I truly believe that most kids under 25 these days are afraid of eating and lifting for FEAR of looking different.
I don’t get it at all.
To the OP, you are not eating enough to start, and your pictures only confirm that.
Heroine addicts have abs too.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
brrrap wrote:
Ive decided im going to focus on getting the good ol six pack and toned look for the summer then bulk up in the winter as the rugby seasons starts again.
That’s good. Ask for advice and then ignore every ounce of it. You are a trooper. Be careful with that “get too big” thing. It happens. [/quote]
LOL! Great post Professor!!!
[quote]Rockscar wrote:
I truly believe that most kids under 25 these days are afraid of eating and lifting for FEAR of looking different.
I don’t get it at all.
[/quote]
Their kids are either going to rebel and be ridiculously built…or take it the other direction and this entire species is dead within the next century.
Why bother to lift at all if the goal is to…not look like it except if your shirt is off and a light bulb is hanging directly over you? I could think of hundreds of other things to put my effort into other than spending this much time…trying to be average.
With all of the people on this site who have turned lifting heavy weights into some pseudo-science experiment with a mathematics minor, where are all of the outstanding bodies that have been built?
This site has been up long enough for there to be literally hundreds of people who have taken this to an extreme or at least some level that makes others say, “wow”.
[quote]brrrap wrote:
Thanks everyone loads for the replies! Ive been reading a lot more since and am learning all the time now what it is i need to be doing. Still not 100% sure yet but i definatly feel like i know more now.
Ive decided im going to focus on getting the good ol six pack and toned look for the summer then bulk up in the winter as the rugby seasons starts again. Im going to stick to a diet that involves a lot of protein and good clean carbs so that muscle loss is minimal during the summer.
And respect to Mr. Christain Bale, skinny Machinest guy to Batman is quite impressive!
A few days ago i bought my first protein shake. “Promax” by “Maximuscle” mainly this brand because this is the only brand i could find near where i live. Anyone heard of it before? One thing im not sure about is when to take it? Should i take the recommened 30ml everyday, even on rest days or just on work out days? Post/pre workout or in the morning?
Heres a diet and workout plan im putting together for myself:
DIET:
(Im guessing this isnt going to be that good a diet so would be really appreicated if anyone could point out where its wrong)
Meal 1
Porridge/oats with semi skimmed milk
Meal 2
Fruit/Rasins/Nuts/etc
Meal 3
Turkey or any lean meat in wholewheat bread
Meal 4
Peanut Butter/fruit
Meal 5
Salmon/Tuna Steak/Eggs only omlette with green veggies
Meal 6
Fruit/Nuts/etc
WORKOUT:
4 Days Per Week (every other day)
Full Body
Lower Legs:
Calve Raise 2x15 reps
Upper Legs:
Squat 4x15-3(per set as weight increases)reps
Leg Press 4x10
Hamstring Curl 4x10
Leg Extensions 4x10
Abs:
Im following a routine from a book that seems fairly solid and works out Obliques, Upper and Lower nicely and is based on a 4 level system
Chest:
Bench Press 2x15 reps
Fly Press 2x15 reps
Press ups 2x40 reps
Pec Dips 3x15 reps
Delts:
Front Rise 2x15 reps
Side Rise 2x15 reps
Bent Over Rise 2x15 reps
Shoulders:
Shoulder Press 2x15 reps
or
Military Press 2x15 reps
Biceps:
Curls 3x15 reps
Hammer 1x20 reps
Conc. Curl 1x20 reps
Triceps:
Overhead Extensions 3x15 reps
Kickbacks 2x15 reps
Back:
One Arm Row 2x15 reps
Shrugs 1x100 reps
Hyper Extension Situps 1x100 reps
Takes me about 1 and half to 2 hours to do this.
Any tips for impoving my workout plan? What ive been doing for the past 3 months is in there, but ive included a load more exercises so it seems the ratio between upper body and lower body is a bit mad. Im looking for a wider range and number of exercises for my lower legs at the moment. Any help again is appreciated 
[/quote]
I’m going to break it down for you:
You are already lean and can see your abs to some extent. Cutting is not going to make you look “toned”, it is going to make you look ill. To get the look you desire you are going to have to put on some muscle, plus a bit of muscle never hurt on a rugby field!
You are very unlikely to be able to put on a significant amount of muscle during the rugby season, you will be training and playing rugby too much. The off season is the time to really work on size and strength. Then pre-season takes care of conditioning and in season is maintenance and injury prevention.
Your program outlined above is dogshit. Way way way too much volume. I counted 49 sets, including two sets of 100reps (!) and not including whatever ab program you are doing.
