Hey, perhaps I can get some input here?

[espm1000]

I recently quit weight-lifting for a few reasons. One being that the gym I go to keeps messing up my billing, another one being that I don't have much time during the gym hours, and it doesn't necessarily suit my needs. With that being said, I have constructed a bodyweight exercise program followed 5 days a week when I get home from work (about 11 pm). I go to school most of the day and work most of the night, and when I am not there I am training for mixed martial arts. This is just the beginning program, everything will be ramped up as far as time, sets, and reps go.

I also don't have enough money to buy weights with paying for college.

Stretch for about 15-20 minutes


Monday
Handstand Holds for 1 Minute
Dips 2x10
Pullups 2x10
Pushups 3x20
Dragon Flags 2x15
V-ups 2x15
Leg Raises 2x15
Bridge for 30 seconds
Supermans 2x15

Tuesday and Thursday
Wall sits 1 minute
Jump Rope 3-5 minutes
One leg squats 2x20
Crunches 2x20
Side Crunches 2x20
Planks for 1 minute
Hyperextensions 2x15

Wednesday
Handstand/Tiger shoulder shrugs 2x20
Handstand/Tiger Pushups 2x20
Dips 2x10
Pullups 2x10
Wide Pushups 3x20
Wall sits 1 minute
Jump Rope 3-5 minutes
One leg squats 2x20

Friday
Handstand Holds 1 Minute
Narrow Pushups 3x20
Hindu Pushups 2x15
Planche Pushup 3x20
Dragon Flags 2x15
V-ups 2x15
Leg Raises 2x15
Wall sits 1 minute
Jump Rope 3-5 minutes
One leg squats 2x20

[Psychostick]

Can you do 2x15 dragon flags and 3x20 planche pushups?

[chicanerous]

Do you drink or smoke?

[espm1000]

Do you drink or smoke?

I don't drink or smoke.

Also, when I say planche pushups I mean my feet are elevated using something and my hands are in the placement one would use for a planche. Also, I may be mistaken as to what dragon flags are.

[chicanerous]

I don't drink or smoke.
:good: I was going to say no wonder you don't have money for any weights.

My only suggestion would be to raise the volume of pulling a bit and add some body rows.

[Psychostick]

Dragon Flags
http://www.evfit.com/dragon%20flag.jpg
http://www.evfit.com/dragon%20flag-2.jpg
Those are decline push-ups you are talking about, planche your feet would be "floating" like so;
http://static.flickr.com/92/254808080_f77d9b212f.jpg

[espm1000]

:good: I was going to say no wonder you don't have money for any weights.

My only suggestion would be to raise the volume of pulling a bit and add some body rows.

Thanks. I'm doing whatever I can to train strengthwise, and with MMA I need to maintain a certain weightclass; so even if I gain a pound I can be in trouble, which are why weights tend to be out. I went from 143-155 lifting weights for about a month. I would also prefer to be light for tricking :).

[espm1000]

Dragon Flags
http://www.evfit.com/dragon%20flag.jpg
http://www.evfit.com/dragon%20flag-2.jpg
Those are decline push-ups you are talking about, planche your feet would be "floating" like so;
http://static.flickr.com/92/254808080_f77d9b212f.jpg

Thanks, I was almost right with the dragon flags. Where I saw the tutorial it had them bringing their knees to their chest and then extending their legs up while pulling themselves onto the upper back. I'm trying to work up to full fledge planche.

[chicanerous]

Thanks. I'm doing whatever I can to train strengthwise, and with MMA I need to maintain a certain weightclass; so even if I gain a pound I can be in trouble, which are why weights tend to be out. I went from 143-155 lifting weights for about a month. I would also prefer to be light for tricking :).
You gained weight because you were eating enough to do so. The body has no concept of a difference between bodyweight vs. weight training -- to it, resistance is resistance.

The thing is that bodyweight exercises often don't offer enough resistance to cause hypertrophy, whereas the variable nature of weights allows the resistance to be increased to a suitable level. If you cause hypertrophy and have a diet that supports growth (i.e. a gain in mass), you will gain size, elsewise you just gain strength.

BTW, you probably mean pseudo-planche push-ups.

[Benji]

If you cause hypertrophy and have a diet that supports growth (i.e. a gain in mass), you will gain size, elsewise you just gain strength.

I started Rippetoe's program (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=712752) this week. Does what you just said mean that I can eat JUST enough to not gain weight and still gain strength? I'm not too worried about size, but I started it in order to make strength gains but I don't really wanna gain any weight.

[Rahf]

I started Rippetoe's program (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=712752) this week. Does what you just said mean that I can eat JUST enough to not gain weight and still gain strength? I'm not too worried about size, but I started it in order to make strength gains but I don't really wanna gain any weight.

You will gain strength until a point where your muscles will have to grow in order to increase strength further. So yes you will get stronger but after a certain point you will need to induce hypertrophy for the strength to progress further.

