How's my workout / diet?

Clark Nova · 9 May 2007 at 16:38

Ok, I've been working out using this full body workout now for a couple of months and I've put on several pounds of weight but at the same time I am looking slimmer with it. I am 5'11" and 88kg (13 stones 10 pounds). I would like to put on more weight but obviously keep the fat I gain to a minimum.

Gym

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Dumbbell Chest Press 3 x 8 20kg
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8 17.5kg
Squats 3 x 8 70kg OR Deadlifts 3 x 8 50kg (I alternate these with each workout)
Tricep Rope Pulldown OR V-Bar Pulldown 3 x 8 (alternate as above, can't remember weight right now)
Weighted Situps 2 x 20 10kg
Pressups 2 x 15
Lat Pulldown 3 x 8 50kg
Barbell Curl 3 x 8 30kg
One Arm Dumbbell Row 3 x 8 (each side) 17.5kg
Dumbbell Shrugs 3 x 10 25kg

I can usually do all of that in around 45 mins if the gym is quiet. If I have to go at peak times it takes me around an hour so I mostly go before work at 7am

I've also started running again after I injured my knee. All better now but I'm not pushing it anymore, it's just not worth it. I was doing too much too soon.

Tuesday - Sprint Intervals. 30/60/90/120/90/60/30 second interval times with 2-4 mins rest inbetween. Takes me about 30 minutes and I run about 6km

Thursday - Hill Training for 30 mins, I cover about 5km

Saturday - Easy run, I run for about 45 mins and do around 8-9km. Sometimes I do up to an hour and do about 10-12km.

Sunday - Rest Day. I sit around and watch sport

Diet

Breakfast - Bowl of porridge oats + banana.

Post gym workout - protein shake (large scoop) with water.

Mid-morning - Wholemeal pitta bread with chicken/mackeral salad. Bottle of water.

Lunch - Four slices wholemeal bread with Tuna and a small amount of light mayo. Apple and an orange, sometime another banana too. Muller light yoghurt. Bottle of water.

Tea - Chicken breast with rice OR potatoes, brocolli, asparagus, peas.

Bedtime - Protein shake with fine oats (ready brek).

What I am trying to do is put on some muscle but not too much. I want to have an athletic look but not too bulky. I was training for a half marathon before I injured my knee and moved into the weights room at the gym and away from the treadmill. I still want to do this so I want to keep running as well as doing my weight routine as much as I can as I am really enjoying both.

Will my diet/routine help me to put on some muscle at a reasonable rate but without putting on more fat? I'm still a little wobbly around my waist but I'm pretty happy considering I weighed over 200 pounds just before Christmas and was totally out of shape.

Tips? Advice or suggestions?

Apologies for the long post

Clark Nova · 9 May 2007 at 17:34

smoove said:
Not a bad routine there mate, might suggest adding some carbs to your post workout drink though. Also wheres your healthy fats?

I sometimes have a banana post-workout, should've mentioned that. Do you think I should start having some oats in my post-workout drink too then?

Not really sure what "healthy fats" are to be completely honest. Could you give me some examples?

Ste99 · 9 May 2007 at 23:08

peanut butter
peanuts hazlenuts cashews etc
omega 3
flax oil
salmon

Chong Warrior · 9 May 2007 at 23:25

Avacado and coconut are excellent sources of fat from fruit

Clark Nova · 10 May 2007 at 12:58

Chong Warrior said:
Avacado and coconut are excellent sources of fat from fruit

Ah right that's good then, I often put a bit of avacado in my mackeral pitta.

I do have some walnuts at home that I snack on, just a few a day. Forgot to mention that before. I think my pesky wife has eaten them all though

Any further comments? Am I doing too much? Can I expect to keep dropping what fat I have by keeping up with the running or is it to the detriment of me trying to add muscle at the same time?

