Requesting Feedback on my Workout & Diet

[mellow_yellow]

I'm not brand new to working out. I've pressed weights on and off at the gym since college, but eventually stopped and lost my muscle mass and gained body fat. I've been working out since last December and I'm still staying consistent. I'm at 2-3 sessions per week, but with more discipline I'll push that to 3-4 sessions like I used to do. At my old peak, I deadlifted 190, squatted 225, benched 140, and could do 3 pull-ups. I've had trouble making big gains in my chest and back for whatever reason -- maybe it's genetic, maybe I'm not hitting perfect form, or something else.

I'm referencing these 3 sources:

• https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/
  
• http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/
• The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung

The first 2 websites (and many others) say it's pure calories in and calories out. Other books I know like The Obesity Code; Good Calories, Bad Calories; and The Calorie Myth say it's insulin resistance and really about avoiding refined carbs and sugar more than being concerned about calories.

My goal is to get down to 10-15% body fat and take care of the looks part of LMS and increase my SMV. I've been keeping a spreadsheet of everything so I'm able to provide my routine & stats.


These are my current body stats:

• Height: 5' 10"
• Weight:198 lbs
• Estimated Body Fat: 22-25%

This is my routine & exercise stats:

• On average, I'm doing 10 minutes of cardio + 4 exercises (3 sets each exercise) every session
  
  
• 10 min of cardio (elliptical) every other gym session. I increase level to level 20/25 and do interval training. I put in effort for 3 minutes, lower intensity & cool down for 1 minute, effort for 2 minutes, cool down for 1, effort for 1 minute, and finish after final cool-down.
  
  
• Chest (max weight)
  • flat dumbbell press: 60 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps
  • incline dumbbell flyes: 50 lbs x 3 sets x 7 reps
  • incline bench press: 110 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps

• Shoulders (max weight)
  • clean & press: 80 lbs x 2 sets x 8 reps

• Back (max weight)
  • pull-ups: I can only do 2-3 full pull-ups
  • machine-assisted pull-ups: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps (30 lbs means I insert the metal rod into the 30 weight)
  • deadlift: 150 lbs x 3 sets x 9 reps
  • dumbbell rows: 55 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps
  • dumbbell bicep curls: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 4 reps

• Legs (max weight)
  • squats: 140 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps

This is my diet for the past few days:
I admit that my diet is not great. I do eat out a lot, but I don't overeat and finish the standard American-size restaurant dinner plate. I've also been traveling a lot recently (aka eating out) so that hasn't helped. I will cut back on eating out and start cooking my own meals again.

Right now, I'm not really gaining or losing weight and I'm staying within 198 lbs, sometimes going up to 201 and 202 lbs -- probably due to water weight from salt intake. I am slowly getting stronger which is good although, of course I need to be disciplined if I want to lean out.

Example 1

• 6 oz. steak & eggs w/ 2 pieces of sourdough toast & salad w/ 1 spoon of olive oil
• 2 pieces fried chicken thigh, 1/2 cup of baked beans, 1 cup collard greens

Example 2

• 4 oz. scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of toast w/ butter, and 2 hardboiled eggs
• 1 bowl of rice, fermented veggies, grilled white fish
• Asian vegetable & beef stew, 4 oz. grilled salmon, baked green beans, fermented veggies

Example 3

• 1 burger + fries
• 2 medium tacos, queso dip & chips
• 1 beer + 3 moscow mules

Example 4

• veggie smoothie
• white fish / Asian vegetable & beef stew / pickled veggies
• ~5 oz. of Texas BBQ meat / Asian vegetable & beef stew

Questions:

• I listed all the exercises I'm doing right now. I feel like I'm missing some other important compound movements. Do you recommend any exercises I'm forgetting about have any tips that will fully maximize my weightlifting routine?
  
  
• I have trouble making large gains with my chest & back. What do you think I'm doing wrong or could do to improve this?
  
  
• I know that I have to eat leaner meats, avoid refined carbs, avoid sugars, and oily foods with excess calories. Do you have any knee-jerk insight on what I need to fix about my diet that I might be ignorant about?

• What's the right portion size to eat per meal? If you can post photos of your typical meal, that will help me gauge.
  
  
• Are there are any websites or books I should read to help me formulate the right diet and workout routine for myself? I've read some articles in the SS Vault before, but I wasn't able to get a good direction from it.

