GordyR's Beginners Guide to Bodybuilding

Anders0n · 14 Jul 2006 at 20:27

Anyone want to help me with my diet?

Should I be going on cutting diet first?

oddjob62 · 14 Jul 2006 at 20:37

Anders0n said:
Anyone want to help me with my diet?

Should I be going on cutting diet first?

TBH it probably will be hard for you to know what is a good level for "cutting" and for "bulking" if you've just started training. I'd say try to find a maintenace level of calories for the first month or so (15x BW in lbs is a good starting point). You will probably notice quite dramatic changes in your body without having to worry about cut/bulk. Keep your diet balanced (see post 2 for Gordy's recommended foods), make sure you get a good amount of protein, and drink plenty of water.

Once you are comfortable with the new eating routine you can start thinking about whether you need to drop or raise the calories.

Duradrum · 14 Jul 2006 at 20:57

Anders0n said:
Anyone want to help me with my diet?

Should I be going on cutting diet first?

IMO, you'd be better off cutting down on your body fat first, then building more muscle once your bodyfat is of a level your happy with. This is the route I'm taking myself. I started at around 24%BF in April, currently 16%ish and goal is 12% for 1/9/6.

Cutting down on BF is physcologically rewarding; you can see results and you will look/feel 'bigger' as your muscle seperation and definition will start to appear. As a beginner, it is likely you will build a small amount of muscle, even on a calorie defecit.

How tall are you? Do you know your current BF%?

Anders0n · 14 Jul 2006 at 21:35

Duradrum said:
How tall are you? Do you know your current BF%?

I'm about 6ft. Not sure what my BF% is atm.

Ideally I'm looking to know how many calories, how much protein, complex carbs, and good fats I should have in my diet. Maybe I should start around 2000 calories a day and see where that gets me? I know exactly what sort of foods I should be eating just not how much of the above.

May thanks.

Duradrum · 14 Jul 2006 at 21:50

Anders0n said:
I'm about 6ft. Not sure what my BF% is atm.

Ideally I'm looking to know how many calories, how much protein, complex carbs, and good fats I should have in my diet. Maybe I should start around 2000 calories a day and see where that gets me? I know exactly what sort of foods I should be eating just not how much of the above.

May thanks.

I'd aim for around 2300 cals per day, which based on your stats should put you in a calorie reduced diet, mainly sacrificing carbs & fat.

Here is a great guide that I am following myself:
Ripping Up

and some more great reading written by someone far more knowledgable in fitness than me:
Building your house

Give them a read, they provide some excellent information

Anders0n · 14 Jul 2006 at 21:56

Duradrum said:
I'd aim for around 2300 cals per day, which based on your stats should put you in a calorie reduced diet, mainly sacrificing carbs & fat.

Here is a great guide that I am following myself:
Ripping Up

and some more great reading written by someone far more knowledgable in fitness than me:
Building your house

Give them a read, they provide some excellent information

Thanks mate, i'll give them a read later on tonight. That muscletalk is a fantastic site. :cool:

Thanks oddjob62 aswell.

Chong Warrior · 23 Jul 2006 at 23:24

Well I finally got round to taking some pics for my training journal on another body building forum, thought I'd post some here. I've been training again for just over 12 months after a good few years off through injury.

Click images for larger pic.

5th March 2006 - 15 stone 7lbs (217lbs)

18th July 2006 - 15 stone 1lb (211lbs)

I have a before and after pic from the front aswell but the new shots are very blurry, so I'm going to try and get a new front one done. Quality isn't upto much, it's only a camera phone and my missus is no David Bailey!

My diet is pretty good and my training has been dedicated. I never really skipped a session in the last 12 months. 5 weeks ago I took a 2 week break as my old elbow injury started to flare up again

the last 3 weeks I've put myself through a gruelling HST routine

Supplements used:
Whey protein - muscle growth
Creatine - strength & cell volumizing
Taurine - endurance, cell volumizing & stops cramps
Glucosamine - joints
Fish oil caps - health and joints
Multi-vitamin - health
Green Tea Extract - for fat burning & health
Cissus Quadrangularis - for joint, tendon & ligament healing

Doesn't take long to build a fairly decent physique with a good diet, exercise routine and the right supplements at the right time. I know there's a few people on here who say supplements are a waste of time and money but I disagree. I think the supplements I use help tremendously and doubt I'd be able to train as hard as I do without them! especially when trying to lower bodyfat!!

Fusion · 25 Jul 2006 at 10:22

Excellent work mate. Plenty of mass and well defined. Suprised you use creatine though, as I've found it makes you look soft. Unless you're using CEE, which apparently doesn't cause bloat, but I've never tried that.

Chong Warrior · 25 Jul 2006 at 13:18

Fusion said:
Excellent work mate. Plenty of mass and well defined. Suprised you use creatine though, as I've found it makes you look soft. Unless you're using CEE, which apparently doesn't cause bloat, but I've never tried that.

Cheers mate

Creatine mono only really causes bloat when that pointless rule about loading @ 20g a day for 5 days is followed. I find that causes a lot of water to be held.

