Another Question: My Training/Nutrition

Diet and Nutrition
1

I also got this in my message box.

[quote]"hope things are going well. on day 5 on the RFL thanks to your inspiring RFL posts!

are you still lifting heavy (bodybuilding bible style?) and if so, do oyu mind breaking down your diet (either macros, cals, foods, or whatever).

it would also help if you mention your height/weight/bf% to put things in perspective as well as goals (maintain, bulk, cut, etc).

thanks a lot! after 3 weeks on RFL i’m guessing i’ll want to gain some more muscle and fill up again. need to plan that out and got to model the people who get it done :)[/quote]

Again people, if you want to talk to me, use the contact info on my hub page because I don’t communicate via PM here anymore.

Hopefully I’m going to lift seriously for the rest of my life, but I haven’t trained in a bodybuilding fashion for quite some time. This doesn’t mean I don’t love following bodybuilding, going to bodybuilding shows, or talking about all things bodybuilding. It’s just that admittedly, I am NOT hardcore anymore and am simply a “fitness guy” at this point, and most likely will be for a very long time unless I one day have the desire and lifestyle for getting big.

I’m 5’10" and 218 pounds as of this morning. I don’t know my bodyfat percentage. I no longer want to be huge and I now exercise solely for optimal health and recreation. This is why I don’t post much in the BB forum anymore. Being that summer time is here, I do most of my exercise outdoors.

Here it is:
Day 1: Full body session, 15 to 20 minutes of walking outside or on incline treadmill
Day 2: 30 to 40 minute run
Day 3: 100 to 400 meter sprints at the track
Day 4: Full body session, 15 to 20 minutes of walking outside or on incline treadmill
Day 5: 30 to 40 minute run
Day 6: 100 to 400 meter sprints at the track
Day 7: Off or 1 hour brisk walk

After my conditioning improves even more, I might include different types of interval workouts including runs, sprinting, calisthenics, and various runners’ drills. John Berardi has a cool work out included in his “Indecent Intervals” article that includes all of these that I might implement soon. When the weather becomes even nicer, I might substitute those 30 to 40 minute runs with recreational outdoor sports like handball and basketball at the park or swimming at the pool.

I’ll go back to three weight sessions next winter with a three way upper-lower-upper split (2 upper body days and 1 lower body day).

I put my diet in Fit Day a few days ago and it came out to something like 3,800 calories with an approximate 40% carb, 30% protein, 30% fat breakdown. I ate that in 4 meals and two peri-workout shakes. I had to use some estimates on measurements and items that day because I ate two of my meals at a bakery and Greek restaurant. I no longer have 6 meals per day, and will continue to have 3 to 4 larger ones per day (5 tops) instead of that bodybuilding tradition.

If I recall correctly, that day looked like this.
Meal 1:
3 whole eggs with cheese and ham
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Meal 2:
Huge chicken salad sandwich with tomato, lettuce, and onion on a multi-grain bagel at the bakery
1 can V8 juice
1 enormous Asian pear

Meal 3:
1 large salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
6 oz can salmon
1 cup whole wheat pasta
1 apple

Peri-workout
Mid: 1 scoop whey protein and 2 scoops Gatorade powder
Post: same

Meal 4 (at Greek restaurant)
Small salad with vinegar and small amount of feta cheese
about 8 oz pork souvlaki
about 1.5 cups rice

I consider myself still VERY dedicated to nutrition and exercise still, but I no longer go to great limits or into great detail with my own program or diet for several reasons that I can share if you want with the biggest of all being the lack of ROI (return on investment) I got in life for the extreme sacrifice I felt necessary to reach my biggest weight and most strength in the past.

If you want to get as big as possible and make that journey as efficient as possible, it takes tremendous sacrifice - sacrifice I could no longer make if I wanted other things to come into my life and other things not to leave my life. I understand this sounds dramatic, but the effects that my hobby was having on my life were serious TO ME PERSONALLY. It took away from other areas of my life.

I believe six days of exercise per week is VERY dedicated, but I’m at a point in which if I have to miss meals or workouts, SO BE IT! Nutrition and dietetics is my profession, so that’s that. But personally, if I have something else to attend to or to enjoy, nutrition and fitness are taking second priority. They no longer will take priority over working more, money, women, family, continuing education, and friends.

So if my friend who I haven’t seen in ages invites me for a dinner after work (time I have to work out), I’m missing the work out and seeing him. If a woman invites me to spend the night and she doesn’t have fruit, oatmeal, and eggs in stock, I’m missing breakfast or getting it somewhere else at an UNscheduled time the next morning. Same goes for professional events, tending to my sick grandfather if there is an emergency or he needs more of my company, and so on.

So yeah, I’m a fitness- and health-conscious guy now who wants SOME (not the most) muscle and wants a 6 to 7 minute mile again (ran it in 5:41 in high school) and to go for a cross country 5k run or just simply walk up the block to the park and play a game of handball or take a swim at the pool.

