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1st time poster here. I've been looking through this forum for a little bit and am trying to get an answer. I've heard it is best to lean before bulking because you gain more muscle after you are down to <10%BF as a percentage of your gain.
With that said, here is my diet/trianing routine in a nutshell. I've evolved over the last 6 months when I started (I am a newb to this fitness stuff). I started with a somewhat dirty bulk (didn't know it was dirty at the time), and got up to 187 (from my 167 starting point). Then saw I was gaining alot of fat (started noticing in my pecs, and other areas). So I switched to a cut in november (today down to 170.4 with all strength retained/improving, prolly newb gains) and would like to get down low and do a clean bulk. I am 5'10" tall, 29 years old.
Meal #1 -
5 egg whites, 1 whole egg
3 tbsp cream of wheat with 1 cup skim milk
Meal #2 - morning protein
1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1/2 navel orange, 1 tbsp flax seed
Meal #3
4 ounces (after cooking) whole wheat pasta (7g pro, 30g carbs)
4 ounces chicken cubed and cooked in olive oil
Meal #4
1 can green beans (3.5 servings) 16g carb
4 ounces chicken, cubed and cooked in olive oil
Meal #5 (ussually the bad one, my wife makes whatever at home).
whatever my wife makes, in moderation, always with some large source of pro, but probably a bit fatier than the rest of my diet. I generally keep the portion under 350 cals with a large pro source.
Meal #6 - sipped before and during workout
1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1 whole orange, 1 tbsp flax seed
Ussually a cheat snack somewhere in the day, maybe 50-100 cals of something that is junk...
Workout routine is M-W-F
I liked the format for hypertrophy specific training, and it flows well for me, so I am calc'ing my 1RM and using a percentage each day. Right now I am at 9 reps, and 2 sets
so 2x9 squat, bench, preacher curl, row, lateral pull down, deadlift, calf raise, shrug, tricep pulldown, abs
Monday @ weight = 94% max Wednesday @ weight = 98% max and Friday @ weight = 103% max
Each week I progressively drop the reps and add weight to compensate to my calc'd 1RM.
Off Days I do 30-mins cardio @ 75-80% MHR, but not religiously (maybe 3 nights every 2 weeks)
I am a small guy, but noticing significant body comp changes, I'm guessing I am at ~12-13% BF, as I have ab definition, but no 6-pack, just the horizontal ridges from side almost to center of chest, very noticable post workout, and when lighting hits me right. I have a Tanita, but it says I am 19%, no way, it said 20% at top of my dirty bulk).
I'm dropping ~1lb - 1.5lb a week. Just not sure how long I should wait (I'd like to see a 6-pack, but not sure if I am going about it right).
Any advice would be appreciated on diet, exercise routine, and how low I can go as a newb for bf% before upping my cals.
Thanks!
Justin
With that said, here is my diet/trianing routine in a nutshell. I've evolved over the last 6 months when I started (I am a newb to this fitness stuff). I started with a somewhat dirty bulk (didn't know it was dirty at the time), and got up to 187 (from my 167 starting point). Then saw I was gaining alot of fat (started noticing in my pecs, and other areas). So I switched to a cut in november (today down to 170.4 with all strength retained/improving, prolly newb gains) and would like to get down low and do a clean bulk. I am 5'10" tall, 29 years old.
Meal #1 -
5 egg whites, 1 whole egg
3 tbsp cream of wheat with 1 cup skim milk
Meal #2 - morning protein
1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1/2 navel orange, 1 tbsp flax seed
Meal #3
4 ounces (after cooking) whole wheat pasta (7g pro, 30g carbs)
4 ounces chicken cubed and cooked in olive oil
Meal #4
1 can green beans (3.5 servings) 16g carb
4 ounces chicken, cubed and cooked in olive oil
Meal #5 (ussually the bad one, my wife makes whatever at home).
whatever my wife makes, in moderation, always with some large source of pro, but probably a bit fatier than the rest of my diet. I generally keep the portion under 350 cals with a large pro source.
Meal #6 - sipped before and during workout
1 scoop whey, 1 cup milk, 1 whole orange, 1 tbsp flax seed
Ussually a cheat snack somewhere in the day, maybe 50-100 cals of something that is junk...
Workout routine is M-W-F
I liked the format for hypertrophy specific training, and it flows well for me, so I am calc'ing my 1RM and using a percentage each day. Right now I am at 9 reps, and 2 sets
so 2x9 squat, bench, preacher curl, row, lateral pull down, deadlift, calf raise, shrug, tricep pulldown, abs
Monday @ weight = 94% max Wednesday @ weight = 98% max and Friday @ weight = 103% max
Each week I progressively drop the reps and add weight to compensate to my calc'd 1RM.
Off Days I do 30-mins cardio @ 75-80% MHR, but not religiously (maybe 3 nights every 2 weeks)
I am a small guy, but noticing significant body comp changes, I'm guessing I am at ~12-13% BF, as I have ab definition, but no 6-pack, just the horizontal ridges from side almost to center of chest, very noticable post workout, and when lighting hits me right. I have a Tanita, but it says I am 19%, no way, it said 20% at top of my dirty bulk).
I'm dropping ~1lb - 1.5lb a week. Just not sure how long I should wait (I'd like to see a 6-pack, but not sure if I am going about it right).
Any advice would be appreciated on diet, exercise routine, and how low I can go as a newb for bf% before upping my cals.
Thanks!
Justin
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