My first post. Please help

[Rob-The-Spartan]

Hello to all of you. I have recently signed up for this caveman lifestyle and i need a little help getting started. I love the philosophy of the caveman lifestyle and the type of results you get. I've been working out since i was 16 (i'm 21 now) but i don't think i've been getting the resuslts i should have due to years of bad advice. I have a naturally very small frame and have gone from 140 to 160 in those 5 years. I'm 5'10''. What i want now is to shed all the fat off my body and put on some solid strength to preparemy body for martial arts. My end result is to be about 170 and have very little bodyfat. I am willing to do whatever it takes. But i need some guidance. Since my results have not satisfied me, i'm going to ask you to treat me as if i know absoloutley nothing about bodybuilding so that i can learn properly.

Some main points:
Should i work on shedding the fat first and then putting on weight once i have reached my desired body fat percentage? Or should i go the other way around and put on muscle first? Or should i do both at the same time?

I know that complex workouts are the best way to put on strength but in what variations? Should i be doing full body workouts or working specific muscle groups in each workout?

The 3 minute workout seems to be a good choice but how can i work it into a full half hour workout?

ANY advice is appreciated. If Matt Emery reads this, i would LOVE if you could help me put together a workout plan. You seem to really know your stuff.

Thanks to everyone in advance who posts on this.

[Tony Bondioli]

Bodybuilding is good for making your body look a certain way, but it's a poor way to train if you want your body to function optimally.  Forget isolation.  Think of your body as a singular organism.  My recommendation is to train your body for movement, not for muscle... run, jump, climb, crawl, push, pull, etc.  If you're progressively increasing the intensity of your workouts, you'll gain muscle (which can and should be done without gaining fat at the same time).  Work hard, eat well, and let the numbers take care of themselves.

You might also be interested in checking out this site, which provides incredible online personal training services:

www.monkeybargym.com

Good luck, and welcome to the tribe.   

[SidheDraoi]

when i started doing my intense work outs I gained 5 lbs. I took a break from it for a week and then started back at the gym and weighed myself my first day back and I had lost those 5lbs just lazing about... it was a really weird experience for me. But once I look back I can see what exactly caused it to happen...

I worked out intensely and ate whenever I was hungry (which was constantly!!) gained 5 lbs, which at first i thought was fat, but my waist was thinning, so I am guessing it was muscle? when i stopped working out I lost my appetite but the muscle remained and since muscle burns more calories I burned off 5lbs... atleast thats my theory!

personally I concentrated more on gaining muscle first and the weight loss will come with it. I havent even tried to lose weight and I am shedding off my fat stores. I've been having a problem with my muscles showing (I am a lot stronger and very productive, I just want them to show... personal preference!! ) some of my friends told me to cut down on my calories and some have said just to up my workout and add some resistance... I've tried both and I'm seriously not going to cut down my calories, did it for a week and felt like complete crap... i'm back now eating 2500 calories and feeling wonderful (i count calories yes... such a shameful hobby isnt it?)  haha

anywhoo.. rammbling now!!

I wish you luck on your journey!
-Laura

[Rob-The-Spartan]

Some very productive insight. thank you to both of you. I have already decided to dedicate my workouts ompletely to complex exercises only. I agree that if i make my workouts more intensive, the fat will likely come off as a result. i am by no means fat. i'm in pretty good shape; just not where i want to be yet. I will have a look at that website. I already eat healthy and exercise on a regula basis (plus my job is physical). All i need now is a solid workout regime to follow. i'm thinking P90X may be the way to go but i don't have anywhere to set up a chinup bar. I know that sounds wrong but i honestly don't. all the doorways in my house are either expensive wood that i can't drill holes in (i still live at home with my parents, otherwise i wouldn't care) or they are not sturdy enough to support that kind of weight. Will P90X still be effective without a chin-up bar? Anyways, i will check out that website. Any more comments would be tremendously welcomed. I feel like i have been ripped off and i have a lot of catching up to do.

Oh, and one more thing: if anybody has tried P90X, could they please share what kind of results they had with it? i'd be interested to know. I have poor blood cirvulation in my body and the only way to keep the circulation at a normal level and prevent things like gangreen when i'm older is to exercise daily and improve overall and mainly cardiovascular health. i really want to be a caveman. My biggest goal right now is getting my own place but the main thing that motivates me to do that is the fact that i can eat what i want every day, organize a better place to work out, create a "place of power" (yes, i would like to start meditating) and just generally improve everything. it is late and i am rambling but any help is seriously appreciated. i am very committed to this goal and your words will not be wasted. Thank you.

