working out questions
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From: Iowa
He said he wanted to get in shape, not be a body builder (actually states he doesn't want to get huge). For someone who is naturally a smaller guy, that doesn't lift, it would be down right impossible to not gain weight doing CrossFit. CrossFit is a little more then just that bootcamp crap, lot of weighted exercises as well. But, instead of curling a dumbell or whatever, then waiting a minute or however long before you lift it again, you constantly go. Pushing the pace, and increasing endurance. (Guy said he wanted to build endurance as well.) But, there still is slow days where you lift heavy, and don't push the pace.
The quickest way to get bigger (put on lean mass) is through a proper diet paired with weight training. When a person gets to size they like, maintain. He's not going to put on 25 lbs. of muscle mass via P90X or crossfit. Want to incorporate cardio? Run several miles, shorten rest periods between sets, and up your caloric intake. You'll grow and still increase cardio performance.I'm guessing you train for numbers, so maybe a power lifter, not sure though. While the amount you can lift is important to an extent, it is by no means a sign of fitness. Him spending all day in the gym trying to get stronger on DL isn't going to help his running at all. Him squating all day, isn't going to help him fill out his sleeves either.
Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with how you train, you want numbers and mass, so go right ahead. He stated he wanted to get in shape, which I take as being fit, and well rounded. I recommended probably one of the best ways to get in shape, and not be stuck to a certain lifting/workout style. A way to increase his endurance, but at the same time, get his arms, chest, shoulder, legs, or whatever bigger.
Now, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with how you train, you want numbers and mass, so go right ahead. He stated he wanted to get in shape, which I take as being fit, and well rounded. I recommended probably one of the best ways to get in shape, and not be stuck to a certain lifting/workout style. A way to increase his endurance, but at the same time, get his arms, chest, shoulder, legs, or whatever bigger.
Him squating and deadlifting WILL infact help him get bigger as heavy squating/deadlifting has shown to increase GH and Testosterone production.
You want to fit and bigger? There's nothing better than weight training paired with athletic conditioning/training and a great diet. Look up Joe Defranco's training.
And, if all you want is to have bigger arms to fill out your shirt, then go do bicep curls, tricep extensions, and dips. Who gives a crap what other people think. I always found it kind of gay that some guy took the time to check out some other dude's body, then critique it.
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From: Clemson, SC
As the biggest problem people have with at home workouts is that they tell theirself that they will do it later. Then later turns into later, then later turns into tomorrow, then tomorrow turns into ..... You get my point. Just stick with it, stay focused, eat right, and motivate each other, and you'll see results.
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From: Fayetteville, NC
He's not going to get to 170 lbs. by doing P90X or crossfit. P90X and crossfit are made for your typical couch potato. In the P90X infomericals, how many of the "transformations" are your typical couch potato and how many are skinny guys trying to gain weight??? 99% of P90X/crossfit users LOSE weight. The programs are for weight lose/fitness, not putting 25 lbs. of muscle.
That just ensures me that your knowledge of the fitness world is limited to what you do. Look up the Crossfit games. See how big some of those guys are. See the weight they are throwing around. Then come back and tell me that it's for couch potatoes. P90X is geared more towards that, but it will still build muscle, and a solid base, especially when you start with nothing. He isn't going to lose what he doesn't have by working out.
LOL. You know getting "huge" doesn't happen overnight right? The quickest way to get bigger (put on lean mass) is through a proper diet paired with weight training. When a person gets to size they like, maintain. He's not going to put on 25 lbs. of muscle mass via P90X or crossfit. Want to incorporate cardio? Run several miles, shorten rest periods between sets, and up your caloric intake. You'll grow and still increase cardio performance.
Yes, I do know that, infact I even said, and I quote, "Nothing happens overnight". Thanks for reassuring him though.
