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DanielBishop
New member
I've always wanted to be big. And somewhere around 1996-7, I began training. Well.... I thought I was training. In hindsight, I might as well have not been in the gym at all. My first mistake was to be taught by my dad, and trust that he knew what he was talking about. Having played Australian-rules football professionally, he was an advocate of light-moderate weight and high reps. And for a long time, he convinced me that it was the best way to train. But he and I were in the gym with different goals. I wanted mass and size, he wanted fitness, endurance and some tone. I started training from a book he had, called "The Matrix Principle".... which is also all about low weight, high reps, half-reps, 1/3 reps, and short rest time between sets. After not being happy with my gains (since they were almost non-existant) I switched to a heavier routine. And have continued with more or less the same routine since around 1998. With minimal gains.
But all the while, I was scared of gaining fat. And so I avoided almost all fat in my diet. At the same time, I was gaining fat by eating the wrong sort of carbohydrates (like a lot of white bread, fruit etc) and so I forced myself to do cardio. I was trying to lose fat while gaining muscle. I had no concept of the required protein intake, nor did I understand carbs. It's an understatement to say I completely misunderstood fat, and the importance it plays in muscle gain.
Then in later years, I caught onto the bulk/cut/bulk/cut pattern.... but I never bulked properly. I still didn't get enough protein, and got all the wrong carbs and too much fat. I basically just ate whatever I wanted, and not surprisingly gained a lot of fat and not much muscle. Then after a few weeks or months, I would feel disgusting about myself and need to cut again. Needless to say, my bulking phases were short-lived and unproductive.
But now, I feel I'm ready to bulk. I've been doing a lot of reading, paying a lot of attention to these boards and I think I pretty much know what I'm doing this time. I'm no expert, by any stretch of the imagination.... but at least now, I think I've got it right.
My diet will be a 40:30:30 ratio (protein:carbs:fat) with the majority of my protein coming from whey powder, but also a lot of beef, chicken, tuna, egg whites, beans and nuts. A small amount will come from dairy, such as skim milk and 97% fat-free cheese. The majority of my carbs will come from oats, sweet potato, brown rice (or some other low GI rice), whole-wheat products (such as wholewheat bread and pasta) and green vegetables. The majority of my fat will be from canola oil, and some from nuts.
I am about 165lbs of lean mass..... but right now I've ballooned up to probably 175-180lbs with fat and water. And so my calorie intake will be around 2800-3300 calories per day (between 17-20 cal/lb bodyweight). On my non-training days I will reduce this to around 15 cal/lb, so as to keep insulin sensitivity optimum.
I will train 4 days a week. 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. Each bodypart once a week. My training regime will include compound movements as the main exercise for each bodypart. No more than 12 sets for large bodyparts, and no more than 9 for smaller bodyparts. 3-4 sets per exercise, and I will try to keep my weight heavy (6-10 reps) with my form very strict. I'm looking for a training partner, and if I find someone suitable I'll go to failure on my last set, or two last sets, of each exercise, with some forced reps. I will rest two minutes between sets. I'll aim to keep my workouts to around an hour in duration. I will strive for maximum intensity.
I will sleep at least 9 hours every night of the week, more where I can.
As for my diet, here is a sample of a Monday:
Wake.
4:30am- 10g L-glutamine on empty stomach (although I'm not sure if I need a sugar for an insulin spike here). Back to bed for 30 minutes.
Meal 1 (5:00am)- A shake consisting of 40g whey protein, 4 egg whites, 30g dextrose, 10g creatine and skim milk
Meal 2 (6:30am)- Porridge consisting of 30g whey protein, 45g oats, 2 egg whites, 20g natural peanut butter and 10g canola margarine
Meal 3 (8:30am)- 155g lean chicken breast, 25g brown rice, 22g canola oil, mixed steamed vegetables, all wrapped in lettuce leaves like a tortilla
Meal 4 (11:30am)- Home-made protein bar, consisting of oats, whey protein, egg whites, canola oil, psyllium husks and Splenda
Meal 5 (2:30pm)- Exactly the same as at 8:30am
Meal 6 (4:30pm)- pre workout- Shake consisting of 55g whey protein, 30g dextrose, 10g creatine, 10g l-glutamine and skim milk
Meal 7 (6:00pm)- immediately post workout- Shake consisting of 60g whey protein, 50g dextrose, 10g creatine, 10g l-glutamine and skim milk
Meal 8 (7:00pm)- 155g chicken breast, 20g brown rice, 17g canola oil, mixed steamed veges, psyllium husks
Before bed (8:00pm)- 10g l-glutamine
This is an example of ONE day. In other days of the week, caloric intake varies slightly and I change my primary protein source. On Monday, it is predominantly chicken. On Tuesday, beef. On Wednesday, tuna and other fish.... and so on.
I will also take ginger root tablets with meals throughout the day to help protein absorption and digestion.
I will also strive to drink as much water as possible throughout the day.
It works out to approximately 3670 calories for the day. 38:33:29 (about as close to 40:30:30 as I could get).... 2.12g protein/lb lean bodyweight.
I will take my measurements on the first day of each month, and will adjust my training routine and change it up every 8 weeks. I will readjust my diet based on weight gain every 2 weeks.
I will keep a journal of my training, diet and rest. I will try to keep other physical activity to a minimum.
I know I will gain some fat during this time, and have been mentally preparing myself for that. Hopefully noticable gains in muscle will make me feel good enough about myself that I can ignore the fat.
