Geran

I've been lifting heavy and hard for roughly a year now, and raised all of my maxes significantly. But within the last few months, I've hit a hard plateau on my bench press at 200/205. I've tried multiple different programs to break though it, but I always end up failing sets around this weight. Programs attempted thus far:

1. Stronglifts 5x5 - This is where I started, and this got me to about 150-160.

2. Effortless Superhuman (Tim Ferris, 4 Hour Body) - This worked well up until I hit the 200/205 plateau. Despite multiple resets, I couldn't break it.

3. Eating the Elephant (Tim Ferris, 4 Hour Body) - This program is supposed to be designed specifically to break bench press plateaus, but I still failed at the 200/205.

My diet for roughly 6 months has been Tim Ferris's "Slow Carb Diet," to include the Saturday cheat days, and extra protein from whey protein powder + water shakes to support muscle growth. The only area I already know I struggle with is sleep, as I often times will only average 5 hours a night.

I've come a long way in my journey, but I'm not satisfied, and I refuse to let 200 be my max when I know there are people out there lifting triple that or more. Any and all help would be appreciated, I can take the criticism if anyone knows something I'm doing wrong or a program that would be helpful.

On 1/23/2017 at 6:27 PM, Machete said:

 

Yeah, the whole Combatives thing is highly leadership-dependent. I was one of the hopefuls of our Combatives team when the Brigade head instructor was trying to bring back Combatives to the base by sending us to the US Army Alaska championships and making a showing. My platoon sergeant vetoed that when I fell out of a road march because I can't snowshoe to save my life, but I got called into brigade at the last minute to have my stuff packed in 15 minutes. Won the USARAK championships (easily), and came back to a very pissed platoon sergeant and a new position as a machine gunner--possibly one of the smallest ever. Needless to say, the next month was pretty rough, but I digress. Haha

 

Greg Thompson, Royce Gracie black belt, does have a book that covers the techniques taught.

I do love books.

Good stuff. Thanks everyone.

On 1/20/2017 at 9:03 PM, Machete said:

 

Not really. I believe it was derived from Gracie Combatives, so there's that.

Yea, I heard that as well. I had an NCO who was all about boxing and combatives. Kept pairs of boxing gloves in the shop for lunch time and after hours PT. He was fully combatives certified. Beast of a man.

On 1/21/2017 at 4:17 AM, SpecialSundae said:

This is a good resource if you're reluctant to do more in-depth reading: http://www.muscleandmotion.com

I will definitely check that out. What would you recommend if I am willing to do in-depth reading?

3 hours ago, SpecialSundae said:

In this instance, I suspect Machete is referring primarily to tendons.

 

If you're going to be lifting, it's well worth giving yourself a crash-course in how your body works. Knowing the basics of the internal mechanisms makes it easier to understand what's going on with your lifts.

Definitely sound advice. Any particular sources you recommend?

3 hours ago, Machete said:

Yep. Just get your reps in. Strength is a skill--practice it. The faster you get something, the faster it tends to go away. Try slow-cooking it a bit. Also connective tissue develops slower than muscle.

I will confess to biology being a weak area of mine in terms of knowledge. What exactly do you mean by connective tissue? Are we referring to the skin over the muscles, or is there internal tissue that connects muscles?

I've spent a lot of time getting back into fitness and proper eating lately, and it got me thinking about how to train and strengthen myself as a whole person. I've been looking for ways to strengthen my mind, and have settled on pursuing chess with a fair degree of seriousness. I'm not planning to compete professionally, but I would like to be an above average player. Is anyone else in the community playing chess, willing to coach/play with a new person, or able to recommend any resources?

10 minutes ago, Machete said:

 

Cool. I trained at ROC by Yadkin. Level 1 is good enough to get familiarized with the dominant positions and the philosophy; how to not die, and how to deal with getting punched without engaging in a boxing match (i.e. the Clinch Drill). Not being a big guy either, 5'2 and topping out at 140, I would much rather take my chances grappling than striking, even with my stand-up experience. Even though size still matters in grappling, it seems to matter a lot less.

 

I think Level 2 would be close to a complete practice as it seems to cover enough of the basics, and if someone were to perfect all the L2 techniques it would make a very formidable individual. S/He's not going to be dominating the UFC, but then again Cain Velazquez isn't really walking around town looking for fights.

