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Bodyweight Heavy Guy Calisthenics

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JohnDoeman

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As I have mentioned briefly in another thread, I am currently attempting to lose weight. I am not delusional however, and realize I may never lose the scale weight I want. I may instead only transition my body composition into more muscle. I am huge into calisthenics and I am literally selling off my gym so that I am only doing calisthenics. The issue here is finding effective programs that will work with or around my weight. Many of the calisthenics programs I find are for skinny guys who need to add muscle instead of someone who is big and strong from other things (such as strongman / powerlifting) and is trying to change their ways.
 
It would be useful to gauge which level you are currently at, as far as calisthenics goes. You would want to put in work on whichever calisthenics moves are at your level.. would not look for a calisthenics "program" if I were you

My guess would be that you are at the Novice or Beginner level when it comes to calisthenic movements (Pushups, squats, chin ups, bench dips, aussie pull ups) and you really can't go wrong with plugging away at those until you are quite proficient

Armor of War - Augmented Bodyweight Training - Tom Furman Fitness

Tom Furman suggests adding weight to your calisthenic drills AS you lose your weight.
 
@offwidth - I am doing lots of walking with a heavy vest and hill sprinting right now and its been helping...
@Jak Nieuwenhuis - Beginner level mostly due to my weight. I am capable of 5-6 Headstand Presses, 10 or so Straight Bar dips, 5-10 Pull/Chins, I can do things like lever push-ups at low reps, and even do 10 or more with my feet up on a 2 foot box. I play around with my weighted vest also. Aussie pulls are actually deceptively difficult and should be completely separate from pull-ups and not used as a progression to them unless they are done at a shallower angle.

I come from a Marine Corps background (my best pull-up max was about 30 but weighed about 175lbs), I have done Strongman for about 4-5 years inter-sped with some powerlifting (5/3/1 program anyone?). This has caused me to essentially build muscle and fat up to my current 250lbs. I have (even at my current weight) completed the 10,000 swing challenge, I can ruck for hours with 75+lbs pack, and while running blows I can maintain a good pace for about 30 minutes (running has always been terrible for me even at a lighter weight). I can use a stationary rower at the highest setting for an hour at a 2:30ish 500 meter pace. As you can see I am very capable, but it seems my body doesn't respond at all in composition or weight. Yes, I do eat rather well (lets say 90/10%).
 
Yes, it does sound like you are doing a lot of the right things. I'm glad the walking and hill work is paying off a bit. It may just be a matter of patience.

What about getting involved in some things like OCR? (Unless you had your fill of such things in the Marines)

As far as diet goes, lots of people around here seem to get decent results with various forms of IF. (including the Warrior Diet) Also many people reference the book Fat Loss Happens on Monday.
 
John,

A contrary opinion here …

The image of yourself is “someone who is big and strong from other things (such as strongman / powerlifting). I am a literal ball of muscle” is inconsistent with a goal of “losing weight”.

Its time to get specific with “why” you want to lose weight and get specific on your goals.

Rather than “losing weight”, perhaps a goal of seeing my “six pack” or have “a body with 11% body fat” or “weigh 185 pounds” would be more appropriate to losing weight.

During my journey in losing 100+ pounds twice in my life, getting specific on my goals and why it was important, let me lose the 2nd 100 pounds and keep it off.

For me, I found the Atkins Induction portion of his program helpful for the first 3 weeks, and then moving to a diet similar to Tim Ferriss’ Slow Carb diet until my weight goals were met.


Dave
 
offwidth said:
Walking, walking, and some more walking....
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@JohnDoeman, you need lots of easy cardio. No weight vest, just go for a half hour walk twice a day, and stay relaxed while you do.

Please also realize that, if I read your posts correctly, doing what you like to do hasn’t gotten you to where you want to be. Don’t sell the gym. Swing or snatch a kettlebell as suggested in Simple and Sinister. Eat better, and eat less. Get used to being a little hungry often.

-S-
 
I suggest to yseusea heart rate monitor when doing any form of cardio. Much like you want to know the weight on the bar you need to know your beats per minute. With a heart rate monitor you can assess whatever you do. If you get too efficient it won't be effective anymore. But you also might push too much. There is some evidence - anecdotal mostly - that when you push too much at once, the body fights back. Going harder is not always better.
Dietwise I had success with one to two fasts per week in which I'd skip breakfast and lunch and have normal dinner. It helped me to regain a feeling for when I am actually full.

In any case I wish you good success with your training and your goals.
 
John Doeman................Dude we seem to be cut from the same cookie sheet and are both needing and wanting the same thing at the same time. I am 41 yrs old, I have been lifting hard/strongman/powerlifting/armwrestling/bodybuilding for years and years. I am honestly just sort of tired of all the bulk, being stiff ALL the time, no flexibility. I am a bit taller than you at 6'1" and I'm 260 lbs. I'm not "fat" but I have a ton of muscle and for strongman training Ive not worried about a little extra fluff, only strength for my lifts and competing. I have decided to stop lifting heavy heavy weights and put more focus on getting flexible, dropping some bulk, upping my cardio capacity, and just overall being more healthy and able to move my body more freely, right now I feel like a stiff water buffalo. Sure I'm strong as hell but honestly I just feel like total sh*t. I have no idea where to start. I'm doing push ups, dips, pullups, and walking daily. I do have some gymnast rings and enjoy playing with those. Hardest part for me is eating less, I have a huge appetite.
 