I plan to bulk for 12 months, and then decide whether to cut, or continue bulking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE critique this and tell me what you think. I also need advice on the glutamine. I'm not sure if I need an insulin spike for it to be absorbed. I've read that it's best to take on an empty stomach, which is why I take it before my first meal, and immediately before bed.
Thank you. It's a new beginning for me.... wish me luck.
But all the while, I was scared of gaining fat. And so I avoided almost all fat in my diet. At the same time, I was gaining fat by eating the wrong sort of carbohydrates (like a lot of white bread, fruit etc) and so I forced myself to do cardio. I was trying to lose fat while gaining muscle. I had no concept of the required protein intake, nor did I understand carbs. It's an understatement to say I completely misunderstood fat, and the importance it plays in muscle gain.
Then in later years, I caught onto the bulk/cut/bulk/cut pattern.... but I never bulked properly. I still didn't get enough protein, and got all the wrong carbs and too much fat. I basically just ate whatever I wanted, and not surprisingly gained a lot of fat and not much muscle. Then after a few weeks or months, I would feel disgusting about myself and need to cut again. Needless to say, my bulking phases were short-lived and unproductive.
But now, I feel I'm ready to bulk. I've been doing a lot of reading, paying a lot of attention to these boards and I think I pretty much know what I'm doing this time. I'm no expert, by any stretch of the imagination.... but at least now, I think I've got it right.
My diet will be a 40:30:30 ratio (protein:carbs:fat) with the majority of my protein coming from whey powder, but also a lot of beef, chicken, tuna, egg whites, beans and nuts. A small amount will come from dairy, such as skim milk and 97% fat-free cheese. The majority of my carbs will come from oats, sweet potato, brown rice (or some other low GI rice), whole-wheat products (such as wholewheat bread and pasta) and green vegetables. The majority of my fat will be from canola oil, and some from nuts.
I am about 165lbs of lean mass..... but right now I've ballooned up to probably 175-180lbs with fat and water. And so my calorie intake will be around 2800-3300 calories per day (between 17-20 cal/lb bodyweight). On my non-training days I will reduce this to around 15 cal/lb, so as to keep insulin sensitivity optimum.
I will train 4 days a week. 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. Each bodypart once a week. My training regime will include compound movements as the main exercise for each bodypart. No more than 12 sets for large bodyparts, and no more than 9 for smaller bodyparts. 3-4 sets per exercise, and I will try to keep my weight heavy (6-10 reps) with my form very strict. I'm looking for a training partner, and if I find someone suitable I'll go to failure on my last set, or two last sets, of each exercise, with some forced reps. I will rest two minutes between sets. I'll aim to keep my workouts to around an hour in duration. I will strive for maximum intensity.
I will sleep at least 9 hours every night of the week, more where I can.
As for my diet, here is a sample of a Monday:
Wake.
4:30am- 10g L-glutamine on empty stomach (although I'm not sure if I need a sugar for an insulin spike here). Back to bed for 30 minutes.
Meal 1 (5:00am)- A shake consisting of 40g whey protein, 4 egg whites, 30g dextrose, 10g creatine and skim milk
Meal 2 (6:30am)- Porridge consisting of 30g whey protein, 45g oats, 2 egg whites, 20g natural peanut butter and 10g canola margarine
Meal 3 (8:30am)- 155g lean chicken breast, 25g brown rice, 22g canola oil, mixed steamed vegetables, all wrapped in lettuce leaves like a tortilla
Meal 4 (11:30am)- Home-made protein bar, consisting of oats, whey protein, egg whites, canola oil, psyllium husks and Splenda
Meal 5 (2:30pm)- Exactly the same as at 8:30am
Meal 6 (4:30pm)- pre workout- Shake consisting of 55g whey protein, 30g dextrose, 10g creatine, 10g l-glutamine and skim milk
Meal 7 (6:00pm)- immediately post workout- Shake consisting of 60g whey protein, 50g dextrose, 10g creatine, 10g l-glutamine and skim milk
Meal 8 (7:00pm)- 155g chicken breast, 20g brown rice, 17g canola oil, mixed steamed veges, psyllium husks
Before bed (8:00pm)- 10g l-glutamine
This is an example of ONE day. In other days of the week, caloric intake varies slightly and I change my primary protein source. On Monday, it is predominantly chicken. On Tuesday, beef. On Wednesday, tuna and other fish.... and so on.
I will also take ginger root tablets with meals throughout the day to help protein absorption and digestion.
I will also strive to drink as much water as possible throughout the day.
It works out to approximately 3670 calories for the day. 38:33:29 (about as close to 40:30:30 as I could get).... 2.12g protein/lb lean bodyweight.
I will take my measurements on the first day of each month, and will adjust my training routine and change it up every 8 weeks. I will readjust my diet based on weight gain every 2 weeks.
I will keep a journal of my training, diet and rest. I will try to keep other physical activity to a minimum.
I know I will gain some fat during this time, and have been mentally preparing myself for that. Hopefully noticable gains in muscle will make me feel good enough about myself that I can ignore the fat.
I plan to bulk for 12 months, and then decide whether to cut, or continue bulking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE critique this and tell me what you think. I also need advice on the glutamine. I'm not sure if I need an insulin spike for it to be absorbed. I've read that it's best to take on an empty stomach, which is why I take it before my first meal, and immediately before bed.
Thank you. It's a new beginning for me.... wish me luck.
I'm excited about this.
