Starting Rippetowe's 3x5. any advice...

[Birdie70]

Going to start Mark Rippetowe's 3x5 with some slight modifications due to my age(37) and broken down (Ruptured disk and 2 others that are not all that healthy).

In March I was 5-11, 235lb with a 40" waist. I would embarrass my self looking in the mirror after a shower. My exercise would consist of walking to my car for a 2hr commute each way. My diet was granola bars and banana for breakfast, Chinese food for lunch and what ever slop I could find for dinner. That part of my life is over..
I transfer to a 30min drive to work. I joined the local Golds about 6 months ago. I have been doing 30min of cardio and aimlessly wandering around using the machines and some dumbbells 5 days a week. I stopped having muscle soreness after working out and am feeling much stronger with almost no back pain ever. 2 weeks ago I decided to step it up a bit because I am stuck at 228 but have lost a few inches from my waist.
My goals are #1 Not getting hurt or aggravating my back. #2 having a strong core #3 losing my b-cup and the gut. #4 Being strong enough to raise some kids(on the way). #last Hike Mt. Washington

currently I am at..
Mon, Wed, Fri- Warm up for 10-15 min brisk walk on treadmill 2-5 min on the row machine.
A
Front squats 3x5@135
Bench 3x5@145
Dead lift 1x5@95 (I go EASY on these)
Dips 2x8@-20
reverse crunches
B
Front squats 3x5@135
Overhead presses 3x5@105
Bent over Rows 3x5@155
Chin-ups 2x8@-30
machine crunches and woodchops

On Wed. I do lunges instead of the squats to compensate and help build my glute/ham to correct my posture. And, I walk for 20-30 min at 1:30 ever day. Every 2 or 3 weeks Ill go climb a mountain -1.5hrs to 3hrs up and down.


Diet
breakfast 7:30AM
lots of coffee
1.5 to 2 cups of kashi GoLean Honey almond flax in soy milk. http://www.kashi.com/products/golean_crunch_honey_almond_flax
Multi-vitamin and fish oil sup.
11AM
5 almonds 1 walnut 1 pecan
lunch
12
plate of lettuce with 1tbl of dressing.
1 to 1.5cups of whatever is served that day. pastas, meats or stir-fry. I try to steer clear of the breads.
4:30
5 almonds 1 walnut 1 pecan
Dinner 7:30ish
I try to have salad 3 nights a week with 2 fillets of Gorton's fish http://www.gortons.com/products/nutrition/gf_lemonpepper.php
Ill also make a 3bean/tomato salad adding only some lime and lemon juice and spices.
5-8 Gingersnap cookies http://www.vitacost.com/MiDelGingersnapsKosher

Friday and sat night I will have 3-5 beers each night.

Any words of wisdom, comments or critiques would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
D

 

[fallingeggs]

The work out part looks great. Just stick as closely as you can to the program and you will see improvements.

As for the diet... I have not looked at it too close, but the main point (if you want to lose weight) is having a calorie defect. check www.fitday.com to see where you are at.

good luck sir

 

[u418936]

The 3x5 and 5x5 programs are great for building muscle and strength, but you have to eat a lot to make them work. If you start out as a fat guy, you'll probably stay fat, but your chest, legs, butt, and arms will grow a lot. That's the way it's worked for me.

If your main goal is losing weight, there are much better (and definitely safer) programs for someone with back problems as severe as yours.

 

[ShowKidd]

you will be fine the way you are, you are actually ahead of the game. just eat maintenance calories but make sure about 300 gm's of protein a day. the extra fat will be used up as the "extra" calories needed to pack on size. so you may not see any weight loss on the scale but will see a nice shape forming in a short time. those programs are kick ass and always had good luck with them. haven't found a better one yet. any questions shoot me a PM.