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[Deleted member 17706]

So apparently, neither me nor my trainer has any idea what the fuck is going on. I'm here on recommendation from the kind folks who scared me half to death in the OT.

Age: 22
Height: 6ft
Weight: 180 (@ 10% bodyfat)
Goal: 200 (@ 9% bodyfat)
Current Training Schedule: Five days a week, an hour each day.
Current Training Equipment Available: All of it. Huge, empty gym at my disposal.
Comments: Just started lifting/working out in earnest two months ago. Great cardio and lung capacity, but I want to get huge. Currently eating 6000 calories of eggs, chicken, and spinach every day across five meals. I take whey protein before and after my workouts (1 scoop before, 2 after) as well as creatine (one scoop about 45 minutes before I work out). What would you guys recommend to me as a beginning program?

What routine did your trainer have you on? If you are 180 at 6ft with just 10% body fat, I imagine you already have a modest amount of muscle on you and can lift a decent amount of weight.

But, yeah, if you really are just a beginner, it's probably a good idea to focus on full body training every other day or so doing the routine in the OP or strictly following Starting Strength. Focus on good form (which is tough) and make sure you doing lots of squats!

 

[Petrie]

Beef is expensive. ;_; Any alternatives? I like chicken and eggs as protein because they're cheap as fuck.

Is it? Here in upstate NY 80/20 ground beef is the same price per lb as boneless chicken breasts. You don't need to eat prime cuts.

Pork shoulder is even cheaper.

Getting swole ain't cheap!

 

[despire]

I've been maintaining bodyfat % and gaining muscle mass at that intake. (Up from 172lbs.)

I'm afraid if I dropped any lower my bodyfat would plummet.

How are you measuring that your BF% is really the same? It might be going up and it's hard to notice sometimes.

Anyway good for you if you won't gain fat on that amount of calories. Most people would need to eat half of that.

 

[Izayoi]

What routine did your trainer have you on? If you are 180 at 6ft with just 10% body fat, I imagine you already have a modest amount of muscle on you and can lift a decent amount of weight.

But, yeah, if you really are just a beginner, it's probably a good idea to focus on full body training every other day or so doing the routine in the OP or strictly following Starting Strength. Focus on good form (which is tough) and make sure you doing lots of squats!

Man, I fucking hate squats. Leg day is definitely my least favorite day of the week.

He didn't really have me on a routine, I just told him what I wanted and he showed me a bunch of exercises to do in order to achieve my goal. In particular, I wanted to bulk and then cut at around 200. I don't want to be SUPER huge, just big enough to be attractive (abs, good pecs, defined arms and legs). Problem being, at least with pecs and core, is that I used to be a fat fuck so I've got a ton of extra skin. I'm probably going to need to be closer to 220 if I want to look good without plastic surgery.

Is it? Here in upstate NY 80/20 ground beef is the same price per lb as boneless chicken breasts. You don't need to eat prime cuts.

Pork shoulder is even cheaper.

Getting swole ain't cheap!

I'm in Washington state. At Costco, I can get twice the poundage of boneless chicken breasts for the same price as cheap steak. Didn't even think about ground beef, I just assumed the fat content would be too high. I'll check it out the next time I'm at the store. I imagine that they do have lean stuff.

How are you measuring that your BF% is really the same? It might be going up and it's hard to notice sometimes.

Anyway good for you if you won't gain fat on that amount of calories. Most people would need to eat half of that.

One of those little hand-held things that you put your height/weight/build/age/sex into and then it zaps you and determines your bodyfat. Dunno what it's called.

 

[SeanR1221]

Those handheld things aren't accurate at all.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

If you really are just a beginner. You should not have "leg days" and you should not have "bulking/cutting" phases. You really need to be doing full body routines each session. That's why squats are so important. They are a full body exercise (although they work the legs, hips and butt the most).

You really need to be doing this for at least a few months to build a strong foundation, get your form right while the weight still isn't too heavy, and make your central nervous system is strong.

Body fat determination is tough, but if you are really at 10% at 6 ft. and 180 lbs. you should have defined abs and muscles, even if they aren't large.

