Advice on Toning up?

[Gym_Freak]

Ok, so im already thinking ahead of time to summer time and i want to look ripped for the summer, and i am going to the gym every day, my routine, which im sure is bad, is in need of some help, first of all im 6 feet tall, 167 pounds and about 10 % body fat, My routine typically consists of:

Monday- Chest and Triceps in the afternoon and then an hour or so of cardio in the evening
Tuesday- Back and Bis
Wednesday- Legs and shoulders in the afternoon and then an hour of cardio at night
Thursday- Hour of cardio
Friday- Repeat monday
Saturday- Repeat tuesday
Sunday- Repeat wednesday

So i need some advice on what exactly i should do each day and and also nutrition help if you guys got any...Im a poor eater, and the problem is that i don't eat alot of vegetables or fruits, it seems like the only ones i do eat, bananas, oranges, avocado, and carrots, aren't enough and aren't even the best ones to be eating, so if you guys have any suggestions towards foods i can eat, it would also be greatly appreciated..

 

[Gym_Freak]

Ohh yea and one more thing, any opinions on cardio twice a day? In my case, i did an hour of a cardio this afternoon, and then tonight i work in a gym type enviornment with treadmills and bikes and such, and will do another hour of cardio there more than likely, is that to much? is there a such thing as to much cardio? Keep in mind at the moment im not looking to bulk up, i just wanted to become defined and ripped.

 

[BILLYGRINGO]

Ok, so im already thinking ahead of time to summer time and i want to look ripped for the summer, and i am going to the gym every day, my routine, which im sure is bad, is in need of some help, first of all im 6 feet tall, 167 pounds and about 10 % body fat, My routine typically consists of:

Monday- Chest and Triceps in the afternoon and then an hour or so of cardio in the evening
Tuesday- Back and Bis
Wednesday- Legs and shoulders in the afternoon and then an hour of cardio at night
Thursday- Hour of cardio
Friday- Repeat monday
Saturday- Repeat tuesday
Sunday- Repeat wednesday

So i need some advice on what exactly i should do each day and and also nutrition help if you guys got any...Im a poor eater, and the problem is that i don't eat alot of vegetables or fruits, it seems like the only ones i do eat, bananas, oranges, avocado, and carrots, aren't enough and aren't even the best ones to be eating, so if you guys have any suggestions towards foods i can eat, it would also be greatly appreciated..

First of all .... you are over training 7 days a week is to much

You can up the resistance training and increase your weights

Your diet stop eating bannanas the long way JK and carrots high carb and lot of sugar

You will also need to increase your protein intake to 1-1.5 grms per lb of body weight per day

you can use whey protein supplemts for some of this try to find a lean protein Ultimate Nutrition ISO93 30 grms pf protein 130cals low carb low fat.. per scoop so if you way 160lb you need at least 160 grms of protein. 160/30 = 5.3 single scoop shakes per day OR 3 shakes and a few cans of Tuna plain in water with no mayo or a chicken breast or a fillet of Salomon, lean steak (flank steak )

Now as far as other foods to eat Oatmeal in the morning some egg whites etc...... Reduced fat PB and sugar free jelly on whole wheat bread for snacks between meals, healthy carbs Whole Wheat pasta once a day, broccoli is great Yams / sweet potato excellent

try to avoid eating any carbs after 5 at night so nothing like a sub or a hamburger, french fries, soda

You can still do cardio but try to get in the fat burn zone depending on your age 20-30 prob 133 - 140 bpm and maintain that for 45 minutes 3 x per week THATS IT

you should also consider taking a good multi vitamin, get some Amino Acids, and some glutamine too

Regrading the aminos try to find one that covers all your Branch Chain and Essentials, you can take this prior to working out and post work out, you will also want to consume a Protein shake with in 30 minutes post work out spike it with at least 5-10 mg of powdered glutamine, this will help keep you nitrogen levels in check.

hopefully this gets you started and not to confused

anything else just ask

good luck

 

[Gym_Freak]

Thanks for the info, keep it comin guys i appreciate it

 

[jasthace]

So i need some advice on what exactly i should do ..Im a poor eater, .

What are the factors that make you a poor eater?
Change these or else you are wasting your time in the gym.

People tend to spend an incredible amount of time and effort in the gym,achieving feats of power and durability.Then go home and short change their efforts with a poor diet plans.

The good news is you've given yourself plenty of time to workout a great diet plan to achieve your goal.
I don't know what you've tried or what your current diet plan is.

What a can tell you is that the basis of a good cutting diet is to eat in view of supporting your sped up metabolism {from your training efforts} which simultaneously helps avoid catabolisum.

