I’m sure many of you may have had this thought at some point in your weight training career;
“If I could just redo my first year of training, I’d…”
Well… is this even possible?!
I’m no expert, but why bother trying to lose all your hard earned muscles.
Could you not just change your focus to fixing any issues you felt had been overlooked?
Well, I’ve read Mike Robertson’s and Eric Cressey’s NNM series and for the most part corrected my posture. However, I’m still not happy with the way in which I put on muscle the first time around.
Also, for whatever reason, I really enjoy ‘starting a project’, which is kinda what I think this may feel like.
No, you can’t “start over”. I am not even sure you understand what you are implying. You can’t “reset” your body like that, Thank God. If it were that simple, anyone in an accident or anyone with an illness that caused major weight loss would be unable to get back to where they were previously without duplicating all of the years it took to get as big as they before the incident. Muscle Memory is a good thing. It is why bodybuilders can get sick, lose 20lbs, yet gain it all back within 2 weeks.
I am also wondering how much muscle you have actually gained if you think you somehow “gained it wrong”. What does this mean? You grew muscles that don’t exist? You grew muscles in strange places that aren’t supposed to have muscle? Ear lobes? Your eyebrows are now humongous? What are you talking about?
[quote]bbh wrote:
(By the way, I’m 210 lbs, 11% bf, and look like a fucking gorrilla because was I completely ignorant of the push/pull postural relationship that existed in my body the first 2 years I trained).[/quote]
So you have freakishly long arms with huge forearms, a massively powerful back, and gigantic jaw muscles attached to a sagital crest that allow you to snap bamboo like twigs? Sounds pretty bad ass to me.
Plus gorillas are in with the chicks after the Kong resurgence and all.
I’m gonna have to agree with X on this one. Why not just shift your training focus now, rather than let it all wither away?
For instance, train to compete in a strongman show, or a PL meet. Or a BB show. Or make a serious bid at being a Muscle and Fitness model or something, hell, I don’t know. MMA?
There’s tons of possibilities that would be like starting a fresh project.
-Dan
[quote]Professor X wrote:
No, you can’t “start over”. I am not even sure you understand what you are implying. You can’t “reset” your body like that, Thank God. If it were that simple, anyone in an accident or anyone with an illness that caused major weight loss would be unable to get back to where they were previously without duplicating all of the years it took to get as big as they before the incident. Muscle Memory is a good thing. It is why bodybuilders can get sick, lose 20lbs, yet gain it all back within 2 weeks.
I am also wondering how much muscle you have actually gained if you think you somehow “gained it wrong”. What does this mean? You grew muscles that don’t exist? You grew muscles in strange places that aren’t supposed to have muscle? Ear lobes? Your eyebrows are now humongous? What are you talking about?[/quote]
Your totally right about this one.
Admittedly, I’ve gotten good results, I went from 160lbs/20% bf to about 210lbs/11-12%bf. Yet, when I finally got to where I am now, I realized that I still have so much more to do and just lost it.
Getting yourself into this ‘all or nothing’ mentality will make you want to train all day every day, then just as suddenly, make you never want to eat right/train again.
Heh, if you can, take it from someone who just took a short break…
Keep doing enough that you maintain your strength and GPP. Maybe once a week for a total body and a cardio session on the side?
It really sucks going back in with a big drop in all areas… when you could have avoided it on a much reduced coasting schedule.
Sounds like overtraining to me. Whether it’s a physiological or psychological response, I believe it’s real. Take a few weeks off from the gym, and cut back on your monastic ascetism.
[quote]bbh wrote:
Getting yourself into this ‘all or nothing’ mentality will make you want to train all day every day, then just as suddenly, make you never want to eat right/train again. Probably, my best plan of action now is to just lay off the gym for a few weeks and eat any fast food I can get my hands until I start feeling ‘sane’ again.[/quote]
There is a huge difference between giving it everything you have while in the gym, and the situation you just listed. I ENJOY training. It is my release. It isn’t work. You, like I would suspect with so many others…like the guy who categorized his shits by size, shape and smell in that Scrawny to Brawny thread…have stepped over the line of enjoyment and turned this into some exercise in who can be the most obsessive about every microscopic detail of their training.
You never went out? Do some of you honestly believe that all bodybuilders are that extreme outside of contest prep? It isn’t realistic for long term progress. Who is conveying otherwise?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
No, you can’t “start over”. I am not even sure you understand what you are implying. You can’t “reset” your body like that, Thank God. If it were that simple, anyone in an accident or anyone with an illness that caused major weight loss would be unable to get back to where they were previously without duplicating all of the years it took to get as big as they before the incident. Muscle Memory is a good thing. It is why bodybuilders can get sick, lose 20lbs, yet gain it all back within 2 weeks.
I am also wondering how much muscle you have actually gained if you think you somehow “gained it wrong”. What does this mean? You grew muscles that don’t exist? You grew muscles in strange places that aren’t supposed to have muscle? Ear lobes? Your eyebrows are now humongous? What are you talking about?[/quote]
Agreed completely, this guys talking like a fucking troll. 210lbs at 11% isnt bad shape. Why the fuck would you want to start over?