gym plan. what do i do?

[brimble]

hi all,

I need a bit of advice, I'm 36yrs old, 188cm (6ft2" old skool), 89kg and 12.5% fat according to one of them fancy fat measuring machines. I gym 5 times a week, split between 3 weights sessions (split one chest, one back and one shoulders) and x2 cardio (x1 interval running session and one improvised insanity type workout).

my diet is good, porridge for breakfast, tuna or chicken with salad or veg for lunch, and whatever my wife kindly cooks for evening dinner.

I don't really know what to do now though. my weights sessions are freestyled and I don't really feel I'm making the most of the effort I put in. I want to get a bit bigger but look more defined too. I guess for this I need to get my fat down a bit too, and get the 4 pack to 6 pack

any pointers out there for me? I think my diet is ok, to be fair although I've always eaten reasonably well, it's only over the last month or so(apart from Christmas) that I've made a more conscious effort on it.

thanks in advance.

[Nezquick]

brimble said:

hi all,

I need a bit of advice, I'm 36yrs old, 188cm (6ft2" old skool), 89kg and 12.5% fat according to one of them fancy fat measuring machines. I gym 5 times a week, split between 3 weights sessions (split one chest, one back and one shoulders) and x2 cardio (x1 interval running session and one improvised insanity type workout).

my diet is good, porridge for breakfast, tuna or chicken with salad or veg for lunch, and whatever my wife kindly cooks for evening dinner.

I don't really know what to do now though. my weights sessions are freestyled and I don't really feel I'm making the most of the effort I put in. I want to get a bit bigger but look more defined too. I guess for this I need to get my fat down a bit too, and get the 4 pack to 6 pack

any pointers out there for me? I think my diet is ok, to be fair although I've always eaten reasonably well, it's only over the last month or so(apart from Christmas) that I've made a more conscious effort on it.

thanks in advance.

A six-pack is made in the kitchen, not in the gym, and takes many weeks of strict diet to shed the body fat off the top of the muscles which are hiding underneath. I understand (although someone may have to correct me) that you need to get down to around 5-6% body fat to be able to start to see the abs.

It sounds like you're already putting in the gym time so maybe try the following:

1. Fasted cardio - i.e. 20-30 mins of HIIT/Cardio work first thing in the morning before you have eaten. This burns calories much more effectively.
2. Try upping your weights over time to add muscle mass.
3. You don't appear to be doing any lower leg/core exercises. I think it's imperative that you build in some compound lifting sessions - i.e. squats, deadlifts, bench press etc.
4. Make a note of what you lift each session. Freestyling it won't get you to reach your goals. You need to be adding weight every few sessions.
5. Doing the same thing over and over again will mean your body gets used to those exercises and will stop reacting/growing. Try and mix it up a bit - do different exercises each time for any given muscle.
6. Finally - supplements. Any form of muscle growth needs fuel. Whey protein is a good start.

[mcelliott]

I will correct you but it's not in a condescending manner you understand You should see visible abs quite easily at 8 - 10 %, or even more if good ab development is there already. 5/6% body fat really is not advisable in my book anyway.

[L4CON]

I'd scrap the chest/back/shoulder lifting split and focus on compound lifts.

Do you do any weighlifting for your legs?

[Nezquick]

mcelliott said:

I will correct you but it's not in a condescending manner you understand You should see visible abs quite easily at 8 - 10 %, or even more if good ab development is there already. 5/6% body fat really is not advisable in my book anyway.

Noted....I thought I may have been a bit off with my guess.

[brimble]

thanks guys, hmm, legs are kind of taken care of (probably incorrectly) with the 'freestyled insanity type workout' lunges, jumping lunges, jump squats, burpees etc. So my fat% doesn't need to come down a huge amount more then??

so Mondays are outside running intervals, I try to do different every week. (whole sessions last 40-45 mins)
and Thursdays are the improvised hiit session.

Tuesdays, weds and Fridays are when I do the weights, but I'm a bit lost really. weights sessions are 50 mins long as I fit them in to my lunchtime, I'm lucky enough to have a decent gym at work.

ah yes, I forgot to mention, weds evenings I've just started having swimming lessons as I cannot swim for toffee. (like literally, i could't swim, but I can do about 5-7 meters now)

[CarlosFandango11]

brimble said:

Tuesdays, weds and Fridays are when I do the weights, but I'm a bit lost really. weights sessions are 50 mins long as I fit them in to my lunchtime, I'm lucky enough to have a decent gym at work.

