[quote]UFsnook wrote:
RDS, again, thank you so much for your dedication here. Would love some input, but I completely understand if you just want to focus on Stinger.
[/quote]
I think you should start a new thread in BSL and basically just repost what you just wrote.
Or, go to Logs > Training Logs, and do it there.
[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Got a few days off work. 10 hours sleep last night, smashed the gym today, suddenly i want to train again. It’s not the training that kills my motivation, it’s the daily grind. I guess that is why so many people fail to get/stay in shape and is part of the whole challenge. I always wanted to start training when i only worked part time from the ages of 19-23 but i couldn’t afford the food and gym membership, i could have made so much progress in those years lol.[/quote]
That’s really really good to hear. Good luck man.
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
RDS, first off, thank you so much for your dedication to this thread. This has been the most informative exchange Iâ??ve seen since I started lifting. And Stinger, keep it up man! While I know you are comparing yourself to lots of body builders and get down at times, you should know that there are people out there (like me) that look up to where you are currently at.
Anyways, RDS, if asking this is not outside the realm of this thread (if it is, Iâ??m happy to delete the post), Iâ??d love to give you a summary of my status to get some general advice. I would start my own thread for this, but after lurking and following this thread for the past month, Iâ??ve really come to respect your advice and perspective so would love your input. [/quote]
Yo UF, I have no problem helping you out in this thread, so unless Stinger has issue then it’s all good as far as I’m concerned. It might be worth starting a new thread purely because then more people will be likely to chip in and give you advice. There’s guys on this site than know 10,000 times more than I do.
Thank you very much for the kind words! Really though, you give me too much credit. All I did was give a couple of sample routines and tell him to clean up his diet. Anyone could’ve done that really. If you look at threads like Zraw training Marzouk or Jake training Spidey, they’ve got proper tailor made routines and diets planned down to the macro level, I could never do something like that. I appreciate your following along all the same though.
Your background is fairly common with the tight hips etc., so I don’t see any reason to do anything too outside of the box. I’ll address your questions:
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
With your goals in mind, I really don’t think you need to forcefeed yourself all that much. I would describe your goal physique as “athletic”, so really as long as you are eating clean, hitting your protein target (1g or protein per lb of your bodyweight), lifting weights and playing hockey then that’ll take you where you want to go. Save “bulking and cutting” for the professional bodybuilders.
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
2) Does your original program work for me, or since I am still a novice to the gym, do I need to dial it back a bit? I am really enjoying the workouts, so would like to continue what you laid out. As an aside, the preworkout routines are fantastic. Iâ??ve only ever static stretched before and now wish I knew about your approach years ago.[/quote]
Maybe. Sorry I can’t be more specific. It might be too much volume, it might be not enough. Really though, I think that at the stage in your development you’re at, along with the fact that you play sports indicates that 5/3/1 might be a better choice for you. Have a look into that, and if you like it I can help you set up the assistance work.
Definitely keep up with those warm ups I posted, that’ll help your hip issues. Do some glute activation drills and core work on your off days too just to really get your hip problems sorted.
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
3) Since I’ve been a bad eater, I cut out cardio when I started lifting to bulk to save calories for growth. I will box/kickbox or do bootcamp again when cutting, but am I right to knock out cardio when bulking to focus on weight lifting exclusively? [/quote]
Again, I don’t really want you to think in terms of bulking and cutting. As long as you are eating clean and hitting your protein target then you’ll build a lean, muscular physique. You probably don’t need all that much cardio if you’re playing hockey but it certainly couldn’t hurt.
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
4) I am struggling with a decision of whether I should start a cut now that I have gained a bit of muscle mass, or if I should continue trying to bulk since I still donâ??t have a ton of underlying muscle. I know my body fat is high (especially in the belly), but hate looking super-skinny (October 2012 pic). What do you think, and when I do start to cut, how should I alter the original program (besides adding cardio)?[/quote]
One more time, lol, no bulking and cutting! Eat healthy = look healthy. Seriously. If you are training hard and eating clean the bodyfat will disappear and the muscle will appear. You don’t have enough bodyfat to warrant a full-on cut IMO, and I really think that if you just eat properly and train right then you will get where you want to be without having to “bulk and cut”
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
5) My hips. Again, this is my biggest success although my numbers are low. I notice my pelvis still wants to tilt on squats (I only do front squats now, because they have been much better for my posture/hips, although I would like to try back squats again at some future time). My legs are very long, so I donâ??t go ass to grass, but I am now able to get to parallel, or right above. After playing hockey, I noticed lots of soreness around my groin, hip flexors, and piriformis. I think my entire pelvic cradle could use more strengthening, and it is the weakness in that area that I think makes my squat growth so slow (which I am ok with so long as I progress). [/quote]
get a box and set it to the height you can hit just before your back rounds. Use that to keep your depth consistent and to stop you going too low. Like I said before, tons of glute activation and core work.
