New to cutting - here's my diet and workout plan. Looking for comments

[GoNoles99]

Looks solid to me. Post up your final diet when you get a chance.

I will for sure, should be able to in a couple days

[GoNoles99]

This is kind of embarrassing but whatever.

I can't swallow pills. I've tried every method out there, I just can't do it. With something like a fish oil capsule will I get the same benefit out of it by just chewing it and swallowing? I can handle how bad it might taste.

[Twist]

This is kind of embarrassing but whatever.

I can't swallow pills. I've tried every method out there, I just can't do it. With something like a fish oil capsule will I get the same benefit out of it by just chewing it and swallowing? I can handle how bad it might taste.

you can buy oil bro. Also just dissolve any pills in a shot glass and drink it.

[GoNoles99]

Went to the grocery store tonight, picked up a bunch of bananas, whole wheat bagels, ground steak along with fish oil, vitc and some melatonin to help me get to sleep a bit earlier when needed.

got some chicken cooking in the oven, pretty excited to get going on the new diet tomorrow. I made some hard boiled eggs this morning and had a hell of a time peeling all the shells off. Think I'm just gonna get up 10 minutes earlier and make scrambled eggs.

question on the fish oil.. how much should I be taking? they are 1200mg which is 1.3g of fat and 13 calories each. I've seen some people on here who take 5 every night so I wasn't sure how much I should be taking. Same goes for the 500mg vitamin C I'm taking PWO... just one?

[Twist]

Went to the grocery store tonight, picked up a bunch of bananas, whole wheat bagels, ground steak along with fish oil, vitc and some melatonin to help me get to sleep a bit earlier when needed.
sounds good bro

got some chicken cooking in the oven, pretty excited to get going on the new diet tomorrow. I made some hard boiled eggs this morning and had a hell of a time peeling all the shells off. Think I'm just gonna get up 10 minutes earlier and make scrambled eggs.
Put the eggs in the boiling water after it has already started boiling, you can run the eggs quickly under hot water then put them in so they don't break in quick expansion, this will prevent the eggs from sticking to the shells. When you shell them, run it under cold water; shells should slide right off.

question on the fish oil.. how much should I be taking? they are 1200mg which is 1.3g of fat and 13 calories each. I've seen some people on here who take 5 every night so I wasn't sure how much I should be taking. Same goes for the 500mg vitamin C I'm taking PWO... just one?

take the fish oil according to your macros or you can just take 3 per day. If you take a lot then do it according to macros but 3 won't hurt you. Vitamin c at 1,000mgs I think

[GoNoles99]

Alright, sounds good. Morning went well, here's my plan for this afternoon

Deadlift. 5 sets, 14-16 reps
Bent over rows. 4 sets, 14-16 reps
Lat pulldown. 3 sets, 14-16 reps
Seated rows. 3 sets, 14-16 reps
Decline weighted situps. 2 sets, failure
Torso rotator machine. 2 sets, 14-16 reps
Ab wheel. 2 sets, failure
Hiit

How should I do the cardio? Never done hiit before

[Twist]

1 minute as fast as you can possibly run, followed by 4 minutes of 3mph walk on a 3 incline; total of 5 minutes. Repeat for to meet whatever cardio time you need to.

I don't like all the ab stuff because weighted situps works your hips a lot. I prefer crunches.

[GoNoles99]

1 minute as fast as you can possibly run, followed by 4 minutes of 3mph walk on a 3 incline; total of 5 minutes. Repeat for to meet whatever cardio time you need to.

I don't like all the ab stuff because weighted situps works your hips a lot. I prefer crunches.

got it.

I'm gonna stick with the weighted situps for the time being, as I saw improvement doing them. If my hips are feeling sore I'll switch to crunches.

I'm kind of of adjusting macros on the fly today. Everything looks good although carbs are coming out a little low, they are on track to be about 180 when I was aiming for 210. I was thinking of either adding another 1/2 cup of oats to my PWO shake (making it 1 full cup) or having a small serving of sweet potato in meal three, in addition to the chicken and broccoli.

