Treble

Deadlifts and squats really need barbells. You won't get big (or even medium sized) numbers in the DL or squat without a bar. Let's say you started a linear progression strength program and you're doing pretty well. If you need to squat 255x5x3 (lbsXrepsXsets) in the 2nd month, how are you going to do this with dumbbells? How are you going to do anything over 200 lbs, in fact? And more reps at lower weight doesn't count; you won't ever deadlift 405 by doing a million 200's, it's a different order of magnitude of strength and it's only accessible, really, through working with an Olympic bar. Or a bunch of atlas stones and strongman equipment. EDIT: Now, don't read that as don't work out because you can't deadlift with dumbbells, that's not what I want to imply. I'm just commenting that deadlifting and squatting to increase absolute strength is only effective with a barbell. Other exercises, thrusters for example, are wonderfully suited to dumbbells and are extremely effective exercises.

Do the workout. It'll help. Counterintuitive but absolutely true. Don't get stuck in that cycle where you kill yourself in a workout, don't work out for a week because you're so sore, rinse, repeat. As long as you are not in sharp, agonizing pain in a very specific area of your body (e.g. the right half of your lower back feels like someone's lighting it with a bunsen burner), you are cleared to work out and should do so. Now I'm not a doctor, and this doesn't pass for medical advice, so be sensible, and don't injure yourself. But remember that there is a significant and all-important difference between pain and injury. Pain is weakness leaving the body. It is the process of getting stronger or faster or more flexible or fitter, and you might start to like it and start actively seeking it out. Injury is a torn ligament or a sprained ankle.

Hey guys, I'm still alive and kicking butt, just super busy and trying to stay off the computer (or at least, trying to stay productive while on it). Haven't been logging my workouts for the past two weeks (fail), but I've gone 4x/week (thanks, 8AM-11:15PM Fridays, for eating my 5th day of crossfit), and eaten perfectly. Except for that large chocolate milkshake I drank on Tuesday. Whatever, it was deadlift day and I needed 600 more calories and wanted a milkshake. To restore a modicum of legitimacy to this challenge thread, here's my Day 1 pic! Treble, Day 1 (7/18/11):

7/20/11: WOD 17, WOD 18 7AM: Olympic Lifting Clean for 20 minutes Jerk for 20 minutes Clean 95x3-115x3-135x2-155x1. Jerk 95x3-115x3-135x3-155x1. 30 lb Clean PR. 4:30 PM: Rugby Conditioning Practice Double Unders for 10 minutes. Strung together 10 for the first time, possibly more; the first time I got the rhythm going I was too focused to keep track. Probably about 40-50 DUs total. Good warmup and good sweat. Then, 4 Rounds for time: 200m gassers (approx.) 15 pushups 5:47. Lots of shoulder crankiness right now. I dunno why I did that second WOD, I just had a break from work and REALLY felt like pushing my conditioning as hard as possible. I ate such a big recovery dinner just now that it should be illegal.

7/19/11: WOD 16 Warmup: Roll ITB Activation Work WOD: For 20 mins: Floor Press x5 Bulgarian Split Squat x8 For 20 mins: BB Row x5 Knees To Chest x8 Floor Press 95-125-135-155-165-165. BB Row 45-95-105-105-105. B Spl. SQ 15-25-30-35 (each hand). Two barbell exercises I've never done before. Good day. Mmmmm steak and eggs

If you want the first body, do the workout plan I suggested in your other thread. If you want the second body, take steroids, eat 6000 calories a day, and do a bodybuilding split. Building muscle is hard. Goddamn hard. The guy in the first pic has a lot of muscle. You need to lift heavy weights. Even to get that amount of muscle. Go have a look again at the workout I prescribed for you. The one you have here won't do it. EDIT: Go to the main site for the URL from first picture, smartweightgain.com . What does he suggest you do to get big muscles like the guy in the picture? Deadlifts and squats.

So instead of updating both a challenge thread and a workout log, just head over to my 6-week challenge thread for all my workouts. Sweeeeeeeeeeeet.

