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View Full Version : Gizmo's Gimmicks and Formula's Oh My!



WS6
03-21-09, 21:30
I did a quick browse through this forum and found a lot of things that I feel fall into the "Gizmo and Gimmick" category. Sure, used the way they are intended, they are of some value. However, I feel that a gym membership for $20-40 a month is the best option out there.

What I have done over the past couple of years is go from 188# and 16.4% body fat to 173# and under 12% body fat. My strength is way higher (225 bench to 265 bench), and I fatigue a lot slower. (10 Pull-ups with a 45# plate vs. not hitting 10 pull-ups). I am not huge (obviously, at my weight and 5'10.5" height). Nor do I look "special" in a shirt. However, when it comes to all-out performance, I am very happy with what I have done.

I take no supplements beyond caffein if I am feeling like crap. Or protein shakes if I don't have time for a meal because of circumstances.

My method has been a medium carb, high protein, medium fat dietary content with adequate calories. Think 55/25/20 split.

I do 4-5 different excercises, 4 sets of each, and 10-12 reps per set. I focus on one muscle-group per day and primarily use free-weights, especially dumbells. After that, I do 30-45 minutes of cardio on a machine that forces me to support my own body weight (elliptical/stairmaster/treadmill. NO bikes, row-machines, ect.) I prefer the stairmaster.

Muscle groups worked look something like this:

Chest
Back
Biceps
Triceps
Legs

Abs are every other day.

I feel that if people drank more water, stopped eating all that damn fast food and started cooking more, and stopped running out to do everything that MHF and Muscle Magazine and all these other sources who are sponsored by the people selling crap in them, they would get a LOT farther.

I see terms like "gym strength" and "sheer muscle mass" and whatnot thrown around. Muscle is muscle is muscle. Training the RIGHT muscle is the hard part. When you do free-weights, especially dumbells, you build "practical" strength. You strengthen those stabalizers that a Smith Machine doesn't involve. When you work your lower body as much as your upper because you want to be a powerful individual instead of a beach-bum with a hulking upper and screw the lower type mentality, you form a strong foundation for powerful lifts in the real-world. Devestating punches, throws, kicks, and useful strength for doing manly things like hefting office-desks and logs and sometimes not so small children over your head. Don't just sit on the bench machine or pec-dec and develope massive pecs and think you are a lumberjack. Do some clean and jerks. Squats. Incline dumbell press. You will develope explosive, powerful muscle-mass. Also, don't discout the man who got his muscle from a gym instead of the lumber yard. If he did it correctly, he will suprise you with boundless explosive power in lifts/punches/any form of movement and sick endurance.

I don't have a degree, I am not a body builder, I have never pretended either of these (ALthough I did actually train a friend for a full-contact fight in a motel room one time). All I know is I am a guy who was 200# and unknown body fat who dropped to 188 and 16.4%, got measured, and is now 173# and 11.5# according to my local university's bod-pod (which usually err's on the side of making you fatter). My endurance and strength pummel anything I used to possess.

I could post a 2-year before/after picture, but I don't know how this forum views that so I will refrain.

PS. I also became a damn good cook for a college-age guy! Random people will literally come over to eat the stuff I cook.

WillBrink
03-22-09, 08:32
I did a quick browse through this forum and found a lot of things that I feel fall into the "Gizmo and Gimmick" category.

As I posted most of them, I would have to assume that comment is being directed at me.


Sure, used the way they are intended, they are of some value. However, I feel that a gym membership for $20-40 a month is the best option out there.

It's not an either or choice. I have been in gyms, probably as long as you have been alive, going on 30 years now. I always have a gym membership, two at the moment. However, there are times when people have no access to a gym, or they want to focus on something that does not involve a gym, etc.


What I have done over the past couple of years is go from 188# and 16.4% body fat to 173# and under 12% body fat. My strength is way higher (225 bench to 265 bench), and I fatigue a lot slower. (10 Pull-ups with a 45# plate vs. not hitting 10 pull-ups). I am not huge (obviously, at my weight and 5'10.5" height). Nor do I look "special" in a shirt. However, when it comes to all-out performance, I am very happy with what I have done.

Sounds like you should be! That's good work and good results, but you are also stepping outside your lane by making statements that apply to you in your given situation and making overly generalized statements.


I feel that if people drank more water, stopped eating all that damn fast food and started cooking more, and stopped running out to do everything that MHF and Muscle Magazine and all these other sources who are sponsored by the people selling crap in them, they would get a LOT farther.

Agreed.



I see terms like "gym strength" and "sheer muscle mass" and whatnot thrown around. Muscle is muscle is muscle.

That is false. There are distinctly different types of muscle fiber, energy systems, neural effects/CNS effects, and others. The nature of the training dictates the outcomes. The term "functional strength" is what's commonly used, and although an over used term, it's still useful.

Personally, I define functional strength as a good strength to body weight ratio, the ability to deal with unbalanced loads, an ability to work through different resistance one may face in the "real world" where as a power lifter can move a lot of weight for a single rep in a particular plane, some of them can barely make it up a few flight of stairs, or they would not have the ability to deal with loads above a few reps due to fiber types dominance, etc. "Functional training" is generally geared towards sports conditioning and rehabilitation, and more recently, SOF and tactical LE. Training that targets functional strength will use well-rounded program integrating exercises which contribute improved performance in "real world activities" vs. bodybuilding (cosmetic) or powerlifting, etc. Many bodybuilder types are more show then go, and often get injured when challenged with functional strength type exercises or gas out.

