wazzas progress

waz

After joining this site this week i think ive learnt more than i have done in the last 2-3 years!

Ive been going to the gym on and off for the last 2-3 years, after joining this site this week ive decided that im now ready to knuckle down and give it a proper go. im going to work out a training and eating plan based around the stuff that i learn on here and hopefully a few month down the line i will beable to record some improvements.

I currently weigh 16st (6ft tall) with a certain degree of shape but nothing impressive! i have a bit of fat on me, mainly around my thighs, stomach and buttocks which i would like to lose, im currently comfortable doing 3 sets of ten reps of the bench press with 70kg. i dont have any info on deadlift, squats etc. as i havnt even attempted them before

I go to the gym at half 6 on a morning (straight after work!) gonna start off with a basic routine of-

mon- legs and cycling
tue- chest, shoulders and triceps
wed- back and biceps
thur- legs and cycling
fri- chest, shoulders and triceps
sat- back and biceps

Obviously as with anything else people will have opinions on this routine (which are welcome!) but it is just to start off with and i will alter it as i learn new stuff.

Im going to aim for 5-6 meals per day and will amend the calorie, protein, carb and fat content of these as i move forward.

A typical day of mine will resemble something like this but obviously with variations in types of food-

16:30- wake up
eggs or tin of mackerel on 2 slices of wholemeal toast

19:00- fish, chicken or steak with 2 ptns of veg (usually broccoli)

20:00 or 21:00- go to work

23:30- 2 pcs of fruit and a yoghurt

01:30- tuna and cucumber sandwich and 3 tomatoes

04:30- tuna and cucumber sandwich

06:30- gym

07:45- have a protein shake, relax and (hopefully!) get to sleep for 08:30


I also take a multivitamin as i understand this is important. ive been looking at a supplement called tribulus, i dont know much about it but would anyone recommend it and would it benefit me?

Going to post a starting picture up at the weekend.

Any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Steve.

Pikey

Good luck Wazza.

As you've asked for opinion...

I don't think you are giving yourself enough recovery time, you're trying to do everything twice in seven days - dependant on the intensity you train at you'll be over training, I'd change to a 4 day split with a rest day every third day, or run a 4-day split Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri. If you've trained your legs properly you'll not be able to do much cycling, I wouldn't even try. if you wish to maximise fat loss, I'd try and get your cardio in before your first meal instead.

All the best

Pikey

Gazz

How long have you been on that current routine waz?Listen to Pikey,you're not giving yourself enough recovery time.I'm all for pushing yourself to the limits because the human body does adapt.But you'll start to burn out,especially your legs and tri's.

mon-Abs,legs
tue-chest and triceps
wed-cycling
thur-back and biceps
fri-shoulders and abs
sat-Rest
sun-Rest or an easy cycle

waz

so its ok just to train chest and legs once every week? before i came on here i was doing 3 days back and bi's and 3 days chest and tri's! was hardly ever training legs, just when i could be bothered! so im already feeling like im cutting down as it is, to train those muscles once per week would feel like i wasnt doing enough!
obviously you guys know more than me about this so im gonna take on board what youve suggested and amend my routine, thanks.
any opinions on the tribulus?

Gazz

But you know how your body works and responds.All our bodies are adaptable to whats thrown at it but its still a headache sometimes getting things right.Under training is just as detrimental as over training you are right.The bottom line is only you will know when a muscle is ready to train again.Just be sure that its trained hard and rested well.Once a week is enough for my pecs and legs because i give 'em hell,they appreciate the rest.I only tweaked your routine just to try and remove the repetitiveness and bring in an extra days rest but nothings ever carved in stone.Find a routine thats satisfying to your needs and has adequate breaks in between because its the resting where the progress is made.Not the training.

waz

thanks, ill prob stick with the original routine for the first few months then and see how my body responds to it, i havnt missed abs out of my routine, i do them at home in the half hour from when i finish work until when the gym opens (6-6:30) would like to train them twice a week, which day should i train them though? eg. with back and bi's, or with one of my other muscle group days? or will it not really matter?

thanks again for all the help and assistance.

Gazz

Throw in Abs wherever you see fit.I do mine twice a week,usually Monday and Friday.

Nath

Welcome aboard Waz,
I have to agree with the above, I think that only through trial and error will you figure out the best split for u. I found that even when I was given perfectly valid advice, I still needed to figur it out by myself and in some cases, eventually think well yeah, I guess i should have taken that advice, The point is, over a period of time u get to know ur body more and more and begin to work out a split thats best for you. Good luck with it all mate and i hope u stick around musclechat.

Nath

another thing, don't be afraid to try something that might go against the grain of what u believe, I used to train for sometimes over 2 hours a session and thought it not possible to do justice to my training to train for less, I have since really upped the intensity and am still hitting the muscle just as hard if not harder in about an hour (I know Cal and Tall will probably think even that is too long lol). By the same token, if ur making progress with what ur doing it wouldnt be right for someone to say ur doing it wrong. The point is to keep an open mind and remember that it is all a learning curve and beliefs you hold now may well change the more you learn about yourself. Amen