Big Challenge (I Think) for the Group

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
21

Wow, great feedback!

ZeusNathan: Don’t think I don’t appreciate the thought, but I am definitely going to defer to Stronghold and the other guys on this one… I’ve spent the last two years (and off and on for two decades before that; very sporadic, so I only really say I’ve been “training” for two years). In that time, I’ve been confidently “outsmarting” the experts by creating and continuously refining a highly personal and customized routine… And I’ve got the body to prove it!! On many levels, two years of effort pretty much wasted… To quote the article I was referred to on the Rippetoe program: �??Don’t **** with this. Every bodybuilder seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything.�?? I have to put those days behind me!

So, that said… I’m shocked at how quick and simple the workout was yesterday, and much more shocked at how completely sore I am today!! 10:30pm right now, and still sore… Mostly in my legs, a little in the upper body. Haven’t felt like this in a LONG time. What a great feeling!! Can’t wait for Workout B tomorrow… Like TheDudeAbides, I’ll plan to keep some sort of log of my progess here. Don’t expect to be too impressed anytime soon!! LOL

Meantime, a couple of quick questions:

  1. Since I have a very strong tendency to add flabby fat around the belly (remember, currenly at 20% body fat), I’m struggling with the concept of 1.5x protein per day. I’d reported that I was doing 1x per day, but upon really looking at my intake, I’ve probably been closer to .75x per day. And still can’t seem to budge the body fat. How do I go to a full 1.5x per day (which I really, really want to do!) without totally becoming a fat cow again? I know this has to be a dumb question, but need to hear the answer(s)…

  2. Along the lines of question #1, is the answer perhaps the G-Flux concept? What I grasp from that is: lots of energy in (clean calories) and lots of energy out (lots of exercise). So, my “theory” is that the key to getting my 1.5x protein is to increase my exercise. Since Rippetoe is a fairly small amount of exercise (at least time-wise), would it be reasonable to add a couple of three-mile runs to each week? Or will that negatively impact my muscle-gaining efforts?

Am I over-thinking all of this… ?

22

I’ve had great results from Rippetoe’s back when I was starting out also. I know I’m not one of the guys around here with 20k posts and what not but thought I’d throw my 2 cents in anyway. First off congrats on losing all that weight, and getting on the path to muscling up. Easing into good compound core lifts and steadily increasing your weight is the only way to go.

I think begginers and most intermediate lifters should stick to 5-8 reps simply because, when you use higher reps your form really starts to break down the longer you perform an exercise, and good form will keep you injury free and in the weight room. You will add weight to 5 rep lifts longer than you can to 12 rep lifts in my experience. Plus you can do more sets of 5 and the more times you practice a move properly the more muscle memory will help when you get up to some heavy weights.

I wouldn’t worry about the short workout time either. I think it was one of the coaches here that showed studies that T levels start dropping around the 40 min mark. So he recommended keeping your training time under that. Not counting warm up and stretching of coarse. I’d make the days your not training Rippetoe’s your cardio days or whatever thy call it now. Good luck with your training.

23

roundddd 2

[quote]Stronghold wrote:
ZeusNathan wrote:
LOL first off i told him to USE rippetoe’s program.

“my advice is to use rippetoe”

work on your reading comprehension. i only SUGGESTED that he use 3 x 12 instead of 3 x 5. all you basically did was get mad about something that you thought i said.

You told him to change the program. That program is no longer the same now that you changed the loading parameters that it was built around. Thats like saying “Do westside, but dont do max effort of dynamic effort work.” Why should he take your advice over Mark Rippetoe’s? Do you REALLY think you are more qualified than him? Hell, Im more qualified to give advice than your ass…which leads me to:

listen buddy, before you get your panties in a bunch. i never tell anyone to do anything, i merely offer a suggestion and let him choose what he wants to do. and frankly, why would he take any of our advices?? in the end hes gonna do what he wants to do and thats his preference. im not gonna dog him if he does something opposed to what i THINK he should do.
lol and what makes you more qualified than anyone else in here?

