PDA

View Full Version : Bit of help please...



Manneh
03-12-09, 1:16 pm
Hi, I started gettin into training since May/June last year, after deciding I too skinny and needed to do something about it. Id experimented a bit with training on and off for about a year before that, but I didn’t really hav any clue – with training or diet.

Having finished my 1st year at Uni, and still looking like a coat-hanger, I’d decided enough was enough, and started training hard and eating much more; I learnt a bit more about training and diet, with a lot of help from my uncle, and between May and October, I managed to put on about 2 stone. I put on a fair bit of muscle, but I also gained some fat – especially on the sides – but this didn’t worry me too much, as I was actually gaining for the first time. I was even getting a couple of positive remarks from other guys in the gym, saying I’d gotten bigger, which is always good to hear.

I started to hit a plateau from about November onwards. I also went about making my diet cleaner, so I lost my fat around the sides, but didn’t grow any more muscle. I’m currently 78kg, and have been since November. I suppose this is just natural, and happens to everybody at some stage(s) in their development. I started trying to vary up my exercises a bit more, but this didn’t seem to have too much effect. I’ve still been goin to the gym 4 times a week, as I pretty much always have been, but over these last couple of months I’ve lost some of the drive and determination I had in the beginning – again, this is a pretty b*llshit excuse for not gaining, but it’s definitely 1 of the factors. I started noticing that I wasn’t getting stronger anymore – I was lifting the same weights from week to week, and this only demoralised me further.

I’ve started reading more articles to get that motivation back, and someone has suggested the Reg Parks 5x5 routine, or something similar; I’ve been told that, as I’m still fairly new in the world of training, pretty much any routine – as long as I train well and hard – will give me gains.

I’m about 5”10 and weigh 78kg. I usually train 4 times a week:

1. Chest (& tri’s)
2. Shoulders (& bi’s)
3. Legs
4. Back

(Not in the above order – it can vary. I also train Tri’s and bi’s together every so often).

My normal daily diet is as follows:

7.30am – Shake (2 scoops), 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk
10.30am – Chicken sandwich – 2 wholemeal bread + approx 40g chicken
12.30/1pm – jacket potato (large), beans, 10g tuna, 20g chicken
(3.30pm* – ½ sandwich – 1 wholemeal bread, 20g chicken)
5pm – Shake – 2 scoops protein, 1 scoop oats
7.15/7.30pm** – Evening meal – more carbs + protein
8.30pm** – WORKOUT
9.45/10pm – Post-workout shake – 2 scoops protein

I also drink water and have fruit throughout the day - though this has also lapsed of light.
After this, I normally go to bed soon after, or have something very little to eat.

* - I put this extra snacky meal in just today – often, I’ve been having nothing to eat from after lunch until my 5pm shake – which can often be at 5.30pm or slightly later!

**I arrive home from work at around 6.45pm – 7.15pm (normally the latter), so sometimes I go straight to the gym and have my evening meal AFTER my workout, or Ill have my evening meal first.

The above times are just rough approximations – I feel my diet could be a lot better though, so I need to sort this out.


Does anyone have any tips on what I’m doing wrong/what I could be doing better – training-wise and diet-wise – to start gaining size again?

I think I’ve included all relevant details – if I’ve missed anything out jus let me kno n I’ll add it in.

Thanks n peace

TangoJuliet
03-12-09, 1:46 pm
Just to get the ball rolling here, have you ever thought about switching up your routine? Changing schemes and things of that nature? Also, in terms of diet, have you actually counted up the number of calories you take in a day? Figure that out and then add to that number and see if you see results.

When you mentioned you gained some fat with that muscle, dont worry about that, its normal.

Its about trial and error brodda. Dont get discouraged.

Giant Killer
03-12-09, 1:57 pm
I would get carbs in your post-workout shake. Regardless of the fact that it's before bed, it's post-workout, and every opportunity should be taken to replenish glycogen, spare aminos, and rebuild muscle through the night.

C.Coronato
03-12-09, 2:09 pm
40 grams of protein or 40 grams total? As in 40 grams equals 1.5oz??