Why dont you go ahead and tell us what you diet plan looks like at this stage.

 

[Gym_Freak]

Alright, its not that my diet is super poor, its just i don't like vegetables or fruits really, so its not amazing, i tend to wake up in the morning, and have a bowl of oatmeal, sometimes a banana or something with it and a glass of milk, got class then, after that i come home, and usually scramble up some eggs 3 or so, with cut up ham in it, and have that, wait about 30 minutes or so, then go work out, after my workout i have my whey protein that i put 1 and 1/2 scoops in water with, i eat a banana on my way to work, and then most of the time i do an hour of cardio at work as well, and then come home and alot of nights have a chicken breast with some seasoning on it, and occasionaly some rice or some type of pasta with it.

 

[BILLYGRINGO]

Alright, its not that my diet is super poor, its just i don't like vegetables or fruits really, so its not amazing, i tend to wake up in the morning, and have a bowl of oatmeal, sometimes a banana or something with it and a glass of milk, got class then, after that i come home, and usually scramble up some eggs 3 or so, with cut up ham in it, and have that, wait about 30 minutes or so, then go work out, after my workout i have my whey protein that i put 1 and 1/2 scoops in water with, i eat a banana on my way to work, and then most of the time i do an hour of cardio at work as well, and then come home and alot of nights have a chicken breast with some seasoning on it, and occasionaly some rice or some type of pasta with it.

no pasta at night !!!!! brown long grain rice is fine you need broccolli or sweet potato small amount ( i dont eat carbs at nite but thats me)

no ham in eggs Dr Suses (high in salt and almost no protein)

back off the bananas / whole wheat bread with reduced fat PB and sugar free jelly

work out on an empty stomach

eat cottage cheese before bed plain low fat

 

[Gym_Freak]

thanks for the info, keep it comin guys!

 

[jasthace]

Your diet has
No protein/carb/ fat ratios
No regularity or consistency
Is drastically low in protein.
Has no real post workout carbs.{ a banana don't cut it }

i tend to wake up in the morning, and have a bowl of oatmeal, sometimes a banana or something with it and a glass of milk,

Thats 10 grams of protein for breakfast ! you're 20 -30 grams short.
Your body is constantly replacing cells in your ; heart,liver,kidneys,lungs,brain,blood,skin and muscle............ and it doesn't get the required amino protein ratios out of carbs to do this you need a t of protein. 1.5-2 grams per pound of lean body mass
Therefore at a body weight of 167lbs your require 230-250 grams of protein a day
Now portion that evenly into 6 x meals a day.
Most protein sources yield around a third of their weight in actual protein, so if you need 30 grams of protein you eat 90 grams of steak, capeech?

usually scramble up some eggs 3 or so, with cut up ham in it, and have that, wait about 30 minutes or so, then go work out,

A wee serving of carbs with that preworkout will be the go.

after my workout i have my whey protein that i put 1 and 1/2 scoops in water with, i eat a banana on my way to work, and then most of the time i do an hour of cardio at work as well,

You need carbs now also,to restore glycogen in the muscles,


Keep the carbs low at meals preceding bed,eat a protein and fat/oils meal.
It minimizes cortisone response to low carb/protein levels while you sleep.

 

[Gym_Freak]

Sounds good man, thanks for the advice, im starting to right down everything i eat each day and im gonna try and plan my meals in the morning for the whole day so i dont stray away and eat anything bad..

 

[Gym_Freak]

Ok, so since this has turned into my diet conversation, here are my last two days of food, tell me where im lacking:

1/31

7:20 AM- 1 bowl of plain oatmeal & 3 egg whies with a 1000 MG vitamin C tablet

1:15 pm- Ritz handi snacks, long break between meals i know, was in class

3:45 pm- (after workout) 1 1/2 scoops of whey protein mixed with 10 oz water

4:30 pm- 1/2 a turkey & chicken sqandwhich plain on wheat with tomatoes and cheese

6:55 pm- other half og above sandwhich


2/1

9:50am- 3 egg whites & 4 spoonfulls of instant breakfest in a large glass with 2% milk

2:40 pm-(after workout) 2 scoops whey protein & 12 ounces of water

3:15pm- Special K 90 cal. bar

5:00pm- 1/2 a quiznos chicken, turkey, swiss cheese, and honey mustard and tomatoe sandwhich

6:30 pm- other half of above sandwhich

9:05 pm Special K 90 cal. bar and 1 1/2 scoops of whey protein and 12 oz. of water

2/2 (today just started)

11:30 Bowl of oatmeal with a sprig of salt, cinnamon, and honey, 3 cut up strawberries, and 2 scoops of whey protein in 12 oz of water and 1 capful of Active V, new multi vitamin the max muscle in town came out with.