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
Should I just keep with the 2 leg-days a week and let those areas get stronger through the leg workouts, or is there a rehab style workout like you gave Stinger that I should consider adding? I am at a desk most of the day and notice a general lingering tightness around my piriformis (the worst) and hip flexors.[/quote]
if you want to do the routine I gave Stinger then by all meas do so, but I think 5/3/1 is still the better choice. That’ll give you good leg days anyway. Do some soft tissue work on the piriformis.
RDS, again, thank you so much for your dedication here. Would love some input, but I completely understand if you just want to focus on Stinger.
[/quote]
hope that helps man! Anything else just ask.
[quote]LoRez wrote:
[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Got a few days off work. 10 hours sleep last night, smashed the gym today, suddenly i want to train again. It’s not the training that kills my motivation, it’s the daily grind. I guess that is why so many people fail to get/stay in shape and is part of the whole challenge. I always wanted to start training when i only worked part time from the ages of 19-23 but i couldn’t afford the food and gym membership, i could have made so much progress in those years lol.[/quote]
That’s really really good to hear. Good luck man.[/quote]
x2 sometimes that’s all it takes, just a good sleep and some stodgy food
RDS. Thanks so much. Following LoRez’ advice, I started a new thread in BSL, should have just done that from the start. I will copy-paste your reply into my new thread ( 7 Months into Lifting, Advice? - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation ). I will also check out 5/3/1 and likely post a question to you about the routine in my new thread.
Sorry for clouding up this thread, and best of luck to you and Stinger!
[quote]UFsnook wrote:
RDS. Thanks so much. Following LoRez’ advice, I started a new thread in BSL, should have just done that from the start. I will copy-paste your reply into my new thread ( 7 Months into Lifting, Advice? - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation ). I will also check out 5/3/1 and likely post a question to you about the routine in my new thread.
Sorry for clouding up this thread, and best of luck to you and Stinger![/quote]
no worries man, I’ll check in on that thread and see how it’s going
This is great reading. You should consider coaching people full time rds;) You know how to motivate, you dont drag stinger down, you work around his schedule/needs and you give sound advice. Really good stuff. Keep up the good work boys!
[quote]whatever2k wrote:
This is great reading. You should consider coaching people full time rds;) You know how to motivate, you dont drag stinger down, you work around his schedule/needs and you give sound advice. Really good stuff. Keep up the good work boys![/quote]
thanks man! I have just finished uni so maybe I will turn this into a career…
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
[quote]whatever2k wrote:
This is great reading. You should consider coaching people full time rds;) You know how to motivate, you dont drag stinger down, you work around his schedule/needs and you give sound advice. Really good stuff. Keep up the good work boys![/quote]
thanks man! I have just finished uni so maybe I will turn this into a career…[/quote]
waaaw, you just finished uni?!
never knew, what uni did you go to?
[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
[quote]whatever2k wrote:
This is great reading. You should consider coaching people full time rds;) You know how to motivate, you dont drag stinger down, you work around his schedule/needs and you give sound advice. Really good stuff. Keep up the good work boys![/quote]
thanks man! I have just finished uni so maybe I will turn this into a career…[/quote]
waaaw, you just finished uni?!
never knew, what uni did you go to?[/quote]
yeah, I went back and finished up after I dropped out first time. I just graduated with a psychology degree from Strathclyde. What I will do with it? I have no idea.
Ok an update…
bought myself a bike, been out on it quite a bit and starting to feel fitter already.
Did rack pulls today instead of deadlifts, managed to work up to 200kg for a set of 4, not bad. I can’t do weighted pullups but what i usually do is just do a few bw sets to failure which is literally 3-4 good reps but i think they are still worth doing?
I have been drinking a couple of pints whole milk for the last few days, no digestion issues so i don’t think im lactose intolerant. I love milk, and it puts weight and strength on me better than most things, but what do you think about the fat content? Lets say i had 3 pints per day thats about 40g saturated fat from that alone. I would only be drinking that much fairly short term though.
