what do you guys think of this diet/ workout plan?

[lordoftheoctagon]

im 24 yrs old and currently in the army and trying to bulk up a bit. so my diet is as followed. current weight this am was 194lb and 12% BF. (5'9)

wake up (4:45am) shake - 1 scoop of whey, some peice of fruit. BCAA's, glutamine, arganine, bata-alanine. maybe take some yohimbine for a boost (tryin not to gain alot of fat on the bulk even tho its bound to happen) and pink magic.

morning PT- i usually i try to keep it at a low intencity cardio or some HIIT.

brakefast (7:30-7:45) cup of egg whites and 1 whole egg. then usually 1 cup of oatmeal (a scoop of protein powder in it) or grits. and maybe a peice of fruit. animal paks

snake (10:00-10:15) a turkey or roast beef sandwich with a slice of fat free cheese on WW bread. and a shake. pink magic

lunch (12:30-12:45) usually a piece of chicken brest or top round steak ( probably 8- 12 oz.)
with a sweet potatoe and some kind of greens weather it be asparigus or green beans. vit. A

pre-workout shake ( 2:25-2:30) pretty much the same as the wake up shake ( only with creatine). vit. C, pink magic, animal pump or stack.

workout (2:50-4:20ish) 1 major muscle a day followed by a smaller one . water mix with pedalite

post-workout shake ( soon as im done w workout) 1 scoop of whey, creatine, half scoop of casein and soy protein. glutamine, BCAA's, virtago, and its mixed with skim milk usually. vit. C, E.

dinner ( 5:30-5:45) usally 12 oz of chicken breast with some bbq sauce, steak or turkey cutlet. with some type of green and either brown rice or sweet potatoe. green tea and pink magic

dinner 2 i guess you would call it (8:00-8:10) chicken breast with a salad usually or maybe tuna with some WW toast.

bedtime (10:00) either casein shake or some cottage cheese with alamonds. glutamine, arganine, ZMA

workout split is as followes

mon. chest and calves ( 20-25 sets for chest, 8 for calves)
tues. back and abs maybe traps (20-5 sets for back, abs very in sets, traps if i do them 4-6 sets)
wens. arms and forearms (12 sets for both bi and tri, 4 sets for forarms)
thur. shoulders and traps (20 for shoulders, 4-6 for traps)
fri. legs and calves (20-25 for legs that includes guads and hams together, 8 for calves)
sat. off or if i feel good- arms and forarms maybe abs too ( my arms are lagging behind so i try and hit them 2 a week, i mean my back is blowing up like crazy so i dont wana be unbalanced, you know?)
sun. off

my protein staples are, lean ground beef, eye of round steak, most types of fish, skinless chicken breast, turkey cutlets, tuna, whey, soy, casein.

my carbs are, oatmeal, grits, sweet potates, beans (kidney, black eye etc...) brown rice, WW bread and ezekial bread. greek and fat free yogart. (fruits and greens of course), virtago

my fats are, natural PB, almonds, walunts, soy nuts, olive oil, maybe some hummus.

my current supplements are- whey, soy, casien, creatine, glutamine, BCAA's, arganine, bata-alanine, yohimbine, vit. A,C,E, ZMA, pink magic, animal paks, animal stack and or pump. CLA and fish oil.


let me know what you guys think about this. ive been lifting for a long time now and have been in the may issue of muscle and fitness due to the fact that i used to be 247 and made it all the way down to 179 for the all army combatives tournament. im open for your guys comments? note that this maybe alot of food but i got to workouts a day (due to the fact im in the army haha). so i try and keep the calories high.

[gbrice75]

im 24 yrs old and currently in the army and trying to bulk up a bit. so my diet is as followed. current weight this am was 194lb and 12% BF. (5'9)

wake up (4:45am) shake - 1 scoop of whey, some peice of fruit. BCAA's, glutamine, arganine, bata-alanine. maybe take some yohimbine for a boost (tryin not to gain alot of fat on the bulk even tho its bound to happen) and pink magic.