 

[jasthace]

Ok,just do what you can do though out the day as far as trying to stay anabolic in your diet.
Eat as much clean protein as you can $afford$ to {fatter sources of protein are allowed every other meal but restrict the carbs with these.
What concerns me most about your diet is your post workout meal.
This is your main anabolic meal,your bodybuilding meal,the one that makes you grow.
It MUST contain carbs,complex and simple
In fact ,if you are working out correctly,you should be using this meal to carb load,this will full your muscles up so they look and feel bigger and they will grow.
If you do not supply these simple and complex carbs then the precious little protein you are feeding your body after your workout will be utilized as an energy source = no protein sinsthesis & no growth
So keep lean {low carb/fat} on your other meals though out the day.
Have a small preworkout energy meal.
Then after your workout.
PIG OUT,
Heaps of protein and carbs
but NO FAT,this will slow down the absorption rate of the protein and carbs and also with the hopeful insulin spike you are trying to create {with the sugars} to shuttle the carbs and protein into the muscle, insulin also is great for shuttling fat into store as well,so don't go there NO fats after workout.
Now try reorganising you meals to fit this criteria.
And post up again.

 

[Gym_Freak]

Any suggestions on a good post workout meal?

 

[jasthace]

Well its really up to yourself to find what works for you and what you like and can afford.
Some people have suggested that a post workout meal should be 15-25% of dayly caloric intake,and some advocate 40 grams of dextose, 40 grams of maltodextrin, 40 grams protein, some say .8-1 gram of carbs per kg of bodyweight.... it a lot of bla bla

I'm not qualified and have run no scientific studies to be in a position to advocate any specific quanitities.


Post-Workout Carb Selection with Glycemic Index Rating
Maltodextrose 110
Oatmeal, Instant, Sweetened 87
White Rice 81
White Bread 100
Banana, Ripe 90
Pineapple 94
Mashed Potatoes, White 104
Table Sugar 92
Donut 108


Carbohydrates are important post workout because of the hormonal changes they cause with insulin. IGF-1 releases when growth hormone and insulin are high. After a workout your insulin will be low, but your growth hormone levels should be high. By having a carb drink post workout, you will spike your insulin and cause the release of IGF-1 as a result. IGF-1 is extremely important in muscle growth. Another reason carbs are important is in controlling cortisol. Cortisol starts producing heavily near the end of a workout and we know cortisol production is blunted by spikes in insulin, which high carb intake causes.

A study in J Appl Physiol. 1998 Oct;85(4):1544-55 showed differences in hormonal changes for days, between the placebo and those supplementing carbs and protein for pre and post workout meals. In this study, growth hormone and testosterone were elevated immediately post workout. On day one, growth hormone increased more for the supplemented group. Cortisol production post workout was blunted by the supplement group. IGF-1 was also increased for the supplement group on days 2 and 3. This study shows that what you eat before and after workout, can effect your hormonal response for multiple days.

You should be looking to eat around the 80-120 grams of carbs after workout.

http://weightloss.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atkinsfriends.com%2Fcarbcounter.shtml

Plus your 30-40g protein


Bodybuilding.com - John Berardi - The Importance Of Post Workout Nutrition!

Pre and Post-Workout Nutrition

 

[role model]

I just found this article its a good one for getting rid of fat.


Your Body Can Burn Fat on Its Own
Mon, Jan 28, 2008, 2:43 am PST
By Debbie Rocker

Debbie Rocker is a former professional athlete, Olympic World Record holder in cycling, fitness expert, and personal trainer for thousands of individuals, including health and medical professionals, and some of Hollywood's best-known celebrities. Also one of the original developers of Spinning, owning and operating the company and establishing Spinning gyms in Los Angeles and New York, Rocker brings an attuned sensibility to the business of fitness.

On May 30, 1986 - Cycling from Huntington Beach, California to Atlantic City, New Jersey and in a mere twelve days finished. Her point-to-point World Record remains undefeated and is still recognized by the Ultra Marathoners Association.


Teach your body to burn fat and calories on its own.
By Debbie Rocker


1. Exercise in short, intense bursts (interval training) for effective fat burning after exercise.
2. Increase the amount of resistance/strength/weight training you do, to build more lean muscle. Muscle is metabolically active and burns more calories than other body tissue even when youre not moving.
And of course, for best results:
3. Chill on the amount of food you are eating.

