You are using a specialty milk that is lactose free?
Probably don’t need to add in any whey before bed. But top that with some blueberries and it’s pretty tasty. Or you can try cottage cheese, peanut butter with half a scoop of whey for some tastiness.
[quote]mch60360 wrote:
You are using a specialty milk that is lactose free?
Probably don’t need to add in any whey before bed. But top that with some blueberries and it’s pretty tasty. Or you can try cottage cheese, peanut butter with half a scoop of whey for some tastiness.[/quote]
I don’t know about speciality, it’s not exactly expensive, it’s non lactose cows milk. They do something to the milk to stop lactose heing a problem, and this supposedly doesn’t lower the nutritional value of the milk in any way.
Here’s the description of the milk from its website
Lactofree is the UKs first product range that has all the taste but none of the lactose of real dairy. Lactofree is gently filtered to remove the lactose - the sugar found in milk that can commonly cause digestive problems.
As nothing else is added to or removed from Lactofree, what you get is the nutritional benefits and real dairy taste of milk and yogurt just without the lactose. And now the lactose intolerant community are also able to savour the flavour of real dairy Lactofree cheese - in both semi-hard and soft white varieties.
The entire Lactofree range is also gluten free, but please note that it is still real dairy and therefore not suitable for those with Cows Milk Allergy or Galactosaemia.
[quote]cmorgan00 wrote:
I’ve came up with a new meal plan, I worked this out based on foods I enjoy eating and i’ve been going along with it today as I came up with it so I know I can do it:
8am 100g oats, 1 scoop whey powder, 300ml milk = 555 calories
10.30am chicken with vegetables and a banana = 500 calories
1.30pm 120g tuna with olive oil, 125g wholegrain rice and an apple = 494 calories
4.30pm 2 eggs scrambled in 100ml milk, 50g oats in 150 ml milk = 470 calories
7pm sweet potatoes with fish (unprocessed cod for example) = 550-600 calories
10pm 200g cottage cheese and 50g almonds = 460 calories
That’s just over 3000 calories a day spread between 6 meals. A good start I hope. It wouldn’t be hard to increase the amount of throw in a piece of fruit here and there to increase it further.
Any comments? I used oats blended in milk twice, that should be ok right? Milk is 100% lactose free, but it’s still cows milk.
One thing I didn’t include was my supplements. I take fish oil 4 times a day each time with a meal, aswell as vitamins. On gym days, you can add 500 calories to the daily calorie intake because that’s how many calories I get from my post workout drink, so it’s gonna be around 3500+ calories on gym days.
Would it be necessary to add a scoop of whey in with the cottage cheese and almonds before bed?[/quote]
Looks sound to me 
Don’t be afraid later on (like when life gets hectic with work/responsibilities) to substitute some solid meals for shakes. It can be very time consuming (more-so when calorie intake gets high) to prepare decent “bodybuilding” meals and it can make you feel like you don’t have a life.
Remember, your muscles aren’t going to tell the difference between liquid meals and solid…not that I’m try to encourage an eating disorder or anything lol
Slightly off topic - How many calories should a woman who is fairly new to training take in each day? Around 5 foot 6, average build.
why dont you use the harris and Benedict equation?
BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kg ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Little to no exercise Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.2
Light exercise (1-3 days per week) Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.375
Moderate exercise (3-5 days per week) Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.55
Heavy exercise (6-7 days per week) Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.725
Very heavy exercise (twice per day, extra heavy workouts) Daily calories needed= BMR x 1.9
then add or remove calories according to goal.
15xBW…is a decent way of finding someone’s maintence intake…it’s obviously not perfect and must be adjusted…if you have more muscle relative to fat then you need to eat more(like most people on this forum)…and if you have more fat relative to muscle then you need to eat less…
since she is untrained and lacks muscle mass…she should probably adjust downward to something like 12xbw…then adjust upward if she isn’t gaining strength at a consistant rate on her exercises…
I’ve been looking at training routines by different sucessful people and this one sticks out because it has the information listed in a very detailed manner. Down near the second half of the page is her workout routine. Crap I can’t post the link, they don’t like people posting links to other sites around here. Just google marzia prince bio and her training regime is on the first link.
DAY 1: BACK/CHEST
DAY 2: LEGS (HEAVY DAY)
DAY 3: SHOULDERS
DAY 4: ABS
DAY 5: BI’S/TRI’S
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
DAY 7: REST
Could I follow a routine such as this with the proper nutrition? She does tons of cardio too though, an hour every morning. She insists that cardio is an important part of the equation, if that’s the case, how much should you do and how often?
