Has anyone built a great deal of muscle using just machines?

[smackababy]

he is a genetic freak.

Exactly. I wouldn't compare a guy who played in the NFL to your average Joe. You already have to be incredibly athletically gifted to make it INTO the NFL, let alone be as good as Walker was. Sadly, he was severely underutilized after he left Dallas. Worked out well for me though, because I am a Cowboys fan and the Vikings pretty much handed us a dynasty for Walker.

 

[norseamd]

Exactly. I wouldn't compare a guy who played in the NFL to your average Joe. You already have to be incredibly athletically gifted to make it INTO the NFL, let alone be as good as Walker was. Sadly, he was severely underutilized after he left Dallas. Worked out well for me though, because I am a Cowboys fan and the Vikings pretty much handed us a dynasty for Walker.

think about how many college athletes there are. now think that often college athletes are just as athletecally gifted as professional athletes and that there is a salary cap that prevents the nfl teams from having more players. skill as well as physical ability make up who makes the nfl

 

[smackababy]

think about how many college athletes there are. now think that often college athletes are just as athletecally gifted as professional athletes and that there is a salary cap that prevents the nfl teams from having more players. skill as well as physical ability make up who makes the nfl

No. Not even close. The amount of NFL quality players in college is very low. There are 114 (IIRC) division 1 college football teams. You're telling me where is 114 starting college running backs that could make it in the NFL, or QBs, or any other position? The level of talent in the NFL is so far above college it isn't even funny.

If a player is that good, they will get signed. Cap room isn't a big deal with fresh out of college students because they make league minimum for the most part.

The only star athletes that didn't go into the NFL I can even think of are Bo Jackson (who was drafted by TB in the first round and felt they screwed over his baseball eligibility, which they probably did so he refused to sign and played baseball instead) and Herschel Walker (who only would considered playing in the NFL if Dallas or NY were to draft him, so he went to the USFL and when it was about to collapse, Dallas drafted him).

 

[SP33Demon]

he is a genetic freak.

I have a kid that trains at my gym... maybe 2 days a week. couple sets of pullovers and some curls. You see him out of the street you'd think he uses. some people just have it

Nope. Like I said, do 1000 dips, 1500 chins, 2000 pushups, and then 3000 situps every single day. Try it for a month. Once your body gets used to it, you will look like a monster too (assuming diet and sleep are fine).

/crickets

Everybody wants to be big and strong, yet nobody wants to put in the work. How fast you put on muscle and recover is genetic, true, but I guarantee you if you did even a fraction of the above regimen for years your upper body would look amazing. Chins/pullups are severely underestimated, especially for strength training. Everyone on my team does them, and usually no less than 100 for chest day. Once that's easy, get the weight vest, rinse repeat. I'd be surprised if any of you ever did 1500 chins or pullups in a single week, let alone one day. Try it. I sure as shit can't even do 300 every day for a week, maybe every 4 days if I had time to heal/recover. It's a crazy regimen but my point is that you don't even need more than your own bodyweight to look good if your volume is at the right resistance/frequency to build muscle. If you get stronger, you will probably get bigger (depending on genetics) but not necessarily the other way around.

 

[norseamd]

No. Not even close. The amount of NFL quality players in college is very low. There are 114 (IIRC) division 1 college football teams. You're telling me where is 114 starting college running backs that could make it in the NFL, or QBs, or any other position? The level of talent in the NFL is so far above college it isn't even funny. If a player is that good, they will get signed. Cap room isn't a big deal with fresh out of college students because they make league minimum for the most part. The only star athletes that didn't go into the NFL I can even think of are Bo Jackson (who was drafted by TB in the first round and felt they screwed over his baseball eligibility, which they probably did so he refused to sign and played baseball instead) and Herschel Walker (who only would considered playing in the NFL if Dallas or NY were to draft him, so he went to the USFL and when it was about to collapse, Dallas drafted him).

you are confusing size and muscularity with skill

https://www.google.com/search?q=pol...bmyQHD5oC4Cw&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1184&bih=560

https://www.google.com/search?q=pol...n+men&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch

https://www.google.com/search?q=pol...n+men&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&tbm=isch

you forget that western european men have been subject to natural selection for living off grain. this means a lack of protein.

http://dienekes.blogspot.com/

http://www.unz.com/gnxp/

go to these websites if you have a hard time understanding genetics. the amount of people who can become muscular is way higher than .5 % as you would make it out to be. do you think if the nfl would double the roster size to decrease injury they would have a hard time filling them out

EDIT: sorry if my last post did not clearly enough make out i was pointing out a difference between size and skill

 

[norseamd]

you can add northern and eastern europeans north asians and native americans to the list. also look at indians and melanesians

 

[Zivic]

Nope. Like I said, do 1000 dips, 1500 chins, 2000 pushups, and then 3000 situps every single day. Try it for a month. Once your body gets used to it, you will look like a monster too (assuming diet and sleep are fine).

/crickets

Everybody wants to be big and strong, yet nobody wants to put in the work. How fast you put on muscle and recover is genetic, true, but I guarantee you if you did even a fraction of the above regimen for years your upper body would look amazing. Chins/pullups are severely underestimated, especially for strength training. Everyone on my team does them, and usually no less than 100 for chest day. Once that's easy, get the weight vest, rinse repeat. I'd be surprised if any of you ever did 1500 chins or pullups in a single week, let alone one day. Try it. I sure as shit can't even do 300 every day for a week, maybe every 4 days if I had time to heal/recover. It's a crazy regimen but my point is that you don't even need more than your own bodyweight to look good if your volume is at the right resistance/frequency to build muscle. If you get stronger, you will probably get bigger (depending on genetics) but not necessarily the other way around.

I already look like a monster...
A guy comes into the gym last week and asks me "what the heck do you eat... dead babies?"

I would venture to say monsters eat dead babies, so there for I must look like a monster

 

[norseamd]

many people around the world could get big like herschal or lombard if they had access to their nutrition and supplement program and had access to a first wrold training program. and you would not need to do that many calisthetics to get as big as herschal walker. that sounds like a rediculous number actually. several hundred would be easy for them

 

[SP33Demon]

many people around the world could get big like herschal or lombard if they had access to their nutrition and supplement program and had access to a first wrold training program. and you would not need to do that many calisthetics to get as big as herschal walker. that sounds like a rediculous number actually. several hundred would be easy for them

Yeah, we had a guy (Ron) on the team benching 225 one hundred times the other day. It took a good amount of time (an hour) but he finished it, I can probably do the same in slightly more than an hour. However, Ron weighs over 225 and I'm under 200. So he could have easily substituted 1000 pushups (or less) and gotten similar results, same for me but with higher volume than him. 2000 pushups would probably not even be possible and Herschel is doing that every day! We only use the bar + bench to get our form down for competition, but the coach has us doing pushups when the racks/benches aren't available as accessory day exercises. I'm convinced that you really don't need much in weights (other than a weight vest or dip belt at advanced stages) to get a good looking upper body. Lower body is probably a different story because bodyweight gets a lot easier since our legs are so powerful. You would still probably need an olympic set + squat stand or rack + bar and maybe add a Prowler to really compete in squat/deadlift.

 

[Zivic]

Yeah, we had a guy (Ron) on the team benching 225 one hundred times the other day. It took a good amount of time (an hour) but he finished it, I can probably do the same in slightly more than an hour. However, Ron weighs over 225 and I'm under 200. So he could have easily substituted 1000 pushups (or less) and gotten similar results, same for me but with higher volume than him. 2000 pushups would probably not even be possible and Herschel is doing that every day! We only use the bar + bench to get our form down for competition, but the coach has us doing pushups when the racks/benches aren't available as accessory day exercises. I'm convinced that you really don't need much in weights (other than a weight vest or dip belt at advanced stages) to get a good looking upper body. Lower body is probably a different story because bodyweight gets a lot easier since our legs are so powerful. You would still probably need an olympic set + squat stand or rack + bar and maybe add a Prowler to really compete in squat/deadlift.

How old are you?

You are all over the map with your theories on what works.. from pushups, to night time supplementation... you talk like a kid that figured out what a girl has between her legs, and now you want a piece of it

rather than talk about it, go do it, figure out what actually works for you and report back

 

[norseamd]

2000 push ups would not be impossible for someone to do in a day but that sounds like a lot to keep track of every day. does he just figure out how many push ups or pull ups he can do in a certain amount of time and then just do sets of like 10 minutes every day. still sounds like a lot for every day

 

[SP33Demon]

How old are you?

