[quote]tazzx wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]tazzx wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]tazzx wrote:
[quote]Shadow Pro wrote:
[quote]tazzx wrote:
Hi Shadow again!
Responding to:
Here’s my suggestion to you… I’ll be more specific when I see your current diet but here are a few points.
-protein intake 1-1.2g/lb
-carbs 1g/lb in heavy training days(in off days and light days, possibly .5g/lb or less)
-fat intake minimal for body function (most people are around 40-70g/day)
-choose quality foods, no junk food, try and stay away from processed food
Protein sources: chicken, egg white, turkey, white fish, lean red meat etc.
Carb sources: oats, rice, ekeziel bread, potatos, yams etc.
Fat sources: avocado, natural peanut butter, mct oil, olive oil etc…
Make sure you count EVERYTHING you are eating.
Supplement recommendations: these are a must
-indigo3G (I would recommend this to ANYONE who is dieting and anyone who wants to be lean)
-Plazma
-HOT-ROX
-MAG-10
Training recommendations:
-high frequency training… Squat and deadlift at least twice a week and press and pull 3 times a week in different variations.
-try to stay away from a “classic” bodybuilding program
-the big compound exercises are very important in your program and the more you do them the faster you’ll advance in all areas.
- do cardio 4-5 days a week (30-60min) it will help with daily calorie expenditure and help boost your metabolism.
Stay away from drugs until you reach 10-12% bodyfat. It won’t take you as long as you think… As long as you stay on track!
Hope this helps and good luck with your goals.
The macros I’m filling are:
protein, anything 150-200g im content with
carbs i like getting 150-200
fats i usually get 40-60 from eggs and possibly olive oil
talking anywhere from 2k-2200 calories. I havent found the sweetspot yet, I was doing 2k and I was definitely losing but I felt that was just too low for someone my size.
foods that are in my diet every day: grilled chicken/eggs/wheat bread/brown rice/milk/greek yogurt/whey protein/tuna cans (in water)
foods that are in my diet somedays: subway sub (it is 4 chicken breasts with cucumbers on wheat bread). , bananas, apples, green beans, instant oat meal, beef
as far as lifting routine goes, for the first year and a half i did brosplit, but because of a lot of stress from my relationship and eventually my engagement failing i was basically plateau’d and didn’t even realize it for about 8 months of that. i actually put quite a few lbs because of it. i got pretty sick of that and switched to PPL afterwards and stay pretty sore all around since. I’ve been doing this for about three months now. keep in mind this is just beginning my second year of lifting;
I don’t do squats and deads however, but i bench. Squats seem to ALWAYS make my back hurt, no matter how low the weight is and no matter how perfect my form is. I’ve recorded my form dozens of times for very experienced friends to look at and they all say it’s okay. That and I can never have enough breath to go until i actually feel anything in my legs, my lungs give out well before my legs do.
It is to be noted that I am EC stacking currently but I’ve had this issue for a year now. I’ve always never really squatted.
Typically my leg day consists of (in no specific order) stairmaster warm up, leg press, hack squats, leg extensions, leg curls, two calf exercises (more likely standing and seated raises), and if i can lift my leg up after that I’ll go hop back on leg press for burn sets. then ill try for seated ab crunches and oblique twists. After that I’ll try to do incline treadmill for 15 minutes.
I don’t do deads because they’re not something I feel. Like squats ive been form checked by a good number of people both over the phone and in person, but the only place i really feel any strain are my arms. I’ve basically replaced this workout completely from my routine with bent over rows on the smith and have found this great. Although it’s hard for me to actually see any progress in my back since there is a good amount of fat there, the feeling i get working it like that is unmatched.
For both of those compounds it is to be noted that since I used to be obese, I do have a somewhat bad back. It’s fine through out most of the day but some things can make it hurt pretty bad. The first hour I’m awake each day is usually where all of the pain is, and it proceeds to stop after that.
MY PP days are pretty standard,
Push= chest/tris/delts (a lot of smith work, i quit for a long time but I remmebered that i did see my best chest gains when I was doubling up each week on the smith while I was on bro split). I’ve always started doing a lot of behind the neck presses on smith as I saw kevin levrone saw it activates all three heads of your delt which I find pretty great. I have been able to do military press without the smith but I’d be lying if I said the positioning is something I’m comfortable in. After that it’s a lot of isolation work.
Push: bis/back/rear delts/traps pretty standard. a few sets of bis, a few sets of back, a set of rear delts, and a few sets of traps.
I don’t really hit my biceps too hard anymore, maybe once a month I’ll really devote a push day onto them but (i’ve attached a picture that was taken right before I started cutting) I feel they completely overpower the rest of my body and especially my delts which make them not needed to really be hit much. I never really over trained them so I guess my genetics are just better than average there.
I do cardio 7 days a week, usually for 20 minutes minimum up to around 45 minutes.
I rotate my cardios between, elliptical HIIT, steady elliptical, and incline treadmill.
At the very minimum I’ll be burning 200 calories, and I usually don’t go too far above 350 at max.
I’m eating at this very moment 2100 calories(but like i said i haven’t decided between 2k and 2200) and cheat once a week, usually with pizza or five guys and an oreo flurry from sonic or something similar.
sorry for the length of this
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Here is the food that you currently you don’t want to consume when you are trying to get down to your desired body fat
Milk
Greek yogurt
Wheat bread
Bananas
Apples
Fatty beef
Learn how to squat and deadlift! These are two of the most important exercises for ANY goal. There are so many variations of them that you can do. Hire a coach to teach you how to do them correctly. If you can’t squat because of your lungs it’s because you are out of shape and it’s something you need to work on. One of the reasons you are advancing slowly is due to the fact you aren’t squatting or deadlifting.