[GoNoles99]

lifting session went well. 5 sets of 16 deadlifts was torture but made me feel like ****in iron man during it. I was bleeding all over the place, thumb knees and lower thighs.

Question on weights... when you say 4 sets of 16 reps, am I lowering the weight so I can get 16 reps each set? Or do I pick the original weight and keep using it, even though by the 3rd and 4th sets I'm probably only doing 8 or 10 reps?

Anyway, I went out to the track to do the HIIT but my ass was tight as hell, I started to sprint and it was pretty clear it wasn't going to work. I think I should be fine if I use the stairclimber next time, I think what was killing was the long strides needed to sprint. I've always had pretty tight hamstrings even though I stretch them a lot. Pretty frustrating but at least the rest of the workout went well.

[Twist]

I'm gonna stick with the weighted situps for the time being, as I saw improvement doing them. If my hips are feeling sore I'll switch to crunches.

It's not that they will get sore, they will tighten without you knowing resulting in a protruding stomach and arched back. This is like stretching out your bicep; doesn't look nearly as good as when it is flexed.

lifting session went well. 5 sets of 16 deadlifts was torture but made me feel like ****in iron man during it. I was bleeding all over the place, thumb knees and lower thighs.

Question on weights... when you say 4 sets of 16 reps, am I lowering the weight so I can get 16 reps each set? Or do I pick the original weight and keep using it, even though by the 3rd and 4th sets I'm probably only doing 8 or 10 reps?
keep using the original weight

Anyway, I went out to the track to do the HIIT but my ass was tight as hell, I started to sprint and it was pretty clear it wasn't going to work. I think I should be fine if I use the stairclimber next time, I think what was killing was the long strides needed to sprint. I've always had pretty tight hamstrings even though I stretch them a lot. Pretty frustrating but at least the rest of the workout went well.

If you are tight in the hamstrings and hips sprinting is the best.

[GoNoles99]

Here's my plan for today's shoulder/arms day


side raises - 4 sets
behind neck standing military press - 3 sets

preacher curls - 5 sets
skullcrushers - 4 sets
incline curls - 2 sets
dips - 3 sets
reverse preacher curls - 2 sets
california press - 2 sets
plate holds - 2 sets (not sure what to call this. I grab a 40 pd olympic plate in each hand and grip it as long as possible. Doing this because my grip is awful and often gives out on exercises like shrugs and pullups.

It's a lot to do in one day but it is four different muscles, counting forearms. I'll make sure to keep rests short to keep the workout in under an hour. Wasn't sure if I wanted to throw any supersets in there, I used to love doing that with bis/tris.

Probably going to do a lot of tweaking after this to sort it out. Going to pick a weight with each exercise I believe I can get 16 good reps with, and then keep the weight throughout all the sets. For preacher I will do one narrow grip, one wide grip and then three normal grip.

[GoNoles99]

went a little long so I'll need to shorten it up a bit next week. Also not sure I got enough shoulder work in, just 7 sets. The preacher curls and skull crushers went great, glad with how I finished those sets. Quite a few times I got to that point where it seems like you've reached failure but pushed through it.

Taking wednesday off and then doing legs thursday so I have a bit of a break though I'll do cardio tomorrow.

[Twist]

Here's my plan for today's shoulder/arms day


side raises - 4 sets
behind neck standing military press - 3 sets
make Military press 4 sets, add upright rows also

preacher curls - 5 sets
skullcrushers - 4 sets I wouldn't alternate muscle groups unless it is a superset. Keep the pump and blood flowing to one muscle at a time for maximum pump and muscle failure
incline curls - 2 sets make this 4 sets
dips - 3 sets
reverse preacher curls - 2 setsdrop this out
california press - 2 setsidk what this is
plate holds - 2 sets (not sure what to call this. I grab a 40 pd olympic plate in each hand and grip it as long as possible. Doing this because my grip is awful and often gives out on exercises like shrugs and pullups.
if you do this than do this as a superset so it follows another exercise

It's a lot to do in one day but it is four different muscles, counting forearms. I'll make sure to keep rests short to keep the workout in under an hour. Wasn't sure if I wanted to throw any supersets in there, I used to love doing that with bis/tris.

