General Lifting/Diet Questions

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey

I’ve been working out on/off for the past 2 years, and just got back into it about 1.5 months ago. I’ve been getting a lot of different advice from guys at the gym, and it’s all left me kinda confused. Then I heard about you guys from a friend, so seeing as how you guys are the experts, maybe you can clear everything up for me.

Essentially I’m going to be following the diet/exercise routine below:

Diet
Focus my diet around these foods: Almonds (and other nuts), Beans (kidney, black), Spinach and green veggies, dairy, instant oatmeal, eggs, turkey and lean meats, olive oil, natural peanut butter, extra protein whey powder, fruits such as berries and bananas and apples etc.

Exercise

i have been doing for the past 2 weeks a new routine where I do an all body workout on Monday/Wed./Friday for about 1 hr 15 min at the gym. Its the same workout all three days, with squats, military presses, upright rows, bicep curl, leg curl, tricep pushdown, bench press, leg press, leg extension, pulldown. 4 sets of 6 for each workout. But I just heard from some guys today that I should not be working out the same muscle more then 2x a week, and doing all body workouts is not really the best for putting on mass.

So instead I was looking at this new routine:
2 cycles of 3 day workout routine in 1 week. 1 off day with just abs.
Cycle 1
Day 1: Triceps and Shoulders
Day 2: Biceps and Chest
Day 3: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves, Abs
Cycle 2
Day 4: Triceps, Shoulders
Day 5: Biceps, Chest, Abs
Day 6: Quads, Hamstrings, Calves,
Day 7: Abs

How does that look to you guys? Also I hear that I should not take any protein bars, just protein shakes w/ whey protein, before and after workout. And get 8 hrs sleep, and do compound workouts rather then isolation.

2

also as far as specific workouts go, this is my rough plan:

For Tricep/Shoulder days:
Tricep Extension
Tricep Pushdown
Military Press
Shoulder Shrug
Lateral Arm Raises
Upright Rows
?

Biceps/Chest/Back: (i forgot to add back in the first post)
Bench Press
Biceps Curl
Bicep Hammers
Lateral Pulldowns
Decline Bench Press
One Arm Rows
<more?>

Quads/Hamstrings/Calves:
Leg Press
Leg Extension
Leg Curls
Squats
Travelling Lunges
<any more?>

I plan to be at the gym for around 45 min to 1hr each day while lifting, and run for about 20-25 min following a HIIT plan each day.

3

also, i want to incorporate some forearm workouts, what days should i be doing those? and which forearm workouts are effective?

4

try to work in forearms about once a week. as for which works best for them id try just about anything that involves a really thick surface to grip like towel pullups and the like.

5

alright, thanks. any other advice on the routine?

6

bump?

7

you don’t deadlift?

8

no, i go to a university gym, and they strictly prohibit that workout, along with some other “olympic workouts”.

9

[quote]mafzal4 wrote:
no, i go to a university gym, and they strictly prohibit that workout, along with some other “olympic workouts”. [/quote]

Kill them, kill them all!!

I do them in my halls of residence kitchen. Its a lol.

100th post, yes.

10

what days should i be deadlifting? also, how’s the rest of the routine look?

11

Whatever day you do legs, include deadlifts. Deadlifts, squats, lunges, and leg press is a solid foundation for legs. Single leg squats are good too–I include them on some of my off days.

As far as the routine goes, I’d say it looks pretty solid. I’m a big fan of total body workouts, thats all I ever do, but success can be had with split routines.

Be careful, your cycle doesn’t include any off days, obviously when you aren’t working a muscle group it can rest, but being in the gym 7 x a week can burn anyone out.

A few other things…

8 hours of sleep–heck yes.

bust your butt in the gym, and enjoy the time out of it.

eat quality food

how were you planning on incorporating the running? (Sorry the description wasn’t 100% clear to me)

if you can do olympic lifts do it (wherever). Use light weights and learn proper form (everyone’s form can be improved)

did you base your ‘nutrition’ off of the men’s health abs-diet-power? haha i have to ask. its ok though, i’ve read mens health before and those 12 foods are definitely quality food.

12

yeah man about the diet, that was all the mens health stuff! i dont usually go there for advice, but that stuff looked pretty sound to me.

OK, ill include deadlifts on my leg days. Ill just do some when the monitors are out lol.

Yeah 7x is gonna be tough, but I am pretty sure I can stick to it.

Running, after the workout, on a track with about ~2.5-3.0 miles overall at least.

13

Remember, its a marathon not a sprint. You’ll change your program up a few times per year (hopefully). So work hard at what you set up for now, you’ll make gains.

Yeah don’t neglect the running. I’d recommend springs and distance. 2.5-3 miles is pretty solid distance. Thats about what I do. I also do anywhere from 8-20 sprints of 30-100 yards, depends. Or if youre lucky, and smart, set up a fun way to get a good workout in. Such as football with some buddies.

As far as the mens health go, yeah i’d follow that advice, i eat most of those 12 foods every day. Gotta have the basics down before you can advance to the tougher more specific stuff (in any aspect, espeically lifting/diet)

Good luck bro, keep us posted.

14

alright. i’m taking 'before" pics now lol. i’ll post at various stages of accomplishment.