Two quick q's, need advice.

[pooparu]

Hey all, vie been here before and used some of the advice for some limited gains in terms of strength and physique, but I'm looking to step it up past just a good diet and intermittent exercise.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to our university gym all of this summer as I'm not taking summer classes, and my roommate is only home intermittently for me to use it. I also work when he is often home, so it makes it hard to collaborate. I plan to buy a bench with free weights and all to out in our house, but as for a cage for squats I don't think we can fit that. I want to stick to the strait forward ripptoe program or something similar, so squats are obviously important. What suggestions do you all have for these next two months for squats if I don't have access to a gym and can't fit a power cage into my house?

Secondly, what are some of your preferred protein / multiple vitamin companies? Is ON still pretty good? I don't like a lot of flavor or sugar, and from what I know I shouldn't be focused on too many other supplements considering my age (19) and my body still growing, I have taken creatine In the past but it merely seemed to add water weight. I'm open to any other suggestions if there are other, sfe supplements, otherwise Ill just stick to the traditional protein and multivitamin.

My goal is to add another twenty or so lbs to be at 155 before cutting back down to 145 or 150 or so, I'm not very tall and would like to stay relatively slim for running and certain sports. Thanks for the time all, you haven't disappointed in the past.

 

[EFFORT]

Hey all, vie been here before and used some of the advice for some limited gains in terms of strength and physique, but I'm looking to step it up past just a good diet and intermittent exercise.

Sounds good

Unfortunately, I don't have access to our university gym all of this summer as I'm not taking summer classes, and my roommate is only home intermittently for me to use it.

Most gyms, run summer deals for people in your situation. Do some research, I'm sure you can find a gym for 2months for not much money. If your not going to have a gym then go here http://www.rosstraining.com/blog/

I also work when he is often home, so it makes it hard to collaborate. I plan to buy a bench with free weights

The price of a legitimate bench and free weights would be enough to cover 2months at a gym and some.

and all to out in our house, but as for a cage for squats I don't think we can fit that. I want to stick to the strait forward ripptoe program or something similar

Can't really do it without the correct equipment. Your better off focusing on body weight stuff if your not going to get a gym.

, so squats are obviously important. What suggestions do you all have for these next two months for squats if I don't have access to a gym and can't fit a power cage into my house?

I would ask myself why I can't afford to join a gym for 3months. If money was the issue I'd be realistic and alter my training goals to something possible for my situation.

Secondly, what are some of your preferred protein / multiple vitamin companies? Is ON still pretty good? I don't like a lot of flavor or sugar, and from what I know I shouldn't be focused on too many other supplements considering my age (19) and my body still growing, I have taken creatine In the past but it merely seemed to add water weight. I'm open to any other suggestions if there are other, sfe supplements, otherwise Ill just stick to the traditional protein and multivitamin.

Don't buy any supplements. You don't even consider buying them until you have a gym and food covered for your diet.

My goal is to add another twenty or so lbs to be at 155 before cutting back down to 145 or 150 or so,

Find a picture of what you want to look like. Gaining another 20lbs will require a gym.


I'm not very tall and would like to stay relatively slim for running and certain sports.

This is a contradiction to the goal above. If your involved in sports then you need to structure your training/diet to that particular sport.


Thanks for the time all, you haven't disappointed in the past.

I would take some time to really define your goals , make them very clear.

Bold

 

[pooparu]

Thanks effort you helped me out before. As before it was about money, now its more transportation, I don't have a car out here in la and getting around is **** hearer after 6. As I said, the days I can hit the gym ill go early in the morning, but realisticallybi wont be able to everyday. I'm willing to spend a good amount, even if I have to get it used from some friends to get the necessary weights, as I said I realize now the importance of basics, not fancy gym machines and all that which is why I planned to focus unjust getting the free weights, bench and bar.

As for me not being very tell, I guess that's An understatement, I'm about 5'10", I'd like to be about 145 with a similar bf pct to what I have now, so getting to 155 and cutting down seems appropriate for my goals.

I assume protein and multivitamin though are two ok supplements for my diet right? Thanks again man.