 

[Cudder]

Post a pic, we can probably eyeball your BF% better than that electronic thing.

 

[Szu]

Yea snowing a lot now. I will have to wear boots tomorrow for working out. Is it not recommended for certain exercises? I will be squatting.

Just do them with only your socks.

 

[BlueScrote]

Yea snowing a lot now. I will have to wear boots tomorrow for working out. Is it not recommended for certain exercises? I will be squatting.

I squat/deadlift/press barefoot, but I always bring a different set of shoes for the gym anyways.

 

[rokkerkory]

looking up some more recipes for next round of meal prep... going to go grass fed beef this round.

simply going to make grass fed beef with tomato sauce over brown rice or grain/wheat pasta and veggies ftw.

 

[Izayoi]

Those handheld things aren't accurate at all.

Duly noted. Are they at least in the general area? I always do it before starting my workout, but I typically fluctuate between 9-11%.

If you really are just a beginner. You should not have "leg days" and you should not have "bulking/cutting" phases. You really need to be doing full body routines each session. That's why squats are so important. They are a full body exercise (although they work the legs, hips and butt the most).

You really need to be doing this for at least a few months to build a strong foundation, get your form right while the weight still isn't too heavy, and make your central nervous system is strong.

Body fat determination is tough, but if you are really at 10% at 6 ft. and 180 lbs. you should have defined abs and muscles, even if they aren't large.

After my last trainer session I will stick to the routine suggested by you guys. I'll just ask him to show me proper form for all of the stuff I don't know how to do yet (deadlifts in particular).

In terms of bodyfat, it's hard to tell by looking because of my extra skin.

I lost 120lbs and as a result am stuck with this shitty, stretch-mark-ridden flab that doesn't go away no matter what I do. I was way lower than 173 at one point and it was still there.

I'm hoping to avoid plastic surgery by putting on enough muscle, but I have a feeling that even at 220 and 8.5% it will still be there.

Post a pic, we can probably eyeball your BF% better than that electronic thing.

See above. I will post a picture anyway (probably tomorrow, at work all day today), but I doubt you'll be able to get a good read on it.

 

[Imm0rt4l]

Is this from Frank Yang's clothing line?

Omar isuf


Funny you say that because i commented on the pic that the shirt is frank yang approved

 

[Zoe]

Duly noted. Are they at least in the general area? I always do it before starting my workout, but I typically fluctuate between 9-11%.

Unless you're eating the exact same thing and working out at the same time every day, you would probably get more consistent readings at the beginning of the day on an empty stomach.

 

[J. Bravo]

definitely pushing my deadlift to tomorrow. did it last wednesday so tomorrow is a week, and will give me time to recover from work and basketball last night completely lol.

 

[moocow]

Freaking snowstorm. I waited over an hour for a bus, and the two that came just skipped my stop even though they weren't full. Today was squat day .

 

[Izayoi]

Unless you're eating the exact same thing and working out at the same time every day, you would probably get more consistent readings at the beginning of the day on an empty stomach.

My diet has literally been...

- Fried eggs and spinach garnished w/ raisins and almonds for breakfast.
- Boiled eggs and spinach for snack 1.
- Chicken breast with spinach for lunch.
- Boiled eggs and spinach for snack 2.
- Chicken stir-fry for dinner.

...for the past two months. Meals are three hours apart. I only drink water (and have the occasional shot). I always work out at around 3pm, an hour after lunch. I will take a look at ground beef prices and see if I can mix it up a bit, but I really don't mind eating the same thing every day. I just make all of my meals on my first day off work and portion them up, then toss them in the microwave (except for the fried eggs, which I do make fresh every morning). Super fast and easy.

 

[Cooter]

My diet has literally been...

- Fried eggs and spinach garnished w/ raisins and almonds for breakfast.
- Boiled eggs and spinach for snack 1.
- Chicken breast with spinach for lunch.
- Boiled eggs and spinach for snack 2.
- Chicken stir-fry for dinner.

...for the past two months. Meals are three hours apart. I only drink water (and have the occasional shot). I always work out at around 3pm, an hour after lunch. I will take a look at ground beef prices and see if I can mix it up a bit, but I really don't mind eating the same thing every day. I just make all of my meals on my first day off work and portion them up, then toss them in the microwave (except for the fried eggs, which I do make fresh every morning). Super fast and easy.

That sure as hell doesn't look like 6,000 calories to me.

 

[FallingEdge]

Yeah dood, we are gonna need to know more cause unless you are eating dozens of eggs and lbs of chicken, there is no way in hell you are hitting 6K calories.

 

[SeanR1221]

Just shoveled for an hour. Now I'm sitting by the fireplace shoveling chicken and rice into my mouth.

Round two in the morning. Snow won't stop until 5am.

 

[Izayoi]

8 eggs in the morning, 4 eggs for each snack = 1152
2 chicken breasts for lunch, 2 in the stir-fry = 1128
3 cups of spinach per meal = 105 (lol)
Miscellaneous ingredients and oil for stir-fry = ~800
1oz of almonds per meal = 815
1/2oz raisins per meal = 210
2 cups of wild rice under the stir-fry = 332
Protein shake (three servings) = 600

Total = 5142

(Hmm... I guess that means I drink 858 calories worth of water every day. Not bad.)

 

[sphinx]

so I went to the gym and it was "o.k." interesting chest day, it shows that I am eating a bit better, and since I changed my split layout, I think I am doing better all around.

Yeah dood, we are gonna need to know more cause unless you are eating dozens of eggs and lbs of chicken, there is no way in hell you are hitting 6K calories.

agreed, I want to knw how many eggs and chicken breasts you have to put in there to reach 6000 calories.

Insane. we can be talking about, what? 20 eggs a day? dunno but a shitton of them

EDIT: well 12, carry on

 

[SeanR1221]

I'm assuming the water comment was a joke....

Your chicken breasts are either mutant sized or you're way overestimating those.

Sphinx, he's having 16 eggs a day. 4 at each snack and there's two snacks

 

[Cooter]

so I went to the gym and it was "o.k." interesting chest day, it shows that I am eating a bit better, and since I changed my split layout, I think I am doing better all around.



agreed, I want to knw how many eggs and chicken breasts you have to put in there to reach 6000 calories.

Insane. we can be talking about, what? 20 eggs a day? dunno but a shitton of them

EDIT: well 12, carry on

Actually 16! I said Dayumm!

 

[sphinx]

oh, I fail at reading, I thought it was just one snack,

man, 16 eggs every day, mad props for achieveing that but I think I'd start to hate life I did that,

6 is the most I can eat per day and even then, I start feeling guilty lol

and 8 of them are fried, I said damn,

dat oil

 

[Rookje]

I've been maintaining bodyfat % and gaining muscle mass at that intake. (Up from 172lbs.)

I'm afraid if I dropped any lower my bodyfat would plummet.


Beef is expensive. ;_; Any alternatives? I like chicken and eggs as protein because they're cheap as fuck.

Pork. Pork shoulder slow cooked.

 

[Izayoi]

I'm assuming the water comment was a joke....

Your chicken breasts are either mutant sized or you're way overestimating those.

Sphinx, he's having 16 eggs a day. 4 at each snack and there's two snacks

They're the hugemungo Costco ones, each comes in at around 450 grams uncooked. I might actually be underestimating them, I'm using About's Calorie Counter which actually lists half a breast at 86g (cooked).

And yes, the water thing was a joke. I was pretty clearly overestimating my intake.

The reason I eat so many eggs is because I get them for free from a neighbor, which is pretty swanky. (Although it does make me worried about my cholesterol a bit.)

 

[APF]

8 eggs in the morning, 4 eggs for each snack = 1152
2 chicken breasts for lunch, 2 in the stir-fry = 1128
3 cups of spinach per meal = 105 (lol)
Miscellaneous ingredients and oil for stir-fry = ~800
1oz of almonds per meal = 815
1/2oz raisins per meal = 210
2 cups of wild rice under the stir-fry = 332
Protein shake (three servings) = 600

Total = 5142

(Hmm... I guess that means I drink 858 calories worth of water every day. Not bad.)

I think you can ditch that protein shake dude. EDIT: sorry, I mean those three protein shakes

 

[n0n44m]

Yah, I got it off Craiglist (used only a few times) for $250. I love it, especially since I live in a place that snows 5 months out of the year and still try to get SOME cardio.

$250 for a C2 Model D ? fuuuuuuuu ... I could only find used Model C's for €500ish so I bought a new one for €1000+

still best money I ever spent

what are your best times? I'm stuck at 7:20 @ 2K , 19:25 @ 5K & 40:05 @ 10K. Usually I end up dry heaving when trying to go faster been rowing (for weightloss) since July, around 2.5~3 hours / week

 

[rage1973]

They're the hugemungo Costco ones, each comes in at around 450 grams uncooked. I might actually be underestimating them, I'm using About's Calorie Counter which actually lists half a breast at 86g (cooked).

And yes, the water thing was a joke. I was pretty clearly overestimating my intake.

The reason I eat so many eggs is because I get them for free from a neighbor, which is pretty swanky. (Although it does make me worried about my cholesterol a bit.)

You can definitely add some more carbs to your diet.
Try adding some white rice, sweet potatoes or oatmeal to your diet to up your caloric counter.

 

[SeanR1221]

They're the hugemungo Costco ones, each comes in at around 450 grams uncooked. I might actually be underestimating them, I'm using About's Calorie Counter which actually lists half a breast at 86g (cooked).

And yes, the water thing was a joke. I was pretty clearly overestimating my intake.

The reason I eat so many eggs is because I get them for free from a neighbor, which is pretty swanky. (Although it does make me worried about my cholesterol a bit.)

Can you take a picture of these? 450grams is almost a pound. I've gotten the chicken breast there before and don't remember them being an entire pound each pre cooked. That's pretty massive.

 

[Powercast]

I think you can ditch that protein shake dude. EDIT: sorry, I mean those three protein shakes

Yeah with such high protein consumption (16 eggs? motherofgod) he doesn't need whey shakes lol

 

[SeanR1221]

Yeah with such high protein consumption (16 eggs? motherofgod) he doesn't need whey shakes lol

He's getting near 400g from the chicken alone.

Lol this is the most bizarre diet I've ever heard of.

At least MTP makes sense. Dude is physical all day.

 

[Izayoi]

You can definitely add some more carbs to your diet.
Try adding some white rice, sweet potatoes or oatmeal to your diet to up your caloric counter.

Why white rice? Wouldn't more wild rice be preferable? I fucking love sweet potatoes though so I might look at that (same with oatmeal).

Can you take a picture of these? 450grams is almost a pound. I've gotten the chicken breast there before and don't remember them being an entire pound each pre cooked. That's pretty massive.

Yeah, I'll do that. They are monsters.

He's getting near 400g from the chicken alone.

Lol this is the most bizarre diet I've ever heard of.

At least MTP makes sense. Dude is physical all day.

It's bizarre? I was just picking healthy things and shot for an intake that kept my body fat fluctuations to a minimum. Should I look into changing it? I'm honestly open to anything, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

I recognize the eggs are really heavy on cholesterol, but they're free, and protein is expensive - so if I can cut back without dropping them entirely I would like to do that (maybe have a couple ground beef patties at snack time instead of eggs).

 

[rage1973]

Why white rice? Wouldn't more wild rice be preferable? I fucking love sweet potatoes though so I might look at that (same with oatmeal).

White rice just tastes better and the nutritional difference between the two is very minimal.

 

[Spiritreaver]

It's cuttin' time boys.

 

[Izayoi]

White rice just tastes better and the nutritional difference between the two is very minimal.

Eh. My mom hammered white grain avoidance into me when I was young, so I grew up on multi-grain and brown stuff. I much prefer it to the white alternative. I'm foodist, I guess.

 

[IceCold]

"Come with me if you want to lift"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZV3aZfextU

This should be in the OT.


For Izayoi, do any type of compound routine, Starting Strength, 5x5 madcow, greyskull lp, etc.