CDUB23
03-12-09, 3:31 pm
I had/have an extremely similar issue. Started training and eating hard last April, put on about 35 pounds training 4 days a week up until about December/January. Since then I have not been able to make much of any gains, motivation has went down. So 2 weeks ago i dramatically switched up my workout.

I read into CNS fatigue and took a few days off;

http://ezinearticles.com/?CNS-Fatigue-and-Its-Affect-on-Building-Muscle&id=808293

And then I switched it up to the 5x5 Linear Progression program;

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/table_of_contents_thread.htm

I have also started trying to jam in as much extra food as possible everyday, including eggs, which is something I was lacking before, and looks like you are lacking.

Im only 2 weeks in, but I feel a lot better motivation wise, and feel like Im on track to make some good progress.

theharjmann
03-12-09, 6:45 pm
That wouldnt be enough carbs even if you sit down all day!
You have told me that you walk loads during the day....u walk to the train station which is quite far from your house, you walk to work from the station and u walk everywhere else

the carbs are waaaaay to low
get some eggs in there!

Manneh
03-13-09, 7:06 am
Just to get the ball rolling here, have you ever thought about switching up your routine? Changing schemes and things of that nature? Also, in terms of diet, have you actually counted up the number of calories you take in a day? Figure that out and then add to that number and see if you see results.

When you mentioned you gained some fat with that muscle, dont worry about that, its normal.

Its about trial and error brodda. Dont get discouraged.


Yeah, this is something I've been consciously trying to do recently, just varying up the exercises each time I train a muscle group. Sometimes I feel I do too much of the same thing though, so there's definitely room for more variety. The calories are also a big thing - from this weekend, I'm hoping to come up with a strict plan that means more calories and more regularly.

I've got so used to the habit of eating the carbs I currently do, when I do, that I haven't even thought about increasing them; like you say, more of these will mean more fat, but if it gets me growing again I won't be complaining too much.

I'll do my best - cheers bro

Manneh
03-13-09, 7:17 am
That wouldnt be enough carbs even if you sit down all day!
You have told me that you walk loads during the day....u walk to the train station which is quite far from your house, you walk to work from the station and u walk everywhere else

the carbs are waaaaay to low
get some eggs in there!


I would get carbs in your post-workout shake. Regardless of the fact that it's before bed, it's post-workout, and every opportunity should be taken to replenish glycogen, spare aminos, and rebuild muscle through the night.

Yeah, this is something that a lot of people have been suggesting. Come to think of it, I do end up walking at a fast pace for about 40mins in the day (and this can often even be a jog/run - for the train/bus, etc.), so if anything I need to account for this - I feel slightly better about my lack of cardio at the gym now!

And I guess more carbs are needed even at night, as Killer says - ever since I started trying to lose my fat around the sides, I've been consciously trying to avoid carbs at night, but I guess I do need some form of carbs even at this time.

As for eggs, I sometimes have these in my evening meal; ideally, I'd start having 3 in the morning with a couple of wholemeal breads - that would just mean going to bed/getting up a little earlier to prepare n eat this before work, so probably just laziness on my part again.

Hopefully, if I stick rigidly to these changes, I'll see changes myself...

Thanks for all your help

Manneh
03-13-09, 7:18 am
40 grams of protein or 40 grams total? As in 40 grams equals 1.5oz??

That'd be 40grams of protein (probably closer to 38g though - 2 scoops, I'm not sure what size my scoop is, but it's definitely about 19g per scoop)

Manneh
03-13-09, 7:32 am
I had/have an extremely similar issue. Started training and eating hard last April, put on about 35 pounds training 4 days a week up until about December/January. Since then I have not been able to make much of any gains, motivation has went down. So 2 weeks ago i dramatically switched up my workout.

I read into CNS fatigue and took a few days off;

http://ezinearticles.com/?CNS-Fatigue-and-Its-Affect-on-Building-Muscle&id=808293

And then I switched it up to the 5x5 Linear Progression program;

http://www.geocities.com/elitemadcow1/table_of_contents_thread.htm

I have also started trying to jam in as much extra food as possible everyday, including eggs, which is something I was lacking before, and looks like you are lacking.

Im only 2 weeks in, but I feel a lot better motivation wise, and feel like Im on track to make some good progress.

