GatorGrip Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I am on a quest to get back into shape by 40 and will be joining a gym this week and I am no gym rat for sure. My weight is down from 240 to about 223 @ 5'8" but my muscle mass has steadily went down since I retired from the Army for example: Flexed bicep is a bit over 17 and once were 18 plus ect... ROUTINES I read and was intrigued by SUPER SQUATS by Randall J. Strossen the 20 rep squat program, has anyone tried this program and if so can you share your results with me. I also want to incorporate a deadlifts and a bench press program (my best bench was 345lbs cold) SUPPLEMENTS Lastly for those who use supplements, what has really worked based on your personal experience, I know there is alot of pure snake oil out there that fills the market. My budget will not be huge but I am interested in gaining any edge I can to help me reach my short term goals. I ask this from my brothers because most are or have been involved in some form of strength training and your knowledge is valuable to me. Please feel free to add anything you think might be helpful to me on my quest. Thank You My Brothers In Strength, GATOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 For supplements I really like vitamin c, keeps colds away. Also before you go balls to the wall take Animal Flex. It is just a joint supplement but with what we do joints are 70% of the game. I have been taking Flex for over a month and my wrists and such feel great. They used to feel like crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 First place to change is your What you Eat. But, it has to be for the long haul. Temporary diet changes do not work. It has to be a committed lifestyle change. What are you eating and drinking? Lots of guys/gals lift hard but like giving a race horse manure to eat you won't get you where you want to go... PERMANENTLY. Also, many seem to as they age continue to chow like they were in their 20's and get...well...FAT. Dunlop disease. And, they use the excuse of of "strength" for progressively getting double chins as they age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Rinderle Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I keep it really simple on the supplements buddy. Creatine Monohydrate. Whey protein if I have a few extra bucks, but just eat good foods and make sure you are getting enough protein and you will get stronger. Bill's right though, you won't get skinny from exercise alone. You will have to make changes in your diet. But nothing major. Adjust it little by little until you find what works for you. Best of luck Walter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thanks guys for the replies, I am surprised others haven't weighed in on this one as I know there is alot of weight training going on here... What is this 5 3 1 program I hear about is it reps or something else. I wish Randy would talk more about his experience with the 20 squat program he endorses. I wish to hear from someone who has really tried it honestly and hear their results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannon Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Bill gave me some recommendations that worked great! I dropped 14 lbs of body fat since December by making simple changes to my diet and exercise. 164 down to 150 right now. Body fat is about 10% maybe lower now. I had to buy new pants! I cut out gluten. Limited dairy (only have eggs and whey protein) No fruit. No processed sugar. If you try and eat around these simple restrictions-- keep protein, carbs, and fat balanced--keep calories up, 4-5 meals per day along with about 5 hours of almost any exercise per week... You'll shed fat. Worked for me anyway. (thanks Bill.) In this same time I've been doing EDT workouts. Two 15 min sessions back-to-back. Each session is two antagonistic exercises. No prescribed sets or reps, just go back and forth between the exercises for 15 mins. Like, pushups, curls, pushups, curls... Keep a tally of reps. Next workout you just try and beat that number in the same 15min limit. For more info, Google "EDT Staley" and read the articles on T-Nation. I went from doing about 60 pushups and 35 pull ups in 15 minutes to 100 pushups with +17.5# on my shoulder blades, and 50 pull ups with +15#hanging on me. I did a set of regular pushups on Friday as a warmup and felt like I could almost launch myself up to standing. It was a cool feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Drink a lot of water as well. No junk whatsoever. Keep your calories up though as he says when you cut out the other bad stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Great replies guys I appreciate the input yall have provided! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 So far those that have commented have recommended: creatine, protien supplement, multi-vitamin, B-complex and a fish oil Omega complex which I believe is going to be do-able on my budget. ( I may have to catch some fish and a gator or two for my extra protein I didn't get to deer hunt the last few years-had to sell my weapons :oops: ) Me and the kids with a baby gator I caught on a fishing rod a couple years ago.... Just for fun pic As far as the programs or weight training regimen (sets and reps) not alot of feed back but someone has recommended I get the slingshot device for uping my bench and take stress off the shoulders - I may be able to get one at tax time. I plan on easing back into bending as I did a reverse Gr 5 x 6" in IMP's and a 410 DR x 7" DO in suede leather yesterday... sore today but at least I know I did something. right bicep insertion point is still painful but not as bad as in the past of course.... I am still interested in more feedback as those in the know want to share their knowledge.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Ha Ha your dog just had to mess up the nice family photo. Kidding it is a great photo dog and all. Good luck whith the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 It's not even my dog LOL I have a big ole bulldog that likes to play tug-o-war with a snatch rope - Good for upperbody workouts LOL I let this and another baby gator go in my friends Gator pond where he fattens them up a few years then cook'em right! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Found some old photos of when I was around 240 pounds and bending like a mad man, bending definetly gave me a boost in muscle mass, maybe I should not work out and just try to bend alot more LOL just kidding... I went to the YMCA and Anytime Fitness and believe have settled on the 24 hour club for $38 bucks a month which I don't think is to bad for the convenience. Anyway my goal is to get back to this shape, size range or better. I think I will post some before and after several months of training photos in my log. And one for those that ever wondered what I looked like in the military...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightyjoe Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Hey GatorGrip! I would stay away from the bench press unless you're competing in powerlifting meets. I can elaborate a little as to why if you'd like. Squats? For sure! Just make sure you do them correctly or else you can create some problems. Your friend, MJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legendofjd3 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Damn Gator!!! You look JACKED in those pics!