Starting back (and a pic)...advice?

So I went to the gym today for the first time in a LONG time. I'm gonna be sore as crap tomorrow. My ass already hurts. :D

Anyway, I've been reading a lot about nutrition, supplementation, workout routines, etc. mostly from bodybuilding.com but I still have a few questions. I'd rather ask you guys than go to another forum, because I know that there are several of you that really know your stuff, and the BB.com forum is so huge, I'm afraid I'd lose my post.

I'm wondering mainly about lifting routines. I'm not necessarily going for lots of mass, of course some would be good. I know that heavy weights and low reps is best for strength, and I know exercises that hit large groups of muscles are best. So I did 4x6 each of bench press (for pecs and tris), dumbbell military press (shoulders and tris), lat pulldown (lats...duh :D and bis), and squats. I know I should probably add deadlifts. And stuff for abs.

My question is, what kind of changes should I make? Again keep in mind I'm not going for the massive Ronnie Coleman look lol, but more of like a boxer or MMA type physique. Strength for me is just as important or more than size, and I want to stay as lean as possible, even if it means slower muscle gains.

Also, for a postworkout meal, I believe I've read (not sure though, too much info) that it's good to have some carbs with your protein shake, right? Like one guy was saying he had a protein shake and oats. Does that mean put the oats in the shake and put it in a blender or something? What's the best way to go about it?

For my stats I'm 5'10" and 179 lbs as of today. Bodyfat is low compared to a lot of people, but I'm kinda disgusted with it. I haven't been able to run in a while because of stress fractures in my shins, but I tend to lose fat very quickly when I'm running regularly, so I'm not too worried about it. Here's my pathetic starting pic. Sorry about the bad quality, it's hard to get a decent pic without the flash when the sun is behind me. Like my messy room? :D

Also sorry my post is kinda rambling and hyper-sounding. I'm in a weird mood.

Also, as far as supps go, I'm taking a multi, fish oil (though not as much as some people seem to recommend), and flax seed oil. I ordered some creatine since it's fairly cheap, so I should have it tomorrow or Saturday probably. Any changes I should make here? Maybe IGF-1?

Just kidding. :D

Bud, it looks like you got a good grip on what you are doing. Dont skip those abs.
No reason to over think this thing, its just not that scientific. Consistency, progressive
resistance, eat and rest well. Oh yeah, one other thing---------get a tan for crying out loud---------ha ha

Yeah a tan is hard to come by in Boston. I do tan really easily though, so this summer it should get better. Sorry about the long rambling post.

As my teacher told us this morning, "Sorry I'm zooming all over the place. There are certain drugs you can take that make you...zoom." :D I was on dexadrine (similar to adderall) because I had a lot to get done. I think my teacher was on it because he had a massive hangover. Welcome to music school. lol

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM

Anyhow it looks like you have a pretty good base to start from, and once you get active again and up your protein intake the bodyfat will come off.

You need to get a good diet going. Lots of lean meats and good dairy proteins, and try to avoid simple sugars and simple carbs. As you said, oats are a great source, yams are good also.

I think at your height if you were 175-180 ripped you would be at your ideal look.

Yeah that's pretty much what my diet is like anyway. I generally eat very well. I'm trying to get into the whole 5 meals a day thing though. It's kinda weird.

Back to one of my questions:

9cyclops9 said:

Also, for a postworkout meal, I believe I've read (not sure though, too much info) that it's good to have some carbs with your protein shake, right? Like one guy was saying he had a protein shake and oats. Does that mean put the oats in the shake and put it in a blender or something? What's the best way to go about it?

Click to expand...

The best way would be to make the oats into oatmeal, and drink your shake. When you grind up oats, you may be raising the G.I. (glycemic index) of the oats, and taking away the "oatiness" of it. Lower GI = slower digestion, lower spike in blood sugar.

How big of a difference this makes I have no idea. This is just what I have read on some BB boards.

I just noticed your sig thats hilarious!

Cardio, protein and water is the killer-combo. All three will get you more ripped, and I thinks that what you need to do; Lose bodyfate. You have an excellent base to work with, so I dont think adding muscle mass would be too much of a problem.

Dad gum bro...I told you to cut the fro....you just don't listen to good advice....sheesh!!!

How's it comin'? What's your routine like now? I've got about 3 more days left on the German volume training program. I'm kind of curious to see how much my strength has gone up (or down)when I begin a different routine. I gotta say that my strength-endurance has gone way up and have even gotten a lot of cardiovascular benefits from this program. I also think that I've put on more mass. I'd say that I've gained about 3-4lbs in the last 3 weeks while on this program. My weight is now at almost 205lbs. I'd like to put on at least 20 - 25 more lbs of mass before I just cut up and stay put.

Regards,

HOOS

Coming along. I'm doing approximately this routine (5x5 on all for now):

DAY 1
bench
close grip bench
lat pulldown
dips
chinups

DAY 2
squats
good mornings
calf machine
core

rest day

DAY 3
military press
shrugs
cleans
one arm dumbbell snatches

DAY 4
deadlifts
bent over rows
chinups
rowing machine

Thinking about adding in some more one hand lifts, like bent presses and windmills. Great for core without doing crunches. I need to make myself do some cardio because although I've lost a little fat, I should have lost a lot more. I'm up 5 lbs to 184 now, so that's a great sign, since I can tell I have less fat.

Ah I forgot, I do a lot of grip work. Ironmind grippers (have a #3 and #4 coming in the mail soon), short steel bending and this softball pinch grip thing you can see in my progress log.

You're still a pansy...

Yeah but I'm better looking. :D

Oh, and just for that, you get the red eye. Purty, ain't it?

first thing i would start with if cleaning your room mate.

lol Yeah I just got done with that actually. It gets pretty bad sometimes because I live by myself and nobody ever comes over. Mainly because I say "No, let's get coffee instead. My room's a mess." :D

Add some whey protein shakes to your diet to preserve lean muscle mass.

Already doing that.

how much protein do you get per day?

Also, from what I've read, you should get about 45g of carbs, and 15g of protein within 45min of your workout. Then another good meal within then next 90min or so. Just what I've read.

I get a lot of protein. Three or four eggs for breakfast, chicken or fish for lunch, same for dinner, post-workout shake with 2 scoops of whey (followed by lunch or dinner), lots of milk. Etc. Lots of protein.

My post workout shake looks something like this:

2 scoops whey
1/2 cup oats
1/2 banana
2 cups milk
creatine & glutamine

I got the creatine and glutamine because I got overambitious when I first started out. I don't think I'll buy them again for a while, at least until I've been working out for a while and put on some decent muscle mass.