Been checking this site for some time and I know that questions like this get asked a lot but was hoping to get something specific for myself and not get mocked too much. I’ve been seriously training for about a year now. My starting weight was 175lbs and i’m 6’4. I started doing the wendler 5-3-1 program and put on about 15 pounds of weight. I then had an upcoming trekking climbing trip I was going on so I wanted to get my cardio up and did a crossfit program for a few months. I went on my trip for a month and lost all the weight I built up. I’m back at 175 now. Here were my main issues when I was doing the 5-3-1 program I built up quite a gut (I’m sure my diet needs some work and the beers ain’t helping but I’m working on that) Since coming back I still have the gut and very little muscle mass so I’m at 175 with a 15.6bf. I want to get in the gym and start building muscle again but really don’t want to see large gains in bf. If anything I’d like those to drop and this has been close to impossible so far. Any advice you guys can give on programming would be fantastic. I’m trying to move my diet more towards a high protein low card diet. Ie meat every meal, lots of veggies fruits nuts and no grains.
Follow 5/3/1. To the letter.
Don’t forget the conditioning.
How you look will depend on your diet and intensity in the gym.
Also, consistency is key.
Get a goal, stick to it.
Trekking and 5/3/1 is fine. No reason to change. Just up the conditioning.
For diet, lots of articles on this site. Just pick one and follow it.
See you in six months.
What was the climbing/trekking trip ? and how was your diet during that ? in my experience of the same activity it is possible to lose both fat and muscle during long endurance activity and then quickly put fat back on afterwards.
It was to Everest Base camp about 6 hours of walking a day in high altitude. Diet was mostly eggs and potatos mixed in with noodles from time to time and soups. My problem with 5 3 1 was that while I saw gains in strength I felt I was lacking in arm strength and there was no exercise targeting that area which is definitely my weakest.
I do a bit of a modified version myself, but even sticking strictly to the book there shouldn’t be a problem fitting in arms. What kind of assistance exercises were you doing?
With the “triumvirate” or especially “periodization bible” style assistance work there should be room to fit in all the bodyparts, including arms. As I review the book there are multiple slots for triceps assistance exercises in the periodization bible outline, and the only things missing are biceps and calves. You could add those to almost literally any day if you feel inclined. Depending how you are arranging rest days it might even be possible to just go do some bis/calves on one of those days.
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
It was to Everest Base camp about 6 hours of walking a day in high altitude. Diet was mostly eggs and potatos mixed in with noodles from time to time and soups. My problem with 5 3 1 was that while I saw gains in strength I felt I was lacking in arm strength and there was no exercise targeting that area which is definitely my weakest.[/quote]
Using the periodization guide there are 2 tricep assistance exercises set up into the week. And if you fully read the book you’d notice in the Q&A section there was one about doing curls. Wendler basically said just do them whenever. I’ve just been randomly throwing in some dumbbell curls throughout the week…sometimes even just doing a set or two before bed
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
I’m sure my diet needs some work and the beers ain’t helping but I’m working on that[/quote]
What, exactly, did you eat yesterday?
You’re underweight and under-muscled. When you add muscle, your bodyfat will drop as a percentage. But really, seriously, don’t stress over losing whatever kind of gut you think you have right now. Set some solid goals (performance, strength, and/or bodyweight), and plug along towards those. For reference, at your height, you’re probably not going to have an “athletic looking” build until you’re upwards of 230ish with the strength to match.
There’s no reason whatsoever for you to go low carb. You need plenty of calories from protein, fat, and carbs. Even though you’ve got “a gut”, you’re tremendously underweight. Consistent hard training will put on the size you need.
These articles should get you on the right track, food-wise:
Why no grains? Do you have allergies or another health-related issue?
That’s entirely your fault. You absolutely could have included arm exercises. If they’re your “weakest” part (which they’re not, I promise), then you absolutely should have.
This sounds wicked. Any pictures?
Bodybuilding template half way down(will also burn bit of fat)
thanks for this Ill take a look at the links.
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
thanks for this Ill take a look at the links.[/quote]
Seriously, what did you eat yesterday? This will help us help you.
