Advice for a tall guy with little muscle.

[Nemic]

Hey all.

So I'm looking for some suggestions & points of reinforcement to actually get some gains out of this workout routine & diet.
EDIT: Overall goal is to Bulk up initially. Tired of looking like a cardboard box. After that (Guessing late winter early spring), I want to reduce bodyfat for muscular definition, for a beach body in the spring.

One problem is I can't use whey, as it really messes with my stomach, even with lactaid stuff. So I've started using Eggwhite protein.

So here are my stats right now.

6'3 203lbs
36" Waist

My arms/legs are long. My Legs are in decent shape due to backpacking & sand volleyball, but my upper body is overall pathetic. I've got some "love handles" around my gut area, but the top 2 abs are slightly visable when I flex them with good posture. Thats it though. I dislike this area of my body more then any other.

I've started my first real workout routine and I'm wanting to get some suggestions on tweaks to help me get max gains out of it, but having problems so far.

First off Diet.
I've always had a sensible diet. Prob way I've maintained 204-208lbs past 3 years. I've cut fried foods out (something of a treat for me in the past). Increased protein. I focus on chicken, fish, and eggs for the most part. I'm trying to eat every 2-3 hours this week, but so far its been pretty tough. I don't drink any carbonated drinks, and I only drink socially (aka not often right now).

My sticking point so far has been the concept of packing in 1.5g per lb of bodyweight in protein is freaking crazy to me. 300+ grams of protein right now feels like an impossible task. I feel accomplished when I hit 200g. One thing that I just can't bring myself to do is raw eggs, so I just hardboil them, and have no problem.

Here is what I've been doing this week and aprx times. I'm usually up around 6:30 AM, and in bed around 10pm. Eating like this just keeps me "full" all the time, and I have had to force myself to eat stuff this week at these times.

Meal 1 (8am):
2 Large Hardboiled Eggs
Drink: 1 Scoop eggwhite protein (24g), 8oz juice(Apple this week), 1 bannana Blended

Meal 2: (2pm):
6oz sliced Turkey Breast OR 1 Scoop eggwhite protein (24g), 8oz juice, 1 bannana Blended
1/2 Cup low fat Cottage Cheese

Meal 3: (11am):
6-8oz chicken
1 Bag of Green Giant "steamers" vegetables in sauce. (beans+potatoes / broccoli / carrots/broc/califlower) OR brown rice.

Meal 4: (5:30 PM)
6oz sliced Turkey Breast OR 1 Scoop eggwhite protein (24g), 8oz juice, 1 bannana Blended
1/2 Cup low fat Cottage Cheese

Meal 5: (7:30PM)
6-8oz Fish OR Chicken
Mixed Baby Greens Salad
1 Bag of Green Giant "steamers" vegetables in sauce. (beans+potatoes / broccoli / carrots/broc/califlower)

I set a goal for 3000 calories a day, but have hit it once this week, and that's cause I ate some Chinese food. Healthy days, I'm getting to 2500-2700 calories, but over 200g protein.

I've picked up some fish oil pills last night, and will be incorporating that as well into my diet. directions said 3 a day with a meal.

Activity
I have a desk job. Right now I play volleyball competitively. 2-3 hours a week (indoor 6s/4s). No other activities other then my workout which I've started this week.

Workout:
My neighbor is somewhat of a power lifter hobbyist, and have gotten the starter ideas from him, when I just got overwhelmed by all the programs out there. he suggested I try this for 6-8 weeks then change it. I read at some point starters should really focus on legs/back (meaning deads & squats) and It makes sense to me.

3 Days a week, Core Exercises, alternating Day A and B.
Day A: Squats, Bench, Deadlift
Day B: Squats, Shoulder Press, Deadlift.

This week has mostly been To find my weights. I started with just an Olympic bar (40lbs one), and added 5-10 lbs weight gradually for each exercise by doing 1 set of 3 until I got to a point that I "felt" it. Each Rep was attempted with explosive resistance, and a normal return to starting position. Recorded Numbers are what I "felt" was a good form weight with just a hint of slowness during the exertion, with the idea, I'm going to add weight every day for the first few weeks.
(Reps x Sets, is that the right order?)

Monday:
Squats 5x3 75lbs
Bench 5x3 80lbs
Deadlift 5x1 100lbs

Tuesday:
Squats 5x3 85lbs
Press 5x3 40lbs
Deadlift 5x1 120lbs

Next workout is saturday, and I'll be repeating Monday's workout but with more weight.

I know its a long post, and I'm hoping to get any pointers on what I Can do to
1) eat more (300g seriously?!?!) and
2) Maximize my workout. My only thing I question is Deadlifts going for 1 rep of 5.
3) other General advice.

 

[Fuglydude]

You gotta tell us what your goals are first mang... Are you trying to bulk, get shredded, get stronger?

Be specific in your goals, and we'll suggest stuff for ya.

 

[Nemic]

Gah, sorry! Forgot that detail.
Short term goal is Bulk up. Bigger upper body, less cardboard box looking
Long term is shread. Not too worried about strength so much as overall health and appearance. Only strength goal I can think of, is Bench my weight.

 

[Fuglydude]

You're already a pretty big dude at 6'3" - +200 and also reasonably active. If bulking is your initial goal, I would strongly recommend you increase the amount of food you're taking in.

High quality natural source carbs are invaluable for bulking. I'm talkin things like oatmeal, yams, brown rice, etc. Just add 1-1.5 cup oatmeal to meal 1, lose the juice and banana in meal 2 and 4, and replace it w/ 1 yam (make sure its 250+ g) or 1-1.5 cup brown rice. Add another yam or brown rice for meal 3. Last meal, add 1 table spoon natural peanut butter. Also try adding olive oil or macademia nut oil to all of your veges.

I'd aim for at least 4000-4500 cals/day and obviously more protein. I'm 5'8" - 185, and I aim for around 4000 and 250-300 g protein/day. Its a lot but you slowly get used to it. My first week of eating 4000 cals, I felt like I was pregnant.

I'm not totally sold on your work out either. I love lifting heavy as well, but I think you need to have some higher rep, hypertrophy type work in there as well.

A routine I found that was really effective is as follows:

Train 3 days/wk:

Day one: Push/Pull. Alternate Bench/bench variations and row variations.
Do 3 push and 3 pull exercises:

Bench/bent over row
Incline dumbell press/dumbell row
incline fly/wide grip pull up

Day Two: Squats/chins. Basically squats and chin ups (narrow underhand grip) and then accessory work as you see fit.

Day Three: Deads/Dips. Same as above except core routine is Deadlifts alternated w/ dips.

Just experiment and figure out what combo of diet/training works for you. As you probably realize diet's gonna be the integral factor in all this that'll determine whether you're successful or not in reaching your goal.

 

[Kerpal]

Your neighbor gave you the Rippetoe program. It's a solid one and will give you very fast gains assuming you follow it to the letter and are eating/sleeping enough. Milk it as long as you can then switch to something else.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Tall, no muscle? Sounds like an ectomorph. Look into training for ectomorphs. Don't expect to get huge without chemical assistance. But with some proper training and diet for your body you can look like a overly muscular basketball player.

On the bright side, you probably have an incredible metabolism, so you don't need to do a clean bulk. Ice cream and burgers for you! You probably have a hard time putting on fat because of your body type. You mentioned abs are visible. I don't understand how you can have "love handles" with abs at the same time. I'm guessing that's just water retention and loose skin.

You also don't need to eat 300g of protein. About 0.8g to 1.5g per lb of lean bodyweight is needed. The rest is complex carbs and tasty veggies.