Poll: ***The all new gymrats thread***

[Jonny L]

Kl, thanks dun. It's great to know that there is always people on here willing to give help and advice

 

[daztrouk]

Quick questions regarding diet as i don't think mine is as good as it should be. I workout 4 days a week, 45 minute weight session, followed by 20 minutes HIT cycling. I'm 6" and weigh 14 stone. My typical weekday diet is as follows:

7am - bowl of porridge with 2 scoops of protein
10am - apple
11am - apple
12pm - 2 scoop protein shake
1pm - (lunch) chicken breast with rice/pasta
2pm - apple
3pm - banana
4pm - banana
6pm - (dinner) normally chicken on it's own with a lot of salad drenched in olive oil
8pm - (straight after gym) 2 scoop protein shake
xpm - (bit hungry before bed) couple table spoons of peanut butter

i also drink roughly 4 litres of water a day. Does the above diet sound good for someone who's trying to gain muscle but also lose a bit of fat?

 

[dun]

For one it looks like nearly all your protein is in shakes which people try to avoid if possible. How is it working out so far?

 

[Jonny L]

Quick questions regarding diet as i don't think mine is as good as it should be. I workout 4 days a week, 45 minute weight session, followed by 20 minutes HIT cycling. I'm 6" and weigh 14 stone. My typical weekday diet is as follows:

7am - bowl of porridge with 2 scoops of protein
10am - apple
11am - apple
12pm - 2 scoop protein shake
1pm - (lunch) chicken breast with rice/pasta
2pm - apple
3pm - banana
4pm - banana
6pm - (dinner) normally chicken on it's own with a lot of salad drenched in olive oil
8pm - (straight after gym) 2 scoop protein shake
xpm - (bit hungry before bed) couple table spoons of peanut butter

i also drink roughly 4 litres of water a day. Does the above diet sound good for someone who's trying to gain muscle but also lose a bit of fat?

You must spend a fortune on whey powder

Try and replace at least some of those shakes with real food, stuff like fish, lean meat or pulses and nuts.

Also I would leave the banana out, except before your workout for an energy boost as this is quite a high GI food.

Pasta/rice should be wholegrain/brown.

Olive oil is ok, but maybe don't drench the salad in it, all things (only good things ) in moderation.

You're eating frequently which is good, but maybe not quite enough per sitting.

Also try and add some variety in terms of fruit and veg, this will give you numerous benefits. You can never have too much greenery.

 

[Freefaller]

For a start it's not a lot of calories. Secondly, waaaay too many shakes. And how do you know a work out will take exactly 45 mins? Some of mine last 90mins!!! So much fruit too, not that it's THAT bad, but it is high in fructose which will give you a huge insulin spike. I presume you eats lots of veggies too?

It doesn't look like a very good balanced diet to me, and short on calories too. Especially if you're trying to bulk up.

 

[J.T]

Right, Nearly finished sorting out Diet so now going to move onto routine.

Currently go to the Gym Monday/Wednesday/Friday and do 41 mins Cardio followed by Chest/Biceps on a Monday, Legs/Back on a Wednesday and Shoulders/Triceps on a Friday.

Outline of new Routine,

Monday – Chest/Biceps
Tuesday - Cardio
Wednesday – Back/Legs
Thursday – Cardio
Friday – Shoulders/Triceps
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - Rest

So essentially the same Weights routine just splitting out the cardio and cutting back a bit, only 2 cardio sessions as opposed to 3.

I had to really beg my missus to let me go to the Gym two extra days, she is going to kill me when I tell her I’m also going to start eating more! :/

Sound ok guys?

 

[Freefaller]

Looks ok to me. Just make sure you get lots of sleep too! My only advice, is that on a leg day typically it kills me and have little left in me for much more. Also a lot of leg work outs hit your lower back so it's something to bear in mind.

 

[J.T]

Yes I get the same thing (my legs are still killing me today from last Wednesday!), I normally do Back first I just put them the wrong way round above, Doh!

 

[daztrouk]

For one it looks like nearly all your protein is in shakes which people try to avoid if possible. How is it working out so far?

this is my worry, but when i'm at work i find it hard to have a decent diet. I bring in my lunch from home (always chicken breast with brown rice normally), so at least i know it's a bit better than what i'd get from the shops. Maybe i should bring in two lots!?

