Rate My Physique - New Member

Just joined the T-Nation forums but have long been a reader.
Background: Former county champion wrestler, which forced me into getting very light and underweight. Starting in june of 2011 i began training to get stronger and faster via olympic lifting, powerlifting and metcons which i combine in a crossfit strength bias type fashion.

My diet is as follows:
pre wo- animal rage, and purple wraath
Post workout- 1 scoop whey, 5g creatine, 1 piece fruit, fish oil and animal pak
Breakfast- 5 eggs, handful nuts
Lunch- 8-12 oz chicken or fish, salad and grilled vegetables
Dinner- 8-12oz beef or bison, salad and grilled vegetables
Pre bed- ZMA, and bcaa

Right now I’m 5’9-5’10 and about 145 lbs
-I know I’m still small, but I’m working on it and have made good gain thus far. That being said i want you guys to rate my current physique

RATED SKINNY

[quote]Professor X wrote:
RATED SKINNY

[/quote]
X2 and looking at your diet its clear why. Id be proud of myself keeping to that on a cut. Get in some quality carbs dude. At least pwo

I wouldn’t say skinny. Skinny implies no strength. You certainly have muscle. I would use the old term “wiry”.

Oly lifting and powerlifting are the ticket. Get your protein up. Twice as much meat and more shakes.

front shot, quality isn’t great, and my abs are more defined than they look here


leg shot

@ putter, in regards to post WO carbs would you say something like a large sweet potato would be a better source than what I’m currently doing. I had tried dextrose a few times but it made me really nauseous and i couldn’t get down breakfast after that.

@ Cavaller, i know I’m wiry right now but believe it or not I’m actually gaining muscle at a pretty fast rate. before this i was quite underweight from wrestling and now I’m starting to gain more mass. Ill deff add more protein though and i appreciate the advice.

x3 on skinny. Please don’t post more pics for a while.

Focus on eating a lot of FOOD. All the time, not just post workout. And something is fundamentally wrong when you consider eating A potato, not potatoes. Try 12 eggs for breakfast and eating some rice, pasta or potatoes with those meals.

@ kakno. I have celiac’s so i can’t eat pasta or any grain based foods for that matter… kind of limits me a bit.

[quote]cavalier wrote:
I wouldn’t say skinny. Skinny implies no strength. [/quote]

It does? I thought it implied someome with a slight frame with very little mass at all of any sort.

This guy qualifies.

What is the deal with trying to just tell people what they want to hear? This guy is clearly more focused on how lean he is than whether he is really gaining muscle optimally. On some other forum, I am sure they would applaud the fact that a skinny person can see abs. Not here.

Eat everything you can man. It’s really tough to look any kind of muscular until you’re at least in the 170-180 range.

Also, if you’re taking BCAA’s with your ZMA, make sure there’s no calcium in the BCAA’s (the ones I use have some). Can’t be mixing calcium and ZMA, you won’t get the benefits of the zinc.

EAT, EAT, LIFT, THEN EAT, EAT, EAT, and so on and so forth

[quote]Ktrack wrote:
@ putter, in regards to post WO carbs would you say something like a large sweet potato would be a better source than what I’m currently doing. I had tried dextrose a few times but it made me really nauseous and i couldn’t get down breakfast after that.

@ Cavaller, i know I’m wiry right now but believe it or not I’m actually gaining muscle at a pretty fast rate. before this i was quite underweight from wrestling and now I’m starting to gain more mass. Ill deff add more protein though and i appreciate the advice.[/quote]

Yes id say a large sweet potato instead of (or addition) to the piece of fruit would definitely be an improvement, a large portion of rice or oatmeal would do well there, followed by the same again at your next meal soon after

You could also try other carbohydrate powders if dextrose doesnt agree with you, dextrose has a particularly low molecular weight which is often the cause of stomach issues, waxy maize/maltodextrin/potato starch could be alternatives, which would then leave you less full than a sweet potato, allowing you to add some quality carbs to breakfast if getting in extra cals is an issue.

Congrats on your wrestling. That is really cool. Shows you know how to work.

Youre at a great position to start a bulk (a year or so in the making). You have low bodyfat levels, you seem comfortable with the way you look (a very important thing if I might add), and you came to the right place for no bullshit honest information and guidance that will help you get to where you want to be (wherever that is). One tip I can give you, is every time you think about the word abs not anatomically (aka gotta get teh abz for spring break brah) you need to go to the nearest fast food and blow at least 5 bucks as quickly as possible (I like snack wraps from mcdonalds), like youre out of air and you can only get it from mcdonalds/burger king. DO NOT OBSESS OVER BODYFAT. Just lift, and you will get big (maybe gain a tiny bit of fat here and there, but nothing major). The rest will come.

