Quick Update 5 Months

[sika]

Hey Guys, just posting my 5 months progress, this is 10 weeks into my programme, before the 10 weeks it was just me messing about in the gym learning machines etc., taking it more serious now, started iifym and hitting gym with a 3 day split, chest still lags and probs biceps too, any idea on body fat %?, posted a relaxed photo too, any advice would be appreciated, Thanks

[MiniHulk]

Looking leaner and thicker in places. How are the strength levels, have they gone up?

Do you use wide grip pull ups? I would say you could afford to put some mass around the upper back next. I am rubbish at guessing BF% levels, but you are looking slim anyway.

Keep it up.

[sika]

I just started Wide grip pull ups, couldnt do them before but can manage to do around 5 x 3 now haha before i was using my biceps and not my lats, so i'm working on those,
strength has definatly gone up, i'm lifting more than i have ever before, everytime i go gym i try to get the weight up one stack (machine) or put on a extra 2.5-5kg, now i'm on 3 day split i feel more recovered and ready to hit it harder, i wanted to ask, i'm struggling with fitting my macros in, you guys know many calorie dense foods that are not that high in fats? possibly alot of carbs?

Also i've decided to not buy Hurricane XS again and since its finished now i need someprotein, so what do you guys think of Impact Whey Protein ?

I'm aiming for

TRAINING DAYS
cals 3200
protein - 231g
carbs - 413g
fat - 69.3g

NON Training Days
Cals 2700
protein - 231g
carbs - 200g
fat - 69.3g

Please advise, i mean i'm bulking big now so any advice is appreciated

[MiniHulk]

Why are you avoiding fat? I advocate high fat foods and low carb foods so I can't really help you. If you are avoiding fats for fear of putting on fat - then you may want to reconsider. Keep carbs after workout for less chance of weight gain and for the insulin response, sweet potatoes and potatoes are good as a post-workout meal, but you may want to drink some dextrose for an instant hit after your workout first.

You are getting your fish oils and other healthy oils right? Don't worry about raising the weight of your lifts so much every time, you need to be getting some really good reps in, rather than struggling to add a "plate" each time. It is really all about your muscles being under tension rather than how much you can lift. The pull ups sound good - you seem to be in a range where they can really benefit you - the harder they are, the better. Keep going until you can do 3X12 and then consider adding some weight... but like I say - it's no rush, the journey will yield muscle mass anyway.

[sika]

I take cod liver oil, that’s all for the fish oils, I want to gain mass but drop body fat % but I’ve been told its damn near impossible, I’m not avoiding fats so much it’s just what i worked out with the iifym formula, i could have done it wrong lol, I’ve been reading and talking to a lot of people and the above is what I’ve come up with, carbs high on workout days low on rest days, but getting 400g of carbs is HARD work, i need to eat loads lol, its good fun but takes some time and planning

Also I’ll only raise the weight if i feel good about it, so far it’s great, i hear you on the tension thing, before i was just banging the weights out and didn’t realise but i was holding out for the relief, now i hold and squeeze for the tension, amazing difference

Maybe i need more fats i mean from my fitday it seems i'm only getting fats from olive oil, a little butter, milk and my skinless chicken breast :s... ohhhh and a bag of crisps or 2 lol

[emma1903]

Do you like nut butters? Greek yogurt? What about fats from salmon?

[MiniHulk]

Quote

I take cod liver oil, that’s all for the fish oils, I want to gain mass but drop body fat % but I’ve been told its damn near impossible, I’m not avoiding fats so much it’s just what i worked out with the iifym formula, i could have done it wrong lol, I’ve been reading and talking to a lot of people and the above is what I’ve come up with, carbs high on workout days low on rest days, but getting 400g of carbs is HARD work, i need to eat loads lol, its good fun but takes some time and planning

Also I’ll only raise the weight if i feel good about it, so far it’s great, i hear you on the tension thing, before i was just banging the weights out and didn’t realise but i was holding out for the relief, now i hold and squeeze for the tension, amazing difference

Maybe i need more fats i mean from my fitday it seems i'm only getting fats from olive oil, a little butter, milk and my skinless chicken breast :s... ohhhh and a bag of crisps or 2 lol

You should look into a low carb diet if you want to gain muscle while losing fat - carbs are difficult to balance in my own experience. I only have 30-60g carbs a day, and that is 90% after my workout - mainly sweet potato and green veg. Fish oil is better than cod liver oil in my opinion, you want to make sure you are getting enough of it. Crisps are terrible though lol.

[sika]

Lol yes crisps are terrible and my only weakness,
I can deal with low carbs, I do like Greek yogurt so I’ll get some of that in, just out of curiosity mini hulk, if i wanted to gain muscle and lose fat, how would you amend my daily intakes that i listed above
I need to gain some mass, for that i been informed get loads more carbs and get bigger then cut, but obviously you get fat with that too but my carbs are usally brown rice, oats, broccoli and sweet potato
I'll get some fish oil, how about omega 3 - 1000mg?

[MiniHulk]

To put on mass, you don't need extra carbs - you need extra calories. It is protein and sheer calories that will pack on mass and fat gives a lot more calories per gram. My diet is tailored for muscle gains and fat loss in my opinion, you would obviously just need to increase the amounts to pack on size - I am trying to heal my gut while keeping my strength so my quota is low right now. A sample of my diet:

6am Wake up: Glutamine in water (mainly to heal gut but also for increased growth hormone)
9:30am: BCAA or EAA powder
10am: Workout
11am: BCAA or EAA powder

11:50am: 10ml of MP fish oil (the strength and quality seems really good)
12pm: First meal - 3 Eggs, Half an Avocado and Spinach (for bulking, I would do 5 eggs with 2 yolks removed instead)
3pm: Salmon, other half of avocado, olive oil and a small piece of cheese
6pm: Chicken or Lean Beef with green beans, asparagus and cabbage

This is obviously a very simple diet and you would need to work out how much protein you need etc. If you workout in a non-fasted state then you could have some sweet potato or fruit after your workout.

Nothing is writ in stone - but this would help to keep fat down while pushing up muscle gains. For the extra calories, you could add some double cream - one small pot is an extra 1000 calories a day - which I think is overkill though unless you are impatient and don't care about fat gain with the muscle.

[sika]

Thanks so much for your advice, your last post did make things a little complicated lol so i might just back off a bit and make sure i hit my cals, Noted about the cream though haha i think i'll need that, hopefully i wont put on too much fat.
Bcaa OR Eaa's & glutamine will be expensive for me at the moment so i might have to take that route when i'm in a better position,
I appreciate all your help and will keep you posted on my progress, My main goal is to Lift Heavy & Hit my cals, that way its impossible for me not to gain right? should i forget cardio if i'm bulking? i do 25 - 40 min cardio everytime i finish a weight session