Big Dave Smith: AMA Thread/Journal

[Big Dave Smith]

Anyone can reach great muscle size and be ripped at the same time, so that is not impressive (in my view anyway). But to also reach the top of a cardio intense, high mobility sport, WHILE maintaining great muscle size and conditioning, THAT is incredibly impressive and it puts you in the elite of the elite. It's a very, very rarified level where very few can achieve (I honestly can't even come up with 10 worldwide off the top of my head).

So overall, I think that you are the highest, most elite athlete here by far.

Thank you for the kind words!

 

[jcc80]

The more you learn, the less you spazz and get injured. Don’t use your strength. Work on mobility and flexibility every day. If you’re getting hurt, it’s because your body isn’t prepared, or you’re using the wrong approach to training.

Avoid standing. Wrestling/takedowns destroy knees. Learn enough on your feet to be safe, be start matches on your knees. Learn guard and how to pull guard. Closed if your long, butterfly/half if you’re short. Standing passes are harder on your knees than low passing.

Treat your injuries and weaknesses as priorities. Every injury you have is something you should be doubling down on to prevent future issues.

If you notice, I train neck 3 days a week. I damaged it a few years ago and had some pain associated with it. After 1-1.5 years of pain and cervical “clicking” noises, I got back to training neck and my head is now a weapon, not a weakness.

I would LOVE to hear about your mobility routine in depth, if you don't mind. I don't do any sort of martial arts; I'm just getting older and shit is starting to hurt and my flexibility/mobility has always been terrible.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

I would LOVE to hear about your mobility routine in depth, if you don't mind. I don't do any sort of martial arts; I'm just getting older and shit is starting to hurt and my flexibility/mobility has always been terrible.

I have no good answer. A lot of it is from pre and post BJJ “playful” stretching, and post lifting playful stretching and movement stuff. I never had a set plan. Just “do weird shit for 20 minutes” and get loose. Did this for over a decade.

 

[3BILLS]

Thanks Dave. So much great info already

 

[warlock]

That's a broad question. Can you be more specific?

Humalog- Yes, but it's difficult for me to get. Year round, but I tend to be lazy or forgetful with it. I think it has a ton of value, it's hard for me to consistent. When I do use it, I love it for recovery and nutrient partitioning.

Lantus- Easier to remember to use. Helping my fasting blood glucose while using GH. Never used more than 25iu. The lower my carbs got, the less I used. As carbs got VERY low, I eliminated because my fasted AM walks would reduce my BG enough to where I didn't see the value. It shines more when carbs are high in the offseason, and I'm not waking as much.

People who are anti-insulin are the ones who misuse it. I've never "fed" insulin. My meals don't change, so I only use it as an aid.

When you run lantus, do you do it daily?

 

[warlock]

Right now... boring.

Test Cyp @ 100mg EOD

Nothing else. I was having issues trying to figured out why my RHR was elevated. It turned out to be the GH I was using. Didn't matter if it was 2iu or 10iu, it would remain elevated until I removed it. Was at 6iu post prep... then 4iu... then 2iu... still an issue. Two days after removing it, my RHR came back to a reasonable number. I may try Pharma after a clean out period. If it elevates again, I'll need to reconsider how/if I use it moving forward. Not willing to take the risk.

How high does your RHR get when you're on GH?

 

[thethinker48]

The more you learn, the less you spazz and get injured. Don’t use your strength. Work on mobility and flexibility every day. If you’re getting hurt, it’s because your body isn’t prepared, or you’re using the wrong approach to training.

Avoid standing. Wrestling/takedowns destroy knees. Learn enough on your feet to be safe, be start matches on your knees. Learn guard and how to pull guard. Closed if your long, butterfly/half if you’re short. Standing passes are harder on your knees than low passing.

Treat your injuries and weaknesses as priorities. Every injury you have is something you should be doubling down on to prevent future issues.

If you notice, I train neck 3 days a week. I damaged it a few years ago and had some pain associated with it. After 1-1.5 years of pain and cervical “clicking” noises, I got back to training neck and my head is now a weapon, not a weakness.

Amazing, thank you!

All my BJJ injuries have come from stand up wrestling lol

My school has a lot of college wrestlers, some amazingly strong heavy weights and I've made the rookie mistake of going 100% during scrambles and takedown attempts leading to injuries.

I'll continue to work on flexibility and mobility more! My PT says it's not a strength problem but a mobility problem which led to my neck herniation.

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

This isn't the right mindset, and something I harp on regularly with people who bring this up. You will get very far when you sacrifice and dedicate yourself to things, but the language you use is a window into your thought processes. Anyone who considers something a sacrifice is indirectly saying they would rather be doing something else. What would you rather be doing? What would your rather focus on? If you have an answer, you're going to be limited. To be truly successful or fulfilled, you have to be doing exactly what you want to be doing. When I talk to my friend/coach in BJJ, we've had chats where we say "If I won the lottery, I don't know how much my life would change. I'd just train more." This is my attitude for bodybuilding and BJJ. If I'd rather be doing something else, I would be.