I probably wouldn't do the fruit here - instead just do the cardio on an empty stomach with the exception of the shake and BCAA's

morning PT- i usually i try to keep it at a low intencity cardio or some HIIT.

brakefast (7:30-7:45) cup of egg whites and 1 whole egg. then usually 1 cup of oatmeal (a scoop of protein powder in it) or grits. and maybe a peice of fruit. animal paks

No need for the protein powder, just do 2 whole eggs and more whites if necessary to make up the protein

snake (10:00-10:15) a turkey or roast beef sandwich with a slice of fat free cheese on WW bread. and a shake. pink magic

I understand you may not have access to a variety of foods, but can you get something better than this? Sandwich + shake = substandard food for a bodybuilding diet, no gains. Replace this meal if possible with 6oz lean protein and a good complex carb

lunch (12:30-12:45) usually a piece of chicken brest or top round steak ( probably 8- 12 oz.)
with a sweet potatoe and some kind of greens weather it be asparigus or green beans. vit. A

Great meal! 12oz is ALOT - I wouldn't do more than 8oz

pre-workout shake ( 2:25-2:30) pretty much the same as the wake up shake ( only with creatine). vit. C, pink magic, animal pump or stack.

Bad idea for pre workout IMO. Do a lean protein and DEFINITELY add a complex carb to fuel your workout. You're relying on shakes WAY too much, you're not gonna see good gains that way

workout (2:50-4:20ish) 1 major muscle a day followed by a smaller one . water mix with pedalite

post-workout shake ( soon as im done w workout) 1 scoop of whey, creatine, half scoop of casein and soy protein. glutamine, BCAA's, virtago, and its mixed with skim milk usually. vit. C, E.

Great except i'd do straight whey here instead of whey/casein mix. I'd probably drop the milk and use water to keep sugar down

dinner ( 5:30-5:45) usally 12 oz of chicken breast with some bbq sauce, steak or turkey cutlet. with some type of green and either brown rice or sweet potatoe. green tea and pink magic

Again, 12oz is ALOT of protein in one sitting. Careful with the bbq sauce, usually loaded with sugar. Rest of the meal looks good

dinner 2 i guess you would call it (8:00-8:10) chicken breast with a salad usually or maybe tuna with some WW toast.

I wouldn't do any carbs at this point. Tuna is fine, maybe do tuna in olive oil and add some avacado or something like that. Eat it over a bed of greens

bedtime (10:00) either casein shake or some cottage cheese with alamonds. glutamine, arganine, ZMA

Great!

workout split is as followes

mon. chest and calves ( 20-25 sets for chest, 8 for calves)
tues. back and abs maybe traps (20-5 sets for back, abs very in sets, traps if i do them 4-6 sets)
wens. arms and forearms (12 sets for both bi and tri, 4 sets for forarms)
thur. shoulders and traps (20 for shoulders, 4-6 for traps)
fri. legs and calves (20-25 for legs that includes guads and hams together, 8 for calves)
sat. off or if i feel good- arms and forarms maybe abs too ( my arms are lagging behind so i try and hit them 2 a week, i mean my back is blowing up like crazy so i dont wana be unbalanced, you know?)
sun. off

my protein staples are, lean ground beef, eye of round steak, most types of fish, skinless chicken breast, turkey cutlets, tuna, whey, soy, casein.

my carbs are, oatmeal, grits, sweet potates, beans (kidney, black eye etc...) brown rice, WW bread and ezekial bread. greek and fat free yogart. (fruits and greens of course), virtago

my fats are, natural PB, almonds, walunts, soy nuts, olive oil, maybe some hummus.

my current supplements are- whey, soy, casien, creatine, glutamine, BCAA's, arganine, bata-alanine, yohimbine, vit. A,C,E, ZMA, pink magic, animal paks, animal stack and or pump. CLA and fish oil.


let me know what you guys think about this. ive been lifting for a long time now and have been in the may issue of muscle and fitness due to the fact that i used to be 247 and made it all the way down to 179 for the all army combatives tournament. im open for your guys comments? note that this maybe alot of food but i got to workouts a day (due to the fact im in the army haha). so i try and keep the calories high.

You sound like you have nice stats, but the diet can be improved greatly IMO. Imagine your gains with a great diet if you've come this far with a sub-par one?

Suggestions above in bold

[lordoftheoctagon]

thanks ill take your advice, and as for food i have access pretty much anything.

[Damienm05]

Your training volume is stupid high. Quality over quantity. Stick to the diet changes gbrice gave you and cut your volume by 1/3. Form and consistency will be key, not 25 sets for anything. Maybe 12-15 for chest. 8-12 for tris. 6-10 for bis. 12 for front/side delts, 6-10 for rear, 4-6 traps. 20 for back day and quads/hams is probably ok. Also, I see no need for you to train your forearms directly with that program unless they are lagging behind.