Thanks guys! Here goes! 7/18/11: WOD 15 Warmup: Roll ITB Run 1k Activation work (hydrants, Y's, planks) 10 min WOD: 5 Rounds for time of: 15 Thrusters, 85# 15 Body Rows 15 Box jumps, 20" 25 Situps DNF due to heat exhaustion/underrecovery. 3 rounds completed. So, like I said, I ate pizza today. A lot of it. There's a lot of sentimental value in eating pizza in my hometown for me, so it was more than just a decadence thing, though that was certainly a factor. Given I've been note-perfect on diet for nearly two months, I don't feel guilty whatsoever. Just bloated. My last week has been a "hell week" of sorts (tech week in the theater); 16 hour workdays, only 6 hrs of sleep/night, not enough food (not enough time to cook and eat properly), too much tuna salad, etc. I'm not going to freak out about my bad day in the gym. There's a strength WOD coming tomorrow morning at 7AM, so I'm focusing my energies on that. So let's see, ate pizza and didn't finish my workout; not bad for a first day! Haha. I'm not worried. I'm perfectly satisfied with eating 100% hospital-clean food for the next six weeks. I don't have any cravings for more carbs, just cravings for more fitness. Let's go.

Do you have access to a gym at school or somewhere else that has barbells and plates and a squat rack? If your goal is really to gain muscle, you should swap out Tu/Th "cardio" (read about how it's not helpful for your fitness or appearance, written by a former pro-level distance runner, at this link: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/case-against-cardio/) for some heavy lifting. The way to get bigger is to lift big weights. You're not going to put on much, if any, bodyfat, because of your age. Learn how to deadlift and how to overhead press (with a barbell); these two are pretty easy to learn on your own. You should also really look into squatting actually , by far the best exercise for your lower body, and the major catalyst behind growth hormone and testosterone production, both things you want if you want to look good. Another thing you should consider is not doing so many things "max reps." Going to failure several times in a workout is not beneficial, and detracts from the other surrounding exercises: if you max out on dive-bomber pushups three times, then try and max out on decline pushups three more times, you're not going to be able to do that many decline pushups if you did your max-outs right. They're closely related exercises. Your planks are also going to suffer. Simplicity is your friend. You need to do few movements and do them very very well, and you will look great, and it will take less time. If you want to do a lot of pushups every week, for example, I recommend the 100 Pushups routine. By the third week, you're doing 100 pushups three times a week, but without going to failure (ideally). Treat your M/W/F workouts as "cardio". This is what is going to increase your metabolic conditioning, aka the same thing "cardio" does, and keep you lean. ]Movement Repertoire Pushups. Just regular pushups. Situps. Just regular situps. Pullups/Chinups. Regular these too. You're going to start weighting your chinups; just hold a dumbbell between your feet. Burpees. is a really good video and only 2:30.Squats. Really learn these properly, otherwise don't do them. Below parallel, weight on your heels, low-bar back squat. Watch a lot of videos. www.startingstrength.com is your new best friend. Deadlifts. Don't hurt yourself. Keep your back tight, don't round it. Weight on your heels. Bar should scrape your shins. Watch this video: . See how his back is still "arched"? That's what you need.Overhead Press. , from the master himself, Mr. Mark Rippetoe. Perfect explanation.Air squats. Regular air squats. ]Workout Routine For the 100 Pushups workout, go to www.onehundredpushups.com. For the strength days, start with weights that are easy to do with absolutely perfect form. Then add 5 lbs every workout. 10 lbs more for deadlifts. Form is everything. If you don't do them right they won't work and you won't get big. Monday: 100 Pushups Week Whatever, Day 1. Chinups 3xmax reps, if you're doing less than 10. If you're getting 10 in a row and more, start holding a dumbbell with your feet. Go to 3x5. Enough weight so that they're really hard but not impossible. Bigger dumbbell every week. Then, for time, 3 rounds: Run 400m 50 Air Squats Tuesday: Deadlift, 4 warmup sets then 1x5. Squat, 4 warmup sets, then 3x5. Overhead Press: 4 warmup sets, then 3x5. Wednesday: 100 Pushups, Week Whatever, Day 2 Then, Circuit for 20 minutes over and over. Try and do as many rounds as possible. Write down how many you do. Jumping Jacks x 15 reps Air squats x10 reps Burpee Pullupsx 10 reps. Do a burpee under the pullup bar and jump into a pullup. Thursday: Squat 3x5 Press 3x5 Friday: As many rounds as you can in 15 minutes: 5 pullups 10 pushups 15 situps Assist your pullups when you get tired. You want to keep your heart rate up, and keep breathing heavy. Saturday & Sunday: rest days. Switch around the T/Th workouts every other week. After 4 weeks, drop down to adding 2.5 lbs to the press every workout. You're going to get really hungry. EAT. You're at a prime age to gain muscle. Eat a LOT of protein. Double what you're eating in protein now. It won't make you fat; too much bread and too much sugar make you fat, not meat.