You are all over the map with your theories on what works.. from pushups, to night time supplementation... you talk like a kid that figured out what a girl has between her legs, and now you want a piece of it

rather than talk about it, go do it, figure out what actually works for you and report back

Or you can post a video of how much you can lift at a powerlifting meet and then we'll talk. Better yet, post a video of you doing 200 chins and 200 dips (both bodyweight) in a day, I would be surprised if you could even do that. Just because you built a little muscle and discovered how to count calories means nil in my realm. Your claims of benching over double your weight are bullshit; you'd be competing if that was true at any point in your life and you'd have proof of such an achievement. You remind me of the guys I used to go fishing with, "back in the day I caught [x] fish!". Sure you did, buddy.

I'm working with a coach now who has benched 661 in a meet, has powerlifted for almost 2 decades, recently placed 2nd in a regional Strongman and makes 6 figures as a powerlifting coach with a waitlist. Some of the women on the team have broken state records and national records in training. Of course my regimen has changed. Who are you working with to get better? Nobody, you're on a farm all day. Champions realize they can still learn from those better than them. If you're not training with someone better than yourself, then you're not growing mentally. If you're not growing mentally, then that's exactly who I want to be up against at my next meet.

I still do nighttime supplementation, since you asked. Look up Optimum Nutrition Tricelle casein. While you're at it, look up Cissus Quadrangularis - I've added that to my nutrition for its analgesic and anabolic effects.

Good luck with your (weak) "monster" physique.

 

[Whisper]

Or you can post a video of how much you can lift at a powerlifting meet and then we'll talk. Better yet, post a video of you doing 200 chins and 200 dips (both bodyweight) in a day, I would be surprised if you could even do that. Just because you built a little muscle and discovered how to count calories means nil in my realm. Your claims of benching over double your weight are bullshit; you'd be competing if that was true at any point in your life and you'd have proof of such an achievement. You remind me of the guys I used to go fishing with, "back in the day I caught [x] fish!". Sure you did, buddy.

I'm working with a coach now who has benched 661 in a meet, has powerlifted for almost 2 decades, recently placed 2nd in a regional Strongman and makes 6 figures as a powerlifting coach with a waitlist. Some of the women on the team have broken state records and national records in training. Of course my regimen has changed. Who are you working with to get better? Nobody, you're on a farm all day. Champions realize they can still learn from those better than them. If you're not training with someone better than yourself, then you're not growing mentally. If you're not growing mentally, then that's exactly who I want to be up against at my next meet.

I still do nighttime supplementation, since you asked. Look up Optimum Nutrition Tricelle casein. While you're at it, look up Cissus Quadrangularis - I've added that to my nutrition for its analgesic and anabolic effects.

Good luck with your (weak) "monster" physique.

Not to jump too much into this, but having seen some of the photos Zivic's posted and the routines he's talked about, I wouldn't be surprised if he has and/or currently could hit 2x his BW. I've personally gotten fairly close using non-PL form (330# at 170-175# BW), but never quite there. It's tough, to be sure.

Getting back to the more general topic, I'm sure it's possible to build strength just with BW exercises, sure. I'd just say that using weights gets you there more quickly/efficiently. Using the example above, my educated guess is that I could do 200 dips in 10-15 minutes and then 200 pull-ups in 20-30 minutes, but I've gotten to that point without ever actually doing either.

I can see how it'd be an interesting way to mix up your workout on occasion, and at the very least it sounds like it'd be entertaining. But I personally feel like I'd gain more in that 30 minutes by doing heavy sets of pull-downs, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows than 200 chins outright. But that's just me.

 

[Zivic]

Or you can post a video of how much you can lift at a powerlifting meet and then we'll talk. Better yet, post a video of you doing 200 chins and 200 dips (both bodyweight) in a day, I would be surprised if you could even do that. Just because you built a little muscle and discovered how to count calories means nil in my realm. Your claims of benching over double your weight are bullshit; you'd be competing if that was true at any point in your life and you'd have proof of such an achievement. You remind me of the guys I used to go fishing with, "back in the day I caught [x] fish!". Sure you did, buddy.

