Odd Physiology...

[DrewKorpal]

Anyone else out there built like a 6 ft., 1 in. tank with some fat on top and a dire need to improve upper body strength?

To explain, I'm a big guy. Not just because I weigh 280 pounds at 6', 1" tall, but because my light weight is about 240 pounds when training like a mad-man (6 years ago). When I left boot camp (about 23 years ago), I still weighed almost 200 pounds with a 31" waist and a 50" chest.

My legs are very strong, but I've always been dissatisfied with my upper body strength. I'm not worried about "mass", just real strength applicable to the real world work I do... which is a corrections officer. Strength is my priority, but I still want enough cardio improvements to be able to handle fast sprints of a 1/4-mile or less. (I want to be able to respond to events with rapidity without getting winded, and possess the strength needed to handle the biggest fellows we have in our custody.)

I'm starting with the basic Strength guide discussed in the How to get Big and Strong like a Superhero (workouts A and B, 4 days a week) after I sort of "pre-train" for a couple weeks "at-home" style. But I'm not really sure what I should do specifically for my body type... I have a big base to work with, but I wouldn't describe myself as properly muscular. Any suggestions on how I should proceed?

I should probably figure out how to attach a photo and send it...

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If you're a bigger guy, you'll have to get your diet in check to lose that flab. Other than that, lift heavy shit with good form.

[Corbab]

I'm similar to you in muscular distribution—6'2", big legs, broad shoulders, and comparably T rex-ish arms. I started Starting Strength over a month ago, and my arms are growing pretty quickly (ask around in the Warrior's forum for SS info). The Superhero plan is quite similar, and I expect you'll get noticeably stronger in no time. Like Phi said, cleaning up your diet is important if you want to lose fat (and you CAN still make strength gains while leaning out). Losing weight will make you faster, too, as you'll have less to carry around. Sprinting is also great for fat loss, so you can't lose! Throw in a couple sessions a week once you're comfortable with the rest of your plan.

[WizardTrip]

First, welcome DrewKorpal!

Phi is right with the lift heavy shit with good form, and to lose that fat on top, the diet will be the first thing you need to look at.

Now, your build may be a bit more on the larger frame size than me, but I'm 6ft 3in, and started my journey at ~260lbs. So, yeah...I'm kinda a big guy. With my lifting and dieting, I've managed to drop a ton of fat (ton=30-40lbs), but have increased my strength and muscle by a large amount. My guess is that I am now ~225 with a 36" waist, and not sure the exact measurement of my chest, but it's probably around 46-48".

Looks like you are going with a solid plan. From that guide, make sure to remember this part so that you keep pushing for more.

"The goal with this type of training is to consistently ADD weight to each exercise. For big movements, every time you train, you should aim to add more weight to your lifts. If you squatted 100 pounds last week, this week you should aim to squat 105 pounds. If you’re at the point where adding weight every time is getting harder, even adding one more rep is a step in the right direction."

I too felt like I had a solid base just because of my size, but was humbled a bit with my actual strength. I quickly found out that even though my strength was lower than I had thought, it built up extremely fast.

As for the cardio improvements you want to see, I would suggest looking into some form of HIIT (High-intensity interval training) for some of your off/rest days. Maybe even do a small amount of HIIT as your warm-up before lifting. The HIIT will provide what you want in 2 forms: it will keep with your strength goals and build muscle, and it will hit your cardio goals with being able to build up to fast sprinting for quick responses that your job may call for.

[DrewKorpal]

Phi... very true. Fortunately, I have lost close to 25 pounds since that photo was taken, and a total of 45 pounds since I started this journey. We had started with Atkins and quickly jumped to the Kheto-diet because Atkins was a bit too restrictive. We (my wife and I) figured we'd switch fully over to Paleo as soon as we get into a solid rhythm in our workouts.

Corbab... the T-Rex Arm thing is hilarious, and a perfect description for how I feel about my own arms.

Icedtrip... I totally understand the humbled thing. While my legs are pretty powerful, my arms -- by comparison -- are pitiful. And my back, while out of condition right now, is frankly disgusting strong thanks to the Roman Chair and hugging 50-pound plates while strengthening that puppy to recover from some bad injuries years ago.

I'm really hyped up about this new process I'm learning here, and I can't wait to be able to start posting the successes that are yet to come.

As an aside... have any of you heard of or tried the "Tabata Method" of cardio training (20 sec. of intense exercise like squat-jumps done at 100%, followed by 10 sec. of rest for 4 min. or 8 cycles)? I wonder if that would be a more knee-friendly option than wind-sprints or running a mile and a half?

Either way, We're in the process of doing the at-home body-weight exercises for about a month to wake our bodies up before we just saunter into a gym like we're not about to injure ourselves (lol) by going in "cold" from a life of leisure.

Thanks for the replies! They are appreciated.

[Corbab]

As an aside... have any of you heard of or tried the "Tabata Method" of cardio training (20 sec. of intense exercise like squat-jumps done at 100%, followed by 10 sec. of rest for 4 min. or 8 cycles)? I wonder if that would be a more knee-friendly option than wind-sprints or running a mile and a half?

Tabatas are one of my favorite sprint protocols, and you can do them with practically any exercise. They're especially great if you're short on time (or just too impatient for regular cardio).

If you're worried about your knees, look into some lower-impact exercises (rowing, biking), at least until you start losing weight. High-intensity is going to put some amount of stress on your joints no matter what, but for such short durations it shouldn't be a problem.