Would Like Input on Plan

415AL562 · September 28, 2011, 6:45pm

Hey everybody, I’m new to T-Nation, but I’ve been reading a bunch of articles and posts here for the past week. I’m looking to take my workouts and nutrition to the next level. If I posted in the wrong section, I apologize in advance. This might be long, but I want to be as detailed as possible. Here’s some info about me:

Currently:
-24, 6’1", 210 lbs., 17% BF
-Got fatter over the past two years (Weighed 185 at 12% @ 22)
-Deadlifts - 255 lbs x 2 (Hand keeps opening up, need to work on that)
-Squats - 175 x 5 (Below parallel, still working on form; only adding 5 lbs each session if I can do it properly)
-Bench - 185 x 5 (Spot on last rep; looking to add 5 or 10 lbs next session)
-OHP - 65 lbs x 5 (Just started last night)
-Pendlay Rows - 145 x 5 (Still working on form; working on keeping my legs from moving)

I started going to the gym on and off when I was 17 and made it a priority at 24. I failed to make a plan, so I failed at completing any goals I have set in the past.

My goal at the moment is to pack on muscle while getting stronger, specifically with the lifts above. I do want to burn off some fat, but that is not my primary goal at the moment since summer is over.

I currently eat (or try to eat) like this:
8am - 5 Eggs (2 Yolks), 2 Slices of wheat bread, Black coffee
11am - Banana
1pm - Chicken, Brown Rice
4pm - Banana
7pm - Steak, or Salmon and Brown Rice
Workout at 10pm
12am - Whey Protein
1am - Casein

Am I eating enough to gain mass and strength?

I will post my current workout if you guys need it. Thanks again!

JFG · September 28, 2011, 7:22pm

Eating enough? No

Why the empty space around your work out?

As long as you are doing a 5x5 or 5/3/1 type work out and following it, you should be fine.

Take your diet above and input into a calorie counter. Then post it. Usually a eye opener for most people

DEE_Regulated · September 28, 2011, 7:28pm

Protein you may be fine depending on protion size, but I think you are undershooting on kcals if that is truely all you are planning to eat. I see no added fats. I would also add some non-starchy veg.

pcdude · September 28, 2011, 8:15pm

It looks like you may not be getting enough sleep, assuming you are not waking up at 1am to take the casien.

Professor_X · September 28, 2011, 8:20pm

That’s more sleep than I get. If you are really getting 8 hours or more, count yourself lucky.

I went all of the way through school on about 5 or less.

As far as whether some guy is eating enough…what happened to seeing if the scale is going up?

How do you guys think everyone else did it? I mean BEFORE computers?

415AL562 · September 28, 2011, 9:09pm

@JFG - I’m definitely not eating enough after counting the calories. Thanks.

@degerdahl - Okay, I’ll look for some fats and veggies to add in there. I’ll look for something to eat to fill in the gaps.

@pcdude - I take the casein before I sleep

@professor X - I look up to you for running on 5 or less hours of sleep.

fr0IVIan · September 29, 2011, 8:17pm

any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?

esskay · September 29, 2011, 9:22pm

[quote]415AL562 wrote:
Hey everybody, I’m new to T-Nation, but I’ve been reading a bunch of articles and posts here for the past week. I’m looking to take my workouts and nutrition to the next level. If I posted in the wrong section, I apologize in advance. This might be long, but I want to be as detailed as possible. Here’s some info about me:

Currently:
-24, 6’1", 210 lbs., 17% BF
-Got fatter over the past two years (Weighed 185 at 12% @ 22)
-Deadlifts - 255 lbs x 2 (Hand keeps opening up, need to work on that)
-Squats - 175 x 5 (Below parallel, still working on form; only adding 5 lbs each session if I can do it properly)
-Bench - 185 x 5 (Spot on last rep; looking to add 5 or 10 lbs next session)
-OHP - 65 lbs x 5 (Just started last night)
-Pendlay Rows - 145 x 5 (Still working on form; working on keeping my legs from moving)

I started going to the gym on and off when I was 17 and made it a priority at 24. I failed to make a plan, so I failed at completing any goals I have set in the past.

My goal at the moment is to pack on muscle while getting stronger, specifically with the lifts above. I do want to burn off some fat, but that is not my primary goal at the moment since summer is over.

I currently eat (or try to eat) like this:
8am - 5 Eggs (2 Yolks), 2 Slices of wheat bread, Black coffee
11am - Banana
1pm - Chicken, Brown Rice
4pm - Banana
7pm - Steak, or Salmon and Brown Rice
Workout at 10pm
12am - Whey Protein
1am - Casein

Am I eating enough to gain mass and strength?

I will post my current workout if you guys need it. Thanks again![/quote]

Your hands keep opening up on the Deadlift? I bet you are using a double overhand grip. Try flipping one hand over, like the position you would use for a chin-up.

You should probably focus on brining up that Squat. If you can DL 255, then you sure as hell can do way more than 175 for reps on Squat.

A lot of people criticize Pendlay rows for being hard to maintain position. Consider trying bent over one-arm dumbell rows. That would get you some unilateral work too. You could also do them Kroc style; high weight, high reps.

What program are you following? Look into Starting Strength/Practical Programming, Pavel 3-5, Madcow, and other linear progression programs, or you can do 5/3/1. There are other good ones, but you can’t go wrong with any of those.

Dont worry about food too much, if you really want you could look into carb cycling, there are some really good article about it on this site. Also, carb+whey post-workout shakes help. You can use a website like Cronometer to track your eating habits if you need to.

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?[/quote]

I dont know about the OP, but I cannot stand workout out on a full stomach. Makes me feel tired and sluggish.

