Anyone Willing to Coach Me?

Training
161

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
OK i was just logging on to do an update…maybe not what you expect…

Toward the end of last week i became pretty much afraid to eat because i needed to shit constantly and it was affecting my ability to do my job. Then on Friday i got ill (got caught in the rain in like 8 degrees, good summer we are having) which made me feel pretty bad but i returned to the gym on the sunday having eaten basically nothing for 3 days. Had a terrible workout, got talking to a young bodybuilder at the gym who thought it was like my first time training or something, turns out i’ve been training longer than him and he has placed in local shows and is generally fucking huge compared to me. This was a blow to my motivation, whether it should have been or not.

Next gym session was on tuesday, didn’t really feel like being there, got through the workout and then came down with a horrible cold which i obviously hadn’t recovered from and lifting weakened me enough to succumb to it again. I haven’t been to the gym since, have paid zero attention to diet since, and still feel fairly weak/ill now. Weight is down to 182lbs, lost size all over.

Combined with the sickness, i feel this week has just been like a huge rebellion against bodybuilding. The thought of being in a gym pisses me off, the thought of force feeding myself seems stupid. I can’t really explain this, but i just have absolutely zero interest in it right now. I hammered away for a month or so, gained no size, then got ill and ended up smaller and weaker than before i started, so demotivating, 4 weeks to gain nothing 1 week to lose plenty.

At the moment im seriously considering buying a mountain bike, to get myself fitter and healthier as well as give me something to do. I feel that it is pretty negative to do nothing in my life but lifting, and it makes me focus more on the results because i expect more from it. Another hobby would be a good distraction from this and give me something else to focus on rather than how big i am. Also the more time i spend in gyms the worse i feel about myself. I didn’t care too much when i was 135lbs, i rarely thought about my lack of muscle. Then i started lifting because my colleagues on a course all did it and it gave me something to do. I just wanted to be 160lbs of muscle/fat to look a bit better in clothes. I grew fast, reached that target. Now i want to be 200lbs shredded. 220 would be better. That requires steroids. It’s a slippery slope, and not a healthy one.

Do you reckon its a good idea to start cycling (inb4 steroid puns) and will it detract too much from lifting? [/quote]

Stinger man, where to start? Wow

Ok, so firstly, as for getting sick and all that, it happens. There will always be setbacks, there’s no sense in getting frustrated by them, it’s how you deal with them that counts.

Don’t let the terrible workout get you down, you didn’t really have any business going to the gym that day anyway. You’d been sick and hadn’t eaten anything for three days. Would you really expect to have a good workout? Try and be objective. If someone said to you that they’d been sick for three days, hadn’t eaten and then had a shit workout, you’d tell them that it was nothing to worry about and that of course they’d have a shit workout after that.

It was just because your body was drained of energy. It’s not because there is anything wrong with your body specifically, just that you tried to jump back into it too fast. Good on you for trying, but looking back I’m sure you can see it was not a good decision. Like I said though, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you as a trainee.

I really doubt you lost any significant size during that time, and if you did it’ll come back really fast. The human body is not so fragile that it pisses its pants and loses all it’s muscle whenever something bad happens. After a few days eating properly and training again you’ll be back to normal. If it was as easy to lose all your gains as that then NONE of us would have any muscle.

A lot of the size and strength loss is in your head, trust me on this. Remember that you’ll lose a TON of water weight when you’re sick, and you haven’t eaten right so your glycogen stores’ll be empty leaving you looking deflated.

AND STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF! IT’S DRIVING YOU INSANE!

As for the mountain bike idea, that’s absolutely fine. There is literally not a single negative consequence of moving around and getting in shape. I also agree that it’d probably be good for you to have another hobby as you are clearly locked into a cycle of negative rumination regarding the weights room and your physique, and that is not a good thing. If you enjoy cycling, then go for it.

Lastly, you have to ask yourself if this is what you really want. You want the physique, I know that, but is the training, the force feeding and just general lifestyle modification you have to make really making you happy?