My man, this response means so much to me, I don't think I can put it into words.
This is an area i thought id worked out already, and it seems that isnt the case; I've got some work to do.

Thank you.

 

[LK3]

great info in here!
thanks for sharing, i always enjoy your posts.
i think you are a great person to learn from.
much respect!
good luck with whats in front of you!

 

[EnhancedFatGrappler]

Which Gi do you use? Can't imagine seeing you fit into those A3/A4 Jackets, even the Wide Versions, you are just way too wide and jacked

How do you combine rolling with lifting? Especially during a prep?

 

[w8tlifterty]

Always good hear you talk bodybuilding…. Started around the same time as you, seen you around the boards and always appreciated your no bs approach. Your density has always been on another level. I don’t know how you find guys to roll with who could even deal w your frame.

Good to see a comeback (in BB), all the best to you and your health. One of the best physiques around thru the years

 

[Big Dave Smith]

When you run lantus, do you do it daily?

Yes. I've played with PM prior to going to bed and AM. I'll probably split the dose in half and administer 12hr apart when I use it in the future.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

How high does your RHR get when you're on GH?

My RHR is usually somewhere between 62 and 72, depending on my bodyweight, time of year, how much BJJ/cardio I'm doing, etc.

When on certain brands of GH, it can creep into the 80's within less than 48 hours. It was as high as 84. NOT GOOD.

Since coming off, I'm back into the mid 70's and it's continuing to get lower. Sleep quality as improved a ton.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Which Gi do you use? Can't imagine seeing you fit into those A3/A4 Jackets, even the Wide Versions, you are just way too wide and jacked

How do you combine rolling with lifting? Especially during a prep?

CTRL A5. I get the sleeves and pants tailored to be shorter.

I keep training normally until I think it's an injury risk. This year, I stopped about 6 weeks out.

 

[Big Dave Smith]

Always good hear you talk bodybuilding…. Started around the same time as you, seen you around the boards and always appreciated your no bs approach. Your density has always been on another level. I don’t know how you find guys to roll with who could even deal w your frame.

Good to see a comeback (in BB), all the best to you and your health. One of the best physiques around thru the years

Most days I'm lucky to have 1 or 2 guys even close to my weight, so I've learned to roll with small guys and women.

I have strong opinions on this... If you're over 200lbs or over 250lbs, and you can't roll with small people, your game absolutely sucks. I'm known among all the schools I've trained at as the guy people train with to NEVER get hurt. If you can't control your weight or strength, you're using it too much, and your technique is hot garbage.

There's a girl who trains at my school who weighs 120lbs. We roll most days I train. She's never been hurt in 3 years, and I've never hurt anyone by accident in training.

I'm more likely to hurt someone being the mat enforcer than any other way.

If I need heavier, more skilled training partners, I try cross training or coordinating training days with some of the heavier guys. We always partner up during the drill portion of the class.

 

[madg]

I do boxing and greek roman wrestling since high school

Massive respect from me to maintain this kind of weight

I never managed to pass 100kg in condition

 

[danieltx]

@Big Dave Smith is one of the guys I followed on the boards over the years and I'm thankful to be friendly him outside this platform. It's very cool when you eventually become peers with the guys you looked up to.

On top of all his knowledge and experience, Dave is the living embodiment of the big secret to bodybuilding nobody wants to hear - dedication and consistency in all areas for years and years. 250+ ripped isn't in the cards for everyone no matter how much you push drugs and food but everyone could maximize their physique's potential if they would live this lifestyle like Dave does.

 

[thethinker48]

For anyone who doesn't know and wants more background on Dave, this interview was really good

 

[thethinker48]

@Big Dave Smith is one of the guys I followed on the boards over the years and I'm thankful to be friendly him outside this platform. It's very cool when you eventually become peers with the guys you looked up to.

On top of all his knowledge and experience, Dave is the living embodiment of the big secret to bodybuilding nobody wants to hear - dedication and consistency in all areas for years and years. 250+ ripped isn't in the cards for everyone no matter how much you push drugs and food but everyone could maximize their physique's potential if they would live this lifestyle like Dave does.

Truth here

The drug talks are the most popular discussions on basically every platform. But it's the meticulous approach to diet, training, drug tolerance, and monitoring your body's feedback that Dave does and has done for decades now that makes him so impressive

 

[Flocci]

in terms of dietary approaches like carb or calorie cycling when trying to grow, what have you found has worked best for you to get the most progress in terms of muscle gain and recovery while staying on the leaner side of things without sacrificing any gains? what worked the best and what was the worst diet approach youve had during the offseason? ^^

Have you always kept very active during your offeasons, have you found its helped you in the offseason and in the gym to not gas out during sets and stay more insulin sensitive and in turn better response and recovery?

who are some sources that you would recommend for people to learn more about diet, training and drugs for bodybuilding? any favorite people you have learned from yourself?