Hi matt!
First – I am a huge fan of your work and I am following your blog and youtube channel every day. I start my day and I end my day by looking for updates or just reading older posts and videos….
Thank you for being such big a inspiration source.
To my question: I am born 1977 so I am 32 years at this point. I am about 185-183cm (6ft1-6ft?) and 81kg weight. I am born with really thin wrists, ankles and long joints (or muscle attachments?) etc etc…
I started to train when I one day woke up and realized that this is going straight to hell if I am not taking care of my health. It was 3 years ago.
Past these three years I have trained some martial arts, some conditioning, but I stuck at weight training. I really enjoy it and I always look forward to it. My problem is that I feel that my strength gains is not at all what I would like to have…. And in one month I will have even less time to train because I am opening my own motorcycle shop in Gothenburg. So I figured that if I train three times a week I hopefully could get some kind of results.
My nutrition:
06-07.00 Breakfast: Oat, eggs, and fruits. Sandwiches with some 17% fat cheese, or turkey. (some days I cheat with salami, just love it…) More or less same every morning.
10-11.00 Snacks: Some times, not often but if I have it is some fruits, nuts or a protein drink.
12-14.00 Lunch: Whatever I can find at a restaurant…. I work as a sales on field so I travel a lot.
18-19.00 Dinner: Chicken or beef with pasta or potatoes
20-21.00 Snack: some cottage cheese
My physique is at the moment not so nice….. Belly is too big. I measured 97cm round my stomach a couple of days ago. I have been 93-93cm but never down to 90cm…. So I have some fat around my body and I am born with exceptionally thin shoulders and superlong arms…. Looking a bit like an ape????? ;) without all the hair.
I have my home gym: barbell and about 130kg weight to go with, dumbbells, chin rack, dip station (homemade), bench for pressing. I deadlift about 113-117kg, squat 93-95kg, and bench press 70-75kg an my overhead press is just ridiculous with struggling at 35-40kg on barbell overhead press….. Sucks big time. Chins 8-10 in one set and dips around 12-13 reps.
I would like have the chins to at least 30, my dips 30-40 reps, deadlift 180kg (first goal), squat 130-150kg and bench at least 100kg. Overhead press? As strong as possible.
Due to lack of time on every day being a father, having a full time job (or more) and house I try to make my training at the morning. I eat some carbs 30-45 minutes before workout.
Could you help me with a program that I could follow and what would you suggest? Is there any main changes you fell that I need to do?
It would mean so much to me, really. I am planning on during next winter to perhaps move my home gym to my shop. I believe I have some more space to have the gym at and perhaps I could even start to work with some outdoor sprints, sled dragging, tire flipping etc etc
I hope you find this letter as a big thanks from a guy in Sweden that really is a big fan,
Tacke care! Cheers
Best Regards
Markku
Thanks for the support! Incorporating any type of strongman training would be a great addition to your training. Tire flips, heavy sandbag lifts, heavy farmers carries, stone lifts, log lifts, etc. Most of these objects can be easily acquired, yet they are not necessary. What some people fail to acknowledge is the beauty of simplicity. Brooks Kubik, author of "Dinosaur Training", is a Huge advocate of intense, abbreviated training. Meaning heavy singles and doubles of just a few exercises a few times a week. But you must constantly be increasing the weight. One of these simplest ways to add muscle mass to your frame is very simple, yet could quite possibly be the hardest thing you ever do. Squats and milk, thats it. With the addition of just a few supplemental exercises, you can pack on big strength and mass with this simple program. Pick a weight that you can typically squat for 10 reps, then get under it and squat it for 20 reps, taking 3-5 deep breaths between each rep. It will make a new man out of you. Not just any man can handle this. You must be determined and committed to your goal while your body is quivering and begging for mercy. But while your body is experiencing a ton of time under tension, your muscles are being shocked to death and will be forced to grow beyond what was possible in the past. This has been proven effective by many strongmen of the past, and most notably by Randall Strossen in his book, "Super Squats". After your squats you will do a few light rib stretch exercises such as pull overs and add your favorite exercises to complete your program. Finally, add a few more vegetables and berries to your diet and most importantly add a gallon of whole milk everyday. The fruits and vegetables will give you more vitamins and minerals, and the milk will provide you with a ton of protein, carbs and fat to fuel you for massive gains. Give Super squats a try and watch yourself forge a new, stronger, more massive frame. Now go buy some bigger clothes.
Matt
Hi. Do you recommend trying lose weight first then tone or what? I still 25 pounds of baby weight to lose. I have already lost 45 with eating right and thr treadmill but I noticed I have no muscle especially where it counts the most, my butt. I am scared to use weights because I still need to lose weight. I trust your advice. Please let me know. I wish you lived in the area I would hire you as my trainer!
C.F.
The best thing you can do is get off the treadmill like a hamster and start doing full range of motion functional movements, as heavy as you can possibly manage with great form. Full depth squats, deadlifts, presses overhead, pull up variations, push ups, lunges and certainly you should be carrying heavy things up hills all the time. Get a backpack or something, fill it with sand and carry it up the nearest hill as fast as possible, rest and repeat. That is how you "tone", not by doing hours of mindless cardio machines. All that does is eat up your muscle along with the fat and keep you further away from your goal. Every time runners come to me, or any other cardio freak, they have tons of postural, strength and flexibility issues. Stop doing it now and start strength training with every ounce of energy you have. Incorporate intense conditioning routines at the end or on separate days from your weight training. I recommend every other day. You will obviously start light and easy if you have little or no experience, and I recommend getting quality coaching to emphasize technique. But you must focus on getting stronger if you want tighter muscles, trust me, you won't bulk up.
Matt
Hope new questions and comments keep on coming. Sorry if you asked and I didn't get back to you yet. Keep training hard, people.
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