Less Is More: The Official Becker Fitness Thread

[granitestateofmind]

Hey yall. Im not a big poster around here but this is something i feel like i should probably say a word or two on

Some background info. I am 17 years old, and in my junior year of high school. When i was 14 years old in 8th grade, i tore the ACL in my right knee playing football. It was devastating, i could hardly walk for months. Now i had always been a fairly heavy kid, weighing about 220lbs soft and 5'10, but during my months of rehab i absolutely blew up. By the time Freshman year rolled around i was the same height, but i weighed 310lbs. Yup, real lardass here. Long story short, my high school football coach said i had the drive but needed to change my body. So i did. Now, about 2 1/2 years later, im still 5'10, but weight 190lbs with a bodyfat % of 12.4. I squat 325, deadlift 415, and have benched 225 for 6 reps (side note, hurt my shoulder, again playing football, so whenever i go over 225 it dislocates. 225 easy. 230 it pops.) I run a 5:47 mile, and have a 40 yard dash time of 4.8. Along the way i learned a couple things about fitness

1) Diet is honestly 75%of the battle. It can also be the toughest. As a high schooler, my friends mock me for bringing along chicken and rice when i go out. Temptation is everywhere, but to see real results you must have the willpower to turn it down. One way to make this easier is to cook all your meals in advance. Go out, buy in bulk, pick a night, and cook for the week. it saves time and hassle in the long run. Another is to never cheat on your diet. Generally, people say that if 90% of your intake is from clean foods, the remaining 10% wont hurt your progress. while i find this to be true, For me at least, it is mentally tougher to stick to a diet if i eat dirty at all.

2) Weightlifting>Cardio. The more muscle mass your body carries, the more calories you burn. To truly see a change, you must craft yourself anew. Stick with the basic compound movements at first. Bench, squat, Deadlift, Pullups, Press and dips. Do those, train them hard, and over time you will see gains in strength. DONT SKIP LEG TRAINING! Your legs are your strongest muscle, and no other workout taxes your system as much as leg day. Just train em. Ladies are all about big arms, but no one likes chicken legs

3) Dont skip cardio. Yeah i know i said weightlifting is more important. Doesnt mean cardios worthless. Do them both. Weightlift first, then some type of cardio after. Doesnt really matter what kind, just get your heart going.

4) Set small goals. Be realistic and optimistic with your plans. When i was loosing weight, it would of been impossible for me to start at 310 and expect to drop 100+lbs. so, i went in goals of 10. 300lbs,290lbs,280lbs, etc. until i got to the point i needed. Again its a psychological barrier you have to overcome, not a physical one

5) Accept the suck. Losing weight blows. Big time. But in the end its worth it. So cowboy up, pick up the barbell and put down the mountain dew.

If anyone has any questions, shoot me a PM, i would be more than happy to answer anything yall have.

Congratulations on turning things around. But I'll say this, and it's not to diminish anything that you've accomplished: being 17 certainly doesn't hurt. When you're 50 and working too much and trying to keep (healthy low-fat) food on the table, the math becomes like a college level physics course. I was an "athlete" into my late 30's, swimming in a Master's program and racing my bike, even have a dozen triathlons under my belt. I'm not saying this to be demeaning; you have a lot of sound advice here. It's just that when one is 50 with young kids and a full-time job, the equation is......different.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

Congratulations on turning things around. But I'll say this, and it's not to diminish anything that you've accomplished: being 17 certainly doesn't hurt. When you're 50 and working too much and trying to keep (healthy low-fat) food on the table, the math becomes like a college level physics course. I was an "athlete" into my late 30's, swimming in a Master's program and racing my bike, even have a dozen triathlons under my belt. I'm not saying this to be demeaning; you have a lot of sound advice here. It's just that when one is 50 with young kids and a full-time job, the equation is......different.