Yea, I had to Clinch Drill with the lead instructor who was roughly twice to 2.5 times my size and weight...it was an experience. Do you know if there any places teaching the MACP to civilians or veterans? It is a good system, and getting back into it and getting to Level 2 would be great.

2 minutes ago, Machete said:

 

I believe boxing is fantastic for self-defense because it teaches you what hitting and getting hit feels like, it keeps you in decent physical shape, and (probably most importantly) footwork. Self-defense systems like to sell disabling techniques, but evasion with superior footwork may very well be just as effective. You describe it as heaven--this might just be what you're looking for.

 

I assume you were at Bragg. Did you participate in any Combatives? I actually believe MACP is an excellent system (if the young hotshots straight out of basic got out of the mindset of thinking that they are badass MMA fighters. I had to go through Level 1 twice to realize that.). @MiddleAgeMutantNinjaPandamight have some insights on this.

 

I think a lot of people overthink martial arts and try to act contrarian by default with all their "what-if" scenarios. We're all going to die anyway. Maybe a good life insurance policy would be for them.

Yes, I was at Bragg. The boxing Gym I went to was called Angel's Gym, if that helps. I got MACP Level 1 certified while I was enlisted, that course beat the hell out of me, even with the prior martial arts experience. It was wonderful, but I still remember how sore I was by the end. I couldn't even close one of my hands properly for a while. Good stuff though. No one can deny that a vast majority of fights will go to the ground if they go on beyond the first hit or two. I'm not a large man by any stretch of the imagination, 5'6" at most, and maybe 160 pounds (haven't weighed myself since before I started lifting heavy a few weeks ago), so I'm never going to be a grappling god. But I have been in enough situations, both serious and professional/fun, to see the value of knowing how to ground fight/grapple/wrestle. 

This was refreshingly amusing. You're quite clever and talented. Keep it up!

So I !@#$%^&* up pretty hard last night. I got embroiled in a personal conflict between two people I care about so much that I barely did anything responsible. I did my own workout, but I let someone I promised to hold accountable eat garbage fast food and drink soda with the excuse that "it's late and it's cheap and simple." I didn't cook dinner or prepare food for lunch today, so I have to waste money buying lunch out here.

I have failed myself and I have failed the people who depend on me. I need to get back in the game and lock in, and do things right today.

Well, I did do five years of active duty service in the Army. I went to a Hapkido/Tang Su Do "school" when I was a kid, and that was alright. What I really enjoyed was the boxing gym I used to go to when I was in the Army in Fayetteville, NC. Little hole in the wall place you wouldn't ever see unless you knew to look for it...but that place was heaven. Just sweat, mats, bags, and people who wanted to train hard. They also did Yoga and Tai Chi. I miss that. So maybe boxing is my thing? I do like striking, especially since I've struggled with anger issues my whole life and hitting the bag has always helped me.

2 hours ago, Ajaxus said:

If these are a lot of changes from what you are currently doing, my personal suggestion is to pick one or two to start out with and work on making those a habit for a few weeks before adding more.

Only reason I bring this up is because I have seen a lot of people in this community looking to make a drastic fix that take on too much at once and fail pretty fast, and it is extremely difficult on them.  Lasting changes come about faster when we are willing to slow down, make incremental changes, work at them til they become habits and then repeat the process again.  

That's solid advice, thank you. I've done pretty well with keeping junk food and sugar out of my place, but I will confess to making paleo desserts somewhat often or eating a lot of fruit because I miss the sugar. As you say, a complete overhaul overnight isn't always the best path. I'm working on cutting back on eating 3+ pears a day, for example. But I figure that's better than a soda or candy bar.

9 minutes ago, RandMart said:

In a nutshell, yeah

 

But that's just me

 

Regardless of your BDSM advocacy, you just come off as a know-it-all douchebag

Well, I'm terribly sorry you feel that way just because I don't touch your "touchstones." I mean, nevermind that I could get into a massive rant about Star Wars alone and how Han and Leia's son being named "Ben" in Force Awakens was utter bullshit because that was Luke and Mara's son's name in the expanded universe but that's all been declared non-canon because !@#$%^&* Disney....but I guess I'm just not enough of a nerd for you.

