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Fitness help plz kthnx

2K views 36 replies 14 participants last post by  Keyhole 
#1 ·
Ok, thread revival. this doesnt have much to do with energy drinks, but I saw some workout advice in here, so here goes.

I need some help here folks. I've been eating right and working out 6 days a week for about 3 months now, and I've lost maybe 1% body fat. And I haven't gained much muscle either. I'll give you the rundown.

19 years old.
145 lbs.
I work 3rd shift, So I used to work out when I woke up at about 3:30 pm, have a shake and some cream of rice. Now I go to the gym before work for 2 weeks, and then change it up and go after work for 2 weeks. For meals, I try to keep them small, and eat every 3 hours. A sample day might look like this:

Meal 1: Bowl of High protein cereal, milk, water.
Meal 2: Natural Peanut butter & jelly on whole wheat bread, egg whites.
Meal 3: Tuna on whole wheat, cereal bar.
Meal 4 ( lunch): Grilled chicken or fish, rice, salad.
Meal 5: Oatmeal or Cream of wheat, egg whites.

other snacks include rice cakes, granola bars, protein bars (with minimal sugar)
I drink green tea regularly, as well as black tea ( need caffiene for 3rd shift),always use splenda, I take my daily vitamins, along with calcium, and I just started taking CLA, and Chromium picolinate (that stuff REALLY boosts the metabolism.)

I try to eat at least 2 hours before my workout. I drink a whey protein shake right after my workout, and If its after work, and im goin home to bed, thats all i have, but if its before work, ill have a PBJ sandwhich or granola bar.

For my workout:

day 1: chest/back, abs, 30-40 minutes of cardio ( jump-rope, treadmill, eliptical { i used to run 3-4 miles everyday, when i was working out at home})
day 2: Biceps/triceps, abs, cardio
day 3: legs/shoulders, abs, cario
days 4,5,6 are repeats of 1,2,3.

I'm not trying to bulk up, just loose some body fat around my pecks and lower abs. last I checked, I was at 11-12% body fat.

What do I need to change to make this worth my while?

more cardio....less cardio? different cardio? more food? more weights?


just for reference, this is what I have in my head for being in shape:
<img src=http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/6027/jonesjrsb124cd.jpg>
 
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#2 ·
Split up your days more I would say. Seems like you're eating what you need to eat to add muscle. I definitely don't recommend doing the same chest/back day every 4 days or really even on the same day, there's no way your going to REALLY work both of those out in 60-80 minutes, especially if you do cardio after. You gotta make sure that you exhaust those muscles as much as you physically can, and not just be tired because you're working two huge muscle groups.

If you really want to cut your BF% you might want to try cutting your calorie intake, and then swim and run like a mad man. You have a very protein heavy diet listed, and if you're not expending enough energy to use it all that protein basically turns to fat, so you could try trimming some protein off as well. Oh yean, make sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep, pushing yourself is just as important as recovering.

Here's a quick program I found that gives you a 4 day split, leaving room for cardio, and gives you some exercise tips. I use a somewhat similar program to this but just cater it to myself, not every one is the same so make sure you're working out your needs and keep pushing yourself. I've got some other good workout programs that I can send ya which are more like 6 - 12 days cycles. Here's the 4 day split though:


Monday - Horizontal Push/Vertical Pull
1. HS or DB Incline Press
2. Weighted Chins or HS Pulldowns
3. Dips
3. Close or Wide Hammer Grip Lat Pulldowns
4. DB Pullovers
4. Machine Flys
4. Side DB or Cable Laterals
4. Rear Cable Raises

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Bi's/Tri's/Traps/Abs/Calves/Forearms
1. Overhead DB Extensions or CGBP
1. EZ Bar or DB Curls
2. Ab Exercise
2. Trap Exercise
3. V-Bar or Rope Cable Pressdowns
3. HS or Cable or DB Concentration Curls
4. Calf Raises
4. Wrist Curls

Thursday - Off

Friday - Horizontal Pull/Vertical Push
1. Bent T-Bar Rows or Rack Pulls
2. Smith or DB Shoulder Press
3. HS or DB Rows
3. Dips
4. Pullovers
4. Machine Flys
4. Side DB or Cable Laterals
4. Rear Cable Raises