Here's a suggestion for weights: http://stronglifts.com/5x5/
And here's a thread on it: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[joshcowin]

I have been using Dorian Yates method of training for a while now, its worked really well for me and is different from the 3 sets of 10-12 or stronglifts, I am not saying its more effective just a different style/approach.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian-yates-blood...

[maxxy5]

I would drop one of the high intensity 'cardio' workouts and choose one of the workout plans posted above. Otherwise you would soon overtrain (in my experience, not necessarily true for you). You could probably still swim instead.

I too like the Dorian Yates style 'high intensity training', but it's not very fashionable at the moment. People would rather destroy their knees and puke everywhere doing crossfit

[brimble]

thanks guys, so much for the advice. It's definitely given me a new lease of life and impetus for the gym. I downloaded the 5x5 ap in the link above and worked through the first session of that. the ap said to start of with 20kg bar, which was very light, but I followed the program and then tagged a load of pullups and pressups on after the session. it felt good.

[BigJonMcQuimm]

mcelliott said:

I will correct you but it's not in a condescending manner you understand You should see visible abs quite easily at 8 - 10 %, or even more if good ab development is there already. 5/6% body fat really is not advisable in my book anyway.

Agreed - I have a well defined six pack.

Bf = 9

I eat and drink what I like - but train twice / three times a day!

[R8VXF]

mcelliott said:

5/6% body fat really is not advisable in my book anyway.

Why?

[didelydoo]

R8VXF said:

Why?

Because you're cold all the time

[R8VXF]

didelydoo said:

R8VXF said:

Why?

Because you're cold all the time

Lol. Not a major issue actually

[didelydoo]

R8VXF said:

Lol. Not a major issue actually

It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, and is likely not that healthy to stay at for prolonged periods. Not many folk sit at 5/6%, even if they think they do.

[R8VXF]

didelydoo said:

R8VXF said:

Lol. Not a major issue actually

It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, and is likely not that healthy to stay at for prolonged periods. Not many folk sit at 5/6%, even if they think they do.

I have been about that for 30 years, and yes I really was that lean. Starting to bulk up now so also put some fat on now so up to about 10% and on the rise.

[mcelliott]

R8VXF said:

didelydoo said:

R8VXF said:

Lol. Not a major issue actually

It's also a pain in the ass to maintain, and is likely not that healthy to stay at for prolonged periods. Not many folk sit at 5/6%, even if they think they do.

I have been about that for 30 years, and yes I really was that lean. Starting to bulk up now so also put some fat on now so up to about 10% and on the rise.

Agree with everything Didely said. So what was your height and weight out of interest, when you were sat at 5%?

[didelydoo]

R8VXF said:

I have been about that for 30 years, and yes I really was that lean. Starting to bulk up now so also put some fat on now so up to about 10% and on the rise.

That's a very low BF to maintain for 30 years, not to be rude, but I'm skeptical- are/were you muscular, or just skinny? I've been lower, and it wasn't particularly nice.

What's your weight & height out of interest?

[R8VXF]

didelydoo said:

R8VXF said:

I have been about that for 30 years, and yes I really was that lean. Starting to bulk up now so also put some fat on now so up to about 10% and on the rise.

That's a very low BF to maintain for 30 years, not to be rude, but I'm skeptical- are/were you muscular, or just skinny? I've been lower, and it wasn't particularly nice.

What's your weight & height out of interest?

Just skinny. Currently 5'8" 130lbs. Squat is around 110kg and deadlift 130kg. Bench is st. It is easy to maintain low bf% when small, never said it was easy when you are bulky Never had any complications due to be low bf either.

Pictures somewhere on my IG https://www.instagram.com/b4pjs/

[Mikeyjae]

brimble said:

thanks guys, so much for the advice. It's definitely given me a new lease of life and impetus for the gym. I downloaded the 5x5 ap in the link above and worked through the first session of that. the ap said to start of with 20kg bar, which was very light, but I followed the program and then tagged a load of pullups and pressups on after the session. it felt good.

I found Stronglifts 5x5 very good. You will find when you are in the earlier weeks, your work out will last about 30 mins. During the early period I also added my own issolation work like Preacher curls and tricep exts 1 day, incline bench and lat pull downs the other just to make my session last longer. Later on in the programme the lifts start to take there toll so make recovery during sets longer. Its worked very well for my strength and size.