 

[Fzatf]

I'm not brand new to working out. I've pressed weights on and off at the gym since college, but eventually stopped and lost my muscle mass and gained body fat. I've been working out since last December and I'm still staying consistent. I'm at 2-3 sessions per week, but with more discipline I'll push that to 3-4 sessions like I used to do. At my old peak, I deadlifted 190, squatted 225, benched 140, and could do 3 pull-ups. I've had trouble making big gains in my chest and back for whatever reason -- maybe it's genetic, maybe I'm not hitting perfect form, or something else.

I'm referencing these 3 sources:

• https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/
  
• http://physiqonomics.com/fat-loss/
• The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung

The first 2 websites (and many others) say it's pure calories in and calories out. Other books I know like The Obesity Code; Good Calories, Bad Calories; and The Calorie Myth say it's insulin resistance and really about avoiding refined carbs and sugar more than being concerned about calories.

My goal is to get down to 10-15% body fat and take care of the looks part of LMS and increase my SMV. I've been keeping a spreadsheet of everything so I'm able to provide my routine & stats.


These are my current body stats:

• Height: 5' 10"
• Weight:198 lbs
• Estimated Body Fat: 22-25%

This is my routine & exercise stats:

• On average, I'm doing 10 minutes of cardio + 4 exercises (3 sets each exercise) every session
  
  
• 10 min of cardio (elliptical) every other gym session. I increase level to level 20/25 and do interval training. I put in effort for 3 minutes, lower intensity & cool down for 1 minute, effort for 2 minutes, cool down for 1, effort for 1 minute, and finish after final cool-down.
  
  
• Chest (max weight)
  • flat dumbbell press: 60 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps
  • incline dumbbell flyes: 50 lbs x 3 sets x 7 reps
  • incline bench press: 110 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps

• Shoulders (max weight)
  • clean & press: 80 lbs x 2 sets x 8 reps

• Back (max weight)
  • pull-ups: I can only do 2-3 full pull-ups
  • machine-assisted pull-ups: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps (30 lbs means I insert the metal rod into the 30 weight)
  • deadlift: 150 lbs x 3 sets x 9 reps
  • dumbbell rows: 55 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps
  • dumbbell bicep curls: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 4 reps

• Legs (max weight)
  • squats: 140 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps

This is my diet for the past few days:
I admit that my diet is not great. I do eat out a lot, but I don't overeat and finish the standard American-size restaurant dinner plate. I've also been traveling a lot recently (aka eating out) so that hasn't helped. I will cut back on eating out and start cooking my own meals again.

Right now, I'm not really gaining or losing weight and I'm staying within 198 lbs, sometimes going up to 201 and 202 lbs -- probably due to water weight from salt intake. I am slowly getting stronger which is good although, of course I need to be disciplined if I want to lean out.

Example 1

• 6 oz. steak & eggs w/ 2 pieces of sourdough toast & salad w/ 1 spoon of olive oil
• 2 pieces fried chicken thigh, 1/2 cup of baked beans, 1 cup collard greens

Example 2

• 4 oz. scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of toast w/ butter, and 2 hardboiled eggs
• 1 bowl of rice, fermented veggies, grilled white fish
• Asian vegetable & beef stew, 4 oz. grilled salmon, baked green beans, fermented veggies

Example 3

• 1 burger + fries
• 2 medium tacos, queso dip & chips
• 1 beer + 3 moscow mules

Example 4

• veggie smoothie
• white fish / Asian vegetable & beef stew / pickled veggies
• ~5 oz. of Texas BBQ meat / Asian vegetable & beef stew

Questions:

• I listed all the exercises I'm doing right now. I feel like I'm missing some other important compound movements. Do you recommend any exercises I'm forgetting about have any tips that will fully maximize my weightlifting routine?
  
  
• I have trouble making large gains with my chest & back. What do you think I'm doing wrong or could do to improve this?
  
  
• I know that I have to eat leaner meats, avoid refined carbs, avoid sugars, and oily foods with excess calories. Do you have any knee-jerk insight on what I need to fix about my diet that I might be ignorant about?

• What's the right portion size to eat per meal? If you can post photos of your typical meal, that will help me gauge.
  
