babolatchaznike
Rookie
Just curious if there are any other legitimate bodybuilders on these boards as well. you can talk about training, eating, supplements and of course how it effects your tennis!
Just curious if there are any other legitimate bodybuilders on these boards
And I dont care what Arnold did he is still my Hero along with Franco Columbu. Old school bodybuilders will always be the greatest. They had something about them that made them great.
I'm interested in old school bodybuilders as well, but for me, "old school" means "pre-steroid era". Guys like Park, Reeves, Grimek, Ross, Dellinger, etc.
No doubt the steroid guys work hard, but they look like grotesque cartoon characters and seem to be a direct contradiction of the sport. At base, I think many are not healthy.....mentally or physically.
I also have a healthy disrespect for the profession because they try to convince insecure, impressionable young men that they can get "huge" if they buy expensive snake oil.
Lifting weights and training is great. Bodybuilding (as it is now) is awful.
I'm interested in old school bodybuilders as well, but for me, "old school" means "pre-steroid era". Guys like Park, Reeves, Grimek, Ross, Dellinger, etc.
I also have a healthy disrespect for the profession because they try to convince insecure, impressionable young men that they can get "huge" if they buy expensive snake oil.
Lifting weights and training is great. Bodybuilding (as it is now) is awful.
I'm interested in old school bodybuilders as well, but for me, "old school" means "pre-steroid era". Guys like Park, Reeves, Grimek, Ross, Dellinger, etc.
No doubt the steroid guys work hard, but they look like grotesque cartoon characters and seem to be a direct contradiction of the sport. At base, I think many are not healthy.....mentally or physically.
I also have a healthy disrespect for the profession because they try to convince insecure, impressionable young men that they can get "huge" if they buy expensive snake oil.
Lifting weights and training is great. Bodybuilding (as it is now) is awful.
Just found this post. I used to be Ms Natural Olympia. Then I started to play tennis, and quickly figured out that the two "life styles" don't go together too well. Eating every 2.5-3 hours as a bodybuilder doesn't work if I spend 2+ hours on the court... and actually it helps to be a bit lighter, I move better, hurt less (I play 6 days/week on the hard courts), so my body dropped about 20 pounds on its own. I am not interested in competing in bodybuilding anymore. I achieved what I wanted to achieve. Tennis is cool challenge now![]()
The thing is genetics plays such a substantial roll that natural competitions are hardly "fair."
You really have to be quite large for bodybuilding to seriously inhibit your tennis. And it doesn't even matter much if you are a sub 4.5 level player. There are plenty of overweight people playing tennis without harping about injury.
Verdasco is a relatively thick guy and he plays tennis at the highest level. Look at football / basketball players. Both more physically "tolling" than tennis and they are often huge.
Balance is key. You can't expect to train all out for bodybuilding and all out for tennis at the same time. But you can lift 2-3X a week and play tennis on the other days. Find a happy medium.
I am trying mate. I am so tired of joints hurting I am just going to play tennis for the next 4 or 5 months. I might go back to working the shoulders and legs a little but the arms are definately out for a while.
^^ I think you have it pretty much covered, though you might be able to up your obsessive, compulsiveness by weighing your food like you were a drug dealer.
Have you tried to swing the kettlebells? It's a great workout (strength and cardio) works well in combination with tennis, and it's intense and fun.
Thats interesting. I will look into that. Looks like it would be easy screw up and wreck my back though.
Ha ha, guess what. I used to do that. Every piece of food went through a scale, and I was logging in everything. That is the only way how to learn how your body responds to different dietary changes. Even now, when I need to drop some weight, all gets weighed and logged. Not fun, but necessary.
Actually, the kettlebells are really safe. Once you get the correct technique of basic swing down, you will be just fine. You use your hips to propel the bell up. That's why it's so good for tennis, a quick explosive power of the hips.
But you were also a professional and a champion. You had to have everything perfect to reach the top.
Most kids who "bodybuild" are far from this level, but still love to obsesses about details. Until you reach a fairly high level, there are far more important things to worry about than obsessing over food in excrutiating detail.
On the other hand, there is nothing really wrong with it I suppose. And bodybuilding really seems to attract the obsessive, compulsive types.
Just curious if there are any other legitimate bodybuilders on these boards as well. you can talk about training, eating, supplements and of course how it effects your tennis!![]()
Couldn't agree more.
I also feel medical school isn't really fair. They weed out all the idiots like myself in favor of smart people.
I mean, for christ sakes, I'd like to take a crack at brain surgery. It ain't rocket science.
Speaking as a former competitive power lifter, whatever benefit you may get, or think you get, from "heavy" lifting, is FAR outweighed by the consequences for your joints, tendons and back that you will live with, for better or worse, for the rest of your life.
JMO! YMMV!
What lifts did you compete in?
What types of problems do you have?
^^ The danger certainly is present.
I was lifting heavy until about 6 months ago. Repping for sets (typically 5X5) ~500/400/300 for deadlift/squat/bench. Don't feel like I have any problems.
