[Mike Male$h]

Okay, so I am obviously new here but this seems like I good community(unlike sherdog lol) so I am going to bother to ask for some advice since everyone here seems very knowledgeable on the subject at hand....

p.s. *my build* I am 16 years old, I am about 6'2ft and I weigh right at 155. I am in pretty decent shape somewhat small. Basically my body is okay except my core could use some work and I would like to get a good start during this summer. I don't want to aim too high and end up getting disappointed but I don't want to be little myself so my short term goal is to do the best that I can this summer. My ultimate goal for this year is to bulk up to 205lbs by this time next year with a nice muscle mass.

I will be also looking into getting some creatine and whey of protein, the good stuff. I already have my diet down its more about the workout part now.

Before I get into this let me make this clear I am a freaking farm boy, I don't live too close to an actual gym and such so since I decided I wanted to get into better shape this summer I am going to pretty much to avoid actual weights(I know how much it hurts) except like once every two weeks. The good thing is that I don't have a shortage of stuff to train on. I guess it would be best to list the equipment I can use to train...

*350lbs in sand (cant even lift this as Im small but I got enough) - I plan to use this more for gain use then the standard 50lb exercises, obviously. I am sure I could use this to gain str & power by doing different kinds of lifts and carries, probly some sort of deadlift or press and release as well. Good for grip strength

*Big Sledgehammer - Can anyone say smashing time? Basically Ill just pound into a tire, old tree, or the dirt. I know the technique how to swing it, I need more of how and when I should use it and for how long.

* TRX suspension trainer - can be found here (Google it. ). Some may say its a gimmick, it actually works quite well for certain things, if you have a good incline. I usually use this for any part of my body it can easily do bicep curls, one armed bicep curls, hamstring curls, squats, single leg squats, single leg curl, back rows.... lots of things.

*Heavy Logs - I guess these for squatting etc.

*My homemade(lol) weighted sled- as far as I know it can support up to 400lbs

*Pull up bar- dips, pull ups I guess?

*My own body and determination - of course!



Now basically heres what I was thinking...

Monday: Upper body /pull day -sandbag 3x5(or so) lifts, press/releases, wide grip pull ups and carries, possibly deadlift the log? Sledgehammer fun.
Tuesday: Run 2 miles (it will go up each week and so forth, basically my running sched will follow nearly the same as the seal workout for running wise)
Wednesday: Press/up day - overhead presses, dips, cleans. On the TRX I could inverted rows and flys.
Thursday: Run 2 miles, rest and yoga
Friday: squat/lower day - Sandbag heavy squats, zerchers, lunges(with sandbag or weighted object) I will also do hamstring curls for the back of my legs using the TRX.
Saturday: Run 2 miles, stretch
Sunday: Rest

Okay please give me some ideas on what I should do to get fit, again I really do have access to real weights so if you have an idea what I can lift/train with that you can find laying around or at some hardware store please let me know. Also any tips on how I can mix this up without having to use weights so that my body doesn't plateau every few weeks.

Also I know what I should eat, post and pre workout I have a good idea about that how much carbs/protein/water, also I will basically follow 3 weeks workout 1 week rest, repeat.

If you need to know anything else let me know.

Please be nice and thanks for the input!

 

[mroutdoorsman]

Overall not bad but here are some quick pointers for you.

Cardio... Your cardio should focus on explosive energy and pushing yourself to the max in bursts. Wind sprints up hills, trail running and anything non traditional is prefered. Sprint wise up hills a good thing to do is sprint as hard as possible up the hill and then jog back down but force yourself with resistance and then repeat and do this to fail more or less.

For the lifting hit your full body every day and work in as many olympic style lifts and atheletic movements as possible. With the deadlifts make them a power clean and move from the clean into a shoulder press.

I am not sure on the material of the bags for the sand bags but try to do lifts and throws with them and other plyometric exercises while using them.

Pullup bar depending on how it is situated and where can be used for a lot of exercises and a lot of variations on the regular pullup. Dips are best for home workouts to be done with chairs from my experience.

