I need some Input (Newbie)

[Novacek]

I am brand new to this forum, I have been an athlete my entire life. I have kickboxed, played football, Golf, Grappled, you name it. I am married with two boys.

I woke up about 4-5 weeks ago and found out that I am now 34 and not in the kind of shape I have been in for most of my life. I was at about 205, I am 5'09" and am, guessing 20ish% BF.

I started back to the gym and am on a 3 day a week Cardio and Wheigts routine. I do 30 minute runs of approx. 3 miles and then lift to failure rotating basically upper and lowerbody Mon-Wed-Fri.

My Diet:

I eat 5 times a day 6:00 1 cup cold cerial with Fat free milk, 9:00 220 cal power bar, 12:00 salad with Cottage Cheese, 3:00 2nd power bar or Apple and Banana, 6:30-7:00 450-550 calorie meal.

I am at about 194 I feel like I have gained some muscle as well, but I don't know how good this diet is, I never used to have to worry too much about this but now I am, I am also getting the bug and interested in getting serious about getting into a fairly serious level of Fitness (not competative).

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

 

[Novacek]

Anybody?

 

[redman2020]

I am brand new to this forum, I have been an athlete my entire life. I have kickboxed, played football, Golf, Grappled, you name it. I am married with two boys.

I woke up about 4-5 weeks ago and found out that I am now 34 and not in the kind of shape I have been in for most of my life. I was at about 205, I am 5'09" and am, guessing 20ish% BF.

I started back to the gym and am on a 3 day a week Cardio and Wheigts routine. I do 30 minute runs of approx. 3 miles and then lift to failure rotating basically upper and lowerbody Mon-Wed-Fri.

My Diet:

I eat 5 times a day 6:00 1 cup cold cerial with Fat free milk, 9:00 220 cal power bar, 12:00 salad with Cottage Cheese, 3:00 2nd power bar or Apple and Banana, 6:30-7:00 450-550 calorie meal.

I am at about 194 I feel like I have gained some muscle as well, but I don't know how good this diet is, I never used to have to worry too much about this but now I am, I am also getting the bug and interested in getting serious about getting into a fairly serious level of Fitness (not competative).

Any thoughts or advice appreciated.

Ok so now you are 194 lbs... do you still want to drop afew pounds. You diet is perfect for loosing weight and toning. Soething you should know about low carb diets is that you wont loose the next 10 as easy as the fitst. When you subtract carbs from your diet you will burn waterweight so it you could drop ten two twenty pounds in the first month.

 

[alex2678]

Holiday weekend most people are away. To start you off, your diet is really low in protein, essential fats, and overall calories. If possible plan each meal to have all 3 macronutrients included.
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oats with water or skim milk if you like the taste. 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter

Meal 2: Most bars are really awful (Detour bars are ok if it's a time conern), if possible have your cottage cheese meal along with some almonds,

Meal 3: 8oz. chicken a small yam and some steamed veggies,

Meal 4: A can of tuna in olive oil with whole wheat bread or you could just go with your Apple or Bannana for convenience

Meal 5: Lean steak, chicken, fish....w brown rice/yam/steamed veggies.

Just a sample to get you started. Try to consume around 10x bodyweight for total calories, around 2000 for you. Everyone's genetics are different, you may need more or less depending on a variety of factors. Use the mirror as you guide and make changes as needed. Hope that helps for now.

 

[Novacek]

Thanks gang,

I am trying to cut some weight, I feel I should be around 185 or so to be pretty lean. I wnat to start putting on some muscle after that, I don't know if that it is best to cut down first. So far I have just been trying to eat healthy and get a better level of fitness, more and more now I am looking to build a decent amount of mass as well (somewhere along the road). Right now I feel fat at 194, very little definition.

 

[redman2020]

Thanks gang,

I am trying to cut some weight, I feel I should be around 185 or so to be pretty lean. I wnat to start putting on some muscle after that, I don't know if that it is best to cut down first. So far I have just been trying to eat healthy and get a better level of fitness, more and more now I am looking to build a decent amount of mass as well (somewhere along the road). Right now I feel fat at 194, very little definition.

I was wondering the same thing. I want to bulk but i decided to cut first just becuase its summer time. I just want to be ripped for the beach.

 

[Novacek]

I can see this from both sides, bulking now would give me a decent base to build from, cutting first keeps me from fighting the weight as much while I am trying to build the mass.

I think, but I would certainly like to get some input on these practices from some folks who have gone through this already.

 

[alex2678]

I used to be really focused on bodyfat when I was around 180 lbs. It was under 10% but the second I saw any definition fading, I'd cut back on the calories and end up losing some size as a result. Not sure what sparked the change but I eventually just started doing the high calorie diet (20-25x bodyweight), heavy low rep sets and made and effort on getting stronger in all core lifts. Every few weeks if I noticed the bodyfat starting to creep up, I'd keep training heavy as usual and cut back the calories for a week or two to lose a few pounds of gained bodyfat. I'd repeat these little mini bulking and cutting cycles throughout the year as needed. Ended up gaining around 50 pounds of mostly lean muscle in the process and never touched a steroid. Experiment with what works with regards to calories for your body. I agree with Arnold when he said build now cut later. Once you have a sold base to work with you can then focus more on detail and will look better once the fat is gone.

 

[Novacek]

Thanks alex, that seems smarter to me than trying to do both all them time, breaking it into a few weeks at a time and just spending some time with the caloric intake seems fairly easy.

My goal is not competative size, I would like some decent Mass and I want it defined including some ab cutt, I think with only wanting to add about 20/30 pounds of muscle and lose about 10/15 more pounds of fat should not be too aggresive a goal.

What are your thougts on those goals and what is a realistic time frame. I am only working out 3 days a week right now.

 

[alex2678]

20-30 pounds is a lot of lean muscle to add, but it can be done with a good diet and workout routine (check out the weights forum and read up on the 5x5 workout. Great workout for your schedule.) Everyone varies from person to person but if you can set a goal to gain 3 pounds of lean muscle per month your on the right track. It really adds up after time. For me and the majority of people, strength gains = muscle gains. Make a goal to get stronger and your body will have to adapt by getting bigger. The faster you can add weight to the bar in all your core lifts the faster you'll grow. Use the mirror and your strength as a measuring device on your progress and you'll be better off than looking at the scale.