New Workout Ideas

[lucidblue]

I'm currently doing 5x5 and have been since August. I want to start a new routine in January. Not sure what to do. Yeah, I know this isn't very descriptive. I think I may need to lighten the weight and do more volume.

I've looked through some of the workouts in the stickies, but not sure about any of them.

Recommendations?

 

[IronandGravity]

Hard for me to think of an answer while looking at your fine midsection.

(Bump for you to get some answers.)

 

[Buddy_Christ]

Hard for me to think of an answer while looking at your fine midsection.

(Bump for you to get some answers.)

all i can say is it's hard for me to think while looking at that fine midsection, let alone thinking of any answers to any questions.

 

[ZGzaZ]

hmmm...is there an echo in here?

Your next routine is gonna depend on your goals, what are they?

 

[MattRecc]

would u mind if i fried eggs and bacon on that stomach like charlie sheen in hot shots?

 

[from zero]

I agree with ZGzaZ ... what are your goals lucid?

 

[Shak]

Lucid -

I've been doing 5X5 since September and making some good gains. I was planning on continuing with it until the end of February then start cutting for the summer.

Have you just grown tired of 5X5 and need some variety?

 

[jerkbox]

all i can say is it's hard for me to keep my hand on my mouse while looking at that fine midsection, let alone thinking of any answers to any questions....LOL

 

[Lord_Suston]

I'm currently doing 5x5 and have been since August. I want to start a new routine in January. Not sure what to do. Yeah, I know this isn't very descriptive. I think I may need to lighten the weight and do more volume.

I've looked through some of the workouts in the stickies, but not sure about any of them.

Recommendations?

need to know goals, current stat, time allowance and diet???

 

[lucidblue]

Alright. I need to lose fat. I realize I need to clean up my diet. The most I do for a diet now is try not to eat carbs after 6 during the week. I've also been eating more protein than I ever ate before. I need to come up with a diet. It can't be anything to extreme at first, because I know I won't follow it. I would like to start a diet in January, maybe just working with calorie intake and the ratio of carbs/protein/fat.

I've been doing a 5x5 since August and have had great results. I just need some variety and feel like I'm at a point where my shoulder won't handle much more weight (and it's not much to begin with) for chest and shoulder workouts. I do rotator work to try to avoid any further injury. I thought switching to lower weight and higher volume might be a good idea for a few months. I still want to gain more muslce.

The last BF caliper (not very accurate) test said I was at 25% BF. I don't think this is necessarily correct. I haven't had a chance to get a more accurate test yet. Based on the number I have I would like to lose 5-6% BF.

Here are before and after pics of me. The top row is from August 1 and the bottom from November 9. My stats are on there:

Before & After Pics

PS... Thanks for the compliments on my tummy pics!

 

[lucidblue]

^

 

[from zero]

Have you ever checked out spatts' cutting diet? I know she has posted it several times. I know where to find it if you need it. But, that seems like a good diet to follow, that's not overly harsh. Lots of good foods that should be easy to follow.

What kind of cardio do you do? Do any sprints?

As for a workout program, the possibilities are endless. If you want a similar workout, but with more volume, as you said, how about something like a standard 12, 10, 8, 6 thing? For example, for chest:

Bench, 4 sets: 12, 10, 8, 6
DB presses, 3 sets of 10-12
Flys, 3 sets of 10-12

The above is basically identical to a program Cornholishadow wrote up, as a follow up to his Old School routine. If you are interested, I can give you the whole thing.

 

[PancakeFiend]

Well it's close to hollidays, so I think it would be hard to drop bodyfat if you spend time w/family, friends. Try massive eating diet by john berardi, let's you balance out carbs, protein, fat so you won't go insane and start binging on the bad things. As for routine, how about circuit training? or hit up HST, DC for a change of pace.

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Lucid who ever did you calaper test is way off I can tell just by looking at your pics it ain't that high. I don't have input for a routine just thought you should consider getting another BF% done.

 

[from zero]

Lucid who ever did you calaper test is way off I can tell just by looking at your pics it ain't that high. I don't have input for a routine just thought you should consider getting another BF% done.

I forgot to mention this as well. Get a hydro test done, if you can. If you can't, get a multiple site caliper test. Make sure it's done on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning, and have 2 or more people test you, twice (or more, depending on how many people test you). But hydro is gonna be your best bet for accuracy.