I use 3g Creatine CEE 30 mins before I train and 5g Creatine mono in my post workout shake along with 50g dextrose & 40g whey. Those are the only times I take Creatine though, never take on rest days.

ethos · 28 Jul 2006 at 09:11

Anders0n said:
The stuff at the bottom of this page?

http://www.sports-nutrition.net/acatalog/whey-protein-products.html

It's just the stuff I was thinking of getting, using the musletalk coupon code to get 2 for £19.99

Bought 10lb of unflavoured whey for £19.99 from myprotein a couple of month ago, apart from being in the most annoying tubs ever it was cheap and with a bit of honey/whatever made a nice shake. Where is this code to get 2 tubs (or 4 x 5lb tubs?) for £19.99? I'm just about to order so I'm glad I saw this!!

ethos · 28 Jul 2006 at 09:16

Oh and all-in-1 is just re-badged Reflex as far as I know. Ordered some things from them before and "reflex uk" was the name on my bank statement.

If you buy 2 tubs they become £13.99 each. What a bargain, anyway... the coupon?

red11 · 3 Aug 2006 at 20:49

Chong Warrior - That is brilliant progress, what height are you?

Euro_Hunter · 3 Aug 2006 at 21:45

ethos said:
Oh and all-in-1 is just re-badged Reflex as far as I know.

The Nutritional info on the all-in-1 & Reflex Whey don't match so its not the same product but maybe its still made by Reflex?

Chong Warrior · 3 Aug 2006 at 22:09

Tony Soprano said:
Chong Warrior - That is brilliant progress, what height are you?

Cheers

Height: 6' 0"
Chest: 45" - relaxed : 49" - flexed
Waist: 35"
Thigh: 26" - middle
Quad: 21.5" - above knee
Calf: 17"
Bicep: 15.5" - flexed:- 16.75"
Neck: 17.25"
Forearm: 13" - flexed:- 13.5"
Wrist: 7.5"

Those measurements are from May 24th haven't taken any since apart from a quick go last week on my waist - 34" and calf - 17.5"

The waist is a strange one though, as I can't wear any of my 32" jeans without a belt or they'll fall off...

BoomAM · 3 Aug 2006 at 23:37

Chong Warrior said:
The waist is a strange one though, as I can't wear any of my 32" jeans without a belt or they'll fall off...

Jean sizes are useless. Ive had the same sized jeans, one pair can fit me skin tight, and the other is really baggy!

Anders0n · 5 Aug 2006 at 19:55

Hi there

Got a few more questions:

How exactly should I be doing HIIT? Google brings up a few different answers but it would be great if i could hear how some of you lot are doing it.

I've currently taken to doing 40 mins moderate HIIT (not sure I'm even doing it right?) 3 times a week and no weights. This is in conjunction with a cutting diet. This is in aim of loosing a lot of my body fat quickly. Is this OK? Should I be doing weights aswell?

Another thing: It's alright eating all these calories but how are you burning them off? I'm asking this because I've never eaten as many calories as I am now and I'm worried I'll start to put on weight instead of loosing it. I'm currently not in work as I dont start till october so going to the gym is my only exercise during the day, so how am I supposed to be burning off all these calories?

Hope all that makes sense.

Many thanks to whoever replies.

cheets64 · 6 Aug 2006 at 01:30

I am gonna start going to the gym proper now, I did a few months before I went on holiday on the weights, but going on holiday has shown me I am not fit and I have the base to build a stocky frame.

I will be posting the usual updates and pictures. I have the Chris Ryan SAS fitness book and its quite good.

I am keen biker and I wouldnt mind getting more power into my legs, I have big thighs atm but too much fat covering them.

Anders0n · 7 Aug 2006 at 18:12

Reading about a bit more on HIIT, I've realised I've been doing it drastically wrong. Previously I was doing 4mins on 4mph then 30secs on 8mph.

Going from this site I'll be doing:

Example of a 23-Minute HIIT Treadmill Session
1. Run at 12 mph for 30 seconds to one minute (hands off!)
2. Walk easy for two minutes.
3. Repeat cycle seven more times.
4. If the work interval doesn’t fry you, use a slight grade.
5. Or, run at 6 or more mph at 15 percent incline.

Any chance that someone could answer some of my other questions above?

Many thanks

Duradrum · 7 Aug 2006 at 18:19

Anders0n said:
Reading about a bit more on HIIT, I've realised I've been doing it drastically wrong. Previously I was doing 4mins on 4mph then 30secs on 8mph.

Going from this site I'll be doing:

Example of a 23-Minute HIIT Treadmill Session
1. Run at 12 mph for 30 seconds to one minute (hands off!)
2. Walk easy for two minutes.
3. Repeat cycle seven more times.
4. If the work interval doesn’t fry you, use a slight grade.
5. Or, run at 6 or more mph at 15 percent incline.

Any chance that someone could answer some of my other questions above?

Many thanks

That sounds fine. When I do HIIT I run full pelt for 25 secs, wait until my heart rate hits 185-190 bpm, then slow down to walking pace, wait for heart rate to drop to 130bpm, walk at this pace for 2 mins then run full pelt again.

I would really recommend you start weights though for more effective fat loss.

Anders0n · 7 Aug 2006 at 18:30

Duradrum said:
That sounds fine. When I do HIIT I run full pelt for 25 secs, wait until my heart rate hits 185-190 bpm, then slow down to walking pace, wait for heart rate to drop to 130bpm, walk at this pace for 2 mins then run full pelt again.

I would really recommend you start weights though for more effective fat loss.

Yeah I'll do weights in between cardio days.

Quick Qu: Ealier in the thread you said you eat 2600 calories a day, what else do you do during the day to burn off those calories? If you dont mind me asking.