47 minutes ago, RandMart said:

 

Nah, the dude's a troll, and has no real intent on learning anything

 

I did a quick scan and, Nothing in history shows any interest in Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Lord of the Rings, or any other touchstone NERD Fitness archetypes

 

Lots of chatter about how awesome he is, though

 

 

Eenie, meenie, miney, mo

Is Geran a troll, yes or no?

 

So because I don't have a history of these things YOU determine are nerd "touchstones," I'm a troll? And yea, I brag about my accomplishments in "Woot Room," that's what it's FOR. But if we're tracking my forum activity, I notice you conveniently avoid mentioning how I encourage people in the Respawn Point, or how I posted looking for other League of Legends players, or how I've started threads asking for people to help educate me on diet, lifting, martial arts...But I guess those are outside the "touchstones" and don't count?

4 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

Heey guys how about we take it down a notch? There's nothing that Geran's said that's given rise to immediate concern and how he (sorry if I got the wrong pronoun) and his consenting subs want to lead their lives and relationships is entirely up to them. But here we have a new person on the forum that wants to learn, so maybe instead of attacking him we could offer our collective (but mind you largely unqualified ) knowledge so that he can make better decisions for himself and his subs? 

Much appreciated. I'm certainly not here to judge anyone or tell anyone that there was is wrong. I started this thread to see if there was anyone else out there doing what I'm doing, that's all. If some people view what I do as too extreme, that's fair. I'm used to that. It's not for everyone. As the Little Gamers would say "Game on."

1 hour ago, AugustaAdaByron said:

@Geran Exactly what @SpecialSundae said on the above post.

In particular, when it comes to me, you have not given a clear answer to any question I've asked you! What you've been doing is give me generic and patronising answers!

 

 

I have answered every question you've asked me. I don't give you specifics about how I personally conduct my relationships because that would involve sharing information about the health, mental and physical, of individuals that is private. Every relationship is different, and every person is different. There is no BDSM bible. There is no "this one way is the right way." I'm sorry if you feel like me saying that is patronizing, but that is how it is. It would be misleading and even arrogant of me to claim that what specifically works between me and one sub is how every other Dom and Sub should handle their situation. I'm not entirely certain what exactly what you want me to answer or tell you.

What gives me the right to have power over someone? Their consent for me to have it. That's as direct an answer as I have for you.

What qualifies me to be the authority on someone's health, fitness, diet, manner of dress, or anything else about their life? Once again, their consent. If they find my methods unsafe or don't like something about the system I propose enforcing, then they don't consent and we don't do it.

My goal here isn't to be obtuse or avoid inquiries. I simply can't point to one relationship, or even one example IN one relationship and say "this is how it is always done." You can't do that in any relationship, whether it be vanilla romance, parent child, or even professional.

19 hours ago, SpecialSundae said:

Because part of the reason for starting so light is to give you time to get form right before it gets heavy. If you're doubling the increases then you're halving the time you have to drill in good form.

Good point.

Just now, SpecialSundae said:

Which is why a few people are challenging you.

You are coming across as someone potentially unsafe.

I am open to any and all questions. There simply seemed to be an assumption that I am unqualified and inexperienced simply because I am a "newbie" on these message boards, which I don't see as a fair assessment. But by all means, ask away. Someone might find a flaw in my approach or logic, which I would be grateful for.

45 minutes ago, AugustaAdaByron said:

 

When it comes to personal preferences wrong and right are not clear terms.

Neither are, necessarily, the notions of a good/bad Dom or sub. Although hopefully there are some universal qualities considered good and taken into account by the participants in any D/s relationship.

 

What I've also been trying to ask Geran is how someone (anyone) can present themselves as having total authority on someone else without showing any hint of questioning if what they're doing could (even accidentally) harm the other person!

 

Edit to add: BTW I never meant if there is a literal BDSM qualification board!!! 

There are of course plenty of questions that do get asked. The question of "is this safe and right for you/me/us." Is asked frequently, at least by me and those I get involved with. No matter how deeply someone submits to me, I ensure that they know they ALWAYS have the right to ask questions, and ALWAYS have the right to declare something unsafe. I hope that helps.

50 minutes ago, SpecialSundae said:

I suspect a large point of the question that AAB was asking is that there are a lot of very insecure and damaged people out there who identify as submissive who could end up going along with things which are detrimental to their health because it makes the dominant they are attached to happy. 