I weight train because it enriches my life on every level. I love the grind, the strain, the pain. I can handle progress stagnating at times, as I know if I am consistent and keep going then eventually I will smash the plateau. If I contracted some condition that meant I couldn’t add a single ounce more of muscle, I would STILL train. Absolutely, without any hesitation, because I LOVE the journey.

From your posts, it sounds like you are really not enjoying the journey, and that’s killing your motivation. We talked about this before, but you have to learn to LOVE the journey. If you can’t do that then weight training will never make you happy, and if it’s not making you happy, then why would you do it?

I am not trying to talk you out of training, far from it; I think the whole world should lift weights. What I am trying to do is get you to think long and hard about whether weight training (and all that goes with it like the diet, etc) is making you happy or sad. If it makes you happy, then good. If it is making you sad, then perhaps it’s better to spend your time doing something else.

Remember what I told you before: if you are not happy within yourself weighing 180lbs, you won’t be happy within yourself 20lbs heavier. Your happiness should not come from something external.

Do the things you love, with the people you love. If that means lifting weights then hell yeah! If you would rather do something else then that’s good too. Life is too short for negative rumination and punishing yourself for the things you haven’t done.

god I can ramble sometimes…

162

Thanks for that i appreciate the time and effort you put into these responses.

I really don’t know if it makes me happy or not. I’m very happy that i have a fairly athletic physique now, it’s much better than being 10 stone, and the muscle that i have should be fairly easy to maintain. I felt pretty good when i was over 200lbs, i looked pretty big in clothes and stood out among non-lifters, but i was too fat. Now i’m lean-ish but don’t have anywhere near the same size and the amount of food i need to eat to get bigger makes me pretty uncomfortable. I have to eat constantly and don’t seem to have time to do much else if i want to get bigger rather than just maintain. I could put up with that if i had a really good physique, but for what i have to show the effort i put in just seems absurd at times and i know deep down i should look much, much better for this level of sacrifice.

The only thing i could say i love in the gym is deadlifts. I feel like a boss pulling 3+ plates off the floor (yeah, i know it’s not a world record or anything) but it just feels badass. I’ve grown to hate pushing movements as i’m so weak in them. The problem is i could never exert the effort needed for heavy squats or deadlifts after work. I’ve tried, and it just doesn’t work as well as a saturday morning or whatever. Generally i don’t look forward to the gym after work because i just dont have the energy for it, and by the time i workout and eat ts bed time so all i do is lift eat and work.

I believe it was wendler who said if you want to look athletic, be athletic. When i was 200lbs, i got out of breath climbing stairs and sweat constantly. That’s not even heavy for my height. Even now, i barely have the conditioning to get through a chest workout let alone a leg one. I dont play any sports so riding a bike would hopefully get my cardio capacity way better and make me all around healthier and stronger, the only catch is MORE food to compensate.

163

well why don’t we try something a bit different for the next little while? Let’s strip things right back and do a much more strength/athletics focussed style of training.

How about something like:

Workout A

-hang snatch, work up to an explosive 3 or 5 (alternate between each every week)
-push press, work up to heavy 3 or 5 (same as with snatch)
-back squat, work up to heavy 5 then drop the weight right down and do 5 x 10
-row variation, 5 x 8-12
-biceps 3 x 8 - 12 superset with lateral raises 3 x 10 - 20

Workout B

-high pull, work up to explosive 3 or 5
-deadlift, work up to heavy 3 or 5 (or whatever, but keep reps low and heavy)
-incline bench, work up to heavy 5 then drop the weight and do 3 x 8 - 12
-chins 5 x AMRAP
-triceps 3 x 12-15 superset with rear delt flyes 3 x 10 - 30

you could do each workout once a week, or if you wanted to train 3 x a week you could do ABA one week then BAB the next.

it’s got a bit more of a focus on strength, but with a smattering of volume to still encourage some growth. Since it’s not a 5 x a week bodybuilding routine you won’t find yourself needing to stuff your face in quite the same way to recover (I know you hate the force feedings), and only being in the gym two or three times a week means you’ll have more time for things like mountain biking, which you prefer. You’ll be out the gym a bit quicker too so you won’t feel quite so much like you are just going from work to the gym then straight to bed.