I'm working with a coach now who has benched 661 in a meet, has powerlifted for almost 2 decades, recently placed 2nd in a regional Strongman and makes 6 figures as a powerlifting coach with a waitlist. Some of the women on the team have broken state records and national records in training. Of course my regimen has changed. Who are you working with to get better? Nobody, you're on a farm all day. Champions realize they can still learn from those better than them. If you're not training with someone better than yourself, then you're not growing mentally. If you're not growing mentally, then that's exactly who I want to be up against at my next meet.

I still do nighttime supplementation, since you asked. Look up Optimum Nutrition Tricelle casein. While you're at it, look up Cissus Quadrangularis - I've added that to my nutrition for its analgesic and anabolic effects.

Good luck with your (weak) "monster" physique.

I want to start off saying I really don't care what you believe or don't believe about me. I just don't. I will state that if anyone is interested in training with me and is in the St Paul, MN area, just PM me and I will try to meet up.


I really want to be nice... I really do, especially since it's clear you are a naive kid. Not everyone that is strong competes in powerlifting, just like not everyone that has a great physique will compete in a BB show. I don't really need to defend my build, the weights I have pushed, etc. If I cared enough at the time, I would have competed.... I did the power meets at my highschool my JR and SR year -> I hold two first place trophies from them, HA. I think I did like 315 my JR yr and something like 330-335 my SR on the bench......

regardless what you think of me, and my "bs" fish stories of the weights of my past a person only has a window of opportunity to lift heavy. Mine was about 10-12 yrs. That was a pretty good run for a naive kid (granted mush less naive that you seem to be) that never took care of his shoulders.

I appreciate all the "advice" you are giving me. The thing you don't realize you can spit all this crap about chin-ups and my coach benched this (by the way, good for your coach) or and what you read on night supplementation, but it's all meaningless bull sh!t because you haven't applied it and produced results.

if you think all it takes to build a good upper body is 200 chinups... do it.

In my years of training I have learned more than any coach or book can teach a person. some I learned the hard way. It's obvious you think you have it figured out. My advice to you is to write it all down before you forget it all.... and then remember it isn't about how much you know, it's how well you apply that knowledge. If all it took was the know how there would be a lot of fit/swole/jacked people rollin' around. instead there are people like you talking smack when you haven't got a leg to stand on... no impressive lifts, no impressive build; just talkin about how much your coach can bench and 200 chinups

 

[Zivic]

Not to jump too much into this, but having seen some of the photos Zivic's posted and the routines he's talked about, I wouldn't be surprised if he has and/or currently could hit 2x his BW. I've personally gotten fairly close using non-PL form (330# at 170-175# BW), but never quite there. It's tough, to be sure.

Getting back to the more general topic, I'm sure it's possible to build strength just with BW exercises, sure. I'd just say that using weights gets you there more quickly/efficiently. Using the example above, my educated guess is that I could do 200 dips in 10-15 minutes and then 200 pull-ups in 20-30 minutes, but I've gotten to that point without ever actually doing either.

I can see how it'd be an interesting way to mix up your workout on occasion, and at the very least it sounds like it'd be entertaining. But I personally feel like I'd gain more in that 30 minutes by doing heavy sets of pull-downs, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows than 200 chins outright. But that's just me.

it's definitely possible. the ultimate goal is to overload your muscles. at its basic level, the easiest way to do this is by increasing weight (max-ot training). as I have gotten older, I have realized you can really only get so strong and that you need to change the way you overload. change rep ranges, rest times, change splits. this would include machines, and even bw exercises. If we are talking about efficiency, then you are talking free weights rather than machines or bw.

 

[Whisper]

it's definitely possible. the ultimate goal is to overload your muscles. at its basic level, the easiest way to do this is by increasing weight (max-ot training). as I have gotten older, I have realized you can really only get so strong and that you need to change the way you overload. change rep ranges, rest times, change splits. this would include machines, and even bw exercises. If we are talking about efficiency, then you are talking free weights rather than machines or bw.

Agreed. And yep, my bench jumped the most when I was much more into ever-increasing and overloading the weight (and had consistent spotters). Nowadays, I'm honestly just not that motivated; I do my 5x5 on flat, my 3x5 on incline, etc., and call it a day.

Also agreed with the mixing things up. An added bonus, of course, is that this helps you from getting too board, and (in my case) lets you at least not dread working out too much.

