This Site is Overwhelming! (Intro)

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
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First off,

Thanks to the creators of TNATION and Biotest for creating a site with a plethora of information. I find this site however overwhelming! I dont know where to begin and hope I never find where it ends hahaha. But seriously Im due for an introduction as I have been a leaching lurker for a few months sucking all the info I can find on here. YOU GUYS are AMAZING and INSPIRATIIONAL!! Just wanted to stop by and give props to the grinders and gurus.

I have gone from a 265 fat pos to a 242 lbs broadsword swinging decapitator due to the nutritional, science, and training theories provided on here. Thanks a million TNATION I think im ready to become heavily involved in the site and make training and obsession rather thana hobby or a spring time fad for the summer.

NGAGE

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Good stuff bro. I lurked myself for a hell of a long time just absorbing stuff from all the articles and folks on the forums with more experience than me. Sometimes you just want to throw in your two cents, but then reconsider for fear of sounnding like you don’t know what you’re talking about (well, it used to be that way, these days though… lol).

Welcome aboard :slight_smile:

S

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It boils down to eat more good food and lift heavier.

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Welcome aboard.

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Welcome aboard and keep us posted about your progress.
Cheers, PA

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[quote]NGAGE wrote:
Thanks to the creators of TNATION and Biotest for creating a site with a plethora of information. [/quote]

Agreed. And this rabbit hole goes deep…

[quote]Nards wrote:
It boils down to eat more good food and lift heavier.[/quote]

Or does it??

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Hey thanks for the warm welcomes!!! So far I’m having trouble with the supplement department not sure what works what does not:( I will continue using more of the search function and reading other posters threads. I find that there is a great deal of supplements making claims to do this and that and this is better than that etc. Trial and Error? Maybe but that seems like a waste of money.

So far I can comfortably say I have strong hold and grasp of functions of: Whey Protein, Creatine, Multi - Vitamin, Nitric Oxicide Powders -the basic stuff. I seem to be confused on Test Boosters(not so much of what they do or how they work) But which ones would work for me and the same goes for any fat burners.

Current STATS

Height:6’1"
Weight:245-255 depnding on how much I eat throughout the day
BF: Never tested it

Goals- Super Strong - lower body weight- lower BF percentage (NEVER BEEN CUT EVEN WRESTLING 4 YEARS IN COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL -GENETICS?}I am not trying to be a body builder or power lifter either.I simply want to look great and have the strength gains convert to the mat. CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN MUAY THAI/BJJ

Diet- TBH I have never ate like I should have until about 4 months ago when I developed a case of acid reflux indigestion. Changed my diet around completely around to super clean(WELL SEE RIGHT LOL).

Diet:5 meals a day pretty much every day except Sundays when I cheat.

Breakfast: 1 banana
1 piece of toast
1 68 grams protein (water)
1 scoop creatine mono hydrate mixed with protein shake
- multi vitamin
- vitamin c pills

Pre- workout: 1 t bone steak approximately 1 hour before workout (gives me crazy strength)30 g protein?
3 scoops Jak3d (30 minutes prior)

Post Workout: 1 68 grams protein shake
- vitamin c pills

BALANCED MEAL - NO CARBS FROM BREADS OR PASTAS I CUT EVERYTHING OUT OF THAT STUFF EXCEPT FOR ONE OF WHEAT TOAST IN THE AM.
strictly baked chicken breasts or fish, ground turkey, or steak
big helping of vegetables

1 protein shake before bed ruffly 40 grams

I do this Monday through Saturday (GATHERED IDEAS FROM THEORIES ON KETOSIS)

Routine( WEIRD BUT IT SEEMS ITS WORKINGG)

WORKOUT 3x a week
BENCH PRESSES 5 sets REAL HEAVY AND INTENSE 5 - 8 reps
Squats same concept as above
Dead Lifts “SAME”
SOHP’s “SAME”
DIPS “SAME”
RUSSIAN TWISTS
3 ROUNDS ON HEAVY BAG

I also might later at night load up a pack on and ruck march followed by sledge hammer throws and burpees since energy has been through the roof.

I guess what Im asking is what can I do better to achieve said goals? Am I doing anything wrong? What would you do better? Thanks and sorry for the long rant guys.

NGAGE

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Diet looks like a lot of shakes, which can be convenient but you gotta have food other than protein powder, specifically fats- youve got some with the t-bone, although 30g seems like a small steak. “Strictly baked” sounds like your keeping the fats low in your other whole food meal, so maybe dont be so strict- fry, grill, bake, or however you want to cook but with some oil, or use fattier proteins (salmon, beef, bison, pork, etc). Eggs are good too, and cheap.