I've decided I might try to play rugby in the fall, and this conveniently lines up with the NerdFitness challenge. So regardless of whether or not I end up playing in the fall, I'm treating the next month like preseason. My lifting numbers are good, but I need to condition hard, and eat super well. (I'm eating pizza for the only time this summer tomorrow, because I think it's worth it and am not worried on its effect on my progress, just its effect on my stomach if you know what I mean. TMI?) Anyway, goals. Here they are. FITNESS: Mile time sub 7:00 Double Unders strung together Decent power clean Sub 7:00 On this workout:: Three rounds for time of: 135 pound Front squat, 12 reps 12 Burpee pull-ups Nutrition Goals: Absolutely Immaculate. 5 servings of almond butter a week. Cut down on fruit, more veggies. More lean meat. Good O3:O6 ratio. Life Goals: Get some work done on a composition for a reading in January. Any appreciable amount would be awesome; work + fitness takes a lot of time. We'll see. I'll test three days after school starts. Awesome. I'm so excited. Even if I don't play rugby. I miss playing football and having something to look forward to in the summer, so I'm geeking out about this now. See ya on the other side!

7/17/11 End of Tech Week Woah. I work for this theater company, and starting on Tuesday I've worked 12-16 hour days until tonight. I got to the gym every scheduled time except Friday morning, due to a 7:30 A.M call following a 12:00 AM dismissal the night before. Don't feel that bad, but that's where I've been. I honestly don't remember Thursday's WOD at all, I'm so tired, but it was strength based and relatively heavy and I did half of it because my call was so early. I'm gonna catch up on a lot of sleep and get at it at 5:30 tomorrow night.

7/13/11: WOD 13 Roll ITB Run 800m 4 rounds of: 20 wall ball shots 20 body rows 400m run 20 situps Run 800m. ~34:00. Pretty slow, but endurance is by far my weakness in terms of fitness. So gassed! Deis: nRM= n-rep max. So how much weight you could possibly do for 1, 3, 5, reps.

7/12/11: WOD 12 Find 1RMs of FSQ and BP. In between FSQ sets, weighted situps x12. In between BP sets, DB rows x12. FSQ 135x5-155x3-175x2-195x1-205x1 BP 135x5-155x2-175x1-195x1. Weighted Situps 10-15-20-25. DB Row 35-50-50. 30 lb PR on FSQ, 20 lb PR on bench! Kinda. Same deal as before; really old numbers, but new records are new records. I'll take it! Thanks stereo! Definitely post yours too!

7/11/11: WOD 11 WOD 11 on 7/11/11! Snatch Work Warmup: Roll ITB PVC Work (dislocations, snatch pulls, etc.) Snatch 1-3 reps for 20 min Snatch balances 5 reps for 20 min Worked to 85 lbs for ~10 reps on the snatch, worked with the bar for snatch balances. Had a major breakthrough in the snatch/OHSQ today. I'm really used to low bar back squatting, and thus tend to push my butt back to get below parallel. Fixed this today, could feel the new motor pattern being programmed. So excited about this; now that I feel safe overhead squatting, I can slowly start pushing more weight to get it competitive. I can also tell it's really gonna translate for my clean and front squat. Oly lifting win! Might do some weighted chins and incline pushups tonight, but I have another wod at 7 AM, so maybe not. #fitnessambivalence

Either the YMCA or Crossfit. If you're willing to spend the money, the extra $20 a month on a crossfit gym will change your life. It's not just about equipment; the CF gym will come with all the fitness stuff you would ever need but also will probably come with a staff of great trainers who will give you individual attention and teach you good technique for a wide variety of skills. That's really more what you're paying for; personal attention to teach you highly effective exercises. If you've been scared of weight training or double unders or whatever, join the CrossFit gym and a pro will teach you.

