New (old) member introducing himself

[Guest guest]

New member introducing himself to the group:

Two or three months ago there was a series of posts on the relative

merits of BW versus training with weights at the gym. Since I have

experience of both over a long period I thought I'd weigh in.

I'm now 59 but I began with the BW round about age 25, so a good long

while ago. I worked very hard (trained twice a day 5 days a week)

over a period of 2 or 3 years, and got very good all round results.

I started off with some advantages, naturally broad shoulders and a

barrel chest among them, but the combination of the BW and a good

diet put muscle on me in every area. I can't remember the details but

I do know that I went from a chest that was barely 38 inches to 43 or

44 inches in a couple of years, and I added a couple of inches to

both arms and thighs.

It was in my 30s that I got into weight training (free weights and

machines), and after a while I was training three days a week with

split routines and dealing with fairly heavy weights. Gains in bulk

followed pretty steadily. The trouble with the gym is that it is

expensive in terms of time as well as money, and I was never able to

keep it up. So in the last 20 years I have had 3 separate periods

of intensive training with long periods in between where I just

haven't managed to do it at all. I ended up carrying a lot of bulk,

a lot of it muscle (by my mid to late 40s I had a 50 " + chest, and

legs and arms, shoulders, neck, traps and lats etc to match), but not

always in good tone, and tending recently to run to flab.

I have given up on gyms and returned to where I started, the

Bullworker.

Advantages:

1. I don't have to travel to the gym and take hours out of my

day.

2. I can build the routine in every day, even if I am away from

home.

3. Even for a guy carrying a lot of heavy muscle like me, the BW

can tone the muscles up; I feel the burn, and know that I have

connected with a given muscle group in a way that promotes tone and

growth.

Disadvantages:

1. I'm not sure the BW is ever as good with the legs as it is

with the upper body. Since I have restarted I know that I am

connecting with the shoulders, pecs, biceps, triceps, lats, traps,

forearms. Legs I'm less certain about.

2. If you want to gain a lot of muscle (as I once did), there is

probably no substitute for free weights. But if you're content with

being well built and toned (as I think I wish I had been), the BW is

fine.

More than enough from me. But I'd be interested to hear from any

other older guys whose BW experience goes back a long way.

Max

London