Coco

I think the problem isnt gaining weight... it is gaining it correctly. I mean, any of us can just sit down and eat a jar of peanut butter or a bag of cheetos. And we can all eat junk food all day, which wont fill you and will oviously make you gain a million pounds. However, as martial artists, we want to gain muscle weight, or weight that will benefit our overall strength and fitness. For this, I will have to disagree that it is easyer to lose weight than to gain it.

Okay... A little background info - im 16 years old, 5'9.Started working out in June of 2006, at a nearby gym. I used to go every single day, alternating muscle groups, 6 days a week. Used to drink 60g of protein (in shakes) a day. Starting weight was 150lbs. After 3 months of working out, oviously, I saw great results. However, by the 2nd month, I saw that I stopped improving a bit... by the 3th month, my muscles seem to be used to the exercises and so I reached a plateu. I tried different exercises, but nothing helped much. That's when I met this one guy. 6'0 , 170lbs RIPPED! he told me he didnt do weights, only puhshups and situps (he has a 8 pack), so I decided to give it a try. Also, might I add, Ive always wanted to see what the difference was between training with and witout protein shake. So I quit the gym AND the shakes. I started out doing sets of 20-25 pushups... about 10 sets. I alternated between pushups and pullups every other day. The results - Much better definition, better endurance, suprisingly, more strength, bigger muuscles (Im standing at about 158-160 now) and I am sore EVERY time I train, because since its body weight, i can push myself a biit further without damaging my body. I feel much stronger, faster, more fit and confident. In addition to this, I heard a myth that you can't gain weight if you run alot. FALSE! Ive gained 5 lbs in the past 3 weeks, and all this while running 5-7 miles 5 times a week. No shakes, no ammino acids, nothing, and i can eat whatever i want! I just thought i'd share my story for all of you, and maybe you guys can also start bodyweight exercises if you get stuck like I did.... Just remember, I could do 20 pushups and 3 chinups when i started. 3 weeks later, i can do 40 pushups and 20 chinups, more than alot of these big buff guys at the gym!

The only jiu jitsu ive learned so far (100% self tought) is gracie jiu jitsu. This isnt really a very "sport" style. However, in my search to finally start learning Jiu Jitsu with a real teacher, i foudn this place. They call their style "sport jiu jitsu". Do you guys have any experience with this , and if it can also apply to real life self defence as Gracie Jiu Jistu can?

Well I only started like a month ago but on leg press i got like 360... 10 reps

Well, make sure you drink TONS of water to be hydrated. Also make sure to eat bananas for potassium ( to avoid cramps and balance out the sodium ) and get a good amount of protein for your muscle.

Thanks 4 the link bro will look into it

I have all the gracie instructional videos. I would highly reccomend them if you are a begginer, otherwise, you prolly know everything that is in these videos.

Well I don't have books myself but I do own all 3 gracie dvd videos. Im guessing its around the same thing, but these are awesome if you are a begginer and have a partner. Make sure you follow the moves step by step though, the smallest thing can make a huge difference.

Definately no supplements. If you really care about your health, I think you should sacrifice your job and try to look for something better. Definately nothing you can do, and 8 hours is alot of time, if anything I would say you are getting more smoke intake than alot of the smokers themselves.

Well, if anything, you can always eat ice cream and pizza to get the weight back But make sure you are healthy first, we dont want you to have some weird disease!

Haha! I wouldn't reccomend streching on the shower, because 1) You might slip, 2) Most showers aren't big enough and 3) You'll prolly feel akward as you are completely naked! (Or at least I would). What you COULD do is take a hot shower to warm your body up, do what you gotta do, dry up and THEN, while your body is still warm (and you are not naked, or in danger of slipping anymore) stretch outside the shower

I havent done karate in a while... but if i remember correctly this was my routine on normal basis (not tournament routine) every day, i used to do all katas, and work on the last 2-3 katas i had learned for 20-30 mins. Then practice kicks, punches, etc. for 30 mins. Afterwards, go run 2 miles and do some pushups/situps/chinups for strength

I think they have mastered the art of KARATE, not the art of being fit... but then again bruce lee thought that to master the art of fighting (which is actually a pretty big part of karat) you had to be in top shape.

Did your message get cut off? Cool stuff tho

I used to do this with a partner... Very good stretch, almost like a split but make sure you warm up a bit before this or you mite get hurt. Take care.