 

[SP33Demon]

Not to jump too much into this, but having seen some of the photos Zivic's posted and the routines he's talked about, I wouldn't be surprised if he has and/or currently could hit 2x his BW. I've personally gotten fairly close using non-PL form (330# at 170-175# BW), but never quite there. It's tough, to be sure.

Getting back to the more general topic, I'm sure it's possible to build strength just with BW exercises, sure. I'd just say that using weights gets you there more quickly/efficiently. Using the example above, my educated guess is that I could do 200 dips in 10-15 minutes and then 200 pull-ups in 20-30 minutes, but I've gotten to that point without ever actually doing either.

I can see how it'd be an interesting way to mix up your workout on occasion, and at the very least it sounds like it'd be entertaining. But I personally feel like I'd gain more in that 30 minutes by doing heavy sets of pull-downs, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows than 200 chins outright. But that's just me.

There are guys who are 10X more ripped and/or more size than Zivic who cannot bench double their weight. It's not hard to build muscle, but it is hard to build strength. Many of our powerlifters look like regular people until they are pulling 505 deads at 181. My coach is a huge guy with a big belly because he doesn't have to worry about making weight for anything, yet he can still rack 315 with 1 arm like it's nothing.

Yes, 200 chins and dips would take awhile but that's what a weight vest or dip belt are for. If you don't have the time to do them, then you can use minimal weight to speed up the resistance. However, you said you thought pull-downs, t-bar rows, and dumbbell rows were better than 200 chins outright when chins are close to working all of the muscle groups of the 3 exercises you mentioned. I can personally tell you that going into this training, I did the 3 exercises like you and was pushing decent weight (rowing 90lb dumbbells on each side). But the sheer volume of chins that we do, I definitely wasn't prepared and my lats/rhoms/delts were destroyed. 3 sets of 8-12 of those 3 exercises is fine (for bodybuilding) but it's not going to build strength in the same manner that hundreds of chins would do.

The only other exercise I've done for strength are 1 armed dumbbell rows (an obscene amount - 275 per day), but not with the form that you've seen in the gym - our method destroys the abs and triceps in the same movement.

 

[SP33Demon]

I want to start off saying I really don't care what you believe or don't believe about me. I just don't. I will state that if anyone is interested in training with me and is in the St Paul, MN area, just PM me and I will try to meet up.

I really want to be nice... I really do, especially since it's clear you are a naive kid. Not everyone that is strong competes in powerlifting, just like not everyone that has a great physique will compete in a BB show. I don't really need to defend my build, the weights I have pushed, etc. If I cared enough at the time, I would have competed.... I did the power meets at my highschool my JR and SR year -> I hold two first place trophies from them, HA. I think I did like 315 my JR yr and something like 330-335 my SR on the bench......

regardless what you think of me, and my "bs" fish stories of the weights of my past a person only has a window of opportunity to lift heavy. Mine was about 10-12 yrs. That was a pretty good run for a naive kid (granted mush less naive that you seem to be) that never took care of his shoulders.

I appreciate all the "advice" you are giving me. The thing you don't realize you can spit all this crap about chin-ups and my coach benched this (by the way, good for your coach) or and what you read on night supplementation, but it's all meaningless bull sh!t because you haven't applied it and produced results.

if you think all it takes to build a good upper body is 200 chinups... do it.

In my years of training I have learned more than any coach or book can teach a person. some I learned the hard way. It's obvious you think you have it figured out. My advice to you is to write it all down before you forget it all.... and then remember it isn't about how much you know, it's how well you apply that knowledge. If all it took was the know how there would be a lot of fit/swole/jacked people rollin' around. instead there are people like you talking smack when you haven't got a leg to stand on... no impressive lifts, no impressive build; just talkin about how much your coach can bench and 200 chinups

So you benched 315 and 335 in high school? So you weighed 125 lbs and then 135? Because that would 2.5X your weight. I highly doubt it. Like I said, fish stories.

You seem to be very interested in my age, I'm actually older than you and will be competing in the Master's in a couple of years. While it'd be nice to break the 100% RAW Open category National record for benchpress in my weight class, that may or may not happen before Master's. I can tell you that I'm currently benching 86.7% of the USAPL record for my state, and 81.8% of the national record for 100% RAW. I don't have to figure anything out, I have a world class coach who is being paid to get me there. Barring injury, I'd like to hit the state record before 2015 but if it doesn't happen then that's ok.