For that matter, once you hit approximately mid- to late 20's, things go downhill fast. That's actually pretty well documented. Past then, you're past your athletic prime, and it's MUCH easier to gain weight, and very difficult to lose it. I didn't believe it myself at first, since I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted, and not gain weight. Then I turned 27, and gained 20 pounds in 2 weeks, although I hadn't changed my diet or anything. It's definitely important to establish good habits when you're still young. You'll need them when you get older.

 

[upnorth]

Congratulations on turning things around. But I'll say this, and it's not to diminish anything that you've accomplished: being 17 certainly doesn't hurt. When you're 50 and working too much and trying to keep (healthy low-fat) food on the table, the math becomes like a college level physics course. I was an "athlete" into my late 30's, swimming in a Master's program and racing my bike, even have a dozen triathlons under my belt. I'm not saying this to be demeaning; you have a lot of sound advice here. It's just that when one is 50 with young kids and a full-time job, the equation is......different.

I hear you buddy. Much the same on this end. Add cart wheels off street motorcycles at speed back in the day and any exercise program has to be low impact. I lost weight this summer simply by walking my azz off for miles while metal detecting. When I was a young guy I did free weights and had arms on me like a gorilla. To this day at 53 I still do those single arm bar bells one at a time. I still like to feel fairly ''tight'' and strong.

 

[tjswarbrick]

For me, it hit right around 30. Of course, that's also when I got married and went from Mountain Biking every weekend to, maybe, getting out once every 2 months. (Wife doesn't go.) We called ourselves "fat and happy." Couple years later, we were more fat-and-not-so-happy so we started eating better and took a hiking class. I lost 40 lbs (and she lost 30) in 9 months. Kept it off a couple years, until I graduated college. Quit my Home Depot walk-6-miles-a-day-at-work job and got a desk job, where they brought in lunch everyday for the first 6 months. I gained 15 lbs in 2 weeks, and over the first year ballooned up past my previous max.
This time, at 40yrs, it took 2 years to lose the same 40 lbs. My new weight is some 25lbs above my previous "low" - but I felt, and proved, that that was too low to maintain anyway. I've been decreasing my intake in increasing my exercise, but the weight has bascially been flat (+/- 5lbs) over the last 2 years. But my cholesterol is low, BP is low, and I can run 3 miles, swim 1, bike for an afternoon, and keep up with my kids - and my wife thinks I look good - so I think I'm doing okay. But I sure don't want to go back the other way.

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

I blame high fructose corn syrup. I've been a consistent weight for the last couple years, with regular working out. I recently stopped drinking soda, except for the types sweetened by sugar, and dropped 10 pounds in 2 weeks. Nothing else changed in my routine.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

My "metabolism change" hit around 32. I was routinely holding around 160 - 165, even when my ships were underway and all I could really do was lift weights and ride a stationary bike in the "gym" of whatever ship I was on. Then, just about the time I left Japan and came back stateside for shore duty in San Antonio, as Emeril says, "BOOM", blossomed up to 175 to 180. Maybe it was all the great Tex-Mex food in SA that got me, but from then until 1997, when I retired from the NavRes, it was always a struggle to stay within the Navy's weight limits.

I've lost 40 lbs in the last year and a half, mainly by cutting out starchy veggies (potatoes, carrots, turnips, e.g., root veggies) and all sodas. I mix a little lemon or lime juice and a pkg of stevia with water. Just the soda elimination alone probably eliminated 4-5K calories per month. Cut WAY back on everything that high-fructose corn syrup. Started making my own ketchup (still not up to Heinz quality or flavor but lower in calories), as well.

 

[Qeth]

So a pushup/ pull up challenge was proposed for the next challenge. I have a few ideas.

1) Let's keep a numbered point goal, similar to the moving challenge.
2) Expand it to include situps/ crunches, lunges/ squats, combination moves (such as a burpee; that can be a pushup + squat combo)
3) Have it run concurrently with the running challenge, or have both the running challenge and the body weight exercise challenge as monthly goals with everyone checking in.
4) Document if you're comfortable, but otherwise it's the honor system. This is about using the energy of the group to push yourself, not posting phony numbers to impress internet strangers.

