Questions and comments, athlete feedback...

Setting the record (straight)

Matt,

My report on the last 6 weeks.

I've worked hard at changing what I eat. I snack on walnuts and fresh fruit, and forego sandwiches at lunch for salads and fish (on most days). Dinner is whatever the wife makes (which on most days is well balanced). I don't bother counting calories. I am just focusing on eating better, and think the change in diet and increased activity will be enough in the long-run. As for an exercise routine, I have been doing a lot of experimenting. Your posts have been very helpful here. You discuss quite a few exercises I had never heard of, providing plenty to research, which usually expands into a entirely new area of fitness for me (example, muscle-ups).

My favorite from your catalog is the Bulgarian Training Bag. Your dyi version was very cool, but I opted to meet with Greg Maurer at the Hockessin Athletic Club to get a hold of the original design. I dug it, and ordered one for my own (26 lbs.). This thing kills me in less than 20 minutes.

My current routine is:

D1 (Saturday) - Run/walk Alapocos Run. Can't run the whole thing yet so I do what I can and walk the rest. I change this up freely with uphill sprints, which are brutal on this trail. Appreciate your thoughts on running more than 400m and think this is a fair compromise. I enjoyed running distance in the past, and would like to regain that experience eventually.

D2 (Monday) - Gym: squats 3x15 with in between sets of pull-ups; bench press3x15 (both squats and bench turn out to be 2x15 with muscle failure on the last set, once I get to ten reps on the last set I bump-up the weight. I am leaving weight off here because it’s a little embarrassing, give me some time).

D3 (Tuesday or Wednesday) - 30 minutes w/Bag

D4 (Thursday or Friday) - 30 minutes w/Bag

I'd like to change this up to include another day at the gym, but it will have to wait until after July 9. My Bag days are work-out at home days. I plan to incorporate pull-ups, some ab work, and other body-weight exercises on these days, but haven't gotten around to hanging a pull-up bar. All in good time. Overall, I am feeling much better and am 12 lbs lighter than the last time I emailed you. Weight loss is not a huge priority for me, but it is a favorable metric right now so I'll use it.

Still working on defining goals, and still thinking about how to change-up my weight-lifting routine when the time comes. You do a lot of Olympic style lifts that I understand are best for strength building. But I would need to invest the time to learn them and develop good form. On my own that could be challenging. That's a few months down the road though. As always, thoughts, comments and criticism are welcome.

Talk to you soon,

Cuba Gooding Jr

Thanks for the update, Cuba, its great to hear how well you're progressing. The beauty of your situation is that at one time, you were in the military and fit, by general standards. Therefore, your body recognizes that and it is easier to get back to that state of well being than it would be for someone who was never there before. And still, because of your fitness hiatus, you are training as a beginner. When beginners train, every single thing they do works, unfortunately, it will not work forever. Our bodies adapt to everything. I choose to work hard on a few things at a time, then switch every 4-8 weeks before things get stale, yet I have benefitted from the gains I made while on the program. Other programs like CrossFit, for example, are constantly varied and change daily, so many people never really get to benefit from a particular exercise because they may not repeat it again for a very long time. All this depends on the programming at the particular institution, not CF in general. My primary goal is increased strength, not endurance, so I focus my energy that way. I also feel that strength will have more carry over to all facets of fitness more so than any other aspect such as flexibility (yoga lovers), endurance (runners and bikers), agility or what have you. Strength can enhance all these other attributes more so than they can enhance strength. So, one thing I like to do in a training program is perform regular maximum effort exercises. Rotate the exercises regularly. The best exercises to choose from are squats, deadlifts, presses and pulls. Add in some unilateral training and you got a great start.

Using things like the Bulgarian Training Bag are a great way to enhance your mobility, cardio and stamina, but anything you can do for more than a few seconds won't help your strength much beyond beginner levels. For a new trainee not sure where to begin, a great 2 day split to use goes something like this for the primary exercises.

Day 1

Squats 5x5

Pull ups 5x submax

then whatever else you want to do that keeps you happy, this assistance work could vary greatly depending on the athletes needs.

Day 2

Deadlift 5x5

Bench 5x5

Then trails or BTB or anything else that provides joy and excitement, see above.

This is very simple, and can be used whether you train heavy 1, 2, 3, or 4 times a week. If you train once a week, you would do workout 1 this week, then workout 2 next week. If you train heavy twice weekly, you could do W1 on Tuesday, then W2 on Friday or Saturday. Three times goes W1, W2, W1 one week, then W2, W1, W2 on week 2, rinse and repeat. Four times a week goes W1, W2, W1, W2 on something like Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. I would even change the reps from 4-6 on Mon and Tues to 8-10 on Thurs and Fri. Beginners need not get too crazy and sexy, just add weight and reps and get really good at the basics. Then you will progress to intermediate status quicker and will only then need more detail and variety in training.

The olympic lifts are not for everyone, but with sufficient strength can be a wonderful tool for power development. I recommend seeking professional guidance when starting to incorporate the quick lifts. If you are not relatively strong, the quick lifts may be a waste of time and can be potentially dangerous. So have fun, keep asking questions and seeking out new information, I'll be here for ya.

Train to win,

Matt

Questions and comments

sup Matt... just thought I'd let you know what I'm weighing right now. remember when I told you, back in January, I was 343 lbs.... I'm currently 280 lbs and still goin. Thanks to you, you are such an inspiration bro. Keep postin those great videos... peace & blessings

-YouTube subscriber

MATTY, who's more bad ass than you??? NO ONE!

-Zach Even-Esh

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.