37 years old, never lifted heavy weights. Switching form bodyweight training to weight lifting.

[JackD]

Welcome to TID, thanks for the into.

 

[J-dub]

Can I ask you how you're getting cardio in on a bike? I know a few people have chimed in about not running but I believe (could be wrong) they're coming at this from a BB standpoint and the fact you want to gain some weight... but not from a fighting stand point. I fought for 11years in the Military and was pretty decent at it, in my experience the person who ran the most usually won their fights. I'm not sure how serious you are about fighting but conditioning is everything and I could never get enough from a bike. If it's your injury preventing you well then you do what you have to do. But when people tell you you can't bulk up a bit while keeping their cardio up they're crazy, I used to walk around at 240lbs 5' 9" (on a good day) and ran daily, now I had to eat a lot and had to eat dirty but don't let people tell you, you can't do something. Good luck bro...

 

[big_paul_ski]

Welcome and I see no reason you can't achieve your goal.

 

[Bigwhite]

37 years old, never lifted heavy weights. Switching form bodyweight training to

Welcome...

 

[Lone Rider]

Can I ask you how you're getting cardio in on a bike? I know a few people have chimed in about not running but I believe (could be wrong) they're coming at this from a BB standpoint and the fact you want to gain some weight... but not from a fighting stand point. I fought for 11years in the Military and was pretty decent at it, in my experience the person who ran the most usually won their fights. I'm not sure how serious you are about fighting but conditioning is everything and I could never get enough from a bike. If it's your injury preventing you well then you do what you have to do. But when people tell you you can't bulk up a bit while keeping their cardio up they're crazy, I used to walk around at 240lbs 5' 9" (on a good day) and ran daily, now I had to eat a lot and had to eat dirty but don't let people tell you, you can't do something. Good luck bro...

Good question! I wasn't really specific about that so here it is: I don't fight at all. I take great care of my fingers, they are my working tools (my main job is guitar teacher but I also do tech work and video/audio edition). Instead of fighting and hurting my hands/fingers on the sandbag, I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a martial art you must know if you were in the military. I don't even train in a competition goal, I really do it to compete with myself. I started pretty recently and I found out the other guys (especially the young ones) are much stronger than me. It was a wake up call, they all lift moderate to heavy weight so I had to adapt.

You are right about running being the best form of cardio for fighting. In mixed martial arts, every fighter runs. Most of them prefer "real" runs to treadmill but they can't manage to go out all the time so yes, they all use a treadmill. My hip injury doesn't prevent me from running, but it prevents me from going "all-in" or running for more than 15-20 minutes. That's why I do most of my cardio on a bike. Sure, it's not as intense as a good run or even a long jog but at least I can put my 100% into it and come back drenched in sweat. I can't reach that point in a run, my leg starts hurting before that. My cardio routine is a 50km bike ride (real in summer, stationary in winter) with intense bursts and slow recovery. I like to end it on a climb but that's relative to my favorite circuit. 50km is still a good ride when you go intense so yes, I get good cardio out of it. When I do it on stationary bike, there is a pool of sweat on the floor when I'm done. I guess that's as much cardio as I can manage but I'm sure real athletes do more than that!

Thank you for your comment and questions!

 

[Lone Rider]

If you're 40 going against a 20year old is it an unfair advantage that he has puberty levels of testosterone and higher growth hormone output , while you're at an unhealthy low level causing your bones to deteriorate , your energy levels suffer not to mention the increased injury risks and the longer , way longer recovery time ??

My point is if you're getting legitimate needed trt at your age is not an unfair advantage it is maintaining your health ...

That is a good point. Like I said in mixed martial arts, there is a big taboo about TRT. Let me explain you why. The more experienced you get, the better you fight. Yet, you get experience by fighting and training a long time. It is a normal fact of life that when you reach 35+, your T levels drop significantly. Yet, at that age, you are far more experimented and well-rounded. It can take up to ten years to get a black belt in a specific martial art. If you do it for 20 years, you're at master level.

Now, if you get your T level back to your 18-25 years old level, THAT is the unfair advantage. You have the experience of a 35 years old fighter but you get your T level BACK to 18-25 level artificially. It is not normal to have 18-25 T level at 35. Thus the "unfair" advantage. In bodybuilding, I guess it's all relative to your goals. If you want to get as big as possible in a short amount of time, it is a great thing. I don't know much about experience in bodybuilding but I guess the longer you do it, the more your body adapt to specific movements (curls, squats etc). So getting TRT must be a great way to maximize your gains by allowing your body to lift heavier weight and be able to adapt to new moves/routines.

I really don't know much about that, thank you for enlightening me about it. My only experience on TRT comes from my following of Mixed Martial Arts. Here is a picture of Vitor Belfort, a UFC fighter who has found a new start to his declining career after starting TRT. He is 35 years old and he started his UFC career back in 1997. Right picture is his shape pre-TRT, left picture is his post TRT shape. The guy was also flagged for steroid usage and suspended multiple times before getting TRT exemption:

 

[8Point]

welcome to the den

 

[Turbolag]

Welcome man!

You have a good starting point.

Just make sure you eat a lot and you will grow. Your lean, so 20lbs is reachable.

Your body will absorb the extra calories like a sponge.

Just make sure you eat.... And eat..... And eat...... And don't forget to eat.

 

[Lone Rider]

Welcome man!

You have a good starting point.

Just make sure you eat a lot and you will grow. Your lean, so 20lbs is reachable.

Your body will absorb the extra calories like a sponge.

Just make sure you eat.... And eat..... And eat...... And don't forget to eat.

I hear that a lot. I'm a small eater but I'm learning to eat more. What would be your best advice about that? I mean, what should I focus on eating more: protein-high food, complex carb food or simply all of these answers? I'm asking because I gained weight in the winter but it was mostly simple-carb fat. I use to eat a lot of baggles, "croissants" and white bread. When I switched to complex carbs (brown pasta, brown bread and brown rice), I shed all the extra fat and lost 10+ pounds. That's my picture shape, at 170lbs. I don't want to gain fat again and I don't want to use fat-burners or other shortcuts. Should I focus on egg-whites, potatoes and meat or more on pasta, vegetables and fish?

Thank you!