Taking the plunge into BB

[grizz]

So, I've been a super heavyweight strongman for a long time now, coming up on 18 years. I think it's time to drop some fat, stop pushing through torn tendons and muscles and cracked bones and just get healthier and look good. Well, better. Not sure how good I can look after being 350-375ish @6'6" for this long. Hooray loose skin.

So, dumb question, but now what? I've never known anything but barbells, stones, and sleds. Any tips for a busted up old dude on training for phsyique instead of raw strength? I'll be doing some research on routines and diets, but any advice is appreciated. It's a huge change in mindset I guess.

 

[BigBob]

Dude, first off. 6'6 350-375. Thats huge. I'm 6 1 and got up to 305 with heavy lifting and I love being big but I'm pushing 53 and the hardest thing I find is dropping weight. Ive gotten down to 240 5 years ago. Now I'm trying to get back to that.
I've been doing low test and a little var a few times a year. Injuries stop me dead in my tracks. And I have to do a lot of cardio. I do mostly medium weight and higher reps. Keeps the chance of injuries lower. I should be back down to 250 by Sept. You would look incredible 6'6 at 260 lean. I met a dude your height and probably 15% body fat and he looked like he didn't even try. Yes he was in his 20s but still amazing. You've got a lot to look forward too.
AND I read a lot on the boards. Lots of great info.


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[ASHOP]

Adding cardio and getting ahold of your diet is a good place to start.

 

[GearPro]

Dieting down might be tougher for you than anything. Most of the strongman competitors I’ve met have had diets with massive numbers of calories for many years. Cutting that back and eating less tends to be a struggle for them. Plus, the typically bland and boring nature of a cutting diet doesn’t help matters. Start by making small changes to your diet and cutting out any excess carbs a little at a time. Gradual diet changes with some time to adapt to them is easier for the body to get used to than big abrupt diet changes.

As far as training goes, you likely have a really solid base of compound lifting already. Start increasing your rep range and adding in a few isolation movements. Don’t go crazy with new routines. A couple months at slightly lower weights with higher reps might even give your body some time to heal those tears/strains and start to feel better. Changing your mindset about how you train will be difficult and involve lots of discipline. Fighting the impulse to increase the weight and lift the heaviest shit you can find may prove to be extremely difficult. Prepare yourself ahead of time.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[danieltx]

Like GearPro, I also think diet may be your biggest challenge, particularly since you mentioned training for physique.

In bodybuilding, you can train your ass off, but if your diet's shit you'll never look the part. Conversely, you can half-ass your training, but if your diet's perfect, you'll look better than most in the gym

Given your size and years of strongman, you should have a great base of muscle. As you get diet under control and start dropping overall pounds and body fat, you'll see shape and definition you've never seen before - and that can be a HUGE motivator to keep you on track with the diet.

What you diet should look like is up to what foods you like, what you digest well, etc. Track those things to some degree even from the start so you'll know how certain foods impact your physique, performance, etc. Keto might be an easy way to jump start some fat loss.

Regarding training, remember that physique training is all about exercises you feel in the muscle - the squeeze and the stretch. Barbell squats / bench press / deadlifts are NOT required - there are NO mandatory exercises in bodybuilding. It's all about whatever movements let you feel the target muscle working, so don't be afraid to experiment with machines and movements that you would've laughed at during your strongman days.

 

[grizz]

Huge thanks to you all. Yeah, the diet part is likely going to be rough, I've been used to eating 6k-8k calories a day. I'm a decent cook so I'm hoping that I can make the diet enjoyable from the type of food I'm eating, even it is isn't as much as I'm used to. The good news is I've been able to drop 12 pounds this week just by cutting out the junk food I was eating to keep my cals that high. Granted a lot is water weight, but I'll take it. My knees already thank me.

I'll definitely log my foods and be sure I'm hitting my caloric goals and not going over often. I'm totally into the lifestyle change. I like being strong as an ox, but I'd like to be around to see grandkids graduate high school. No sense in having a heart attack because I can't dial back the food.

I really appreciate the advice on the different mindset for lifting too. I've been used to moving as much weight as possible no matter what muscles get involved, but I think it will be fun to really focus on what muscles are doing the work. It'll be a process I'm sure, but I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Viking]

Adding cardio and getting ahold of your diet is a good place to start.

:yeahthat:

A push, pull, legs routine may also be good for weight training. Use compound movements and add some isolation work. Keep the reps in the 8-15 range for now. Search the logs on the forum and see what other people are doing as well.

 

[Victory]

Huge thanks to you all. Yeah, the diet part is likely going to be rough, I've been used to eating 6k-8k calories a day. I'm a decent cook so I'm hoping that I can make the diet enjoyable from the type of food I'm eating, even it is isn't as much as I'm used to. The good news is I've been able to drop 12 pounds this week just by cutting out the junk food I was eating to keep my cals that high. Granted a lot is water weight, but I'll take it. My knees already thank me.

I'll definitely log my foods and be sure I'm hitting my caloric goals and not going over often. I'm totally into the lifestyle change. I like being strong as an ox, but I'd like to be around to see grandkids graduate high school. No sense in having a heart attack because I can't dial back the food.

I really appreciate the advice on the different mindset for lifting too. I've been used to moving as much weight as possible no matter what muscles get involved, but I think it will be fun to really focus on what muscles are doing the work. It'll be a process I'm sure, but I'm looking forward to it.

Good start. Taking out the junk food is always the best first step. That alone should make you drop a lot of weight over the next few weeks. Make sure most food is clean and lower things over time. But still have some treats on a certain day otherwise you will go crazy. The best thing is picking a plan you can stick to. Many go too strict from the start then fall off and binge badly.