How To Get Strong, Build Muscle and Lose Fat With Only A Barbell

by Caleb Lee on December 23, 2008

by Caleb Lee

I had a subscriber who wanted to find out:

“Is it possible to build strength, put on muscle and burn off fat if I don’t have a power rack and I only have access to a barbell? Not even an Olympic barbell, but one of those old crappy cement filled barbell sets”

I know precisely the weights this guy is saying. I believe nearly everyone of us grew up with them right? They were basically cement weights covered in plastic, and over time the plastic busted up and the cement started to get busted below remember?

I think I’m showing my age :)

Anyways

Of course! Why not?! You can absolutely build strength and power with an outdated equipment!

You just need somebody to teach you exactly how. Fortunately you met me. And thank heavens I just read a large amount of Dan John’s awe-inspiring “From the Ground Up”.

In this outstanding little ebook Dan John explains the “Rapid Ascent Program”, which contains three workouts:

1. Explosive/Hamstring move

2. Press Move

3. Squat Move

And here’s how you did the program (from his book):

“The program was very easy. Primarily, groups of four boys were given a bar. The bars were weighted from too lightpossibly 25 poundsup to maybe close to 100 pounds. Each group of boys would lift one at a time, put the bar down, then the next boy would lift. The four would continuously move from lifter to watcherthe bar never stopped. The three sets (explained in just a moment) would not take very longindeed, occasionally it was hard to catch your breath in time for your next set.

The reps were very simple:

* Set #1: 8 reps

* Set #2: 6 reps

* Third set: 4 repetitions

The goal was simple: once you got all 18 reps (8+6+4), you added weight. If you started with a bar that was excessively light, the succeeding workout, you would be bumped up to the next weight and a stronger group. (Needless to say, actual variations could include making a whole new group with more weight, tooor whatever necessary to make the group work together).”

Seems easy doesn’t it?

That’s the beauty of this program!

You don’t need a lot of equipment to build strength, muscle and power all while increasing your cardiovascular fitness and burning off pounds of fat.

What you DO need is a little “do or die” perspective. You must make your mind up you surely WANT to reach your fitness goals, then you’ll find a way to utilize whatever equipment you have available to make it happen.

I enjoy program since it corresponds the DoubleYourGains’ philosophy of training movement patterns in place of a bunch of workouts. The Rapid Ascent program has a press move (military press), a pull move (power clean), a squat move (front squat) and an explosive/hamstring move (power clean).

How to perform the “Rapid Ascent” program for cardio and fat loss:

Coach Dan points out that you could also get a great cardio workout and burn some fat:

“To “hurry up” the trainingas if it was critical, there were times when Mr. Freeman suggested combining the Power Clean and Military Pressesone clean and one press, repeated for a total of eight reps. This was made with a lighter weight. One could also perform the Front Squats after the clean and presses, too. I have only done this onceand it was an astounding cardiovascular workout.”

So if you think you don’t have enough equipment to get into great shape and achieve your fitness goals you are wrong. You are wrong. You are wrong.

In fact, you don’t even need a barbell. You can get underway with the DoubleYourGains’ bodyweight program. You can do pullups on your door frame (for extra strong fingers) or just grab the top of a door and go to town (or a tree limb, anything you can hang from, etc) Have faith in me, if THAT workout gets easy for you – you will be a certified STUD.

Then, once you get access to a good Olympic barbell set you can start the DoubleYourGains’ 3-5 Program.

About the Author:

Related posts:

  1. Bodybuilding Tips, How To Build Muscle Mass at Home Who says you need to work out at a gym...
  2. Get Your Best Body Now — Build Chest Muscle Fast Every generation grows up with the same idea of what...
  3. Uncover The Path To A Big And Muscular Chest – Building Muscle Mass Ask most little boys and they\'ll tell you they want...
  4. Understanding The Fastest Way To Build Muscle What do you do when the weather is becoming warmer...
  5. Bodybuilding Tips, How to Build Muscle Quickly There is advice floating around both on and offline about...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Previous post: Front Squat With These 7 Reasons

Next post: Enjoy Your Weight Loss