Your diet is a good CUTTING diet. There is not nearly enough food here to gain. I know you said you are trying to cut but I am going to pretend you didn’t say that. Eat more food.
The advice:
Diet: I’m not goig to spell this out for you. Look up Massive eating by Berardi. Use the calorie calculator, then take a seat and contemplate just how drastically you have been undereating. Now implement the guidleines in the article and in 7 habits of effective nutrition, also by Berardi. Track it on fitday.com or similar, at least until you have a good feel for what you are really eating calorie and macronutrient wise.
The training.
You’re training 4 days per week, I’m going to suggest breaking it up into two upper and two lower body days.
The exercises I want to see are: Squats, Deadlifts, Bench, Row, OH Press or Push Press, Power clean (if you have an instructor), Pull ups, dips, lunges. Basically “the money exercises”…
My suggestion is as follows:
Each workout has 2 “big” exercises that are the focus for that day followed by a couple of additional exercises.
All “big” exercises are preceded by a couple of warmup sets below working weight.
For the “big” 5x5 exercises do the following: Pick a weight you can do 7-8 reps with, do 5, stick with that weight for the remaining sets. Once you can complete all 5 sets of 5 reps increase the weight. Rest 90s to 2 mins between sets. Keep a note book.
Upper Body day 1:
Bench press - 5x5
Bent row - 5x5
Dips - 2x 8-10 add weight with belt or db between feet when required.
Close grip pulldown - 2x8-10
Abs - Plank - 2 x 60s holds.
Lower Body 1:
Squats 5x5
Stiff Legged DL 5x5
BB Step up or lunge 2x 8-10
Cable pull through (use rope attachment) 2 x 8-10
Upper Body 2
OH Press or Push Press - 5x5
Pull up - 5x5 (add weight using belt or db between feet when required).
Decline DB press - 2x8-10
1 arm DB row - 2x8-10
Abs - Cable Woodchops - 2x10 each side.
Lower Body 2
Deadlift (yay!) 5x5
Front squat 5x5
Bulgarian Split Squat - 2x8-10
DB or KB swings - 2x8-10
Each session should take you around 45mins - 1hr.
Look up the exercises on exrx.net if you need to.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Stu.
[quote]brrrap wrote:
Ive decided im going to focus on getting the good ol six pack and toned look for the summer then bulk up in the winter as the rugby seasons starts again. Im going to stick to a diet that involves a lot of protein and good clean carbs so that muscle loss is minimal during the summer.
[/quote]
Aw, dammit. How is getting the ol six pack gonna help you with rugby, you fool? You need to be getting stronger for the upcoming season!
If you’re a back, you need more speed and size, to run away from tackles and to bounce off supposed tacklers. If you’re a scrummer… wait, if you were a scrummer you’d never be asking these questions, you’d be eating.
Squats, glute ham raises, dead lifts will give you speed. Lots of lifting will get you strength. Why don’t you try and start next season fast, strong and ready to play A side? Screw looking good for the summer. It’s the girls after the game that matter. You know, the ones that watch you while you’re playing first string?
There’s members, usernames Ren and conorh that play rugby currently. Ask them about eating and lifting programs to become a better rugby player… unless rugby is a passing fancy, which then I’ve just wasted all my time on you.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
This site has been up long enough for there to be literally hundreds of people who have taken this to an extreme or at least some level that makes others say, “wow”.[/quote]
Indeed, this is what I expect.
Stuey, that was some good advice.
[quote]kroby wrote:
Professor X wrote:
This site has been up long enough for there to be literally hundreds of people who have taken this to an extreme or at least some level that makes others say, “wow”.
Indeed, this is what I expect.
Stuey, that was some good advice.[/quote]
Cheers Kroby. I hope he reads it and the other advice offered and takes note.
Wow thanks everyone for all the replies and i see what ive been doing wrong now! And Stuey, dam man, thanks a lot! i really like the look of the program. Thanks, thats exactly what ive been looking for.
I have one more thing i need to know, and that is when is the best time to have protein shakes? in the morning, after exercise or before or a mix of all 3?
[quote]brrrap wrote:
Wow thanks everyone for all the replies and i see what ive been doing wrong now! And Stuey, dam man, thanks a lot! i really like the look of the program. Thanks, thats exactly what ive been looking for.
I have one more thing i need to know, and that is when is the best time to have protein shakes? in the morning, after exercise or before or a mix of all 3? [/quote]
You should plan your protein shakes in to your diet, i.e. a meal could be a protein shake and some fruit or oatmeal.
As a starting point I’d say definately have a protein shake as soon as possible after your workout along with a source of carbs, maybe a couple of bananas or some oats blended into the shake.
You could also consider making the shake with milk if you need extra calories.