Goals - Weight, fat, nutrition
07-02-2015, 12:48 PM
#11
Don't fuss over the body fat and showing of the abs. The abs will show. How are you measuring body fat?
If you can't increase the speed, then you need to increase the distance. You will see an improvement overall, but then your body will adjust and learn that it needs to fuel itself for x distance. You'll plateau, just like how you're now. The body learns. If you can get a hold off heart rate monitor, try to figure out your "uncomfort" zone. Try to stay in it and train yourself to increase it. Don't want you to kill yourself but if you want to push, you have to figure out what you think your body is telling you and what it really is doing. Tempo runs, speed work is all good. Hell, find a track and just sprint 50/100 meters. Walk 50m and repeat the sprint.
If you're patient, change up your program. I've been lifting/strength training since 96. The back/chest, arms, legs days are long gone. I used to do that but now I just do a bit of everything if I go to the gym.
Oh and I have no nutrition advice. I eat what I want and when I want. Ice cream, fried chicken, bacon and donuts. My wife says, I'm lucky, I believe her. One thing though, moderation.
If you can't increase the speed, then you need to increase the distance. You will see an improvement overall, but then your body will adjust and learn that it needs to fuel itself for x distance. You'll plateau, just like how you're now. The body learns. If you can get a hold off heart rate monitor, try to figure out your "uncomfort" zone. Try to stay in it and train yourself to increase it. Don't want you to kill yourself but if you want to push, you have to figure out what you think your body is telling you and what it really is doing. Tempo runs, speed work is all good. Hell, find a track and just sprint 50/100 meters. Walk 50m and repeat the sprint.
If you're patient, change up your program. I've been lifting/strength training since 96. The back/chest, arms, legs days are long gone. I used to do that but now I just do a bit of everything if I go to the gym.
Oh and I have no nutrition advice. I eat what I want and when I want. Ice cream, fried chicken, bacon and donuts. My wife says, I'm lucky, I believe her. One thing though, moderation.
07-02-2015, 03:28 PM
#12
Didn't really see much about sugar intake...that can be an absolute killer.
Some of the snack bars and shakes can be packed full of sugar. Some good ideas for snacky things can be almonds, nuts, etc. How much water intake? Try eating smaller meals more frequently? Make sure your not eating at least a few hours before bed.
Some fruits/veggies will last longer in the fridge, like carrots, green pepper, tomato, even after they arent looking so fresh, throw them in a stirfry with whole grain rice. sweet potato is great too. Oh another thing for mixed greens keep them from going bad slower by putting a piece of paper towel inside the packaging
Some of the snack bars and shakes can be packed full of sugar. Some good ideas for snacky things can be almonds, nuts, etc. How much water intake? Try eating smaller meals more frequently? Make sure your not eating at least a few hours before bed.
Some fruits/veggies will last longer in the fridge, like carrots, green pepper, tomato, even after they arent looking so fresh, throw them in a stirfry with whole grain rice. sweet potato is great too. Oh another thing for mixed greens keep them from going bad slower by putting a piece of paper towel inside the packaging
07-02-2015, 04:02 PM
#13
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Don't fuss over the body fat and showing of the abs. The abs will show. How are you measuring body fat?
If you can't increase the speed, then you need to increase the distance. You will see an improvement overall, but then your body will adjust and learn that it needs to fuel itself for x distance. You'll plateau, just like how you're now. The body learns. If you can get a hold off heart rate monitor, try to figure out your "uncomfort" zone. Try to stay in it and train yourself to increase it. Don't want you to kill yourself but if you want to push, you have to figure out what you think your body is telling you and what it really is doing. Tempo runs, speed work is all good. Hell, find a track and just sprint 50/100 meters. Walk 50m and repeat the sprint.
If you're patient, change up your program. I've been lifting/strength training since 96. The back/chest, arms, legs days are long gone. I used to do that but now I just do a bit of everything if I go to the gym.
