Lifting Again

[weaksauce]

Hello Extreme Fitness!

I'm a 3rd year at UCLA now and I've decided to start lifting again, after a year long hiatus. This hiatus consisted of losing most of the hard work I put in my first year and picking up a habit of smoking pot and eating a lot of junk during the week was in large part why this happened.

But now I'm ready to head back to the gym, and have been really dedicated for the first 2 weeks already, eating well and working out well with friends that have a lot of experience. I'm making this new thread for some feedback as I am still in large part a newbie.

Stats: 6'0 175 lb.

Goal: Start off hard on the cardio for a couple weeks for a jump start to get lean. Then bulk up and get leaner.


Since the first goal is to get rid of all the flab I acquired, my suite mate suggested I knock out nearly all of the carbs (breads, pasta) out of my diet for 2 weeks to get a head start on my stomach, then start eating healthy after. I'm going to have trouble after since I'm still in the dorms and I have a meal plan that allows me to eat twice a day, but I can eat large meals and steal fruits since they have buffets dining halls.

My workout will consist of

Monday: Chest
Bench Press
Incline
Decline
Flies
Dips
Burn Out: Push ups

Tues: Bicep/Back
Regular Dungbell Curls
Shifting between regular and reverse barbell curls on certain days
Spider Curls
Hammer Curls

Pullups
Lat Pull Down
One Arm Dungbell pulls
Rows

Wednesday: Tri/Shoulder

Dips
Skull Crusher
Pull Downs

Shoulder Press
Seated Military Press
Side Lat Raise

I'm Doing 2 miles of cardio and this cheap 8 minute ab workout on youtube in my dorm daily

I'm also squeezing in leg workouts on certain days of the week.
(Calf Raises, and machine squats)


Any constructive criticism welcome.

[Steel_UK]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

Goal: Start off hard on the cardio for a couple weeks for a jump start to get lean. Then bulk up and get leaner.

I don't get that, leaning out to a stick and then bulking up? Wouldn't it be easier to just start lifting now and forget about leaning out to a stick and work on cardio alongside the lifting initially?

Out of personal preference I would say replace the pushups to failure with dips. Far more demanding in my opinion and help work the chest very well.

I've also noticed that you don't have any real heavy lifting! By that I mean deadlifts and squats, none are at all listed and you can't substitute doing those with the occasional leg press. Deadlifting and squats > anything else.

[weaksauce]

Opps I am lifting already, I'm just going extra hard on the treadmill and cutting out almost all my carbs in my diet is what I meant.

[Steel_UK]

That's suicidal in my opinion. You can't build muscle and strength easily with nothing to fuel you! I'm not sure if I am right in saying this, but I think those that go through that bodybuilding "cutting" lose a substantial amount of strength and muscle because of practically starving the body of fuel, therefore causing it call upon its reserves.

[tooncesthecat]

Bro, 2 hours of cardio? Waaaaaaay toooooo much! You are already pretty thin so if you are trying to bulk up you should cut the cardio out and eat tons more. But first you have to decide what you are doing. If you are trying to "lean out" at that height and weight, I think you are just lacking sufficient muscle mass. There's no way you're carrying too much fat. Screw the leaning out and just start hitting the basic movements like Steel UK said.

[weaksauce]

Ok sorry I didn't proofread my post at all.
I'm not doing 2hours of cardio, I meant 2 miles, sorry!

Also, I'm eating ok I think, I get two large meals and some extra fruits and nutrigrain bars in between.

Large meals almost always consisted of one good piece of grilled chicken, a salad, some pasta, cereal, and plenty of fruit juice. I make sure I feel full before I'm finished eating.

[tooncesthecat]

Suicidal is a good word for it! I am in the process of cutting for a show in May and it sucks. I am nearly on a ketogenic diet myself but I am eating lots of good fats for energy. Even doing this, I am sure I have lost some muscle mass along the way. This sucks but is somewhat inevitable with dieting and getting cut. The trick is to have the muscle first. I'm guessing you don't yet. So, again, lift heavy for the next year and eat, eat, eat. Don't cut out the carbs. Read up on good eating to include proper protein, carbs, and fats.

[tooncesthecat]

Spread the meals out into 6 or 7 smaller meals.

[wil]

I'll mostly just repeat what the others have already said.