 

[Shak]

Lucid -

There is no way you are at 25% body fat. You & I have very similar body structures, I'm just a couple inches shorter than you.

Personally, I think you look awesome. What do you think are your problem areas???

If you want to get bigger still, I wouldn't start a diet yet. Are you eating too much junk food? If so, it is the holidays, weight gain is expected. If you are still looking to bulk for a couple more months, I don't think you should be so worried about losing fat for now.

I'm going to start cutting in March. I had great success last spring with my cutting diet. I take 12 weeks to lose X amount of fat. I keep a log of everything I eat in fitday and I monitor my weightloss very closely, trying to lose just a pound a week, no more. I'm extremely disciplined during that 12 weeks - NO SWEETS. It works like a charm.

 

[lucidblue]

Well it's close to hollidays, so I think it would be hard to drop bodyfat if you spend time w/family, friends. Try massive eating diet by john berardi, let's you balance out carbs, protein, fat so you won't go insane and start binging on the bad things. As for routine, how about circuit training? or hit up HST, DC for a change of pace.

I'm not planning on starting the diet until January. I want to have a good plan in place by then.

Shak... what does your cutting diet look like?

 

[lucidblue]

Re: Re: New Workout Ideas

need to know goals, current stat, time allowance and diet???

Forgot to answer the time allowance question. I usually try to at least get to the gym 4 days per week. I lift those 4 days and do 30 min of cardio all except for leg day. If I can get to the gym 2 more days I do HIIT for 20 min and then another 20 min of regular cardio.

 

[Lord_Suston]

okay so here is a basic goal for you is maybe a HIT type of cardio 3-4 times a week or interval training to speed up the metabolism. basically run for 1-2 minutes and sprint for 15-30 sec or just set the treadmill at a higher incline or faster, this program burns a lot of calories.

Now structurally you have a few weak spot that may attribut to shoulder problems,
A) your rear delts are lagging sompared to front delts
B) traps look to small from pic
C) lats could use a little work to get that V-taper in effect.

Diet- try to even out carb distribution and then keep eating protein and drinking plenty of water, slowly take out some carbs here and there.

Yes I am mean in my criticism but I hope it helps

 

[Shak]

Lucid -

When I cut, I usually eat around 1200 calories/day. I eat little to no sugar or other junk food, which is a killer for me because I'm a junk food junkie. I'm extremely disclipined during this time and usually don't have a "cheat" day.

As far as the foods in my diet, it's the typical healthy diet - fiber cereal, cottege cheese, lots of protein, veges. I bulk the same way, I just eat much bigger proportions (and I allow myself to indulge in the occasional crappy food, especially around the holidays).

I generally don't worry about when I eat my carbs. For instance, I'll still have whole wheat pasta (maybe once I week) at night, I just make sure it's only a 2-ounce serving. My food scale comes in very handy during this time.

Also, I do very little cardio when I bulk. I do a 15 minute walking warm up on the treadmill at 15 incline. This is really the only non-lifting exercise I'll do. Every once in awhile, I'll go for a run with a friend, but since it's getting cold now, I probably won't be doing that for awhile.

When I start cutting, I'll start by changing my diet. Once the weight loss plateaus, then I'll add in cardio. If I plateau with cardio, I'll add an ECA stack, if needed.

I've had great success with this approach.

 

[lucidblue]

okay so here is a basic goal for you is maybe a HIT type of cardio 3-4 times a week or interval training to speed up the metabolism. basically run for 1-2 minutes and sprint for 15-30 sec or just set the treadmill at a higher incline or faster, this program burns a lot of calories.

Now structurally you have a few weak spot that may attribut to shoulder problems,
A) your rear delts are lagging sompared to front delts
B) traps look to small from pic
C) lats could use a little work to get that V-taper in effect.

Diet- try to even out carb distribution and then keep eating protein and drinking plenty of water, slowly take out some carbs here and there.

Yes I am mean in my criticism but I hope it helps

This isn't mean at all. Constructive criticism is a great motivator and helps point out weak spots that I may just not notice. I will add more rear delt, lats and traps work to my routine.

Definitely things I need to hear.

Thanks.

 

[from zero]

lucid, my back has grown a lot lately. I have 3 words for you.

Deadlifts.
Rows.
Chins.

 

[Hansson]

This is just my opinion, but if you're not going to compete or anything, don't cut. You look great and healthy and I doubt you'd feel better if you lost a few pounds of fat.