[Progress Check] 1 year of bwf training. Stronger(ish) ! 1.0

unbelievable

New member
TL;DR - May 4 2015 -to- May 4 2016

Current Stats:-

Age: 27 years

Height: 161.5 cm[sup][sup]forever[sup]manlet[/sup][/sup][/sup]

Weight: 52 ish kg

Sex: Interested

Grab a healthy drink/snack, relax into your chair/bed and enjoy this wall of text read.

Introduction:


Most of it is covered here. The usual stuff; depressed, weak, thin, not confident. When I was at school, I was the shortest guy in class. I was weak for 27 years of my life. And then I decided I don't want to be like that anymore. Exactly a year ago, the man in the mirror was weak but he had the courage to take action. I respect him for that. I thank him for that. And what I am doing now is for the man in the mirror 25 years from now. He will thank me for it.

Training Routine:


Very minimalistic routine. Push day with Dips and Pushups, Pull day with Pullups and Rows. (Leg days ??) Handstands at the beginning and Hellsits at the end of every training session. One rest day between each session. Every 4th week is deload week. 3x10 sets and reps and 3 minutes rest between each set.

Absolutely boring as fuck. I made this to see if I could follow a structured routine with discipline and handle the 4x per week, frequency of training for a couple of months. It has worked for me. But I don't recommend anyone follow this. There are better routines than this. [sup][sup]Hint:[/sup][/sup] [sup][sup]Recommended[/sup][/sup] [sup][sup]Routine[/sup][/sup]

Everything I did, I recorded. And it is here on my channel. Transparency ftw.

A word of caution. Chains make high pitched sounds when they are swinging around. And a bit of occasional horns from traffic nearby. Reduce or mute volume if you are a pussy and/or you are afraid that it might give you tinnitus. If you are a real man like me, enjoy the most beautiful sound you will ever hear. Heavy metal (puns) !

The chains and the metal rings have inertia and resist movement and twisting to certain amount. The same friction less plane of movement still exists but it is like doing them in a tank of molasses. I don't know how this changes the mechanics of the exercises, (by making them harder or easier) but I am making progress. And that is all I care about.

A tip to keep in mind while training. Try to move around the rings and not the other way, ie, move the rings around you. The are called still rings for a reason.

About handstands. Shoulder opening stretches are helping me get closer to the wall without falling over. Straighter the handstand, the easier it is. That awesome floating feeling, is so fleeting.

Equipment:


I absolutely love the fact that now I see this concept of breaking chains, everywhere. And here's the kicker, I'm achieving it with the help of (drumroll please) chains !

Current bwf equipment. My dad and I built a support frame. 2 concrete poles planted in the ground and a wooden beam connecting both at the top and chains hung from it.

Metal rings made by a local blacksmith and S hooks to connect them to the chains. Bicycle tire inner tube cut and taped for gripping and bike handle bar grips cut open for grip training à la fatgripz . Parallettes made with the usual specs found on the internet.

A couple of weeks ago I got a set of wooden rings made at a local carpenter to "Olympic specs". They turned out thicker and bigger than expected. But I don't really care. I'm gonna make a lightweight rings set with them and hang them from a daisy chain type nylon strap. I'm gonna use this for skills that require grip to move around. I'm gonna keep the heavyweight chains and metal rings set and use it for weighted stuff.

[sup]Whoops[/sup] Did I say weighted stuff ? Hell yeah I did. I got these also a couple of weeks ago. A 6 foot barbell, 2 adjustable dumbbells and 45kg of weight plates from a gym in my district hq. No more chicken legs. More info on what I'm planning to do with them, is in the goals section.

Costs:

Concrete posts and wooden beam - My dad nicked borrowed them from his office. He works as a pole to pole lineman in the local substation. - 0 Rupees

Metal rings with s hooks and bike grips - 200 Rs

2x10 feet of metal chain - 700 Rs

Wooden rings - 500 Rs

Parallettes - 1000 Rs

Barbell and adjustable dumbbells (new) and 45 kg plates (Used at 100 Rs per kilo ) - 5600 Rs

So 8000 Rs so far. Converted to freedom units it is around 120 Dollars. 1/3 on bwf and 2/3 on weights. Not bad. My family has decent financials but I don't like blowing money unnecessarily on things that can be made, and not bought. DIY FTW.

Nutrition:


I train on empty stomach right after waking up. If I feel like I don't have enough energy during training, I eat some dates or a banana. Post training, I eat a big meal of rice and potatoes with a fist full of roasted peanuts. And before sleeping, I eat another big meal of rice and yogurt, also with a fist full of roasted peanuts. I snack on dates if I get a bit hungry in between the meals. A couple of days a week, when I go out with friends, I eat whatever least processed/ most healthy food they have. Usually Gobi Manchurian or fruit salads.

I went on my first ever cut since mid March. Switched out peanuts with chickpeas and kept everything the same. Tried to cut out other extra stuff besides the big meals. Cutting is hard. I felt hungry and weak all the time. I don't think it affected the training but the psychological effect of being on deficit is really tough. Felt like being me a year ago. I'm so glad that it is now over. Fuck abs. If anyone needs me, I'm gonna be over at #permabulk4lyfe

Training philosophy and other stuff:

The way you think is the way you act. I am not "working out". I am training. Training to improve on what I already am. No other force on the face of this earth can stop me from training but me. I will stop the session only when I want to stop the session. That is how you build consistency and the discipline to stick to it and that consistency in turn became a habit.