And huge was his word, not mine. Lets see here, CrossFit uses weights for training, so that counts as weight training. Thanks for reassuring him again. Getting to a size and maintaining isn't being fit. Maintaining takes little effort, so shoots that idea for him out the door since he wants to compete again. He can, and will gain 25 lbs of muscle doing Crossfit if he sticks to it and eats right. Pretty sure I did, and last time I checked, I'm no exception to this impossibility you claim. Shortening rest between sets doesn't help an endurance athlete. You don't do sets of running. It's a continuous movement. Kinda like CrossFit and P90X. No breaks, no sets. Start to stop. Then wait a few hours and go run/bike/swim. Or do that first, then workout later.
No. I train (weight lift, conditioning/athletic drills, & run) to be bigger, faster, and stronger than the next guy. It helps in my career field. Although, I have competed in powerlifting and plan to enter a bodybuilding contest --- they aren't why I train (powerlifting/bodybuilding just for fun).
Him squating and deadlifting WILL infact help him get bigger as heavy squating/deadlifting has shown to increase GH and Testosterone production.
Kinda the same mentality of training the Military Special Operation members have (minus the competing part). Wonder what a lot of them do. Oh yea, thats right, CrossFit, or programs VERY similar to it. It helps in their career field, where being less fit then your opponent can mean life or death.
Correct again, and like I said before, squating, deadlifting, and olympic lifts will help him gain size. (Thanks again for reassuring him yet again on my points I have already posted.
) All of which are done in the CrossFit program. More so then most other programs, besides power lifting of course.
You want to fit and bigger? There's nothing better than weight training paired with athletic conditioning/training and a great diet. Look up Joe Defranco's training.
I'm not even going to start listing all the books that back up a HIHR training program being ideal for high levels of fitness. Plus, you don't have to read a book, just look at the results of the athletes that do it. Guy at our gym who does this CrossFit junk benches 400+ in the 175 class. He competes as well, but not his goal. His goal is the CrossFit games. Girl at our gym is doing an Ironman this year. But I guess you don't have to be fit to do those. There are some other pretty amazing athletes there as well, this is just two that have extremely different goals, but use the same program made for "couch potatoes".This is just at the gym I go to, keep in mind there are a lot more CrossFit gyms.
I always found it gay that the Hollister/Abercrombie guys doing benchpress and curls everyday had smaller legs than most of the fit women working out. Atleast those guys provide good laughs...
Sorry man, can't help you there. Not in my agenda to check out the gams on dudes.
That just ensures me that your knowledge of the fitness world is limited to what you do. Look up the Crossfit games. See how big some of those guys are. See the weight they are throwing around. Then come back and tell me that it's for couch potatoes. P90X is geared more towards that, but it will still build muscle, and a solid base, especially when you start with nothing. He isn't going to lose what he doesn't have by working out.
LOL. You know getting "huge" doesn't happen overnight right?
The quickest way to get bigger (put on lean mass) is through a proper diet paired with weight training. When a person gets to size they like, maintain. He's not going to put on 25 lbs. of muscle mass via P90X or crossfit. Want to incorporate cardio? Run several miles, shorten rest periods between sets, and up your caloric intake. You'll grow and still increase cardio performance.Yes, I do know that, infact I even said, and I quote, "Nothing happens overnight". Thanks for reassuring him though.
And huge was his word, not mine. Lets see here, CrossFit uses weights for training, so that counts as weight training. Thanks for reassuring him again. Getting to a size and maintaining isn't being fit. Maintaining takes little effort, so shoots that idea for him out the door since he wants to compete again. He can, and will gain 25 lbs of muscle doing Crossfit if he sticks to it and eats right. Pretty sure I did, and last time I checked, I'm no exception to this impossibility you claim. Shortening rest between sets doesn't help an endurance athlete. You don't do sets of running. It's a continuous movement. Kinda like CrossFit and P90X. No breaks, no sets. Start to stop. Then wait a few hours and go run/bike/swim. Or do that first, then workout later. No. I train (weight lift, conditioning/athletic drills, & run) to be bigger, faster, and stronger than the next guy. It helps in my career field. Although, I have competed in powerlifting and plan to enter a bodybuilding contest --- they aren't why I train (powerlifting/bodybuilding just for fun).
Him squating and deadlifting WILL infact help him get bigger as heavy squating/deadlifting has shown to increase GH and Testosterone production.