Oh and I have no nutrition advice. I eat what I want and when I want. Ice cream, fried chicken, bacon and donuts. My wife says, I'm lucky, I believe her. One thing though, moderation.
If you can't increase the speed, then you need to increase the distance. You will see an improvement overall, but then your body will adjust and learn that it needs to fuel itself for x distance. You'll plateau, just like how you're now. The body learns. If you can get a hold off heart rate monitor, try to figure out your "uncomfort" zone. Try to stay in it and train yourself to increase it. Don't want you to kill yourself but if you want to push, you have to figure out what you think your body is telling you and what it really is doing. Tempo runs, speed work is all good. Hell, find a track and just sprint 50/100 meters. Walk 50m and repeat the sprint.
If you're patient, change up your program. I've been lifting/strength training since 96. The back/chest, arms, legs days are long gone. I used to do that but now I just do a bit of everything if I go to the gym.
Oh and I have no nutrition advice. I eat what I want and when I want. Ice cream, fried chicken, bacon and donuts. My wife says, I'm lucky, I believe her. One thing though, moderation.
The bodyfat thing is an aesthetic appeal thing for me to be honest.
If I can get there without being detrimental to my health, why not. Didn't really see much about sugar intake...that can be an absolute killer.
Some of the snack bars and shakes can be packed full of sugar. Some good ideas for snacky things can be almonds, nuts, etc. How much water intake? Try eating smaller meals more frequently? Make sure your not eating at least a few hours before bed.
Some fruits/veggies will last longer in the fridge, like carrots, green pepper, tomato, even after they arent looking so fresh, throw them in a stirfry with whole grain rice. sweet potato is great too. Oh another thing for mixed greens keep them from going bad slower by putting a piece of paper towel inside the packaging
Some of the snack bars and shakes can be packed full of sugar. Some good ideas for snacky things can be almonds, nuts, etc. How much water intake? Try eating smaller meals more frequently? Make sure your not eating at least a few hours before bed.
Some fruits/veggies will last longer in the fridge, like carrots, green pepper, tomato, even after they arent looking so fresh, throw them in a stirfry with whole grain rice. sweet potato is great too. Oh another thing for mixed greens keep them from going bad slower by putting a piece of paper towel inside the packaging
Stirfry is a go-to when I'm short on time and abundant on a lot of small portions of random crap
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avajohonson2395 (07-30-2020)
07-02-2015, 04:36 PM
#15
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Originally Posted by starchland
Curious what is your sugar intake daily roughly just to compare
07-03-2015, 11:16 PM
#16
In a nutshell, ive been lifting steady since 26 yrs old, so 15 years now. I am 5' 11" same as OP. Was always a fairly muscular but thin build with fairly broad shoulders, at 155-160lb all through high school and into my mid 20's. I noticed I was starting to get a gut in mid 20's, and last thing i wanted was that skinny fat guy build, so i got serious about weight lifting and learned a lot over the years through trial and error on what works and what doesn't to finally get me the results i was after, which was simply to put on as much muscle size naturally as I could.
For the first 5 years I hit it hard 5 days a week and did what I thought was good, which was live on basically a steak and salad diet, and though I made some nice gains after a couple years of that, I was stuck at 175 for several years no matter how hard I worked in the gym.
Eventually I slacked off on that food regiment started slacking on the frequency to 4 days a week, and started getting into the 180's for the first time, which was thrilling. My body was obviously starving for carbs and rest. I worked down to 3 days a week as ive been doing for the last 10 years or so, however my lifts and muscle size increased consistently during this time, wile my mid section stayed the same. The heaviest I got was up to 208 but at 14% body fat, which was when I was eating and drinking anything and everything as long as I got enough protein. Rather crude, but I was in the mass building zone and didn't care of a little puge/softer look.