I'm in fairly decent shape, but i know my diet is limiting my results. I have a bit of a belly, but this is also down to my binging, which will be mentioned below.

You must spend a fortune on whey powder

Try and replace at least some of those shakes with real food, stuff like fish, lean meat or pulses and nuts.

Also I would leave the banana out, except before your workout for an energy boost as this is quite a high GI food.

Pasta/rice should be wholegrain/brown.

Olive oil is ok, but maybe don't drench the salad in it, all things (only good things ) in moderation.

You're eating frequently which is good, but maybe not quite enough per sitting.

Also try and add some variety in terms of fruit and veg, this will give you numerous benefits. You can never have too much greenery.

unfortunately yes. I forget the size, but it's a myprotein flavoured protein, costing about £30, and i buy it roughly every 3 weeks.

I forgot to mention my love for cashew nuts. I probably buy a 1kg bag every couple of weeks from the supermarket, and snack on these while in the office or at home. Unfortunately, i'm once of those people who once i start something, i have to finish it there and then. Meaning, i can quite easily finish the 1kg bag over the course of a day and a half.

Good thing you mentioned bananas, as i wasen't too sure on them myself as i've heard there quite high in sugar!?

For a start it's not a lot of calories. Secondly, waaaay too many shakes. And how do you know a work out will take exactly 45 mins? Some of mine last 90mins!!! So much fruit too, not that it's THAT bad, but it is high in fructose which will give you a huge insulin spike. I presume you eats lots of veggies too?

It doesn't look like a very good balanced diet to me, and short on calories too. Especially if you're trying to bulk up.

The number of calories is also an issue. I've had a lot of people tell me recently that i don't appear to eat a lot. I think my main worry is getting fat, as i do already have a bit of a belly that i'm trying to keep under control while getting bigger in muscle size. I think i'll try to increase the intake of real solid foods, rather than eating a lot of apples etc to keep my appetite to a minimum.

when i mentioned my 45min workout, i should have been more specific. I'd say my workouts last for at least 45 minutes. On a weekend, when the gym is empty, i could probably do a 45 minutes weight session each day no problem, as there no waiting on the equipment. On a weekday after work, i'll wait a fair bit longer. I'd say roughly an hour, or a little bit longer. That's just for weights btw, i'll still do my 20 minutes of cardio after.

I do eat a fair bit of veg with my dinner and lunch. Not as much as i eat salad, but i do throw in some carrots and other stuff.

Can you suggest some other foods that i could replace the foods i mentioned earlier with?

 

[Dj_Jestar]

set, sizeable meals are much better for controlling appetite than snacking. Frequent eating will raise your metabolism and keep your appetite up, but you won't necessarily be hungry per se. A Balance between the two is needed, and can be difficult to find. Unfortunately the best diet differs from person to person.

4 litres of water a day is astounding though.. I'm struggling to keep up 2 litres a day (and I drink nothing else except one cup of tea in the morning!)

 

[Freefaller]

You need to mass-prepare food over the week. Well, that's what I do at least. And then have it over the week something I can reheat or eat cold at work. You can bulk up without getting fat, you just have to get a balance and learn how your body responds to it. I fluctuate from a very low carb diet one week to a higher one the next until I get a balance my body likes. I try and get as many calories from protein as I can, but need carbs to get that extra "bit". Fortunately I use up the energy fairly well so I don't hold onto the carbs that long.

Brown/long grain/wild rice is great. Keep away from white bread or bread in general, and eat wholewheat pasta etc...

I make a vat of mincemeat (lamb or beef) and freeze it. Lots of chicken and fish too. I eat a LOT of greens. Spinach, broccoli, curly kale, green beans, mange tout, rocket etc... I get through kilos of the stuff every week. It's brilliant.

Ok today for example:

HUGE bowl of porridge
Fruit smoothie (banana, apple, blueberries, rasberries, yoghurt, milk, cinnamon, oats)
2 Poached eggs
mixed nuts & raisins
couscous with chickepeas and chicken in a tomato sauce
small pack of oat cakes
wholewheat pasta with homemade pesto
an orange
couple of cups of green tea
I'll have a banana before I train and will ahve a PWO shake blend that I've made myself
tonight I'm having some duck legs with mash and spinach

That's a very typical day for me.

 

[evil-onion]

daztrouk, do you feel hungry through most of the day?
On your diet i would have hunger pangs almost all the time...