Originally Posted by weaksauce

Goal: Start off hard on the cardio for a couple weeks for a jump start to get lean. Then bulk up and get leaner.

I'm sort of confused by that. A couple weeks of cardio won't get you lean. And then you're going to bulk up for how long before you get leaner? You'll be better off picking one goal and focusing on that for 3-4 MONTHS. Then if you want to switch you can revamp your goals and plan accordingly.

I'm also squeezing in leg workouts on certain days of the week.
(Calf Raises, and machine squats)

What do you mean by machine squats? Are they leg presses? Squats in a smith machine? Either way, your weekly plan should ALWAYS include a leg day because they are the biggest muscles on your body and besides the fact that squats and deadlifts help you gain overall strength, those exercises work so many muscles that they are calorie burning beasts and should be included even in a "leaning" routine.

Also, I'm eating ok I think, I get two large meals and some extra fruits and nutrigrain bars in between.

Like toonces said, spread your daily calories out over 6-7 smaller meals.


And that's my 2 cents.

[weaksauce]

question, what sets/reps do yo guys recommend?

Thanks for all the responses so far~!

[pliny_2001]

I'm going to recommend that you immediately ignore everything that your training partners are suggesting, if that's where you're getting your info.

6'0" 175 is skinny, for all intents and purposes. You may have flab, but that's because you don't have any muscle mass. It's not fat, and certainly not to the point where you have to go low-carb. Also -- you're not going low carb on pasta, fruit, and granola bars.

You -- you spent 85% of your post describing a workout routine (which is terrible -- a body part split where you're lifting 3x a week? You'll realize newbie gains for a month and a half, become disillusioned over the next month and a half, and quit soon thereafter).

Get your diet in order. BREAKFAST, lunch, dinner. Two snacks. 1 Protein shake (because you seem to want them, and your dining hall situation isn't ideal). Repeat for a few months.

Workout? Get Rippetoe or something. But it hurt my eyes to read that.

[weaksauce]

eryhtrgfd

[Steel_UK]

I don't see anything that would be considered "condescending". What I see is maybe someone getting a little bit touchy over nothing. The kind of talk you're seeing there is what one gets at a real gym, among lots of shouting and bollocking.

Or perhaps you train at an easy going place that doesn't even allow chalk?

[weaksauce]

i edited my post, I don't want to post in here anymore.

[Steel_UK]

I don't want to sound too harsh, but you're certainly living up to your username.

[wil]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

i edited my post, I don't want to post in here anymore.

While I hate to see a new member leave after such a short time, I can't help but wonder what you were expecting out of this thread.

See... there is an inherent risk in asking others for advice and/or feedback. Some of it may not be exactly uplifting. If you wanted people to just pat you on the back and tell you that your workout plan is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you should have just asked your buddies at the gym who helped you put it together.

But you specifically asked for constructive criticism. Constructive criticism includes (but is not limited to) someone pointing out how parts of your plan were lacking. You got some constructive criticism on your workout routine which mostly stated doing more for legs and/or finding a good plan to follow (like the one pliny suggested by Rippetoe). You got constructive criticism on your diet (from a guy who is entering a bodybuilding contest). I'm not sure where you picked up on anyone being condescending.

Either way... good luck to you as you try to reach your goals (goals which were also a little confusing as some including myself pointed out in their constructive criticism).

[torofuerte]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

i edited my post, I don't want to post in here anymore.

Awgh, the hell with this wimp shit.

Are you that weak, that wimpy that you have to make a post saying you don't want to post here anymore? If you had some balls, you would just avoid the website and go about your business instead of making a "departure" post. Weak wimp shit no matter how you cut it. Don't do this, specially in real life.

Furthermore, if you can't take no-nonsense constructive criticism from people who knows more than you, then good riddance. You might as well abandon any dreams or hopes of getting anywhere of physical merit and stop pretending you really want to train if you have that weak attitude.

Mark my words. Change that attitude and grow some thick skin, or just dream about getting anywhere in training.

You can take this post as condescending and think I'm a meanie coming out with guns blazing out to get you, or be smart about it and try to get a value out of it. Your choice. Your training. Your life.

[pliny_2001]

I have no idea what was written in the deleted post, but -- really? Someone got bent out of shape for what was written here?