Dude, I really appreciate your insights and opinions. That's totally what Im' looking for. I don't want to bore the hell out of you, but, if you get a chance to read my rambling below (including today's diet) and give me your 2 cents, it would be much appreciated.
My life is a little complicated at the moment, but, I'm doing the best I can. We just had our second child so things are pretty damned hectic. I pretty much work a 10-hour desk job Mon-Fri. I'm naturally active on the weekends, but, sitting in front of a freakin' computer most of the day takes a toll on the mid-section.
I'm 36 years old (almost 37). I'm about 5'-8 1/2" tall, (actually weighed in at 158 lbs) today. I used to have a ridiculously high metabolism when I was younger but that's not really the case any more. When I look in the mirror, this is what I see: Pretty solid, defined chest (my stronger point I think). Skinny chicken legs. No beer gut by any means, but, way too much dough around the waistline for my liking these days. Biceps/triceps are getting pretty strong, but, mainly when I flex. I don't feel like they look really "CUT" when I'm just standing there. You can definitely tell that I lift, but, I don't look like I have some serious guns (to me anyways). My back has the "V" thing goind, but, it's still got a ways to go. My shoulders are solid, but, I want more of a bump up top. My ass is solid, but, I'd like to "plump" it up even a little more LOL. So no, I'm not overweight or anything, but, I'm guessing my body fat these days is around 18-24%, as opposed to the 7% it used to be. What bugs me more than anything is that my face doesn't look chiseled to me anymore. I feel like my face (particularly my cheeks_ have gotten puffier and that's a product of my fat content increasing everywhere else. Unless it's just old age! LOL. But I'd love to loose some puffiness in that department as well.
For now, my weight-lifting time is limited to a hurry-up-and-kick-some-ass 50 minutes during my "lunch break" at work, Mon-Fri. But, I get my money's worth in that 50 minutes. I'm trying to lift "heavy weight, low-reps" for 6 weeks, then "light weight, high-reps" for 4 weeks. That's the pattern I figured I would keep going for a while. I have a torn rotator cuff (which I've heard requires surgery), so that further comlicates shit! But, I keep lifting, pain or no pain. (pull-ups are the most painful by far). I do Chest on Mondays. Tuesdays are biceps/triceps superset. I do one set Bi's, then go to a set of Tri's with no rest in between. Once I do that, then it's 2-3 minutes of rest, and back at it again. I find that I can't always lift as heavy since I'm hauling ass, but, I sure feel the burn the next day so I think I'm doing something. Wednesdays are legs. Thursdays are Shoulders. Fridays are Back. Sometimes, I do shoulders and back on the same day so that I can split biceps and triceps into separate days to really concentrate on each muscle group. I do about 10 minutes of abs 2-3 times per week. Weekends (Friday night, all Saturday & all Sunday) tend to be chill out days. I tend to each pretty much whatever (no fast foods), but, way more sweets and loose diet than my more health-conscious mon-fri eating lifestyle. Perhaps I should get a little more strict and eat great for 6 days and give myself 1 cheat day instead of 2 1/2. Besides, what's your idea of a cheat day? Eat anything and everything, but, does it need to have its limits?
As for cardio, like I said, I get in in about 2-3 times per week on alternating days, either in the morning or evening. One day, I swim for 20 minutes, alternating speeds between laps. The other 2 days, I usually get on a treadmill and set the incline to its highest setting (15) and set the speed so that I'm not running, but, basically walking as fast as I can. I have to hold onto the bar in order not to fall off! I do that for 20 minutes at that constant speed and I find that I burn about 340 calories in that time. I've watched people next to me running on a flat treadmill and I've burned more calories in 20 minutes than they have in 30, so I figure I'm doing something right? I'm thinking maybe instead of the 2 days of treadmill, maybe one of those days can just be going out to a track and doing 100 yard sprints for 20 minutes, with 1 or 2 minutes rest between each sprint. What do you think of that (with the goal of getting "cut" in mind)?
So, based on your great advice, this is what I ate today.
7:30 Breakfast: Oatmeal, 4 egg whites & 1 scoop (24 grams) of Vanilla Bioplex Pure Whey Isolate.
11:30 Pre-Workout: 3 CEE capsules, 2 scoops Muscle Milk w/ water & apple.
1:30 Post-Workout: 2 scoops O.N. whey protein (40 grams) w/ 8 oz. milk, 2 teaspoons Glutamine, and apple.
2:30 Lunch: Tuna salad (tuna, carots, lime, veggienaise, brocolli), 1/2-cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cliff bar (is cliff bar good? - lots of carbs but healthy as far as bars go).
6:30 Dinner: Baked skinned rotisserie chicken (size of my palm), Broccoli, Swiss Chard, & peas (all with some olive oil & parmesan cheese sprinkled over) & grapes right after dinner. (am I getting enough carbs in a meal like this?)
9:30 Bed Time: 2 scoops Muscle Milk w/ water, ice & 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Isn't this too fatty of a meal to have right before I go to bed?
How does all this sound? Is my fat, protein & carb combo o.k.? Am I eating enough? I feel like it's too much. I'm trying to do the 6 small meals thing. But, sometimes I feel like I'm "starving" at lunch and dinner time so those end up being bigger meals than one should have if you're having 6 meals.
I see what you're saying about the milk and cottage cheese. I really like the protein benefits of both and would like to continue using them unless you think I'm really shooting myself in the foot.
My goal isn't to win any competitions here, but, I wanna be able to walk out on the beach looking really fit. I want my abs to show without me flexing. (they're already there, but, theres a little layer of fat over that I wanna shed). I don't need the total ripped 6-pack (while I'd love that, my life seems too hectic to achieve that right now).
Well, sorry to bore you to death, but, that's all I can think of for now.
Thanks and later.
Kabeetz said:
I think trying to be a "shredded" 165 is hard, and your muscles aren't gonna "bulge" if they aren't big enough to do so. You should really consider trying to add 10-20 pounds to your frame slowly... a very lean and cut looking 185 is a lot more impressive, IMO.
Pre-workout is anywhere from 1/2 hour to 45 minutes... one hour before isnt the end of the world but you might want to move it up a little so it kicks in a little later too.
Now from a cutting/maintenance perspective: I'd take out the piece of fruit early in the morning...
I would again at least consider removing the dairy if you're trying to get cut (that includes cottage cheese and non-fat milk)
Now after your workout you want protein and carbs immediately..and then one hour later have protein and fats....
So I would consider a postworkout shake of protein and fruit (grapes or orange) and oats.
Then an hour later have a a nice big meal.
As for dinner I hope you're getting some protein in there two you didn't mention any.
And before bed I would try your protein with some anpb instead of milk.
You really need to enter your foods into fitday.com so you can track how many calories you're taking in and so you can meet your goals every day.
Please note that if you're trying to bulk up, even a bit... milk is a very important aspect of that and I wouldn't take that away. Dairy is usually a nono on cutting phases though. Unless you are only like 5'2" or something you can't be overweight at 165..I would suggest that you bulk up a little, like .5 pound a week and see how that goes.
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