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
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