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Piche Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Why the supplements? You need to save your money and work on getting better food to eat. Eating clean will tend to be more expensive. Post what your current eating plan will be and what you eat now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricMilfeld Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Gator, the single most important thing you can do to promote overall health, physical strength and agility, as well as a healthy complexion is GRIP!!!!! But Bill makes a great point about saving your money on supplements and eating right, even though healthy food is more costly than junk in most cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 Gator, the single most important thing you can do to promote overall health, physical strength and agility, as well as a healthy complexion is GRIP!!!!! But Bill makes a great point about saving your money on supplements and eating right, even though healthy food is more costly than junk in most cases. Thanks Eric for your motivating comments especially the help with these damn freckles on my face - so just more GRIP is what I need... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wojo Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 (edited) My buddy and I did the Supersquats program for a while in High School....maybe a few months.....the 20 rep set of squats follwed by pullovers to expand your rib cage.....the whole nine yards. My buddy and I both made lots of gains, but then again we were in high school....so as long as you're kicking ass in the weight room and eating lots of food, you're gonna get bigger and stronger at that age. I read the 5/3/1 book by Jim Wendler and it makes good sense and it's an easy program for people to follow. However, there's no magic bullet or special program that's really better than any another. It's all about coming back to the basics.....hard, consistent work using compound barbell movements....squat, deadlift, overhead press and flat bench. Throw in some accessory work and you're done. As far as supplements, I take a daily multi-vitamin/multi-mineral and squirt some flax oil into my protein shakes a couple times a day.....no creatine or testosterone boosters or fat burners, etc.....all that crap is nothing but a drain on the wallet. Edited January 27, 2012 by wojo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks John for the great response, I am being swayed towards this 5/3/1 program by Jim Wendler, several of our colleges seem to use it with good results and I think this may be the program I want to follow. My diet has to get better if I want to progress with good measure especially the protien content, I don't eat alot of junk food but the diet could always get better. Thanks again for everyone's comments, GATOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightyjoe Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Gator, do you plan on competing in power lifting meets or are you just wanting to get back to your past strength and size levels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Joe right now I am looking to just get back in shape and build some strength along the way, but powerlifting in a competition may be something I want to do in the future. Of course at my size I had better be really strong to have a chance of competing with some of those monsters...LOL Why did you say that the bench press may not be a good option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightyjoe Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Joe right now I am looking to just get back in shape and build some strength along the way, but powerlifting in a competition may be something I want to do in the future. Of course at my size I had better be really strong to have a chance of competing with some of those monsters...LOL Why did you say that the bench press may not be a good option? There's an anatomical issue with the bench press movement that many athletes (I used to be one) go their whole career not knowing why and then end up with banged up shoulders. The problems with the typical barbell bench press comes into play when you look at the structure and function of the shoulder joint. The shoulder consists of the scapula, clavicle, and humerus. It's the movement of these three joints that lead to the greatest gains in strength while increasing or improving joint health, specifically mobility. What's the problem you may ask? The problem is your scapulae (shoulder blades) are locked into place during the movement. This creates imbalances since the muscles that move the scapulae are not recruited. Second, the lack of scapular movement puts excessive tension on the soft tissue around the anterior (front) part of the shoulder joint. Anyone who’s spent just a short amount of time on the bench press knows exactly where this pain is located. Last year I had 2 different athletes I trained with bench press goals but had no plans of competing in bench press meets. When pressed as to why they chose the bench press their answer was they've been told all their lives that the bench press is the best exercise for chest development. After my initial assessment of both athletes it became obvious that both had shoulder issues (big time). Why? Because they both continued bench pressing while having dysfunction in their shoulders. They both reminded me of what Gray Cooke once said, "never build performance on top of dysfunction." This is precisely what both of these guys tried to do. I spent the next 3 months rehabing and pre-habing their shoulders. Alternatives was their question to me after their initial assessment. What we did was a program specifically to increase their mobility and strength in these areas. We accomplished just that with a variety of progressive push-ups and plenty of ring (gymnast rings) work suspended from straps including dips, push-ups, push-outs, angled planks, etc... My point is, depending on your goal(s) bench pressing may not be your best option, specially long term. If you have bench pressing goals for competitive reasons then this is another and quite different path one takes. This is why I asked initially. Lastly and most importantly, one of the BEST things anyone can do for themselves that is involved in fitness, strength and conditioning, etc. is to learn functional anatomy. I took an extensive functional anatomy course from Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey and it is without a doubt the best thing I ever did for myself. It's one thing to just compile some movements together and start training versus knowing why you're doing them and what's actually going on during the movements. What's effecting what if you know what I mean? If I could start all over I would reverse the course I've taken for the last 30+ years and educate myself first, not last. Hope this helps you out Gator! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatorGrip Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks Joe for your extensive write-up, you have got me thinking a bit about my selection of exercises, I am both to young and to old to want to deal with shoulder issues, I have tweaked my rotator cuff in the past and don't need any problems with that again let alone imbalance issues. Again thank you for your input and sound advice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoggoth Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I switched to a narrow bench grip a couple of years back and no shoulder issues using my triceps more. I do btn presses as well and they're very strong in comparison to my military press and feel great as well. Everyone needs to find what does (and doesn't) work for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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