Hey Anivair-- couple things. First, programming crossfit is an art in and of itself. If you have the time, read the article in the Crossfit Journal called "A Theoretical Template for CrossFit's Programming" http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/06_03_CF_Template.pdf to see what I mean. CrossFit isn't random, it's broad and inclusive, an important difference to grasp. A good program won't have you doing 20 minute all-out gassers 5 times a week, for example, despite how that appeals to the "more work=more fitness" notion we all are tempted by (myself included-- God knows how many times on a weekend I've been itching to go run some serious sprints or do a WOD). Basically, because the CrossFit protocol allows for a much greater capacity for intensity, it's very important to program carefully to achieve good results. I'd recommend either following an affiliate's website or the mainpage WODs if you're working out by yourself, or adopt a preset template like the 70's Big Strength & Conditioning Program (a personal favorite-- go heavy three days a week, condition twice a week). These guys are quite literally pros. Programming for yourself can be daunting and inadvertently ineffecient-- speaking from personal experience.

I like this thread: it's like writing strength haikus. In fact, I'll do that right now; Strength Training Haiku Squat, deadlift, and press, And eat your weight in protein, watch your muscles grow. 3 sets of 5. Heavy, and more weight every workout. Those exact movements, with maybe bench press thrown in as well. www.startingstrength.com put 55 pounds on Zach Evetts in 5 weeks. You'll get a little fatter, but fat comes and goes easily; muscle doesn't.

For a demo, I'll hand the floor over to none other than Jason Khalipa, doing more than 10x the weight I did yesterday hahahaha: GAAAAAAHHHHH how cool is that?!?!

The best part is when it starts to become fun to drain yourself; when you're in the middle of a set that you told yourself you'd break up and think "hey, what if I just did all of them unbroken? I wonder what that would feel like..." And the motivation isn't terror or guilt or even grit but curiosity. The mental aspects of Crossfit are, I think, just as interesting as (if not more interesting than) the physical ones. Awesome work!

7/8/11: WOD 10 3 rounds each of: RDL (30% 1RM) 15 reps Body Rows 15 reps Toe Touches 30 reps Step Ups 15 reps (each side) DB Bench (15% of 1RM each hand) 15 reps Russian Twist 15 reps each side. RDL 95-105-105 DB Bench 35 across. Kind of a recovery workout; barely broke a sweat. That's all right though: we went pretty damn heavy yesterday, comparatively. Accidentaly skipped the last 30 toe touches: oh well, between you and me I think they're pretty useless anyway. Pushups later today.

7/7/11: WOD 09 Deadlift: Work to 1RM Weighted Chinup, sets of 3 Press, sets of 3 Turkish Get Up practice DL 135x5-185x3-225x3-255x2-275x1-295x1. Weighted Chins 10-15-20-25-30-35. Press 45x5-65x5-95x3-115x3-115x3. TGU worked to 15# for 3 each side (never done these before!) PR'ed deadlift by 20 pounds! Technically. I was pulling 275x5 at school, so I bet my 1RM then was way higher than 295, but that's the highest recorded number so far, so I'm counting it. Holllaaaaaaa Turkish get ups are my new favorite exercise. SO legit. LOVED this workout.

