Confused..What Should I Do???

[jaybol10]

I write this post to understand the right plan of action. I have been getting feedback from everyone everywhere. Workout partners co-workers even my girlfriend has been putting her two cents in.

Everyones feedback has got me really confused. Let me break it down for you which will ensure a long drawn out post.

Back in 2001 I weighed in at 350lbs. I met up with an old friend who lost alot of weight and he took me under his wing. Within 5 months I was able to drop down to 227. It was a strick diet and lots of cardio with 3 day spilt on weights. I would train weights 3 days and cardio for 3 other days.

Well since late 2001. I kinda fell of track and I am now back into a routine. I currently weigh in at 231lbs 6'4 and can only bench out 60lb dumbells. or 135 off bench with barbell.

I have a large frame and I feel I deserve to look my best. I see time and time agin guys with smaller frames with better muscle and defention then I do.

My current bmi hovers around 28-30% according to the weight loss chaarts you would find at any medical office or nutrtionist.

For the past month of March I was back at the gym with my old workout partner. Lifting light weight for 100reps . We did a 5 day split. of Chest...legs...back.....shoulders.....arms. With a 30min cardio per day.

I decided in April I was going to start bulking up...Maybe I am using the wrong term or prehaps I am not. Either way I created a muscle building phase with goals...One of them being to bench 220 by September. Here is a breif rundown of my routine
Mon-Wed-Friday
chest, back, bis, calves,

Tue Thru Sat
quads, hams, Shoulders, Tris
I am doing 20min of light cardio before I start my weight training just to get my blood flowing. All workouts have been and are still being preformed from at 6am.

I am afrird of gaining weight so I was going on this routine with about 2500 calorie diet. I don't want to gain my fat back. I was going to preform this routine from April-June... then cut up for a trip to the Islands end of July.


NOW.... everyone has been throughing their two cents into the mix here are some that stick in my head.

1.... You should loose all your weight first then worry about gaining muslce. Whip the slate clean first.

2.... If your going to bulk your going to get fat

3... don't do this routine til sept because u don't want to be fat for summer.

4... You workout to much do a 5 day split with cardio

5... Your plan is a setup to fail... u need to concerntrate on less days of working out....

6.... muslce helps burn fat and sugar but long cardio is what is needed to slimm down abd build muscle.


My ultimate goal is to look better then I do... I want to tack on muscle and loose the fat at the same time... I have no expectations of looking like Arnold size ....I just want a good nice looking body with some weight behind these things... Nothing too crazy...

But with all this input I don't knwo where to start or beging. Do I go bulking Do I just lift weights while i diet I have no idea Someone help!!!

 

[Monolith]

I think im right about your size. I'm 6'5", ~240lbs. I also lost a ton of weight a few years back.

Our goals sound pretty damn close - to lose some fat and gain some muscle at the same time (hell, everyone wants to do that). It's a lot easier for guys like us, though, who still have quite a bit of fat on us.

Before i start making recommendations, how strict are you prepared to be? Be honest. Don't say "i'll do anything!" if you know you might only stick with it for a couple weeks. Staying dedicated and consistent with a relatively lax routine will pay dividends much sooner than an extremely strict routine for a week or two every month.

Can you eat 6 times a day? Can you stand eating a lot of the same food day after day? That kind of thing.

 

[jaybol10]

Yes I am very dedicated.. I already eat 6 meals a day broken down as followed
Meal 1
myoplex

meal 2
fresh fruit

Meal 3
Protein bar

Meal 4
Grilled chicken brown rice brocalli steam

meal 5
protein bar

meal 6
chicken or fish or steak grilled
fesh stemed veggies

sometimes if I am up late I through down a can of tuna


The workouts can last between 6:00am- 8:00am

I just don't know if I should cut before bulk or bulk before cut

 

[Monolith]

Well here's a first step - ditch the protein bars. Theyre full of sugar. And fresh fruit is great, but its not a meal. Where's the protein?

Whether you bulk or cut first is up to you. You could do both at the same time, too - "recomposition" yourself. It's easier for guys like us, who already have a relatively high bodyfat, to recomp than it is for someone who's a lot leaner... so if i were you, thatd be my choice.

But yeah, your diet needs a whole lot of work. Read the stickied threads at the top of the nutrition forum.

 

[CowPimp]

Originally posted by jaybol10
NOW.... everyone has been throughing their two cents into the mix here are some that stick in my head.

1.... You should loose all your weight first then worry about gaining muslce. Whip the slate clean first.

2.... If your going to bulk your going to get fat

3... don't do this routine til sept because u don't want to be fat for summer.

4... You workout to much do a 5 day split with cardio

5... Your plan is a setup to fail... u need to concerntrate on less days of working out....