If I'm not completely mistaken. I prefer not writing extremely advanced mumbo jumbo if it isn't completely necessary.

[chicanerous]

I started Rippetoe's program (http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=712752) this week. Does what you just said mean that I can eat JUST enough to not gain weight and still gain strength? I'm not too worried about size, but I started it in order to make strength gains but I don't really wanna gain any weight.
I would highly recommend not limiting your calories if it's absolutely not necessary. You have to eat enough to be able to recover through the program. You also can't possess a significant amount of strength without possessing a significant amount of muscle mass.

How tall are you?
How much do you weigh?
What is your BF%?

Everyone has an optimal weight range for their height where they can maximize their strength in relation to their bodyweight. Most people on this forum tend to be well below this range. For someone interested in relative strength, extra bodyweight is not bad as long as it comes with an at least proportional increase in strength.

Also, like Rahf said, there comes a point when, to continue to gain strength, it's much easier to increase the bodyweight slightly than try to maintain weight. Think of a goblet full of mead, where the goblet represents mass while the mead represents strength. You can fill the goblet with more mead until it's full, but then you can only fit more mead if you increase the size of the goblet. Likewise, you can increase strength for a given amount of muscle mass, but then you must increase muscle mass to continue increasing strength. This is a bit simplistic but that's the basic principle.

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/7973/nt4184psb4.jpg

[espm1000]

Yea, I did Rippetoe, and it is a great program. I just don't know if weights are what I should be doing right now anyway. My martial arts teacher stresses only bodyweight exercises, but I don't necessarily know what to do. I guess right now I am also being torn between weights and bodyweight. My gym membership expires soon anyway and they keep messing up my billing/payments :(.

[Benji]

I would highly recommend not limiting your calories if it's absolutely not necessary. You have to eat enough to be able to recover through the program. You also can't gain a significant amount of strength without possessing a significant base of muscle mass first.

How tall are you?
How much do you weight?
What is your BF%?

Everyone has an optimal weight range for their height where they can maximize their strength in relation to their bodyweight. Most people on this forum tend to be well below this range.

I'm about 5' 10".
I range from 170-180 lbs throughout the day.
I'm guessing maybe around 13% bf. (I can see my abs but only when I'm flexing, if that gives you sort of an idea.)

I wasn't going to be cutting down on my food. I eat A LOT in one day, and I still saw increases in size from doing other weight lifting programs, even though I never followed any specific diet. I just didn't want to completely pig out on steaks and milk and stuff all the time like the program said to because I'm afraid it may make me gain too much fat.

[Rahf]

I'm about 5' 10".
I range from 170-180 lbs throughout the day.
I'm guessing maybe around 13% bf. (I can see my abs but only when I'm flexing, if that gives you sort of an idea.)

I wasn't going to be cutting down on my food. I eat A LOT in one day, and I still saw increases in size from doing other weight lifting programs, even though I never followed any specific program. I just didn't want to completely pig out on steaks and milk and stuff all the time like the program said to because I'm afraid it may make me fat or gain weight.

You shouldn't think in terms of pig-bulk. Just eat abit more and gain slow. If you want to become stronger you need to gain some weight or you will as stated earlier, stall your progress. Don't worry about putting on a few pounds.

PS: Chicanerous, you're closing in on 1000 posts. You better bloody well make the 1000th count even though it means nothing!

[espm1000]

What would you all reccomend for someone needing to stay within a certain weight class though? Just wondering if bodyweight will give me the strength I desire.

[Benji]

You shouldn't think in terms of pig-bulk. Just eat abit more and gain slow. If you want to become stronger you need to gain some weight or you will as stated earlier, stall your progress. Don't worry about putting on a few pounds.

Yea, I guess that even if I do put on a few more pounds of fat, I will gain enough strength in my legs to compensate and not decrease my vert.

[chicanerous]

What would you all reccomend for someone needing to stay within a certain weight class though? Just wondering if bodyweight will give me the strength I desire.
Personally, weight-training with the big compound movements at a high intensity (% of 1-RM) while managing training volume and, most importantly, diet. But, really, if you're in a competitive program, I'd be mindful of your coach. It's never good to go against their word -- they've been training athletes for a while and now how to make a successful one. The problem is that they often also use out-dated training methodologies or hold prejudices based on hearsay and misconceptions.

You might try reading Waterbury's article on strength-training in his MMA article series over on T-Nation. I wouldn't put too much stock into the other articles in the series, but the strength-training one seems be worth a good look:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1034530

Yea, I guess that even if I do put on a few more pounds of fat, I will gain enough strength in my legs to compensate and not decrease my vert.
Yes. Also, even if your vert decreases a bit, it'll increase to a higher point once you cut the excess fat and retrain your legs for power (if necessary -- probably will be after a signficant gain in strength). This is with the provision that you gain enough strength on squats, deads, etc. in comparison to your weight gain (not particularly hard to do).

[Benji]

I didn't think it was worthy of a new thread, but okie dokes.

[chicanerous]

Delete that and make a new thread, haha.