ZeusNathan wrote:
second, im sorry that you are the all knowing master guru because you dont workout, but just post here all day. truth is, you havent used rippetoe’s program. hence you dont have any personal truth to the efficacy of it. i on the other hand, train real people.

Really? I dont work out? I guess thats why I have a log here going back a year or so and progress pictures taken before I started that log? Maybe thats why I competed in a strongman competition last spring or why I lift more than you and outweigh you by 40 lbs? Where are you getting this shit? Who the fuck are you again? Arent you the kid who admits to having an inconsistent diet and claims that his hitched deadlift would be “good in competition” even though youve never competed before? How do you know that I havent used Rippetoe’s program or that I dont train people? Oh yeah, thats right. You dont.

Youre just making shit up because you KNOW you are wrong and you know you are unqualified to give advice. Seriously, the OP weighs 10 lbs more than you and appears, from your thread, to have close to the same level of bodyfat. You SHOULD NOT be giving advice. Sorry if that damages your fragile little ego.

you’re right you outweigh me by 40lbs and yet i pull in more pussy and weight off the floor than you do. im not one to brag, but since you brought it up…
and about my flabby gut. its my second coat from the winter. ill shed it as soon as june comes around. are you gonna make fun of my small nipples too?

ZeusNathan wrote:
try loading a heavy weight on a beginner with a bad back. just you yourself, take a friend who’s never done squats, put on a heavy load and expect him to perform flawlessly with low risk of injury.

Did you miss the part where he said he started with the bar and has experienced lifters helping him? Sounds like 1)not heavy weight and 2)help with technique. Pay attention newbie. Hes got this down, hes working within his limits and has people there to ensure that he is using the proper form.

nah i havent. and thats the proper way he should go about doing things; low weight high rep.
im glad you think that a person with herniated disk needs to load heavy on squats, especially since he’s a beginner. or is that your qualified infallible words of wisdom???

ZeusNathan wrote:
and lastly, think before you speak. and dont come here to argue with me or others because its not the place for it. you can have a discussion in a more mature manner. dont even post a response to this because i wont respond.

Think before I speak? Take some of your own medicine there pal. Youre the one telling this guy to clusterfuck his program. That goes for “having a discussion in a more mature manner” too. You are the one that started making shit up about me (you dont workout, but just post here all day. truth is, you havent used rippetoe’s program. hence you dont have any personal truth to the efficacy of it. i on the other hand, train real people.) because your advice was bad, mine was not, and you dont have shit in a pail for credibility. Somehow I feel like you are going to respond to this because youve got your 150 lb keyboard nuts swinging and you have to prove that you are right now.

gwar gwar gargle gargle brawwwwwwr!!!
lol are you really that mad that i gave this guy my honest opinion?

[/quote]

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[quote]speakman wrote:
Wow, great feedback!

ZeusNathan: Don’t think I don’t appreciate the thought, but I am definitely going to defer to Stronghold and the other guys on this one… I’ve spent the last two years (and off and on for two decades before that; very sporadic, so I only really say I’ve been “training” for two years). In that time, I’ve been confidently “outsmarting” the experts by creating and continuously refining a highly personal and customized routine… And I’ve got the body to prove it!! On many levels, two years of effort pretty much wasted… To quote the article I was referred to on the Rippetoe program: �??Don’t **** with this. Every bodybuilder seems to have Attention Deficit Disorder and an overwhelming desire to customize everything.�?? I have to put those days behind me!