Do not fall into the media trap of thinking you must cut out all fats and carbs from your diet, your body still needs fat and carbs for energy etc throughout the day.

it looks as though your having roughly 1500 calories a day, which is very low for someone that also trains. For the average joe in an office job dropping 500 cals or so off a daily diet can see good results, but dropping to 1500 cals and training is not very healthy...

I am a builder, so for me my breakfast is the most important meal, and its usually quite large with a bowl of weetabix, a bannana, 500g yoghurt, pint of whole milk, and 5 oat bars on the journey to london. I always struggle to eat big meals, and so if i can eat something, i tend to blend it.

A lot of people scorn shakes, but for me, i have to have them, i just dont get the time to stop every few hours to eat, so i quickly drink. plenty of recipies for smoothies or shakes about on the net, if your struggling to eat then maybe consider makign a calorie dense healthy shake to consume once a day as a boost... esp pre workout if your not having anything then.

J.T, aim for about an hour pre workout... you dont want to be training on a stuffed stomach and you want enough time for the body to do some work on the food... i normally eat about an hour to hour n half before i train.

For me i eat a whole dinner, chicken, pasta, veg etc, but i train for about 2-3 hours a night and if i dont have a good meal i feel weak and dizzy etc. I do a 30 min warmup with stretching and light weights on a circuit followed by 30-60 mins heavy compounds and isolations then rest for a bit and 1-2 hours of fighting.

I would try to limit shakes to pre, and post workout. so if you dont have time to eat some pasta or oats etc, maybe look at having a shake with oats.

A general shake i will drink would be based around;
I normally drink just over a pint of whole milk with a spoon of olive oil, loads of oat powder 2 scoops of malto and a spoon of nesquick for flavour as ive never been too keen on oats.

Remember though, what works for one person doesnt always work for another, i burn calories off quickly in the day and struggle to gain weight, so i add milk and oil, other people may find they gain too much fat from this.

Best advice i can give is to try things and see what works for you, get to know your own body and what your body needs... if your finding your not gaining weight, eat more, if your gaining too much fat, adjust your diet, if your running out of energy in the day change the food you are eating, and so on.

hope some of that post helps... i started to ramble a bit, and using the quick post cant see what i wrote earlier ( too lazy to scroll )

 

[J.T]

Off to the Gym now, thanks again for the advice guys.

 

[Jonny L]

On another note guys, what's your preferred method of cardio?

Up until recently I was doing my HIIT with running.

Now though I have started doing skipping for my HIIT. Really does feel like I'm achieving a lot of out put in that small amount of time (cut the time down to 20mins at the moment because I can't hack 30 haha).

What do you guys prefer?

 

[Buffman]

On another note guys, what's your preferred method of cardio?

Up until recently I was doing my HIIT with running.

Now though I have started doing skipping for my HIIT. Really does feel like I'm achieving a lot of out put in that small amount of time (cut the time down to 20mins at the moment because I can't hack 30 haha).

What do you guys prefer?

I prefer running at a consistent pace, never really tried HIIT though I might start considering it.

 

[evil-onion]

cardio for me, skipping, running, punching and kicking, burpees, etc
mountain biking also.

 

[Freefaller]

I like HIIT, but during the winter season rugby is hard to beat! Other than that shooting hoops or tennis/squash is good fun too. I don't like going for runs it bores me.

 

[evil-onion]

mix it up with bit of parkour then
i started doing a bit of that a while ago with some local lads that are fantastic at it... admittedly i was just doing basic stuff as if i tried any of the advanced jumps i think i would have made a bit of a fool of myself.

was absolutely shattered after just 20-30 mins though, these kids just kept running and jumping about for ages. great fun though!

 

[Jonny L]

mix it up with bit of parkour then
i started doing a bit of that a while ago with some local lads that are fantastic at it... admittedly i was just doing basic stuff as if i tried any of the advanced jumps i think i would have made a bit of a fool of myself.

was absolutely shattered after just 20-30 mins though, these kids just kept running and jumping about for ages. great fun though!

That's something I'd be quite interested to get into. Saw some videos on here and the tube and it looked quite good. Needless to say I had a lil go around the garden and my efforts were worse than poor

 

[dun]

Parkour with DOMS and inflexibility would not be a good idea for me