From weight training to bodyweight training

Let’s see, started lifting at around 12 and the first time I every lifted
put 110lbs over my head. In 7th grade bench pressed 200lbs on
schools universal gym. In 9th grade at about 145lbs dead lifting
400lbs, would do dips with 110 – 120lbs of weight hanging from
a belt would do wide grip pull-ups with 80lbs.

In 12th grade at around 145lbs bench pressed 330lbs. Couldn’t gain
weight went on a brutal eating plan taking in almost 10,000 calories
a day drinking up to 2 gallons of whole milk, weight gains of all kinds
and all kinds of supplements along with a pound or two of pasta.
Got big fast got stretch marks in inner thighs under the arms and
on my stomach. Built 18 ½ arms and a 21” neck.

At around 220lbs I was benching close to 400lbs, deep squatted 600lbs
bent rows with 315lbs, would squat 315lbs for 20 reps and dead lift
365lb for 20 reps, do 700lb shrugs and had a 1,200 lb hip belt lift.

Never wore belts, never wrapped my knees or elbows or wore a
bench shirt!

Could shoulder 300lb roll of flooring and walk with it as well as shoulder
a concrete parking block and press 220lb piece of think pipe a couple of
times. And my body was in recovery mode an awful lot decided to switch
to a more natural way of training the way the fittest men most have never
heard of train.  

Like doing 4,300 pushups or 4,600 bench dips, carrying a 80lb heavy bag
for one mile doing 4,500 step ups non stop or swimming for 1 hour non
stop, doing 1,000 star jumps in 50 minutes, 600 8 count body builders in
1 hour or 1,000 burpees in 1 hour.

Doing hundreds and thousands of reps of bodyweight exercises has changed
my life.

Toughness Builds Winners

Johnny Grube

 

Comments

  1. People can disagree with your methods, but nobody can deny that you put in the effort to know what you are talking about. My take is that the BW exercises worked but you cannot deny that all that muscular exertion from daily manual labor was at least equally important for strength development.

  2. John,

    Thank You for the information. This is why I listen to you. You aren’t just marketing bodyweight exercises for the fun of it. You have been on both sides of the fence. There once was a time when you where a Powerlifter and had some impressive lift numbers. Yet, you admit since changing to bodywight exercises your fitness and health has improved. Yet I have to ask one thing. Do you do any road work ? Any running, or just bodywight exercies is high numbers ?

  3. John Smith says

    I also want to ask John Grube about how low is his resting heart rate?

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