In the last year or so Ive reduced drinking by 50%, pay attention to my calories I actually need to maintain my ideal body weight after learning that my macros were way off for me going off general calculations, so I through that out the window. I now have kept a steady 187-194lb average, dropped my waist from 35" to 33" more cut looking yet have maintained my 50" chest and 16.5" arms, so ive actually dropped 2% body fat, but kept or increased my muscle mass, all wile still eat pretty much anything i want, including too much sugar and junk food, however I monitor it and keep close to within my fats/carbs/protein balance ive learned through trial that I need for my activity level and lifting regiment. I will jog maybe once a week 3-4 miles at best, and lately in this heat, have slacked that off to near 0 over the last 2 months. Ive never looked better now at 40yrs old then ever in the past. I rarely eat lean meats and vegetables. Those things are healthy and I should eat more of them for that reason, but as far as building muscle mass, if you eat bird food, you will look like a bird. The secret for me is eating enough carbs and protein to meet my daily caloric needs that puts on muscle mass and maintains it, that muscle in turns burns the fat for you. Let your body work for you. You must have plenty of down time. Clearly the OP is over training. Take a break, eat some ice cream and then go lift heavy weights with authority the next day lol.
My general macros I follow loosely are 3250 total calories to maintain 190lb 12%. 66/434/248. And im still making muscle gains. From the sounds of it, I am expending much less time and energy in a weeks time then Op, and yet have a body that looks as though im working much harder. Time and consistency has been on my side, and so time has a lot to do with it, but time doing the right or wrong things are just as important looking back. I wish I would have done some things differently during my time, which would have sped up my progress.
For the first 5 years I hit it hard 5 days a week and did what I thought was good, which was live on basically a steak and salad diet, and though I made some nice gains after a couple years of that, I was stuck at 175 for several years no matter how hard I worked in the gym.
Eventually I slacked off on that food regiment started slacking on the frequency to 4 days a week, and started getting into the 180's for the first time, which was thrilling. My body was obviously starving for carbs and rest. I worked down to 3 days a week as ive been doing for the last 10 years or so, however my lifts and muscle size increased consistently during this time, wile my mid section stayed the same. The heaviest I got was up to 208 but at 14% body fat, which was when I was eating and drinking anything and everything as long as I got enough protein. Rather crude, but I was in the mass building zone and didn't care of a little puge/softer look.
In the last year or so Ive reduced drinking by 50%, pay attention to my calories I actually need to maintain my ideal body weight after learning that my macros were way off for me going off general calculations, so I through that out the window. I now have kept a steady 187-194lb average, dropped my waist from 35" to 33" more cut looking yet have maintained my 50" chest and 16.5" arms, so ive actually dropped 2% body fat, but kept or increased my muscle mass, all wile still eat pretty much anything i want, including too much sugar and junk food, however I monitor it and keep close to within my fats/carbs/protein balance ive learned through trial that I need for my activity level and lifting regiment. I will jog maybe once a week 3-4 miles at best, and lately in this heat, have slacked that off to near 0 over the last 2 months. Ive never looked better now at 40yrs old then ever in the past. I rarely eat lean meats and vegetables. Those things are healthy and I should eat more of them for that reason, but as far as building muscle mass, if you eat bird food, you will look like a bird. The secret for me is eating enough carbs and protein to meet my daily caloric needs that puts on muscle mass and maintains it, that muscle in turns burns the fat for you. Let your body work for you. You must have plenty of down time. Clearly the OP is over training. Take a break, eat some ice cream and then go lift heavy weights with authority the next day lol.
My general macros I follow loosely are 3250 total calories to maintain 190lb 12%. 66/434/248. And im still making muscle gains. From the sounds of it, I am expending much less time and energy in a weeks time then Op, and yet have a body that looks as though im working much harder. Time and consistency has been on my side, and so time has a lot to do with it, but time doing the right or wrong things are just as important looking back. I wish I would have done some things differently during my time, which would have sped up my progress.
