Looking to do recomposition..recommendations

[Obee1]

Your clarification is much different than your statement, "5x5 is for beginners." I can agree with most of your statements above but it really comes down to what are your training goals. Me and my lifters spend 75% of our training year in the 5 rep range. We leave tomorrow for Arlington Tx to compete in the Collegiate Nationals. I have 2 Collegiate National Champions. 3 of my lifters will deadlift over 700 lbs and I have one that plans to attempt a 1003 lb squat. These guys are very muscular to boot and NOT beginners. In football we spend the same 75% of the year in the 5 rep range as football is a mostly played in the Glycolic energy pathway. This means in between anaerobic and aerobic energy pathways. Bodybuilders must use all rep ranges including 5's to maximize size. High reps involve more type 1 fiber activation, which don't grow as big as type 2 fibers which get activated under heavy weights such as 5's. The lifters that spend a lot of time in the 5's range also have denser fuller muscles in my experience. I'm well versed in the CNS as that's the name of the game in powerlifting where we hit our peak CNS efficiency for competition. This is my practical experience from training everyone from amateur bodybuilding, strongman, powerlifting and sports of all kinds for the past 37 years. I can support it scientifically also but I don't want to put anyone to sleep.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Does more reps increase muscle definition or is it just diet?

In my experience, definition is diet and low rep strength training. As @BackInTheGame78 said, if you can go deadlift or squat a heavy ass weight (I.e. 400+ lbs), your muscles will be thicker and denser. It’s noticeable when people look at you. Strong men look strong. Not always the case for everyone else that has muscle mass.

 

[member160292]

In my experience, definition is diet and low rep strength training. As @BackInTheGame78 said, if you can go deadlift or squat a heavy ass weight (I.e. 400+ lbs), your muscles will be thicker and denser. It’s noticeable when people look at you. Strong men look strong. Not always the case for everyone else that has muscle mass.

So 5x5 or 3x3 with good diet?

 

[EyeBRollin]

So 5x5 or 3x3 with good diet?

Yep. Id throw in some daily walking or other form of low intensity baseline cardio.

 

[Obee1]

Does more reps increase muscle definition or is it just diet?

It's mostly diet however higher reps and a little cardio speed up the process by burning more calories and stored fat. I prefer sprints and walking as it is more muscle sparring. LSD (Long Slow Cardio) will eat into your recovery and sacrifice some muscle mass. You can certainly do it on low reps though. That is my preferred method, you just have to be even more precise on your diet to make sure you are at an energy deficit in the food consumption department and to activate stored energy.

 

[TheManMasenko]

1 Month Update:

My weight increased. I weighed 163.8lb in the morning before eating, then I weighed myself after two meals and weighed 167lb.

I won't lie. I have been eating potato chips occasionally and slack on protein for about 30% of the month. My overall body looks has a light change. My pecs/back/legs look slightly bigger but the arms arent changing. I saw Stanley make a post about this too, so I'll check out the advice on that. I'm going to make a personal log of my diet/workout to stay consistent with the results too.

On a usual day, this is my diet...
3 boiled eggs (21g of protein)
Protein Yogurt w/ granola (30g of protein)
Protein Oats w/ Peanut butter (30g of protein)
Shrimp fried rice (25g of protein)
Ground Turkey (40g of protein)
Protein Bar (15g of protein)
Sweet potato (I'm going to buy a scale to start weighing my carbs)
Some fruits (kiwi, banana, apple, grapes)

The workouts I do are 5x5. I only do squats/bench presses. I currently squat 135lb. I bench 105lb. I plan to increase the weight of the workouts this week.

I'm currently not doing deadlifts because I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to let a buddy show me the ropes before I get into that.

I'll post body shots and the day-by-day workout/diet log during the 3-month update.

I'm thinking to believe this to be harder than I actually thought. I hope to have a defined body (with some nice arms) by December 2023 (7 months from this post), be able to bench my body weight, and not have as much belly fat.

Thanks again for the advice/input.

 

[Stanley]

1 Month Update:

My weight increased. I weighed 163.8lb in the morning before eating, then I weighed myself after two meals and weighed 167lb.

I won't lie. I have been eating potato chips occasionally and slack on protein for about 30% of the month. My overall body looks has a light change. My pecs/back/legs look slightly bigger but the arms arent changing. I saw Stanley make a post about this too, so I'll check out the advice on that. I'm going to make a personal log of my diet/workout to stay consistent with the results too.

On a usual day, this is my diet...
3 boiled eggs (21g of protein)
Protein Yogurt w/ granola (30g of protein)
Protein Oats w/ Peanut butter (30g of protein)
Shrimp fried rice (25g of protein)
Ground Turkey (40g of protein)
Protein Bar (15g of protein)
Sweet potato (I'm going to buy a scale to start weighing my carbs)
Some fruits (kiwi, banana, apple, grapes)

The workouts I do are 5x5. I only do squats/bench presses. I currently squat 135lb. I bench 105lb. I plan to increase the weight of the workouts this week.

I'm currently not doing deadlifts because I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to let a buddy show me the ropes before I get into that.

I'll post body shots and the day-by-day workout/diet log during the 3-month update.

I'm thinking to believe this to be harder than I actually thought. I hope to have a defined body (with some nice arms) by December 2023 (7 months from this post), be able to bench my body weight, and not have as much belly fat.

Thanks again for the advice/input.

Make sure you are doing progressive overload and add weight, but don't worry about how much you are lifting compared to anyone else.
I'd add in bent over row so you hit your back and if you're not deadlifting yet throw in some hip thrusts.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

1 Month Update:

My weight increased. I weighed 163.8lb in the morning before eating, then I weighed myself after two meals and weighed 167lb.