As for the exercises, I'm thinking:

1) pushups
2) squats/ lunges
3) pullups/ chin ups
4) sit ups/ crunches

For point system:

Squats =1 BP
Lunges = 2 BP
Pushups = 2 BP
Pull ups/ chin ups = 4 (at least) BP
Situps/ crunches/ ab variation = 2 BP
Burpees = 3 BP (as it's a pushup + squat)
Muscleup = 6 BP (as it's a pull up + pushup-ish movement)

We can have a higher number for BP goal, as doing 30 pushups a day 3x a week will already net 90 points in a week. Maybe we can have this a weekly challenge.

As with the move your butt challenge, no one is shoe horned into any single exercise, and you can change or combine it any which way you want.

Add this to the move your butt challenge and we'll be the shmexiest sub forum around.

Thoughts?

 

[Trout Tamer]

I like Qeth's thinking in the post directly above ^^ (post #307.) Thanks for initiating the bodyweight exercise challenge and bringing it off the Move Your %#! Challenge, Qeth.

I would augment the proposed point system to more closely mirror the difficulty I've observed people have when doing the exercises, as follows:

Upper Body Exercises

Push-ups - 1 BP
Dips - 2BP
Pull-ups/Chin-ups - 3 BP
Handstand Push-ups - 5 BP
Muscle-ups - 6 BP, if not more

Lower Body Exercises
Squats - 1 BP
Lunges - 1 BP per leg, so 2 BP for doing 1 lunge with each leg
Step-ups on box/stairs/hillside - 1 BP per leg, like lunges
Box jumps - 2 BPs per jump; jumper chooses box height according to person's comfort and conditioning levels
Single-leg squats/Pistols - 6 BP per leg

Core/Torso Exercises
Crunches/Sit-ups - 1 BP
Flutter Kicks/Leg Raises - 1 BP for a flutter kick/leg raise with each leg (1/2 for raising one leg once)

Full-Body Exercises
Jumping Jacks - 1/2 BP for one full cycle of hands at top then down at sides. Don't laugh, they make a great get-your-blood-flowing warm-up movement
Burpees - 3 BP

These are the bodyweight exercises that come readily to mind and those I see people doing or do myself on a regular basis.

My question is, in addition to tabulating daily points, what challenge or goal do we posit? In the Move Your Butt thread, the goal was 50 Becker Points in one month/30 days. I found having that goal number to be quite motivating, and it helped me structure my exercising. What goal should we set for the bodyweight exercise challenge? Since Guyon came up with the Move Your Butt challenge, and it was a good idea, I'd love to hear his feedback for this endeavor.

- Zack aka Trout Tamer (a goofball name that has no meaning other than being goofy)

 

[Col Defender]

Maybe work in a factor for age? Whatever the BP's allowed for a push-up, maybe you get 1.2 of them if you are over 30, 1.4 for over 40, ... And keep it going up every ten years with no upper limit. In the interest of full disclosure it's only fair of me to mention that I am 76.

And can we work weights into the formula somehow? (I know this could get complicated.). Bench Presses, curls etc etc

But keep cardio in the mix like someone suggested 600 BP's as an annual goal.

Just thinking out loud here.

 

[pbonanza]

My week:

Monday I went for a 20 mile bike ride,

Tuesday I did aerial silks for two hours (a kind of circusy gymnastics that's basically all core and stabilizer conditioning, as well as arms/shoulders/back because you're climbing constantly),

Wednesday I rode my bike for half an hour to a local crag and went rock climbing for about two hours (and rode back) and walked a few miles in the evening,

Thursday I did aerial silks for two hours, climbed for an hour and a half and then went on the finger board for about half an hour (this is training for climbing and basically involves pull ups/hangs/core on ledges only deep enough for your fingertips, and you do three/two/one(if you'r brave) finger pull ups/exercises).