 

[Neon Owl]

If your goal is to weigh 145 at 5'10 then you don't need a gym at all. I weighed that much before I even started exercising at all and I was the laziest sob ever. I'm 5'8 by the way.

You could easily reach that weight by simply doing lots of chin ups and pushup variations (incline, diamond, handstand etc) and eating a balanced, healthy diet high in protein.

If I were you I'd set my goals a little higher as that weight seems rather low for your height range even for a normal person who doesn't work out at all.

Why not shoot for 160lbs after your cut?

 

[pooparu]

Well neon I'm not trying to be just in shape anymore, i guess i should have added that I'd like to stay at around 145 or 150 because I want to condition extremely hard. As I said, I'm not particularly out of shape as it is, but my goals are now more than to be just in shape. I do a lot of hiking and used to boulder and free climb, planning to get back into it. I also plan to get into aikido in the fall and continue working towards taking longer hiking trips.

From what I remember when I was younger, effort asserts that cutting and bulking at the same time are counter intuitive, and I'm inclined to believe him because all of his advice has been spot on. Am I wrong in thinking that for most of my activities my lean build would continue to do me a well? Not that being bigger obviously isn't great, but there have been many times that i've been able to make tight squeezes and nimble moves just because of my size.


Please, don't take this as laziness, in the past I was satisfied to just get in fit, but make no mistake, I don't want to be just 145, hence my goal of hitting 155 or 160 before cutting down heavily, maybe once I get there I'll decide to stay there, don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

Effort, good news, I may be able to get more access at the gym, theres one nearby that my friend my have access to. In the meantime, I'm going to get the on protein and multivitamin and will update when I know what the deal is, thanks neon and effort.

 

[pooparu]

Neon, upon reconsideration of you and efforts advice, I've decided to hit my schools gym, stop being such a little ***** and caring about what other people think, and get serious. You're right neon, 145 is sort of low, so I'm upping it to a lean 150 or 155, meaning I need to hit at least 160ish before even considering cutting. Ive looked up some pictures, and I'm pretty sure the 150ish range is where i wanna end for my weight.

Effort or neon, In the ripptoe program am I gonna be doing like a 1x5 bench, 1x5 squat, and 1x5 dead lift and then cycle them(obv not the dead lift since theres only one), or should I do 3x5 with breaks in-between them all? I'm still reeducating myself on all this(as I said I want to be serious this time, not half as sing it), so I may come across this answer soon, just asking here in case I don't.

Guess I'll have to start a journal her too.

Edit: also, how can I split my morning meals up if I plan to go that early? I recall that having your post workout meal right after is most efficient, but If I wake up early and go at 6, I don't see how I can have a shake at 530 am, then another at 730, seems a bit unhealthy. Thougts?

 

[CarlitosWay]

5'10 is on the taller side. I'd honestly aim for 170-180 area, no joke. This is still not even big by no means, yet you'll look really nice, filled out a bit and healthy.

Have shakes before and after. How is that unhealthy? EVERYONE I know has a shake before and after..than a meal an hour or two later.

A lot of my buddies blend oats and protein powder before training and will the the same after. Since you're trying to gain, I'd have carbs before and after and keep having protein+carb meals until the evening and then cut them off and include more good fats+protein+veggies.

My take. You would see bigger gains going 4-5 times a week hitting body parts hard twice a week. For the average person this works very well.

like
chest/tris/bis
legs
off
shoulders/back
off

or

chest/tris
bis/forearms/legs
off
shoulders/back
off

You're going to gain on any routine, might as well take advantage of being young and having a good deal of time available and get in the gym many times a week. Short workouts 45-60 minutes tops, in and out and just chomp down food day in day out.

on second thought thought...an upper/lower split can do a lot for you as I have used joe defranco's routine (collegiate/pro level strength coach who trains everyone from amateur fighters to NFL players)

http://www.defrancostraining.com/articles.html

 

[Neon Owl]

Neon, upon reconsideration of you and efforts advice, I've decided to hit my schools gym, stop being such a little ***** and caring about what other people think, and get serious. You're right neon, 145 is sort of low, so I'm upping it to a lean 150 or 155, meaning I need to hit at least 160ish before even considering cutting. Ive looked up some pictures, and I'm pretty sure the 150ish range is where i wanna end for my weight.
Sounds like a good plan! Shouldn't take you that long to reach your goal if you're determined to get there.