  
• Are there are any websites or books I should read to help me formulate the right diet and workout routine for myself? I've read some articles in the SS Vault before, but I wasn't able to get a good direction from it.

I've always found that calories in calories out was a satisfactory way to either bulk or cut. If your weight is stable that means you're not in a caloric deficit. It's easier to cut calories by eating clean foods that will keep you full; however, you can still lose weight with your diet if you can cut calories out of each meal by eating less.

I highly recommend vitruvian physique on YouTube for advice on cutting, bulking, macros, and diet.

 

[EyeBRollin]

You're doing way too much my friend. You need to simplify your routine. The problem is the fitness industry. ^^^^ This guy above is juiced out of his ass.

The formula for losing weight the healthy way is simple - you must do both strength training and cardio. A lot of both, over a long period of time.

Here's a quick routine I put my girlfriend through. She lost 25 lbs in 4 months, and squats ATG 225 lbs at 5'3 (better than most dudes).

Do these two workouts in alternating fashion, 3 times a week. Leave at least 48 hours between workouts. Add 5 lbs for each exercise each workout until you no longer can. Add 10 lbs each workout for the deadlift. This is called progressive overload. Start with an unloaded barbell for everything except Barbell Rows and Deadlifts (use a 10 lb on each side to start for those two). Start with Lat Pull downs at 25 lbs until you can do 75% of your target body weight, then move to true pull-ups.

Workout A:
Squat 3 X 5
Lat Pulldown 3 X 5
Overhead Press 3 X 5
Deadlift 1 X 5
25 minutes, low intensity cardio

Workout B:
Squat 3 X 5
Lat Pulldown 3 X 5
Bench Press 3 X 5
Pendlay Barbell Row 3 X 5
25 minutes, low intensity cardio

Do this until you fail at 3 separate exercises.

Do not train each set until failure. Do not increase repetitions. The goal here is to add weight as long as possible. This routine is simply a hybrid of Starting Strength and Stronglifts 5X5, only difference being addition of Lat Pulldowns from the beginning. I've found that upper body pulls need at least the 3:2 ratio vs. pushes to eliminate potential shoulder pain. The back is the most important muscle group for body development after the legs, and is severely under-trained even among otherwise strong lifters.

Do not waste your time with any isolation exercises until you have mastered this routine. That means squatting and deadlifting at least twice your body weight for a 1RM.

 

[Macaframalama]

• 
  
• Chest (max weight)
  • flat dumbbell press: 60 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps
  • incline dumbbell flyes: 50 lbs x 3 sets x 7 reps
  • incline bench press: 110 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps

• Shoulders (max weight)
  • clean & press: 80 lbs x 2 sets x 8 reps

• Back (max weight)
  • pull-ups: I can only do 2-3 full pull-ups
  • machine-assisted pull-ups: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 6 reps (30 lbs means I insert the metal rod into the 30 weight)
  • deadlift: 150 lbs x 3 sets x 9 reps
  • dumbbell rows: 55 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps
  • dumbbell bicep curls: 30 lbs x 3 sets x 4 reps

• Legs (max weight)
  • squats: 140 lbs x 3 sets x 10 reps

This is junk.

At my old peak, I deadlifted 190, squatted 225, benched 140,

Get on a program that emphasizes these 3 main movements and perhaps overhead press and focus on improving the big 4 lifts. You can still throw in assistance, beach body, fluff stuff, etc, but you need to understand how to go about it. You also haven't mentioned a plan of progression. 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler is good, has solid principles, easy to follow, and has plenty of answered questions over on his T-nation forum. Greyskull LP is good. Strong lifts 5x5 is good and madcow 5x5 is a good follow-up. Pretty sure, they even have apps, although unaffiliated. Just plug in your numbers and do the work to get started and read up and learn the why's in the meantime.

 

[mellow_yellow]

You're doing way too much my friend. You need to simplify your routine. The problem is the fitness industry. ^^^^ This guy above is juiced out of his ass.

The formula for losing weight the healthy way is simple - you must do both strength training and cardio. A lot of both, over a long period of time.

Here's a quick routine I put my girlfriend through. She lost 25 lbs in 4 months, and squats ATG 225 lbs at 5'3 (better than most dudes).