The carbs are intentionally low, which is good for fat loss, not so optimal for muscle gains- a lot of people will have some form of carbohydrate around their workout (pre/post/during/any or all of the above) either as food or products like Surge/Anaconda/Finibars. There are a lot of opinions on when or what works best but it all comes down to what works for you personally.

As for your routine, it looks like youve got the basics covered, which is probably a good place to start if you are new to lifting. It might be hard to devote enough time and intensity to each lift if you do them all on the same day though- your in the gym 3x a week so you could break it up a little more (push-pull-legs for example) and it would give you more time to recover between sessions.

This is just me speculating though, so if its working for you and your getting stronger and bigger i dont see any reason to change until this is no longer the case. Whatever you do, do it with focused intensity and effort, and do it consistently (weeks, months, years). Always strive to improve (your technique, your strength, your work capacity/conditioning particularly for the martial arts stuff) and eventually you will.

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[quote]elGreatestWeight wrote:
Diet looks like a lot of shakes, which can be convenient but you gotta have food other than protein powder, specifically fats- youve got some with the t-bone, although 30g seems like a small steak. “Strictly baked” sounds like your keeping the fats low in your other whole food meal, so maybe dont be so strict- fry, grill, bake, or however you want to cook but with some oil, or use fattier proteins (salmon, beef, bison, pork, etc). Eggs are good too, and cheap.

The carbs are intentionally low, which is good for fat loss, not so optimal for muscle gains- a lot of people will have some form of carbohydrate around their workout (pre/post/during/any or all of the above) either as food or products like Surge/Anaconda/Finibars. There are a lot of opinions on when or what works best but it all comes down to what works for you personally.

As for your routine, it looks like youve got the basics covered, which is probably a good place to start if you are new to lifting. It might be hard to devote enough time and intensity to each lift if you do them all on the same day though- your in the gym 3x a week so you could break it up a little more (push-pull-legs for example) and it would give you more time to recover between sessions.

This is just me speculating though, so if its working for you and your getting stronger and bigger i do not see any reason to change until this is no longer the case. Whatever you do, do it with focused intensity and effort, and do it consistently (weeks, months, years). Always strive to improve (your technique, your strength, your work capacity/conditioning particularly for the martial arts stuff) and eventually you will. [/quote]

Thank you for the sound advice! I replaced one of my shakes with another 12 0z t -bone, vegetables and feel much better, I also introduced 3 sets of pull ups into the routine. It seems I am having trouble with recovery any recommendations on that besides eat, sleep, water?

Also I believe I am going to start 5/3/1 next month but add a lot of cardio as Im looking to be a machine rather than slow overweight power house. (no offense to power lifters but that is not my focus to be like that)

Im looking to introduce a testosterone booster to aid in recovery any reccomendations onto which ones work efficiently? So many options too choose from again. Thanks for the reply!!

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5/3/1 is a great, relatively uncomplicated program and should work well for you. As for recovery, if you are doing all the lifts at each session then you might consider splitting it up- for example day 1)Squat +accessorty leg work (5/3/1 gives you lots of options for this, could be front squat, high bar squat, good mornings, etc, but the general rule is to keep the intensity a bit lower and the reps a bit higher (8+) so you can go harder on the main exercise), day 2)bench, overhead press, pull ups (always good to balance the pushing with some pulling to keep your shoulders healthy) +accessory (dips would work here, so would db bench, incline/decline/flat), day 3)Deadlift +accessory (db rows, barbell rows, more pullups). This way by the time the next workout comes around for each particular main lift youve had a week to recover.

As for the cardio, you can increase your conditioning via more weight training, such as by making rest periods between sets shorter, doing complexes (there are a few articles on these on this site and should give you some good ideas), farmers walks/strongman type training. Id imagine for martial arts your going to need specific muscle endurance (think about boxers who need a lot of shoulder endurance to punch for 10 rounds) so your coaches should be able to help you there.

Youll definitely need GPP too but keep in mind if you spend all your energy on cardio it might very well detract from your ability to progress in strength (Jim Wendler has discussed this, World's Simplest Training Template )

Regarding test boosters, i dont have a lot of personal experience, but ive heard good things about D-aspartic acid, and tribulus has been around for quite a while with a lot of positive feedback. Honestly, your training and diet will be far far more influential in your progress than these, though that isnt to say there is no value to them, just make sure youve got the important stuff taken care of first.

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I have been lurking for a few months myself before I finally joined. I haven’t really posted much because of the number of knowledgeable people on this site. I don’t really feel like I can add more than what has been said on most topics. And thus the low post count. Low post counts suck.