First of all, hello. My names Dom from the north of england. I’ve been reading the site, forums and articles for a number of weeks now and find it a fantastic source of information… sometimes too much!!!
Anyway, I have an issue that I hope you can help me solve. I’m a recently retired rugby player with a new focus. I’ve been ‘dabbling’ with gym training and weights to complement my rugby training for a number of years, with an emphasis on all over body conditioning for rugby. I’m not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to diet, programmes etc.
I now have a new focus which is to improve my physique, gain a few more pounds and specifically improve muscle size and mass.
I’m 6ft, 198 pounds.
I have been a 5 day a week regular at the gym, working out in the mornings from 7am for an hour or so for 6 months. I have experienced reasonable increases in strength but my size and muscle gains have been so so.
I have a program set out over the week which works different groups each day, shoulders, chest, back, arms, legs and abs (involving various set styles ie. Cluster, giant, super etc.)
I’m fairly confident the program will work ok, its just I’m concerned I’m not complimenting the work in the gym with eating the right stuff at the right time.
Briefly, my daily intake looks a little like this.
6.30am Bowl of oats and milk. Glass of water. Complex Carb shake.
8.15am PWO (50g) whey protein shake.
11am Wholegrain bagel and low fat cottage cheese. Pint of water.
1pm Soup and 2 or 3 wholegrain sandwich rolls (made up of either chicken/tuna/smoked salmon with lettuce). Pint of water
3pm Apple. pint of water.
7pm. Healthy meal. (fresh veg, lean meat)
10pm. 25g protein shake.
(through the day I’ll also have sporadic handfuls of unsalted mixed nuts and dried fruit)
So, my question is, how can I improve my diet to stimulate improved muscle growth and weight? I’ve become a little frustrated as I’m spending a lot of time reading posts and articles and getting confused!!!
Many thanks for any help and hi again.
Dom