Saturday - Off

Sunday - Quads/Hamstrings/Calves
1. Squats or Leg Press
2. BB Lunges or SLDL
2. HS Iso Leg Press or Smith Squats
3. Leg Curls
3. Leg Extensions
4. Weighted Hypers
4. Calf Raises
 
#3 ·
some people have said that too much cardio is just going to burn off the muslce too. do you suggest cardio every day? I dont have access to a pool, but I think im going to start doing sprints on the treadmill. 20-30 second sprints, 30-40 seconds fast walk. repeat 5-10 times. ?i I was also trying to incorporate jump rope into that cardio, but it tears up my shins/calves. I am on my feet all day anyways, on a hard industrial floor, so my legs take abuse as it is.
 
#4 ·
step 1 light weight HIGH reps 20-15-12-10 you want to feel like your burning
step 2 10mins cardio before workout 30min cardio after every workout elliptical machine is good on your legs if your calves hurt
step 3 if all else fails METH
 
#6 ·
sparkpeople.com i highly recommend.
 
#15 ·
Heres the deal. You need to figure out your BASIL METABOLIC RATE. This is the amount of calories you burn in a day just to survive. For example, respiration, heart beating, etc. Then you need to add in your approximate activity level. These two things will give you the approx amount of calories you are burning in a typical day. So, if you are burning off 3500 calories a day you have to consume more than 3500 calories to even have a chance of putting on muscle. Who knows, since you are young and active maybe you are burning 4500 calories per day. In that case you need to consume 5000 to 5500 calories to add lean muscle. Get online and look up BMR and try to come up with a number. This is where you need to start. You can also go see a certified fitness trainer.
 
#17 · (Edited)
according to two different sites, I have a BMR of 1769 calories.

and according to this site : http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm

my BMR is between 2161 and 3458

I would say its right in between there for activity level. I'm on my feet at work for 8 hours a day, but at home I pretty much relax all afternoon. But, then I burn a lot of calories at the gym.
 
#20 ·
OK! Now start counting your calories. Lets say if you are burning 3500 calories a day, you need to boost consumption 500 to 1000 calories a day. If you had a calorie surplus of 1000 per day and did this for one week that should equal 7000 calorie surplus and since each pound is 3500 calories you should gain two pounds for the week. This will not happen immediately. Give your body time to adjust to the new plan. Also, go see a certified trainer or nutritionist.
 
#18 ·
I've been there for 10+ years. Good luck gaining weight. I've been 5'11" 155lbs for 10+ years and eat like every meal is my last meal. I tried gaining weight for awhile and it just never happened. Although I've never tried weight gain suppliments. I'm not all that physically active anymore and haven't touched a weight since the 90s. I've always been solid with good tone though and still have single digit body fat % according to my last physical two weeks ago.

You're younger, but it sounds like you have a comparable body type. Gaining weight and turning it into muscle is harder for some body types. I'm thinking with a few weeks of agressive situps, pullups, and pushups, I could look like Roy Jones Jr. What's he weigh? Do boxers even lift weights?
 
#19 ·
You may not be at the optimal age for building up yet. Or your body type is destined to be slender and lighter. BTW, Chromium Picolinate will not raise your metabolism. But if you enjoy using Chromium, you may want to take a look at Vanadyl Sulfate as well. Sounds like you're in a similar group as zerogta though. Get some books on sports nutrition and speak to people at the gym. Try different things and see if you get better results from one program or another.
 
#22 ·
Vanadyl sulfate.....it says that it forces glucose and amino acids into muscles faster than would normally be absorbed. Is this anything like creatine? Is this safe?

Also, what about creatine? Is that something I should look into?

I have been taking <a href=http://www.worldclassnutrition.com/amstam.html>American Stamina</a> every day, and I can feel it when I work out, but I don't think it has really had a lasting effect.
 
