Will try to keep this as organized as I can! I appreciate all thoughts as I love reading Tnation articles and picking up knowledge from the forums.
Background: 30 years old, ~173# guessing around 20% BF. Prior life over the last 8ish years was lots of running, a few ironmans, and a few boston marathons. So, I was a decent runner, but always sat around the 150-155# mark as that made me fast. I have lifted for a long time, but nothing was too structured during those years, no real programs or goals.
Current: Since last marathon, April 2013, have been focusing on gaining weight. I had in my mind the 175-180 mark. No reason besides going from where I started, I figured that would be a good “look” for me. I do not have any big goals to compete in any competitions or anything like that. I really just enjoy working out.
Progress: I have made pretty steady progress since April 2013. I started at 153# and now am at 173# I have gained some BF, I wasn’t sure lean or anything before.
I wasn’t too “strict” with my nutrition until the last 2 months. Not strict as in I wasn’t counting cals. Mainly, I ate a decent amount, had a protein shake after workouts, and logged my workouts to gradually progress.
Workouts: For a long time, I went with a pretty simple Pull, Push, Lower. I’ve always been really bad at taking days off, I like to do something most days. So, I went with that for a
Since July, I have switched over to a 5 day split. I did it for a mix up as my old plan was “Beating me up” a little bit. I improved well on bench press, but shoulder had been giving me some issues so I thought spreading out to a 5 day split would be a fun change of pace.
I go Back, Chest, Legs, Shoulders, Arms. Took a few weeks to adjust as I was super sore. Not meaning they were special workouts, just the added volume per muscle group gave me a new feeling.
Quick note, I have a home gym, pretty good setup, no access to normal gym
Nutrition: I have been using my fitnesspal to log 4000 cals/day. I have a pretty active job/on my feet. I have been very close to 4000 everyday I have logged, since July 1. I’m up from ~168 to 173 in that time period. This is the first time I’ve ever counted cals.
I have been using a 40% Carb, 30% Protein, and 30% Fat macro count. No real specific reason, mainly based off what I have read about.
Ok, on to some questions.
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How do you feel my progress is based on pictures? I know, no leg shot. I wouldn’t say they are anything special. They have decent definition from the years of running, size wise in line with the rest of my body. Areas I should work on?
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Thoughts on my nutrition? Do you need more details? I stick very close to the macros each day. It is a lot of food for me to eat!
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How high in weight should I aim to go? Basically I’ve been building up for ~15 months. Should I take a phase and lean up for a few months? Then get back to building to keep body fat in check?
I will say I have a job that requires a decent look, basically don’t want to look to out of shape at any time!
- Any other thoughts?
I’m more than happy to give more details of my training/nutrition if needed. Appreciate any help that can be given. Thanks all!