[quote]cmorgan00 wrote:
I’ve been looking at training routines by different sucessful people and this one sticks out because it has the information listed in a very detailed manner. Down near the second half of the page is her workout routine. Crap I can’t post the link, they don’t like people posting links to other sites around here. Just google marzia prince bio and her training regime is on the first link.
DAY 1: BACK/CHEST
DAY 2: LEGS (HEAVY DAY)
DAY 3: SHOULDERS
DAY 4: ABS
DAY 5: BI’S/TRI’S
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
DAY 7: REST
Could I follow a routine such as this with the proper nutrition? She does tons of cardio too though, an hour every morning. She insists that cardio is an important part of the equation, if that’s the case, how much should you do and how often?
[/quote]
Please don’t tell me you believe in all that? lol
Quote from Marzia Prince’s bio:
^^^ My wife put on more muscle on in 4 weeks with the simple routine I put her on than that one there would
Why are you so worried about details right now?
Not really worried, but planning ahead. I’m eager to start working out again and one of the major bothers for me has always been my routine. The gym I goto doesn’t have many free weights, and the ones they do have only go up to a certain weight, not a very heavy one either.
I just need a routine that will work for me with the options available at that gym.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]cmorgan00 wrote:
I’ve been looking at training routines by different sucessful people and this one sticks out because it has the information listed in a very detailed manner. Down near the second half of the page is her workout routine. Crap I can’t post the link, they don’t like people posting links to other sites around here. Just google marzia prince bio and her training regime is on the first link.
DAY 1: BACK/CHEST
DAY 2: LEGS (HEAVY DAY)
DAY 3: SHOULDERS
DAY 4: ABS
DAY 5: BI’S/TRI’S
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
DAY 7: REST
Could I follow a routine such as this with the proper nutrition? She does tons of cardio too though, an hour every morning. She insists that cardio is an important part of the equation, if that’s the case, how much should you do and how often?
[/quote]
Please don’t tell me you believe in all that? lol
Quote from Marzia Prince’s bio:
[quote]
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
4 sets/25 reps (Ankle weights or cables for more resistance if too easy.)
Lying down on side- (do both sides)
Side leg lifts
Inner thigh leg lifts
Leg circles forward
Leg circles backward
On all fours- (keep core tight, do not let hang)
Fire hydrant leg lifts (yes, like a dog! LOL)
Leg raises
Glute squeezes (leg at 90 degrees and squeeze glutes as you push leg up, keep foot flexed, bring leg down again)
Fire hydrant/glute squeeze combo (each leg)
Laying on back-
Floor bridges (lay on back, knees up, feet on ground, squeeze butt at top on contraction)
One legged leg lift (you are laying on back in floor bridge position, take one leg and lay it flat on floor, lift leg up and bring it back to the floor)
Adductors-Machine
Abductors-Machine
[/quote][/quote]
So is that all bull then? What kind of workout regime do you think she really uses?
[quote]cmorgan00 wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]cmorgan00 wrote:
I’ve been looking at training routines by different sucessful people and this one sticks out because it has the information listed in a very detailed manner. Down near the second half of the page is her workout routine. Crap I can’t post the link, they don’t like people posting links to other sites around here. Just google marzia prince bio and her training regime is on the first link.
DAY 1: BACK/CHEST
DAY 2: LEGS (HEAVY DAY)
DAY 3: SHOULDERS
DAY 4: ABS
DAY 5: BI’S/TRI’S
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
DAY 7: REST
Could I follow a routine such as this with the proper nutrition? She does tons of cardio too though, an hour every morning. She insists that cardio is an important part of the equation, if that’s the case, how much should you do and how often?
[/quote]
Please don’t tell me you believe in all that? lol
Quote from Marzia Prince’s bio:
[quote]
Day 6: LEGS (Little muscle groups)
4 sets/25 reps (Ankle weights or cables for more resistance if too easy.)
Lying down on side- (do both sides)
Side leg lifts
Inner thigh leg lifts
Leg circles forward
Leg circles backward
On all fours- (keep core tight, do not let hang)
Fire hydrant leg lifts (yes, like a dog! LOL)
Leg raises
Glute squeezes (leg at 90 degrees and squeeze glutes as you push leg up, keep foot flexed, bring leg down again)
Fire hydrant/glute squeeze combo (each leg)
Laying on back-
Floor bridges (lay on back, knees up, feet on ground, squeeze butt at top on contraction)
One legged leg lift (you are laying on back in floor bridge position, take one leg and lay it flat on floor, lift leg up and bring it back to the floor)
Adductors-Machine
Abductors-Machine
[/quote][/quote]
So is that all bull then? What kind of workout regime do you think she really uses?[/quote]
I don’t mean to insult the woman or anything, and I’m not sure if that is actually her routine…but women in general tend to shy away from the “money maker” exercises and go with the myriads of different “angle” exercises which do very little for size and/or don’t allow much load. That sounds like a sweeping statement, but it tends to be the case - you’ll see them doing tons of “shaping exercises” instead of just basic heavy lifts, supplemented with SOME accessory exercises.