Also, take all the money you spend on supps and buy food with it. Instead of your preworkout, sleep and add some carbs to your diet (you do in fact need them, they are not the enemy). Instead of the ZMA (youre young im assuming and are probably loaded with test right now anyway), squat. If you have some extra cash after that, then add a protein shake here and there (before bed is cool). Calories are a very good thing. Your body needs them. Eat some carbs so that your body wont have to get them from protein.

With regards to your workout, it sounds real complicated. Just sayin, maybe you should look into a simpler program. I would read the stickies in the Bodybuilding Training section. It will save you a ton of time and contains just about everything you need for now.

Sorry this post was hurried, I have to go to the grocery store for the first time this week.

What are your goals by the way?

-Zep

[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
Congrats on your wrestling. That is really cool. Shows you know how to work.

Youre at a great position to start a bulk (a year or so in the making). You have low bodyfat levels, you seem comfortable with the way you look (a very important thing if I might add), and you came to the right place for no bullshit honest information and guidance that will help you get to where you want to be (wherever that is). One tip I can give you, is every time you think about the word abs not anatomically (aka gotta get teh abz for spring break brah) you need to go to the nearest fast food and blow at least 5 bucks as quickly as possible (I like snack wraps from mcdonalds), like youre out of air and you can only get it from mcdonalds/burger king. DO NOT OBSESS OVER BODYFAT. Just lift, and you will get big (maybe gain a tiny bit of fat here and there, but nothing major). The rest will come.

Also, take all the money you spend on supps and buy food with it. Instead of your preworkout, sleep and add some carbs to your diet (you do in fact need them, they are not the enemy). Instead of the ZMA (youre young im assuming and are probably loaded with test right now anyway), squat. If you have some extra cash after that, then add a protein shake here and there (before bed is cool). Calories are a very good thing. Your body needs them. Eat some carbs so that your body wont have to get them from protein.

With regards to your workout, it sounds real complicated. Just sayin, maybe you should look into a simpler program. I would read the stickies in the Bodybuilding Training section. It will save you a ton of time and contains just about everything you need for now.

Sorry this post was hurried, I have to go to the grocery store for the first time this week.

What are your goals by the way?

-Zep[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. What would you say would be good calorie dense bulking foods that don’t have gluten in them (i have celiacs disease) and are still very calorie dense. I also need to have them available on campus which always causes some problems, since food choices are limited here and i don’t have a car.

in regards to training/goals , i do want to get bigger/ stronger but i also plan on continuing to wrestle so i can’t do a dirty bulk where id gain bf bc i need to keep my conditioning at peak levels and keep my strength to weight ratio high. i know these goals may conflict with each other a bit, but I’m willing to put as much hard work into it as possible even if the result are slow and figured this would be the best place for advice.

Fuck. I just posted a really long post that didn’t go up. It was a fucking gem too. (I tried to drop gluconeogenesis in there for you too. Not sure if I did it right though.) I have an 8 am class and I need to get to sleep. I will post in here tomorrow when I have time in between the gym, eating, and anatomy studying.

-Zep

[quote]Ktrack wrote:

[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
Congrats on your wrestling. That is really cool. Shows you know how to work.

Youre at a great position to start a bulk (a year or so in the making). You have low bodyfat levels, you seem comfortable with the way you look (a very important thing if I might add), and you came to the right place for no bullshit honest information and guidance that will help you get to where you want to be (wherever that is). One tip I can give you, is every time you think about the word abs not anatomically (aka gotta get teh abz for spring break brah) you need to go to the nearest fast food and blow at least 5 bucks as quickly as possible (I like snack wraps from mcdonalds), like youre out of air and you can only get it from mcdonalds/burger king. DO NOT OBSESS OVER BODYFAT. Just lift, and you will get big (maybe gain a tiny bit of fat here and there, but nothing major). The rest will come.

Also, take all the money you spend on supps and buy food with it. Instead of your preworkout, sleep and add some carbs to your diet (you do in fact need them, they are not the enemy). Instead of the ZMA (youre young im assuming and are probably loaded with test right now anyway), squat. If you have some extra cash after that, then add a protein shake here and there (before bed is cool). Calories are a very good thing. Your body needs them. Eat some carbs so that your body wont have to get them from protein.