There is NO WAY you wouldn’t “feel” deadlifts if you’re doing them correctly. The deadlifting will also improve your bad back, stronger erectors=less stress on the spine. Stay away from the smith machine, it’s not comparable to deadlifts or any of the pressing exercises.
You don’t need to do a lot of isolation work at all. You need exercises that are metabolically demanding (ex: squat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, pull-ups, dips) all of these should be done with barbells or a bar. No machine can replace this
Cardio looks fine. Do at least 45min a day, not 20. Alternate between HIIT cardio and slow and steady cardio.
Honestly,what I think you need to do is hire a coach to design a personalized training program and diet for you. I think it’s your training that’s holding you back more than anything and it’s a shame because you are very passionate and working hard to reach you goals but have been mislead.
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I don’t think I’m advancing too slowly. I just have never actually been at a decent caloric surplus since I’ve started lifting for any time longer than a month or two.
I think that would have more to do with it than anything. I do see what you’re saying but I think my lifting is working for me. Maybe I’m wrong though. I wouldn’t know until I tried the other things.
I just do the smith for bent rows/military behind the neck/front presses/ and flat benching
I see what you’re saying with these exercises. How do you figure some are more than others? Not to make it sound like i’m disagreeing or anything. I’ve just never really considered or thought of that. It’s interesting.
I’ll up the cardio to 45. That won’t really big deal, just a bit more boring every morning.
As far as a coach goes, I’m fairly tight on money right now. I have been considering it but between budgeting one and actually finding someone that knows what the hell they’re doing it’s a lot on my plate.
If I were to recomp (eat at maintenance) into a good/better physique would you still recommend I stay away from those foods? Also would I just be increasing my calories about 100 a week until 24-2600 area I imagine?
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Big compound movements (with free weights)are more metabolically demanding (you’re burning a lot more energy while doing them). They demand a lot more stability and core work, there are a lot more muscles working to assist the main movers which makes it more efficient in building muscle.
This is not an insult so don’t take it the wrong way… You are a beginner so you don’t KNOW what works and what doesn’t work for you yet, you’d need a lot more years of experience to narrow it down. There’s no substitute for for the main exercises (specifically squats and deadlifts) there’s no other way around it so you should be doing these at least two times a week to help build a base and learn how to do them correctly. You’re lacking a good training foundation and this is exactly the tool you need.
Yes, I would take the food out no matter what. These items are not suitable for any of your goals.
I would actually lower your calories, not increase them. You aren’t supposed to feel great while dieting and this is why dieting is hard and not fun.
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I’ll start to throw them in my routine then if you insist on them being that important.
As far as the foods go, I’m not doubting you, but my knowledge of nutrition isn’t nearly as developed as yours so I’m curious on this. Why is something like greek yogurt or wheat bread which both look pretty good as far as macros bad to eat when you’re cutting. I’ve heard Dairy makes you retain water weight but that’s not really that big of a deal to me personally since it’s not like I have a show to prepare for.
I eat Kroger store brand greek yogurt which is 90 calories, 16g protein, 8g sugar/5 carbs. I genuinely don’t understand why that could be a bad thing. Is there something beyond the surface that I’m just not grasping?
How do you feel about peanut butter throughout the day, about 1-2 tbs daily.
With the calories I meant to the topic that was at the end of the last thread, where I mentioned eating at maintenance into burning fat and putting on muscle into a good physique. You replied to someone else who replied to my post and said he was pretty spot on with his reply.
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A lot of people don’t react well to dairy in general. I know you’re not preparing for a show but your overall goal is to look better so if you are searching for the ideal protein sources this isn’t exactly at the top of the list for physique goals. The bloating it causes doesn’t do your body any favors when trying to digest other nutrients either. If you have it once and a while it won’t kill you but I’m just giving you my opinion for the optimal way to achieve you goal. Same goes for the whole wheat bread… It’s not a bad choice per say, but it’s definitely not the best one.
You will reach your goals much faster if you make better food choices.
I wouldn’t eat peanut butter more than 1-2 times/day and you have to make sure it’s be calculated into your total fat count for the day. Make sure it’s a natural peanut butter.
As far as calories goes, what I said is that he’s on the right track with his comment but it’s also very individual. In your specific case your calorie intake is just too high for fat loss purposes, you will not gain anything from being in a calorie surplus.
I get the feeling you are looking for an easier way instead of the most efficient way. Give my suggestions a try and you’ll see some great progress.[/quote]
Well it just seems more efficient to up my calories around 3-400 and possibly get a stronger/leaner physique over the next year as opposed to cutting the next 6 months and bulk 6 months after that
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Dude look at how much effort he has put into tailored responses to you and every time he says do x you respond ‘but y seems better’.
He said lower your calories, it will be more efficient, amd you say ‘i think it would be more efficient to increase them 3-400’? If you have the answer, dont ask the question. But if you want to know why yours wont work its because, and shadow correct me if i’m wrong, at your current bodyfat your testosterone levels are significantly suppressed and estrogen significantly raised. It will be very difficult to actually ‘recomp’ at that bodyfat. You will get a visual recomp lowering your calories, as he kindly reccomended, re-reccomended then insisted despite your contradiction. This is because as you loose fat your underlying muscle will become more pronounced and defined.
It may not be your intention to come accross deliberately contrarian, but i assure you that is how it is sounding to him and the readers of this thread. Learn to take good advice, and not be dismissive of it.
“Ill chuck them in then if you insisnt on them being so important”
He does, so do we, he also explained why, as do about 2534 articles on this site re: the big lifts
Much love