T Nation

Sort Of A Newbie

Bodybuilding
#1

Not new to lifting and training, but new to the whole serious training with supplements world. Here’s a quick version of my story:

Played football in HS (92-96). started out as a chubby, weak, freshmen, sat the bench my freshman year, got some training, eating (The thing that our coaches believed in was carb loading and I got hooked on these huge Italian meals of pasta & bread), strength advice from a great coach, started all three years after on varsity at defensive end.

I was 6’0" 215-220 not sure of my body composition. I used speed training and something that we called the “Nebraska” bench workout (would love to find a copy of this for my bench btw) to go from 115 FR year to 425 right after last game as SR.

Then I graduated…

Got a job, got lazy, got drunk, ate crap, went to college, got drunker, ate worse, etc, etc, etc. Last Oct 31 I was 6’0" 279, complete out of shape fat ass. Got dicked over by a chick and a scare when my mom was diagnosed diabetic and the doc said I was next.

I realized I was to blame for my health problems. Best friend lost 60 pounds and kept it off using Atkins alone. I started Nov 1, 2005. Took trial and error but was down to 249 in May on diet alone. Discovered my buddys apt complex has an incredible weight room and we both decided to get serious starting in June.

Using Atkins, 1-1.5 hrs of cardio and 3 days a week lifting I am 226 a year later.
I am stuck though, I am making gains in the weight room but not dropping pounds or more importantly inches anymore. I would like to get down to 200. My frame is pretty big, the smallest my waist could be according to the doc is 38" My back is pretty big too.

I eat 5-6 times a day but can only comfortably eat around 1500-1600 calories (45% Protein/ 58% Fat/ 3% carb). Screen shot is my menu from yesterday. I use MRP,a Multi V and 3-4 1000mg flax tablets a day. Any suggestions??

#2

Wow! Congratulations on the progress.

I would recommend alternating diets and workout styles and throwing in some HIIT.

It seems like you have been doing very low carb for a while. Try doing a moderate carb, low fat for a month, then switch back.

If you’ve been doing a body part split, try doing two lower body sessions and two upper body sessions per week.

Gradually work up to the point where you are performing two to three 30 minute HIIT sessions per week.

Check out this post. This is how my friend lost 100 pounds in a year.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1313036&pageNo=0#1315836

#3

Bret thanks for the reply.
I read that post and have been thinking about it, I did some figuring and came up with a menu that I would not get bored with it is a 50% Protein 33% Carbo 17% Fat. Is that OK?

I still cannot get over 1500 calories though with out feeling like I am eating a TON of food, and menu ideas? I always eat the portion on the label or box. BTW can I eat Triscuits? those damn things are my only real weakness. I hate sweets like candy so I am lucky but I can eat a whole box of triscuits! LOL!

Next, my workout is the same basic thing I used in HS. One or two exercisies for each muscle in about 80-90 minutes Sun,Tues,& Thu are upper body. Mon & Wed are legs and now abs. I need some advice on how to split it all up, I have seen so many different ways, I need a good starting point so I can experiment for myself.

My work schedule dictates that I start to lift at 10:30PM and do cardio at lunch or before. I usually go to bed at 3AM and get up at 11 or 12. When should my last meal be?

#4

It depends who you ask. On a very low carb diet, I would say that carb intake would be lower than 40 grams per day. On a moderate carb/lowfat diet, I would say that carb intake should be lower than 200 grams per day and fat intake be lower than 90 grams per day. You want to get around 30 grams of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to support endocrine function.

Here is something I posted for another guy on another thread:

You asked for a basic routine, I’ll give you some options. Here is a 3-day full body routine:

Monday

full squats
bench press
conventional deadlifts
bent over rows

Wednesday

walking lunges or bulgarian squats
military press
chin ups
dips

Friday

front squats
sumo deadlifts
close grip bench press
t-bar rows

Here is a 4-day upper/lower body split routine:

Monday

full squats
conventional deadlifts
walking lunges

Tuesday

bench press
seated rows
military press
prone trap raises
hammer curls

Thursday

front squat
good morning
bulgarian squat

Friday

incline bench press
pull ups
dips
shrugs
rear delt raises

Here is a 5-day body part split:

Monday (legs)

full squats
walking lunges
lying leg curls
calf raises

Tuesday (chest)

incline press
bench press
flies

Wednesday (back)

deadlifts
pull ups
bent over rows
pullovers
shrugs

Thursday (shoulders)

military press
upright rows
front raises
lateral raises
rear delt raises

Friday (arms)

close grip bench press
chin ups
dips
ez bar curls
hammer curls

These are all good routines. I recommend the first one since you are a beginner but most beginners cannot resist doing all the isolation movements. Beginners need to learn how to manage fatigue. Make sure you are gaining strength on whichever routine you try. If not, something’s wrong. That is where you need to tinker with volume, frequency and intensity. Good luck.

#5

[quote]Hixson wrote:
Bret thanks for the reply.
I read that post and have been thinking about it, I did some figuring and came up with a menu that I would not get bored with it is a 50% Protein 33% Carbo 17% Fat. Is that OK?

I still cannot get over 1500 calories though with out feeling like I am eating a TON of food, and menu ideas? I always eat the portion on the label or box. BTW can I eat Triscuits? those damn things are my only real weakness. I hate sweets like candy so I am lucky but I can eat a whole box of triscuits! LOL!

Next, my workout is the same basic thing I used in HS. One or two exercisies for each muscle in about 80-90 minutes Sun,Tues,& Thu are upper body. Mon & Wed are legs and now abs. I need some advice on how to split it all up, I have seen so many different ways, I need a good starting point so I can experiment for myself.

My work schedule dictates that I start to lift at 10:30PM and do cardio at lunch or before. I usually go to bed at 3AM and get up at 11 or 12. When should my last meal be? [/quote]

Just realized I didn’t answer all your questions. I would up the calories but also start doing HIIT sessions. Doing this seems to allow for more protein turnover and better thyroid output due to more calories being consumed, which means slightly more muscle being spared or built and slightly more fat being burned.

I would not eat the triscuits if I were in your shoes. Personally, I currently consume lots of cheese, dark chocolate and beer, but I can get away with this because I have put in my time. I’ve been lifting consistently for half of my life (15 years). You, on the other hand, have not. Ditch the triscuits for now, reintroduce them once you’ve met some of your goals.

Don’t fret over the time of your last meal. You want to evenly match calorie intake with calorie expenditure throughout the day. This is well-served by consuming 6 feedings spread out over 16 hours, which means every 2-3 hours. Perhaps you would feel better if you consumed the bulk of your carbohydrates surrounding your workout window and keeping them to a minimum the rest of the day.

#6

bret thanks for the help and advice definately going to implement this stuff into my training. Now is the 5 day split what your friend Chad used? I re-read that post and am thinking I should try what he did.
One last question, how many times a week should I use HIIT? Should I start slow like once a week and woirk up or start at two-three times and stay there?
Any supplement recommendations?