Summer Job and Hard to Lift

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey T-Nation members, I have a bit of a problem. I am attending college in the fall and spring… but in the summer my work causes me to travel alot. I sand Gym floors.

In case you dont know how this works. You have a very large machine that spins really fast with sand paper on it. You stand behind it while it pulls you down the hardwood floor. Basically it is like a huge lawn mower that is set to haul ass.

It pulls you and causes you to hold it from going all over the place. I figured out that I walk behind a sander for about 10 miles a day. This sander weighs roughly 270 lbs. It really makes my legs sore and keeps them sore every day. I work from 7 am - 5pm every day with every 2nd weekend off. I am working about 70 hrs a week usually. However, working at the gyms - mainly high schools, I have access to their weight rooms. This is awesome for working out. Usually after 5 I head to the weight room and do my workout. Anyways… this is my problem… After working 10 hrs of manual labor that uses my legs extensively… it is very hard for me to work out.

I am usually very exhausted and cannot lift near as much as I am usually able to… Even on bench… But it really affects my squating and deadlifting. is there anything I should do to be able to workout more efficiently. I am eating the best to my ability while being on the road… I calculated that im eating roughly around 3500-4000 calories. I have an ice chest filled with cheese, lots of meat, tuna, peanut butter and jelly. But the thing is… I am burning a shitload of calories working.

Mind you the gyms that i work in are hardly ever air conditioned… I drink over a gallon of water a day. I take creatine and I also take protein shakes when I dont have time to eat. In the mornings I go down to the hotel lobby and feast on the free sausage eggs cereal and milk. I do not get any breaks until lunch time… but i manage to make a few sandwiches to feed my hunger.

I know this job has to burn alot of calories… I have managed to gain 5 lbs during this summer considering last summer i did the same job, didnt work out, and i lost 15 lbs. Basically what im getting at is… Should I go on a cutting cycle for this summer or should i keep trying to bulk up??

I mean i want to gain another 20 lbs… but it seems very hard and i know i could cut down very effectively while working. Sorry if this is confusing… Any input or questions would be very helpful… Thanks

2

You just got to tough it out, if you want to gain 20lbs than work towards gaining 20lbs. I am sure there are people with harder jobs than you that are making gains. Arnold worked as a brick layer when he first came to California…

You might need more food
maybe some BCAAs
Take caffeine free spike before you workout if you are dragging ass from working all day

3

I realize that my job is not the hardest job out there… I was just wanting to know what else i should to do try and gain weight. right now im 5’9 - 5’10 160 lbs… oh well only 2 more months of work then its time to hit the gym really hard! I also take a multivitamin, flaxseed oil and my protein shake already has BCAA’s in it i believe…

Should I just get BCAA’s in pill form and use them throughout the day? Ive tried using No Xplode while working out after I get done working… but it doesnt seem to work for me… It makes me pretty nauseous and want I want to throw up after every time I use it… All i do is shake like crazy… i can barely grip the bar… I guess my body doesnt like the stuff too much…

4

More food, more food, extra sleep, and once again more food.

5

[quote]gobigorgohome123 wrote:
I realize that my job is not the hardest job out there… I was just wanting to know what else i should to do try and gain weight. right now im 5’9 - 5’10 160 lbs… oh well only 2 more months of work then its time to hit the gym really hard! I also take a multivitamin, flaxseed oil and my protein shake already has BCAA’s in it i believe…

Should I just get BCAA’s in pill form and use them throughout the day? Ive tried using No Xplode while working out after I get done working… but it doesnt seem to work for me… It makes me pretty nauseous and want I want to throw up after every time I use it… All i do is shake like crazy… i can barely grip the bar… I guess my body doesnt like the stuff too much…[/quote]

I was just trying to put things in perspective, no disrespect.

I honestly don’t think BCAA’s are your biggest concern right now, I know I mentioned them but I think if you are bulking and eating a calorie surplus they are not needed, sure they would probaly help but you can get by without them, plus to get a good dosage of them they get pricey!

I would just up my calories, pack some peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches or something.

No-xplode is crap, I took it once becuase I got a free sample in a goodie bag. I felt like shit just like you described.

Spike is diffrent, I don’t like the caffeine version because I take in very little caffeine so the high dose of caffeine is to much for me. Plus lifting late in the day it would keep me up. I take 1 caffeine free Spike 30 minutes prior to lifting if I am just generaly tired after work.

It wakes me up, keeps me focused, and dosn’t leave me jittery, no crash later and I can fall asleep at a regular hour with it. Everything effects people diffrently though…

Just something to think about nutrition and training intestity are probaly 90% or more of the battle, supplments are just to help a little.

If your not gaining weight, add 200 more calories per day to your diet.

Train to get stronger, either by more weight or more reps

get lots of sleep!

6

yea… In the morning we’ll stop at a store and ill grab a couple break fast tacos - bacon egg cheese in tortillas at 7 or ill eat the complimentary breakfast at the hotel… then at 10 i make 2 pb&j then at 12 i eat as much as i possible can for lunch (We usually go to a buffet like Golden corral or Furrs or sirloin stockade)- This is where most of my calories are from, mind you i eat very healthy, no fried food, no sodas, no chips, no deserts, and i only drink water… then around 2-3 i eat 2 more pb&j then around 5-6 when i get off i head to subway and get a footlong turkey with cheese and extra veggies… then around 7 i end up driving back to the school’s gym to work out… get back around 8-8:30 take my shake, shower then hit the bed til 6am and repeat my day all over again… i cant get much more sleep then that except on my offdays… i dont really have a dinner… i guess my protein shake after i workout is my dinner… but ive been reading about this Spike that people are using… Its suppose to work pretty well i guess… I also read on here to use Metabolic Drive?? right now i am using cytogainer… ive been through about 4 big containers of it… it has a good taste and works alright but i dont know if its the best out there… I mean i am gaining weight slowly but surely but i could gain much much faster…

7

I honestly think a cutting cycle would be the worst thing you could do. Keep lifting your ass off and most importantly eating your ass off.

One thing you might want to do is check out CT’s newest article. He talks about the 3 methods of putting on size. Since heavy lifting might be out for you, you might want to really focus on the other two methods to keep making progress.

8

yea good point… i just read that actually! it does make sense… because i cannot lift NEAR as much as i usually can… i think i will try that… and i will continue to eat like crazy…