Korean Job Discussion Forums

[OnTheOtherSide]

Most people in Korea seem like they are working out. Lots of people are actually pretty dedicated too and on serious programs. I met a lot of foreigners who are serious, natural bodybuilders. So I figure we need a thread for this. Hopefully to share info and tips about bodybuilding while living in Korea.

I will start off by posting a clip of the crazy, awesome, German freak, Marcus Ruhl. Check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCfGuy_-hzU

[Epicurus]

not a bad idea. However, there have already been innumerable threads on the topic with tons of ideas, arguments and info being thrown around within, whether in this Forum or in Off Topic, etc.

It'd be nice if all this could be consolidated, but that's highly unlikely.

an interesting aside is whether people are driven to work out in Korea more than they might be back home. My bet is that they are, due to simple practical reasons like it's something one can do with one's free time where you are not limited or barricated by "Korean culture", language skills are not needed and one simply doesn't have the vast cornucopia of other options one would have at home.

a great side benefit is that you get quasi WAP (waygook achievment points) from Koreans if you look like a lifter.

[eIn07912]

Ruhl, Cutler, and especially Big Ron all juice. the guys in the professional bodybuilding circuit are not to be looked up to. the human body can literally only get so big naturally. even with all the protein shakes in the world u just cant get that big without some "help"

im a lifter myself, and i wish guys would start looking up and idolizing the clean guys. fitness models and such. we need to stop worshiping these guys that grow to unhealthy size.

we should take it upon ourselves to promote "healthy muscle", not just "size at all cost"

[OnTheOtherSide]

[Epicurus]

agree with Endo except I have little desire to look like many of the so called "fitness models". They look like the Korean singer Rain, not a look I aspire to, it's a little pansy for me. (though some are beefier)

of course, some may prefer the Rain look and it actually probably works better for you with most girls, not only Korean ones.

a better e.g. would be some skill position players in the NFL - take a look at the upper body of Thomas Jones for eg.

http://www.missxpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/thomasjones1.jpg

or Terrell Owens - there are many other examples.

also agree that the roid scare is silly and way over the top. Doesn't mean I'd use them - I have no incentive to unless I were an athlete or bodybuilder. I don't like the possibility of getting [Mod Edit for swearing] *beep* either.

first word rhymes with rich and the 2nd with bits. The clinical term is gynecomastia.

I'll be worried about serious roid side effects when all the famous bodybuilders of the 70's and 80's most of whom pumped themselves full of this crap for years and years start dropping off. Like Arnold, for e.g. who's over 60 now.

[coralreefer_1]

If I could get the body of Ken Shamrock in his younger days when he appeared in the UFC (I believe it was 4 or 5 where he went around with Gracie for over 30 minutes) I would be happy.

I would love to lift more (do a bit now) but it's really no fun to do alone. I really dislike using the machines, and wish I had a partner who could act as a spotter as well an encouragement to push it.

Any Daegu folks into lifting weights (I am by no means a "lifter") but in any case anyone in the area east, or southeast Daegu/Gyeongsan interesting in a workout partner, contact me.

[eIn07912]

well, im pretty liberal, so i believe to each his own. if someone wants to put their body through that much stress and get that big, then thats fine, its their body who am i to say what they should do with it. but they should know its unhealthy (kind of counterproductive to their goal) and i think it sets a bad example for kids that look up to them.

i agree that in the name of science more research and study needs to been done on the juice. its not as bad as its been told to us all these years, but its still not a good thing to be doing to ur body. sure, there r some guys that have done it for years and r fine. and there r others that dont get through the first cycle before having a heart attack. so its really about what ur body can take but there might not be a way to tell how u can take it until its too late. take something like the docu "Bigger, Faster, Stronger*" the guy takes an honest look at roids and what they do. his older and younger brother did them for years, seemingly with now side effects. then after the film was done, his older brother died because of reasons related to roids (not saying roids alone killed him, but had to contribute to it)

but as i explained to my younger brother when he was thinking about juicing, look at it this way... "there will come a day after u start juicing, that u will get that perfect body uve always wanted. it will happen. and that day will be both the best day and worst day of ur life. because at that moment u have to make a decision. either 1 u keep juicing and eventually get bigger than what u found desirable and increase ur risk of health problems or even early death down the road or 2 u stop juicing and lose all that u worked for. because once u stop, u will notice ur not at as strong, ur slower, and u gain fat easier... so, for me at least, having to make that choice is not worth getting the perfect body easier"

besides, i bet in my current state, im in better cardiovascular shape that someone like ruhl or jay cutler. lets get on the tredmill and crank it up to 10 and see who lasts longer. what good is all that muscle if u cant breathe?

