Optimize my Diet/Routine | Clean Bulk, Med Fat Loss

[the_todd]

Hi All! Been a member for over a decade, but tbh I haven’t been posting since around 2012 and haven’t been actively reading here for about 3-4 years. I’m coming back! Not to digress, but the forums have changed a TON since my active days esp the monetization. Somehow I remain hopeful to receive the same quality, tough-love kind of constructive feedback that I used to love here. Thanks for reading and hope I included sufficient info.

- Shorthand Background & Goal Overview -
I’ve been lifting for about 22 years and am generally well-informed when it comes to nutrition, but more of my emphasis is on sports nutrition and I am no longer playing competitively. About 3 years ago I suffered a complete rupture of my distal biceps tendon, but had complete recovery after surgery. Aside from PT for that (about 1 year), I have remained largely sedentary aside from basic cardio and stretching mostly due to life events, Covid closing my primary gym, and starting a company. I am aiming to get refocused and as a single man, I’d like to center around aesthetics first (yes, I know that’s chalkboard scraping to many of you and I’m slightly sorry). I have been working out again using my office gym because it’s free, although not ideal as I do not have access to Olympic platforms, and my squat rack/bench is now limited to a smith machine style. I do have DB’s up to 100 lbs, KB’s up to 72 lbs, a few machines including cables, heavy ropes, pull-up and dip bars, and all the cardio equipment. My objective here is to do a clean bulk to regain much of my atrophied muscle mass, but also to drop fat at a reasonable pace (ultimately looking to drop 10-12 lbs fat).

Current stats are: 35yo, 5’9", 191 lbs at ~15.7% bf. (updated 08-29-2023)

Below I will post my general diet and exercise routine & schedule. I am seeking partial validation that I am oriented well given my parameters and equipment access, and hopefully some advice to help me optimize diet and/or exercise routines to reach my goals.

– Typical Weekly Schedule (Ex. Routine to follow) –

General Mon-Fri Diet
Daily Caloric Goal: 2200 - 2600 calories on training days; 2000 - 2400 rest days.
Daily Macro Goal: 40% carbs (220-270g), 30% protein (200-220g), 30% fats (50-90g)
Daily Supplements - 2g Fish Oil, Costco Multivitamin
-Wake up: Drink 1/2 cup Maltodextrin + PreWO (Mutant Madness currently; recs? It’s meh IMO)
Weighted Workout + 30 min Cardio
-PWO: 40g Whey Protein + 1tbsp Cacao powder shake PWO
-Brekkie: 30m later Oatmeal(in H2O) + 1 tbsp PB + 15-20 blueberries + 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt (Mountain High brand)
-Lunch: Typically 1 chick breast, 1 cup white rice, 1 cup steamed broccoli/asparagus
-Snack x2: Banana or 1/2 grapefruit, handful of peanuts or 1/2 cup cottage cheese and a carrot
-Dinner: Typically 6-8oz Salmon, Sweet Potato with Avocado Cream (sour cream, avo, garlic, lime, salt/pepper), and another cup of broccoli/asparagus
-Pre-Bed: 40g Casein + 1 tbsp Cacao powder
— On Sat/Sun:
I usually have 3-4 eggs with either 2-3 small pancakes or 1 cup hashbrowns, occasionally add 1/2 cup soyrizo or bacon 3-4 strips. Lunch/Dinner varies but I keep my caloric intake down to 2000-2200 usually. Food content varies because usually I am socializing with friends/family ie go to restaurant but I err on the healthier options.

Exercise Routine
Note also ~20m stretching every afternoon. All workouts in AM before work. Also walk my dog about 1-1.5 miles daily prior to said stretch session. Considering adding 2nd cardio to expedite fat burn in afternoon as well - thoughts?

Mon - Chest/Back/Abs

1. BB Flat Bench - 5 sets, 8-10 reps.
   Bar, 135, 205, 225, 235 lbs
   SuperSet (SS) w Seated Machine Row - 3s, 8-12r.
   120, 140, 145 lbs
2. Incline BB Bench - 3s, 6-10r.
   135, 155, 170 lbs
   SS w Seated Machine Lat Pulldowns - 3s, 8-12r.
   140, 145, 150 lbs
3. DB Flyes - 3s, 10-15r.
   35, 35, 40 lbs/DB
   SS w KB Good Mornings - 3s, 10-15r.
   35, 35, 35 lbs
4. Sit-Ups - 4s, 25r. Total 100, but aim to increase by 5 reps/set each week.
   SS w Benchtop Leg Raises - 3s, minimum 10r to F.
   Cardio: 13/3/30 treadmill. Means walking on incline of 13, pace of 3, for 30 mins.

Tues - Arms/Obliques

1. Cross-Body DB Hammer Curls - 4s, 8-10r.
   15, 25, 35, 40 lbs/DB
   SS w Weighted Bench Dips - 3s, 8-12r.
   45, 50, 55 lbs
2. DB 1-arm Iso Curls - 3s, 6-8r.
   35, 40, 45 lbs/DB
   SS w Incline DB Triceps Extensions - 3s, 12-15r.
   50, 55, 60 lbs
3. Barbell Curls (via Cable Machine, all I got), slow 3-4s descent - 3s, Fail by 6r goal.
   100, 100, 110 lbs
   SS w Cable Triceps Pushdowns (rope attachment) - 3s, 10-12r.
   110, 120, 130 lbs
4. Side Planks - 3s, min. 35s+ to Fail.
   SS w Med Ball Russian Twists - 3s, 10-12r. Typically 8-10 lbs MB.
   Cardio: 13/3/30.