Do these two workouts in alternating fashion, 3 times a week. Leave at least 48 hours between workouts. Add 5 lbs for each exercise each workout until you no longer can. Add 10 lbs each workout for the deadlift. This is called progressive overload. Start with an unloaded barbell for everything except Barbell Rows and Deadlifts (use a 10 lb on each side to start for those two). Start with Lat Pull downs at 25 lbs until you can do 75% of your target body weight, then move to true pull-ups.

Workout A:
Squat 3 X 5
Lat Pulldown 3 X 5
Overhead Press 3 X 5
Deadlift 1 X 5
25 minutes, low intensity cardio

Workout B:
Squat 3 X 5
Lat Pulldown 3 X 5
Bench Press 3 X 5
Pendlay Barbell Row 3 X 5
25 minutes, low intensity cardio

Do this until you fail at 3 separate exercises.

Do not train each set until failure. Do not increase repetitions. The goal here is to add weight as long as possible. This routine is simply a hybrid of Starting Strength and Stronglifts 5X5, only difference being addition of Lat Pulldowns from the beginning. I've found that upper body pulls need at least the 3:2 ratio vs. pushes to eliminate potential shoulder pain. The back is the most important muscle group for body development after the legs, and is severely under-trained even among otherwise strong lifters.

Do not waste your time with any isolation exercises until you have mastered this routine. That means squatting and deadlifting at least twice your body weight for a 1RM.

Thanks for the guidance. I should've clarified that I'm not doing all these exercises in my current routine in 1 session. All of the exercises I've listed are broken up into 2 or 3 different sessions. I just listed all of my exercises out so everyone can see what my max weight / set / rep is for each exercise. My current routine has been 10 minutes of cardio then 3-4 exercises or 5-6 exercises when I skip cardio.

I'll switch over to your recommended A/B routine starting my next session. I'll do research into the Starting Strength and Stronglifts 5x5 routines to learn more about them. I've heard of Stronglifts 5x5 before. Man, fitness research gets exhausting since you have to filter out the junk and different opinions while customizing your own plan.

For your A/B routine, you said to start with an unloaded barbell first with exceptions. Are you saying that I should start from ground zero, building up from the unloaded barbell despite whatever weight I'm lifting right now? I'm asking because it will take weeks to work the routine up to my current strength, which is stronger since I posted this thread a few weeks ago.

For cardio, is there a specific calorie burn I should target or just cardio for 25 minutes at 60-80% max heart rate then stop? Finally, any sites or resources you recommend that I should read up on so I can build clear, no bs fitness and nutrition knowledge?

Do this until you fail at 3 separate exercises.

And could you clarify a bit more on what you mean? So if I'm at the gym, keep going with the routine until I fail at 3 of the exercises then I stop working out that session?

 

[mellow_yellow]

This routine is simply a hybrid of Starting Strength and Stronglifts 5X5, only difference being addition of Lat Pulldowns from the beginning. I've found that upper body pulls need at least the 3:2 ratio vs. pushes to eliminate potential shoulder pain. The back is the most important muscle group for body development after the legs, and is severely under-trained even among otherwise strong lifters

@EyeBRollin What's the 3:2 ratio? Does it describe how your primary back muscles to be developed enough in relation to other muscles so you can keep proper pull-up form and avoid injury?

Btw, I'll be implementing your suggested routine starting tomorrow. Let me know if I really need to start with an unloaded barbell despite the weight I'm lifting now.

 

[EyeBRollin]

And could you clarify a bit more on what you mean? So if I'm at the gym, keep going with the routine until I fail at 3 of the exercises then I stop working out that session?

Failing meaning you are plateauing at any three of the exercises in general. At some point, you will no longer be able to add weight between workouts on the Overhead press for example. That is usually the first plateau because it is the hardest. Then both the Bench and Barbell Row. Squat, Pullups / Lat Pulldown, and Deadlifts you can usually last at least 4-5 months, simply because they use the most muscles.

As you find yourself no longer able to add weight, you are outgrowing your "newbie gains." This is good. It means you have transitioned to an intermediate lifter.

@EyeBRollin
Btw, I'll be implementing your suggested routine starting tomorrow. Let me know if I really need to start with an unloaded barbell despite the weight I'm lifting now.

You should start with the unloaded barbell. Perfect your form at each exercise. The idea is to add weight for as long as possible. Lifting 3 X s per week, a lifter on a 5X5 program will increase their squat to 240 lbs in just 3 months.​