With regards to your workout, it sounds real complicated. Just sayin, maybe you should look into a simpler program. I would read the stickies in the Bodybuilding Training section. It will save you a ton of time and contains just about everything you need for now.

Sorry this post was hurried, I have to go to the grocery store for the first time this week.

What are your goals by the way?

-Zep[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. What would you say would be good calorie dense bulking foods that don’t have gluten in them (i have celiacs disease) and are still very calorie dense. I also need to have them available on campus which always causes some problems, since food choices are limited here and i don’t have a car.

in regards to training/goals , i do want to get bigger/ stronger but i also plan on continuing to wrestle so i can’t do a dirty bulk where id gain bf bc i need to keep my conditioning at peak levels and keep my strength to weight ratio high. i know these goals may conflict with each other a bit, but I’m willing to put as much hard work into it as possible even if the result are slow and figured this would be the best place for advice.
[/quote]

As you have celiacs disease, you will be basically dieting fairly cleanly anyway. So I wouldn’t worry about conditioning.

Rice and Potatoes are now your best friends! Eat double the meat you are currently. 1-2 cups of rice with every meal or 1 or 2 big baked/jacket potatoes in the non rice meals. Protein powder should be the only supp you’re taking for now and just do that for a good 6months and I’m sure you’ll be a lot bigger.

[quote]Ktrack wrote:

[quote]Zeppelin0731 wrote:
Congrats on your wrestling. That is really cool. Shows you know how to work.

Youre at a great position to start a bulk (a year or so in the making). You have low bodyfat levels, you seem comfortable with the way you look (a very important thing if I might add), and you came to the right place for no bullshit honest information and guidance that will help you get to where you want to be (wherever that is). One tip I can give you, is every time you think about the word abs not anatomically (aka gotta get teh abz for spring break brah) you need to go to the nearest fast food and blow at least 5 bucks as quickly as possible (I like snack wraps from mcdonalds), like youre out of air and you can only get it from mcdonalds/burger king. DO NOT OBSESS OVER BODYFAT. Just lift, and you will get big (maybe gain a tiny bit of fat here and there, but nothing major). The rest will come.

Also, take all the money you spend on supps and buy food with it. Instead of your preworkout, sleep and add some carbs to your diet (you do in fact need them, they are not the enemy). Instead of the ZMA (youre young im assuming and are probably loaded with test right now anyway), squat. If you have some extra cash after that, then add a protein shake here and there (before bed is cool). Calories are a very good thing. Your body needs them. Eat some carbs so that your body wont have to get them from protein.

With regards to your workout, it sounds real complicated. Just sayin, maybe you should look into a simpler program. I would read the stickies in the Bodybuilding Training section. It will save you a ton of time and contains just about everything you need for now.

Sorry this post was hurried, I have to go to the grocery store for the first time this week.

What are your goals by the way?

-Zep[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. What would you say would be good calorie dense bulking foods that don’t have gluten in them (i have celiacs disease) and are still very calorie dense. I also need to have them available on campus which always causes some problems, since food choices are limited here and i don’t have a car.

in regards to training/goals , i do want to get bigger/ stronger but i also plan on continuing to wrestle so i can’t do a dirty bulk where id gain bf bc i need to keep my conditioning at peak levels and keep my strength to weight ratio high. i know these goals may conflict with each other a bit, but I’m willing to put as much hard work into it as possible even if the result are slow and figured this would be the best place for advice.
[/quote]

I’m in the same situation as you with regards to gluten, though mine is non-celiacs gluten intolerance and not as severe, i avoid gluten completely. If anything this will be more of a benefit to you than something that holds you back. Restricting your carb sources to Potatoes, Sweet potatoes and rice should mean you are able to bulk cleanly without unecessary fat gain associated with ‘dirty bulking’. With regards to your training goals, train hard and smart, rest enough, sleep well and get in good calories particularly around training. if getting enough calories in is the issue i’d personally reccomend eating meals more regularly, every 3 hours or so. Preparation is your friend, Making up alot of rice and whatever meat source is your choice the evening before and taking the with you in tupperware will help you get past the restricted selection on campus.

Definitely add in some carbs like oatmeal in your post-workout meal with 3-4 scoops of whey powder/shake. I also cook oatmeal, then add some protein powder to that for something different…add a baked potato to your chicken lunch…Up your scoops to 3-4 of protein powder with skim/2% milk. 2-3 whole eggs plus5-6 whites & an orange or banana for breakfast…