Wed - Legs/Shoulders/Traps

1. BB Squats - 5s, 8-10r.
   Bar, 95, 145, 185, 205, 225 lbs
2. Plate Hip Thrusts - 4s, 6-10r.
   45, 55, 70, 70 lbs
   SS w DB Delt Raises (Lateral+Anterior) - 3s, 8-12r.
   20, 25, 30 lbs/DB
3. DB Lunges - 3s, 6-10r.
   20, 25, 25 lbs/DB
   SS w BB Calf Raises - 4s, 12-15r.
   135, 155, 155, 165 lbs (weirdly one of my weaker points)
4. Seated Hamstring Curls (machine) - 3s, 8-12r.
   80, 90, 95 lbs
   SS w KB Shrugs - 3s, 6-10r.
   50, 60, 72 lbs
5. Lateral Leg Raises - 3s, 10-15r. Bodyweight
   SS w Toe Touches - 3s, min 8r to fail.

Thur - Rest Day.
Sometimes still do 30m cardio or 60m yoga.

Fri - Flex Day/Glory Muscles/Abs

1. BB Military Press - 3s, 8-12r.
   95, 115, 125 lbs
   SS w Pull-ups (BW) - 3s to Fail. Typically do ~12-15r each seat currently.
2. Incline DB Bench - 3s, 8-10r.
   45, 55, 65 lbs/DB
   SS w Cable 1-arm Curls - 3s, 6-10r.
   50, 55, 60 lbs/arm
3. Cable Crunches - 4s, 6-10r.
   60, 70, 90 lbs
   SS w Side Plank - 3s, min 30s+ to Fail.

Sat - Optional Rest or Flex Day
If workout, exercises selected based on body feel of what isn’t sore.

Sun - Rest Day
Usually do 30-60m cardio and/or yoga.

Please be gentle. I’m only on my 2nd week back. I could particularly use more structure on flex days, and I’m aiming to weight train 5 days/wk as my body readjusts to the workload. Weak points I’d like to focus on are my obliques (getting the V back; yes I know lats help), rebuilding mass in biceps, and regain definition in my quads/hams.

[simo74]

Firstly welcome back

@the_todd

Current stats are: 35yo, 5’9", 195 lbs at ~13% bf.

This seems like a very good starting point and close to where lots of people end up after years of training. So that’s great.

I don’t have much to add regarding the training as at my age aesthetics are not something I worry too much about. It looks like decent enough split and as long as you push hard to get enough effective reps and keep progressing week to week, it should work fine. At the end of the day its hard work and consistency that really matters.

With the diet the thing that stands out to me is the amount of supplements vs real food and if it was me I would increase the protein a little and drop the carbs a bit. But if you have been doing this for a while then you should know your own body and what works.

Good luck with it. Start a training log, throw up some stats and pics and it will be good to follow along and see how you go.

[antiquity]

@the_todd

5’9", 195 lbs at ~13% bf.

If you are 5’9" and 195 with 13% BF that is pretty spectacular. I wonder if you are underestimating your BF, given your preface about being largely sedentary and having lost muscle mass. I just tested mine using DEXA, and I’m 5’9" 174 lbs at 14.2% BF and look like below.

@the_todd

ultimately looking to drop 10-15 lbs fat)

Again, I think there is some disconnect because you could not spare that much fat loss at 13% and 195 lbs. You’d only have about 25 lbs of fat on you. If you want to target fat loss and body composition, I’d get a DEXA now and another one later to see progress. Conversely, you don’t need to know your BF at all, and could use other measurements for goals (the mirror, clothes, lifting numbers, etc…)

[the_todd]

Thanks for your insight! You have a great profile!
You are right. When I typed the post, I was guess-timating my BF. Spent most of my life sitting around 7-8% until I stopped playing competitive sports

I suppose the main goal will be based on mirror results since I’m mostly focused on aesthetic appeal for now. I had access to one of the crappy handheld scanners this morning and it read me at 15.7% bf (also weighed in at 191) so I will update my original post - I know these are infamously inaccurate but its not a critical metric right now either. I definitely lost muscle mass, but it was apparently not as significant as I visually estimated. For some reference, in 2019 I was sitting pretty lean at 7.4% (Bod Pod reading) and 188 lbs, but I took most of a year off when I ruptured my bicep tendon aside from cardio and then did light-medium weight training and BW exercises in the garage for these past 2 years. My personal body view is probably somewhat dysmorphic because much of my history has been spent lean. Getting older and losing access to daily sports training/comp have been bigger detriments than I wanted to accept, BUT we’re getting our sh*t back together now!

If I can get down to 180-185 while restoring some muscle mass, things will look much better. Hoping this program will help me achieve that in 3 months or so. My top 4 abs are currently visible (lower of the 4 aren’t fully defined yet though), and my genetics tend to preserve my fat around the hips and lower abs. 2022 was the first time in over decade that I lost my 6er Even with my arm in a sling, I was outside jogging and doing sit-ups lol

I have been honestly surprised with the weight I’ve been able to resume training at. Guess it goes to show how valuable some training is vs no training. I think the readouts I’ll be focusing on for right now will be lifting numbers (weight and volume) and the visual results. It’s tough to estimate on body weight alone when both gaining muscle mass and losing fat.