Originally posted by Warboss Alex
My friend, your diet and workout routine could be much, much better. You're overtraining on what you're currently doing, especially as a beginner, and the pros will tell you - less is more! Your workouts are far too taxing for you to recover between them - and you only grow once you're recovered! You're not eating enough to grow either.
My suggestion is this:
Chest/Triceps/Shoulders
Incline barbell or dumbbell bench press
Incline flyes or weighted chest dips
Skullcrushers or close grip bench press
DB shoulder press or military press
Back/Biceps
Deadlift
Chin-ups or lat pulldown
Barbell row or db row or t-bar row
Barbell curl or db curl or preacher curl
Legs/Abs
Squats or leg press
Stiffed legged deadlifts or hamstring curls
Seated or standing calf raise
hanging leg raises or weighted crunches
I've offered alternatives in every exercise (except the deadlift, which I consider THE best exercise, perhaps more so than squats because I prefer deadlifts, lol) so that when you stagnate on one exercise you can swap it. Alternatively you could alternate exercises once a week although I personally wait until I've stopped making progress before switching. Log your lifts and improve by either weight or reps (2+) each week. When you can't improve on your lifts for three workouts in a row, it's time to change exercises (I say this because you might've had a bad day etc). Lift in good form always (leave your ego at the door, sacrifice weight for form and muscles will grow faster), do an explosive positive and slow, controlled negative. Leave a full day's rest between workout days - this scheme allows also for a weekend off if you like. I.e. Mon - Wed - Fri - Mon OR you could just train every other day, up to you.
That's training, the easy part. Now comes the diet. The hard part.
Mate, you won't grow the way you're eating (your diet seems to be like a high-carb cutting diet rather than a bulker). The traditional 'boatload the carbs for weight gain' thinking is flawed. Protein builds muscles, not carbs. People who eat a load of carbs tend to be fat. People who eat a load of protein tend to be muscular. Look around and see. You could be on the best workout program in the world, have the best supplements in the world, have the best drugs in the world, if you're getting in the protein requirements of a bed-ridden gerbil you'll get nowhere fast.
Protein - the most important macro. Aim for 2g of protein per lb bodyweight that you WANT to be. You think eating twice your current bodyweight will get you to a new level of size? You're wrong. Your preferred protein sources should be red meat since it's the highest form of animal protein available - other meats are good but beef is the best. Ground beef is cheap and full of protein, cook it up and run it under the tap to get off as much fat as possible. Whole eggs too, don't be afraid of egg yolks, they're good for you and have just as much protein as the white. Don't forget stuff like peanut butter too - a good source of protein and fat. The ever dependable milk as well. Add a pint of milk to every meal and that's another 20g of protein in. Protein powder is an option BUT NOT ESSENTIAL. When you're training to be 250lbs and need 500g of protein every day then maybe so but right now you're fine with real food. To recap: lean meats, eggs, milk, nuts, lentils, dairy produce, stuff like tempeh and tofu if you like it, and fish (including tuna).
Carbs and fats - don't bother counting these. Aim for as many quality carbs (oats, wholegrain bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, sweet potatoes etc) as you need to satiate your hunger, too many and you could be putting on the wrong sort of weight. Carbs are your fuel, not your building blocks. Fats are oft neglected, I'd recommend around 50g at least of good quality fat every day: flax oil, oily fish (mackerel, herring, trout, salmon, sardines), nuts, olive oil, olives, seeds etc. Put oil on your salads and stuff (eat LOTS of fruit and veg for general healthiness) or in your milk or orange juice, a tablespoon of olive oil in some Tropicana is lovely and packs a good 20-25g of fat. You NEED fat, don't think you can survive on protein and carbs alone. Nuts and nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter etc - the natural kind, not the commercial) are a good source of protein AND fat, and pack calories, which is a good thing.
To recap: 2g of protein per lb bodyweight that you WANT to be - I'd say aim for 160lbs right now, so get in a good 320g of protein every day. Eat carbs to fuel your workouts and your hunger, get in some good fats, lots of fruit and veg, and drink plenty of water. Your meal timing is good. Don't be afraid to throw in some junk food now and again. You'll be working hard so treats are in order!! Junk has a bad rep and rightfully so, but it's got key nutrients like any other food. At McD's pound a couple of double cheeseburgers and milk (no fries) and go for a nice meat feast pizza/meat heavy sub as you described. In fact in one of my most successful muscle-building phases I had a shop-bought pizza every other day, didn't make me fat (I did cardio and other stuff to keep me lean, but you don't need to worry about that!) and kept me quite mentally happy!
Of course, there'll be times when you're not hungry. You MUST eat. Eat the protein and leave the rest of your food uneaten in the worst case scenario. Forcefeeding happens to us all. Pick foods you like to eat to help with this, picture yourself the musclebound hunk you want to be, blend your food and drink it, ANYTHING - but the bodybuilder is made outside the gym, not in it. The time at the dinner plate is forty-two times a week. The time at the gym is three or four times a week. Diet is key!
I'll be checking in on you, good luck with your goals and please don't hesitate to ask if you have a problem. So many young guys start out with all the best motivation and incentive in the world, but don't know where to start; I'm happy to help people out, I was helped by experienced lifters and I owe much of my muscle to them.
Cheers,
Alex ...