Technically:
1. Our bodies are built to survive, so when you exercise for long periods of time (often and consistently) your body thinks it needs to hold on to fat for energy. Doing short (12-15 minute), intense exercise sessions builds strength and burns calories, but not fat, so it feels safe using fat stores for energy after exercise.
2. Resistance training (using extra weight) helps build lean muscle mass (and strong bones), and muscle burns more calories than fat.
3. If you are obsessing over things like fat grams and not eating a nutritious diet, your body will reserve energy (store fat) to survive.

Realistically:
1. Varying your exercise is the most effective and efficient way to stay lean and healthy. You must do some longer exercise to build cardiovascular endurance, burn lots of calories, and yes, even burn fat during exercise - your body will not click in to save mode unless you exercise for long periods of time, regularly and often.
2. You must do resistance training in order to build muscle and strong bones.
3. Nobody wants to exercise more - and we dont want to train our bodies to need more exercise to stay fit. So exercise efficiently two short, very intense (relative to your level of fitness) training sessions weekly, like a 15-minute fast run/walk or fast cycling sprint intervals, and two moderately long, moderately intense sessions (30-45 minutes) of strong walking, cycling, or yoga, with one long day (60-90 minutes) of a moderately paced walk/hike. Also two heavy strength training days, (45-60min) this is a great five-day/week training schedule, but only adds up to 5 hrs per week of training. This is all it takes to turn your body into a calorie burning furnace.
4. Instead of adding more time to your workout schedule, add a weighted vest to your training. I have said this before, but this is the most efficient way that I know of to build muscle while burning calories. For more information, go to Walkvest.
5. Eat moderately - stop counting fat grams and calories and look at how much food is on your plate! And eat more nutritiously by eating foods that are natural and unprocessed.

Keep it real -
Debbie Rocker

 

[Gym_Freak]

quick question, probably a dum one too, if i have my multi vitamin, a bowl of oatmeal and 3 egg whites in the morning, is it going overboard to have a scoop or two of my protein with it? just curious

 

[role model]

quick question, probably a dum one too, if i have my multi vitamin, a bowl of oatmeal and 3 egg whites in the morning, is it going overboard to have a scoop or two of my protein with it? just curious

No, you can have up to 60grams of protein per meal.
Do the math with the whey, usually one heaping scoop is 25gms.
A Large egg with the yoke is 10gms.

 

[jasthace]

Heres another important point of consideration when talking post workout carbs.
This is why I stated early in the tread that a post workout banana does'nt cut it.

There is a lot of talk about carbohydrates and whether they are beneficial to your diet. Some believe that you will have a much higher chance of succeeding in building a lean body without them, while others argue that they should be included in a diet to promote energy.

While low-carbohydrate diets have their place, the more important factor when it comes to carbohydrates is the type you are choosing to eat. There isn't quite as much discussion about the difference between fructose and glucose forms of carbohydrates and the effects each has on your body. By understanding this connection you will be better able to use the carbohydrates in your diet to your advantage, helping you achieve the look you are after.
fructose factsFructose is a form of carbohydrate found in fruits, fruit juices, some vegetables, and processed foods that have a sweet taste. The sweet taste in these foods comes from an ingredient called high-fructose corn syrup, which is added during the preparation process.

Weight gain
The most important thing you need to know about fructose is that your body has limited storage space for it, and once you surpass this limit, your body will start turning any excess into triglycerides. These triglycerides are released into the blood stream and increase your chances for having a variety of negative health conditions, as well as causing an increase in weight.

Low energy
Fructose is also directed toward the liver where it is processed and will not go into the muscle tissues. This is a significant point for you because it means that foods high in fructose will not serve to provide you with enough muscular energy to get you through your workouts. If you are eating the majority of your carbohydrate calories from fructose, you will start seeing a lack of energy at the gym and a reduced muscular recovery ability.

Increases liver glycogen
The good thing about fructose, however, is that it will signal the body as to whether you are in a catabolic or an anabolic state. When you are trying to gain muscle mass you will want to be in as much of an anabolic state as possible; therefore, ensure your liver glycogen stores are topped up by eating some fructose.

Decreases hunger pain
In addition to signaling an anabolic state, fructose also sends signals to the body that you are in a fed state and will help keep hunger pains at bay. This can be a good point for dieters to think about. A simple piece or two of fruit can make a diet a lot more manageable if one of the biggest issues you are dealing with is hunger.