Probably going to do a lot of tweaking after this to sort it out. Going to pick a weight with each exercise I believe I can get 16 good reps with, and then keep the weight throughout all the sets. For preacher I will do one narrow grip, one wide grip and then three normal grip.

Focus on form and slow tempo for each rep. You should be repping past failure and killing your bis/tris on each exercise. You should always reach failure and push through. Everytime you feel like stopping, do 5 more reps.

[GoNoles99]

Focus on form and slow tempo for each rep. You should be repping past failure and killing your bis/tris on each exercise. You should always reach failure and push through. Everytime you feel like stopping, do 5 more reps.

Definitely gonna do those suggestions, they were pretty much in line with what I was thinking as well.

Think I might format it like this next week:

side raises - 4 sets
behind-neck SP - 4 sets
upright rows - 3 sets... little concerned I'll be fatigued doing this as I did BB rows the day before on my back day
preacher curls - 5 sets
incline curls - 4 sets
skullcrushers - 4 sets
dips - 4 sets
california press - 2 sets


california press is a hybrid of ckullcrushers and close-grip bench. You bring the bar back like in skullcrushers, but when you get it to your forehead you then pull it over your face into where you would be positioned for a close-grip bench, and then bench it back up.



This guy moves his elbows a bit differently than I do but it is a similar movement. My high school football coach/weight room guy turned me onto them. I like them because it gets me a close-grip bench movement but I can still do reps to failure and not worry about needing a spotter.

[GoNoles99]

Anyway, this is what my diet is looking like

645
6 whole eggs
1 banana
1 whole wheat bagel
multivitamin

1200
8oz chicken
broccoli

300
8oz chicken
10oz sweet potato
preworkout supplement (I use jack3d)

PWO
3/4 cup oats
2 scoops whey protein
25 blueberries
1000mg vitamin C

1 hr PWO
8oz fish (tilapia and/or tuna)
broccoli
1 banana

before bed
8oz steak
broccoli
2400mg fish oil

I calculated the macros out and it was pretty much right on spot. I decided to not eat at 915 because it messed them up a bit as it might my protein intake a little high.

On a side note I weighed myself the other day and I was 163 pounds.. not sure how that happened. If I calculate my TDEE it goes up to around 2800 now.

[GoNoles99]

legs tomorrow:

hip machine warm-up to loosen up
Squat - 5 sets, 20 reps
Leg press - 4 sets, 20 reps
Leg extension machine - 3 sets, 20 reps
Glue Ham Raises/leg curls - 3 sets, 20 reps
Seated calf raises - 4 sets, 20 reps
standing calf raises - 3 sets, 20 reps

[Twist]

Looks good to me bro.

Disregard the weight for now. You wanna gain muscle and changing the diet will make your weight volatile so just don't worry about it right now.

I don't think CA press is very effective but that's my opinion.

[GoNoles99]

Yea at this point I'm just trying to worry about packing on muscle, think my bodyfat isn't as bad as I thought when I first started this thread. On that note I was wondering if you had any thoughts on these possible additions to my diet:

-carbs for my second meal. Currently I am just eating chicken and broccoli so I was wondering I should throw something in there, even if its only 20g or so. I work out about 4 hours after this meal.
-something like peanut butter or almonds with my PWO meal which is fish, broccoli and a banana. My fat intake is about 15g too low at the moment
-small portion of cottage cheese with my last meal which is steak, broccoli and fish oil. Not going to lie, this is more for taste than anything else but I figured it wouldn't hurt. I would only be having about 1/2 cup and adjust macros accordingly

These are just thoughts, I'm not dead set on doing any of them

[Twist]

How do you look with that 8lb increase? Seems to me as if it is just glycogen so your muscles should feel fuller and maybe even bigger.