[dominick2417]

Thanks for your service. I do not think 12 oz is a big serving size. I usually eat 12 oz at a time of chicken or fish. With steak and ground meat I prefer 8-10 oz because of all the fat. If someone eats 7 times a day 12 oz at a time, that is roughly 420gms or protein. I do not think this is extreme at all. Eating less than the required amount of protein is a no no.

[Damienm05]

Thanks for your service. I do not think 12 oz is a big serving size. I usually eat 12 oz at a time of chicken or fish. With steak and ground meat I prefer 8-10 oz because of all the fat. If someone eats 7 times a day 12 oz at a time, that is roughly 420gms or protein. I do not think this is extreme at all. Eating less than the required amount of protein is a no no.

Yes but with a balanced diet, you're certainly receiving benefit from the incomplete protein sources as well. Nuts, complex carbs, and fibrous carbs are gonna add another 50g easily.
Plus, 420g is excessive regardless, IMO, at 170 lbs lean. 340g would be 2g per lb of LBM, which is the most anyone should ever be consuming really. Beyond that, you're doing your kidneys and digestive system no favors.

[gbrice75]

Plus, 420g is excessive regardless, IMO, at 170 lbs lean. 340g would be 2g per lb of LBM, which is the most anyone should ever be consuming really. Beyond that, you're doing your kidneys and digestive system no favors.

x2. 420g of protein is ABSOLUTELY excessive unless you're a complete monster requiring upwards of 7000 calories/day.

[Damienm05]

Ronnie Coleman says he eats 400-500g as an example and that he doesn't go over 5% body fat regardless of calories.

[gbrice75]

Ronnie Coleman says he eats 400-500g as an example and that he doesn't go over 5% body fat regardless of calories.

Right! And NOBODY on this site looks anything close to Ronnie Coleman... so there we have it!

[lordoftheoctagon]

Your training volume is stupid high. Quality over quantity. Stick to the diet changes gbrice gave you and cut your volume by 1/3. Form and consistency will be key, not 25 sets for anything. Maybe 12-15 for chest. 8-12 for tris. 6-10 for bis. 12 for front/side delts, 6-10 for rear, 4-6 traps. 20 for back day and quads/hams is probably ok. Also, I see no need for you to train your forearms directly with that program unless they are lagging behind.

i understand my volume is high but it seems to be working for me (hence the high caloires). and i understand that quality or quantity! it just seems to work, thats all. the only thing that seems to be lagging is my arms, like i said my back is blowing up like crazy..so it seems to look in the mirror. but any advice on building my arms up?

[lordoftheoctagon]

another question for u guys, is dong 3-4 sets incline barbell and 3 sets for incline DB in one workout to much for the upper chest? i only ask cause working the upper chest gives it that "fullness" look so the pros say? and anybody got any good advice on building arms?

[gbrice75]

i understand my volume is high but it seems to be working for me (hence the high caloires). and i understand that quality or quantity! it just seems to work, thats all. the only thing that seems to be lagging is my arms, like i said my back is blowing up like crazy..so it seems to look in the mirror. but any advice on building my arms up?

At a glance, you're definitely overtraining. Not to undermine anything Damien has said, but at this point i'd say if it's working for you, stick with it until it no longer works. Having said that - you need to monitor yourself very closely because I think overtraining is inevitable. As for your arms, bi's and tri's are relatively small muscle groups and you probably ARE overtraining those - so you need to decrease the volume as Damien suggested, at least for these parts for now.

I would also suggest you take a full week off every 3 months to completely recoup, and/or rotate lighter 'unloading phase' weeks to give your body and CNS a break.

another question for u guys, is dong 3-4 sets incline barbell and 3 sets for incline DB in one workout to much for the upper chest? i only ask cause working the upper chest gives it that "fullness" look so the pros say? and anybody got any good advice on building arms?

I do 3 sets of incline as a staple, and throw in 3 sets of incline DB when I feel strong or up to it. I think it's fine. What else are you doing for chest though?

[dominick2417]

another question for u guys, is dong 3-4 sets incline barbell and 3 sets for incline DB in one workout to much for the upper chest? i only ask cause working the upper chest gives it that "fullness" look so the pros say? and anybody got any good advice on building arms?