Clipsey · 10 May 2007 at 13:44

Hey,

Am i reading it wrong or are you saying you do that workout each time you go to the gym??
If so i would change it up a bit and get with the push/pull program, i.e work you chest & tri's one day (push then maybe your legs and abs another and then your back & bi's (pull) on the third day. This way it gives maximum workout on a focused area and then you give the muscles sufficient time to rest & recover

As long as you eat enough of the right stuff and train hard! you should see some gains soon enough
(with weights such as squat, bench etc try aiming to lift/push your own bodyweight and then go on from there)

Cheers
Chris

Clark Nova · 10 May 2007 at 14:00

Clipsey said:
Hey,

Am i reading it wrong or are you saying you do that workout each time you go to the gym??
If so i would change it up a bit and get with the push/pull program, i.e work you chest & tri's one day (push then maybe your legs and abs another and then your back & bi's (pull) on the third day. This way it gives maximum workout on a focused area and then you give the muscles sufficient time to rest & recover
As long as you eat enough of the right stuff and train hard! you should see some gains soon enough
(with weights such as squat, bench etc try aiming to lift/push your own bodyweight and then go on from there)

Cheers
Chris

I don't really like to do bench press very much because I go to the gym by myself and with me going very early in the morning there are often no people around to spot me. That's why I do the dumbbell press instead as there is no chance of me being pinned by the weights. Do you think I should try the chest press machine instead? I think benching my own body weight is a bit much really, that would be almost 90kgs and I think it's a bit soon for that. I try to increase the weights that I am using by 5-10% percent once I can do 3 x8 with good form so I'm always working up.

Clipsey · 10 May 2007 at 14:05

Yeah its ok not to do bench but it is such a good exercise - Im the same as you where I work out on my own, but I just about know my limits with bench lol
As long as you keep increasing the weight and really push yourself (being careful at the same time) then you will see gains

Styles · 10 May 2007 at 14:39

DB Bench is superior to BB Benching.

It's also much safer to do in the gym by yourself, as you know you'll never be stuck underneath a weight that you can't throw off you.

Personally, I mix it up. 4 weeks DB Bench, 4 weeks BB Bench and so on. This is what works best for me. If you're working out by yourself I'd definately suggest sticking to DB benching as not only will it be safer, it will bring up a lagging side of your chest and work stabilisors much more effectively.

Clark Nova · 10 May 2007 at 14:58

S7yl3s said:
DB Bench is superior to BB Benching.

It's also much safer to do in the gym by yourself, as you know you'll never be stuck underneath a weight that you can't throw off you.

Personally, I mix it up. 4 weeks DB Bench, 4 weeks BB Bench and so on. This is what works best for me. If you're working out by yourself I'd definately suggest sticking to DB benching as not only will it be safer, it will bring up a lagging side of your chest and work stabilisors much more effectively.

Thanks for the replies, what does "lagging side" mean? I take it you mean if one side if your chest is stronger/better developed than the other?

Also, do you think I would be better doing fewer reps at a higher weight? Would I see gains quicker this way?

Styles · 10 May 2007 at 15:00

Clark Nova said:
Thanks for the replies, what does "lagging side" mean? I take it you mean if one side if your chest is stronger/better developed than the other?

Also, do you think I would be better doing fewer reps at a higher weight? Would I see gains quicker this way?

Spot on mate. DB will correct this problem as best as can be corrected.

Styles · 10 May 2007 at 15:09

Dumbbell Chest Press 3 x 8 20kg
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8 17.5kg
Squats 3 x 8 70kg OR Deadlifts 3 x 8 50kg (I alternate these with each workout)
Tricep Rope Pulldown OR V-Bar Pulldown 3 x 8 (alternate as above, can't remember weight right now)
Weighted Situps 2 x 20 10kg
Pressups 2 x 15
Lat Pulldown 3 x 8 50kg
Barbell Curl 3 x 8 30kg
One Arm Dumbbell Row 3 x 8 (each side) 17.5kg
Dumbbell Shrugs 3 x 10 25kg

Now I am by no means an expert on full body routine as I follow a split.

To be honest I'm not overly sure what advice to give on the actual routine itself as it's so different from a split. Chong follows a full body and would be a much better help on this matter. Personally I see an exercise for each bodypart except I see nothing for hams so I would remove press-ups and add SLDL.

I would never do above 6 reps on deads no matter what the weight. Form ALWAYS suffers.

I'd alternate lat pull downs with pull-ups and also alternate between close grip and wider grip to work the lower and upper lats.

I personally prefer a BB row to one arm row. Personal choice.

I wouldn't do sit-ups, I much prefer crunches. Sit ups give much to much range of motion whereas a crunch is a tiny movement and a maximal contraction.

As said this is me looking at from my point of view, I'm sure someone will help clear up.

Chong Warrior · 10 May 2007 at 16:15

Some good comments from S7yl3s above as usual.