Also only being in the gym 3 x a week gives you more time to recover so you shouldn’t dread hitting the gym after work.

the focus on heavy lifting will feel badass which you’ll enjoy, and the big compounds like high pulls or whatever will still build a big, strong physique so you’ll still add muscle.

you’ll still need to keep your protein high and your diet good though to see the results, but seeing as we are going more for “athletic” rather than “big” you won’t need to push the envelope in terms of calories quite as much.

does this look like something you might enjoy a bit more and be a bit more motivated to do?

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That doesn’t look bad at all. I wasn’t saying i don’t enjoy your routine by the way, its a really good routine. I guess sometimes i lose focus and cant really be bothered with all the little exercises like rear delts and face pulls. The lateral work is fine because i get a huge pump from it which gives me some sort of visual satisfaction, same for arms. I guess in general i do like throwing around heavy weight, which is why i hate working calves and abs, so boring.

My goal of 200lbs lean is probably considered an athletic size anyway by true bodybuilders, i think it’s massive compared to the average person though. Maybe if i sort out my conditioning and stamina, i will be able to perform better in the gym and have more energy all day.

something like this could also work for my schedule.

sat - deadlifts/back/bi
sun - chest/delt
tues - legs
wed - chest/tri

pushing power movement on sun with high volume delts, chest volume training on thurs. With the 5 day routine, sometimes i want to be working out every day, sometimes i wish it was 4 days and feel knackered.

I went to the gym today for a bit of a play about, did some incline bench and some delts. Will probably ease myself back into it this week just doing whatever lifts i feel like and introducing protein to my diet again (been eating well under 100g per day lol) and by then i should be able to focus again and go with a clear plan.

165

don’t worry about the old routine, really I should’ve talked it out with you a bit more before recommending that. I just gave you pretty much the same thing I do.

ok so with that schedule you’ve given me, off the top of my head we could do something like:

Saturday

-Deadlift, work up to heavy top set
-Weighted Chins, work up to heavy 5 (don’t be afraid to use straps)
-Close Grip Pulldowns, 4 sets 8-12 reps
-Chest Supported Rows, 4 sets 8-12 reps
-Straight Arm Pulldowns superset with concentration curls, 3 sets 8-12 for each
-maybe another biceps exercise here if you have the time/energy

Sunday

-Incline Barbell Press ramp up to heavy 5, then…
-…Flat Bench ramp up to heavy 5 starting weight is the same as your last set on the incline so it’s one continuous ramp
-Rear Delt Flyes, 4 sets, 10 - 30 reps
-Delt Triad! This is a superset where you start with front raises, once you’ve finished that you go straight into lateral raises, then from laterals straight into shoulder press. 3 sets, 8-12 reps. Start light!

Tuesday

-Squats, heavy 5
-Drop weight down and do 5x10 (I’m a big fan of training like this as you can probably tell)
-Leg Curls/Clam Raise superset 4 x 8 for leg curls, 4 x AMRAP for clam raises
-Single Leg Press, 4 sets 10 - 25 reps
-core work if you like

Wednesday

-Pec Dec pre-exhaust, 4 sets of whatever
-Slight Decline Dumbell Press, 4 sets 8 - 12 reps
-Incline Barbell Press, 4 sets 10 - 15 could do machine press here
-Triceps Pushdowns, 3 sets 8-15 reps superset with face pulls 3 sets 10-20 reps
-Cable Overhead Extensions, 3 sets 8 - 15 reps superset with external rotations

There’s plenty of heavy lifting, plus some good bodybuilder stuff.

Definitely work on your conditioning if you feel it’s holding you back

Remember that a ripped 200lbs is actually pretty huge!

Any thoughts?

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I like that a lot, lets go with that.

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success! Let me know how you get on.

Remember the diet modifications we made as well

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Rds, you are truly the man. It’s great to see the time and effort you are putting in to help Stinger out. Just awesome stuff in here.

169

thanks Wolfpacker, much appreciated!