Yea at this point I'm just trying to worry about packing on muscle, think my bodyfat isn't as bad as I thought when I first started this thread. On that note I was wondering if you had any thoughts on these possible additions to my diet:

-carbs for my second meal. Currently I am just eating chicken and broccoli so I was wondering I should throw something in there, even if its only 20g or so. I work out about 4 hours after this meal.
-something like peanut butter or almonds with my PWO meal which is fish, broccoli and a banana. My fat intake is about 15g too low at the moment
-small portion of cottage cheese with my last meal which is steak, broccoli and fish oil. Not going to lie, this is more for taste than anything else but I figured it wouldn't hurt. I would only be having about 1/2 cup and adjust macros accordingly

These are just thoughts, I'm not dead set on doing any of them

I would leave the diet alone for now and see how you respond. Wait a week or two minimum before you make changes. That way you can single out changes and its effects on your body.

[GoNoles99]

How do you look with that 8lb increase? Seems to me as if it is just glycogen so your muscles should feel fuller and maybe even bigger.


I would leave the diet alone for now and see how you respond. Wait a week or two minimum before you make changes. That way you can single out changes and its effects on your body.

sounds good



just got back from the leg workout. maybe the best of my life. could barely walk after squats, took like 2 minutes to walk upstairs after leg press. completely worn out bit feels great

[GoNoles99]

I'll see if I can take a pic tonight. maybe its just me but I do feel that I look better, a little more defined.

[GoNoles99]

alright, back from my chest workout so I have now completed a week of the new program.

I did:
flat DB bench x 4 (16 rep max)
dips x 4 (til failure each set)
decline DB bench x 4 (16 rep max)
incline DB flies x 3 (16 rep max)

I actually got more reps on my second set of decline DB bench than my first set, I think because the dips really wore me out. All in all I am rarely pleased with a chest workout and this was more of the same. I seem to always fatigue very early on so I feel like I'm just wasting my time after my 3rd or 4th set of the day.

[Twist]

alright, back from my chest workout so I have now completed a week of the new program.

I did:
flat DB bench x 4 (16 rep max)
dips x 4 (til failure each set)
decline DB bench x 4 (16 rep max)
incline DB flies x 3 (16 rep max)

I actually got more reps on my second set of decline DB bench than my first set, I think because the dips really wore me out. All in all I am rarely pleased with a chest workout and this was more of the same. I seem to always fatigue very early on so I feel like I'm just wasting my time after my 3rd or 4th set of the day.

I always do better on my second set than my first. Expand more on, "I am rarely pleased with a chest workout." The point is to fatigue the chest man. So if you do it than you accomplished the goal lol. What's your reps look like? you had a pic coming too

[GoNoles99]

standing normal


flexing arms/chest/abs



To be honest I'm pretty damn excited about the second one. Think I happened to catch a good camera angle or something on that one. Feel like I look better than the first pic but not as good as #2.


As far as my comments about a chest workout, I just always feel like after just one exercise I'm so worn out that I'm barely pushing any weight around and not going to be able to to do something worthwhile. I don't feel like that for other body parts, when I switch from exercise to exercise while I might not be at my best later in the workout I still feel like I am being productive and using good weights. Maybe it's just all in my head. My chest is weaker now than it was 18 months ago so I'm always frustrated about that.

I'll write up how my reps went yesterday in a minute, I gotta find my ipod which is where I log all my info.

[Twist]

This is what your chest workout should look like now:
Flat bench DB press
5 sets - warmup, 6 reps, 6 reps, 6 reps, 12 reps
Decline barbell Bench
5 sets - warmup, 6 reps, 6 reps, 6 reps, 16 reps
Flat cable flyes
4 sets - 12, 12, 12, 12 (each set you should be fighting so hard for every rep past 8, have a spotter help you bang out what you can't, each set is slow and HUGE squeeze at the top, fill your muscles with blood)

After each set do some light stretching. After your workout lay down on a bench with 25lb dbs and let them pull your chest apart. It should be 1.5 minutes of pure pain. Also stretch shoulders on this day by sinking all the way down in the dip position and let gravity do its job.

