Newbie Needing Help, Really Appreciated...

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hey guys, great site. Ive spent bout a week reading up on things and I offically registered and am ready for a few questions and recommendations to assist me to reach my goal. Hopefully its not too long to discourage help.

Right now im 20 years old, 6’3" @ 168 pounds. Pretty much a tall skinny guy with a slight gut. Im looking to accomplish my goal in almost 5 months. What im shooting for is losing my gut (pretty much only fat on my body) and replacing it with a decent set of abs. Also Im looking to beef up a bit, not a big bulk like you see done, just lose that “skinny” look yet notice muscle.

After reading everything, i’ve chosen to do a 12 week ab workout i found on this site called “12 Weeks to Astounding Abdominals by Ian King” Seems really promising if done correctly. I know cardio needs to be done also with this, do you guys think my job would count as cardio? (Load trucks for

Now after reading alot on several sites, ive got at workout I found thats more toward gaining mass and I think im gonna try it out on a 3 day split. Pretty much looks like this

Chest:
Parallel bar dips
Bench Press
Incline Press

Legs:
Squats (including front squats)
Stiff-Legged deadlifts
Calf-raises

Back:
Bent-over rows
Chins
Bent-legged Deadlifts (also a leg exercise)

Delts:
Military press
Lateral raises

Arms:
Close-grip bench press
Close-grip chins
preacher curl

Im going to train the ab workout on a 3 day split on the off days, unless you think i’d benifit doin on workout days.

If all looks good (hopefully everything i studied looks fine with what plans i put together)

Now really what I need help on with that said is what kind of food diet I should be on to reach my goal.
Money is a factor being im a full time student yet ive given up all fast food and other money wasting things to assist in getting the right stuff. This past week this is my attempt at healty eating…

5:15am (for school)
1 cup of Oats, bowl of raisin bran, apple, 60 grams of whey protein (2 scoops)

8:20am (First school break)
Granola bar and sandwich (Whole wheat-Peanut better-banana-honey)

10:25 (school lunch)
PBJ Sandwich (w/whole wheat -Natty PB & Sugarfree Jelly)
One turkey Sandwich
Doritoes (baked)
Yogurt

1:00pm (15 minutes to spare then off to work)
Usually something quick as possible (Campells soup or some leftover)

1:30-8ish
Load semi’s for fedex, some would count it as a cardio excersise being im countantly lifting heavy stuff and get my heartrate up for a good amount of time. (Loading 4-600 boxes/hour up to 150pounds)

8:30pm
Make some kind of healthy dinner (brown rice-frozen veggies-chicken)

Then bout half-hour after eating take a whey shake, do a 30-45 minute workout(If on a workout day, 3 day split), take a scoop of creatine and 3 scrambled eggs.
After all that, study for class then go to bed.

With what i have as my usual daily food, what all can you guys have me modify/add that would benefit me in the best way to accomplish my goal, im up for anything.

Sorry if I dragged on, Just wanted to get as much detail as possible to try and get advice, pretty much been blown off on other sites.

2

Hrm, wont let me edit my thread. (wont change it)

Suppose to say
8:30pm
Get someTHING and make a healthy dinner (brown rice-frozen veggies-chicken)

3

It is a good thing that your program includes deadlifts and squats, as many new lifters ignore those.

However, at 6’3" you’re going to need to gain more than a little weight not to look skinny. At that height you’d need to be over 200 just to look like you lift weights with your shirt off, and a good bit more to look good in clothes. you need to focus on gaining muscle mass, not showing off your abs.

That’s the nice version.

JMB

4

Welcome, highrider. JMB is wise. You are going to have to be 200 (why wouldn’t you wanna be anyway) if you want to look like you lift. Do not be discouraged by this, as you are new to this and will put on muscle quite easily compared to many of us.

I like your workout for the same reasons as JMB. You have DL’s and squats in there, which is very good. Most folks in the gym will avoid those like the plague because it makes them feel very tired. You might want to do squats and DL’s on different days.

I know you feel like the abs part is important, so I don’t know if you’re going to figure this out right away, but it would behoove you to focus more on gaining quality mass before you go trying to look “shredded”. At 6’3 and just 200 lbs, you will be a bad-ass MF compared to what you look like now. I’d say worry about abs later, and eat like you never have before. Count your grams of protein daily, and make sure you’re getting somewhere around 300 or so and lift very heavy. It will pay off.