Your excuses of window of opportunity - I don't want to hear it. The male is in his strength prime around 40 for lifting, if you look at the USAPL and 100% RAW (only 2 federations that use IOC testing = legit non-drug use), most of the records peak out in the first Master's class (40-44) or sub-Master's. I blew out my AC joint incline benching 225 on the 3rd set about 7 years ago. It took 1.5 years of rehab to heal. Injuries can be overcome. If you're talking about family and responsibilities, then that's something you have to decide. I don't have a family to worry about so I can focus all of my resources on working and training. My social life has probably suffered from it since more than a few women I've recently dated have said my training schedule (4 nights a week) doesn't leave enough time for them. Oh well. When you want something you take it, and don't let anything get in your way which includes money, family, and vices (alcohol, women, sugar, etc). If your family understands that you have a chance to do something very few have done, then they will support you in that goal.

Last, it's possible that you're using steroids to get attention. You can say anything you want, but I haven't seen you post a drug test. Anyone can build a physique with anabolic roids. I've seen 20 year olds eat only fast food (Popeyes to be specific) off Deca and Winny and they look like Brock Lesnar. All I can say is that when I break the state record, you will know my lift was legit because of IOC testing. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to be writing books (I have one in the works for powerlifting nutrition) and coaching after I do this.

 

[norseamd]

The male is in his strength prime around 40 for lifting

maybe due to strength gained from lifting for 20 years. genetically i would say 30 to 35 is the peak for strength. but you are already on the decline for energy and some types of athleticism by that time. so averaging out for different characteristics i would say that 25 to 30 is the peak of ability for fighters. the thing with athleticism though is that many 40 to 45 years can compete in long distance athletics very well. some of the ironman winners are over 40.

 

[norseamd]

also keep in mind juice as that can make up for naturally declining testosterone rates as you get older

 

[Whisper]

It's not hard to build muscle, but it is hard to build strength...

I'd disagree with this, and say that I don't know that it's harder to do one or the other. It's all about personal goals. Yours are related primarily to powerlifting, which means you're focusing on strength, perhaps to the exclusion of other areas such as aesthetics and symmetry, cardio/endurance, etc. That's great. The routine you're following is working for you and your goals, again, which is great.

To respond to the other material--do I personally think it's more beneficial, given my goals, to do t-bar rows, lat pulldowns, and dumbbell rows (in addition to the other exercises in my routine, which includes pull-ups) than 200 pull-ups outright? Yep, I do. But that's me.

To answer the original question of the thread--is it possible to build large amounts of muscle using just bodyweight exercises or machines? Sure, it's possible, but I don't know that I'd say it's the most effective and efficient way to go about it.

 

[SP33Demon]

maybe due to strength gained from lifting for 20 years. genetically i would say 30 to 35 is the peak for strength. but you are already on the decline for energy and some types of athleticism by that time. so averaging out for different characteristics i would say that 25 to 30 is the peak of ability for fighters. the thing with athleticism though is that many 40 to 45 years can compete in long distance athletics very well. some of the ironman winners are over 40.

I'm only talking about strength in powerlifting, non drug use. The records for USAPL and 100% RAW are mainly around 40. Obviously other sports have different shelf lives like the NFL (30 for Running backs), MLB (late 30's), NHL (35-40), and you mentioned fighters but they are completely different skill sets. I do agree that the people who set these records in powerlifting have probably been lifting for decades, such as myself (started at 13). This fact is supported by recent studies that have shown that working out slows the aging process. So yes, someone 35 who has never lifted a weight in his life is going to be physically "older" than someone who has slowed the process down by staying fit. Definitely agree.

 

[Zivic]

So you benched 315 and 335 in high school? So you weighed 125 lbs and then 135? Because that would 2.5X your weight. I highly doubt it. Like I said, fish stories.

You seem to be very interested in my age, I'm actually older than you and will be competing in the Master's in a couple of years. While it'd be nice to break the 100% RAW Open category National record for benchpress in my weight class, that may or may not happen before Master's. I can tell you that I'm currently benching 86.7% of the USAPL record for my state, and 81.8% of the national record for 100% RAW. I don't have to figure anything out, I have a world class coach who is being paid to get me there. Barring injury, I'd like to hit the state record before 2015 but if it doesn't happen then that's ok.