6.... muslce helps burn fat and sugar but long cardio is what is needed to slimm down abd build muscle.

1.... This is not necessarily true. You don't want to get cut up before you start gaining muscle. However, you probably do want to get to 20% or below before you start worrying too much about gaining muscle. Thankfully, you can probably lose fat and gain muscle. This is true for two reasons: one, your relatively high body fat; two, your previous split focused on endurance training, so you are still a strength training/body building newbie.

2.... Not true. If you do it right, you won't get fat. You may gain a slight amount of fat, but you can stay pretty lean while bulking. I hang at about 15% and I'm still gaining.

Also, work on that diet. You need more protein in your diet if you want to gain muscle. You probably don't need a gram per pound of bodyweight like some people do, but more is definitely needed.

I agree with replacing those protein bars as well. Add in a can of tuna or some sardines instead.

 

[squanto]

a two-hour workout is too long. youd be better off doing it more often than a long workout all at once. after about an hour your body will start to break down your muscle for energy, and you want to keep all the muscle you have as you lose weight. if you dont, you will end up weighing a lot less but still looking fat.

screw the protein bars, they suck. throw in some lean meat instead. make sure u get protein at every meal.

i would concentrate on losing some fat before i work on gaining muscle if i were you, from what i understand recompositioning is relatively hard... but i dont have the factso n this. once you lose fat it will be easier to gain muscle cuz you wont have to eat as much to support the fat you have.

bulking wont nessecarily make you fat, especially if you have the discipline to lose weight. its all about discipline and eating good foods, as long as you do that you wont get fat while you bulk. but its just hard to LOSE fat while youre bulking.

 

[camarosuper6]

www.hypertrophy-specific.com

When I so HST workouts, I not only gain muscle, but I tend to burn a lot of calories as well. I think this website would be a Great read for you, it will slowly increase intensity, so you wont overtrain, and youll put on a good bit muscle while at least maintaining if not lose bodyfat.

I use a 5 day split, 3 day upper body, 2 lower body, and I couldnt be happier with the results. Read up his website, and feel free to PM me about any questions you have.

 

[Eggs]

Those guys have already stated most everything... but let me restress - Get some more protein in that diet!

 

[Mudge]

It is easy for a small frame guy to looked "filled out" early, I'm tall and its not an easy task especially if you have a large frame to work with. Flex Wheeler was one of the smallest guys by bodyweight but he looked like a cartoon.

 

[jaybol10]

well i don't understand what is sooo bad about the protein bars..
I get the biochem strive bars
NO sugar
3net impact carbs
20grams of protein!!

I purchased tonight some cottage chesse to go with my fruit
and........ A new akins yogurt generally I am not a bg akins fan But..IT has 12 grams of protein per cup!!! SO I figured I would add it to my meal 1 with some egg whites

 

[CowPimp]

The only time I find protein bars to be beneficial is when you're on the run and have nothing else to eat. After a workout is alright too, but bulk whey protein mix is a lot cheaper if you need a post workout supplement. Otherwise, you might as well eat some lean meat or fish and get your protein from a complete source.

 

[jaybol10]

Everyone keeps mentioning lean meat or fish for meals. I know that alot of us work during the day..And I can't imagine grilling fish over a hot plate at work...
So how does everyone get their proteins since noone likes the bars and stuff... Do you just have tons of grilled meat you bring to work with you? or what?

I assume it gets kinda hard slammin down 16oz of fish or chicken at 9am

 

[Yanick]

bring your meals cooked with you and just reheat em.

 

[jaybol10]

so i am supposed to bring everyday to work 5 meals of grilled chicken?? I don't know if i have enough room to carry all that stuff

 

[rockcrest]

Originally posted by jaybol10
so i am supposed to bring everyday to work 5 meals of grilled chicken?? I don't know if i have enough room to carry all that stuff

"how strict are you prepared to be?"



i'd say this would fall into the being strict part. yes, you find the room to bring the meals in. my hours are 12-8. i've eaten 2 meals by the time i get to work and i eat within the first half hour of sitting down at my desk. i'll cook up some grilled chicken, rice, ground turkey, etc. the night before and just put them in some tuperware containers in my bag. throw a can of tuna in there. i don't know if you are into the meal replacements, but i usually throw a packet in the bag as well. i also have a place where i always keep oatmeal/almond butter.

i don't know what your hours are, but you probably only need to bring 2 or 3 meals with you and eat the rest at home.

 

[jaybol10]

my meals generally at work are
bannana

then protein bar

chicken brown rice veggies

protein bar

i eat the others at home

Today i through in some new Akins yogurt with the banana... 1 sugar 4 carbs 12 gram protein