[ytuque]

[Epicurus]

I have heard that people today are juicing way more and with much more powerful stuff than they did back in the Arnold days. for e.g. a typical cycle today is 16 weeks, rather than the 8 weeks back in the day, etc and today they're messing with growth hormone, etc.

I've also heard about some wrestler deaths, but there are many other factors involved other than health complications seemingly due to roid use.

btw.. I was talking about responsible use - as in doing your prescribed dosage for the duration of the cycle, stopping, etc, Clearly if you overdose and don't stop you are then clearly begging for health complications.

Arnold had relatively mild heart issues around 60. Fairly typical for a man around that age. I don't know his specifics, but valve related stuff tends to be genetic in nature.

re cardio shape - it's a tradeoff, depends on what one wants. You will never be decent sized if cardio is your priority. Take a look at cyclists and marathoners and triathletes. They look like they're dying of hunger.

professional football players in the US (NFL) probably come closest to combining the two aspects the most, or big NBA players that lifted. aka Karl Malone.

[OnTheOtherSide]

[Epicurus]

I don't know about completely safe, but the risks are probably manageable and most certainly publicly overblown.

Just like the fatsos who were stuffing themselves full of Ephedra in 100 degree weather to cut weight and their hearts went out. Couple of lawsuits later and the idiots ruined it for everyone else.

two risks you can't run away from are the aforementioned gynecomastia and accelaration male pattern baldness, two things I have absolutely zero interest in, and I have no intention of risking unless much bigger rewards are at play.

of more interest to me personally is taking HGH sometime in one's fifites. A man's testosterone production tails off in his thirties, drops in his forties and drops like a rock in his fifites. Testosterone is what makes you a man, and what enables you to keep and put on muscle mass.

By the time I get there should be an interesting array of stats on the subject because it's something many people are doing as we speak.

Of course it'll still be illegal but I'll happily obtain it illegally and do some under a friendly doctor's guidelines and supervision. Odds are decent it could help you in not becoming a grandpa for another decade and that sound good enough for me.

That said, I'd never use it now, and people who risk doing so are stupid because you are seriously tampering with your own body's natural testosterone production while it's still fine. Might not return to perfectly fine if you tamper with it enough. Once it's shot to shit and you're effectively "grandpa", what's the risk?

a slightly earlier death instead of crapping all over yourself while strapped to life support at 90? I'll take that chance, thank you.

[DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP]

Ok so you experienced builders are going to laugh at me for this.

Well here goes... So I used to do pull ups with the palms facing away from me but could only ever do a set of 8 then a set of 6, a set of 4 and then a couple of sets of 2....

So it was kind of pointless....

Well my new regime is very simple and consists of step sprints for legs, bike crunches and yoga crunches for abs, push up variations foor upper body push and pull ups for upper body pull.

Not looking to get in super shape, rather just stay out of bad shape's way....

SO - The other day I did my chin ups but I now do them with hands facing me (supine?) grip... I can do a lot more and seem to get a much better 'pump' from them anyway so I enjoy them more.

BUT - last couple of days the inside of my arms where forearm and upper arm meet have been in frigging agony and I could not straighten my arms for four days!!! it's better now but am I correct in assuming -

YOU DON'T GO DOWN TO FULL EXTENSION WITH ARMS FACING?? I THINK IT'S LIKE NOT A NATURAL MOVEMENT FOR THE BODY OR SOMETHING...

[OnTheOtherSide]

[Epicurus]

on the other side is correct. the palm inward pullup is always easier to do and your biceps help a lot more in the movement.

some suggestions.

get a spotter for your pullups to help you with the last few. (2 ways to spot, best is by giving midsection/lower back a little lift with hands or making your hands into a "basket" where you can place your toes)

or... switch to pulldowns once you can't do pullups

AND

instead of doing them with palm inwards, aka supine... try them with hands in neutral position, aka palms parallel to body. Almost every gym with have appopriate bars for this if they have a pullup setup.

p.s. there's some debate over the constantly changing things around argument. It depends on the person and his personality. Arnold for e.g. typically stuck to a set routine for a long time once he found one he liked. Lou Ferrigno never did the same one twice.

[OnTheOtherSide]

If you have access to it, it's better to use a cable machine to do pull downs too. Until you build up enough strength to do solid sets of pull ups. If you can only do 2 reps on your final sets, thats probably less than ideal, you want to do at least 5 or 6 reps on every set.

Really though, you should just do both. You might as well hit your muscles in different ways to stimulate more growth.