No issues using protein in the morning....

I have more issue with

Snack:fruit.

You aren't a toddler. Make that a small meal if anything. Maybe some fruit and greek yogurt and a little fat of your choosing for example. Don't really like when people eat fruit by itself.

if I start working out at about 330-4pm

would a 2pm small meal help? like some granola or yogurt? I have a fridge in my shop so keeping some stuff on hand would be no problem.

Spec do you also think the muscle milk is a poor choice?

Yeah Spec will definitely guide you a lot better from a nutrition standpoint for YOUR goal. I'm going off what works in my situation right now (and even that prob isn't optimal).

I used to pound shakes in the AM/lunch/snack/etc when I was eating maint cals. for 275 pounds, but I've since cut out all shakes except for a post workout one. Now I've moved on to carb loading in the AM with oatmeals and whole wheats/grains, and eating balanced lunches.

I am 181 as of today with probably 25% fat or more, I'd like to be maybe 175 with the 10-15% body fat,

I don't think it is "the best" but I think it is fine.

It is all calories. You need to look at your diet on a whole, not really any one thing. I think it is fine for the meantime.

I think eating about 1.5hrs before lifting is good. Do you have a microwave at your shop?

Yes I do, and I hear you about calories, I've spent the last 2 months reducing caloric intake and portions. So now exercising will greatly increase my intake vs expending hopefully

Did legs yesterday...nothing heavy yet as I wanted to refresh my form and find a good routine

Squats, lunges (with 30lb dumbells), leg extensions, calf raises, and the good ol' wall sit. Cycled through these for an hourish

thanks to usdm420 I added some stationary bike time at the end, started at a high resistance and gradually lowered it to cool down. Thanks!

So today I relax and just take the dog on a brisk walk for a couple miles. Tomorrow will be my "push" day. Thanks everyone for the input so far!

:beer:

ok so today is push day,

I was thinking using the dumbells to do some chest presses, some butterflies, I am not sure if the bench goes incline or decline but I will try, will also do some shoulder presses, and some different style pushups.

am I leaving anything important out?

I would do chest on its own, and shoulders tomorrow or Wed.
Do chest and then work triceps. Triceps are inherently worked while doing the chest anyways.

At least that's how I would go about it. I mean there's nothing WRONG with chest/shoulders....but after working your chest through sets of good weight, you're wearing out your shoulder muscles too. So when you go to do dedicated shoulder exercises, those muscles will now be pretty fatigued from all your chest exercises.

I've mentioned that many bodybuilders train chest after shoulders. Unless you're one of those genetically blessed specimens whose shoulders are great no matter what they do or don't do for them, that's a bad idea. The argument supporting the chest-with-shoulders grouping usually goes something like, 'It's good because your shoulders are already warmed up from chest, and you don't need to go so heavy.' That argument sucks ass, in my not-very-humble opinion.

Your shoulders aren't warmed up after you train chest; they're knocked out! Heavy flat, incline and decline presses all take a significant toll on the anterior delts and triceps, fatiguing them just as much as they tire the pecs. It's not that you don't need to go heavy on shoulders after chest; it's more like you can't. And as we established in rule 1, you must get strong on overhead presses to build shoulder mass.

The answer is to prioritize shoulders by training them first on a different day from when you train chest (more on that in the next rule). You can pair them with biceps, triceps, both bi's and tri's, or odds and ends muscle groups like calves and abs. By training your delts when you're fresh, you enable yourself to use more weight, apply greater intensity and, I assure you, glean far better results than you have been.

i'll keep that in mind sean, but for now I was thinking of sticking with 3 days lifting, 4 days cardio, I could definitely rotate in shoulder or chest more depending on the week though, thanks for the suggestion

That post workout feel!

None of you are really at the point of worrying about the minutia. Do the big compound lifts, hit some accessories, and you will make great progress.

woke up and chugged 3 bottles of water this morning, I am hoping that's a good sign lol

so today is cardio and stretching, is there anything particular in my diet I should consider on these "off days"

Typically for me. Off days less carbs(%) , more fat(%) , less overall calories.

Gotcha, since I am doing cardio still on the off days, my calorie burning rate will still be elevated but with less caloric intake I hopefully will burn some of my existing fat. This is fun! Thanks for the input

I've followed ^ this advice for the last 2 months and it's helped a ton. On my off days I swap out my oatmeal breakfasts for eggs and greek yogurt, and I don't snack on those days either (personal choice).

still going strong with this schedule, the gf and I both are sticking to it. we increased our cardio days to 1.5 hours and we also take the dog for a spirited walk each day after working out.

god damn the mental results are way better than the physical so far lol

This lol but it's much harder to put on weight than loose it

you can have 10lbs from me so I can be back to 175

I'm at 155 right now I'll take those ten pounds...but I want muscle not fat lol

Should just listen to this guy...

I like my fruit with lemon and chile!!! Its been my dessert for friday nights lol!! But I am with you on just eating fruit. I'm like a banana? have a spoon full of PB with it at least and make sure to down it with some agua.



I have been listening to a lot of George Farah stuff and make its really making a difference for me. I will have some before n afters some time in april so I make sure its a 90 day transformation, but I am glad for muscle memory.

What does he preach these days? Moderate protein/moderate-high carb, low fat? I know he isn't big on a ton of protein.

You running his insulin protocol too? heh

no insulin, and I don't really plan on to. I don't take it too serious as I am still very well embedded with my career at the moment. but you pretty much nailed it. It has been working for me. although I still carb cycle because that helps me lose weight that I gained.

So 4 sets of 12-15 reps of the various exercises will help with muscle tone/endurance more instead of just bulking up? I thought I noticed the guys trying to get big would only do 3-7 reps of HUGE weights

just stick to basic compound movements. Once you truly begin to know your body and what works you make adjustments and realize what type of workouts work for you. I did lots of 5x5 workouts and what not. the last year and a half I have done a lot more high volume as I have begin to realize that works better for me.

I am very conscious of this point, I am short and compact, I have to be careful how much I bulk up or I will lose a LOT of range-of-motion

I already can't touch my elbows together, or even get them closer than 4 inches apart lol.

stretch or do some yoga then man. Trust me you won't bulk up. Unless you are just getting fat.