170

With respect to the mood, attitude, motivation:

How is your sleep? Are you getting enough, and do you feel rested? Do you sleep through the night? Do you fall asleep easily, wake up easily?

Also, you might want to consider doubling your multivitamin intake. You may be low in some trace minerals, or even simply not enough B vitamins.

Finally, and this depends on how far you want to go down the supplement path, but BBB (via his own forum) suggested Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) and Bacopa to me, and that’s helped me sleep better and generally be a lot less stressed out. I wasn’t aware how stressed I was until that combination helped relax me, and helped me think clearer. This may be a route worth considering. PS can be expensive, although I had results with a PS Complex which is cheaper.

All that being said, good luck with this journey, wherever it takes you.

171

[quote]LoRez wrote:
With respect to the mood, attitude, motivation:

How is your sleep? Are you getting enough, and do you feel rested? Do you sleep through the night? Do you fall asleep easily, wake up easily?

Also, you might want to consider doubling your multivitamin intake. You may be low in some trace minerals, or even simply not enough B vitamins.

Finally, and this depends on how far you want to go down the supplement path, but BBB (via his own forum) suggested Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) and Bacopa to me, and that’s helped me sleep better and generally be a lot less stressed out. I wasn’t aware how stressed I was until that combination helped relax me, and helped me think clearer. This may be a route worth considering. PS can be expensive, although I had results with a PS Complex which is cheaper.

All that being said, good luck with this journey, wherever it takes you.[/quote]

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS.

Honestly RDS, you have committed to help this guy and you have worked hard to do so, and you should be commended. You’ve given A LOT of solid, intelligent advice, but there are two other issues here that are worth discussing. That I haven’t (I may have missed it) been addressed enough.

IS STINGER SLEEPING? The guy complains almost incessantly of fatigue. I think you were on the right path when you suggested he work out twice a week - if he’s tired all the time, why in the world does he need more time under the bar? And while a positive attitude is essential, and I do not believe in denigrating anyone, his strength levels are very poor, and at his level, they at least should be improving. He may simply not be recovering from his workouts.

DOES HE HAVE GENETICALLY LOW WORK CAPACITY? He said in one of his earliest posts that he can’t even do more than two heavy sets in a row unless he uses ridiculously light weights. That’s a VERY high drop off in strength. That could indicate some significant nutritional imbalances; it could also indicate that he needs to work for a time with compound movements and MUCH shorter rest intervals (30-45 sec.).

172

excellent contributions gentlemen!

I’ve been thinking more about psychological causes of the motivation/energy problems and not really considering somatic causes.

seriously guys great posts

173

[quote]rds63799 wrote:

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
OK i was just logging on to do an update…maybe not what you expect…

Toward the end of last week i became pretty much afraid to eat because i needed to shit constantly and it was affecting my ability to do my job. Then on Friday i got ill (got caught in the rain in like 8 degrees, good summer we are having) which made me feel pretty bad but i returned to the gym on the sunday having eaten basically nothing for 3 days. Had a terrible workout, got talking to a young bodybuilder at the gym who thought it was like my first time training or something, turns out i’ve been training longer than him and he has placed in local shows and is generally fucking huge compared to me. This was a blow to my motivation, whether it should have been or not.

Next gym session was on tuesday, didn’t really feel like being there, got through the workout and then came down with a horrible cold which i obviously hadn’t recovered from and lifting weakened me enough to succumb to it again. I haven’t been to the gym since, have paid zero attention to diet since, and still feel fairly weak/ill now. Weight is down to 182lbs, lost size all over.

Combined with the sickness, i feel this week has just been like a huge rebellion against bodybuilding. The thought of being in a gym pisses me off, the thought of force feeding myself seems stupid. I can’t really explain this, but i just have absolutely zero interest in it right now. I hammered away for a month or so, gained no size, then got ill and ended up smaller and weaker than before i started, so demotivating, 4 weeks to gain nothing 1 week to lose plenty.

