Training without a goal

[truefalse]

Hey all,
I've been training a while now .. Was considered 'obese' two years ago, dropped down to a borderline underweight (BMI wise at least), and since I've not really done much dedicated work.. Just trained, no particular emphasis on diet and it's not really gotten me anywhere.

My stats are:
200-208lbs
6"3
Waist: 34-35"
Age: 19

My goal is quite simple:
Short term: Better physique (Essentially, for the summer)
Long term: Strength, some mass, generally better conditioned

For training, I've just looked at T-Nation, and stubled upon 'Outlaw strength training and conditioning' and 'Hight Octane Cardio', which due to gym restrictions have been altered slightly, to:

Quote

1 min rest between all gym exercises
Day 1
---------
15 min stretch
3 min cross trainer
5x4 split squat
5x4 chin ups
5x4 zercher squats
5x4 decline db pullovers
2x15 deadlift walks (Space is an issue for me?)
2x25 db dorsiflexion
2x25 standing calf raise

Day 2
----
Lower body stretching
2x15 db squat thrusts
5x4 Dips or db decline bench bench
5x4 one legged db deadlift
5x4 bench press
2x15 Romanian deadlift
5x4 Leg curl


Day 3
----
HIIT?

Day 4
---------
3 min crosstrainer
5x4 bent over bb rows
5x4 bb front squat
5x4 incline db press
2x15 alternating shoulder press
5x4 step ups
2x25 donkey calf raise
2x25 db dorsiflexion

Day 5
--------------------------
2x20 db squat thrust
5x4 skull crushers
5x4 partial military press
5x4 bb good morning
5x4 hanging pike (Might be a problem at my gym)
5x4 seated db external rotations
2x10 W.bury crucifix
2x4 overhead figure 8s

Day 6
-----------
Same as day 3

Day 7
----
Very light walk

I'm just wondering if this is too much? Or if it's a case of having the time/determination?

My diet: [IMG]img18.imageshack.us/img18/9804/dietv.png[/IMG] Add 4 eggs at 9pm, 1 hour before bed and that's roughly it. Including Veg, omega3 sups.


Excuse the long post. Any input appreciated.

[truefalse]

Sorry, might be worth mentioning lifts?

Quote

Squat: 145kg pre back problem
65kg db flat bench
75kg deadlift
55kg db shoulder press

[DPotgieter1]

Personally I have found that training consistently is much better that training hard for a bit and then falling behind. I think the real question you have to ask yourself is: Is this a schedule that you want to stick to? If you feel overwhelmed by it after two weeks then its definitely not going to work in the long run.

In terms of getting lean/ripped for the summer, I would suggest substituting some wiegths for a few long cardio days. I did four weeks of rowing training last summer and the fat simply dropped off me (although that did involve 9-11 rowing sessions a week). Maybe some long runs, cycling or swimming?

[dope540]

swap the exercises around so that you are doing the compound moves at the beginning of hte workout, then do accessory stuff after.

deadlifts, benching, squatting goes way before dorsiflexion, leg curls, etc.

a good movement that hits full body is the full squat clean into push press or jerk.

[truefalse]

I can stick to it I believe, especially these 3 weeks I'm off from uni. And for 8 weeks, sure.. It's a challenge to stick to it, and if I get benefits from it.. All the better eh? I personally found fartlek (Swedish circuit training I think?) training great when I did that for 6 weeks.

I'd prefer not to ease up on weights to be honest, I'd like to keep what little strength I have ideally. But I might do some long hikes at weekends.

For today, HIIT will be replaced by boxercise.

So not much in terms of criticism in terms of the outline of it?

Thanks,


Edit @ Dope:
Fair point, I didn't think about compound before isolation for some reason, will alter that.

Full squat clean into push press or jerk? Never heard or done that before.. I'll look it up and give it a go.

Appreciated.

[dope540]

read post #4.

just some slight rearrangement and as long as the intensity is kept high with short rest times. it should be fine.

make sure you get enough sleep and nail the diet.

[truefalse]

Yeah sorry, had to go mid-way posting, before noticing yours..
Sleep is 7:30, 8 hours nightly. Oddly enough my sleeplessness has gone the past few days, which is great timing.
Diet is ~2800kcal I'm aiming for to begin with. 210g prot., just under 200g carb, the rest of fats. I've got some frozen veg I steam. And just get that down me.
I've also rearranged the routine in my original post to have isolation at the end.

[DPotgieter1]

Yea long hikes will definitely help for losing fat. Just make sure you get enough carbs & BCAA so that you don't get hungry and end up burning amino acids. Also, don't pig out after a long hike, mild exercise doesn't require that much recovering time or nutrition.

[truefalse]

BCAA I don't tend to take, is it really all that worthwhile?
Also I seem to be getting most of my fats at the moment from olive oil, it's often enough also almonds. Any immediate problem with that?

[DPotgieter1]

Well BCAA contains three amino acids namely Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine. Leucine which is one of the only supplements out there that I can find some real scientific literature on. It's an amino acid that makes up about 10% of your protein content (there are 20 general amino acids). Leucine is therefore the amino acid that signals to your body how much available protein you have. It has been shown to increase insulin secretion and up-regulate muscle metabolism by stimulating the mTOR pathway.

See: (The Role of Leucine in the Regulation of Protein Metabolism by Peter J Garlick, J. Nutr.135: 1553S–1556S, 2005) or

(Signaling Pathways and Molecular Mechanisms through which Branched-Chain Amino Acids Mediate Translational Control of Protein Synthesis by Kimball & Jefferson, J. Nutr. 136: 227S–231S, 2006)

Leucine is the most active BCAA and I just use it with some other essential amino acids without taking extra Ile or Val (the other two BCAA). In powder form it is horrible to work with because it foams like mad. I suggest you take BCAA capsules or mix Leucine with something that breaks the oats. Or you can get a capping machine and make your own leucine capsules.

One thing to note about leucine is that it stimulates muscle growth in conjunction with the anabolic hormone insulin. Insulin is secreted at high glucose levels, so to get the most out of taking leucine, it is usually better to take it with simple carbohydrates.

About the olive oil and almonds, I think that seems good. I would also suggest taking some Cod Liver oil or omega 3 fatty acids. I don't know that much about fat intake but it seems that for the average person it's more of 'how much fat do you eat' instead of 'what fat do you eat'. I try to maximise my fat consumption vs intake by having more fat in the morning and less in the evening. That way your body gets more time to burn it during the time that you're awake.