I loved the sights of the gym,
the sound of metal clanging against metal, the feel of the cold iron on my skin
as I wrapped my hands around a bar before hoisting it. For 15 years I lived and
breathed bodybuilding and strength training style of exercises. I lived each
day to get to the gym and workout. It wasn’t a means to an end, it was the end
and everything else was the means leading to it.
But today, 2 years after I have
quit working out at the gym, I can’t help but feel that I have wasted the best
years of my productive life not capitalising on the one thing I really should
have when it came to challenging my own strength and bodybuilding skills –
mastering my own bodyweight.
Never followed a structured bodyweight training program
I have, before June 2012,
never followed a structured bodyweight only training program for more than 4-5
days, 7 tops. This was followed by months and years of no bodyweight training
at all. I only lifted heavy weights and did all the compound movements – bench press,
squats, barbell rows and deadlifts, all the exercises that promised to make me
really strong and inhuman. Yet I failed at doing a decent set of pull-ups or a
set of 30 consecutive push-ups. There was a time when I could do up to 10 clean
pull-ups, but that was when only the pull-ups were a staple in my back program
for a few months.
I often felt that being able
to move 300+lbs of weight on the Deadlift mean zilch if I couldn’t do 10 pull-ups
and 30 push-ups.
The Youtube.com calisthenics video epidemic – read Hannibal King, Adam
Raw and Fran Medrano
No one is oblivious to the
fact that youtube.com is now home to many calisthenics athletes showcasing their
skills with extreme bodyweight exercises. Neither was I when the above thoughts
had begun making home on my head. I observed the bodies of these monsters and
the control they exerted over their physiques. They were literally defying
gravity or were making the effort look really easy. Either ways I was sold to
the idea of developing my own skills in bodyweight exercises, at least the
basics to being with – Push-ups, Horizontal Pull-ups, Squats and core strengthening
movements, to begin with.
The TRX incident in the GYM
This one fateful day, after I had
been observing the bodyweight athletes on youtube.com and later reading
extensively about how the TRX suspension trainer was doing wonders in enhancing
bodyweight training, the gym that I as a member with ( the largest gym chain in
the world..I think so) bought and installed a RIP-60 suspension trainer in
their facility. They initially made no noise if anyone wanted to use it. But
later, you’d find the entire installation missing from its place. Later they
started making the installation available but the handles were missing. I was a
little pissed at this and demanded that they give me the handle to train with
the RIP-60. I didn’t need special attention or special direction with it, I
was going to use it for specific exercises as an extension to my existing
workout routine. Well they said I’d have to pay extra for the RIP-60. I mean,
COME ON!!!!! You are letting us use the swimming pool at no extra cost, there’s
something that needs special care, attention and maintenance. This forced me to
buy a TRX of my own and actually carry it to the gym. They didn’t object to my
using the equipment in the gym but I had made up my mind. This was my last outing
at a commercial bodybuilding gym. PERIOD!!!
Frank Sommer’s book on Gymnastic strength training and Convict
conditioning by Paul Wade
If you haven’t read either of
these books, then you really need to get out there and grab a copy of each.
Frank’s book Building the Gymnastic Body: the
Science of Gymnastics Strength Training, speaks of a live example of
one of his students who walked into the gym for the first time and deadlifted
400lbs. His prior training was only with his bodyweight as a gymnast. Convict
conditioning was all about how inmates used the old school bodyweight training
methods to build their incredible physiques. I read them twice thrice and made
up my mind that bodyweight exercises were my calling. If you haven’t made up
your mind or need more convincing about bodyweight exercises, I recommend you
buy these books here – Convict Conditioning
and Building The Gymnastic Body: The
Science Of Gymnastics Strength Training
I have been training with
bodyweight exercises and have experienced incredible results. No barbell, dumbbells
and fancy isolation machines. It’s pure bodyweight work with some kettlebell cardio
thrown in rarely for variety. The image is posted below for your perusal. The
images were taken over a period of 17.5 weeks. Observe my face closely and your
see the change in there to. These things can’t be faked. Not by me, I love to
brag about this achievement.
 |
| Taken over a period of 17.5 weeks. The results were gotten purely through bodyweight exercises and at home. |
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