Yesterday I walked about 4/5 miles and in the evening competed in a climbing competition which involved (hard!) bouldering for about three hours.

Today I'm going to do aerial silks for a couple of hours and go on the fingerboard with a friend this evening for a long (an hour and a half probably) session.

Tomorrow I'm heading into the cairngorms for an 8ish hour hike with a friend to bag a few (hopefully snowy/icy) peaks.

Next week I'm going to do some Scottish mixed winter climbing (this is like rock climbing with snow and ice and horrible weather, crampons and axes, a distinct lack of protection, long (2ish hour) walk in/out, freezing on ledges halfway up frozen cliffs etc.)

I don't know how people stay sane trying to stay/keep fit by just going to a gym, running indoors on a treadmill and lifting up heavy things and putting them back down again.

 

[Qeth]

Upper Body Exercises

Push-ups - 1 BP
Dips - 2BP
Pull-ups/Chin-ups - 3 BP
Handstand Push-ups - 5 BP
Muscle-ups - 6 BP, if not more

How about lowering Handstand Push-ups to 4 and MU to 5?

Lower Body Exercises
Squats - 1 BP
Lunges - 1 BP per leg, so 2 BP for doing 1 lunge with each leg
Step-ups on box/stairs/hillside - 1 BP per leg, like lunges
Box jumps - 2 BPs per jump; jumper chooses box height according to person's comfort and conditioning levels
Single-leg squats/Pistols - 6 BP per leg

:thumbup:

Core/Torso Exercises
Crunches/Sit-ups - 1 BP
Flutter Kicks/Leg Raises - 1 BP for a flutter kick/leg raise with each leg (1/2 for raising one leg once)

Let's say any ab exercise = 1BP, and anything that does alternating movements like flutters are 1/2 for raising one leg once just like you said.

Full-Body Exercises
Jumping Jacks - 1/2 BP for one full cycle of hands at top then down at sides. Don't laugh, they make a great get-your-blood-flowing warm-up movement
Burpees - 3 BP

:thumbup:

My question is, in addition to tabulating daily points, what challenge or goal do we posit?

For total points, I say we try a one week trial goal and see how feasible the goal is. Adjust if need be, and multiply by 4 for the month.

Maybe work in a factor for age? Whatever the BP's allowed for a push-up, maybe you get 1.2 of them if you are over 30, 1.4 for over 40, ... And keep it going up every ten years with no upper limit. In the interest of full disclosure it's only fair of me to mention that I am 76.

Instead of an offset per age group, I think it would be easier to set the different point goals per age category.

And can we work weights into the formula somehow? (I know this could get complicated.). Bench Presses, curls etc etc

We can simplify it.

I'm thinking:

If the weight is light enough for 20 reps (say, for warmup stuff) on your first set, 1 BP per rep
If the weight is light enough for 12-19, 2 BP
If the weight is light enough for 8-11, 3 BP
If the weight is light enough for 3-7, 4 BP
If the weight is light enough for 1-2, 5 BP

I don't know how people stay sane trying to stay/keep fit by just going to a gym, running indoors on a treadmill and lifting up heavy things and putting them back down again.

Weights, treadmills/ bikes/ ellipticals, and other regular gyms are more readily available to most people. Awesome workouts on your part, sounds exciting.

 

[Col Defender]

Different goals by age is fine with me - just don't want to compete with the 20 /30 something jocks!

 

[zzyzzogeton]

I'd just have to keep walking. With torn cartilage in both shoulders and an 11 inch hernia, there are no push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups or any other "ups" exercises in my future.

 

[Qeth]

Different goals by age is fine with me - just don't want to compete with the 20 /30 something jocks!

You're not, you're competing with the baddest mofo around: yourself

 

[crimsonfalcon07]

I agree with keeping cardio in the mix. I had initially suggested 600 just for the annual goal with cardio only. I think many of us can hit that in 6 months or faster if we're also counting lifting points. I'd like to see our group be the fittest sub-forum around, bacon and all.