Turn your workout days into as much of a circuit as possible and focus nearly everything on explosive training. If you are big, strong and can't explode and move quickly with that energy and strength it is pointless. You have to remember you are trying to train your muscles and body to sustain itself at a full 100% use and exertion for 3x 5 minute periods or possibly 5x 3 minute periods.

If you have any additional questions feel free to ask and I will help all I can!

 

[Mike Male$h]

Overall not bad but here are some quick pointers for you.

Cardio... Your cardio should focus on explosive energy and pushing yourself to the max in bursts. Wind sprints up hills, trail running and anything non traditional is prefered. Sprint wise up hills a good thing to do is sprint as hard as possible up the hill and then jog back down but force yourself with resistance and then repeat and do this to fail more or less.

For the lifting hit your full body every day and work in as many olympic style lifts and atheletic movements as possible. With the deadlifts make them a power clean and move from the clean into a shoulder press.

I am not sure on the material of the bags for the sand bags but try to do lifts and throws with them and other plyometric exercises while using them.

Pullup bar depending on how it is situated and where can be used for a lot of exercises and a lot of variations on the regular pullup. Dips are best for home workouts to be done with chairs from my experience.

Turn your workout days into as much of a circuit as possible and focus nearly everything on explosive training. If you are big, strong and can't explode and move quickly with that energy and strength it is pointless. You have to remember you are trying to train your muscles and body to sustain itself at a full 100% use and exertion for 3x 5 minute periods or possibly 5x 3 minute periods.

If you have any additional questions feel free to ask and I will help all I can!

Thanks for the tips they really help. I only have two questions left for you or anyone else to answer as I would really like to hear a few opinions on this stuff.

1. How would you suggest avoiding the plateau effect, how should I change it up so that it doesn't happen? Any ideas and suggestions would be good.

2. What is your opinion on making a homemade dumbbell from some sort of heavy duty bar, and make plates from cement or just attach my sandbags somehow. I could maybe use tires as Ive seen this done as my mom will only allow me to buy a set if BUT it HAS to go either in our garage or outside, but I am not taking a risk with that sort of money so I want to construct you own. Purely using sand for lifting can be a challenge for certain things so what would your opinion on making my own dumbbell, out of sturdy materials of course. Good or bad?

It does the same thing so shouldn't it work?

 

[mroutdoorsman]

Doing full body workouts for each workout you shouldn't run into the standard bodybuilder plateau effect. The point and focus of your workouts is strength and muscle endurance not mass and definition. You are not power lifting and going for massive weight and this is really the only time this will come into effect.

As for making your own dumbbells that may be difficult... I would reccomend using kettlebell type weights which can be filled milk jugs or something similar and honestly with the TRX if you got a weighted vest or have a decent backpack and added weight to it that would be fine for most things. I can think of VERY few exercises where you are required to have dumbbells. Between weighted pullups, pushups, dips and situps you can hit most upper body muscle groups. Mix in some TRX exercises with weight or even higher resistance bodyweight, sled pulls and pushes, log presses and lifts, tire flips and sledgehammer smashing you should hit all you need strength wise. A majority of your workouts that you will want to do are plyometric and explsive anyways so you wont need or want a ton of weight.

 

[Mike Male$h]

Doing full body workouts for each workout you shouldn't run into the standard bodybuilder plateau effect. The point and focus of your workouts is strength and muscle endurance not mass and definition. You are not power lifting and going for massive weight and this is really the only time this will come into effect.

As for making your own dumbbells that may be difficult... I would reccomend using kettlebell type weights which can be filled milk jugs or something similar and honestly with the TRX if you got a weighted vest or have a decent backpack and added weight to it that would be fine for most things. I can think of VERY few exercises where you are required to have dumbbells. Between weighted pullups, pushups, dips and situps you can hit most upper body muscle groups. Mix in some TRX exercises with weight or even higher resistance bodyweight, sled pulls and pushes, log presses and lifts, tire flips and sledgehammer smashing you should hit all you need strength wise. A majority of your workouts that you will want to do are plyometric and explsive anyways so you wont need or want a ton of weight.

Okay thanks man, I don't have a weighted vest and I have tried adding weight(a sandbag) on my chest when doing inverted rows though it is quite hard to manage when you don't have someone there to help you put that weight on, maybe Ill try a backpack.