I have decided

[respectmankind]

that I am going to work my ass off for the next few years and try to obtain a size similar to Arnold's when he was in Conan. I think that if I do as much speed training as I do now that I will not lose any of my speed, infact gain some. Do you feel this is perhapes not wise, that the size would cause massive slowdown, or perhapes decline my ability in boxing?

[Water Dragon]

Not too rain on your parade, but you;re probably incapable of becoming as big as Arnold is now, much less back then. Go check out this site:

www.cyberpump.com

Train hard anyway, in 2 years you will have an excellant physique if you stick with it. My problem is, I never stick with it, LOL.

[respectmankind]

what makes you think i couldn't do that? I am not sure how you came to that conclusion, am I missing something?

[qeySuS]

I just tell myself that girls like this skinny heroine look i got going, no need for pumping weights when you can dillude yourself like me.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

haha

[PHILBERT]

yeah you are missing something. Illegal steroids

[Black Jack]

If that is what you want than go for it, but don't fool yourself, people like Arnold have amazing genetics, to this day I have never seen a body builder with the same classic body structure that he had, now it is the rage to be ripped to shreds, no sense of real health there anymore.

[Mr. Nemo]

Getting a physique like the one Arnold had in Conan is a full-time job, you won't have much time to do anything else. And you'll probably need steroids too. My guess is that it probably will affect your speed, and it won't increase your power as much as more performance-oriented weight training.

If you want "functional" attribute gains, make your goals ones of performance, not of size.

[Water Dragon]

Originally posted by respectmankind
what makes you think i couldn't do that? I am not sure how you came to that conclusion, am I missing something?

Genetics. Most people can't get that big without drugs. I'm the same way, I'll never be a big man. That doesn't mean you can't be big though, just probably not Aaaahnold big. But go for it, weight training is excellant for you. I knew a guy who would come to our college weight room and bench 300 at 70 years old. He said the trick was to start young and not stop. Guy was healthy as a horse.

[Merryprankster]

Bodybuilding is fine if you want to look cool. But these guys are right... Arnold and friends got that way through the use of steroids. So if you are adamantly opposed to steroid use, don't expect to look like that.

Frank Zane look might be doable. Last bodybuilding champ who looked like a human IMO. Great sense of asthetics.

If you want to get stronger and faster look into olympic weightlifting. Most explosive athletes on the planet. Don't think it doesn't make you strong and big and cut. Just don't look at the heavys and superheavys. Look at the lower weightclasses and you'll see what I mean.

[red5angel]

Also, dont fool yourself about keeping your speed up either, I wieght lifted seriously for several years and two things happen, you loose some of your flexibility, this is do more to size limitations then anything else a s a good weight training program has plenty of stretching. But something having to do with the nueromuscular connection, slows down with more mass, not including the fact atht you will be trying to push more mass as well. I can guarentee you you will se a noticeable difference in speed, but like Bolo Yueng, you can just take the pain and hope to get a hodl of that little guy trying to take you out! :)

[Budokan]

If you want to attain that size you'll have to start juicing up. My advice is you don't start that 'roid path, but it remains your decision.

[shaolinboxer]

Also, a very restricted an calculated diet is half the battle.

That's the part I could never really handle :).

Good luck!

[Merryprankster]

There's a saying in power sports:

If you lift big and slow, you get big and slow.
If you lift big and fast, you get big and fast.

What they mean is this: If you lift like a body builder OR a powerlifter, you will get stronger, but your speed-strength will drop. You've trained to get STRONGER, but not faster.

However, if you train like an olympic weightlifter with fast, explosive movements, not only will you get stronger, you'll get faster too. Example- Cheryl Heyworth is 300lbs, and is our female superheavyweight olympic weight lifter. Her vertical leap is over three feet and she can do full splits. 3 feet folks. How many of us can do that now? At 300 lbs? Certainly genetics but a lot due to the olympic lifts she trains in.

So, your speed does not HAVE to drop. It depends VERY much on how you train.

Bodybuilding, powerlifting, and olympic style weightlifting are seperate entities that all train VERY differently. Don't kid yourself that they are interchangeable.

[kungfuyou]

Just curoius? Do you all know what he looks like? How long he has been training for? What his genetic make up is capable of? I'm sure he won't look EXACTLY like Aaaahnold, but I'm sure he can get pretty dam close!!

I think it can be possible, but again, I don't know him at all so I can't tell him he can or can't! Good luck with your training!! :)

[respectmankind]

Thanks for the advice, and I will look into the olympic lifting. My genetics will hold me back, I am only 6 feet tall, which will pose a large problem, but I am also built big in the shoulders down. I have also been envolved with strength training since teh beginning of high school, now that I am about to leave, the way my life is set up, I will have about 3 hours a day to train.

[IronFist]

Yeah dude, I hope you like needles if you want to be Arnold's size :)

Iron

[Stranger]

IF respectmankind has the genetics of Arnold (very, very few do), lifts like Arnold (a helluva alot more than 3 hrs. a day), receives the proper training assistance (even as a young man in Austria, Arnold was training with elite trainers and hardcore bodybuilders), avoids any serious injuries via a combination of smart training and luck, AND uses steroids like a madman (Arnold did), he could accomplish his goal.

[respectmankind]

Key word is 'about' people, his size is a wee bit to big, that is why I said about. Out of curiosit, what does everyone mean by genetics, or rather, in what context do they mean it? Also, I would never use roids. I would rather get his size as he is now, that is much more obtainable.

[Stranger]

Genetics determine the symmetry of your muscles, the size potential of your muscle belly (area of largest diameter in a given muscle), your skeletal structure, soft tissue (ligament, cartilage, and tendon) potential to resist injury in the long run, what type of muscle fiber you are more suited to develop (fast twitch, slow twitch, etc.), the set of your muscles on your skeleton, the diameter of your joints, and countless other variables.

Even though Arnold has probably not juiced in many years, he had an enormous physique to downsize from and become what he is today ( a physically impressive, albeit not freakish muscleman). Without the roids, it will take an enormous effort to reach even Arnold's current size.

[respectmankind]

how would i find out my genetic potential?

[Stranger]

How about scheduling an appointment with a trainer of bodybuilders in your area? They would probably have the best contact information for sources in your area.