Few Basic Questions?

I have a few basic questions here, by the way im 23 yr old, 6’ 165. I used to be around 185-190 but decided to starve myself and lost the little fat i had and more muscle because of my stupidity !!!

  1. I have a fast metabolism and use to eat just junk food, fast food in huge amounts before when i was at the 185-190 range and probly had 12-14% bf. I was also alot stronger and bigger than i am now. I quite eating the junk and want to gain some weight but find it hard to eat what i need in clean foods vs the junk i ate before. Any ideas? I been eating clean for around a year now and have stayed around 165 but dont want to eat any junk to gain 10-15 in muscle

  2. I do alot of bodyweight exercises and have a few free weights at home but is that suffice to gain solid muscle? I workout 6x a week m-w-f are body weight stuff and weights. s-t-th are body weight stuff and boxing stuff. Usually takes me 45 min to complete with no rest beteen my circuit sets

  3. Has or is anybody now using milk alone pre/post workout?
    I hear that chocolate works ok, is that true? I dont want to but more supps or Surge or any of that stuff. I would like to do it as cost effective as i can, thats where the milk comes in

Thanks for the help. I the supps. i have is ON whey, fish oil pills, multi vitamin.

I don’t know how many times I’ll post these links:

Nutrition for Newbies, Part 1
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1793585
Nutrition for Newbies, Part 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1795045
Training for Newbies, Part 1
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1764218
Training for Newbies, Part 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1765943
Supplementation for Newbies
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1852816

Now, I’m going to assume that you’re not going to take the time to read through those articles right away (but you damn well should), so I’m going to say a few things:

  1. Eat 5-6 meals a day
  2. Train 4-5 days a week, 5 max
  3. Eat healthy, no junk
  4. Supplements are only as good as your diet
  5. Bodyweight training is good to solidify muscle, but I suggest going to the gym and using actual free weights and etc

Those are just a few quick things off the top of my head. Read the articles and you’ll open yourself up to a whole new world of knowledge.

I have read all the articles and just wanted other peoples opinions on it. I do eat 5-6 a day, train 6x, eat no junk at all and such already. I am not new to being in shape and know what to do and not just looking for some ideas.

How much weight do you have at home? You’re not going to pack on lots of mass with 50 lb dumbbells but if you have a bar and a few hundred pounds of plates then you can gain plenty of muscle at home IMO.

if you drink chocolate milk read the label and make sure it doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup, this is the worst source of carbs and should be avoided. normal ‘sugar’ or table sugar is actually half fructose so honestly sugary milk is not the best idea pre-post workout. you can buy a huge tub of maltodextrin for about 20$ at vitamin shoppe and put a scoop of that and a scoop of whey powder in some water for a pre and post workout shake if you dont want to buy a pre-mixed product.

I have a bar with 100 lbs of weights and i have some dumbells that i can change the weights on also. I do alot of pushups, situps etc so maybe a weight vest would work good for me.

I currently dont drink chocolate milk, i drink skim and do not use it pre or post since i have been using just whey+water on empty stomach upon waking pre and eating solid foods for my post around 1.5 hrs after my pre drink. I know thats not the best but it works for me i think anyway.

I usually eat 2 cups oats with 1 tbs 100% cocoa powder, 2 tbs ground flax, 1 tbs finely ground coffee and some cinnamon in my oatmeal. I also drink 12oz skim along with it. This is my breakfast/pwo

I know those are mostly slow carbs but how long is the actual window after workout ? I do my whey before so that it can get absorbed into my body during and after my workout so maybe that is a smart thing to do?

Thanks for the help so far

Go to a gym or at least get more weights and or a bodyweight vest.

Get some carbs in before your WO - just water and whey? Try Orange Juice and Whey if you are going to workout within 30min or if you have a little time before your workout I like to take a empty 32oz gatorade-type bottle and put 1 cup of oats, 2 cups of milk, some ground flax seed and whey the night before and drink it in the morning, no need to even cook the oats if they have several hours to soften in the milk. and no, your current regime is not working for you or you wouldn’t be asking.

If you are waking up and drinking a shake right before you workout maybe you should have some Whey and OJ before and immediately after your workout and then have your solid meal about 30+min later. If not then add some whey to your post-workout meal as well or if you want to keep it solid - about 4-10 egg whites with 2 whole eggs and throw some spinach in with them.

Why the coffee post-workout? By the way, the sugar content of OJ is mostly glucose with very little fructose so it’s a quicker carb than most other fruit juices, and you get the added health benefits with your sugar.

What does the rest of your day look like?

Creatine?

I mix the coffee grounds with my oatmeal and nuke it, i like coffee flavor and i am always adding new things for taste and variety. No other reason though.

I like the weight vest idea, i believe that would help alot.

I have tried an apple, yogurt, skim, oats 30-45 min pre workout and they make me feel weak and sluggish for some reason. I dont feel this with the whey and water so i have been sticking to it.

I have thought about fruit juices and maybe a 8oz or so as soon as im done with my routine of skim, chocolate milk or fruit juice would be ok simce i had the whey pre workout? I could also do 1/2 scoop whey+water pre and the other 1/2 whey with milk/juice immediately post. I would then est my normal oats 45min or so later.

The rest of my day is like this, maybe 3-4x a week

730- get up
745- whey+water
800- workout
930- 2 cup oats, 2 tbs ground flax, 1 tbs cocoa powder and 1 tbs coffee grounds, 12oz skim to wash oat combo down

1230-1 either 6oz tuna sand. on ww and banana, or 3-4 tbs natty pb ww sand with banana

430- 3 hard boiled eggs, bunch of green beans and broccolli, 1/2 can black beans, 12oz skim

800- 25-30 whole almonds, medium apple
11- handful of plain peanuts, light string cheese, fish oil pill
1130-bed

Dyepaintball what you mean about the creatine? I have never taken it if thats what you were asking. Maybe get some whey that is a whey/creatine mix? My ON is going to be gone in a few weeks

IMO you will be hitting your head against a wall trying to pack on mass with a maximum of 145lbs for any lift. heavy deadlifts, squats, and presses (overhead or bench) are some of the fastest ways to add muscle mass and you will outgrow that 145 on those lifts in a month of training if you’re not already too strong for it.

you can stay lean and in good shape with your home equipment but if you really want to get bigger you need to do more than pushups in a weighted vest (which are a great idea but just not the fastest path to your goal)

I totally agree with you there. I have no time limit with this and if i add some muscle thats great but if not im still in great shape so its all good. I have pretty much outgrew the weights i got lol

I think i might do the vest thing and should help a little. I keep getting stronger though so thats a plus.

My main goal is to be healthy, strong, agile and mobile etc just very athletic overall like i am now.

Thanks for the info and you are very right