[SidheDraoi]

Some very productive insight. thank you to both of you. I have already decided to dedicate my workouts ompletely to complex exercises only. I agree that if i make my workouts more intensive, the fat will likely come off as a result. i am by no means fat. i'm in pretty good shape; just not where i want to be yet. I will have a look at that website. I already eat healthy and exercise on a regula basis (plus my job is physical). All i need now is a solid workout regime to follow. i'm thinking P90X may be the way to go but i don't have anywhere to set up a chinup bar. I know that sounds wrong but i honestly don't. all the doorways in my house are either expensive wood that i can't drill holes in (i still live at home with my parents, otherwise i wouldn't care) or they are not sturdy enough to support that kind of weight. Will P90X still be effective without a chin-up bar? Anyways, i will check out that website. Any more comments would be tremendously welcomed. I feel like i have been ripped off and i have a lot of catching up to do.

Oh, and one more thing: if anybody has tried P90X, could they please share what kind of results they had with it? i'd be interested to know. I have poor blood cirvulation in my body and the only way to keep the circulation at a normal level and prevent things like gangreen when i'm older is to exercise daily and improve overall and mainly cardiovascular health. i really want to be a caveman. My biggest goal right now is getting my own place but the main thing that motivates me to do that is the fact that i can eat what i want every day, organize a better place to work out, create a "place of power" (yes, i would like to start meditating) and just generally improve everything. it is late and i am rambling but any help is seriously appreciated. i am very committed to this goal and your words will not be wasted. Thank you.

my "places of power" have served me well over the years, this year I havent been able to get out and create one and instead have dedicated a corner of my room to my meditation purposes... I made a shrine for the spiritual warrior that I can focus to.  I'm going to add a pocture of it to that thread. and I will give you a picture of it here so you don't have to go looking for it.




I have terrible circulation as well and extremely tight hamstrings. Doctor said if I don't stretch my hamstrings and get them limber then I will end up having to have knee replacement surgery when I get older... I'm not about to do all that, i saw what it did to my grammy... i'm not too fond of pain.. so i know exatly whare you are coming from as far as that is concerned. Its a good thing that you are thinking of your long term health, many people lose sight of this.

[Rob-The-Spartan]

Well my grandfather had gangreen and lost his foot. also, my great-aunt had it and lost both of her legs. it scares the hell out of me. I just like being healthy. i find it fun putting together new exercise routines. My main problem is i get bored of things easily. I can only do a workout regime for so long before i get bored of it and create a new oe. I was told that this is actually a good thing so i'm not worried. Does anyone have a workout routine they have been using that has worked well for them? i'm just putting the finishing touches on one right now but i'd like to have something to compare it to just to make sure it's caveman worthy.

P.S. that place of power looks pretty cool. I've been recently teaching myself how to meditate. I just do it on my bed. When the nicer weather gets here, i'd like to be fully adept at meditation so i can go to the park and do it. There are some beautiful wooded trails there. I usually jog through there in the summer.

[SidheDraoi]

I love sleeping under trees at parks, it is so relaxing... when I get my own house I'm going to make it snooty neighbor proof so I can go all naturale! its invigorating!

I cannot wait for summer to come. today, I was planning on going to this hill thats is famous in our area and run up and down and all around it, climb the trees on it and such.. but then it started raining and got unbearbly cold... so i opted out for grocery shopping and laundry duty... bleh!

I like that you are taking into consideration your geneology when it comes to your health. I know people who obsess about a certian disease that no one in their family has and they've been checked many times and they are clean.. yet they constantly think they are going to get it and eat a ton of anitoxidant rich foods due to their fear... its pretty crazy. You eat healthy to feel healthy, not to obsessively ward against disease like some crazy guy locked in a cell. You are on the right track! keep it up!  

[Rob-The-Spartan]

Haha thanks. I feel the same way. Living out of fear isn't really living at all. I hear you on the getting your own place thing. I'm working on that too. I have so many plans lol. We shall see though. I wish you the best of luck with that. Also, i read somewhere that you're engaged. I would like to also wish you my best with that too. In case you were wondering, i have decided to go with P90X for the workout. I know people who have done it and have had great results. I don't see how it can't do the same for me. I have done what i signed up here to do. Thanks to everyone who helped me decide on this. I will still drop in from time to time to check out what's going on. I'll likely take before an after photos so maybe i'll even post them if anybody wants. Thanks. Cya!

[SidheDraoi]

sounds like you have it all worked out! I look forward to hearing how you've progressed!

thank you for wishing me luck! I'm going to need it haha