Clark Nova said:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Dumbbell Chest Press 3 x 8 20kg
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 x 8 17.5kg
Squats 3 x 8 70kg OR Deadlifts 3 x 8 50kg (I alternate these with each workout)
Tricep Rope Pulldown OR V-Bar Pulldown 3 x 8 (alternate as above, can't remember weight right now)
Weighted Situps 2 x 20 10kg
Pressups 2 x 15
Lat Pulldown 3 x 8 50kg
Barbell Curl 3 x 8 30kg
One Arm Dumbbell Row 3 x 8 (each side) 17.5kg
Dumbbell Shrugs 3 x 10 25kg

There are a few things I don't like about this workout.
1. The fact you've put down the weights you use as if it's what you always do? - This is one of the biggest mistakes people make in the gym. You must progress every workout, there are a few ways of doing this:
a - Add more weight
b - Perform more reps or sets
c - Have less rest between sets
d - Add another exercise
e - Change the order you do the exercises
f - Change the whole workout!

Which ever you choose, do one of them otherwise you'll just stagnate and gains will stop dead.

2. The order you're doing the exercises, always do heavy compounds first

3. It's unbalanced - 1 chest exercise (pressups are no good for weight training for reasons I've already mentioned) 3 back exercises (almost 4 - shrugs hit the traps which are shoulders and back)

Full body workouts are great, the problem with them is finding a balance as obviously you can't do all the exercises you want. I find the best answer to this is to have 2 completely different workouts and alternate them. This has so many positives to it that it makes the idea almost essential really.

I was going to give you some an example or suggest a routine for you but your goals seem a little hazy. You want muscle but not much, you want to lose fat and you want to run a marathon?

You need to decide what it is you want to do and I could suggest a rep scheme for you to use and how to increase weights. The weights you've listed above are these your maximum lifts? Do you hit failure when you train? Are you training in a gym or at home? Any limitations like a lack of weights, barbells, squat rack, etc?

Styles · 10 May 2007 at 16:31

Great post Chong. I'm sure I can learn a lot from yourself regarding full body routines as It's never really been my way. I've always found splits work better for me but as ever this is a learning game and with each day you learn something new.

I can give help with split routines all day but my knowledge of full bodies leaves a lot to be desired.

Clark Nova · 10 May 2007 at 16:35

Chong Warrior said:
Some good comments from S7yl3s above as usual.

There are a few things I don't like about this workout.
1. The fact you've put down the weights you use as if it's what you always do? - This is one of the biggest mistakes people make in the gym. You must progress every workout, there are a few ways of doing this:
a - Add more weight
b - Perform more reps or sets
c - Have less rest between sets
d - Add another exercise
e - Change the order you do the exercises
f - Change the whole workout!

Which ever you choose, do one of them otherwise you'll just stagnate and gains will stop dead.

2. The order you're doing the exercises, always do heavy compounds first
3. It's unbalanced - 1 chest exercise (pressups are no good for weight training for reasons I've already mentioned) 3 back exercises (almost 4 - shrugs hit the traps which are shoulders and back)

Full body workouts are great, the problem with them is finding a balance as obviously you can't do all the exercises you want. I find the best answer to this is to have 2 completely different workouts and alternate them. This has so many positives to it that it makes the idea almost essential really.

I was going to give you some an example or suggest a routine for you but your goals seem a little hazy. You want muscle but not much, you want to lose fat and you want to run a marathon?

You need to decide what it is you want to do and I could suggest a rep scheme for you to use and how to increase weights. The weights you've listed above are these your maximum lifts? Do you hit failure when you train? Are you training in a gym or at home? Any limitations like a lack of weights, barbells, squat rack, etc?

I put the weights in there because those are the ones that I am doing at the moment. As soon as I can comfortably do those weights with perfect form I try to move up to the next weight but do 3 x6 to good form and then 3 x 8. I have been going to the gym for a couple of months and I have moved up all of my weights now at least twice so I am making progress.

With regards to goals, I want to do a half-marathon later on in the year so I am running with that goal in mind but I'm not looking to put in any kind of elite performance. I just want a level of cardio fitness that allows me to complete the course without having to walk most of it. Since I injured my knee previously and really concentrated on the weights routine instead I have come back running and I am quite a bit faster, I've knocked 30 seconds off my best time for the mile so that's good and down to the increased power I have in my legs I think. I think my main priority however is increased muscle and strength so if you want to suggest a workout for me that would be really useful.

Oh, I meant to say this isn't the order that I do the exercises in more like the order that they popped into my head as I was trying to remember what I do in the gym.

