need to gain lean muscle, any good routines?

[kaos_nw]

Hi im new here,
a little about myself im 19, 154lbs and 6'2 im currently quite defined.

I go to the gym about 3-4 times a week and do cardio, and then use weight machines to work my muscle groups e.g.

monday - cardio, abs and upper body
tuesday - cardio, lower body
wednesday - off
thursday - cardio, abs upper body
friday - off/lower body cardio

the thing is ive been told i need to eat alot more food as my diet isnt up to scratch right now! so i plan to up my calorie intake using the lean muscle guide on the myprotein.co.uk homepage but i dont want to up it so much that i start to gain fat, as i want to gain lean muscle not bulk up the cut.

I recieved my unflavored whey protein today and had my first shake (tastes fine!) and i plan to have another one post workout today

I plan to gain muscle mass of around 2lb a month of just lean mass no fat, and if i dont gain this much i will increase my calorie intake, if i gain more i will decrease my intake

so far today ive eaten:

Breakfast cereal - oats/bran/rasins/nuts semi skimmed milk - around 250kcal/15g protein
protein shake - 118kcal/24g protein
Apple
porridge oats - 130kcal/3.5g protein

i plan to have another protein shake post workout
then some roast chicken, salad and possibly rice
and later on tonight another bowl of cereal or maybe a sandwich/ beans on toast

can any one see anything drastically wrong with this diet? anything that i should deffinitly change/include?

also sorry for this long winded post! back to the main question can anyone give me some advise on what kind of regime i should be using, what exercises i should be doing on my upper and lower days - reps etc
Also is there anything wrong with using the machines as oppose to free weights? i use dumbells at home but only ever the machines at the gym, they say they target all the muscles i want to work but should i still be using free weights?

any helps greatly appreciated thanks!
dee

[Luffers]

If you can't find a routine in this lot fughedabout it

http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6059

[kaos_nw]

thanks ill look through them

[kaos_nw]

are the machine weights im using at the moment any good? they say they work biceps, triceps, back, etc and i feel them working but should i be using free weights to deadlift etc?

[simon m]

Quote

are the machine weights im using at the moment any good? they say they work biceps, triceps, back, etc and i feel them working but should i be using free weights to deadlift etc?

Free weights and certain machines work well. If possible use hammer strength or plate loaded machines

[MeshMan]

Can I suggest taking your protein shake right upon waking up in the morning, and then have the oats 45-60 mins after this has been digested. This will make sure the oats doesn't slow down the digestion of the protein which needs to get in to your system as soon as possible due to the over night fast.

I'd also greatly reconsider your diet and focus your efforts on that first. Your food choices are certainly not the best and one glance shows that your definitely not eating enough to be able to gain weight from the amount of cardio and training your do.

[kaos_nw]

Quote

Can I suggest taking your protein shake right upon waking up in the morning, and then have the oats 45-60 mins after this has been digested. This will make sure the oats doesn't slow down the digestion of the protein which needs to get in to your system as soon as possible due to the over night fast.

I'd also greatly reconsider your diet and focus your efforts on that first. Your food choices are certainly not the best and one glance shows that your definitely not eating enough to be able to gain weight from the amount of cardio and training your do.

thanks for all the replys everyone

ok thanks ill start taking the protein shakes on waking, and post workout and possibly once before bed 30g each time

i am trying to eat more, but i dont want to gain weight as in fat just muscle, im looking for gains like 2lb a month in lean muscle

today ive eaten
1pm breakfast cereal 220 kcal/15g protein
4pm protein shake 118kcal/34 protein
4pm apple
5pmporridge 130kcal/3.5g protein
7.15-9pm gym workout, 30-40 mins cardio then upper body hard work out
9.15pm protein shake 118kcal/24g protein
9.45pm chicken, white rice, corn, salad - 300-400kcals/15g protein
10pm muller yogert 100kcal/ 8.6g protein

later on i will have beans on toast, or breakfast cereal or a protein shake to make up protein im lacking,

[Twisted]

your diet above says your have 1066kcal (if i counted correctly) that isn't even half of what you should be getting( i weigh 71.5kg and was eating 3000kcal and gaining very little bod fat and only doing one cardio session a week), eating more will help you gain muscle mass

[kaos_nw]

Quote

your diet above says your have 1066kcal (if i counted correctly) that isn't even half of what you should be getting( i weigh 71.5kg and was eating 3000kcal and gaining very little bod fat and only doing one cardio session a week), eating more will help you gain muscle mass

really thanks twisted, im really gonna up my intake to above 2500 for max muscle gains with the least fat gain, what kind of training were you doing when you were consuming 3000kcal?

thanks alot

[HBK]

Pretty much all routines are good, it's a misconception among weightlifters that certain programs don't work at all or that some work like magic. The key to any routine is how your diet looks.