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avajohonson2395 (07-30-2020)
07-04-2015, 07:01 AM
#17
Wow - 50" chest and 33" waist? That's beyond freakish. I am 6' and have slightly bigger arms and the same waist but my chest is 44". I can't imagine adding another 6". Good for you! My weight is also between 188-192 lbs and my peak was 204 lbs (last year). I haven't been below 184 lbs in the last ten years.
Interestingly, I have somewhat similar results as you, in terms of eating and workout frequency. I've found that if I train less and eat a little bit "bad", I actually see somewhat better results. I spent the last few months doing 4-5 workouts a week and cut down my weight a bit but also lost a fair bit of muscle in the process. I'm now down to 3-4 workouts a week and am seeing some good strength gains and a bit more size.
I'm 35, too, which means my body probably needs more recovery time compared to a 20-25 year old.
Interestingly, I have somewhat similar results as you, in terms of eating and workout frequency. I've found that if I train less and eat a little bit "bad", I actually see somewhat better results. I spent the last few months doing 4-5 workouts a week and cut down my weight a bit but also lost a fair bit of muscle in the process. I'm now down to 3-4 workouts a week and am seeing some good strength gains and a bit more size.
I'm 35, too, which means my body probably needs more recovery time compared to a 20-25 year old.
07-06-2015, 03:26 PM
#19
Wow - 50" chest and 33" waist? That's beyond freakish. I am 6' and have slightly bigger arms and the same waist but my chest is 44". I can't imagine adding another 6". Good for you! My weight is also between 188-192 lbs and my peak was 204 lbs (last year). I haven't been below 184 lbs in the last ten years.
I'm 35, too, which means my body probably needs more recovery time compared to a 20-25 year old.
I'm 35, too, which means my body probably needs more recovery time compared to a 20-25 year old.
I consider myself pretty successful at what ive done, but I don't know everything and am always looking out for some new information that someone may have that will help me reach my goals more effectively, and I gather that's what this thread is, so just wanted to offer what little i had to contribute. Enough rambling from me.
07-06-2015, 06:24 PM
#20
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In a nutshell, ive been lifting steady since 26 yrs old, so 15 years now. I am 5' 11" same as OP. Was always a fairly muscular but thin build with fairly broad shoulders, at 155-160lb all through high school and into my mid 20's. I noticed I was starting to get a gut in mid 20's, and last thing i wanted was that skinny fat guy build, so i got serious about weight lifting and learned a lot over the years through trial and error on what works and what doesn't to finally get me the results i was after, which was simply to put on as much muscle size naturally as I could.
For the first 5 years I hit it hard 5 days a week and did what I thought was good, which was live on basically a steak and salad diet, and though I made some nice gains after a couple years of that, I was stuck at 175 for several years no matter how hard I worked in the gym.
Eventually I slacked off on that food regiment started slacking on the frequency to 4 days a week, and started getting into the 180's for the first time, which was thrilling. My body was obviously starving for carbs and rest. I worked down to 3 days a week as ive been doing for the last 10 years or so, however my lifts and muscle size increased consistently during this time, wile my mid section stayed the same. The heaviest I got was up to 208 but at 14% body fat, which was when I was eating and drinking anything and everything as long as I got enough protein. Rather crude, but I was in the mass building zone and didn't care of a little puge/softer look.
In the last year or so Ive reduced drinking by 50%, pay attention to my calories I actually need to maintain my ideal body weight after learning that my macros were way off for me going off general calculations, so I through that out the window. I now have kept a steady 187-194lb average, dropped my waist from 35" to 33" more cut looking yet have maintained my 50" chest and 16.5" arms, so ive actually dropped 2% body fat, but kept or increased my muscle mass, all wile still eat pretty much anything i want, including too much sugar and junk food, however I monitor it and keep close to within my fats/carbs/protein balance ive learned through trial that I need for my activity level and lifting regiment. I will jog maybe once a week 3-4 miles at best, and lately in this heat, have slacked that off to near 0 over the last 2 months. Ive never looked better now at 40yrs old then ever in the past. I rarely eat lean meats and vegetables. Those things are healthy and I should eat more of them for that reason, but as far as building muscle mass, if you eat bird food, you will look like a bird. The secret for me is eating enough carbs and protein to meet my daily caloric needs that puts on muscle mass and maintains it, that muscle in turns burns the fat for you. Let your body work for you. You must have plenty of down time. Clearly the OP is over training. Take a break, eat some ice cream and then go lift heavy weights with authority the next day lol.