 

If someone with limited ability to acknowledge when they are wrong takes on the role of dominant to someone with limited ability to differentiate between healthy D/s exchanges and abusive control issues then it can be potentially very dangerous.

 

Too many people saw 50 Shades of Grey and completely missed the fact that Christian Grey is not a healthy dominant but a man with control issues who wantonly ignores issues of informed consent.

I agree 100% percent. And the BDSM community gets a LOT of bad press because abusers masquerade as "Dominants" and take advantage of those insecure and damaged people. I've both seen it happen and met people coming out of it. It's a huge problem, and one that I myself work quite actively within the community to address and raise awareness of, in addition to striving to be a proper example for those on the outside to see that not every Dominant is a Christian Grey.

50 Shades, to me, is a giant "How NOT to do BDSM/Power Exchange" manual. Pretty much everything he does is either manipulative, abusive, or at the very least creepy. There's actually a very good video by Film Theory describing how Christian Grey uses classic Cult indoctrination techniques to subvert the female lead and manipulate her. Truly disturbing.

There is a responsibility on the part of Doms and Subs to be informed and communicate properly, and a certain level of responsibility the rest of the community has to observe and speak up. Just like you would say something at the gym if someone was about to snap their elbow doing a lift wrong, we would also speak up in a kink club if something seemed unsafe. 

3 hours ago, Twilight said:

Oh hey there.

 

I'm very involved in my local community, and I know lots of people who mix kink and fitness. It's usually along the lines of helping someone achieve goals they've set, like: "You said you were going to go for a run this morning! Get out of bed!" A couple of summers ago I went to kinky camp and morning jogs can be much more interesting when you're at a camp full of like minded people. I know a couple of people who have formal health or fitness certifications, and a LOT of people who are very into fitness in general, sometimes specifically so that they can be stronger for whatever kinky activities they'd like to engage in. That's one of my motivations, too. I've also enjoyed using my powers for "evil." You wouldn't believe how easy it is to get a room full of people doing yoga once you start stretching, or (this works especially well with a group of young men) getting people to do chinups/pullups or pushups. I don't know many people in TPE (total power exchange) relationships, but there are many, many ways to incorporate this into fitness without it.

^ This. Thank you, @Twilight.

6 hours ago, SpecialSundae said:

On the other hand, most gyms will require that their trainers can display that they have qualifications and insurance, whereas no such requirement is there for wannabe dominants.

Is your goal in this thread simply to insult and inflame people? How is insulting people as "wannabe" Dominants constructive or helpful to this discussion in any way? There is no one single way to do fitness, diet, Dominance, Submission, or anything else for that matter. If you have a different viewpoint, fine. If you want to have a discussion, fine. But there really is no reason for this kind of talk. You do things your way. Fine and dandy. I don't try to make you sound wrong, regardless of how different it may be from how I or someone else does it. You don't seem very inclined to extend the same tolerance or understanding to anyone else. I didn't start this thread to argue with anyone. I started it to open healthy discourse. I must reiterate that if you have questions or concerns, there are far more respectful ways to air them.

If your concern is about the qualifications, or lack there of, of Dominant types controlling certain aspects of people's lives, that's a valid question and topic. Someone with no experience at all shouldn't be trying to instruct someone completely new on a complex fitness movement, fighting technique, diet change, or anything else. That CAN be dangerous, and people doing so ARE wrong, at least in my view. My issue here isn't the concerns you have, it's the aggressive and at times insulting way you express them. I can't figure out why you feel the need to address anyone this way. 

8 hours ago, AugustaAdaByron said:

 

Again, what qualification gives you that power? There's the power exchange of course but then there's also common sense! Under common sense, what makes you qualified to be fully in charge of another person in that extent? 

If you're asking whether or not there is a some kind of BDSM qualification board that certifies people as Dominants, there isn't. There is no official qualification, just like there isn't one to be in any other kind of relationship. Is it a massive responsibility? Yes, of course it is. But then so is having children, and no one needs a license for that either. As I mentioned previously, consent is a major point. I don't force my opinion on any random Submissive I come across. The person agrees, usually in a very formal fashion, to submit to my judgement. This is done after an in depth discussion of their needs, desires, and expectations. That is where the common sense comes in. That person asks the questions to get the information they need to feel comfortable and safe giving me that power. If they don't feel comfortable and safe, they don't give me the power. Just like how you wouldn't date someone if you weren't comfortable with them.