mix, I get excited and look forward to time in the gym. Too bad I didn�??t discover this years ago. Right now I�??m 25 yrs old, 6�??0�??, 180 lbs, and probably 14% BF.

My goal is to increase strength and size (ideally 200lbs and 10% BF), however strength is the more important of the two. I�??m currently deployed to Iraq and have limited access to equipment beyond free weights and cables. Food is also an issue, as in quality compared to quantity. You eat what is made�?�or you just don�??t eat. I get lots of deep fried food and carbs.

As far as supplements, I take REZ-V, Flameout, creatine, and Surge. Since getting enough protein is an issue I also drink at least one serving of the Low-Carb Metabolic Drive a day (usually right before bed).

I have one more week on the OVT method and would like to get some advice on what I should try next. Perhaps the Waterbury Method or Total Body Training ( http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-073-training )?

Though to be honest�?�I would like to have some nice beach muscles for my time home on R&R three months from now.

2

http://www.elitefts.com

You’ll start powerlifting soon enough.

3

Ha, one day perhaps. Olympic lifts look like a lot of fun, until I can train with or under someone that actually knows what they are doing I’ll avoid those.

The Army produces a lot of guys that think they know what they are doing in the gym. Doing an exercise the requires you to pick something up from the ground gets some odd looks though. There is a helpful attitude in gyms here, however it’s mostly advice on how to do something wrong.

4

[quote]Optimistic Cynic wrote:
I have one more week on the OVT method and would like to get some advice on what I should try next. Perhaps the Waterbury Method or Total Body Training ( http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=04-073-training )?

Though to be honest�?�I would like to have some nice beach muscles for my time home on R&R three months from now.
[/quote]

I generally recommend trying another coach’s workouts after you’ve given one a full ride, but Thibaudeau’s “Beach Training for Performance-Oriented Lifters” sounds like it’s right up your alley.
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=687162

Toss that into Waterbury’s “Next Big Three” and you should be golden.
http://www.T-Nation.com/findArticle.do?article=187big32

Best of luck. Stay safe and enjoy your R&R when it comes around.

5

Nice.

Thanks for the advice. Waterbury’s Big Three looks cool, especially the Overhead Press Squats. New exercises are always nice to keep the boredom away.

Would throwing in some chest work on days in between the Big Three workout days be counter productive? Or does the chest get hit by a movement I’m just not seeing?

6

[quote]Optimistic Cynic wrote:
Nice.

Thanks for the advice. Waterbury’s Big Three looks cool, especially the Overhead Press Squats. New exercises are always nice to keep the boredom away.[/quote]
Ha, yeah I thought that might grab your interest. Talk about getting funny looks from other folks.

Yeah, there’s really no horizontal pushing included, but I wouldn’t do it on the days off. Whenever possible, I like to keep the “off days” off.

You could toss a chest exercise on one workout as the supplemental exercise Waterbury listed (one exercise, 2-3x6-8).

Or, if you decide to incorporate Thibaudeau’s beach training into the Next Big Three, you could hit chest that way (two exercises done at the end of the workout, for no more than 10-15 minutes).