Newb here with a few Qs

[Creed]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. I intend to gather some info and then at some point will start a workout journal. I've read through a lot of the site and the forums this past year. Also gone through a lot of the vault.

So some info about me first: I am a 20 year old university student. Ive been training casually for over a year now and have seen myself improve in terms of strength but not really size or weight and have now stopped making gains. I've not been taking any sort of protein supplements. I've recently taken a 3 week break from training due to a minor injury and being too piss poor to buy food (lol) so I decided now would be a really good time to go for it, shock my system and start getting some serious improvement. Funny how a little compliment from a girl can really motivate you isn't it? Hopefully joining this site will be the extra motivation i need to really improve myself with help and guidance from you guys much appreciated.

So my questions:
1. Is there any difference between raw and cooked eggs? Is it just a matter of convenience or does digestabilty come into it too? I assume nutritionally they are the same?

2. Milk. I have cereal most days as a quick easy breakfast. I always thought that the complex sugars and the protein content make it a pretty good choice in the morning. But Warboss Alex seems highly opposed to milk. I'm wondering what the reason is. A link to the science would be nice since I am a bit of a science geek lol.

3. Cardio after a workout. Should it be HIIT or LI fat burning? Im really in the dark to this one. Once again a short explanation or a link would be nice.

4. Another cardio question. Will being really unfit in terms of CV hinder my progress in strength?

My goals: A high priority is to increase my cardiovascular fitness. Other lesser goals are to increase chest size and broaden my back.

So heres the workout routine im considering. Fell free to critique or just rip it to shreds. Ive built it around the big 3 once a week each.

Monday: Squats and legs
Tuesday: Upper back and biceps (pullups!)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Deadlifts and lower back
Friday: Bench, chest and triceps
Sat:Shoulders and abs
Sun:Rest
And a cardio session after every workout. Starting small but will build it up as my fitness increases. I did a 10 minute mile today and really wasn't exhausted at all.
So does this sound good or is it too complicated for a semi-beginner like me?

 

[Mad Manic]

1.) I prefer cooked but nutritionally there is very little difference.
2.) Milk is good for bulking, not great for cutting as you need to be more nitpicky with carbs.
3.) Don't bother with cardio after a workout.
4.) No, there are lots of fat powerlifters who are strong. But you may struggle a bit with higher reps and going to failure depending on how unfit you are.

As for workouts, I think if you are training 4 days weights then an Upper/Lower is best. You stimulate things twice a week = faster growth as a newbie, you train lifts more fresh so strength progression is better.

Mon - Upper A: Horizontal

BB Bench x 4
BB Row x 4
DB Inc Bench x 3
Seated Row x 3
Pressdowns x 2
Curls x 2

Tues - Lower A: Squat

BB Squat x 4
BB SLDL x 4
Calves x 3
Ab Work x 3
Forearms x 2

Thurs: Upper B - Vertical

BB Military Press x 4
WG Pull Ups x 4
Wide Dips x 3
CG Pull Ups x 3
Skulls x 2
Curls x 2

Fri - Lower B: Deadlift

BB Deads x 4
Leg Press x 4
Calves x 3
Abs x 3
Forearms x 2

Sets and reps: For your first two exercises of each workout, do two heavy sets for 3-5 reps, 3rd set decrease the weight a bit and rep out to failure, then 4th set decrease the weight again and rep out to failure. For the upper movements with 3 sets, 6-10 reps, straight sets or reverse pyramided, about 10 reps for bis/tris. Calves, abs, forearms do 15-20 reps. On all sets, go to failure, apart from squats and deads where it taxes the CNS too much. Do 2 days cardio, have 1 day full rest.

And away you go!

MM

 

[WC2]

So my questions:
1. Is there any difference between raw and cooked eggs? Is it just a matter of convenience or does digestabilty come into it too? I assume nutritionally they are the same?

2. Milk. I have cereal most days as a quick easy breakfast. I always thought that the complex sugars and the protein content make it a pretty good choice in the morning. But Warboss Alex seems highly opposed to milk. I'm wondering what the reason is. A link to the science would be nice since I am a bit of a science geek lol.

3. Cardio after a workout. Should it be HIIT or LI fat burning? Im really in the dark to this one. Once again a short explanation or a link would be nice.

4. Another cardio question. Will being really unfit in terms of CV hinder my progress in strength?

My goals: A high priority is to increase my cardiovascular fitness. Other lesser goals are to increase chest size and broaden my back.

So heres the workout routine im considering. Fell free to critique or just rip it to shreds. Ive built it around the big 3 once a week each.

Monday: Squats and legs
Tuesday: Upper back and biceps (pullups!)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: Deadlifts and lower back
Friday: Bench, chest and triceps
Sat:Shoulders and abs
Sun:Rest
And a cardio session after every workout. Starting small but will build it up as my fitness increases. I did a 10 minute mile today and really wasn't exhausted at all.
So does this sound good or is it too complicated for a semi-beginner like me?

1. There may be some small difference, but not enough to risk getting sick. I boil my eggs

2. There's been many studies on milk, and most of them come to the following conclusion : Milk is fine for you as long as you aren't drinking a whole cow's worth of milk a day. Other than that, go skim milk. I have a protein shake with milk every morning and after every workout.