At the moment im seriously considering buying a mountain bike, to get myself fitter and healthier as well as give me something to do. I feel that it is pretty negative to do nothing in my life but lifting, and it makes me focus more on the results because i expect more from it. Another hobby would be a good distraction from this and give me something else to focus on rather than how big i am. Also the more time i spend in gyms the worse i feel about myself. I didn’t care too much when i was 135lbs, i rarely thought about my lack of muscle. Then i started lifting because my colleagues on a course all did it and it gave me something to do. I just wanted to be 160lbs of muscle/fat to look a bit better in clothes. I grew fast, reached that target. Now i want to be 200lbs shredded. 220 would be better. That requires steroids. It’s a slippery slope, and not a healthy one.

Do you reckon its a good idea to start cycling (inb4 steroid puns) and will it detract too much from lifting? [/quote]

Stinger man, where to start? Wow

Ok, so firstly, as for getting sick and all that, it happens. There will always be setbacks, there’s no sense in getting frustrated by them, it’s how you deal with them that counts.

Don’t let the terrible workout get you down, you didn’t really have any business going to the gym that day anyway. You’d been sick and hadn’t eaten anything for three days. Would you really expect to have a good workout? Try and be objective. If someone said to you that they’d been sick for three days, hadn’t eaten and then had a shit workout, you’d tell them that it was nothing to worry about and that of course they’d have a shit workout after that.

It was just because your body was drained of energy. It’s not because there is anything wrong with your body specifically, just that you tried to jump back into it too fast. Good on you for trying, but looking back I’m sure you can see it was not a good decision. Like I said though, it doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you as a trainee.

I really doubt you lost any significant size during that time, and if you did it’ll come back really fast. The human body is not so fragile that it pisses its pants and loses all it’s muscle whenever something bad happens. After a few days eating properly and training again you’ll be back to normal. If it was as easy to lose all your gains as that then NONE of us would have any muscle.

A lot of the size and strength loss is in your head, trust me on this. Remember that you’ll lose a TON of water weight when you’re sick, and you haven’t eaten right so your glycogen stores’ll be empty leaving you looking deflated.

AND STOP WEIGHING YOURSELF! IT’S DRIVING YOU INSANE!

As for the mountain bike idea, that’s absolutely fine. There is literally not a single negative consequence of moving around and getting in shape. I also agree that it’d probably be good for you to have another hobby as you are clearly locked into a cycle of negative rumination regarding the weights room and your physique, and that is not a good thing. If you enjoy cycling, then go for it.

Lastly, you have to ask yourself if this is what you really want. You want the physique, I know that, but is the training, the force feeding and just general lifestyle modification you have to make really making you happy?

I weight train because it enriches my life on every level. I love the grind, the strain, the pain. I can handle progress stagnating at times, as I know if I am consistent and keep going then eventually I will smash the plateau. If I contracted some condition that meant I couldn’t add a single ounce more of muscle, I would STILL train. Absolutely, without any hesitation, because I LOVE the journey.

From your posts, it sounds like you are really not enjoying the journey, and that’s killing your motivation. We talked about this before, but you have to learn to LOVE the journey. If you can’t do that then weight training will never make you happy, and if it’s not making you happy, then why would you do it?

I am not trying to talk you out of training, far from it; I think the whole world should lift weights. What I am trying to do is get you to think long and hard about whether weight training (and all that goes with it like the diet, etc) is making you happy or sad. If it makes you happy, then good. If it is making you sad, then perhaps it’s better to spend your time doing something else.

Remember what I told you before: if you are not happy within yourself weighing 180lbs, you won’t be happy within yourself 20lbs heavier. Your happiness should not come from something external.

Do the things you love, with the people you love. If that means lifting weights then hell yeah! If you would rather do something else then that’s good too. Life is too short for negative rumination and punishing yourself for the things you haven’t done.

god I can ramble sometimes…[/quote]

You really are wise beyond your years young one…

174

[quote]KingKai25 wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
With respect to the mood, attitude, motivation:

How is your sleep? Are you getting enough, and do you feel rested? Do you sleep through the night? Do you fall asleep easily, wake up easily?

Also, you might want to consider doubling your multivitamin intake. You may be low in some trace minerals, or even simply not enough B vitamins.