Kinda the same mentality of training the Military Special Operation members have (minus the competing part). Wonder what a lot of them do. Oh yea, thats right, CrossFit, or programs VERY similar to it. It helps in their career field, where being less fit then your opponent can mean life or death.
Correct again, and like I said before, squating, deadlifting, and olympic lifts will help him gain size. (Thanks again for reassuring him yet again on my points I have already posted.
) All of which are done in the CrossFit program. More so then most other programs, besides power lifting of course. You want to fit and bigger? There's nothing better than weight training paired with athletic conditioning/training and a great diet. Look up Joe Defranco's training.
I'm not even going to start listing all the books that back up a HIHR training program being ideal for high levels of fitness. Plus, you don't have to read a book, just look at the results of the athletes that do it. Guy at our gym who does this CrossFit junk benches 400+ in the 175 class. He competes as well, but not his goal. His goal is the CrossFit games. Girl at our gym is doing an Ironman this year. But I guess you don't have to be fit to do those. There are some other pretty amazing athletes there as well, this is just two that have extremely different goals, but use the same program made for "couch potatoes".This is just at the gym I go to, keep in mind there are a lot more CrossFit gyms.
I always found it gay that the Hollister/Abercrombie guys doing benchpress and curls everyday had smaller legs than most of the fit women working out. Atleast those guys provide good laughs...
Sorry man, can't help you there. Not in my agenda to check out the gams on dudes.
Here's the profile of the guy that won the CrossFit games last year. What a freaking couch potato.
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From: Fayetteville, NC
I'm not in college, so I probably have a lot more time then you, so that helps me as well. Plus I like the 6-10 minute drive. Helps me get in the mind set when I know that a killer workout is coming.
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From: Clemson, SC
The buddy of mine that I mentioned that is doing P90X to put on muscle? This is his 2nd round of it. He went from 145 to 160 his first time and is by no means a couch potato. He looks just as lean as he did when he was 145. I think 15 lbs is pretty good. There's more weight training in these than you realize. With a correctly tweaked diet it's definitely possible. Like I said before, it really surprised me how much more was in it than I thought there was.
I know what you mean. I miss living on campus, where I could walk to our gym in five minutes. Great little warm up jog while getting psyched.
Last edited by mblouir; Feb 22, 2010 at 01:10 AM.
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http://games2009.crossfit.com/compet...ikko-salo.html
Here's the profile of the guy that won the CrossFit games last year. What a freaking couch potato.
Here's the profile of the guy that won the CrossFit games last year. What a freaking couch potato.
LOL. You can't post an exception and consider it a group norm. 99% of crossfitters are skinny. See them in their everyday casual clothes and you probably couldn't tell they workout.He can, and will gain 25 lbs of muscle doing Crossfit if he sticks to it and eats right. Pretty sure I did, and last time I checked, I'm no exception to this impossibility you claim. Shortening rest between sets doesn't help an endurance athlete. You don't do sets of running. It's a continuous movement. Kinda like CrossFit and P90X. No breaks, no sets. Start to stop. Then wait a few hours and go run/bike/swim. Or do that first, then workout later.
And did you completely miss my statement about athletic condition/training and running several miles or did you leave that out on purpose?
You don't know much about building muscle (hypertrophy)? The whole idea of crossfit is about being FIT. Ding! Ding! Ding! Not building muscle.
You think doing squats for 5 minutes in a row with an very light weight is a good means towards muscle hypertrophy??? LOL.
The use of crossfit for hypertrophy is one of the most unefficient means possible... That's a very slow road to 25 lbs. Some newbies to weighttraining (for hypertrophy) can gain that in 2 months.
"CF’s founder Greg Glassman claims CF, for the natural athlete, is better at building muscle than traditional hypertrophy weight training. As with most of his claims there’s no science or empirical data to back this assertion. While touting the muscle building capacity of CF he fails to explain, the lack of muscularity among most CF athletes. Crossfitters don’t come close to the muscular development of a natural bodybuilder. At best some Crossfitters look athletic, which is great, if that’s your goal. But, if you want to be muscular, CF is not for you especially if you’re a hard gainer."