Breakfast
2 or 3 eggs with mushrooms and a piece of fruit (apple orange)
snack on almonds throughout the day probably have about 50 in a day.
lunch is salad with chicken breast on top.
dinner is most often some form of meat let’s go with fish which is what I had yesterday and then a side of rice with salad.
Is this alright?
Second question and I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself but just so I have an idea in mind. Let’s say I do 5 3 1 for 5 months get to a state of strength that I’m happy with and then want to do some toning to lower BF% what do I do?
Thanks
now, if Chris doesn’t answer, I’ll be really pissed off…
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
Breakfast
2 or 3 eggs with mushrooms and a piece of fruit (apple orange)
snack on almonds throughout the day probably have about 50 in a day.
lunch is salad with chicken breast on top.
dinner is most often some form of meat let’s go with fish which is what I had yesterday and then a side of rice with salad.
Is this alright?
Second question and I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself but just so I have an idea in mind. Let’s say I do 5 3 1 for 5 months get to a state of strength that I’m happy with and then want to do some toning to lower BF% what do I do?
Thanks[/quote]
this sounds like it’s your plan for how to eat, instead of EXACTLY what you ate. For example, you didnt eat 2 or 3 eggs yesterday. We want to know EXACTLY.
2nd, 5/3/1 is not a program to jump on for 5 months. If you only plan on doing it for 5 months, you might as well just not even start and come back when your ready to make a commitment. Also, there is no such thing as “muscle toning”, muscle only knows how to grow or shrink, that’s it. You wouldnt change your program to lose bodyfat, you would change your diet.
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
Breakfast
2 or 3 eggs with mushrooms and a piece of fruit (apple orange)
snack on almonds throughout the day probably have about 50 in a day.
lunch is salad with chicken breast on top.
dinner is most often some form of meat let’s go with fish which is what I had yesterday and then a side of rice with salad.
Is this alright?
Second question and I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself but just so I have an idea in mind. Let’s say I do 5 3 1 for 5 months get to a state of strength that I’m happy with and then want to do some toning to lower BF% what do I do?
Thanks[/quote]
If you’re going to follow 531 then I have one suggestion…BUY THE DAMN BOOK AND READ IT AT LEAST TWICE. All your questions are answered in it. 531 can be altered for any goal. You want more flexibility spend more time on stretching and take away a little from other two, you want more strength focus more energy on workouts and less on conditioning, you want to drop BF then do more conditioning and focus less on strength training. If you read the damn book you’ll see that Wendler makes it fool proof so that everyone…yes even you…can follow it quite simply
[quote]torontolifter wrote:
Breakfast
2 or 3 eggs with mushrooms and a piece of fruit (apple orange)
snack on almonds throughout the day probably have about 50 in a day.
lunch is salad with chicken breast on top.
dinner is most often some form of meat let’s go with fish which is what I had yesterday and then a side of rice with salad.
Is this alright?
Second question and I know I’m probably getting ahead of myself but just so I have an idea in mind. Let’s say I do 5 3 1 for 5 months get to a state of strength that I’m happy with and then want to do some toning to lower BF% what do I do?
Thanks[/quote]
Oh and the diet you put down is not going to help you gain very much (if any) mass. Granted you didn’t put amounts for everything but based on the fact that you eat AT MOST 3 eggs and a piece of fruit for breakfast I doubt any of your other meals are significant. Tie on your bib and chow down. 5 or 6 meals a day (and not puny little meals either).
To give you an idea an average breakfast for me is a shake I make with 3 raw eggs, a banana, scoop of whey powder, scoop of PB, glass of milk, and decent amount of dry oats.
that days worth of food should be eaten for breakfast. and if you say ‘toning’ again, i will send trained owls to eat you
alright Ill go buy the book now. Does the book have tips on diet?
Send Chris a PM. He’ll help you.
one last question I got the book and have read through it yesterday. In the book Wendler suggests doing conditioning 3-4 times a week and suggests doing prowler pushes or hill climbs. The thing is I’m currently lifting at a globo gym that has no prowlers and hill climbs are hard to find in Toronto especially in the winter. Can I do anything in the globo gym that would get a good level of conditioning? Suggestions would be great.
Stair climbing. Find a stadium.
Tobogganing hills. I`ve lived in Toronto, and there are lots.