Finally, and this depends on how far you want to go down the supplement path, but BBB (via his own forum) suggested Phosphatidyl Serine (PS) and Bacopa to me, and that’s helped me sleep better and generally be a lot less stressed out. I wasn’t aware how stressed I was until that combination helped relax me, and helped me think clearer. This may be a route worth considering. PS can be expensive, although I had results with a PS Complex which is cheaper.

All that being said, good luck with this journey, wherever it takes you.[/quote]

I’ve never been a good sleeper. It’s as good as it has been for a while at the moment thanks to constant use of melatonin. I would say i usually get 7 hours sometimes 8 hours if i’m really lucky. Without melatonin i was getting maybe 5-6 hours, sometimes i just couldnt function the next day let alone work out. Really im naturally a late sleeper and waker, so im forcing myself to sleep early and get up at 7.30 every day, so more sleep isnt possible.

IS STINGER SLEEPING? The guy complains almost incessantly of fatigue. I think you were on the right path when you suggested he work out twice a week - if he’s tired all the time, why in the world does he need more time under the bar? And while a positive attitude is essential, and I do not believe in denigrating anyone, his strength levels are very poor, and at his level, they at least should be improving. He may simply not be recovering from his workouts.

DOES HE HAVE GENETICALLY LOW WORK CAPACITY? He said in one of his earliest posts that he can’t even do more than two heavy sets in a row unless he uses ridiculously light weights. That’s a VERY high drop off in strength. That could indicate some significant nutritional imbalances; it could also indicate that he needs to work for a time with compound movements and MUCH shorter rest intervals (30-45 sec.).[/quote]

Yes if i want to generate maximum strength it has to be a single set of 3 reps. Any more sets and the second one i wont even be able to lift it ON PRESSING MOVEMENTS, squats and deads are a different story.

I believe my lack of energy is likely due to low test levels, i’m almost certain that if i got tested my levels would be way below normal. Attempting to get treatment and then have that treatment done correctly on the NHS is basically impossible though i think, and i dont really want to be injecting myself for the rest of my life if i can avoid it for now.

175

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
I believe my lack of energy is likely due to low test levels, i’m almost certain that if i got tested my levels would be way below normal. Attempting to get treatment and then have that treatment done correctly on the NHS is basically impossible though i think, and i dont really want to be injecting myself for the rest of my life if i can avoid it for now. [/quote]

Is there any particular reason you’re thinking low test rather than, I dunno, any other of the hundreds of possible reasons from chronic low-grade infections to mitochondrial issues to poor nutrient/mineral absorption to hypothyroidism to… etc.?

Even certain psychiatric conditions like dysthymia might only manifest themselves as low energy.

I think, unless you have actual numbers, it’s premature to be pointing to low T as the reason.

But for that matter, is there any way you could actually get blood testing done? I just told my doctor about my symptoms of low energy, and he came up with a list of blood tests. I can get you that list if you want.

176

Yes, a multitude of reasons and im 99% certain. I don’t necessarily want to discuss them here. I may not even be low enough for treatment or anything. It’s not very easy to get blood tests for things like that, the doctors are so bad the standard answer will be “you are too young for that.” Yes i could exaggerate certain symptoms and force my way into getting the tests that i want, but even the treatment in the uk (if you can get it) is done incorrectly from all the research i have done.

177

[quote]stinger70 wrote:
Yes, a multitude of reasons and im 99% certain. I don’t necessarily want to discuss them here. I may not even be low enough for treatment or anything. It’s not very easy to get blood tests for things like that, the doctors are so bad the standard answer will be “you are too young for that.” Yes i could exaggerate certain symptoms and force my way into getting the tests that i want, but even the treatment in the uk (if you can get it) is done incorrectly from all the research i have done.[/quote]

Ok then.

Just make sure you get your zinc and magnesium (you said you’re using ZMA), and your cholesterol (I’m assuming you’re the yolks when you eat eggs).

