What Needs Work?

Training Beginners
1

I’m currently wanting to get leaner, and have changed my diet/added cardio to my workout, but as for the workout program itself I can’t change it because it’s designed by my football coach and has to be followed. It’s a low rep heavy weight system based on building strength. The rep/set numbers change on a weekly cycle. It goes, 5x5, 3x3, 10-8-6, 5-4-3-2-1.

Monday:
Towel Bench
Box Squat
HI Circuit

Tuesday:
Off from lifting
1.5 mile cardio

Wednesday:
Hang Clean
Deadlift
HI Circuit

Thursday:
Off from lifting
1.5 mile cardio

Friday:
Bench
Full Back Squat
Hi Circuit

My diet is mainly the same everyday, not ideal but I eliminated all the junk food I used to eat.

Breakfast:
4-5 Eggs or GoLean Crunch Cereal

Lunch:
2 beef tacos or Turkey Wrap on Wheat
Small salad
Apple juice and skim milk

Dinner:
Some sort of meat/fish. Grilled or baked.
Salad side or vegtable side.

Snacks:
Carrot sticks, apples, bananas, sunflower seeds, avacodos, kiwis.

Drinks:
Arizona Diet Green Tea, Arizona No Calorie Peach Ice Tea, Water with Crystal Light, Vitamin Water.

I’m currently just turning 16, and 210 pounds.

Bench: 205
Hang Clean: 205
Deadlift: 350
Back Squat: 315

I’ll add pictures…

2


Any guesses as to my body fat? I train at the school weight room instead of a gym so I can’t get it taken.

3


Front Single Bi

4


Back

5


Shoulders

6


Legs

7

you need more muscle and less fat.

There, I said it. your lifts aren’t very good especially for your bodyweight.

do some chins, you have no lats at all.

8

Everything needs work. Overhead presses and chins/pull ups would help. Eat more protein. Be consistent with your diet. There’s a world of difference between 4-5 eggs and a bowl of cereal. May need more dietary fats. Hell, you may need more of everything. Diet looks pretty skimpy.

What are your goals anyways? What position do you play? 210 is already relatively small for 6’1.

9

start a calorie log, id agree with zep although id probably do pullups if you’re looking for width.
while your #s are ok, i cant really see any definition anywhere (some in the back)

I would start by dropping 10-20% of your calories below maintenance and lose the fat, i suspect theres a good layer of muscle underneath.

if you cant change your program then you might not be able to do much but i’d recommend starting with:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1499282

10

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
you need more muscle and less fat.

There, I said it. your lifts aren’t very good especially for your bodyweight.

do some chins, you have no lats at all.[/quote]

Well that’s a given, I know I need to lose weight and get generally stronger, I was just wondering if there were any muscles in particular, like you mentioned I had no lats.

11

[quote]Wimpy wrote:
Everything needs work. Overhead presses and chins/pull ups would help. Eat more protein. Be consistent with your diet. There’s a world of difference between 4-5 eggs and a bowl of cereal. May need more dietary fats. Hell, you may need more of everything. Diet looks pretty skimpy.

What are your goals anyways? What position do you play? 210 is already relatively small for 6’1. [/quote]

I have a 40g protein shake after every workout, forgot to mention that.

My goals for the end of the year are:

-Get a six pack
-Bench 245
-Squat 370
-Clean 245
-Deadlift 400

and I play inside linebacker. And I figure the eggs and cereal add up, I have about 2-3 servings of cereal when I do eat it, each serving has 9 grams of protein, plus the 16 grams that I get from the milk.

12

[quote]Octane wrote:
start a calorie log, id agree with zep although id probably do pullups if you’re looking for width.
while your #s are ok, i cant really see any definition anywhere (some in the back)

I would start by dropping 10-20% of your calories below maintenance and lose the fat, i suspect theres a good layer of muscle underneath.

if you cant change your program then you might not be able to do much but i’d recommend starting with:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1499282

[/quote]

Thanks for the article, I remember skimming through it but I’ll definetly take another look. What do you think I should drop from my diet to get rid of those 10-20% of my calories?