Granted, woman do well to focus a little more on legs (they tend to have good leg mass), and increase training volume slightly (to over-compensate for the lesser intensity)…but over-all, it shouldn’t be 180 degrees different from how men train.
All that aside, never just copy what it looks like a competitor does. Yeah, follow by example - ROUGHLY, but don’t just copy and paste some else’s routine. Besides the fact that she is at a different level from someone starting out/intermediate, everyone is slightly different (an exercise/frequency may be good for someone, but not another).
Beginners/intermediates need to train their muscles as frequently as possible because their gains are quicker (body has much adapting still to do).
Here’s a good read on frequency (I did post an example split a few posts before…don’t know if you saw it or not?):
Yeah, I read your post on doing straight sets. I could try that, do you also mean I should continue on with the same exercises I was doing before, the ones I listed here, but do it in straight sets instead?
Strictly speaking, it’s called accumulative fatigue (not quite the same as straight sets, because you don’t do two-three max sets, you build up muscular fatigue towards the 4th/5th set).
The emphasis is on lower exercise amounts, and lowering nervous system fatigue (don’t go to failure on the big movements - this is easy to control with accumulative fatigue sets). Just pick one or two main exercises for each muscle group (2 or 3 for back/legs).
Back to the guy who suggested I had a cortisol blood test done.
I just remembered, I did have that test done, and the result was my cortisol level was rock bottom, it was way below ref range.
My doctor agreed I needed to see a specialist and you know what he said? A single blood cortisol test is not an accurate way to test cortisol levels, as cortisol is released in bursts and if the test is done during a non burst then it will give a low result even if you’re really fine. Therefore they don’t rely upon a test such as that because there’s too many false positives. Nothing more on this was discussed. I was now better according to him - Just because my TSH level was acceptable on my last test.
I told the specialist (a consultant endocrinologist and national expert on thyroid disease by the way) all of my symptoms, the pushing hard at the gym, getting ill from it, hair loss, sex drive diminishing, gym workouts making me weaker after every workout. I explained this is where it really started for me, the sickness and fatigue. He said that’s just a collection of non specific symptoms and doesn’t mean anything.
Just goes to show how crappy treatment is in the UK for thyroid/adrenal related issues. Utter bullshit that people like that get paid so much money just so they can do a half arsed job.
As everyone else has said. You were not eating enough and doing full body workouts 3 times a week without breaks. Along with being deficient in certain vitamins is a formula for the negative effects you have now. Also, if you were doing cardio on top of this then no wonder you have problems.
IMO you will be perfectly fine once you eat well and stop doing full body workouts. It was already mentioned but you need a good amount of fat for hormone optimization. Personally I would shoot for 30% of calories from fat. You especially need some saturated fat in your diet, which is important for testosterone production. Coconut oil is great for that. Also, eat foods high in vitamin A.
I would recommend Iron Addicts hard gainer routine. You need to focus on lower volume and more rest right now. Here is a copy of the routine he posted.
Twice a week thats it.
Day One: Example Monday
Dips or Bench Press 2-3 x 6-8
Incline Press 2 x 10-12
Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press 2-3 x 6-8
Tricep (skull crushers) Extensions or Tricep Pushdowns 2-3 x 10-12
Heavy Abs 3 x 10
Day Two: Thursday
Pull-Up 3 sets to failure
Barbell Row 2-3 x 8
EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl 1-2 x 10
Squats 2 x 10
Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 1 x 10
Monday: repeat Day one
A little update…
My adrenal recovery plan seem to be working. My thyroid hormone level has gotten so high now that my medication dosage was cut in half, down from 100mg to 50mg. It feels like i’m been getting both slimmer and stronger at the same time even though i’ve been avoiding the gym for the last 3+ months and i’m now eating more than ever… I think this is due to my nervous system getting stronger as it recovers.
Also I had my BMI, height, weight and body fat % taken for the first time in a long time. A measurement machine in a store took it all for me, including the height.
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/51/mystats05092010.jpg
BMI 24.6
Height 5’ 9.6 (1.77m)
Weight 12 st 11 lb (77kg)
Body fat 10.6%