Effort or neon, In the ripptoe program am I gonna be doing like a 1x5 bench, 1x5 squat, and 1x5 dead lift and then cycle them(obv not the dead lift since theres only one), or should I do 3x5 with breaks in-between them all? I'm still reeducating myself on all this(as I said I want to be serious this time, not half as sing it), so I may come across this answer soon, just asking here in case I don't.
I'm on Starting Strength at the moment also, been doing it for around 6 weeks now and have made great gains in my lifts, you'll enjoy it man. You are supposed to do all the sets on each exercise before moving on to the next exercise. Take a few minutes rest in between each set and each exercise to get your breath back so you can go at it fully each time. Also. make sure you do around 3 warm up sets for each exercise before your main work sets. An example for the squat would be 20kgx10, 40kgx5, 60kgx2, then 80kg3x5 (these being your work sets). Make sure you concentrate on your form!

Guess I'll have to start a journal her too.

Edit: also, how can I split my morning meals up if I plan to go that early? I recall that having your post workout meal right after is most efficient, but If I wake up early and go at 6, I don't see how I can have a shake at 530 am, then another at 730, seems a bit unhealthy. Thougts?
Definately get something down you before you head to the gym. A protein shake with oats thrown in would be perfect for preWO. If you're taking creatine you can take that within 30mins of the end of your workout and also some more protein in the form of a shake or whatever you can get really. A banana or other simple carbs are good postWO too. Don't worry about it being unhealthy, your body needs the fuel and will make good use of every bit you throw into it, especially straight after your workout.

Bold.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Why would you use the same weight for 3 sets of 5? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep ramping up until your very last working set or two until you barely get 5 and maybe have 1-2 left in the tank?

say going for max squat,,,,
135X10
175X5
225X5
255X5
275X5 (at or almost hitting failure)

if you can use the same weight for 3X5 it's too damn light and it's pointless

 

[Kerpal]

if you can use the same weight for 3X5 it's too damn light and it's pointless

:crackup:

 

[Neon Owl]

Why would you use the same weight for 3 sets of 5? Wouldn't it make more sense to keep ramping up until your very last working set or two until you barely get 5 and maybe have 1-2 left in the tank?

say going for max squat,,,,
135X10
175X5
225X5
255X5
275X5 (at or almost hitting failure)

if you can use the same weight for 3X5 it's too damn light and it's pointless

There's quite a few people who would disagree with you on that I'm afraid.

This is from a very popular program called Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe who has made it his life and business to know exactly what he is talking about when it comes to progressing in strength on the main compound exercises.

I'm fairly sure he knew what he was doing when he designed the program.

 

[pooparu]

Thanks for the input from everyone, as a beginner I'm in no position to be commenting on the efficacy of one over the other, but i have used ripples program a while back when I was still in high school, and over the summer it seemed to do me well, I definitely put on some lbs.


I think I'm going to stick to the ripptoe program, the explanations and science behind it seem sound and judging by his results Im gonna adhere to his plan.

As for being 180, I have seen a lot of guys about my height at that weight, and I'm not really trying to be that big. Like I said I do a lot of hiking, some bouldering, long boarding, etc., I'd like to increase my size but the reason i want to cut so rigidly afterwards is to increase my endurance and stamina.

 

[CarlitosWay]

There's quite a few people who would disagree with you on that I'm afraid.

This is from a very popular program called Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe who has made it his life and business to know exactly what he is talking about when it comes to progressing in strength on the main compound exercises.

I'm fairly sure he knew what he was doing when he designed the program.

Glad to see Kerpal is awake, knew that would give him a chuckle hahhaa


Well I train to get strong and look aesthetically good. Rippetoe loves to bash bodybuilders left and right, when I first read everything about rippetoes, he seemed to have a bone to pick with them. He can help newbies learn proper form this and that, yet who the **** does he think he is to berate the goals of other people and how they go about achieving it?