I like greyskull because you do the compound lifts but can also customize it. It's flexible and deloading isn't frowned upon, it's encouraged. You also aren't squatting 3 times a week. Starting Strength is very strict and their followers act like a cult. God forbid if you want to add 1 set of bicep curls. So that may be a bit off putting but it's good for total noobs who always want to add more exercises (which is whp the routine is aimed for). But if you decide to do SS, don't follow Rippetoe's way of doing power cleans, I've heard a lot of people say he teaches it wrong (by teaching his shrug technique instead of the triple extension).

 

[sphinx]

It's cuttin' time boys.

I've made it a resolution to show progress pics only if I have a very visible 4 or 6 Pack just standing, no good angles, light, or bullshit, so maybe in 3 or 4 months.

More than the sixpack, I want to see if I can keep my eating beahviour under control, that's what interests me the most at this point, whether I have the character to pull it of or not.

 

[J. Bravo]

free quest bars just got here. came with a recipe book. i got chocolate chip cookie dough and white chocolate raspberry.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

"Come with me if you want to lift"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZV3aZfextU

This should be in the OT.


For Izayoi, do any type of compound routine, Starting Strength, 5x5 madcow, greyskull lp, etc.

I like greyskull because you do the compound lifts but can also customize it. It's flexible and deloading isn't frowned upon, it's encouraged. You also aren't squatting 3 times a week. Starting Strength is very strict and their followers act like a cult. God forbid if you want to add 1 set of bicep curls. So that may be a bit off putting but it's good for total noobs who always want to add more exercises (which is whp the routine is aimed for). But if you decide to do SS, don't follow Rippetoe's way of doing power cleans, I've heard a lot of people say he teaches it wrong (by teaching his shrug technique instead of the triple extension).

It's not a cult at all. (I hate it when people say this stuff about anything they don't necessarily like)

The reason it's set up the way it is and is strict is all in the name. "Starting Strength." It's for people who have not done strength training before. True newbies have no business adding in extra bicep curls or whatever other exercises. True newbies should be doing squats 3 times week. The first thing they need to do is build a foundation and that's what Starting Strength will help them do. It's not meant to be the end-all be-all weight training program, nor does it claim to be.

 

[rando14]

this is awesome lol

 

[Spiritreaver]

I've made it a resolution to show progress pics only if I have a very visible 4 or 6 Pack just standing, no good angles, light, or bullshit, so maybe in 3 or 4 months.

More than the sixpack, I want to see if I can keep my eating beahviour under control, that's what interests me the most at this point, whether I have the character to pull it of or not.

I hear ya, you should go for it. Maybe get super cut just for the fun of it, see how you look, snap a few pics, then go back to normal fitness life. It's a good feeling to have to know that you can get yourself to that point.

 

[Cudder]

Have to do squats later tonight. At a restaurant right now and am soooo full. I just want to go home and nap for a couple hours. Squats were getting really hard last week. So close to three plates. I'm scared. ;(

 

[IceCold]

It's not a cult at all. (I hate it when people say this stuff about anything they don't necessarily like)

The reason it's set up the way it is and is strict is all in the name. "Starting Strength." It's for people who have not done strength training before. True newbies have no business adding in extra bicep curls or whatever other exercises. True newbies should be doing squats 3 times week. The first thing they need to do is build a foundation and that's what Starting Strength will help them do. It's not meant to be the end-all be-all weight training program, nor does it claim to be.

I've done SS and yes they behave a bit cult-ish. Everything Rippetoe says is right and is the only way. I guess that's why they like his take no prisoner, tough guy persona. SS isn't the only routine suitable for a beginner and adding some bicep curls or pull ups isn't gonna ruin anything. Besides, SS isn't even original, Bill Starr had those routines written decades ago. So there are many routines that a beginners can do.