#23 · (Edited)
well coming into college i was 155 with about 4-5% body fat. after college i was 165 with a beer gut. once i moved home i did exactly what some of these guys are telling you to do. eat more, lift more but do less reps. do 3 sets of 3-6 reps. even if you can't do that last two reps. always switch up your routine. do machines sometimes, do freeweights other times. if you are on the bench one week use the free weights the next week. free weights are good bc they help improve your stabilizers while the machines help you improve technique. if you are looking to build muscle this will do it real fast. i didn't do much cardio and it showed but i put on 20-25 lbs in 3 months. all i took was creatine, L glutamine and protein bars. rest is key. working out 6 times a week is a bit much. i worked out 3 times a week (mon, tues an thurs). your muscles grow during the off time so not working out isn't always a bad thing.

even if you can't put this much muscle on in this amount of time, which believe me i was really surprised i did so, don't get discouraged this stuff doesn't happen overnight. it is much easy to put weight/muscle on and then go back and cut. to do both at the same time is really hard. unfortunately we are coming into summer. winter is the best time to bulk up and then around december you can start to cut weight to get ready for summer.
 
#24 · (Edited)
ok, my goal is to gain 2 pounds a week. Hopefully I can make most of that weight lean muscle. I am going to increase the amount of food I eat, and try to make more of my diet protein. Chicken, fish, eggs, protein bars/shakes.

I also went hiking over the weekend. My friend does this almost every day. It felt like a good way to keep from putting on fat. Since it doesn't raise my heart rate to the "training zone" and I wont be doing it directly after a workout, I don't think that doing this after work 3-4 days a week should keep me from gaining weight, hopefully it will help to keep that weight lean.

click on my <a href=http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=12055441>myspace</a> to see a current photo if you want. Just to get a better view of where I'm at.

idealy, i would like to go from that, to looking more like <a href=http://www.kingofdeadlift.com/2006-10-08/ryan-reynolds-blade-trinity-diet-workout/>this</a>

not like <a href=http://www.247bodybuilding.com/_borders/bigchest.jpg>this</a>
 
#27 ·
ok, my goal is to gain 2 pounds a week. Hopefully I can make most of that weight lean muscle. I am going to increase the amount of food I eat, and try to make more of my diet protein. Chicken, fish, eggs, protein bars/shakes.

I also went hiking over the weekend. My friend does this almost every day. It felt like a good way to keep from putting on fat. Since it doesn't raise my heart rate to the "training zone" and I wont be doing it directly after a workout, I don't think that doing this after work 3-4 days a week should keep me from gaining weight, hopefully it will help to keep that weight lean.
Ok, from reading this and your other health related posts, it appears to me that you have little to no idea of sports training or nutrition. As much as I'd like to put on a seminar right now, you need to do this.

Stop.

Go to a book store and get a FEW different books on sports training and nutrition. The reason you get a few is to see different writing on the same topic and try your own thing. And by bookstore I don't mean the internet. Sure you can go to bodybuilding.com, but you should study up on more detailed information since you seem to have a fair interest in the topic. And I'm not saying this to be an ass...you simply need to learn some fundamentals before tossing 20 ideas out there.

As for gaining 2lbs of muscle per week, it's very easy. Stack up on Dianabol and Winstrol and your dreams will come true. To get to the level that you want quickly...anabolics are pretty much the only thing that will help. Again, I'm not suggesting this to be a smartass, simply giving you the realistic answer. You're 145lbs and have trouble gaining a few pounds a month, so to realistically expect to gain 2lbs a week of lean muscle is insane. I would at best give you .25lbs or a long shot maybe .5lbs a week of gaining lean tissue.
 
#26 ·
Glutamine is a supplement that is used in weightlifting, bodybuilding, endurance and other sports, as well as by those who suffer from muscular cramps or pain—particularly elderly people. The main use of glutamine within the diet of either group is as a means of replenishing the body's supply of amino acids that have been used during exercise or everyday activities.

Normal supplementation is healthy mainly because glutamine is supposed to be supplemented after prolonged periods of exercise (for example, a workout or exercise in which amino acids are required for use) and replenishes amino acid supply.

and it's cheap ;) ....gl.
 
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