Thanks bro - it's reasurring to know there's others out there in my boat. Yeah, I was having 3 eggs in the morning without fail at one point, but I replaced that with a shake. I suppose getting up a bit earlier and having 3 eggs n 2 toast would be a good idea for me; one of the problems is, I struggle to get food down me first thing in the morning when I wake up, so it's often a losing battle trying to get it down me in time for leaving the house to catch my train. Again, a sh*t excuse, which could probably be solved by waking up a bit earlier...I suppose to start with it's a struggle, but then as I get used to eating more food earlier, I'll start feeling more hungry when I wake up...that's from my experience in the past anyway.

BeastCook
03-13-09, 11:22 am
Hi, I started gettin into training since May/June last year, after deciding I too skinny and needed to do something about it. Id experimented a bit with training on and off for about a year before that, but I didn’t really hav any clue – with training or diet.

Having finished my 1st year at Uni, and still looking like a coat-hanger, I’d decided enough was enough, and started training hard and eating much more; I learnt a bit more about training and diet, with a lot of help from my uncle, and between May and October, I managed to put on about 2 stone. I put on a fair bit of muscle, but I also gained some fat – especially on the sides – but this didn’t worry me too much, as I was actually gaining for the first time. I was even getting a couple of positive remarks from other guys in the gym, saying I’d gotten bigger, which is always good to hear.

I started to hit a plateau from about November onwards. I also went about making my diet cleaner, so I lost my fat around the sides, but didn’t grow any more muscle. I’m currently 78kg, and have been since November. I suppose this is just natural, and happens to everybody at some stage(s) in their development. I started trying to vary up my exercises a bit more, but this didn’t seem to have too much effect. I’ve still been goin to the gym 4 times a week, as I pretty much always have been, but over these last couple of months I’ve lost some of the drive and determination I had in the beginning – again, this is a pretty b*llshit excuse for not gaining, but it’s definitely 1 of the factors. I started noticing that I wasn’t getting stronger anymore – I was lifting the same weights from week to week, and this only demoralised me further.

I’ve started reading more articles to get that motivation back, and someone has suggested the Reg Parks 5x5 routine, or something similar; I’ve been told that, as I’m still fairly new in the world of training, pretty much any routine – as long as I train well and hard – will give me gains.

I’m about 5”10 and weigh 78kg. I usually train 4 times a week:

1. Chest (& tri’s)
2. Shoulders (& bi’s)
3. Legs
4. Back

(Not in the above order – it can vary. I also train Tri’s and bi’s together every so often).

My normal daily diet is as follows:

7.30am – Shake (2 scoops), 2 weetabix with semi-skimmed milk
10.30am – Chicken sandwich – 2 wholemeal bread + approx 40g chicken
12.30/1pm – jacket potato (large), beans, 10g tuna, 20g chicken
(3.30pm* – ½ sandwich – 1 wholemeal bread, 20g chicken)
5pm – Shake – 2 scoops protein, 1 scoop oats
7.15/7.30pm** – Evening meal – more carbs + protein
8.30pm** – WORKOUT
9.45/10pm – Post-workout shake – 2 scoops protein

I also drink water and have fruit throughout the day - though this has also lapsed of light.
After this, I normally go to bed soon after, or have something very little to eat.

* - I put this extra snacky meal in just today – often, I’ve been having nothing to eat from after lunch until my 5pm shake – which can often be at 5.30pm or slightly later!

**I arrive home from work at around 6.45pm – 7.15pm (normally the latter), so sometimes I go straight to the gym and have my evening meal AFTER my workout, or Ill have my evening meal first.

The above times are just rough approximations – I feel my diet could be a lot better though, so I need to sort this out.


Does anyone have any tips on what I’m doing wrong/what I could be doing better – training-wise and diet-wise – to start gaining size again?

I think I’ve included all relevant details – if I’ve missed anything out jus let me kno n I’ll add it in.

Thanks n peace

you should look for a good post workout or creatine supplement, also make sure your training is sticking to compound movements like bench press, squats, deads, shoulder presses, dont mess with all the flys until you get more experienced and a bit bigger, stick to heavy poundages low reps great form