My general macros I follow loosely are 3250 total calories to maintain 190lb 12%. 66/434/248. And im still making muscle gains. From the sounds of it, I am expending much less time and energy in a weeks time then Op, and yet have a body that looks as though im working much harder. Time and consistency has been on my side, and so time has a lot to do with it, but time doing the right or wrong things are just as important looking back. I wish I would have done some things differently during my time, which would have sped up my progress.
For the first 5 years I hit it hard 5 days a week and did what I thought was good, which was live on basically a steak and salad diet, and though I made some nice gains after a couple years of that, I was stuck at 175 for several years no matter how hard I worked in the gym.
Eventually I slacked off on that food regiment started slacking on the frequency to 4 days a week, and started getting into the 180's for the first time, which was thrilling. My body was obviously starving for carbs and rest. I worked down to 3 days a week as ive been doing for the last 10 years or so, however my lifts and muscle size increased consistently during this time, wile my mid section stayed the same. The heaviest I got was up to 208 but at 14% body fat, which was when I was eating and drinking anything and everything as long as I got enough protein. Rather crude, but I was in the mass building zone and didn't care of a little puge/softer look.
In the last year or so Ive reduced drinking by 50%, pay attention to my calories I actually need to maintain my ideal body weight after learning that my macros were way off for me going off general calculations, so I through that out the window. I now have kept a steady 187-194lb average, dropped my waist from 35" to 33" more cut looking yet have maintained my 50" chest and 16.5" arms, so ive actually dropped 2% body fat, but kept or increased my muscle mass, all wile still eat pretty much anything i want, including too much sugar and junk food, however I monitor it and keep close to within my fats/carbs/protein balance ive learned through trial that I need for my activity level and lifting regiment. I will jog maybe once a week 3-4 miles at best, and lately in this heat, have slacked that off to near 0 over the last 2 months. Ive never looked better now at 40yrs old then ever in the past. I rarely eat lean meats and vegetables. Those things are healthy and I should eat more of them for that reason, but as far as building muscle mass, if you eat bird food, you will look like a bird. The secret for me is eating enough carbs and protein to meet my daily caloric needs that puts on muscle mass and maintains it, that muscle in turns burns the fat for you. Let your body work for you. You must have plenty of down time. Clearly the OP is over training. Take a break, eat some ice cream and then go lift heavy weights with authority the next day lol.
My general macros I follow loosely are 3250 total calories to maintain 190lb 12%. 66/434/248. And im still making muscle gains. From the sounds of it, I am expending much less time and energy in a weeks time then Op, and yet have a body that looks as though im working much harder. Time and consistency has been on my side, and so time has a lot to do with it, but time doing the right or wrong things are just as important looking back. I wish I would have done some things differently during my time, which would have sped up my progress.
In light of all these comments I changed up my diet to include a few more carbs. macros are more or less 40/40/20 now although I'm all over the place a little these past two days since I haven't nailed a new meal plan down and I was ham on some sweet potato fries
I feel stuck though right now and I really don't want to bulk up just yet, at least until summer time passes by. Guess my option is to deal with it and carb up get more energy or suck it up for a couple more months and get to it then.
My general build is quite thin. I had to work really hard on my shoulders and lats to get my V shape going, guess some people have that in their genes and then working on it just accentuates it so much more.