"It’s been well documented that within the fitness industry for decades that brief high intensity muscular contraction is the most important stimulus for building muscle and strength. The duration of the exercise or movement is crucial, but can be counter-productive. Sets lasting 5, 10, 30 minutes are completely of target for building anything but endurance.
If overall conditioning is what you want? If improving your physique is what you want? If increasing your endurance is what you want? Learn how to train each energy system properly for optimum results. CrossFit needs to be taken for what it really is, a great fitness program. That’s where it ends."
I'll leave it at that.
A proper diet, weightlifting (for hypertrophy), and running/condition (for cardio/performance) will build muscle faster than crossfit and boost your athletic performance even moreso. Again, check out Joe Defranco's website. That's how some of the best athletes around the world train.
Last edited by MudTerrain; Feb 22, 2010 at 02:04 AM.
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From: Fayetteville, NC
LOL. You can't post an exception and consider it a group norm. 99% of crossfitters are skinny. See them in their everyday casual clothes and you probably couldn't tell they workout.You are throwing out opinions like they're are facts, and you couldn't be further away from the truth. The games involves more then 1% of the CF population. Then you have to count all the qualifying competitions they have to go through to get selected to the games. Tons of people, who I guarantee are bigger, stronger, and faster then you. And I also guarantee you can tell they work out. You're mistaking skinny for fit. Why carry around extra fat, when you can achieve the same thing, weighing less?
Care to share some pics of the 25 lbs. before and after?
And did you completely miss my statement about athletic condition/training and running several miles or did you leave that out on purpose?
Don't have pics of myself when I was at my lowest or highest. Just my usual weight. But I couldn't care less to the fact that you don't believe me. Mblouir even states how his buddy gained 15 lbs doing P90X. Which uses lighter weigths, and a lot less different lifts. It is really not rocket science. It you have someone like the OP who naturally skinny and weights 155, how in the ******* is he not going to build muscle doing CF or any other HIHR training? Explain to me, using something other then your words, prove to me that this type of training doesn't build muscle. I mean, seriously, do you really believe this crap you say. Just look at bootcamps. Kids go in there skinny, not having worked out at all, and leave with 10+ of extra weight. Is that fat, highly doubtful. They are gaining muscle doing simple bodyweight exercises with the same training style as CrossFit. Start to stop, no breaks. Not 20 push-ups. Stand around and look at guys' legs, then 20 more push-ups.
What are you talking about with the run stuff? Leave it out? Leave it out of what? I said he should run, or do some other type of cardio. CrossFit has many programs pal, look them up before you try to argue with me against them.
Yes, that's all they do.
Never said that's all they do. IN FACT, if you read what you quoted I said, CrossFit or programs very similar. I could start naming off personal friends of mind in the SOF that do actual CrossFit, but that really isn't needed when you can go check out SealFit.com. Or scan through crossfit, and see how many SOF have their own CF gyms on base. Just b/c you do CrossFit, doesn't mean you can't do other workouts in the same day to work at a certain goal.
You REALLY don't know much about powerlifting/bodybuilding, do you?
Why, b/c I said maintaining isn't that physically demanding? Prove me wrong then. My buddy is a horse, but his workout is very short, and simple. Why, b/c he is just maintaining until his show. Couple guys that go to the gym down the road from me, same thing. They are maintaining right now, not looking to get bigger, Just keeping size right now. They are in and out of the weight room. Is this guy fit, not really. Is he a giant, sure is. Could he do more bicep curls then me, probably. Could I smoke him in pull-ups. Without a doubt. Could I out run him, or out perform him any most high intensity workouts, you betcha. Is he going to gas out after the first few minutes of nonstop maximum effort training, count on it. Could he beat me in a BB show, no doubt. But I like my road better. Just b/c these guys are all muscle on stage, doesn't mean they are very fit. Just means they are very, very conditioned. Conditioned for their goals, and their sport. I read an interview with Jay Cutler one time, and he stated how he would get winded walking around his house due to his mass, and lack of cardio. I've seen videos of him walking around on camera, and just sounding winded while walking and talking. Did he still come out and win the Arnold that year, you know it. But, put him in a simple 20 minute, non stop workout, and see how long it takes him to gas.