 

[APF]

It's bizarre? I was just picking healthy things and shot for an intake that kept my body fat fluctuations to a minimum. Should I look into changing it? I'm honestly open to anything, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

If what you're doing is really working for you I'd be wary of changing things just because it seems odd to us. I would say though that the electronic body fat testers aren't reliable enough to go on, and after a certain point above 10% it becomes very difficult to self-assess whether the weight you're gaining is more muscle than fat. While it's still not completely accurate, I advise tracking skinfold measurements using a body fat caliper, and try to come to conclusions based on those measurements over time. Alternately, you could just do a quick and dirty waist measurement every week or so, using a seamstress ruler or whatever they're called. That's far from accurate but is easy and cheap vs getting a good caliper.

After a while you come to have a sense of how fast you gain, how many calories you actually need to eat to gain/lose, protein requirements, etc.

 

[A More Normal Bird]

"Come with me if you want to lift"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZV3aZfextU

This should be in the OT.


For Izayoi, do any type of compound routine, Starting Strength, 5x5 madcow, greyskull lp, etc.

I like greyskull because you do the compound lifts but can also customize it. It's flexible and deloading isn't frowned upon, it's encouraged. You also aren't squatting 3 times a week. Starting Strength is very strict and their followers act like a cult. God forbid if you want to add 1 set of bicep curls. So that may be a bit off putting but it's good for total noobs who always want to add more exercises (which is whp the routine is aimed for). But if you decide to do SS, don't follow Rippetoe's way of doing power cleans, I've heard a lot of people say he teaches it wrong (by teaching his shrug technique instead of the triple extension).

It's not a cult at all. (I hate it when people say this stuff about anything they don't necessarily like)

The reason it's set up the way it is and is strict is all in the name. "Starting Strength." It's for people who have not done strength training before. True newbies have no business adding in extra bicep curls or whatever other exercises. True newbies should be doing squats 3 times week. The first thing they need to do is build a foundation and that's what Starting Strength will help them do. It's not meant to be the end-all be-all weight training program, nor does it claim to be.

I think the issue here is that the wording IceCold used implies that anyone who says "do Starting Strength" is a "follower" of it. Rippetoe definitely has people who hang off his every word, it comes with the territory. There's nothing about the routine itself that says you can't add curls or whatever, just make sure they don't get in the way of the important lifts. Greyskull is fine as well, though I do feel it's a little better suited as a step between something like SS and 5/3/1, TM etc... For a rank beginner, squatting three times a week on a linear progression has a lot of benefits and the load shouldn't be too much to handle.

 

[SeanR1221]

I don't mean bizarre in a mean way, it's just a very a-typical intake.

 

[God Dayumm]

Yo, guys

I started my new diet/routine and I will have to eat at least 4000 calories of carbs at the end of the week. It has to be a combination of sugars and complex carbs with little to no fat. The sugars are easy as I can shove fruit loops and other junk all day, but what about the other kinds of carbs? I was thinking a combination of potatoes, pasta and rice. Maybe beans, maybe. Unfortunately these are not as calorie dense as I would like, so I will have to eat a lot! What other food high in starches or fiber do you recommend? whole breads? bagels?

 

[rando14]

Yo, guys

I started my new diet/routine and I will have to eat at least 4000 calories of carbs at the end of the week. It has to be a combination of sugars and complex carbs with little to no fat. The sugars are easy as I can shove fruit loops and other junk all day, but what about the other kinds of carbs? I was thinking a combination of potatoes, pasta and rice. Maybe beans, maybe. Unfortunately these are not as calorie dense as I would like, so I will have to eat a lot! What other food high in starches or fiber do you recommend? whole breads? bagels?

Er wait what exactly is this diet?

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

Yo, guys

I started my new diet/routine and I will have to eat at least 4000 calories of carbs at the end of the week. It has to be a combination of sugars and complex carbs with little to no fat. The sugars are easy as I can shove fruit loops and other junk all day, but what about the other kinds of carbs? I was thinking a combination of potatoes, pasta and rice. Maybe beans, maybe. Unfortunately these are not as calorie dense as I would like, so I will have to eat a lot! What other food high in starches or fiber do you recommend? whole breads? bagels?

wtf?

Man, my bench has absolutely plummeted since being sick. I'm down TEN POUNDS from what I was benching before.

Fuck.