I know you are doing high reps now but I want you to switch your workouts into the low rep range and work up.

Ps. yes there is no incline movement on purpose.

repost your diet so I can make some changes. I wanna add white rice pwo and probably somewhere else too.

[GoNoles99]

630
6 whole eggs...............36P, 0C, 24F, 420cal
1 whole wheat bagel....10P, 50C, 1F, 250cal
1 banana....................1P, 27C, 0 F, 105cal
multivitamin

1200
8oz chicken breast...40P, 0 C, 5F, 205cal
broccoli

300
8oz chicken breast...40P, 0C, 5C, 205cal
10oz sweet potato...5P, 60C, 0F, 260cal

PWO
3/4 cup oats...........8P, 40C, 5F, 150cal
2 scoops ON Whey...48P, 4C, 5F, 240cal
25 Blueberries........0P, 5C, 0 F, 20cal
vitamin C

1hr PWO
8oz tilapia.............44P, 0C, 3F, 203cal
broccoli
banana..................1P, 27C, 0 F, 105cal

Before Bed
6oz steak..............36P, OC, 13F, 261cal
broccoli
2 fish oil...............OP, 0C, 2F, 20cal

totals: 269P, 213C, 63F

Didn't include fat from olive oil. I use olive oil to cook eggs and steak but I have no idea how to calculate how much actually stays on the food and how much doesn't.

[Twist]

630
6 whole eggs...............36P, 0C, 24F, 420cal
1 whole wheat bagel....10P, 50C, 1F, 250cal
1 banana....................1P, 27C, 0 F, 105cal
multivitamin

1200
8oz chicken breast...40P, 0 C, 5F, 205cal
broccoli

300
8oz chicken breast...40P, 0C, 5C, 205cal
10oz sweet potato...5P, 60C, 0F, 260cal

PWO
3/4 cup oats...........8P, 40C, 5F, 150cal
2 scoops ON Whey...48P, 4C, 5F, 240cal
25 Blueberries........0P, 5C, 0 F, 20cal
vitamin C

1hr PWO
8oz tilapia.............44P, 0C, 3F, 203cal
broccoli
banana..................1P, 27C, 0 F, 105cal
Make this meal 8oz tilapia and 1 cup white rice, leave the broccoli, omit the banana.

Before Bed
6oz steak..............36P, OC, 13F, 261cal
broccoli
2 fish oil...............OP, 0C, 2F, 20cal

totals: 269P, 213C, 63F

Didn't include fat from olive oil. I use olive oil to cook eggs and steak but I have no idea how to calculate how much actually stays on the food and how much doesn't.

White rice is 1 cup cooked, that should put about 53 grams carbs in that meal. This is only for workout days. On non-workout days use the original with the banana.

Once you gain a couple pounds (or in about two weeks) we will add a protein shake after breakfast and before your noon meal.

[GoNoles99]

ok. so with the low-rep approach is that just for chest day, and on the others I am still going for 16/20 reps for lower body?

[Twist]

No go low rep for everything for the next three weeks. 6 reps max. Leg day will be 8 reps max. Leg day should be like this though:
Squats 5 sets
warmup, 8,8,8, 20
ON that 20 rep squat you should be suffering so bad. I almost never make all 20 reps. It should be 3/4 the weight of you 8 rep squats. You should start suffering bad at rep 12-14 max. It should be a serious struggle for the last reps. I mean I feel like passing out, my hands go numb, I get dizzy, and my legs start shaking. Make sure you are in the squat rack so you can fail and its not a problem.
The leg press 4 sets
8,8,8,8
Hamstring curl
8,8,8,8
Leg extension
8,8,8,8
Calf raises standing
8,8,8,8
Calf raises seated
8,8,8,8

[GoNoles99]

alright, I'll go with that.