Hey thanks man! I'm feeling way better now. The 100 pushup plan is going all right; I did the third workout yesterday after crossfit. I barely got the reps, and it's technically two days late, but I'm counting it anyway. Besides, even if it doesn't get me to 100 in exactly six weeks, it's still gonna help my pushup game. Phew! Sorry for the delay from yesterday, I had a long day at work (and another one coming up) and was too tired to get online last night. So here goes, two days of updates: 7/5/11: WOD 07 FSQ 3 reps Weighted Situp 10 reps Bench 3 reps Weighted Situp 10 reps Each couplet 20 minutes. Work to 90% of 1RM for one set. FSQ 135-155-175 Bench 145-155-165 Situps 10-15-20-25x4. Definitely could have gone heavier on the front squats. My gym owner keeps this really old board of PRs that we never update (but still base all our strength loads off of); kinda frustrating, but I love the guy and his gym fits my schedule better than other boxes. I think he sorta saw the problem yesterday; he was like "next time we'll update that and see what your max is now..." Yeah sounds good. That's just me being a baby though. Everything was still hard, which means everything was causing an adaptation, which is the point. one hundred pushups, week 3 day 3: 22-30-20-20-28. 7/6/11: WOD 08 AMRAP in 20 minutes: 20 Overhead Walking Lunges (total) 20 Jumping Pullups 20 DB Push Presses (20# DB) 20 Alternating V-Ups (total) 4.5 rounds exactly.

Happy 4th! 7/4/11: WOD 06 3 Rounds each half. Complete each half in under 15 minutes. Squat (50% of 1RM) 15 reps Chinups 15 reps Run 400m Split Squat 15 reps DB Press 15 reps Run 400m Loads: BSQ 135 across, Chinups w/black assistance band (2nd least amount of assistance), DB press 20# each hand. Modified after 3rd round of back squats; all movements=>10 reps, Run=>200m walk, due to illness. This WOD was a disaster. I didn't feel right all yesterday, and slept from 4PM-9PM and then 11PM-6:30AM. One of the coolest things about eating right and working out is the increased body awareness; I'm pretty sure I'm sick, and I'm pretty sure I knew it the second I lay down at 4 yesterday. Nevertheless, I decided to try and go get my ass kicked this morning, because what better prepares you for a WOD then 11.5 hours of sleep and a bunch of food? Being healthy, apparently. I got all the way through the back squats, and despite this WOD being muscular endurance-focused and not a full blown met/con, I felt like I wanted to die. Not sore, not a little winded, but dizzy, hands-on-the-knees, nauseated, the whole 9 yards. Now if I had just done Cindy or whatever that's par for the course. But 800m of running? 45 reps of BSQ at 135#? Something doesn't add up here. So instead of pushing through and losing my lunch or collapsing or something I spoke up and eased off. That's tough for me. I don't get injured, really. I don't ever feel overtrained. I like going hard every day no matter what, and I absolutely hate leaving the gym feeling like I could have done more. Sometimes, though, you need to back off. A less intense workout is more advantageous then fainting/vomiting and the loss of nutrients/time training that would ensue. Whole9 wrote an awesome article about this, called the path of the buttercup. Check it out: http://whole9life.com/2011/03/suck-it-up-buttercup/ I also slacked on that one hundred pushup workout this weekend. No good excuses: I was tired and had work and when the time(s) came to do the pushups I didn't want to do them. I'm gonna do it later today.

6/30/11: WOD 05 Warmup: Roll ITB Dynamic Warmup: Jumping Jacks, Seal Jumps, Flings, Mountain Climbers, Groiners, Frog Jumps: 5 min WOD: 3 rounds each of: 15 Romanian Deadlifts 15 DB Bench Presses 400m Run 15 Step Ups (each side) 15 Body Rows 400m Run Not for time. RDL: 135-145-165 DB Bench: 30-40-40 (each hand) Step Ups: 20"-24"-24" w/10# DBs Note to self: don't eat chili <12 hours before a workout, even if you cook it yourself. TMI? Last day of one hundred pushups week 3 later today. Legitimately worried about getting all the reps. Get it!

6/29/11: WOD 04 Warmup: Roll ITB Dynamic Warmup (Shoulder Dislocations, Clean practice w/ PVC) WOD: 3 Cleans 6 Chinups 6 Bulgarian Split Squats each leg 6 Push Presses Each couplet for 20 min. Not for time. Clean 45-65-95-125-125 (EEEEEEWWWW I'm bad at this movement) Push Press 45-95-115-125 B. Spl. Sq.: 5-10-10-20 (each hand) Not that happy with this WOD, really felt I could have pushed the weights more. He's the boss though... I'll treat it as recovery and hit it hard tomorrow morning!