No effect on blood sugar level
Since fructose does not enter into the bloodstream, it is not going to have an effect on blood sugar levels or insulin, therefore making it a slightly better choice for diabetes or those who suffer from hypoglycaemia if they are eating a carbohydrate-containing food alone. If you are having protein and fat with the carbohydrate food, then this becomes less of an issue as those two macronutrients will help prevent surges in blood-sugar levels from glucose.

More tips
Most of the foods you eat that contain fructose will be fruit, sweetened beverages (colas), fruit juices, "real fruit" types of snacks, and any other packaged or processed foods that contain HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup).

How much glucose should you be eating?

Generally, the amount of fructose in a piece of fruit is really quite low -- around 5-7 grams per piece. You should be aiming for about 50 grams of fructose per day to ensure your liver isn't depleted, while also preventing excess triglyceride formation.

The best time to eat carbohydrates containing fructose will be either before your workout along with glucose or at another point during the day. You will want to avoid it post-workout, however, as during that time your main goal is to get carbohydrates into the muscle cells for recovery. This is something fructose cannot do.
glucose factsAfter hearing the word glucose, far too many people immediately think of simple sugar and come up with a negative connotation. This should not be the case.

Glucose is basically the simplest form of carbohydrate that is used by the body. Any carbohydrate aside from fructose (and lactose, which is a combination of glucose and galactose) will be broken down into glucose.

Replenishes glycogen
Glucose is used by the body to feed muscle cells and replenish muscle glycogen, so it is increasingly important in any active individual. Without replenishing glycogen stores, over time they become depleted and exercise performance suffers.

Do note that the body is able to run off an alternate source of fuel called ketone bodies (those on very low carbohydrate diets will experience this); however, even with those diets, if exercise is to be performed one is required to undergo a large carb up period, usually once per week, in order to replenish their muscle glycogen.

Burns off easily

The body also has a much higher storage capacity for glucose than for fructose since the muscle cells make up such a large portion of your body. Therefore, you are able to consume a lot more glucose than fructose without worrying about the excess weight gain. What's more is that in short-term periods of excess glucose intake (think Thanksgiving dinner), the body has a tendency to ramp up its rate of glucose oxidation, causing you to burn much of the excess glucose off so you dont gain weight. That is short-lived, though; if the over-consumption occurs for a longer period of time, you will start increasing your body fat.

Takes longer to digest
When selecting your foods, keep in mind that since starch is a more complex form of glucose it will take slightly longer to digest and will not spike your blood sugar level as much. If you have hunger issues or suffer from hypoglycemia this is an important point to consider.

More tips
Glucose comes from pretty much all carbohydrate foods; even fruit will have some. In addition, if you are currently dieting and taking in more protein than you need, your body will also start converting some of that excess protein to glucose to meet its needs. The most commonly known glucose-containing foods are bread, bagels, cereal, rice, pasta, candy, and any other products made with wheat.

Eat glucose-containing foods right around the time of your workout where they will be directed toward the muscle tissue since sensitivity will be higher at this point. Most individuals do well having carbohydrate and protein meals at this time (pre- and post- workout) and then moving on to more protein- and fat-containing meals for the rest of the day.
carb it upThe choice between glucose and fructose can have quite a large effect on your body-fat levels and on your workout performance. Remember: Keep your fructose intake to about 50 grams per day (accomplished by three to six pieces of fruit per day, assuming no other fructose sources are being eaten), and get the rest of your carbohydrates from glucose -- preferably slow-digesting sources. The total intake of those will depend largely on your current body weight, activity level and which type of diet program you are following. The better you get at reading your body and recognizing the signs that you are running low on either fructose or glucose stores, the better you will be at regulating the intake to match your needs.

AskMen.com - Fructose vs. glucose

 

[Gym_Freak]

Ok so this post workout meal stuff is still confusing the crap out of me, suppose i were to just have a big ole turkey and chicken sandwhich on wheat bread with honey mustard on it? to much fat? not enough of something? what if i ad cheese to the mix? this of course is on top of the 2 scoops of protein i take immediatly after. Input please

 

[Grizzly]

no pasta at night !!!!! brown long grain rice is fine you need broccolli or sweet potato small amount ( i dont eat carbs at nite but thats me)

no ham in eggs Dr Suses (high in salt and almost no protein)

back off the bananas / whole wheat bread with reduced fat PB and sugar free jelly

work out on an empty stomach

eat cottage cheese before bed plain low fat

"no ham in eggs Dr Suses (high in salt and almost no protein) "

Really? Strange...... http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/cgi-bin/list_nut_edit.pl

Honestly, I disagree with pretty much all of what you've said. That one is just really easy to prove factually incorrect.