Your excuses of window of opportunity - I don't want to hear it. The male is in his strength prime around 40 for lifting, if you look at the USAPL and 100% RAW (only 2 federations that use IOC testing = legit non-drug use), most of the records peak out in the first Master's class (40-44) or sub-Master's. I blew out my AC joint incline benching 225 on the 3rd set about 7 years ago. It took 1.5 years of rehab to heal. Injuries can be overcome. If you're talking about family and responsibilities, then that's something you have to decide. I don't have a family to worry about so I can focus all of my resources on working and training. My social life has probably suffered from it since more than a few women I've recently dated have said my training schedule (4 nights a week) doesn't leave enough time for them. Oh well. When you want something you take it, and don't let anything get in your way which includes money, family, and vices (alcohol, women, sugar, etc). If your family understands that you have a chance to do something very few have done, then they will support you in that goal.

Last, it's possible that you're using steroids to get attention. You can say anything you want, but I haven't seen you post a drug test. Anyone can build a physique with anabolic roids. I've seen 20 year olds eat only fast food (Popeyes to be specific) off Deca and Winny and they look like Brock Lesnar. All I can say is that when I break the state record, you will know my lift was legit because of IOC testing. And you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to be writing books (I have one in the works for powerlifting nutrition) and coaching after I do this.

@ 24 yrs old I weighed ~220 lbs and could bench 485.. more impressive is being able triple at 465. I trained with powerlifters. I would warm up with with what they would wear shirts with. Call it a fish story if you want, don't really care.. still a decent bet my 315 at 17 yrs old is more than you have ever pushed. And guess what? did it by myself, didn't pay anyone....

You don't buy into my window of opportunity? some people it will be a year... others, 20+. I don't care at what age you are reading about. again, do it, don't fill me full of "I read this BS"...... In terms of muscle, no problem, your joints are another story. How many workouts can a person push 4 plates+ before you body just, for a lack of better terms, wears out? It's obvious you have never handled weight like that, so it's like trying to describe what sex is like to a virgin

It's clear you believe me as you now are asking for blood tests?? if I had a $ every time someone asked/accused me of taking steroids; I'd maybe have a couple hundred bucks.

What I can tell you is I have dedicated more time to training that you ever will. I was training 5 days a week when I was work 16+ hrs a day 7 days a week.

and building strength is a lot easier than what I am doing now - call it building muscle. strength is easy, workouts are shorter, almost no cardio, eat at a surplus majority of the time. Your bodyfat really didn't matter that much because it was all about the weight you moved. Workouts are a little more intense, but again, shorter.

good luck to you and your quest at a 225 bench
edit:
and you as a trainer??? HOLY sh!t that is laughable. I forgot more about lifting/training as a teenager than you "think" you know right now. I've come across trainers like you at gyms. stick to your day job

 

[brad310]

Nope. Like I said, do 1000 dips, 1500 chins, 2000 pushups, and then 3000 situps every single day. Try it for a month. Once your body gets used to it, you will look like a monster too (assuming diet and sleep are fine).

im going to go out on a limb and say that i think these have to be somewhat inflated...i cant imagine anyones ligaments/tendons/joints can withstand that kind of stress on a regular basis.

Thats something i'd have to see to believe. I mean....1000 dips...2000 pushups...the stress on the tricep, elbow, shoulder...thats a rediculous load.

 

[smackababy]

im going to go out on a limb and say that i think these have to be somewhat inflated...i cant imagine anyones ligaments/tendons/joints can withstand that kind of stress on a regular basis.

Thats something i'd have to see to believe. I mean....1000 dips...2000 pushups...the stress on the tricep, elbow, shoulder...thats a rediculous load.

This does seem a bit inflated, but I could believe it. Let's say he sleeps 8 hours a night. That means, every hour, he has to do 125 pushups and 63 dips. Not exactly super hard or extraordinary for someone who has trained to get up to that. There is a good chance he can do that in less than 10 minutes. (for reference, there are plenty of guys I've personally witnessed do 70+ pushups in 60 seconds while in the military).

And, let's be honest, Herschel Walker doesn't exactly have to go to work every day. He certainly has the time. As far as body stress, I suppose it might take it's toll eventually, but we already know he has amazing genes (he was an amazing NFL caliber player).