Summer Workout Problem

Hey everyone,
I’ve been frequenting this site since December 2005. I was a complete weakling, but I started working out “smart” and followed some of the workout plans available on this site once I got to college (Clemson) and had access to a professional gym. Unfortunately, my diet was far from clean (dining hall food is terrible for you, who would have thought?) and so I sabotaged my gains, no doubt.
Now I’m back home for the summer, and while I have access to good food again, I don’t have access to a gym (I’m a poor college kid, what can I say?).
What I plan to do is pullups, pushups, swim, parallel bar dips, and do sprints. I am somewhat familiar with high frequency training, like Chad Waterbury’s article, but I am unsure if it applies to non-weight lifting activities. I understand that beginners strength and size gains last for quite some time, but I’m not sure if this small list of activities will help me continue to gain mass, or even help me keep what I’ve got.

Don’t know if my stats will be helpful, but I will include them anyways.
Height: 5’10
Weight: 160
BF: 9%
Bench Press: 165
Back Squat: 225
Don’t know my deadlift max.

*Please note that I gained 10-12 pounds of muscle since I have started working out, and my maxes have gone up at least 40 pounds. I supplemented with whey protein post-workout

I apologize if I have given any erroneous information. Any suggestions/comments/flames would be appreciated.

[quote]MetalGear86 wrote:
Hey everyone,
I’ve been frequenting this site since December 2005. I was a complete weakling, but I started working out “smart” and followed some of the workout plans available on this site once I got to college (Clemson) and had access to a professional gym. Unfortunately, my diet was far from clean (dining hall food is terrible for you, who would have thought?) and so I sabotaged my gains, no doubt.
Now I’m back home for the summer, and while I have access to good food again, I don’t have access to a gym (I’m a poor college kid, what can I say?).
What I plan to do is pullups, pushups, swim, parallel bar dips, and do sprints. I am somewhat familiar with high frequency training, like Chad Waterbury’s article, but I am unsure if it applies to non-weight lifting activities. I understand that beginners strength and size gains last for quite some time, but I’m not sure if this small list of activities will help me continue to gain mass, or even help me keep what I’ve got.

Don’t know if my stats will be helpful, but I will include them anyways.
Height: 5’10
Weight: 160
BF: 9%
Bench Press: 165
Back Squat: 225
Don’t know my deadlift max.

*Please note that I gained 10-12 pounds of muscle since I have started working out, and my maxes have gone up at least 40 pounds. I supplemented with whey protein post-workout

I apologize if I have given any erroneous information. Any suggestions/comments/flames would be appreciated.

[/quote]

Do you have access to a gym? the 5x5 is a grat workout to put on mass

You can afford the gym membership for 3 months, or can buy a decent weight set at Wal-Mart. If you’re going to college, you can afford the $150, and it’s worth it. Think how much it will improve your life, vs. other crap you spend your money on. Plus, it’s not too hard to eat clean at the dining hall. I’m sure they always have salad and veggies, and an ok protein source, which takes a lot more effort to make at home. It shouldn’t be too hard to follow Berardi’s 7 habits when the food is handed to you.

You really don’t need a full-on ‘professional’ gym to get a good workout. That’s what’s great about weight-training. If you’ve already got a pull-up bar, all you really need is a bunch of weights to get a full-body workout. Look around to see if any stores sell used gear, or do what HoratioSandoval says and just buy a set from a Wal-Mart or any generic sporting-goods store.

There are also a whole buttload of exercises you can do at home without many weights. Do some searching for bodyweight exercises and see what you can find.

One thing that struck me as odd- you included swimming in your routine. Unless you have a pool at home (then shit you should be able to afford weights, or have your parents buy them for you) then if you can afford to go to the pool all the time you can afford a gym or a small weight set. Hell just get some plastic bags and fill them with sand. Instand DB’s.

Display Adaptability…

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=912565

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
There are also a whole buttload of exercises you can do at home without many weights. Do some searching for bodyweight exercises and see what you can find.

One thing that struck me as odd- you included swimming in your routine. Unless you have a pool at home (then shit you should be able to afford weights, or have your parents buy them for you) then if you can afford to go to the pool all the time you can afford a gym or a small weight set. Hell just get some plastic bags and fill them with sand. Instand DB’s.

Display Adaptability…

http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=912565[/quote]

eengrms76,
Thanks for that link to the Adaptability article. Good stuff. And about the swimming, I’ve got a neighborhood pool. That doesn’t cost me anything. I get there by 10 AM before all the little kids get there and do laps. And about the weight set, yeah I’m going to get one. Thanks for the suggestions. Take care.