Get big via body weight training? page 3

[ionFreeman]

I did the first half of Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Muscle program and it took my tube-like gumby arms and put inordinately satisfying little bumps in them. I know you travel, and irrespective of what kettlebell people say, you can not travel with kettlebells. They are actually disallowed by the TSA as carry-ons, and it irritates one's wife to find this out in real time.

But, while you're at home, you might try some double kettlebells. They don't take much space, and the workouts are super quick. I can get you a link... Amazon.com: Kettlebell Muscle: The Secrets of Compound Kettlebell Lifting (9780938045779): Geoff Neupert: Books

I should mention I did it pre-Primal. It's a very high carb diet, and might be tough with just sweet potatoes.

Didn't Coach Wade promise biceps like melons and a back like a barn door from doing pull-ups?

[jfreaksho]

*snip*
This thread has got me thinking of getting the CC book, would this forum recommend it? I'll be buying a few books in next couple weeks, should i include this one in the list?

I've had great success with it, though my pullups are far behind my pushups(level 7) and squats (level 10). Bridges and handstand pushups and pullups are all being held back right now by weak upper back and shoulder muscles. I'm still working on it, though not as regularly as I should be.

I added somewhere around 10 pounds of muscle from the early stages of CC, but I was really skinny then. I've added another 10 pounds after I started lifting weights too, but I think it could be done without the weights.

I do some grappling on occasion, and I find that I'm able to muscle almost all of the other grapplers except for two or three. I'm beating or staying even with far more experienced guys that I have no business beating, simply because I can muscle them around a bit.

TLR YES!!! Get it, you won't regret it. Full-body workouts, logical progression, clearly laid out... it's been great for me.

[Blanchy]

I'll second the recommendation for Convict Conditioning. I've been doing it for about 9 months now, and my strength has gone through the roof.

[BamaAla]

Thanks again for all the responses y'all. I've been spending most of my down time since I posted this thread looking for more information on this. Contrary to what you might believe, there isn't a whole lot of info out there, and what is to be found is mostly conjecture.

I believe that I will stick to CC and adjust my eating and see what happens. I've been looking back over my eating and it isn't going to cut it as far as putting on muscle. Thank heavens I found the Primal Blueprint; in the 14 months I've been Primal, I've cut my weight from 230 to 176 and my body fat from 40% to 24%, but eating only when I'm hungry paired with occasional intermittent fasting has cut my calorie consumption way down...gotta eat more to grow (that is the one thing that I have universally found.)

I'd love to get a membership to a big gym and start a dedicated hypertrophy program, but it isn't going to happen being on the road 3 and 4 days a week. I'll report back here periodically and let you know if I'm making any significant gains with the increased food consumption and strict CC progressions.

[Ripped]

I'd love to get a membership to a big gym and start a dedicated hypertrophy program, but it isn't going to happen being on the road 3 and 4 days a week. I'll report back here periodically and let you know if I'm making any significant gains with the increased food consumption and strict CC progressions.

I have one possible solution that worked for me.

I tried once per week abbreviated HIT workouts. These lend themselves to traveling and flexibility very well. No matter where you are, you can easily go to a local gym and pay $10 for a workout. And even if you don't have a lot of time, the workouts only last 20 minutes so it really isn't that much of a worry.

Bear in mind that I gained all of my size in previous years working out 3-4 times per week. But that doesn't mean that it won't work to make you big. I know plenty of guys who got big from working out only twice per week. And based on that and knowing how you can make a workout brutally hard with compound movements and rest-pause sets, I honestly can't think of any reason why it wouldn't work.

And it definitely did work for me for my purposes. I was burnt out from previous years of overtraining (from competition in strength sports) and I wanted a way to workout that would minimize the stress, save me time, allow for flexibility, and allow me to get motivated to start training hard again. And it worked!!! I did one 20 minute workout per week to keep my muscles strong, cut calories to lose the weight, and I ended up leaner and in better shape than I had been in over a decade!!!

Anyways, its just an option I wanted to throw at you, if you even have access to gyms at all. If you like working out more often, it wouldn't mean you'd have to give up CC either. I never read CC. But my bet is that what ever you are doing you could easily mix it up. For example, you could do two bodyweight workouts per week and one insane HIT workout.

Let the truth be told, working out more often is more healthy for you anyways. It elevates your mood, and the more moderate intensity exercise such as walking or what ever actually helps keep your immune system working well.

If you end up wanting to try, I'll tell you a few HIT workouts you can try. But don't be fooled when I tell you they are short and infrequent. They are not easy!!! Be prepared to work HARD!!!

[Darwin17]

Diet and timing are huge. Big carbo post workout meals and tons of meat in between. You can won't get "big" with body weight unless you start doing gymnastics. You need progressive weight resistance over time to gain big muscle. The only progressive thing you can do with body weight is more reps. When reps get beyond 12 it starts to get more into the stamina part of muscles.

It also comes into a hormonal thing. You need to get a good strong CNS shock to get the body producing more testosterone. That is why heavy squats and heavy deads are so important for those that search for size. Bodyweight can get you a fantastic physique no doubt. You will look strong as all get out and have physical capabilities of a puma but you won't gain 40lbs of muscle. Took my one year of serious lifting to gain 20 but I am sure that if I went straight body weight I would still be looking really good.

[canuck416]

I was skeptical but I did a two month experiment with Simple Fit alternated with repeat steep hill runs and intervals on the track and I was amazed at my improvement. Here is my routine Day 1 - Simple Fit Day 1 routine, Day 2 - Intervals at the track 10 X 100 meters, Day 3 - Simple Fit Day 2 routine, Day 4 - Repeat steep hill runs (1/4 mile) X5, Day 5 - Simple Fit Day 3 routine, Day 6 - Intervals at the track 6 X 200 meters, Day 7 - Rest. Simple Fit is a classic progressive resistance (using increased reps) routine that seems to work. It's very important to do the exercises in a very strict manner.

[zoebird]

Rodney Yee was lifting weights & doing gymnastics long time, then semi-professionally many years before he became a yogi. And he eats a LOT of quality food to keep his physique lookin that way & he's young. Also, genetics play a part for sure. But muscle can be built by anyone if the effort, fuel & recovery is there. Whether you're 83 or 38, putting on some bulk is quite doable.

He was also a professional ballet dancer, and they do a lot of pilates and many of the men lift weights.

Also, I believe both Rodney and Baron Baptiste still lift weights, btu say that they don't.

[bostonwolf]

Look up Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker. Neither lifted weights until after they got into the NFL. Walker would do 500 push ups a day with his girlfriend sitting on his shoulders.