As for some of the listed exercises, I'll be honest. I still can't do a muscleup, nor do I have the setup for it. Those suckers are HARD. And I like to think I'm pretty fit. Maybe I just don't have the technique down.

I also think the Becker points per rep needs to be dropped. That's like saying that one rep of bench at a light weight is worth the same as a mile of running. I don't see it. I would call it 1 BP per 10 reps, maybe even per 30. I'd like to have it be fairly difficult to rack up 5 BP in a workout. There could be difficulty multipliers for harder exercises, for sure. But I'd be looking at something like a thousand Becker points after my workout today based on the current proposals, and that's just silly.

 

[Micthebear]

You're not, you're competing with the baddest mofo around: yourself

This ^^^^

 

[Micthebear]

If the weight is light enough for 20 reps (say, for warmup stuff) on your first set, 1 BP per rep
If the weight is light enough for 12-19, 2 BP
If the weight is light enough for 8-11, 3 BP
If the weight is light enough for 3-7, 4 BP
If the weight is light enough for 1-2, 5 BP

This doesn't seem right. One guys warm up weight could be another guys working weight. I think if we're going to add in weights we should do just that and give a set amount of points per set amount of weight lifted.

Let's say I do Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
45lbs x 10reps
55lbs x 8reps
65lbs x 6reps
That would be 1,280lbs collective
So for every so many pounds of weight you get so many points. Not sure what would be a fair amount of points or at what amount of weight...

 

[Qeth]

As for some of the listed exercises, I'll be honest. I still can't do a muscleup, nor do I have the setup for it. Those suckers are HARD. And I like to think I'm pretty fit. Maybe I just don't have the technique down.

I also think the Becker points per rep needs to be dropped. That's like saying that one rep of bench at a light weight is worth the same as a mile of running. I don't see it. I would call it 1 BP per 10 reps, maybe even per 30. I'd like to have it be fairly difficult to rack up 5 BP in a workout. There could be difficulty multipliers for harder exercises, for sure. But I'd be looking at something like a thousand Becker points after my workout today based on the current proposals, and that's just silly.

The list of exercises isn't a must do all list, it's the list we will get BP credit for. We can choose which ones we do.

The points for this new challenge should not equate to the difficulty of the points of the move challenge, which is why the total for this challenge will be much higher. We can call this BSP or Becker Strength Points or something along those lines. That said, we can lower the points for the weights portion.

 

[Qeth]

This doesn't seem right. One guys warm up weight could be another guys working weight. I think if we're going to add in weights we should do just that and give a set amount of points per set amount of weight lifted.

Let's say I do Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
45lbs x 10reps
55lbs x 8reps
65lbs x 6reps
That would be 1,280lbs collective
So for every so many pounds of weight you get so many points. Not sure what would be a fair amount of points or at what amount of weight...

The reason I went that way was to keep intensity as the meter, not the weight. This is about pushing our individual limits, and finding an intensity and push that further. As you said, one person's warm up can be another guy's working weight, but that other person's working weight should not factor in to the warm up guy's program. Warm up guy should be finding HIS limits, and pushing them, not worrying about the other guy.

Sounds like the weights is gonna get complicated. How about we limit the challenge to the body weight stuff for now, and after we get more of a feel of how this goes, we can do more on points for weights?

Besides, I'd want points for kettlebelling, and that's gonna open another can o' worms

 

[Trout Tamer]

The reason I went that way was to keep intensity as the meter, not the weight. This is about pushing our individual limits, and finding an intensity and push that further. As you said, one person's warm up can be another guy's working weight, but that other person's working weight should not factor in to the warm up guy's program. Warm up guy should be finding HIS limits, and pushing them, not worrying about the other guy.

^^^ This! There are people in the Move Your Butt challenge who'll get double or more of the target points, while there are others who are fighting to hit the goal. I agree with Qeth; the purpose of the resistance exercise challenge is to push one's own limits and increase each individual's strength and conditioning levels.