Right now there's natural bodybuilders out there who are strong as **** too and look the part also.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[pooparu]

Glad to see Kerpal is awake, knew that would give him a chuckle hahhaa


Well I train to get strong and look aesthetically good. Rippetoe loves to bash bodybuilders left and right, when I first read everything about rippetoes, he seemed to have a bone to pick with them. He can help newbies learn proper form this and that, yet who the **** does he think he is to berate the goals of other people and how they go about achieving it?

Right now there's natural bodybuilders out there who are strong as **** too and look the part also.

There's more than one way to skin a cat.

Agreed man, I'm not down with arrogance if that's his deal, I'm surer other programs work well as well. As for me, strength is important but my speed, agility and endurance are all things I want to work on what's I'm closer to my target weight.

 

[Neon Owl]

All I know is that the program works very well for the purpose it was designed. The man himself may not be to your liking but that doesn't take away from the fact that it WORKS for me and many, many others also.

If you think you can design a better strength program then why not write your own detailed program up for us all to see?
I realise that there are many ways to achieve the goal of getting bigger and stronger but this works so wonderfully well for beginners, why would you want to change it?
For now I am progressing in my lifts as quickly as can be expected and once they start to stall I'll be moving onto a more bodybuilding style program. I'm just trying to build my strength base up as quickly as possible beforehand.

This thread isn't about Rippetoe or his program anyhoo.....sorry OP.

 

[pooparu]

All I know is that the program works very well for the purpose it was designed. The man himself may not be to your liking but that doesn't take away from the fact that it WORKS for me and many, many others also.

If you think you can design a better strength program then why not write your own detailed program up for us all to see?
I realise that there are many ways to achieve the goal of getting bigger and stronger but this works so wonderfully well for beginners, why would you want to change it?
For now I am progressing in my lifts as quickly as can be expected and once they start to stall I'll be moving onto a more bodybuilding style program. I'm just trying to build my strength base up as quickly as possible beforehand.

This thread isn't about Rippetoe or his program anyhoo.....sorry OP.

Lol I think you misunderstood I'm not trying to Understate ripptoes achievements, hence why I'm following his routine. Unless youre not talking to me in which case no need to apologize lol.

 

[Neon Owl]

lulz I was responding to CarlitosWay, not you man.

 

[CarlitosWay]

All good... As for my opinion upper/lower body splits triumph full body training all day . (it's how most powerlifters train beginner to advanced doesn't matter or something resembling an upper/lower body routine) The way you can pick exercises and group everything and hit the gym 4-5 times a week puts it at a huge advantage

As I see fit rippetoes is great for the average person to keep em from sitting on there asses 3 times a week. Yet you want impressive stand out results, especially for a sport, your ass better be in the gym a lot more than that..

 

[pooparu]

All good... As for my opinion upper/lower body splits triumph full body training all day . (it's how most powerlifters train beginner to advanced doesn't matter or something resembling an upper/lower body routine) The way you can pick exercises and group everything and hit the gym 4-5 times a week puts it at a huge advantage

As I see fit rippetoes is great for the average person to keep em from sitting on there asses 3 times a week. Yet you want impressive stand out results, especially for a sport, your ass better be in the gym a lot more than that..

Oh for sure man, right now I need to get my entire body back into the groove though, vie been slacking besides my hiking and bouldering in terms of exercise, and I had stoppered doing a lot of that recently so I need to shock this sexy beast back into action.

Anyone got any suggestions on quick, large meals? I'm working a 9-5 this summer so not having to cook on lunch would be great, I already have some ideas and am a pretty good cook, looking to find out what ibshould buy in bulk now.

And apologies for any weird typos, this ipad auto corrects a lot of my along into other ****.

 

[Neon Owl]

Yea you're right, more is better.....

If only you'd told me this before I wasted the last 7 months of my life doing full body routines 3 days a week and I only gained 2 stone in weight. Must be all fat too coz my abs are still poking out, that means it's fat right?
If I'd known this info I could have maximyzed my gainz evin moar!!!!!
Where were you CarlitosWay!?!?