BUT you’ll NEVER EVER see me preaching shit like full-body sessions, intervals, sprints, and circuits for bodybuilding. This is my own thing now.

2

We all gotta follow our desires as they change. Looks good to me, but that doesn’t matter. Good luck!

3

Ahh, another great post, really in line also with my way of thinking as to date.

I remember just two years ago when I would get worried from the carbs found in a red pepper and eating every 3 hours on the dot. Damn, those times sucked. Its a good thing I came here and learned not to be so anal about every little detail with my life, especially regarding training and nutrition.

So is your diet that you outlined roughly the same every day?

4

[quote]forbes wrote:
Ahh, another great post, really in line also with my way of thinking as to date.

I remember just two years ago when I would get worried from the carbs found in a red pepper and eating every 3 hours on the dot. Damn, those times sucked. Its a good thing I came here and learned not to be so anal about every little detail with my life, especially regarding training and nutrition.

So is your diet that you outlined roughly the same every day?[/quote]

I don’t eat out twice per day usually. I only eat out a few times per week.

I just have about 40 to 50 grams of protein, a small amount of fat, and a portion of carbs at meal and several servings of fruits and veggies per day.

It’s good you learned that. I no longer go for OPTIMAL nutrition and exercise. I go for good enough, and this is because of the reasons I explained several times here. This is for health and a HOBBY and I treat it as a HOBBY! Now that I’m running a lot, people ask me, “You wanna do a 5k with me?” My reply: “Hell’s NO! Not for me.” I’m not getting involved with anything that adds tremendous pressure to my life if I’m not getting paid for it. It’s not fun to me. What’s fun to me is having a casual meal–not something always requiring some elaborate preparation!–getting my kicks on and hitting the road or track or hitting the weight room for a full body session, or walking up the block for a game of handball. If I set PRs, good. If I don’t… I don’t care. Do I want to shrink and be weak? Heck no. But can I run a ten-second 100 meters? Do I want to? Do I want to try to? No.

5

Bricknyce,

Out of curiosity - what do your Full body session look like?

6

They’re inspired from Chad Waterbury, Alwyn Cosgrove, and Robert Dos Remedios.

Workout 1
Explosive upper body exercise (push press, push jerk, or speed bench)
Deadlift variation or glute ham raise or good morning
Quad dominant single leg variation
Horizontal pull
Horizontal press
Ab exercises

Workout 2
Explosive lower body exercise (muscle snatch or power clean usually)
Squat variation
Single leg hip dominant variation
Vertical pull
Vertical press or lateral raises
Ab exercises

7

I think this is a good example of someone who is trying to stay in shape, watch his health, and eat relatively ‘well’. I’m glad you differetiate between this and what would be geared towards bodybuilding success.

I think sometimes people don’t realize how much work it really is to stick to such a rigid diet and training program, even in regard to the eating cadence required. I ate like you outlined for years, making ‘okay’ gains, but never really understanding how much more I really needed to reach that next level.

Every newb who whines about how they eat well but can’t make gains should look at your diet, and then look at how someone who has actually stepped on a stage eats. I guarantee that most of them don’t even eat as much, or with as decent food selections as you make on a typical day.

S

8

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I think this is a good example of someone who is trying to stay in shape, watch his health, and eat relatively ‘well’. I’m glad you differetiate between this and what would be geared towards bodybuilding success.

I think sometimes people don’t realize how much work it really is to stick to such a rigid diet and training program, even in regard to the eating cadence required. I ate like you outlined for years, making ‘okay’ gains, but never really understanding how much more I really needed to reach that next level.

Every newb who whines about how they eat well but can’t make gains should look at your diet, and then look at how someone who has actually stepped on a stage eats. I guarantee that most of them don’t even eat as much, or with as decent food selections as you make on a typical day.

S[/quote]

Thanks! Great post.

I think on most days, I probably consume around 3,000 to 3,500 calories, which isn’t that much. But you’re right, there probably are people out there complaining of no gains when they probably eat the typical 2,000 to 3,000 calories most people eat.

Again, I DON’T put down anyone’s goals of being huge or competing. I just think people should know what they’re up against and how much sacrifice and lifestyle adjustment is necessary to make big gains as quickly as possible and what it takes to compete.

99% of people who compete won’t earn a living from bodybuilding and it’s done for personal reward and fun. If that’s what someone wants to do, hats off to them! (Seriously!) I used to want to compete in powerlifting and bodybuilding very badly - until my life wasn’t going the way I wanted it to because what is necessary to make SERIOUS gains.

I’m not discouraging anyone from trying to get huge or compete, so I don’t deserve to be roasted on this board for what I say.

I get deep personal reward from my diet and exercise regimen. I’m in great health, I’m losing fat, I’m getting faster, gaining endurance, and have fun with the activities I do.

