Yeah I getcha there. I’ll still throw some skills but at almost 40 the risk isn’t worth it much anymore!
I’m also on a bit of a bodyweight gymnastics hype, but I also have the worlds worst flexibility in the lower body. Did my first L-sit from the floor the other day so feel like I’m actually getting somewhere as that seemed impossible to do a few weeks ago.
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That’s awesome! Building flexibility is a lot like building muscle. Consistency over time. Although I’d argue that developing flexibility is a lot less fun. Whichever stretch your working on I would rec owns staying in an active stretch for around 2-3 minutes each day. It should hurt pretty good but not terrible. Track how far you can go much like you would track your weight
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Thanks man. My two nieces are both gymnasts (and also recently taken up trampoline, came 1st and 2nd in there first comp the other day) and when ever we get time to play out in the garden it’s always “hey uncle k can you do this?” Secretly learning a few moves before summer so I can go “yeah easy” bust out a press to hand stand and reply “can you deadlift 4 plates for reps you little bendy freaks?”
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I’d like to be able to do them on my fingertips but I have a lot of finger strength I need to build before that.
Are you familiar with Thomas Kurz work on stretching?
No I’m not familiar with it.
He recommends weighted stretches for developing flexibility in adult athletes. So, active stretching and then some. It’s allegedly quite effective but I haven’t applied it myself. Yet.
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Gotcha. Sounds like Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation. (PNF stretching)
Hamstring example:
Stand with your back against the wall and have a partner lift your leg as high as you can tolerate without your back leaving the wall or your leg bending. Hold for 15-20 seconds. Then push hard against them for 5-10 seconds. When you relax they stretch you a little further. Sort of tricks the muscle into lengthening a little. Repeat two or three times on each muscle. It’s good for developing flexibility in stubborn muscle groups.
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At one point in my youth I wanted to get into gymnastics. Probably from watching a lot of martial art movies ha. Always wanted to be able to backflip and the splits, but never happened. Bit late now I’m close to 40 and my flexibility is not great, few knocks and bashes over the years and a bad back.
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Yes, that’s definitely familiar and one approach used.
To bring weights into bear, consider an ultra wide squat (horse stance). If I remember correctly, Kurz recommends taking a wider and wider stance and whenever increasing ROM would cause pain or discomfort we tense the target muscle intensely and hold the contraction isometrically and relax after a while (PNF).
After we’ve gained as much ROM as we can in a session we pick up two plates (light, 10-20lbs will serve and hold one in each hand) from the floor to the front of the chest.
We now stand up while pressing one arm up and then go back down into the deep squat and repeat again with the other arm for a few repetitions (I don’t remember how many).
I believe the purpose is to build strength in the stretched position to teach the nervous system that the position is safe. That we are strong there and not risking injury.
Put it up on the official t-rams formation thread too, but here’s progress to date.
173.4 - 164.2
Think I’ll land around 160-162
Currently 7.5% bf
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If I ever move from strength training to physique prioritized training, this is what I want to look like.
Awesome work man, insane vascularity!
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TBH, I’ll be happy if I can be as lean as his ‘before’ picture by the end of the t-ransformation2019 challenge.
@jackolee What bf% are you in the before pic, around 12%?
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Well I made it through the marathon weekend. We had 530 competitors come throug our facility and I averaged 7:00 am - 10:00 pm thurs - sun. I was able to get brief workouts done on Thursday and Friday. But missed cardio and lifting on Saturday and Sunday. It’s all good though, I was able to stick to my nutrition for the most part. Yesterday was the worst one as I missed a meal and didn’t drink two of my shakes.
As expected I woke up super light this morning. Once I get back to my routine and fully hydrated I expect a bounce back.
Woke up at 163.0 this morning. If I follow my BF breakdown it shows I’d be 6.5%, but I think I was a little dehydrated this morning so I’ll wait for tomorrow’s weigh in to call it.
I have another posing session today at 11:45 and am excited about that. Looking forward to feeling confident in what to do on stage. After years and years of teaching choreography to athletes I feel like I should be able to pick it up pretty quick. We’ll see.
Chest / shoulders
Superset 1
Flat cable chest press / seated dumbbell shoulder press 3x12/15
Superset 2
Incline cable chest press / seated neutral grip dumbbell press 3 x 12/15
Superset 3
Incline cable flys / incline front delt cable pulls
3 x 12/15
Superset 4
Flat cable flys / lateral raises 3 x 12/15
Finishers
Out/In/Up/Down/Out/Down - 6 way shoulder raise to failure
Push ups then knee pushups to failure
Cardio 30 minutes recumbent bike THR 135
Nutrition
Meal 1
5/8 cups whites, 1 egg, 2 pieces turkey bacon, no sugar added ketchup, 3/4 cup oatmeal, cinnamon, sugar free syrup, 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese, 4 strawberries
Shake 1 - one scoop whey and water
Meal 2
4 oz brown rice, 5 oz shredded chicken 1/2 cup green beans
Shake 2 - one scoop whey and water
Meal 3
2 oz brown rice, 5 oz shrimp, 1/2 cup green beans
Shake 3 - one scoop whey and water
Meal 4
2 oz brown rice, 5 oz shredded chicken, 1/2 cup zucchini
Meal 5
5 oz shredded chicken, 1/2 cup green beans, 1/2 cup broccoli
Meal 6
2 cups unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop whey, 2 tbsp pb2, 1/3 package sugar free cheesecake pudding mix, ice, stevia
This is the first day of taking carbs down another 50 grams so we’ll see how the energy levels do.
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I didn’t have it measured , but just doing the math I’d say 13-14%. It’s so hard to really estimate it because water can have such a huge effect on your weight. I had a scan done at around 169 and was 9.9. Was 175 ish in the before. Not a perfect system but the best I could figure out
Funny… seeing all you guys doing strength focused training gives me a little bit of an itch to try. I feel like I’d injure myself though. My back is terrible. But none the less it looks like fun and I’d get to eat more!
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tick tock, tick tock, the time is ticking down Jack. Soon the stage will be lit. Really hoping you nail this man, you deserve it for all that hard work and dieting. It’s been inspiring following along. Your advice is always spot on and sincere.
I’m quite new to these forums so I am still learning and watching how everyone trains and eats etc. It’s interesting to observe how other people go about there business. There are so many different approaches, obviously people have different goals wither that be strongman, which I find very interesting even though my hobby and passion is bodybuilding. You have been one of the most helpful helping me settle into the community. The conditioning you are bringing to this show is exceptional, I think you will do very well. Can’t wait to see the photos on the night with all the lighting etc.
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Man those words are humbling! I appreciate it brother. I too have been surprised by the comradery here on T nation. Good solid group of guys.
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Well I went to my first real posing session today and let’s just say that was eye opening! Didn’t take long for me to figure out that I don’t know what the hell im doing lol.
It’s surprisingly hard to transition smoothly, keep your abs tight, keep your shoulders level, stand up straight, keep eyes on the judges, and remember everything all at once without feeling mechanical. Guess I’ll have to add posing practice into my workouts.
Good news is that we have my poses and transitions identified and now I can watch the videos and improve. I find myself half excited and half dreading show day!
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