That's my take on functional strength vs. gym strength, but that does not mean the two can't overlap.


Do some clean and jerks. Squats. Incline dumbell press. You will develope explosive, powerful muscle-mass. Also, don't discout the man who got his muscle from a gym instead of the lumber yard. If he did it correctly, he will suprise you with boundless explosive power in lifts/punches/any form of movement and sick endurance.

Depends on how they trained, the statement is too general to be of value. I have known huge strong hulking guys who were great powerlifters or bbers who would only surprise me by how bad their endurance was and how poorly their strength translated to other activities, and I have known some who where good overall athletes, etc.


My endurance and strength pummel anything I used to possess.

Superior to what a good MMA fighter could maintain for strength and endurance who uses these "gizmos" and formulas? I doubt that. I know GSPs coach for example, and he's very dialed in to exactly what I have been discussing here. As I said, I have been training people from a wide range of backgrounds for a long time, and you done good for yourself, but there's levels way above what you think you know, and using various training modalities, knowing how to manipulate variables such as TUT, volume, frequency, loading, etc, are what the best of the coaches, focus on.

There are many ways to skin that cat, and one can make solid progress on very simple formulas, * but knowledge is power and it's about efficiency, injury prevention, and training that matches goals/requirements for a given person.

* = my article "Follow KISS for success" jibes very much with some of your comments:

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?p=334079#post334079

Good luck.

WS6
03-22-09, 09:38
I hate huge quotes and my quote-fu has always been weak, so I will refrain from quoting.

No, I was not personally attacking you and your being a proponent of work-out tools/machines. HOWEVER, I see way too often these wonderful "tools" laying around the house un-used. I used to work for my Dad's carpet-cleaning business and so I was in a LOT of houses. The guys/girls who were in shape, often did not possess more than a swiss ball.

Yes, they do have their place, however, I would argue that instead of spending $200 on something, it could be done cheaper. A pull-up bar or tree limb or anything you can hang from. A backpack filled with books for squat-jumps/lunges. A sack of sand or rocks for curls. I just get upset over people spending lots of hard-earned money to put these expensive machines in their million-dollar homes and thinking that through osmosis, or 10 minutes a day for a month, they will get some kind of results.

As to my conditioning, I have always enjoyed full-contact fighting. I have been out of it for a few years now, however, I trained a month or so again with someone who trains fighters in the cardio-aspect. I did as well/better than anyone else in his class who had been taking it for months. I do not feel that I am up to pro MMA levels obviously as I don't train that hard.

You are correct about different muscle-fibers. Revieing Bruce Lee clearly shows this. However, I feel that fast-twitch and slow twitch can both be worked in the gym. Yes "real world" built muscle is awesome, but I don't live near any mountains and the gym is...convenient.

If you want to stimulate all these small muscle-groups and build stability, dumbells are the key.

I have had the pleasure of working out with some of the olympic-class weight lifters that go to my university (several went to the recent Olympics). The star-performer, as it were, is about my height, 185-190, and has more explosive strength and endurance than anyone else I have personally met save possibly one of my Kung Fu instructors. 400#+ clean and jerks are cake for this guy. He is very low body fat (single-digits), and I have seen him run. I DONT want him chasing me.

I do agree with functional-strength and your assessment. If all I did was sit on the pec-deck, I could look amazing and be totally worthless. Hence my affinity dumbells and free-weights. My entire training circles around the fact that I joined the gym because I injured my hand fighting and didn't want to stop training all-togather. Yes I have lost a bit of my edge not having time for martial-arts training, but the rare occasions that I do fight the people I used to fight, my superior speed and strength and endurance gained from the particular regimens I do in the gym is readily apparent.

I suppose since you picked up on my jab at the "gimmicks" and whatnot, I should explain further. A lot of people come up to me at something like 20% body fat and look at me and say "I want abs like yours by summer." all matter-of-fact like. It took me YEARS to go from 20% to where I am now and maintain what muscle-mass I have (not a lot, but decent I guess). I feel that a lot of people see the things you are a proponent of and they miss your point. You and I know that they are supplements. The people with get-rich-fast mindsets view them as meals. THey have it backwards. So my kneejerk reaction when I see a handy gadget is to think "money-maker". I apologize for my reaction. I have taken the time to read more of what you have posted and agree with quite a lot (I wont say everything, as i have not read everything).

ETA: You are right, there is way more knowledge out there than what I currently possess. However, each time I learn something new. I add it to my storehouse and INCORPORATE IT! I become better. I am this year, more than I was last year. Next year I will be the same. So many people fail to understand that fitness is a journey and not a destination. Look at yourself 20 years ago. You didn't know a whole then, did you? I feel the same way about myself from just 20 weeks ago. It's all about growing as a person. Only then does the body follow.

PS> Went to your website. Good stuff. Yes, I feel that flipping tires and slinging logs and whatnot is better than the gym in some aspects. However, I have a lot more bar-bells than logs now that I have moved out of the country. I will say this though. When I was in 1-5th grade, I was a beast compared to my class-mates. All I did at home was roam my 55 acres I lived on and climb trees and build forts. I know exactly what you mean by "functional vs. gym" strength. I simply model my gym work-outs to achieve what I want. I will also admit that I do things for cosmetic benefit as well. The bench-press being the major one.