Inspiration

I've wanted to get fit for a long time. My old friend and perrenial roommate Nathan Rice, a competitive power lifter and martial artist, first showed me how to eat enough of the right food to fuel body building. I wasn't converting calories into strength in a gym yet though: I was hesitant at first as I had done lifting before with little consistency or results.

When I learned about Max Contraction training methods from my friend Sean Kennedy The Fucking Man Rant Radio, I became excited. Sean is a bouncer, a Canadian Forces soldier and a fitness nut so I took his glowing reviews and the success of his vegan buddy Cimmerian very seriously.

It wasn't until I got back from Burning Man fresh from a number of Fight Club bouts against 230 pound guys twice my strength that I took the plunge to get the John Little book and hit the gym. I started Fit Club to make my own training more fun by bringing friends along and my enthusiasm for the idea spread the idea quickly.

Goals

My personal goal is to reach 200 pounds by adding 20 pounds of muscle.

Before And Afters

It is a great idea to take pictures of your body before you begin training and periodically take new pictures showing your progress.

Check out these before and after pictures of a guy who was doing a less efficient protocol for a year. This is what we're going for.

Membership

Current Fit Club Members are split into two teams and may subdivide further in future:

• Regulars
  • Alex Peake
  • Griffin
  • Ron
  • Nathan Hackman
  • Trevor Marks
  • Byron Blanco
  • Hannah
• Occasionals
  • David Voigt
  • Randal
• Guests Who May Join Later
  • Lynnette
• Invitees
  • Dustin
  • Pierre?
  • Josh
  • Kelsey

Our Gym

We evaluated both Spectrum and 24 Hour Fitness and went with 24 Hour because it offered the most flexibility in workout times. This has turned out to be important for nights when delays pop up or new people need more hands-on instruction, making the workout take longer.

At some point in the near future we'll gather for a decision making meeting and weigh all the pros and cons of each gym and take a vote.

Data Logging

"The first rule of Fit Club is write that shit down!" 

View Our Google Spreadsheet

Members get editing rights to log their own data.

Print out the spreadsheet and bring it to the gym to fill in as you go.

Fit Club's Training Log Google Spreadsheet

Remember, every time you do an excercise: Write that shit down!

Necessary Equipment

• Gloves: Heavy full-fingered leather gloves for shrugging 200+ pounds and doing other lifts after the fingers get sore
• Max Straps: one pair per group leader is adequate provided the leader is consistent and timely.
• Clothing: Gym clothing regulations are not strictly enforced. Obviously, light clothing is best. You can get away with BDU pants and a T-shirt, which is handy for carrying around pens, papers, max straps and the like. Underarmor Pants
• Book: The Max Contraction book by John Little which I purchased.
• Straps: Max Straps are an essential tool to perform some of the exercises.
• Video: I bought the Max Contraction DVD. It is available to those who want to watch it.

Lessons Learned

Finding the right gym machines adds a dimension of complexity to the training.

Some machines seem to make performing max contraction easy and others seem problematic.

Leg Extension: This machine is straight-forward. upon maxing the stack out at 305 pounds, I switched to doing 165 with each leg separately only to discover that my left leg is dramatically weaker than my right.

Leg Curl: Leg curls are easy. At first I overcame maxing out the 210 pound stack by attaching 70 pound free weights to reach a load of 280 pounds but this is probably against gym rules. I switched to doing 140 pounds on each leg separately and it works well.

Pec Deck: I quickly maxed out the Pec Deck's 210 pounds and found that this machine doesn't easily switch to one arm at a time because it twists the body too much. I switched to the cable pulldown method at 100 pounds.

Shrug: I found the technique that works best for me is to completely shrug my shoulders in advance, bend my knees to grip the weight, then stand up while maintaining the shrugged posture.

The shrug scales up very well. I've gone from 140 pounds to 300 pounds in 2 months. I found that beyond 200 pounds I needed heavy gloves to protect my hands enough to maintain a grip on the weight. Leaning back so the grip pushed against my body helps slightly.

Max Crunches: Max Crunches at high weights like 180 pounds make form more difficult. I found myself using my neck to keep the weight supported.

Begin with your hands pulled in tight to the chest. (Photos by Carol Bass)

Bring your hands down and lower your body. Keep hands behind your back for balance.

Come up on toes at the bottom. Keep your body upright and your arms down.

Swing the arms forward and push off your toes.

As you rise, the arms continue up to chest level. When you’re upright, pull your hands in to the chest and begin again.