So, that said… I’m shocked at how quick and simple the workout was yesterday, and much more shocked at how completely sore I am today!! 10:30pm right now, and still sore… Mostly in my legs, a little in the upper body. Haven’t felt like this in a LONG time. What a great feeling!! Can’t wait for Workout B tomorrow… Like TheDudeAbides, I’ll plan to keep some sort of log of my progess here. Don’t expect to be too impressed anytime soon!! LOL

Meantime, a couple of quick questions:

  1. Since I have a very strong tendency to add flabby fat around the belly (remember, currenly at 20% body fat), I’m struggling with the concept of 1.5x protein per day. I’d reported that I was doing 1x per day, but upon really looking at my intake, I’ve probably been closer to .75x per day. And still can’t seem to budge the body fat. How do I go to a full 1.5x per day (which I really, really want to do!) without totally becoming a fat cow again? I know this has to be a dumb question, but need to hear the answer(s)…

  2. Along the lines of question #1, is the answer perhaps the G-Flux concept? What I grasp from that is: lots of energy in (clean calories) and lots of energy out (lots of exercise). So, my “theory” is that the key to getting my 1.5x protein is to increase my exercise. Since Rippetoe is a fairly small amount of exercise (at least time-wise), would it be reasonable to add a couple of three-mile runs to each week? Or will that negatively impact my muscle-gaining efforts?

Am I over-thinking all of this… ?
[/quote]

its just a suggestion. just like myself, i dont utilize every single thing brought to my attention. i only pick and choose what i feel is right for my program. with that said, you also have the choice to do whatever you feel is right for you.

and of your protein intake, do you use any protein supplements? it’s a good way to squeeze in 50grams of protein or more during the day. belly fat is a tricky thing. i have a friend who’s 6% bf but still has some ‘back fat’. 6’0 200lbs strong kid. work on your program and focus on getting your overall bodyfat down.

and although rippetoe is a great program for building up some muscle, your goal is really to shed that body fat asap. id definitely recommend a couple cardio days a week while keeping your protein intake high. rather than a light jog, go for a brisk uphill walk. you’ll be breathing hard and will build some sick calves while your at it.

and last but not least, i apologize for all the unnecessary crap in here. people tend to get upset when they cant rationalize their thoughts properly, me included. but def keep us posted. you seem motivated and im sure you’re gonna see results soon.

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I thought you werent going to respond to me? True keyboard badass.

[quote] listen buddy, before you get your panties in a bunch. i never tell anyone to do anything, i merely offer a suggestion and let him choose what he wants to do. and frankly, why would he take any of our advices?? in the end hes gonna do what he wants to do and thats his preference. im not gonna dog him if he does something opposed to what i THINK he should do.
lol and what makes you more qualified than anyone else in here? [/quote]

The only person I said I was more qualified than was you and you seem to have ignored that part of my last post with this:

[quote] you’re right you outweigh me by 40lbs and yet i pull in more pussy and weight off the floor than you do. im not one to brag, but since you brought it up…
and about my flabby gut. its my second coat from the winter. ill shed it as soon as june comes around. are you gonna make fun of my small nipples too? [/quote]

Youre really showing how much you DONT have a leg to stand on here kid. Are you really completely unable to talk about this like an adult and honestly have to resort to “LOL WELL I GET MORE PUSSY THAN YOU”? I guess I shouldnt expect a 16 year old to behave like an adult though. How much weight can you legitamately pull from the floor? Not that hitched bullshit you posted on your log. Im willing to bet that its less than me.

This discussion was never about personal attacks. I disagreed with your advice and started with the personal attacks because you dont have the knowledge (as a trainer, no less) to debate this intelligently. I brought up your weight simply because you lack credibility and the fact that you weigh a fat 154 lbs illustrates that perfectly. This is the BODYBUILDING section and you dont look like you lift.