175 lbs. class? I don't know what federation that's for... Anyway, thanks for proving my point. There's another "that guy", "this guy" etc... Again, an exception from the group norm... There's no way in heck he was able to obtain a 400+ bench from just crossfit alone. Thank you.
By 175 class, I mean he weighs 175lbs. So whatever class that is. I guess I'm lucky then to know all these exceptions. Wonder how/where it is, that I meet all these extraordinary atheltes. Oh yea, that's right, through CrossFit. Never said all he did was CF. That is his main workout though. The benching is just something he does on the side on occasion. But, like I said, he is training for something different, so he doesn't make it a priority.
You don't know much about building muscle (hypertrophy)? The whole idea of crossfit is about being FIT. Ding! Ding! Ding! Not building muscle.
So you agree that CrossFit is about being fit. What's you definition of fit then? Most would agree that in order to be fit, you would have to have muscle, but I guess you have a different thought on this.
The use of crossfit for hypertrophy is one of the most unefficient means possible... That's a very slow road to 25 lbs. Some newbies to weighttraining (for hypertrophy) can gain that in 2 months.
You keep saying weight training like you're talking about something other then CF. How many times do I have to tell you that CF incorporates weight training. Not just light weights. You do a lot of 1RM, and similar loads.
Hey, there's nothing wrong with your chicken legs, bro.
Oh, you caught me. My secret is out.
"CF’s founder Greg Glassman claims CF, blah, blah, blah. you’re a hard gainer."
"It’s been blah, blah, blah, but endurance."
I can cut and paste a million different articles all day stating the opposite. Stating how CF is ideal for building muscle, building endurance, etc....
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From: Orlando, FL
Hey Buddy free wieghts is the way to tune up your body and nothing else. True some new machines come out that put your body in shock stage but that is only temprary till you body get used to it and will never improve your looks,,, be simple and do the old school free wieghts is the answer to your?, plus proper diet, and good rest at the end of your day I mean 6-8 hours wirht of sleeping.
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From: Iowa
Crossfit is great for endurance. Crossfit is very poor at building muscle. Period.
And just because your weightlifting friends (for hypertrohy right? They're not in the gym doing 80 lbs. squats for 5 minutes, right?) would get smoked in a pullup contest or you could out run them, doesn't mean all weightlifters are the same. Again, your placing group norm. Thank you for stating the obvious of; if a person doesn't do cardio, you will beat them in a cardiac event such as running.
Again, crossfit is great for endurance. Crossfit is very poor at building muscle. Period.
A proper diet, weightlifting (for hypertrophy), and running/condition (for cardio/performance) will build muscle faster than crossfit and boost your athletic performance even moreso. Again, check out Joe Defranco's website. That's how some of the best athletes around the world train.
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From: Fayetteville, NC
To the OP, you should definitely take some pics before and after you start the P90X, and record your weight gains. Then come back and post them. But be careful, if you gain too much, you will be an exception to some unwritten workout rule somewhere, and those that know this rule will not acknowledge your gains.
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okay, i am planning on starting my P90X next month. i can do one of two things for the non- belivers, i can do a week by week, with gains (pics on a scale, and photos, if yall want them) or i can do a picture and scale pic at the begining, and then do an after 90 days after i start...
actually i really have to start probably next week, but i don't have any weights yet, but i need to start then so i can have enough time to do the full 90 days before my summer vacation. if i don't get to do the full 90 days i will still post a before and after if yall don't want a week to week thing, (gains will show alot slower, but it will adventually show)
just let me know which way yall want it, week by week, or before and after..
actually i really have to start probably next week, but i don't have any weights yet, but i need to start then so i can have enough time to do the full 90 days before my summer vacation. if i don't get to do the full 90 days i will still post a before and after if yall don't want a week to week thing, (gains will show alot slower, but it will adventually show)
just let me know which way yall want it, week by week, or before and after..