Forgot to ask about how long I should be resting between each set/exercise. I usually take about 2 minutes on smaller exercises and 3-4 minutes on compound movements like squats and deadlifts.

[Twist]

1minute max
1.5 minutes on deadlifts, squats, lunges, and variations of those.

[GoNoles99]

should I do a high rep set at the end of all major exercises? This is what I'm planning on doing tomorrow for back

Deadlift. 6, 6, 4, 3, 16
Bent-over rows. 4 sets of 6
Pullups. 3 sets of 6
Seated rows. 3 sets of 6
Decline situps. 3 sets til failure

[Twist]

should I do a high rep set at the end of all major exercises?Only for squats and deadlifts. This is what I'm planning on doing tomorrow for back

Deadlift. 6, 6, 4, 3, 16
Bent-over rows. 4 sets of 6
Pullups. 3 sets of 6add weight so that you fail at or before 6, then superset with behind the neck pulldowns
Seated rows. 3 sets of 6
Decline situps. 3 sets til failure

Good to go

Don't forget the painful stretching at the end of the workout. 1 minute hold, breath and try to relax. Light stretching in between exercises.

[GoNoles99]

went pretty well today. gotta pick up some soccer socks for deadlifts or else I'm bleeding all over my leg. I don't really care but I'm afraid they'll kick me out of the gym one of these days. If they don't allow sleeveless shirts I doubt they allow people walking around looking like they just got stabbed.

Couldn't get 3 sets of 6 pullups on the superset so by the 3rd set I just did one set with lat pulldown in front of the neck, and supersetted it with behind the neck.

Weighed in at 165. Figured I'd weigh myself each monday

[Twist]

10lbs less than me. You'll hit that in no time

Do you workout at planet fitness?

[GoNoles99]

I work out at my college gym. They also do not allow bands/chains/any of that stuff

[GoNoles99]

interesting day... basement flooded and all water was turned off so I couldn't eat anything preworkout at home. went to a friends house and the best I could find was a hamburger patty with a plain muffin. They literally had nothing but snack food

anyway, got in all 29 sets in an hour
side raise x 4
behind neck military x 4
upright row x 3
preacher curl x 5
incline curl x 4
skullcrushers x 3
weighted dips x 3
close grip bench x 3

[Twist]

I work out at my college gym. They also do not allow bands/chains/any of that stuff

Weird

interesting day... basement flooded and all water was turned off so I couldn't eat anything preworkout at home. went to a friends house and the best I could find was a hamburger patty with a plain muffin. They literally had nothing but snack food

anyway, got in all 29 sets in an hour
side raise x 4
behind neck military x 4
upright row x 3
preacher curl x 5
incline curl x 4
skullcrushers x 3
weighted dips x 3
close grip bench x 3

Shit happens. Good workout

[GoNoles99]

Leg day today, went well. Afterwards used my friends membership at sam's club to pick up $70 of chicken, broccoli and tuna

gonna switch from tilapia to tuna for my PPWO meal. Much cheaper and also easier to prepare.

[GoNoles99]

Not the best last couple of days. Went home for the 4th of July, did my best to eat healthy but I'll admit I indulged in a bit of ice cream and cookies.

Went to a 4th of July BBQ on Monday. Was gonna refrain from any alcohol and just eat a couple hamburgers but had some pretty bad timing with personal issues (read: girl issues) so I fell apart and drank, and ate like 5 brownies.

Today I was back on track, was back day but I couldn't deadlift as I had some weird pain above my right thigh at my waist. I warmed up and felt OK but on my first rep of my heavy set it was pretty bad pain, I thought I popped something or was bleeding until I checked. I tried lighter weight but the same issue persisted so I just dropped deadlifts and did the rest of my day. I actually was a lot stronger in all my other back lifts than last week, not sure if that was due to gained strength or because I didn't wear myself out with deadlifts earlier.

Anyway, still feeling pretty good all things considered and ready to take the rest of this week on.