Do you drive a faster car than me? Could your dad beat up my dad? Maybe, but you dont honestly know the answer to those questions and they arent relevent to this discussion. So far you have ass-umed that:

-I dont lift (wrong)
-I am weak (wrong)
-I am on the internet all day (wrong)
-I dont train people (wrong)
-You get laid more than me (from your behavior, Im thinking youre a 16 year old virgin)

To be fair, here are the things I have said about you:

-you are weak (true)
-you dont know what youre talking about (true)
-you dont look like you lift (true)
-you weigh 154 lbs (true)
-you are fat at 154 lbs (true)
-you are acting like a child (true)

[quote] nah i havent. and thats the proper way he should go about doing things; low weight high rep.
im glad you think that a person with herniated disk needs to load heavy on squats, especially since he’s a beginner. or is that your qualified infallible words of wisdom??? [/quote]

Read his post again newbie. He doesnt have a herniated disk. He has an inguinal hernia that has been repaired. I have one of those also and have never had any trouble with re-occurance while lifting weights that this guy wont be close to for several years. Anyways, we arent talking about someone lifting enough weight to injure themselves here. I guess 45 lbs would qualify as a heavy load to you though, wouldnt it? Im guessing you didnt read the post where he said he has been doing things in the 8-12 rep range for the past year or two did you? Did you also ignore the post where I put up The Dude’s results with the same program that he got as a beginner?

[quote] gwar gwar gargle gargle brawwwwwwr!!!
lol are you really that mad that i gave this guy my honest opinion? [/quote]

No, I am mad that I disagreed with your honest (and unqualified) opinion and you came out swinging with the personal attacks like a true keyboard warrior. You dont have a leg to stand on. I urge you to not post in this thread again and to save yourself from further embarrassment. Stop clogging up this guys thread with your bullshit. Give good advice if you want to, but since you seem unable to give good advice, just refrain from posting here.

26

All that said, not to worry… I plan to stick to the Rippetoe program without the slightest hint of modification! After all this time and effort, I owe myself a decent shot at success…

Stronghold, I was wondering if you’d be willing to respond to my post of yesterday (4/17) regarding a couple of questions I have about adding in some cardio…

27

[quote]speakman wrote:

Meantime, a couple of quick questions:

  1. Since I have a very strong tendency to add flabby fat around the belly (remember, currenly at 20% body fat), I’m struggling with the concept of 1.5x protein per day. I’d reported that I was doing 1x per day, but upon really looking at my intake, I’ve probably been closer to .75x per day. And still can’t seem to budge the body fat. How do I go to a full 1.5x per day (which I really, really want to do!) without totally becoming a fat cow again? I know this has to be a dumb question, but need to hear the answer(s)…
    [/quote]

How many meals are you eating each day. You should calculate your protein and calories by lean body weight so

160 lbs x .80 = 128 lbs lean body mass
128 x 1. = 192g protein/6 meals = 32g protein/meal

Each gram of protein has 4 calories, adjust the rest of your calories around this, remember, carbs have 4 calories per gram and fats have 9 per gram.

[quote]speakman wrote:
2. Along the lines of question #1, is the answer perhaps the G-Flux concept? What I grasp from that is: lots of energy in (clean calories) and lots of energy out (lots of exercise). So, my “theory” is that the key to getting my 1.5x protein is to increase my exercise. Since Rippetoe is a fairly small amount of exercise (at least time-wise), would it be reasonable to add a couple of three-mile runs to each week? Or will that negatively impact my muscle-gaining efforts?

Am I over-thinking all of this… ?
[/quote]

I Would think that you should add a couple of different types of activity to your weekly schedule…something like this:

Monday- 30-45 minutes walking (lunch or AM?), PM weight lifting
Tuesday- 30-45 minutes walking
Wednesday- walking (lunch or AM?), PM weight lifting
Thursday- 30-45 mintues walking
Friday- walking (lunch or AM?), PM weight lifting
Saturday- AM interval training, PM 30-45 minutes walking
Sunday- 30-45 minutes walking

See how many more calories you are burning now? Gaining muscle will mainly depend on your calories in. As a beginner though, you will be able to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously if you eat a good portion of protein, avoid junk food and refined stuff (no unhealthy fats, sugars, etc), and train hard. As much as people bag on Men’s Health around here, their cook books are a very good place to look for healthy recipes.

I hope you understand that at this point you arent going to be able to build a body like the bodybuilders in the powerful images, but you can make great and drastic changes to your body competition and become stronger and more fit. This also allows you to enjoy your food a little more than say…a 25 year old bodybuilder who is dieting for a contest. Your focus should be less on individual macronutrient totals and more on establishing good, healthy eating habits. Check out the abs diet cook book, it has a lot of good recipes in it and also check Men’s Health when youre at the store, they usually have a couple of good healthy recipes every month. Chris Shugart and Chef Lisa Marie also have both written good recipe articles on this website.

Oh and, btw, good decision on sticking with the original program. My supply chain management professor has a saying about “staying the course” and that if you adjust every detail everytime something is a little off, all youre going to do is introduce more variation to the situation. The plan youve got is a good one, youve just got to implement it and be consistent. This is quite a lifestyle change, but I think you will find that you are better off for it.

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[chris crocker voice]
Leave ZeusNathan alone
[chris crocker voice/]

that is all.

p.s. Listen to stronghold/thedudeabides

29

[quote]Stronghold wrote:

I hope you understand that at this point you arent going to be able to build a body like the bodybuilders in the powerful images, but you can make great and drastic changes to your body competition and become stronger and more fit.
[/quote]

WHAT!! I thought I was going to be benching 500 pounds and weigh 250 in a few months… Darn it! LOL… Actually, I was just discussing all of this with my wife today over lunch, and she actually thinks I look “big enough” right now! Aren’t wives cute? Seriously, though, if I can just get to a respectable level of strength, add a few pounds of muscle to my frame, and do it in the correct way, I’ll be thrilled. I don’t want to be a pro bodybuilder, just become the best that I can be, which I know is way better than we’re I’ve gotten myself to so far!

That said, I completed Workout B of Rippetoe today:

3x5 Squat: 75 pounds. I said on Tuesday that I was going to just do the bar for this week, but my form on my 2 warm-up sets (bar only) felt very good and the bar felt so light that I decided to add some wait. 15 pounds on each side, and, no joke, that was about all I could handle. Getting some embarrassing looks at the gym, but I’d rather sacrifice my pride now to have something to be really proud of later. (Hey, that’s a good one!!)

3x5 Standing Military Press: 105 pounds. Not too bad, right? I’ve been doing these for awhile, so I’m not super weak there. Still, for some reason today these seemed really difficult! In my prior routine, I could do 5x8, and today Rippetoe’s 3x5 was hard! Interesting… Must have been the squats…?

3x5 Bent Rows: 75 pounds. Started with just the bar (35 pounds), and maybe should have stuck with that… A sideways glance in the mirror on my third set revealed that my back was arched forward a lot. I know that’s lousy form, and dangerous! Too bad those guys who helped me the other day weren’t around…

2x5 Chin-ups: I was shocked, but I actually did these pretty well! At least the first couple or few on each set looked to be very good form. The program actually calls for 2x8, but I’ll have to work up to this. Frankly, a little shocked that I can even do one good chin-up!

2x8 Hanging Leg Raises: This is “optional” in the program, but may as well keep up with the ab efforts. I was doing a couple of hundred crunches every day. Should I just switch to the Hanging Leg Raise routine and just do them at the end of each workout? Ready for suggestions on this one…

My assessment of today’s workout: Wow, I’m really sore again!! My legs are even more sore than before, and my upper body is feeling it as well. Could these compound exercises really be more beneficial than dozens of isolation exercises?? Exciting thought…

Stronghold: Regarding my diet, I think I’m getting the hang of it, though no doubt I need to keep working on it. I do have my food intake spread over half a dozen small “meals” per day, but a “meal” might consist of a piece of wheat toast with organic peanut butter and a glass of milk.

I’m also adding in 2 protein shakes (Low-Carb Metabolic Drive, of course) every day, and do a Surge shake (mixed with 5 grams of Creatine) after each workout. (Speaking of supplements, I’m also doing BCAA’s: 12 on non-workout days, 20 on workout days [12 of these during workout].) Still not sure I’m getting enough protein, but I’ll do some actual counting over the next couple of days…

Regarding adding in some cardio, I’m surprised that you recommended so much… And why walking instead of running? I’ve actually gotten to be pretty “impressive” on the 3-mile runs down by the London Bridge and along the channel (I live in Lake Havasu City)…

Looking forward to feedback…

30

[quote] Stronghold: Regarding my diet, I think I’m getting the hang of it, though no doubt I need to keep working on it. I do have my food intake spread over half a dozen small “meals” per day, but a “meal” might consist of a piece of wheat toast with organic peanut butter and a glass of milk.

I’m also adding in 2 protein shakes (Low-Carb Metabolic Drive, of course) every day, and do a Surge shake (mixed with 5 grams of Creatine) after each workout. (Speaking of supplements, I’m also doing BCAA’s: 12 on non-workout days, 20 on workout days [12 of these during workout].) Still not sure I’m getting enough protein, but I’ll do some actual counting over the next couple of days…

Regarding adding in some cardio, I’m surprised that you recommended so much… And why walking instead of running? I’ve actually gotten to be pretty “impressive” on the 3-mile runs down by the London Bridge and along the channel (I live in Lake Havasu City)…

Looking forward to feedback…

[/quote]

Baby steps…I would definitely check out those cook books I mentioned for more interesting and nutritious snack ideas. Milk and toast is boring!

I recommended that amount of cardio for a reason…remember that g-flux thing we were talking about? Letting your acivity level dictate your calories rather than the other way around is the way to go. The more active you are, the more you can eat and still achieve your goals. I dont know about you, but I love eating and that sounds like a fair trade off. Note that this isnt an invitation to pig out, gorge yourself, or eat junk food. You seem like a pretty level headed and common sense sort of guy so I think you probably get the idea, right?

I included walking in the routine simply because running is absolute murder on my knees, but if running x distance in x amount of time is a goal for you or you feel like an equivalent amount of jogging doesnt negatively impact your ability to lift or do the intervals, then by all means, go for it.

This whole thing isnt about limiting you, its about helping you get to where you can do more of the things you want to.

By the way, stick to that routine youve got now for the next 3 months and Ill hook you up with a routine that I have used with several people with good results.

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[quote]Stronghold wrote:
By the way, stick to that routine youve got now for the next 3 months and Ill hook you up with a routine that I have used with several people with good results.[/quote]

Sounds great! Let’s see if I can log some gains like TheDudeAbides and then I’ll look forward to stepping things up! I guess one trick is to never get stuck in a rut, even with a good program…

Thanks (to you and everyone else) for your help so far!

32


Okay, that wraps up Week 1… I think I want to get this on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule, so I may start my Week 2 on Monday… Not sure yet…

Meantime, following The Dude’s inspiration (posted by Stronghold), I’ve set up an Excel spreadsheet to track my progress. I guess this is the way it’s done! Gee, my starting numbers look just a tad lower than his… LOL

Question: On the weighted exercises, the strategy is to attempt to increase the weight by 2.5% each week. Makes sense. On the body weight exercises, though, (Dips, Chin-Ups, Hanging Leg Raises), would it be appropriate to make my goal to increase my sets and/or reps on these?

Comments: Still shocked at how fast I’m in and out of the gym. Also shocked that going from isolation to compound exercises could make such a big difference! Maybe it’s a placebo effect (or maybe the “pump” thing), but I swear my overall muscles look and feel SLIGHTLY larger than a week ago… Placebo or not, I already feel like this is working!! Very cool…

Oh, and my form on Squats and especially on Deadlifts seemed to be pretty good today…

33

Fast, hard workouts are a nice breath of fresh air if youre used to being in the gym for a long time. Have you tried implementing the cardio ideas I gave you?

Iv also got a sick healthy chicken parmesan recipe if you want it. Healthy or not, life is too short to eat bland food.

Keep up the hard work.

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[quote]Stronghold wrote:
Fast, hard workouts are a nice breath of fresh air if youre used to being in the gym for a long time. Have you tried implementing the cardio ideas I gave you?

Iv also got a sick healthy chicken parmesan recipe if you want it. Healthy or not, life is too short to eat bland food.

Keep up the hard work.[/quote]

I’ve gone on two 3.5-mile runs in the last week, though I think this might be costing me in two ways: First, I suspect my legs are tired enough on my lifting days from running that my squats and deadlifts (and probably other exercises) are compromised.

Second, I checked out another thread here about “Cardio and Muscle Loss” and it’s got me a little nervous about the whole catabolism (or at least very compromised gains) thing… I posted a comment about my concerns there: http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=2083563

As I mentioned before, I enjoy running and am concerned about my body fat percentage, but I wonder if right now I should just concentrate on getting some muscle mass added… After two years in the gym without more than maybe a pound or two in muscle gain, I’d like to finally achieve some decent results in that department.

Is the smartest thing for me to do right now is skip the cardio and just focus on the weight-lifting and protein-gorging? Really hard to decide…

Regarding the chicken recipe, bring it on!! I’d pass it on to my wife (she usually does most of the cooking around here), but she’s pregnant with our first child and is sort of on bed rest… Maybe it’s time my cooking skills graduate from fried egg sandwiches! LOL

35

Well…if the running is detracting from your lifting, I would switch to walking (unless, like I said, you just really want to run). The walking will help with your bodyfat.

At this point, “bulking up” is not a good idea for you at all. Understand that the primary audience on T-Nation is under the age of 25 or so, so certain things that apply to some wont apply to others. Cardio can lead to muscle loss IF you arent eating enough calories-thats what they are discussing in that thread.

The beauty of this g-flux thing is you exercise a lot, but you eat a lot too, so it balances out. The higher the level at which it balances out, the better your progress in terms of lbm will be. I think if you did something along the lines of the plan I laid out earlier and had your diet in check, you would get leaner and gain muscle.

I know reading all of the information on this site is a lot of fun and its always good to learn new things, but over analyzing everything isnt going to get your results any faster. Youve got a good plan laid out right now, stay the course and see how well it works before you go changing things.

Changing your body is an emotional issue and I know you want to make the absolute best progress you can, but if you dont have faith in your plan, then you will definitely not make optimal progress.

Now on to that chicken…

Ingredients-
2 chicken breasts
4 tbsp organic wheat germ
2 tbsp olive oil
Spaghetti sauce
whole wheat pasta
.5 cup mozzarella cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
salt/pepper

Combine wheat germ with basil, oregano, and paremsan cheese. Salt and pepper lightly and mix. Coat chicken breasts with olive oil and bread with mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 17 minutes, remove, top each piece with 2-3 tbsp spaghetti sauce and 1/4 cup mozarella. Place back in oven for 2-3 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve over pasta and spaghetti sauce.

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[quote]Stronghold wrote:
I know reading all of the information on this site is a lot of fun and its always good to learn new things, but over analyzing everything isnt going to get your results any faster. Youve got a good plan laid out right now, stay the course and see how well it works before you go changing things. Changing your body is an emotional issue and I know you want to make the absolute best progress you can, but if you dont have faith in your plan, then you will definitely not make optimal progress.
[/quote]

Agreed… I’m 100% on board with the Rippetoe training plan (in fact, just posted a note about this over in ZeusNathan’s new thread about the program; saw your reference to me there and couldn’t resist! LOL)…

I guess I’m just debating now how to (or whether or not to) include some cardio along with this. Great point about “bulking”, etc., being for a different kind of lifter… I guess I just want to add some muscle mass (even just 10 pounds would be great at this point!) and don’t want to slow this process down too much; or, worse, derail it completely with too much cardio.

But I’m going to take your advice on this, since the thought of adding muscle AND lowering body fat at the same time just sounds great (of course!!).

Regarding me resisting the urge to over-think everything, now you sound like my wife!! Seriously, this has been an issue for me, and is probably 99.9% of the reason why my results at the gym have been so pathetic to date… Time to listen to the experts!

And thanks for the recipe!

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I see what youre saying, but what you have to remember is that the point at which you are doing “too much” cardio is going to be determined by your diet, general activity levels, metabolism, etc. 135 lb teenagers with raging metabolisms probably shouldnt be doing cardio when theyre trying to put on muscle…but does that mean you shouldnt either? Of course not.

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Hey, just got through reading this thread (minus the flame war) and I noticed you said you needed to augment the amount of chins you can do. Most gyms won’t have quality bands to use, but pretty much 100% of them have those bands with handles on the end.

My advice to you, for those last couple of reps that you can’t crank out is to do as follows:

-loop the band over the chin-up bar and tie a knot right at the end with the handles.

-grab the looped end and stretch it down so that you can put one knee through it, and so that the loop is around your ankle

-one leg should be now on the ground, the other suspended at a 90degree angle in the band. The handles (and the knot) should be at the top of the bar.

-Perform last couple of reps you can’t otherwise crank out.

The band acts as a spot, and is far superior than using the assisted machine. I like to throw in negatives too, when I am at failure. But sometimes it’s more psychologically beneficial to actually perform the exercise rather than just doing the negative.

Keep it up, will check in for sure.

39

Well, here I am at the start of Week 2…

The chart above is my plan for this week. Rippetoe recommends adding 2.5% weight to each exercise each week. This is pretty much impossible at the low weights I’ve had to start with… Just adding 2.5 pounds to each side of the barbell (that’s those plates that are about the size of a silver dollar) means an increase of greater than 2.5% on all of my stuff… This MIGHT mean that I won’t be able to consistently increase my weights each week; maybe every other week. I can really say this after yesterday’s Workout B, which was just slightly “iffy” with the greater weights… Amazing how weak I really am right now! LOL

Regarding the body-weight exercises (dips, chin-ups, hanging leg raises), I’m still planning to just sort of do these to “failure”, as I mentioned previously. Anyone see a problem with this? Rippetoe was definitely thinking when he put these at the end of each workout…

One note: I had to adjust my baseline for the military press. I’d originally recorded that I was starting at 105, but while reviewing the proper way to do these on the Rippetoe Web pages, I realized that the barbell is the way to go. I’d been using a curl bar. For some reason, after switching to the bar I also had to drop down 10 pounds. Oh, well…

Stronghold: Regarding cardio, I see you’re really taking into account my age and specific goals, etc. Good idea! It’s also notable that I’m a computer programmer who works out of a home office, so I really get a lot less daily activity than almost anyone… So, another argument in favor of not “fearing” the cardio… This is cool, since I love running. Good way to work on my tan, too! And don’t think the G-Flux concept has completely gone over my head: increased activity with increased food intake is the key… Still working on getting my protein intake up!

One issue that I almost hate to mention at this point: My body fat % has gone from 19.5% to 21% (as of this morning) in just a couple of weeks. Told you I have a propensity for packing on fat!!! Or is it just that my bathroom scale (a Tanita one with the little pads, that supposedly calculates body fat %) is not reporting correctly?

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I wouldnt sweat whatever number that scale gives you, those things are notoriously inconsistent and can give variations of up to 4-5% within a single day.

Can you post up a sample daily diet for us to look at? It is pretty easy to get “tricked” into eating extra calories without realizing it.