I don’t want to turn this into some weepy personal memoir, but people on here should realize some things. A few weeks ago, some guy was troubled because he couldn’t afford Surge because he had FIFTY BUCKS TO HIS NAME and unsure if other types of peri-workout nutrition are as effective.

PEOPLE: If you have fifty bucks to your name, you (should) have far bigger priorities and problems than the best PWON choice, lifting, and getting huge! This is a fucking hobby, and should be treated as a hobby by 99.9% of people who do it!

I’ve gotten slammed in the bodybuilding forum for saying I don’t want to look like Lee Priest. Some guy asked, “Then what are you doing in the bodybuilding forum?” Now do you see the warped sense of reality I speak of? Why the heck do I have to desire to look like a pro bodybuilder to follow bodybuilding and talk about bodybuilding training?

Does this mean that people shouldn’t be fans of professional sports, a multi-billion dollar industry that wouldn’t even exist if it wasn’t for ordinary people that don’t want to be and CAN’T be professional ball players and Olympic athletes?!

What’s even funnier is that these people are ignorant to the fact that nearly all of the people creating and staffing bodybuilding magazines, nutritional supplement companies, bodybuilding shows–actually all things related to this field–are nowhere near jacked!

So if it required being ridiculously jacked, people wouldn’t even have a bodybuilding forum to post on, a magazine to read, a show to attend, DVDs to watch, and so on and so on! Formulators, marketers, advertisers, journalists, scientists, and graphic designers involved in the industry are NOT jacked, nor do they have to be!

Then you have people beating their head against the wall saying stuff like:

“I don’t have the time to train 4 to 5 times per week.”
“I can’t afford this much food and supplementation.”
“I don’t have the lifestyle (sleep and work schedule, school, obligations) to do this.”
Dozens of other types of “can’ts” and “don’ts”.

I say if you can’t and don’t, then fucking DON’T! Don’t do it, and don’t aspire to things you truly CAN’T do. Face the fact that this is your life and what your limitations are, do what you CAN (less workouts or type of exercise more suitable to you, food you can afford in lesser amount, etc) OR drastically change your life so that you can be huge if it’s that damn important to you.

Let me assure you that you won’t get one red cent from it and women aren’t going to be chasing you down because you get big and shredded. Just think about that before you make such a sacrifice and realize this is MOSTLY for personal reward, health, and recreation.

9

Fucking great post.

Nothing else to say.

Alex

10

[quote]JudsonFit wrote:
Fucking great post.

Nothing else to say.

Alex[/quote]

Thank you! And I’m glad you enjoyed it.

People seriously need to wake up and smell the roses.

11

When you give them a boutique like the one you have written out its pretty easy.

I say this because i last week was actually weighing my broccoli trying to lose weight, i had been dieting for 14 weeks, and i didn’t even like life anymore.

Now? I track my foods still, cause i wanna know whats working and whats not, but i don’t count veggies and i eat alot of them…i feel better and know its a step away from obsessive-compulsive shit and a step towards life.

I don’t wanna step on stage and i don’t wanna sacrifice my life as though i was going to.

Thanks for the wise words brick i enjoy every fucking post of yours that i read haha

12

I think everyone has to find that point between moving towards their goals, and having their gym-goals ruin the rest of their lives. Obviously if you want to step onstage, there’s going to be a bit of sacrifice involved (carrying a damn cooler around with you all day! -lol), but it’s going to be an individual thing. Just don’t whine about how you’re not reaching your goals when you’re not doing what you need to in order to progress in that direction.

S

13

JUD: Thanks.

STU: Correct! Like me, I don’t expect outrageous gains in size and strength anymore, nor do I value them like I used to. This takes an enormous pressure off of me. It’s also why I want to petition for a GENERAL FITNESS forum to be made.

14

Brick is like the Tony Robbins of the forums, except he’s Jewish. And from Brooklyn.

And is really Leather Face.

15

Nah dude. I’m from Queens. :slight_smile: Yes, Jewish.

16

I’m suprised to hear this acually, not that it’s bad at all. I remember you were a huge Dorian yates fan back in the day. So do you just not follow it either like you used to because as I said you knew everyhing about yates there was to know haha

17

I still follow bodybuilding but don’t feel the desire to be a recreational bodybuilder anymore, nor can I because of the reasons discussed above.

18

I’m glad to see this thread. Frankly, I find the attitude that if you’re not a competitive bodybuilder (or attempting to become one) then you’re not a “real” bodybuilder, to be total fucking bullshit.

19

[quote]K2000 wrote:
I’m glad to see this thread. Frankly, I find the attitude that if you’re not a competitive bodybuilder (or attempting to become one) then you’re not a “real” bodybuilder, to be total fucking bullshit. [/quote]

Perhaps some of us are not ANY KIND of bodybuilder. This doesn’t mean that we can’t RESPECT, LOVE, ADMIRE, and be fans of bodybuilding in the same way that ORDINARY people are not professional athletes but still support professional sports - as I said above.