Thanks for you comments Chong Warrior, I really appreciate it. What order should I be doing the exercises in for best effect would you say? If you could suggest a couple of full body exercise routines I could alternate that would be a big help as sometimes it does get a bit boring just doing the same stuff everytime I go. Thanks again!

Chong Warrior · 10 May 2007 at 21:37

S7yl3s said:
Great post Chong. I'm sure I can learn a lot from yourself regarding full body routines as It's never really been my way. I've always found splits work better for me but as ever this is a learning game and with each day you learn something new.

I can give help with split routines all day but my knowledge of full bodies leaves a lot to be desired.

Cheers mate

Both have their pro's and con's, I like to use both.

Chong Warrior · 10 May 2007 at 22:24

Workout A - 2 sets of 12 reps or 3 sets of 8 reps
Squats - (3 sets of 12)
Bent Over Barbell Rows
Incline DB Press
Upright Row
SLDL's
Close-Grip Bench Press
Incline DB Curls
Calf Raises

Workout B
Deadlifts
Lat Pulldowns - Palms in, shoulder width grip
Decline Bench Press
Seated DB Press
Rear Raises
V-Bar Pushdown
Calf Raises - Only 2 sets

Something like that would work well. You could do the ab work on your off days but I do them as part of my warmdown at the end of every workout. You could swap the exercise order around if you wish but I would keep the heaviest work at the beginning ideally.

Start off with high reps, low sets and just keep increasing the weight every week. Once you hit your max, drop the reps but keep the weights going up. Once you start dropping reps then you can add sets and so on as the volume will be the same.

2 sets of 12 reps = 24 reps
3 sets of 8 reps = 24 reps
5 sets of 5 reps = 25 reps

Sorry haven't got that much time tonight, have a look at those see what you think and I'll be back on tomorrow

***************************
EDIT - Got 10 mins before I hit the hay!

What I couldn't go into before was how you need to watch your total volume as you get heavier and more sets are used because obviously you need more rest between sets. Example 5x5 on squats, you'll need about 3 mins rest between each set, that's 15 mins just wating about. So you can only really do 4 or 5 exercises otherwise you'll end up in the gym for hours!!

So the above examples would work for 12-8 reps but not lower really. Once you go heavy and doing full body workouts it's compounds only, maybe a little bit of arm work thrown in every now and again if they're lagging.

Workout A - 5 sets of 5 reps on every exercise
Squats
Chins - Palms in, shoulder width grip
Weighted Dips
Seated DB Press

Workout B - 5 sets of 5 reps on every exercise
Deadlifts
Incline DB Press
Bent Over Rows
Standing Military Press

** Workout B is where you can do some arm work with.
Inc DB Curl or Standing Barbell Curl
Close-Grip Bench Press or V-Bar Pushdown
** Only do these once a week at the most!! Chins and dips hammer the bi's and tri's believe me.

Clark Nova · 11 May 2007 at 10:47

Thanks for that CW, I'll try the 5x5 workouts next week. Are you saying that I should just do these two workouts once each a week and always do max weights? That sounds a lot better than what I am doing at the moment because it get pretty time consuming and sometimes I don't have the motivation to get up at 6am to go to the gym six days a week!

I'll let you know how I get on with these next week. Thanks again :cool:

Chong Warrior · 11 May 2007 at 18:28

Clark Nova said:
Thanks for that CW, I'll try the 5x5 workouts next week. Are you saying that I should just do these two workouts once each a week and always do max weights? That sounds a lot better than what I am doing at the moment because it get pretty time consuming and sometimes I don't have the motivation to get up at 6am to go to the gym six days a week!

I'll let you know how I get on with these next week. Thanks again

I would honestly take a full week off from training if I were you. Then start with the first list of exercises with 2 sets of 12 reps, use weights can can do this quite easily. Then increase the weights each workout. Once you are using weights you can only just manage 8 reps with then move onto the 5x5 workouts.

Alternate A + B every other day, so:

Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

Your core will get lots of work from all the deadlifting and squats but I still like doing some crunches, reverse crunches, side bends either during the warmdown or on my days off.

Don't be scared of taking a week off every 8-12 weeks to let your joints recover and heal, trust me they'll thank you for it later on down the line

I train 2 weeks 15 reps, 2 weeks 10 reps, 4 weeks 5 reps and then I have 10-14 days off. Repeat, it works well.