I won't lie. I have been eating potato chips occasionally and slack on protein for about 30% of the month. My overall body looks has a light change. My pecs/back/legs look slightly bigger but the arms arent changing. I saw Stanley make a post about this too, so I'll check out the advice on that. I'm going to make a personal log of my diet/workout to stay consistent with the results too.

On a usual day, this is my diet...
3 boiled eggs (21g of protein)
Protein Yogurt w/ granola (30g of protein)
Protein Oats w/ Peanut butter (30g of protein)
Shrimp fried rice (25g of protein)
Ground Turkey (40g of protein)
Protein Bar (15g of protein)
Sweet potato (I'm going to buy a scale to start weighing my carbs)
Some fruits (kiwi, banana, apple, grapes)

The workouts I do are 5x5. I only do squats/bench presses. I currently squat 135lb. I bench 105lb. I plan to increase the weight of the workouts this week.

I'm currently not doing deadlifts because I don't know what I'm doing. I'm going to let a buddy show me the ropes before I get into that.

I'll post body shots and the day-by-day workout/diet log during the 3-month update.

I'm thinking to believe this to be harder than I actually thought. I hope to have a defined body (with some nice arms) by December 2023 (7 months from this post), be able to bench my body weight, and not have as much belly fat.

Thanks again for the advice/input.

Your diet is mostly terrible. Fix that first.

 

[TheManMasenko]

Your diet is mostly terrible. Fix that first.

The list is bad? Or the chips?

 

[EyeBRollin]

The list is bad? Or the chips?

Your strength is not good. I’d forget about recomp and build that first. Right now your diet is too protein centric, with not enough carbs. Get some rice, beans, milk, and oats. Add 5 lbs each workout to your compound lifts. Get your buddy to help you deadlift ASAP.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

The list is bad? Or the chips?

I tend to stay away from anything that isn't a one ingredient food.

Granola? Hell no. Processed junk.
Fried rice? Nope.
Peanut butter? Nope. Check that ingredient list.

Also, that's too much dairy for my liking. Most people would do well and make things easier on themselves if they limited or even eliminated their dairy intake.

My weakness is cheese but only on higher fat days and usually it's in the form of goat cheese. Cow's milk is the real issue. Even in people who are not lactose intolerant, milk can be reactive and hinder their weight loss efforts.

Also, you never weigh yourself during the day. Always first thing in the morning after waking up and before eating or drinking anything, and preferably after a bowel movement. Needs to be consistent or else it's impossible to compare results if it's haphazard and all over the place under different conditions.

Regardless, you don't seem to have a very good handle on what it is you want to accomplish, you seem to be all over the place like bullets from a sawed off shotgun.

Personally, I think you should be working towards putting on muscle as it looks like you have nonexistent musculature. As such I would operate in a 250-500 caloric deficit while eating at least 175g of protein daily to help build muscle.

 

[TheManMasenko]

Adjustment Update:

Due to the replies, I took the advice and made adjustments...

I increased the weight of my compound workouts. I also adjusted my diet and added some fruits and vegetables, mainly stuff I saw on @RazorRambo24 post on nutrition.

Tuesday Workout (4/17/23)
5 reps of Bench Press (5 sets total),
125lb x 5, 3 sets
135lb x 3, 1 set
135lb x 3, 1 set

5 reps of Squats (5 sets total)
155lb x 5, 3 sets
175lb x 3, 1 set
175lb x 2, 1 set

I took 30-45 seconds breaks per set. Prior bench press was 105lb and 135lb on squats. I felt when bench pressing 135lb, I did not feel much tension in my body compared to the lower weight sets. If I had to take guess I was ego-lifting? Thoughts?

My diet for today (4/19/2023)
Protein Oats (25g)
2 boiled eggs (12g)
Ground turkey (40g)
Apple x3
Shrimp w/ Pasta (30g)
Protein Bar (15g) x2
Chicken W/ Green Peas (50g)

I see the error in this list...lack of carbohydrates. I plan to add some brown rice/pasta/sweet potato with my morning protein.

 

[BackInTheGame78]

Adjustment Update:

Due to the replies, I took the advice and made adjustments...

I increased the weight of my compound workouts. I also adjusted my diet and added some fruits and vegetables, mainly stuff I saw on @RazorRambo24 post on nutrition.

Tuesday Workout (4/17/23)
5 reps of Bench Press (5 sets total),
125lb x 5, 3 sets
135lb x 3, 1 set
135lb x 3, 1 set

5 reps of Squats (5 sets total)
155lb x 5, 3 sets
175lb x 3, 1 set
175lb x 2, 1 set

I took 30-45 seconds breaks per set. Prior bench press was 105lb and 135lb on squats. I felt when bench pressing 135lb, I did not feel much tension in my body compared to the lower weight sets. If I had to take guess I was ego-lifting? Thoughts?

My diet for today (4/19/2023)
Protein Oats (25g)
2 boiled eggs (12g)
Ground turkey (40g)
Apple x3
Shrimp w/ Pasta (30g)
Protein Bar (15g) x2
Chicken W/ Green Peas (50g)

I see the error in this list...lack of carbohydrates. I plan to add some brown rice/pasta/sweet potato with my morning protein.

Get rid of those protein bars. Processed garbage and likely high in sugars.

 

[TheManMasenko]

Get rid of those protein bars. Processed garbage and likely high in sugars.

Yea, I'll find an alternative for them. Most likely to incorporate some lean ground beef.

Update in workouts:

I learned how to deadlift and started doing military presses. The next thing is to learn bent over row. I'll post 4/20/23 diet at the end of the day.

Thanks again, very grateful.