Some of the best training sessions I ever had were the days when I didn't even want to train that day. I would just tell myself, lets just do warmup and then decide. After warming up, it would be like I already did the warmup why not do a handstand. Trust me when I say this. Handstands are the best caffeine shots/ pre workout you could ever get. And I don't even drink coffee. It wakes you the fuck up, right away. And then even if I didn't achieve any milestones that session, I was victorious in a way. Turned a lazy day into a training day.

The thing that I do with my mouth when doing Lsits and other stuff is my "in the zone" face. Or as I like to call it "Rumination Mode Engaged"

I get a weird feeling when training sometimes. I don't know how to explain it. Like I'm on auto pilot. Watching from the third person. I get the same feeling when I used to go on hour long drives on my dad's bike through nearby villages. Very zen and in the zone. No other thoughts. I feel empty and at total peace. I'm sort of addicted to this and try to chase it session after session.

When I went to the district hq to buy weights, I also checked with a PT about left shoulder clicking and pain at the bottom of pushup. She diagnosed it as rotator cuff tendonitis. And prescribed treatment is the usual stuff. Stop doing exercises that cause pain. Step down progressions and build it back up slowly. Avoid the range of motion where pain is present but keep mobilizing the joint. I'm gonna rest for a couple more weeks and start again carefully.

I am a bit bummed out that I didn't get to ride the puberty gainz train. But as they say, "Its too late to workout only if you are dead". And guess what, I'm not dead yet.

Turn your disadvantage into your advantage. My short height is now my strength in bwf. Shorter levers, lesser range of motion, more strength to weight ratio i.e, Manlets gonna manlet.

Here are some good stuff about training and nutrition from Team3DMJ that I found useful. Also this

The Road Ahead:


OG Chart
  • Goals achieved for 1.0:
9 sec HS, Lsit, Tuck front lever, Tuck L Pullups, Dips,
  • Goals for 2.0:
BWF Goals - kick up to a free standing handstand, wall Hespu, RTO Lsits, Pushups, Dips, Straddle/one leg front lever, Tuck Planche, Tuck Flag,

Weighted Goals - 0.5xBW overhead press, fuck bench press, 0.25xBW Pullups, 0.25xBW Dips, 1xBW Squat, 1.25xBW Deadlift. Recall that I have only 45kg as of now. I'm gonna get more weight around S(ish)! 1.5 in December.

btw if you haven't figured it out already I stole the name from, you guessed it, Stronger Series. Sorry, I am not a very creative person. Unlike the duo of SBWS.
  • Goals for 25.0:
Inspire a million and one, to start moving and improving.

Appreciations:

This thread (and my life really) is dedicated to my best friend Pavan. Here he is. He is strong as fuck from doing literally "Farmer walks". He used to carry 20 liter buckets of water in each hand from a overhead water tank to his home half a kilometer away, multiple times, every day. Massive forearms, epic traps, excellent core stability, stronk legs. He likes doing epic stuff like kipups and backflips.

He is young, yet he has the wisdom and life skills of a wise old man. He has this indomitable mental fortitude aka stubborn as a mule. And he helped me when I needed the help most. He gave me hope when I was hopeless, joy when I was sad and most of all strength to fight life when I was weak. Every breath I take now is because of him. Thank you so much for everything you did dude.

And thank you to everyone who reads, contributes and moderates here. This place is awesome because of you. Yes. YOU :D

TL;DR Part Deux: Eat. Sleep. Move. Improve. Simple really.

(If it is ok, I would like to request a flair change to "Manliest Manlet in Atmakur." Mods pls)

Obligatory Edit: Thank you, kind stranger for the gold. I feel extra special with extra cheese and no onions. I would like to thank the Academy for giving me this opportunity.

Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. Use only recycled pullup bars, and buy rings made from wood of sustainable forest management authorities. Don't waste water. Drink as much potable water as possible and piss it all back into the ground where it came from.

Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.
 
@unbelievable Dude, this is my favorite post ever in this sub. Your attitude and spirit are fucking awesome. If we lived near one another I would love to train with you man. Thank you for this, it is starting my day off super positive. Love it man!
 
@getips Haha. Thank you very much for your kind words.

The oceans that separate us, are but mere potholes, for I, will always be with you whenever you train. Go get 'em tiger.
 
@getips WOW. That is a beautiful work of art. I am humbled by the fact that these mere words can have such a huge impact. I wish I could give the gold I got to you. Thank you :D

And we've made original content today. We did it, Reddit !
 
@unbelievable This post is interesting. I'm 26, and only recently started working out again a few months ago. I was 116 lbs (~52 kg) and my height is 5'3" (~161 cm), meaning I had roughly the same starting point. My goal was to gain weight, so I'm at ~130 lbs now. One year from now, I'll be 27. Maybe we'll see a similar post.
 
@unbelievable great post, good writing and great progress!

my favorite:

Code:
The way you think is the way you act. I am not "working out". I am training. Training to improve on what I already am. No other force on the face of this earth can stop me from training but me. I will stop the session only when I want to stop the session. That is how you build consistency and the discipline to stick to it and that consistency in turn became a habit.
 
@ruiz8890 Like this brah:

The way you think is the way you act. I am not "working out". I am training. Training to improve on what I already am. No other force on the face of this earth can stop me from training but me. I will stop the session only when I want to stop the session. That is how you build consistency and the discipline to stick to it and that consistency in turn became a habit.
 
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