I felt more pain doing standing ab-wheel rollouts (lower back) and recently hurt my shoulder training muscle-ups (I was trying to keep my arms wider. I was pressing into the "dip" portion with my arms about horizontal to the floor. Too much stress on the inner front part of my shoulder. Will go back to keeping my arms closer together).
We all think we're bullet proof when we're young! What you feel now is not really relevant. It's the degenerative processes that you initiate now, that will come back to bite you later, that you should be aware of.
All right you guys have me fairly convinced to try this kettlebell thing. I will start researching it. At this point I will try just about anything to get my back issues under control. If you have any more good resources reguarding this kettlebell stuff I would be grateful.
Where does one buy kettlebells?
It is "easy" to get 1 solid year of good gains. But once you start approaching your genetic limitations...
I'm almost 40.
When I was young, I was running (training style) 30-50+ miles / week. That should (in theory) cause me massive knee, etc. problems as I get older. But it hasn't. Not at all. In fact, I can "easily" run 20+ miles / week now on the roads weighing anywhere from 210 to 250 lbs. That's a lot of weight to have crashing down on your knees, etc, but it seems fine. In fact, apart from some knee pain (which turned out to be from running on shoes that were too worn down), I've never had a single running related injury that lasted for over a week or so (and these are of the non-recurring variety).
If you lift / run / play tennis, etc. in a way that stresses your body, you will pay for that repetitive stress. For example, I can see that, though I have the strength to pull off some basic gymnastic moves (muscle-ups for example), my body isn't fully trained to do these things just yet. I will get hurt and possibly pay a long-term price if I just continue. But if I slowly work and train my body to handle the stresses these movement require, I should be fine.
I think you just need to use "common sense" and really listen to your body. Pain is a wonderful instructor. Pain will also usually begin it's "lessons" long before you develop something serious. It is your job to listen and either stop what you are doing completely or make the necessary adjustments.
I'm not however a proponent of "throwing out the baby with the bath water". I don't blame "lifting" or "running" or "tennis" for causing injuries. I blame individuals for not working "correctly" and within their abilities and progressing slowly.
YMMV
I think you are confusing acute injuries with degenerative disease triggered by repetitive stress. You are still young. The damage you've already done hasn't manifested in symptoms yet. Have you had any X-Rays of your shoulders, hips, knees? I'll bet they are already arthritic even if you don't have symptoms yet. Once you begin to experience the symptoms of degenerative arthritis, you'll wish you were more cautious when you were 20, 30, 40.
So much debate about whether long distance running actually "causes" knee / joint damage.
Anyway I learned about my own limitations young. 17 years old, had a D1 soccer scholarship, broke my leg due to pelivc problems ... soccer career over. Could be worse I guess... I can at least play tennis.
My back is bad because of my problem and very heavy deadlifts / squats are a no no. Kettlebell swings are great though and cause me no problem ... a very smooth motion.
I did one bodybuilding show. ~175lbs, ~5% BF, 5'10.
Maverick is correct. It is "easy" to get 1 solid year of good gains. But once you start approaching your genetic limitations... you really need to stress your body to induce change. I am naturally not a big person so it simply isn't worth the effort for me to remain at that size.
coyfish - that is amazing, 5'10" 175 and 5% bf. What is your sort of natural bf level, like 11% or so? Curious what you did for your contest prep in terms of cardio and did you adjust your lifting in terms of weights/reps? I'd imagine you'd still go relatively heavy but your glycogen levels must have been shot to hell right?
My almost 60 yo mother is better than ever because I taught her proper kettlebell technique. Her hip pain and low back pain disappeared as they got stronger from using them. So I recommend they be used for almost all populations.
All right you guys have me fairly convinced to try this kettlebell thing. I will start researching it. At this point I will try just about anything to get my back issues under control. If you have any more good resources reguarding this kettlebell stuff I would be grateful.
Where does one buy kettlebells?
I have a couple (clients), he is 77 and she is 74, and they started to swing the kettlebells with me a few months ago. They are doing great and feeling better than ever. Getting extremely fit cardio-wise and they are so amazed, because they cannot run anymore... so now they get the heart rate up there almost like 8-minute mile run. My mom who was visiting me from Europe over the holidays, she is 66 and she was swinging too. Now she is fit and looks like a 40 year old![]()
As Maverick says, dragondoor is excellent... I shop my kettlebells online, on powersystems.com, but always wait for a discount coupon for free shipping. Or you will pay almost as much in shipping as you pay for kettlebell.
I always post the coupon code (if I have one) under my kettlebell articles... The new coupon code happens every week or two, so it is not too much waiting.
OK Now I know your full of sh1t! I am sorry but swinging an iron weight between your legs is not going to make anyone look 26 years younger.
OH and all this....ITS FUN.....stuff. Yeah right. Just like going running and working out are fun. You guys have some weird ideas of what fun is. Where I come from fun a bottle of vodka and two sleezy........oh nevermind.
I think this whole thing about being injured if you run was largely promoted by shoe manufacturers. I remember reading ads in runner's world and other such mags, that "if you are running you will get chondromalacia."I'm almost 40.
When I was young, I was running (training style) 30-50+ miles / week. That should (in theory) cause me massive knee, etc. problems as I get older. But it hasn't.
YMMV