SpongeBob

You can change it for variety of reasons, slowed progress, injury, boredom but if you don't suffer those maladies then there is no need to change. Some people like changing alot, but IMO if the compounds are there the rest is interchangable. The are also lots of ways to freshen a routine up without starting new. Manipulate reps/sets/rest periods/create circuits o the same moves etc. At the end of the day you have to be happy to be working out, so if your making progress and your still having "fun" then it's your call.

I'm in te same position as you. I do zercher squats, load up you bar, stand over your bench, lower yourself down, take the bar in the crooks of your elbows, stand up, step back and squat away. If you touch the bench your basically box squating. This allows for more weight IMO than you can clean regularly, I do 140-150kg this way. Advice though, wrap the bar with a towel, heavy squats will dig the bar into your arm, padding prevents giving up due to pain not exertion.

Sledgehammer stories? Woodchoppers? Med ball slams?

I have seen the bar barians, very impressive. Hannibal is one right? Scary man lol. They do have some impressive feats of strength, but dips, planches etc are high end body weight the way they do them. Someone lifting 600lb or andy Bolton like 1000lb via deadlift, is more strength. The op was referring to strength and if limits are on bw exercise, which there is. Even if those limits are beyond most mere mortals lol

Yeah, involves 300 squats on a body ball one day, 300 crunches the next ( for hawt abzzzz) and 300 pull ups with a small deformed hunchback dangling from you the next. Builds "functional fighting" strength and the ability to push you enemies off cliffs or under stampeding elephants via the power of muscle confusion.

Strictly strength speaking, no. If you weigh 200lbs that's all you can move without adding weight of some kind. Ofcourse a one arm handstand press-up is pretty beastly, a one leg squat is not as strength pinacle as a 5-600lb squat. What I'm saying is for smaller muscle groups you body weight will be plenty, for larger ones not so much. The cast of 300 used heavy ass weights in addition to their famed 300 challenge. That said weight is weight, if you move it, muscles will come.

Hey army, Great title by the way, awesome life sucking games! Have you tried zma to help the sleep? I'm not a fan of supplementing sleep, but alot of bb's swear by it.

Mushroom, maximuscle is low down on my list, try phd brand. Synergy or pharma whey for the win. Every phd product I have tried is spot on, plus it's made in hull :-) The insulin is to regulate appetite as much as anything. Bodybuilders use alot of techniques that are IMO pretty mental to be able to eat more and try keep leanish, then they cut. Takes scary dedication.

well its monday night, and time for me to update. Not been a great week or start to the challenge, basically just dabbled in most of my fitness goals. Will hit the weights hard next week, and will start by posting my workout plan and progression here and in the workout log sections. I have been alot more fiscally sensible, probably because its the end of the month, not much to waste lol Part of this challenege i want to really push is accountability, and so therefore i must give a warning. To give greater accountability, i have decided to post pictures of my current condition. three have no shirt on, so be warned!!! The other has a tshirt on, mainly coz it is an awesome t-shirt and i thought you might all like it. So you have now been warned, anyone with a sensitive disposition should look away now [ATTACH=CONFIG]504[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]505[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]506[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]507[/ATTACH] As you can all see, my need to bulk up is there, i lost alot of weight over oast few weeks due toi work stresses and not eating properly, couplked with no workouts = skinny, gangly sponge. On the plus side, i have a very easy week work wise this week, so expect some good progress, and feel free to reprimand me if not! Sponge

Ooh slipped to page 5! Guess im failing on my accountability part of my challenge, will make up for that soon. Watch this space lol This week I have been working alot, but done some small workouts and mobility drills, nothing overly noteworthy. I think I made people smile and brightened up their day, leadership going well, life work balance not so much. Much needs upping!

I made my own ring/straps using some strong rope ad some sawn off pipe for handles. I just loop them through my pull up bar, and got to agree they do make simple exercises much harder but also open up new ones such as inverted rows etc. Army is right, there are many variables to a workout, all of which can increase or decrease difficulty. Just keep te intensity high to keep your body working hard and adapting.

hand stand push ups are not a version of a press up strictly speaking. Thats like saying a military press or push press is a chest exercise. As your angle increase beyond a certain point, the focus goes more onto the shoulders than the chest, as is desired in a press up. Ofcourse the secondary muscles of the triceps still work, but its just a harder push exercise, not a push up strictly imo. Pikes work up to a certain degree of elevation as a chest exercise, then try different hand positions, dipping between chairs or stacks of books for extra ROM, changing speeds (very fast reps to very slow controlled motion), or look into some stretch bands (asda here does them for £6) and run through your progressions with added band resitance. There really is a whole range of options, guess im just trying to give some more and rant about HSPU not being the pinacle of push ups even if it is the mack daddy of upper body pushing exercises

Resistance is resistance, just treat it as you would big lumps of iron. Do little and often or heavy and less. Press ups etc can be banged out rep after rep, but sooner or latter the muscle required to do so will be sufficient, so u won't grow, just get more efficient at high reps. Other varieties of press ups are more taxing, so treat them like adding weight to a bar, use them, increase reps then when you can do so many increase the difficulty of the exercise again to provide more stimulus for growth. I only used pres ups as an example, the list is endless.