Spencer907 said:
John Doeman................Dude we seem to be cut from the same cookie sheet and are both needing and wanting the same thing at the same time. I am 41 yrs old, I have been lifting hard/strongman/powerlifting/armwrestling/bodybuilding for years and years. I am honestly just sort of tired of all the bulk, being stiff ALL the time, no flexibility. I am a bit taller than you at 6'1" and I'm 260 lbs. I'm not "fat" but I have a ton of muscle and for strongman training Ive not worried about a little extra fluff, only strength for my lifts and competing. I have decided to stop lifting heavy heavy weights and put more focus on getting flexible, dropping some bulk, upping my cardio capacity, and just overall being more healthy and able to move my body more freely, right now I feel like a stiff water buffalo. Sure I'm strong as hell but honestly I just feel like total sh*t. I have no idea where to start. I'm doing push ups, dips, pullups, and walking daily. I do have some gymnast rings and enjoy playing with those. Hardest part for me is eating less, I have a huge appetite.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum.

The Royal Court, in Combat Conditioning, would help you with flexibility and feeling better in your heart and lungs.
 
Steve Freides said:
@JohnDoeman, you need lots of easy cardio. No weight vest, just go for a half hour walk twice a day, and stay relaxed while you do.

Please also realize that, if I read your posts correctly, doing what you like to do hasn’t gotten you to where you want to be. Don’t sell the gym. Swing or snatch a kettlebell as suggested in Simple and Sinister. Eat better, and eat less. Get used to being a little hungry often.

-S-
Click to expand...
I'll second this. I've been ridiculously fat in the past. I used to weigh 130kg at one point for about 6 months. I got rid of the weight by walking, walking and more walking, by not eating as often or as much, but not starving myself.

A trick also to stop overeating is to get yourself involved in organized, scheduled activities preferably athletic in the evenings every day like judo or a fitness class etc, so that you are away from food and distracted and occupied. On the one hand you're getting exercise and on the other you are simply away from the fridge and at the same time training your mind to think of something other than food.

I can't imagine why I would ever in a million years get rid of my beloved home gym!!!

Give S&S a try! It'll give you the power to be able to train harder at callisthenics and walking.

Ring dips are excellent.
 
JohnDoeman said:
@offwidth - I am doing lots of walking with a heavy vest and hill sprinting right now and its been helping...
@Jak Nieuwenhuis - Beginner level mostly due to my weight. I am capable of 5-6 Headstand Presses, 10 or so Straight Bar dips, 5-10 Pull/Chins, I can do things like lever push-ups at low reps, and even do 10 or more with my feet up on a 2 foot box. I play around with my weighted vest also. Aussie pulls are actually deceptively difficult and should be completely separate from pull-ups and not used as a progression to them unless they are done at a shallower angle.

I come from a Marine Corps background (my best pull-up max was about 30 but weighed about 175lbs), I have done Strongman for about 4-5 years inter-sped with some powerlifting (5/3/1 program anyone?). This has caused me to essentially build muscle and fat up to my current 250lbs. I have (even at my current weight) completed the 10,000 swing challenge, I can ruck for hours with 75+lbs pack, and while running blows I can maintain a good pace for about 30 minutes (running has always been terrible for me even at a lighter weight). I can use a stationary rower at the highest setting for an hour at a 2:30ish 500 meter pace. As you can see I am very capable, but it seems my body doesn't respond at all in composition or weight. Yes, I do eat rather well (lets say 90/10%).
Click to expand...
You sound about the fittest guy I've ever heard of!!!
 
JohnDoeman said:
I am not delusional however, and realize I may never lose the scale weight I want.
Click to expand...
One more thing. Thinking you are not able to lose weight is very much a first-world problem. Around the world, millions of people go hungry every day.

I don't mean to be harsh, but it is something I think about. Eating less is like not walking in front of a bus - in both cases, you're not doing something that's bad for you.

Just my opinion, and your mileage may vary.

-S-
 
Don't know if this fits but when I retired from the Air Force I went from 247 to 295. I was not a ball of muscle and didn't notice until I saw a pic of me playing bass. I lost by cutting bread and doing Insanity. I went from 295 to 270 in 6 to 8 months. Can't remember but other than bread I didn't do a series diet change.

After I went 99% gluten free to 250s. It's a medical thing for me.

I did lose some muscle with insanity but you can put that back on. The hardest to lose is fat inside your stomach. It will go.
 
I've seen hundreds of before and after pictures of men and women losing weight by making dietary changes. Whether it's keto, IF or something else. Disclipline, time and be kind to yourself will go a long way.
 
I don't think there is a qualitative difference in terms of how one should approach calistehnics, depending on your size. "Convict Conditioning", for instance, has 10 degrees of difficulties of all it's six excercises. Heavy guys will normally have to start out less ambitiously than light, wiry guys when doing bodyweight training, but the essential approach is the same. Find out your current level, structure your workouts based on tried experience, and challenge yourself gradually. Respect feedbacks from your body (your joints in particular), avoid overlad injuries, and you will get stronger.

As others have pointed out, the key to losing weight is first and foremost to avoid eating trash. It will take you numerous strength sessions to burn the equivalent calories of a pizza and a beer, so the only efficient action is to limit the consumption of such pleasures.
 
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