3. To my knowledge, the best time for cardio is on an empty stomach 6 hours before or after weight training. Bring along a protein shake and sip it during if you are worried about losing muscle.

4. No. If you look around the gym there are plenty of big dudes who aren't exactly healthy in the CV department. With that said, you don't want to be one of these guys. Make sure you get some cardio in at least twice a week - it's good for you!

Your workout looks decent. Protein Shake afterwards helps quite a bit, followed by a healthy meal 30 - 1 hour after. Try to eat 4 - 6 medium sized meals as opposed to 2 - 3 large meals during the day to prevent your body from eating at muscle. These meals should be protein rich, with complex carbs (more so with pre or post workout meals).

How much cardio should you do? It all depends on your body. I find that a 10min jog before weight training everyday plus 1 day of cardio (45min - 1 hour) is enough to keep me cut and healthy.

Other than that, check out some forums (bb.com) on your diet. Diet, routine, and rest are the most important things in a healthy, firm body.

Good luck

 

[Creed]

Thanks for the replies guys
I appreciate what MM mentioned about working each muscle group twice a week to cause more stimulus for growth so I will try to build that in to my workout.

What are "BB SLDL"?

What would you suggest is a good calves excercise? I Just normally do calve raises on a step on the smith machine. Im also used to squatting in the smith machine. Should I move to free weights instead?

For Sets and reps i Usually do 2x3 heavy, 2 drop sets to failure and then maybe 1,2 sets of negatives (where it is safe to do so). Is this Ok?

For abs and forearms im aiming for higher rep ranges such as 20-30 right? Since they are a different type of muscle fibre?

Im not interested in cutting atm so i can drink as much whole milk as i want?
My biology teacher gaves us 2 peices of advise when we left school.
Always use a condom and always drink whole milk lol.

 

[Mad Manic]

Thanks for the replies guys
I appreciate what MM mentioned about working each muscle group twice a week to cause more stimulus for growth so I will try to build that in to my workout.

What are "BB SLDL"?

What would you suggest is a good calves excercise? I Just normally do calve raises on a step on the smith machine. Im also used to squatting in the smith machine. Should I move to free weights instead?

For Sets and reps i Usually do 2x3 heavy, 2 drop sets to failure and then maybe 1,2 sets of negatives (where it is safe to do so). Is this Ok?

For abs and forearms im aiming for higher rep ranges such as 20-30 right? Since they are a different type of muscle fibre?

Im not interested in cutting atm so i can drink as much whole milk as i want?
My biology teacher gaves us 2 peices of advise when we left school.
Always use a condom and always drink whole milk lol.

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts, they are similar to deadlifts except you have a very slight bend in the knee (near straight) so you use no quads and more emphasis on hamstrings. Yes with Upper/Lower you don't need much volume to wear down the fibres as a newbie, so 2 x week = better gains in size/strength. For calves just standing calf raises on anything really, as long as there is good range of motion. As for squats move over to free weights mate, you need to build up strength/power/lot of muscles at this stage. Your rep range is ok but I would not Do drop sets that much yet. You can do a dropset at the end to finish your arms or calves though, this won't really tax the CNS too much. For abs, calves and forearms I'd do 15-20 but you can mix it up; they are slow twitch dominant = Higher reps work best in the main (but does not mean lower reps do not have their place or are ineffective ... a mix is best, as I have suggested on your main exercises). Milk on bulking ... I'd go with semi-skimmed from experience as whole is a little too high in fat compared to the carbs and protein in it.

MM

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Doing calves on the legpress is also fine...Get on the free weights asap.

Drink your protein shake after your weights workout and then do some low intenstity cardio.

Raw eggs are fine, i have 14 a day, seriously, and i've done it for quite a few months now. Its nothing to be worried about.

You can do the MM way, or you may like this better. take a look

"Where to Start"
http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=125444

and for diet do this

"Simple Starting Diet"
http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=134782

I have seen excellent results using a very similar version of the above...good luck with your decision

 

[Creed]

Ok so I've decided what I will do. Stick with my above routine for a couple more weeks until I get through the DOMS. Then I will change to a 3 day split slightly modified Rippetoe. Drop most arm exercises as Dead should do forearm, Pullups hit the biceps and Bench hits the tris etc, until I manage to bulk up somewhat.

Workout A

3x3 Squat
legs-curls, presses, Extensions
3x3 Bench
Chest- Dips (Arnold says so!!:box: ),Incline, decline, cable crossover

Workout B

3x3 Deads
Hyperextension
3x3 Pullups
Lat Pulldowns, BB rows
abs

I wanted to keep deadlift and squats on seperate days so I could lift more and it would be less taxing on my back and the my body's recovery sytem (CNS?). Is that a good idea? What does CNS stand for? C... Neuro System?

Another question, regarding that 30min "window of opportunity" for getting protein down. For example if I do legs at the start of my workout and then finish my workout an hour later. Does that mean my legs have essentially missed their half hour window?

 

[Creed]

Oh and thanks for the links Stallion

 

[EFFORT]

if your going to do rippetoe then do rippetoe, no need to modify it.

 

[MrS]

There's protein in cereal?

 

[Creed]

Yes protein packed cereals such as Meatibix lol.
Point taken very little protein in milk. 33g/litre

 

[Throttle]

if your going to do rippetoe then do rippetoe, no need to modify it.

amen amen