415AL562 · September 30, 2011, 1:56am

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?[/quote]

The only reason why I wait until 10 to workout is because the gym I go to is busy until that time. The crowd dies down within 15 minutes after 10.

fr0IVIan · September 30, 2011, 2:06am

[quote]415AL562 wrote:

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?[/quote]

The only reason why I wait until 10 to workout is because the gym I go to is busy until that time. The crowd dies down within 15 minutes after 10.[/quote]

do you think you might want to get a meal in before (closer to 10 than 7) and one after?

415AL562 · September 30, 2011, 5:41am

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:

[quote]415AL562 wrote:

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?[/quote]

The only reason why I wait until 10 to workout is because the gym I go to is busy until that time. The crowd dies down within 15 minutes after 10.[/quote]

do you think you might want to get a meal in before (closer to 10 than 7) and one after?[/quote]

I’ll do that. I’ll shift some meals around so that I can eat something before and something solid after.

countingbeans · September 30, 2011, 1:31pm

[quote]esskay wrote:

Dont worry about food too much, [/quote]

This is horrid advice.

Diet is far and away one of the most important parts of progress.

Jesus Christ… Blind leading the blind.

415AL562 · September 30, 2011, 6:52pm

[quote]esskay wrote:
Your hands keep opening up on the Deadlift? I bet you are using a double overhand grip. Try flipping one hand over, like the position you would use for a chin-up.

You should probably focus on brining up that Squat. If you can DL 255, then you sure as hell can do way more than 175 for reps on Squat.

A lot of people criticize Pendlay rows for being hard to maintain position. Consider trying bent over one-arm dumbell rows. That would get you some unilateral work too. You could also do them Kroc style; high weight, high reps.

What program are you following? Look into Starting Strength/Practical Programming, Pavel 3-5, Madcow, and other linear progression programs, or you can do 5/3/1. There are other good ones, but you can’t go wrong with any of those.

Dont worry about food too much, if you really want you could look into carb cycling, there are some really good article about it on this site. Also, carb+whey post-workout shakes help. You can use a website like Cronometer to track your eating habits if you need to.

[quote]fr0IVIan wrote:
any reason why you eat at 7 and wait til 10 to work out?[/quote]

I dont know about the OP, but I cannot stand workout out on a full stomach. Makes me feel tired and sluggish.[/quote]

Deadlift - That’s true, I am using a double overhand grip. I’ll switch over to ‘over and under’, at least for my last set.

Squat - As long as I perform the squat with proper form, I’ll bump it 5 to 10 lbs. per session.

Pendlay - It is definitely a hard exercise to master. I like it though. It’s building up my back and is helping my bench as well.

I’m not following a particular program, but I did model my program after Stronglifts. I don’t workout on set days, as I have a rotation. If I feel exhausted or am pressed for time, I take a day off before or after cardio/ab days. It looks like this (working sets only):

Day 1: Upper Body
Flat Bench - 5x5
Pendlow Rows - 5x5
Incline Bench - 3x5
Chin-ups - Failure
Bicep Barbell Curls - 2x10
Skullcrushers - 2x10
Overhead Cable Curls - 3x10
Tricep Pushdowns - 3x10

Day 2: Legs
Squat - 5x5
Leg Press - 1x10, 1x8, 2x6, 1x5
Calf Press on Leg Press Machine - 4x20
Seated Calf Raises - 2x20, 1x15, 1x12
Standing Calf Raises - 4x20

Day 3: Cardio/Abs

Day 4: Chest/Back
Pendlay Row - 5x5
Flat Bench - 5x5
Chin-ups - Failure
Incline Bench - 3x5
Bent Over Two-Arm Long Bar Row - 2x10, 1x8
Decline Bench - 3x5
Lawnmowers - 3x10
Cable Crossovers - 2x15, 1x12 (Light weights)

Day 5: Deadlift/Calves
Deadlift - 1x5
Calf Press on Leg Press Machine - 4x20
Seated Calf Raises - 2x20, 1x15, 1x12
Standing Calf Raises - 4x20

Day 6: Shoulders, Abs and Cardio
Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 1x8, 1x6, 2x5
Lateral Raises - 3x10
Overhead Press - 5x5
Front Plate Raises - 25lbs: 1x10; 35lbs: 1x10; 45lbs: 1x8
Upright Barbell Row - 3x10
Shrugs (Working my way down) - 4x10 using 80 lbs, 70 lbs, 60 lbs, 45’s
Reverse Flyes - 3x10
Rear Delt Raises - 3x10

Day 7: Arms
Standing Barbell Curl - 2x10, 1x8, 1x6
Close-Grip Bench Press - 3x10
Hammer Curls - 1x10, 1x8, 1x6
Skullcrushers - 2x10, 1x6
Spider Curls - 3x10
Dips - 3xFailure
Overhead Cable Curls - 3x10, 2x8
Tricep Pushdowns - 3x10
Tricep Extensions w/ Rope - 3x10

Day 8: Rest

As for working out on a full stomach, I have done it a few times, but yes, I do feel sluggish. As long as I give myself 45 minutes, preferably an hour, I’m good to go.

fr0IVIan · September 30, 2011, 7:26pm

it could be what you’re eating. I used to eat frosted mini-wheats with whole milk and three pieces of fruit as my preworkout carb source. I’d be bloated as all get out, and if I didn’t take my stim asap I’d fall asleep. ever since I switched to quinoa, I can pile it high on my plate, still have room for more, and then despite eating a piece or two more of fruit and my preworkout (stim+creatine+citrulline malate), I wouldn’t feel sluggish or bloated afterwards.

not saying you should specifically eat quinoa, but trying something different might work better than what you are eating now.

esskay · October 3, 2011, 3:11am