Training Help!

[Helmut]

Hi,

Most of you don't know me and prob never will but i've been reading the boards since April of last year trying to learn all I can from all of you who know so much. To make a long story shortish:

I was very very active in my youth youth (I'm still young, 21) but when I finished high school, I had some personal issues with myself and my family, evrything crashed down around me and I went from having a "kiddy" 6 pack to having 37% body fat. (Was checked by one of those water things). It was in april that I realized that I was so unhappy with myself and what I had become that I wasn't even leaving my house (I lived alone, and had no one really to get me outside and moving again) needless to say.... I started to work out with the little bit I knew. My training is usually Full Body one day, Run and racquetball and then another full body and so on. I currently am 210 lbs and roughly 15% bodyfat. (Tested with a not so accurate electronic thing and 2 different people with the calipers). I'm largish (I look like a child to some of you i'm sure) but I guess I can hold my own to most people in the gym. (No big lifters where i'm at) I bench 300ish, I curl somewhere in the range of 120+ lbs if i'm having a good day. I'm just now starting to get into the deadlift and suqat type things. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions on what I can do to change my workout, if anyone had some workout plans that could get me a bit more "ripped". I'm large but lack a lot of def. Someone suggested doing 1 or 2 body parts a day, with higher reps (I usually stick to 8-10 reps). Also one of question I had, I realize veins are mostly a "look" thing and not a measure of how "strong" one is, but, I lack more or less all...and there are guys around me who have roughly the same % body fat whos arms look blown out, but I lift more weight then them (they being about the same size as well).


Anyways, any suggestions or help is GREATLY accepted and thanked.
If I knew how to post pics I would.


Sorry if this is a rambling to anyone reading it, just trying to better myself!

 

[monsoon]

If you haven't already, read the stickies on the top of the page, some if not most of the best training info on the web is right here.

 

[Ramstein II]

It's the diet

I dont know what your program is like, but I think switching to high reps (over 12 per set) is a mistake. Remember why we lift weights1. to gain muscle during our growth phase and 2. To maintain muscle during our cutting phase. Lifting weights in the 8-12 rep range during cutting gives your body a reason to hang on to muscle. Dont use weights for the primary goal of calorie burn. Why? First, because its not that great for it from an efficiency stand point. Second, it will tax your CNS into a state of overtraining. The other thing is that 8-12 rep training burns more calories after the workout repairing all the damaged muscle. The only difference in my program when Im cutting is my diet. The workouts are the same, with a word of caution. Depending on what exercises you like, Id think twice about heavy lifting (ie. under 8 reps) while super lean and dieting. Id think thrice about ballistic lifts, such as cleans when dieting. You lose pressure in your joints when you get lean. It takes some time to re-learn some lifts because your hollowed out joints.

With that said, I didnt achieve super leanness with little muscle loss and the ability to maintain that leanness until I learned one thinghow to count calories. I dont care if youre a low carb, low fat, or balanced diet guy, to monitor your fat loss with precision and with the utmost vigor in maintaining your muscle mass, you must monitor how much energy you are putting in versus putting out. It took me many cutting phases of just instinctively eyeballing it only to lose a bunch of muscle real fast to realize this.

You want to find your magic daily calorie intake that allows 1 pound of weight loss a week. Nice, slow, pure fat loss. You might lose 3-5 pounds in the first week or two just from water loss. One measurement is of utmost importance to youyour waist. Measure it once a week at the same time (ie. Friday morning). Dont hang up on body fat percentages--they're never the same and hardly ever accurate unless you do the submersion. Watch and measure your waist. Its the poor mans body fat monitor. If you lose weight and your waist doesnt shrink, then youre just losing water and/or muscle which means your carbs and/or calories might be too low. Also, your poundages in the gym are your muscle loss indicator. Expect to feel weaker. You'll lose a couple of reps on a 12 rep weight. That's ok. That's from low glycogen levels. (which is why I hate and completely disagree with low carb diets for bodybuilders--but that's another story). You just don't want to drop reps from say 12 to 6. That probably means you're losing contractile protein--real muscle mass.

You might find that a good round number for daily calorie intake is a good starting point. You might try 2,500 cals a day for a few days. Take note of how you feel. You should be just mildly hungry at night. No light headedness, no dizziness, no low energy. The calorie deficit should be very mildonly about 500 a day. If 2,500 gets you 1 pound a week, then great. Bump it up or down 300 cals a day until you find your magic number. Oh yeah, you'll never eat exactly 2,500 cals a day, so don't try. Hit a range. Your goal would be to come in under 2,600 a day. Who cares if its 2,300 one day, 2,400 another and 2,600 or maybe even 2,650 another. As long as it averages out to about 2,500 you're good. Also, round your calories off to make your math bodybuilder easy. Ie. Don't add 115 calories of bread. Add 100. Don't count that chicken breast half as 135 calories, Add 150. They're all just calorie estimates anyway, so don't become obssessive compulsive about the count.

Throw in some cardio, but not too much. I like walking or pedaling. Its low impact and a pure fat burner. Some people like high intensity cardio. I do some myself, but weights are high intensity intervals if you really think about it.