Okay, thanks to all the great feedback I’ve gotten with my previous posts, I’ve made some changes. Again, I welcome your comments, and the last round was very productive for me. Thanks!
First is my diet. I like the Massive Eating, but don’t need that many calories with my superior fat storage ability. The calculations give me 4473 (call it 4400) calories a day. That would be too much, so I’m starting with 3500 a day, will evaluate weekly, and decide what to do on an ongoing basis. I’m using this number because it’s close to what I eat now. But I can’t just eat like I do now because my breakdowns are off (60/20/20 roughly), and I do a lot more aerobic exercise than I will in the “New RINO Method.” My girlfriend brought up a good observation that my overall activity level is going to increase significantly in the near future, so a little extra fat will get burned off without really trying. I’m going to use the HOT-ROX I won too.
Berardi recommends an initial breakdown of 50/35/15, which would be 550g carb, 385g protein, and 73g fat. I’m taking Tampa-Terry’s advice on the protein intake (1.5g/lb), giving me 315g/day. Her advice on fat intake matches the Massive Eating program, so that’s set. The rest of my caloric reduction from there will come from carbs, giving me 395g/day. My final breakdown is 45/36/19, which seems reasonable. If I’m gaining too much fat, I’ll cut back the carbs. I’ll continue my weekly cheat meal.
Next comes my weight program. Here, I’m taking Chris Shugart’s advice and doing the ABBH plan for the next six weeks. It makes intuitive sense, will fit well into my schedule, and with my background, I don’t qualify as a true beginner. The only change is that I’m going to do leg extensions and leg curls (or maybe no legs at all) for a while. I know that when he reads this Chris is going to pound his head on the desk, scream obscenities and ponder how much a cheap ticket to come out here and kick my ass would cost. The reason I’m doing the wuss exercises is because I think I have a stress fracture in my left fibula, and until I get the all-clear from the doc, I’m not doing any weight-bearing exercises (or running). I’ll make an appointment Monday. If I get clearance, it’s back in the squat rack, I promise.
This probable stress fracture also takes care of my running for the time being. Instead, I’ll do the GPP Chris recommends. Again, this makes intuitive sense, and it took someone to point out to me the error in my thinking. Being able to ride a bike forever, or run 26.2 miles or swim till the cows come home is going to have no bearing on my effectiveness as a cop. If a gang-banger in the hood wants to roll with the po-po, I’ve got to be able to sprint to run him down, tackle his bitch-ass, roll him onto his face, put his arms behind him and snap on the cuffs, talking smack the whole time. The academy is going to be the same type of thing. It’ll be much better for me to use my PT (pushups, situps, pull-ups) exercises in a superset for cardio work, with some fast running, fight or boxing training, hitting a heavy bag, etc. afterwards, instead of long, slow aerobic work. I’ll do three of these sessions a week, avoiding impact stuff until my leg’s status is determined. I’ve got the smack-talking pretty much nailed already, so I don’t have to train that.
Six weeks of the above should get me in fantastic shape for the academy.
I want to thank everyone for the help. It is eye opening, and you guys are a great resource.
Thanks,
Rich