all posts post new thread

Old Forum Bodyweight stength discussions

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Well, all right!  Let's talk!

Sam, have you done any of the Convict Conditioning programs?  How have your results been?
 
I have been doing the New Blood v.2 for 3 months now and I'm still working on the "remedial" steps, really trying to milk each step. I've had intresting results. I feel that its working well. Im not having the weight loss that accompany calesthenics training, rather I have had some modest mass gaines and a bit of fat loss.

So far im fairly happy. Im also adding GPP conditiong. Ive been doing 2 hand swings for 15:15 with a 24kg & 28kg & 32kg bell for up 24 min and as little as 4min (Im using the dice  random method, just with 4 dice)

What are some of your results? Have you felt you needed to add anything? And I do wonder, Why there wasn't any "cardio" or "GPP Conditioning" added to CC Programing?
 
Sam, Ive asked myself that same question many times. I'm a big fan of the History Channels GANGLAND and anytime they show footage of a prison yard you invariably see 100s of dudes doing burpees in unison.
 
What are some of your results? Have you felt you needed to add anything? And I do wonder, Why there wasn’t any “cardio” or “GPP Conditioning” added to CC Programing?

 

Maybe Coach Wade understood how important it is to be strong first....

 

...
 
re adding stuff... the toughest part of bodyweight training is trying to reproduce the hinge movement. bridging + ghr + sprinting would probably work pretty well, but I'd advise what you're already doing--swings.
 
Sam, I think (and this is just my opinion) you should work ahead into progressions you have the strength to do even if you haven't hit the progression standard.  I love Convict Conditioning and it's a goldmine of info, but one thing I've gotta say is helpful is...well, getting strong first!  You'll hit the progression standards easier if you "cheat" and practice the hardest variation you can manage for a few reps than if you just keep loading up on the volume and later move to a harder variation.  One day a week focus on the tough stuff, the other days you can go about your business as usual.

As far as losing weight, you'll probably need to do a little harder work to get there.  New Blood (from what I remember) isn't as intense as some of the other programs, so if you're looking for weight loss, you must (again) get strong first, and that'll require some harder work.  That, and you'll have to fix up your diet.

Russell, I agree completely.  The biggest argument against adopting a "bodyweight only" approach is that you miss out on hinging movements and loaded carries - two of the best ways to build ridiculous strength.  I love calisthenics, but it's definitely not the only thing to focus on.
 
"You’ll hit the progression standards easier if you “cheat” and practice the hardest variation you can manage for a few reps than if you just keep loading up on the volume and later move to a harder variation"
I've thought about this and like the idea of it but have wondered what would be the best way to go about it? Maybe one day by the book and a second day work on a harder step, or maybe a few reps of a harder step before or after the regular work? What would be a good way to implement it?
 
I was always a little confused with CC. If your trying to build strength I thought you stuck with 5 reps and below. Some of the progressions have you do 20 before moving on. I'm coming up on my 12 weeks of ROP and was going to do BW for 12 weeks. I was think of using the big 6 CC movements with a combination of some Naked Warrior principles. I would basically start at the progression that I could do 1-3 of and move on once I got to 5. Anyone see any problems with this. I will also add swings of course.
 
Chris, what about doing something like, say, 5x5 of whatever step you can handle for those rep schemes once a week?  For example: let's say you're working on full pushups for most days, on one day jump to assisted one-arm pushups (using the basketball) or elevated one-arm pushups (a la what I wrote about in my recent article)?  Same would go for squats, pullups, etc.

Brian, I think the idea behind the high reps is to build up familiarity with the movement as well as tendon/ligament strength by working with higher volume.  I've got to admit, I don't like high volume stuff as much, but it has its place.  Again, personally I would spend one day skipping ahead to "heavier" exercises and the other days working toward the progression standard.  It's not mentioned in the book, but I think it's a more solid way of working on your strength.
 
Aleks, +1 - get strong, work on something you can handle for a few reps, build up some volume via high sets of low reps, then move on to a harder variation.

-S-
 
Ladies and gents, very high rep light full ROM exercises help keep the joints and connective tissues healthy.  Russian powerlifters sometimes take 10lb. dumbells and do a lot of curls and flies with them.  For a guy with a 600 pound bench it will do nothing for his strength or hypertrophy; it is an altogether different type of auxiliary training. Health training.
 
Brian, remember that when you change a program, you change the results.  Going only to 5 reps might work out well for you or, if it turns out you need something that those 20 rep sets give you, it might not - hard to say, depends on what you need, e.g., although I'm not doing 20 reps of things, I'm doing a lot of 8's now because I need a little hypertrophy to make progress.  Sets in the 8-15 or even 8-20 range are generally thought of as conducive to muscle growth and maybe that's part of the CC plan.

-S-
 
"I was always a little confused with CC. If your trying to build strength I thought you stuck with 5 reps and below. Some of the progressions have you do 20 before moving on."
Paul Wade explains it as a double progression type approach. As the exercise gets harder, the reps get lower. Maybe not as direct as the 1-5 reps approach but the idea of "joint prep" and rehab steps has a high priority in CC.

My shoulders are problematic and tend to bother me if I stick to pushups variations in the 5 reps or lower range. Some of the easier variations don't bother me at all and I feel it's useful for practicing the movement and giving the stabilizers a chance to catch up. After a hard set of pushups, I don't feel it so much in the triceps or chest but more in the area behind the shoulders and middle back.

 
 
Thanks for the help. Aleks I like that idea one day keep the joints healthy and the other build muscle. I need to work on a little more "health" training.
 
Chris I aslo have a shoulder that causes all kids of grief. I completely revamped my push up form after I read Naked Warrior. I now mainly "push" with my lats and triceps. It took me awhile to learn how to use that lat, however once I found it I'm making incredible gains with virtually no shoulder pain.
 
I agree with adding in a harder variation or the next progerssion step to supplament the movement your focusing on.

 When i do my warm up sets I will do the next step up or a harder variation of the step im on, as my final warm up set, before my work sets.
 
Brian,

I've been trying to use the lat for years but some of the other muscles just weren't firing. It wasn't until recently that I found a pt who was smart enough to recognize what was happening and what to do about it. Pushups are more comfortable now than they have been in years but I have no pushing strength to speak of anymore so it's been slow going. I'm making progress though and, as long as I don't do something that sets me back, it should keep improving.
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom