Diet/Exercise Critique

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hello everyone again I posted earlier my situation with my current diet/ exercise routine and I got alot of good advice. Everyone that posted seemed to point to the SS routine so I picked up the book and the following workout is what I am doing.

Week A

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

Day 2
Front squats 3x3
Press 3x5
Deadlift 1x5

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Bench press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Week B

Day 1
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Chin-ups: 3 sets to failure, unweighted

Day 2
Front squats 3x3
Bench press 3x5
Power clean 5x3

Day 3
Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Pull-ups: 3 sets, weight added so failure occurs at 5 to 7 reps

Some stats:
HT: 5 "9
WT: 170
BF: Last time it was checked I was @ 184 pounds with 19% and since I’m currently 170 I’m guessing 15 or 16%

Goal: Drop body fat percentage while adding lean muscle.

Diet Situation:
For both training and non training days my diet looks to be around 63% protein, 7% carbs, and 30g of fat.

On a non training day I get around 1200 calories with 180g or more of protein.

On a training day I get around 1600-1700 calories with probably 200g of protein.

I’m aware that the diet information is kinda non descript. My carbs are always very low. All the meat I eat for the most part is canned. Lots of canned tuna, chicken and turkey. Protein shakes and maybe rarely some mixed nuts. Really the only difference between my non training days and training days is a meal primarily consisting of various meats.

I was also given the advice to do HIIT cardio. I just started doing it and I really like it. How many sessions should I do per week? Would 3-4 sessions at around 20-30 minutes each be sufficient to drop BF%? Should I do these cardio sessions on the same day as the workout posted above?

In addition I also have alot of spare time being that I’m deployed at the moment. Would it be ok to do alot of bodyweight exercises on the “off” days without drastically impacting progress? Would it be smart I guess is what I’m asking?

Once again I appreciate all input. The community here is very helpful. I tried to be more descript than in my last post but if I left something out please say so and I will post it.

Thanks,
Blake

2
  1. That’s not Starting Strength.
  2. That’s probably too much protein. Actually, it’s about right, you’re just not eating enough, which leads me to point 3…
  3. That’s not really enough calories. Or tasty food. Are there any vegetables or fiber in there?
  4. Cutting in the holidays is like trying to ice-skate uphill. Good luck.

I guess the main point is that it seems like you’re trying to do too much too fast. If you drop kcals too low, your progress quickly stalls. It’s better to drop it incrementally and guage your progress slowly to make sure you’re making progress. Nothing is more disheartening than busting your ass all week to weigh in on saturday and find that you’ve stayed the same.

The extra bodyweight exercise probably won’t hurt you. I’d rather find sports to play though- they’re more fun, and less taxing on the recovery system.

Good luck.

3

My week goes like this

M - A + Mobility
T - Mobility + 2x40m circuits (for fun)
W - B + Mobility
Th - Mobility
F - A + Mobility
S - Mobility
Su - 2x20m cycle + 60m scull

I am hitting 3000kcals a day with at least 1g/lb. I am 6"1 ~85kg

I am in my 9th Week of this, my 2RM before Week 1 was 115kg (250lbs) and now I can happily squat 3x5x130kg (290lbs), on Wednesday. And my weight is staying constant.

Fun times!

4

In ref to Otep’s reply.

  1. I should’ve said I got this from the faq on SS. It was the advanced novice program or something like that.

  2. This is the response I was looking for. I don’t know how many calories I should be getting to be honest. No tasty food by any means. I will be on milled flax as soon as my shipment gets here. I can’t stand salad and the dining facility here rarely has vegatables that just look like boiled ass.

It’s few and far between that I get any good veggies. I was considering supplementing with Greens+ or superfood.

  1. I’m deployed. I have no family to celebrate with so it won’t be hard to do heh.

In ref to echelon101

So you are doing the exact same program I am doing then I see. Wow your progress is awesome. Were you consistently eating 3000kcal throughout your whole diet or did you progressively drop or lower calories through your diet?

Thanks for replying guys.

5

I am doing

A
Squat - 3x5
Bench - 3x5
Deadlift - 1x5

B
Squat - 3x5
Press - 3x5
Powerclean 3x5

Bear in mind that before each 3x5 there are warm up sets of 2x5,1x5,1x3,1x2.

I usually try to sweep 3000 across the board except Thursdays where I drop to 2700, it’s just like a control day for me. I try to get more kcals from fat than from carbs, yesterday my kcals where about 33 fat, 29 carb, 34 protein. That’s pretty much my average proportion. It works for me.

You will have better progress than I if you are not doing circuits because doing weights the day after hurts…after ~120 push ups and ~300 squatting motions…but I do the circuits because I enjoy them.