5

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it. I can understand what you guys mean about the ab deal. Im not trying to get the ultimate abs, just want them there somewhat. So you guys think 200 is a good weight to work for? I pretty much wanna lose the really skinny look and look toned yet not the overfly big guy, so I guess round 200 makes sense.

I’ll work on getting up to 300 grams a day of protein. Im getting 180/day just with the whey protein(3x day) just gotta work on 120 grams with food(for should i take more than 180grams of whey a day?).
What else other things would you guys recommend shooting for in my daily consumption of food (Nutrition wise)

Again, really appreciate the help

6

Eat more! Your diet plan doesn’t appear to be more than about 2,500 calories a day!

You should definitely read John Berardi’s “Massive Eating” article to figure out how many calories you really need and some ideas of other meals and such.

7

[quote]highrider wrote:
So you guys think 200 is a good weight to work for? I pretty much wanna lose the really skinny look and look toned yet not the overfly big guy, so I guess round 200 makes sense.[/quote]

I think that at 6’3" 200 lbs is on the low side. JMB said ?over 200.? At 200 lbs you will look toned, but you probably won?t get a lot of people who?ve never previously seen you thinking ?Wow! That guy must lift.? But you will look toned. And, obviously, people who see you through the transition will notice something?s up. However at 6?3?, I’d say an “overfly big guy” is 245-260+.

Good choice on Ian King’s program, it will serve you well. However, your diet will be the key if you want the six pack. You are in dire need of some healthy fats in that diet. Also, the more you can move away from pre-packaged, processed food the better. For example, I’d replace the raisin bran (and I’m assuming you eat that with some form of milk) with a second cup of oatmeal for your first meal. Lots of other areas that you can modify in this regard. The suggestion about looking at Berardi’s work is a good one. It is difficult to eat clean when you have limited time and a limited budget, but it can be accomplished if you plan ahead.

Good luck.

8

Keep in mind symmetry. Nice traps, pecs, and shoulder definition will give your midsection the appearance of being smaller than it is. I have never ever ever seen a six-pack on a guy without obvious signs of pecs and traps.

9

Deal with the gut. Put on 20 quality lbs. Diet it off. Repeat.

Decide on what you want to weigh to look your best.

You’re 6’3… I’m 5’8. We won’t want to weigh the same.

10

In addition to most of the other comments, get rid of the Preacher Curls!

11

I have a similar frame. 6’2" 190lbs of solid muscle. My bodyfat is well under 10%. I will tell you though (hopefully without discouragement) I’ve trained with the intensity of a beast for more than 12 years now, with our type of frame…it is hard to achieve that “I lift” look, and I’m a fairly gifted athlete.
I usually don’t like recommending massive eating, but for your goals…it may be necessary. I’d even suggest not to worry about eating so clean. To add quality size to your type of frame (along with a six pack)you can afford to eat abit un-clean and still have decent abs.
IMO you must consume more cals than what you have planned.

12

Good luck with your goals. I do agree with most of the previous posts and I’ll ditto what ZEB has just said. Stick with total body workouts and if you want to do some direct arm work stick with the biggies–close grips and barbell curls. With heavy rows and benches you’ll hit these areas pretty good. Best of luck–eat big and lift heavy.

13

[quote]highrider wrote:
So you guys think 200 is a good weight to work for?[/quote]

In that setting short-term goals is good, yes 200 is a good short-term goal. Once you reach that weight though you’ll probably (hopefully) want to keep going.

Good luck.

JMB

14

[quote]sasquatch wrote:
Good luck with your goals. I do agree with most of the previous posts and I’ll ditto what ZEB has just said. Stick with total body workouts and if you want to do some direct arm work stick with the biggies–close grips and barbell curls. With heavy rows and benches you’ll hit these areas pretty good. Best of luck–eat big and lift heavy.[/quote]

Is it okay to take HOT-ROX and also eat big? Does the HOT-ROX just help raise metabolism and move the fat?
(By the way - when will you guys include Australia in your mailing lists?)