*** The 2010 Gym Rats Thread ***

Freefaller said:
I'm officially now back on conditioning. Sitting at 16st 3lbs with my strength ever increasing, I know I can get back there. Time to go back to conditioning for 8 weeks or so before holiday then get really serious after I come back in my new gym and hit 650kg ;)
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what sort of work do you do for conditioning?
 
Throw in more (at least 2x a week) HIIT, (hill sprints, skipping), conditioning sessions in the gym (db clean and press, db swings, db squats, db pull ins), and 3x weight sessions (3x8-12, full body work out, chest, back, shoulder, leg and arms).
 
BennyC said:
If you think we're training chest & tri's you've another thing thing coming :p

We're going to smash legs! Like monsters! I always give 110% when I have a partner to train legs with :D
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I don't think it's a competition style beating he's talking about, I reckon it's physical violence style beating for buying all that nice kit when he doesn't have it. ;)
 
BennyC said:
You can but it's quite difficult.

Your friend deffinatley doesn't need to cut, there's hardly any fat on him. Tell him to get lifting for 6-7 months and then re-address if he still want's to cut. Him cutting now will just result in him being severley underweight as he doesn't have huge amounts of mass as it is. (Obviously being a beginner:))
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Thanks, I knew cutting would be a bad idea. Just wanted someone more knowledgable to see this. :p
 
My diet has really fell apart the last 2 or so months! My weight increase has stalled. My strength gains have stalled and I feel like im getting fatter and losing the muscle I worked so hard for. I was determined to reach 13 stone by the end of the year (currently 12s 5lbs'ish) but feel like i'm gonna fail the first proper goal i've set for myself.

I need to get a good staple basic diet that nails all the things I need to build size and strength.

How much do you guys spend in a week on food? Cant afford 5 figure shopping bills like freefaller with all that posh french quisine!

Is there anything wrong with the following basic diet?

4 or 5 eggs + 2 rounds of toast (pref brown bread but sometimes white)
Whey protein + fine oats
chicken + rice or tuna + pasta or other meat based meal
Whey protein + fine oats
chicken + rice or tuna + pasta or other meat based meal

Need to work out how many meals per week I have, how much protein per meal and how much food I need to buy.

Is there much point in having more than 30g of protein per meal? Thats what i've been aiming for.
 
Batf1nk said:
Cant afford 5 figure shopping bills like freefaller with all that posh french quisine!
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I lold.

Why eat white bread in the morning sometimes :S? Stop that :p
Err looks like a lot of carbs there, also you need more fruit/veg, maybe take out carb source in evening meal and add veg in
also add a pre bed meal of cottage cheese/other slow release protein.
 
Everyone else in the house the house eats white bread, so when i've ran out of brown, I eat theres! lol

I really struggle with veg. I know for a fact I dont get enough of it but there isnt a lot of it I like. Not so bad with salad stuff (onion, mushroom, lettuce, cucumber etc), but carrots, coliflower (sp?) brocoli (again sp? lol) etc I dont get on with.

What carb/protein ratio should I be aiming for?

Currently writing out a spreadsheet and shopping list to try and get this nailed.
 
good tastey way to get more veg in is making an omellete and adding spinach in :p. not sure on carb/protein/fat ratios tbh, I think a lot of people opt for 40/40/20 although some people favour higher fats and lower carbs
 
Is it actually vital to follow these food macros? I never have and have managed to put on a whole stone since may last year and kept my body fat the same :D

Best way and easiest way is to eat stir fry...dirt cheap, and dead asy to do, throw in some chicken or turkey. maybe some rice noodles if you want to add carbs if not dress in olive oil....delicous simple food
 
Right then, i've created a spreadsheet based on a 3000kcal diet (based on a 1850 bmr x 1.65 for medium to high physical activity = 3052) using a 40:40:20 carb:protein:fat (300g:300g:66g) ratio split into 6 meals. Got all the calcs and formulas sorted. Just need to find the right foods now to make up the right numbers. I'll do that tomorrow.

Night.
 
I'd increase the fats personally and reduce the carbs a little. Can you give an example of what you're going to be eating? 300g protein is a lot of food unless (nothing wrong with that) you're relying on shakes... also bear in mind that optimal protein synthesis is around 40g per serving, though that is not to say that you won't get more the more you eat, it's just g for g 40g is ideal. However, this is only true if you eat foods with decent sources of leucine which helps promote/increase protein synthesis. Eating LOADS of protein ultimately ends up in being expensive carbs, unless you're able to utilise the protein in full, which is why it's sensible to cut your food costs a little by buying more fats to make up the calories.

For example 50g of nuts has over double the calorie intake than a chicken breast.

Let us say you only got your calories from nuts, you'd have to eat just over 400g of nuts to get 3000 cals. To get the same amount of cals from chicken you'd need to eat 2,500g of chicken breasts.

We all love protein in this game, but it is an expensive way to get calories. However if you genuinely NEED 300g of protein, then that's fine, just be aware that if you're doing it to get calories into your diet it's not the best way.

As I don't know how much you weigh it's hard to know. But in terms of ratios 30:40:30 would probably be what I'd go for. Using those ratios will lower your protein intake a little as well as carb but increase your fat intake by a small amount. Remember there are more than 2x the calories for every gramme of fat.

Furthermore, being uber anal about ratios etc... will just lead it to a mine field. It's quite a challenge eating lots of calories, it's even more of a challenge to eat the right ones! Most people think they're eating a lot, but more often than not, they really aren't!

My shopping bills aren't that big, I've cut them down to about £70 a week!

It's good to see you're thinking about it, hope we can offer you more help with your goals. :)

Just saw your diet, it needs more variation, and generally more food.
 
Diet

I've been fiddling around with a diet for when I get back. I've never been fussy counting calories and so on so I doubt it's perfect, or even enough. Whatever the finished product is it'll have to be monitored and adjusted, but this is just a starting point.

It looks to be about 3,000 cals, protein: 228g, fat: 147g, carbs: 195g and works out at 30:44:26, which might be too highly weighted towards fats? Perhaps I'd be better reducing it and increasing protein? There's also loads of peanut butter in there which probably needs replacing with something else too.

I'm 178cm, 81-82kg. Cost per week looks to be about £30 which is good news for me.


Breakfast
4x eggs
70g oats
300ml milk
2tbsp peanut butter


Meal 2
100g steak
2tbsp peanut butter
100g mixed veg


Meal 3a - Pre-gym
2 bananas
1 can tuna


Meal 3b - Post-gym
2tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop protein
40g oats

Meal 4
200g steak
100g rice
100g mixed veg

Pre-bed
2tbsp peanut butter
1 scoop protein
100g cottage cheese
 
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SKull, you can swap the peanut butter for some unroasted unsalted nuts which are probably a little better in terms of good fats. Also you can add in more fruit in the mornings as snacks too. Tinned mackerel and just normal smoked mackerel is lovely and very nutritious. You can allow yourseld some cheat meals too don't forget.

Looks like a good breakfast too, too many people think a bowl of cereal is breakfast... it is not! Though I do sometimes just have cereal for brekkie but will follow it up when I get to work with something much more substantial.

I'd vary it a bit too, chicken, fish, pork, lamb, beef are all fine to eat, don't listen to the hype that other meats aren't good. Also beans/pulses/seeds are good to put into your diet too (and for vegetables actually are a good source of protein too).

Wholemeal pasta and couscous are good carb sources, as are sweet potatoes.

Lots of greens are needed though but I presume you meant that by mixed veg which is good. :)
 
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