I usually do lots of incline but I think 3 db and 3bb might be too much. One of them will have to suffer. I incline db or bb, flat db or bb, and a machine incline, then some other stuff sparsed in there. I almost always do two pressing movements for shoulders though.

Work out your arms less often if you are having trouble building them. If you work them on a seperate day, you are likely hitting them twice a week. If your shoulders do not get overworked from all of the incline and it works for you keep it up.

Also, you should ask these questions in the workout out forum to get some secret tips.

Yes but with a balanced diet, you're certainly receiving benefit from the incomplete protein sources as well. Nuts, complex carbs, and fibrous carbs are gonna add another 50g easily.
Plus, 420g is excessive regardless, IMO, at 170 lbs lean. 340g would be 2g per lb of LBM, which is the most anyone should ever be consuming really. Beyond that, you're doing your kidneys and digestive system no favors.

Sorry, these guys are right. I did not even look to see how much he weighed. I was talking about myself when I weighed 220.

[gbrice75]

Sorry, these guys are right. I did not even look to see how much he weighed. I was talking about myself when I weighed 220.

Hehe, we ain't all beasts like you!

[lordoftheoctagon]

At a glance, you're definitely overtraining. Not to undermine anything Damien has said, but at this point i'd say if it's working for you, stick with it until it no longer works. Having said that - you need to monitor yourself very closely because I think overtraining is inevitable. As for your arms, bi's and tri's are relatively small muscle groups and you probably ARE overtraining those - so you need to decrease the volume as Damien suggested, at least for these parts for now.

I would also suggest you take a full week off every 3 months to completely recoup, and/or rotate lighter 'unloading phase' weeks to give your body and CNS a break.



I do 3 sets of incline as a staple, and throw in 3 sets of incline DB when I feel strong or up to it. I think it's fine. What else are you doing for chest though?

i start out with BB incline then on to DB flat. then DB incline, incline flys, cable crossovers and dips...thats a typical chest workout. and as for overtraining i did think i was but after awhile i noticed i was growing so i thought it was working....?

[Damienm05]

i start out with BB incline then on to DB flat. then DB incline, incline flys, cable crossovers and dips...thats a typical chest workout. and as for overtraining i did think i was but after awhile i noticed i was growing so i thought it was working....?

Just because you're overtraining doesn't mean you won't grow at all. It simply means that you're hindering progress to some extent. If you're 250 lbs at 10% body fat, you can't expect to grow with such high volume, however, at your size (not saying your small but you're not a huge guy) - you'll still grow! Just saying that you'd see better results. Especially with arms and shoulders which are already getting hit with back/chest.

[gbrice75]

i start out with BB incline then on to DB flat. then DB incline, incline flys, cable crossovers and dips...thats a typical chest workout. and as for overtraining i did think i was but after awhile i noticed i was growing so i thought it was working....?

That is quite a bit of volume, I definitely wouldn't do the DB Incline AND Fly's, possibly drop crossovers too.

Like Damien said, lessening your workload might actually help you to grow more/quicker. The fact that your growing as-is is great, but you may be able to do even better! I'd give it a shot for a month and see how your body responds. Stick to big compound movements, go heavy, get more rest and see what happens.

[Swifto]

Whey/Casein is better than whey alone PWO.

Whey wont do alot for protein breakdown PWO, thats where the Casein comes in.

Whey for protein synthesis, greater anabolic reponse, Casein for preventing protein breakdwon.

[lordoftheoctagon]

That is quite a bit of volume, I definitely wouldn't do the DB Incline AND Fly's, possibly drop crossovers too.

Like Damien said, lessening your workload might actually help you to grow more/quicker. The fact that your growing as-is is great, but you may be able to do even better! I'd give it a shot for a month and see how your body responds. Stick to big compound movements, go heavy, get more rest and see what happens.

so what your saying is i shouldnt do BOTH flys and incline DB in the same workout or just not right after the other? and what are your thoughts on doing the DB and BB incline in the same workout? too much?

[lordoftheoctagon]

Whey/Casein is better than whey alone PWO.

Whey wont do alot for protein breakdown PWO, thats where the Casein comes in.

Whey for protein synthesis, greater anabolic reponse, Casein for preventing protein breakdwon.

yeah man ive read that time and time again, thats why i stick to it! good shit

[lordoftheoctagon]

what do you guys recomend supps. wise for mass? or if i even need any?