-3 or 4 sets of pullups to faillure is fine and dandy. Just keep plugging away and the reps’ll come.
-fat is good! Embrace the fat! Seriously, I know you’ve lived your whole life with people telling you fat is bad but it’s not so. It’s actually a really big problem with the world that fat is vilified. I can provide some reading material on the subject if you like, but in the meantime eat all the fat you like. ESPECIALLY saturated fat.
other than that is everything good? Strength ok? Digestion ok? Hip ok? Motivation ok?
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
-3 or 4 sets of pullups to faillure is fine and dandy. Just keep plugging away and the reps’ll come.
-fat is good! Embrace the fat! Seriously, I know you’ve lived your whole life with people telling you fat is bad but it’s not so. It’s actually a really big problem with the world that fat is vilified. I can provide some reading material on the subject if you like, but in the meantime eat all the fat you like. ESPECIALLY saturated fat.
other than that is everything good? Strength ok? Digestion ok? Hip ok? Motivation ok?[/quote]
Yeah everything is ok. Hip pain is gone. Digestion is improving, if anything the milk has helped. Tomorrow will be telling, heavy leg day after work, this is when the motivation is hardest to come by. I’ve done a bit of reading on the fat/cholesterol myth myself, but i never felt confident enough in the research that it made sense to load up on them.
Another wasted week unfortunately.
I’m pretty sure i’ve got IBS.
Had about 3 hours sleep monday night, barely survived the day let alone going to the gym, leg day skipped, hardly ate anything all day.
yesterday, finished work early and had an energy drink, decent gym session.
today was planning to do tuesdays missed leg day. Late home from work, no energy whatsoever, literally feel like i could sleep right now at 6pm.
I’m gutted really. I want to be working out, but i just can’t muster the energy. I know the difference as well because previously i would be able to work out as late as 9pm, now i literally have no energy from the minute i get home. I never ever used to miss a session even though i had to drive further to the gym and go later in the evening, now i barely make a session. Except for the weekend, no problems there.
have you been to the doctor? If not, then GO TO THE DOCTOR
it could be IBS, it could be something more serious.
Don’t fuck around with stuff like this; go to the doctor
Speaking of supps, you now use:
-5g of fish oil a day
-1000iu of vitamin D a day (get the D3 softgels)
-ZMA
you can get some creatine if you like too.[/quote]
hahaha way to tell him how it’s gonna be
I’m not sure the doctor could really help me. “Whats the problem?” doctor im trying to eat 4000 calories a day and im on the toilet all the time. “Eat less.”
If i just had a normal diet then it wouldn’t really happen. Friday i ate a massive KFC meal but not a huge amount else probably had 2000 calories that day, and had no problems. It just seems like i can’t handle the sheer volume of food anymore. Yesterday i hit my macros and its left me unable to eat today as i cant afford to be woken up really early tomorrow morning on a work day by the resulting digestion issues. Really enjoyed my lifting yesterday, didn’t bother going today as i know i cant eat enough to make any gains from it.
Been taking glutamine and coconut oil for the last 3 days. I’m not sure if this will continue and i don’t want to speak to soon, but my stomach problems are about 80% better with these supplements so far. I can stomach 1000 calorie shakes again no problem. Time will tell if it works long term, but im amazed by the response so far.
[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Been taking glutamine and coconut oil for the last 3 days. I’m not sure if this will continue and i don’t want to speak to soon, but my stomach problems are about 80% better with these supplements so far. I can stomach 1000 calorie shakes again no problem. Time will tell if it works long term, but im amazed by the response so far. [/quote]
that’s great!!
have you tried taking probiotics? I used to have really bad gut health problems stemming from anxiety, and literally the first time i took a probiotics pill i felt my appetite return. it was amazing, really.
if what you’re doing now keeps working for you, stick with it. but if it pops up again, i might give probiotics a try.
Just as an update, i finally worked out what was causing my stomach problems: melatonin.
Stopped taking it and within a week was almost totally back to normal. Now i try to just use it when i need to get to sleep earlier. It literally gave me debilatating stomach cramps and diarrhea. So now i have no stomach problems but i dont get any sleep so its trade one thing for another.
My training now is a casual affair, 3 days per week, legs, chest/tri, back/bi. I still weigh around 180lbs and havent gained the slightest bit of size, although i havent been eating a bulking diet.