You may want to consider adding in some liver into your diet, either as Argentinian dessicated liver tablets or just eating liver. According to a number of yesteryear trainers, the liver was supposed to help increase T levels. (Primarily due to the Cytochrome P450) Whether it works or not is up for debate, but either way, it’s a great source for vitamins and minerals, especially B12.

178

if you really want to get your T levels tested on the NHS, here’s what you do.

You go to your GP and tell them you took a legal prohormone that you bought over the internet.

You tell them that since you stopped taking it, you have had mood swings, irritability, low libido and just a general feeling of “no mojo”

You should hopefully then get a blood test where they’ll tell you your T levels. They won’t do LH or FSH or anything like that because it’s too expensive but you should hopefully get your T levels.

THe other option is to go private but that’ll cost a fortune.

179

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.

Iâ??m 28, 6â??4, 192-ish pounds. I had never lifted before October, and did not put on any substantial muscle during the years before that. Played ice hockey in college, hurt my hip/low back (all soft tissue stuff due to weak muscle support around my pelvic cradle. Had lots of pelvic tilt, leading to sciatica and back spasms), have had a terrible diet my whole life (fast food), and struggled through the back pain for years. A year and a couple months ago, I started a P90X bootcamp style workout, and radically changed my diet.

Went from about 210 to 178 in an attempt to shed off the body fat that had been accumulating. Ended up looking much too thin due to a lack of muscle, so in October (after 7-9 months of cutting), I started lifting. Got comfy in the gym around Christmas, and started my first attempt at a bulk as my New Years resolution. I think this is the most important point in my training: I am a terrible eater. Not in the sense that I eat a ton of junk food now (in fact, I eat almost no cheese, no processed food, no fast food), but in the sense that my body massively self-regulates its appetite. If I eat 3500 calories today, my body only wants 1500 the next.

Back to the point. Been lifting and eating more seriously since January (although it has not been consistent due to lots of travel for work). Squats have been the hardest lift for me to get comfortable with (pelvic tilt). I have made amazing progress though. Back in November I squatted 95lbs once (back squat) and ended up with back spasms for the next month. Now, using your original routine with Stinger, I do a max-set of 5 front squats at 135lbs, and 5x10 at 85lbs. I know this is not very much, but was a big step for me in recovery from my hip issues, and I know I need to progress slowly, because when I add more weight quickly, my pelvic tilt threatens to come back.

So I found your routine with Stinger, and have been doing the original routine for 3 full weeks now. I love the workout, and I especially love the 2 leg-days considering my hip problems, and considering that it does not ask me to go super heavy and threaten my back health. If youâ??ve made it this far, I think Iâ??ve given a sufficient rambling background, and would love to ask a few questions.

First, here are pictures of me (http://ufsnook.smugmug.com/Sports/Workout/29801947_bMNFQm). And I think it is important to be clear about my goals. My dream body is more Brad Pitt in Fight Club than Ronnie Coleman, but I am not near a point where I currently see that as a goal on the horizon. My real goal is 1) to continue to see progress in building muscle mass on a year-to-year basis (would love 10lbs over the next year), and 2) to get my hips back to a point where I can play ice hockey injury free.

I am making real strides on goal 2, as I played ice hockey for the first time in 4 years the other weekend (hence the recent bruises on my hip) and noticed major differences in my body dynamics (as a goalie, I am basically holding a squat for 30-60 seconds at a time, every other minute, for an hour). Questions:

  1. When bulking, I face a dilemma. I have made a lot of radical changes this past year, and it is hard to do so much new stuff at once. The hardest thing for me is trying to eat clean to gain weight. Major mental roadblock. Iâ??m not saying I will never be able to do this, Iâ??ve just come to accept that I cannot eat 95% clean in the volume required at this time. My options are either to eat clean but not hit my caloric goals consistently, or go for a bulk where I eat clean as much as possible, but also allow myself to eat whatever I want (hamburgers, pizzas, chicken wings, etc) when Iâ??m not getting enough calories in order to force on the pounds. Cutting is easy for me (diet wise), so I donâ??t mind cycling bulking/cutting.

  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.

  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?

  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)?

  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).

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.

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.

180

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.