13

I’ll say it again, start a calorie log it’s a very good way to see where most of your calories and macronutrients are coming from,

it depends on your goals, you want to get stronger and be leaner, you can’t do both at the same time very effectively.

pick one:

get stronger/bigger

Get leaner

but regardless of which one you choose do the following:

Make sure every meal has protein in it, and use the following rules for main food groups (I forget what article this is in)

morning-lunch- protein and carbs
Lunch-Dinner/night-Protein and Fat

eat simple carbs and whey protein (white bread, sugar/dextrose, cottage cheese, shakes etc…) ASAP after your workout followed by slow digesting carbs (whole wheat stuff, brown rice, oatmeal etc)

i would also get rid of a lot of your carbohydrates when you dont need them (anytime thats not pre/post workout or breakfast) following that I’d also start carb cylcing, its worked pretty well for me and I find it provides a nice variety in food

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=811783

but i mean take all this with a grain of salt, I’m just an amateur

14

Thanks for the advice, I’ll definetly keep it in mind.

Problem is, for whatever reason my parents are extremely unsupportive. They’re already threatened to cut my internet if they catch me on T-Nation again, yell at me for watching my weight and refusing to eat junk food ect. They think I’m being obsessed, which to a certain extent I am, but what’s wrong with being obsessed with working out and eating healthy? Anyway, the calorie log would be hard to do for that reason.

15

[quote]Zelazo wrote:
Thanks for the advice, I’ll definetly keep it in mind.

Problem is, for whatever reason my parents are extremely unsupportive. They’re already threatened to cut my internet if they catch me on T-Nation again, yell at me for watching my weight and refusing to eat junk food ect. They think I’m being obsessed, which to a certain extent I am, but what’s wrong with being obsessed with working out and eating healthy? Anyway, the calorie log would be hard to do for that reason.[/quote]

wow.

anyways your biggest imbalence is probably upper back.

cut 10-15 pounds and you’d look better and trimmer.

it’s not like your base is bad, just start chinning with weight and don’t eat junk food.

Don’t be afraid to call your parents out on you not wanting to eat junkfood.Unless they will beat you or some crazy shit like that.

16

Let’s just say it took me 1 and a half years to convince my dad to let me drink 100% pure whey protein.

I started chinning about 2 weeks ago, and I can get about 10 reps (bodyweight) without too much difficulty, but I haven’t been doing it on a consistent basis at all. I’m going to try to add it into my routine as an actual lift instead of something to do while I’m waiting for my turn to bench.

Can you elaborate on the upper back imbalance?

17

[quote]Zelazo wrote:
Let’s just say it took me 1 and a half years to convince my dad to let me drink 100% pure whey protein.

I started chinning about 2 weeks ago, and I can get about 10 reps (bodyweight) without too much difficulty, but I haven’t been doing it on a consistent basis at all. I’m going to try to add it into my routine as an actual lift instead of something to do while I’m waiting for my turn to bench.

Can you elaborate on the upper back imbalance?[/quote]

your lats are hiding O_o

18

[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
Zelazo wrote:
Let’s just say it took me 1 and a half years to convince my dad to let me drink 100% pure whey protein.

I started chinning about 2 weeks ago, and I can get about 10 reps (bodyweight) without too much difficulty, but I haven’t been doing it on a consistent basis at all. I’m going to try to add it into my routine as an actual lift instead of something to do while I’m waiting for my turn to bench.

Can you elaborate on the upper back imbalance?

your lats are hiding O_o[/quote]

Hahaha thanks for clearing that up. Although I’m not sure whether or not they’re just being suffocated by a layer of blubber.

Anyway, I think those will come out when I lose weight/supplement my workout with more pull ups, right?

19

[quote]Zelazo wrote:
zephead4747 wrote:
Zelazo wrote:
Let’s just say it took me 1 and a half years to convince my dad to let me drink 100% pure whey protein.

I started chinning about 2 weeks ago, and I can get about 10 reps (bodyweight) without too much difficulty, but I haven’t been doing it on a consistent basis at all. I’m going to try to add it into my routine as an actual lift instead of something to do while I’m waiting for my turn to bench.

Can you elaborate on the upper back imbalance?

your lats are hiding O_o

Hahaha thanks for clearing that up. Although I’m not sure whether or not they’re just being suffocated by a layer of blubber.

Anyway, I think those will come out when I lose weight/supplement my workout with more pull ups, right?
[/quote]

seems like it should. Can you add weight to the pullups?
ie dumbell or dip belt?

20

I don’t think dip belt is attainable for me since my school’s weight room doesn’t have one. With a dumbell would I just hold it inbetween my legs?

Or could I just do more reps at bodyweight instead?