Yeah, when I was living in a hotel room as an agency chef NG was very usefull. Even though I don't have a copy of his books, I still apply alot of his principles to my training, such as gpp, order of exercises, dynamic explosive etc. There are some crazy fit people on those boards lol

I did but lost due to moving house three times in four years. Only got a PDF of his very old ugtwf. Great site, he is very knowledgeable, open and willing to help. I don't post there often but have been registered 3yrs or so. I always check the s&c and mma sections.

Good to see someone else reads rosstraining too :-)

I love your positive outlook on what most would consider bad news.

Sundae, every runner I have seen or power walker for that matter had big calves, well bigger than mine. I have big feet and skinny lower legs, picture a golf club :-) Tsuchinoko I would love to brandish a katana or two ( I own some) but tuition around here is very sparse indeed. Well for samurai arts anyway. If I can manage one tenth of musashi's spirit though I will be happy. Bbedo; feel free to take anything you wish, and glad you like it.

As I stated earlier, you can get basics from DVDs or other resources, 2nd best is to train with a like minded friend what you learn on your own, best is to find a good school with qualified instruction. Quick word of caution about training with a friend, make sure your both on the same page, accidents do happen, nothing worse than getting into an argument with a friend because you ducked when you should of weaved and get a smack upside the head ;-)

Just to be curious what is your take on jkd? Similar dissection of arts is/ was preformed to get jkd. I an not trying to poo-poo your opinion but many popular things are devised by sinilar methods. An art is more than the sum of techniques.

I will take a look, I have a mass of PDFs on martial arts, alot of military manuals in addition to more civilian texts. Mossad did more than letter bombs, tho they do alot of naughty things. I'm English tho so we got sas and sbs, some very naughty people ;-)

I think Mossad might argue with that carjack :-) For krav maga I think you really need to try find a class near you. You can get the basics from DVD or books but for tight effective technique you will need qualified instruction. Also sparring is difficult to do on your own :-) krav is reality based so combat simulation is pretty vital IMO.

Thankyou crooked.I have a fierce determination this time round. Does bowling count as healthy or a form of fitness?

I can't believe I only posted last night an already at page 4!! Well done active peoples!! Sundae, I have considered some running, just always been concerned about the extra calorific expense since I'm trying to bulk up my weedy frame. But I might start some slowly and gain pace by the end of the challenge. Might help put some meat on my chicken legs lol

Name: SpongeBob This is my third challenge, the last was a total bust. I had lofty ideals and they got swept aside by that thing called life. Rather i let them and didnt fight enough for them, so this challenge i am embracing my inner warrior. The format of my challenge is based on a book by miyamoto musashi, where he divided his philosphy of combat into 5 books or rings. I am gonna approach in the same way, but with just 3 rings The book of earth aka fitness goals Goals 1. Get some weight lifted again, up my maxes in big lifts, get stronger generally 2. Get broader, i am tall (gangly) and would like to add some size 3. Do more martial arts practice, i learnt of a mma class nearby, so gonna look into that 4. Increase cardio and flexability, at the moment is a disgrace! Plan of attack I have a weight lifting program to be followed 3 days per week, but a minimum of 2 depending on my work schedule, i will do some form of resistance training every day, even if just for 5 minutes. I will alternate lifting days with days of mobility, martial arts skills, lighter resistance with an emphasis on conditioning and gymnastic/parkour based bodyweight moves. The book of man aka how i deal with the world This is about my interactions with the world in a physical sense Goals 1. Accountability, be more accountable for my fitness and health 2. Make someones world just a little bit better each day. 3. Sleep and eat properly so im not a grumpy sod and can give the best of myself to others who rely on me. 4. Be a true leader at work and out of work. an inspiration. Ok maybe this is a bit vague, but recently i have had alot of people look to me for thew answers, for the way forward, so i should be able to help in the best way i can, to give people hope. Plan of attack 1. keep posting here! i will also start a log in the battle log section to track my longer term goals and get even more people motivating me when/if i slack 2. Make someone smile, stop getting involved in bitchyness or gossip, keep a log or checklist abit like mr franklins (i think lol, its on AoM) 3. Track what i eat, eat over 3000 calories (good ones ofcourse) each day. stop staying up late to get a bit more unwinding time, get proper rest and a proper schedule and sleeping patern. 4. No real strategy other than constantly sharpen the blade that is my life, and hopefully it will shine through. The book of heaven aka personal life goals not involving others Goals 1. Get my finances sorted 2. Stop drinking or relying on drink if stressed 3. Stop smoking 4. stop letting life grind me down Plan of attack 1. stop wasting my money, start a budget and stick to it, try to save atleast £100 a month 2. Find alternative drinks, or even better stop getting stressed lol. Reduce my beer intake by 50% and have atleast 6 days totally beer free by the end of the challenge. 3. Reduce my smoking, atleast 50% if not more by the end of the challenge 4. This is the key to tis entire section, take some time for me each day. Get my ability to seperate work and home back. Be more organised at work so im not running last minute to get everything done, or worrying if something isnt done right ( i am a total perfectionist) I dont have set rewards for this but will think of some. Cheers for reading. Sponge