Looking to Start the Journey!(BlackHanzo)

[BlackHanzo]

Ok Here’s my Story,


I’m 20 years old,
I am 196cm tall or 6 Ft 4
I Weigh 108Kgs
I am Samoan, Pacific Islander From Wellington New Zealand
I am a Rugby Player, Loose Forward similar to a Linebacker in Football

I am leaving for France next week for Rugby Contract, over there I’ll be training almost everyday with the team, Weights, Cardio, Rugby Training getting Fit, I believe I’ll have all the resources I’ll need with Weights and Cardio Equipment, Somethings u need to know about me is that I have short achille tendon, meaning I can not flex my ankle as high up as everybody else, which means my Free Squat is very hard to do, I’ll be very unbalanced when I go down because ill be on my toes, so I always look for substitutions like leg presses, lunges or squat rack it etc My frame now is just average looking, can be bigger, can be better, can be ripper.

I don’t know how my diet should be and don’t know what my weight training should be, My goal is to be below below 15% body fat before I get back from France and I’m there for 9months, right now I think I am 20-23%, is that realistic? or easy to get to, because my goal at 1st was below 10% body fat but I thought it was unrealistic. I’ll be able to get my performance training from the Rugby training they offer, sprints and all that, even my own performance trainings but I want to get physically fit aswell, feel good and Look good.

I don’t know how my diet should be or what kind of weight programme I should be doing if I want to reach my goal, food I should eat, exercises i should be doing, how many times a day, how long..I’m more motivated than ever and willing to do anything to get this done, abs, ripped, bulk..but I just don’t know where to start! So yeah, please help, any suggestions? Or any more questions?

Thanks

 

[fortunatesun]

I'll give this one a shot since no one else has answered so far...

First, and most important, is to prioritize. This means to keep in mind that rugby is your #1 concern right now. Everything else is dependent on your success on the field so don't do anything in the gym that's going to wear you down, leave you slow, tired, whatever. Get your head in the program there and make sure you have a grasp of it before figuring out what else needs to be done.

That being said, I think the goals you outlined are possible. Rugby players do better with multi-joint exercises like squat, DL, bench, etc. These are the basics of getter stronger and have the best carryover to the field. You said you can't squat - can you do these?

Step Ups

Best substitute for squats and can be done with DBs.

You should think about using complexes, or circuit training, instead of the usual straight set system. An example of this system:

Leg Press or Step Up 1x10 rest 60sec.
Bench 1x10 rest 60sec.
DB Flys 1x10 rest 60sec.
Push press 1x10 rest 60sec.
Abs 1x15 rest60 sec.
GM 1x10 rest 60sec.

Rest 3 min.then repeat this circuit for a total of 3-5 times depending on your conditioning.

I think this is the way to go for 2 reasons:
You do more work in less time. After doing your other training, you don't necessarily want to spend all your free time in the gym. Hit it and quit it.
This is also the best method for burning fat. Keep your intensity up and your conditioning will fall in line.

Put together 3 or more circuits for every day you work out. If it were me, I'd keep reps at 8-12 at least until I was sure of the impact it was having on the field. Then go heavier, down to 5-6 if you feel the need, for a few weeks. Give yourself a short break at lighter reps then begin the cycle again.

If you feel you're within sight of your goals and you want to concentrate more on pure strength, then you can always switch up to the traditional set/rep method. The 3x5 that you find in the
training info sticky is the basic plan. Again, if it were me though, I would modify it to a higher rep range so I wasn't physically drained at game time.

On your diet, the essentials are covered here:

http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/diet-bodybuilding/dieting-information-614057.html

Diets can get overcomplicated. If you're unsure, this has been posted before:

The 7 Rules of Good Nutrition

Here’s my take on it. I call these principles, "The 7 Rules of Good Nutrition."

These aren’t the newest techniques from the latest cutting-edge plan. Rather, they are simple, time-tested, no nonsense habits that you need to get into when designing a good eating program.

1. Eat every 2-3 hours, no matter what. You should eat between 5-8 meals per day.

2. Eat complete (containing all the essential amino acids), lean protein with each meal.

3. Eat fruits and/or vegetables with each food meal.

4. Ensure that your carbohydrate intake comes from fruits and vegetables. Exception: workout and post-workout drinks and meals.

5. Ensure that 25-35% of your energy intake comes from fat, with your fat intake split equally between saturates (e.g. animal fat), monounsaturates (e.g., olive oil), and polyunsaturates (e.g. flax oil, salmon oil).

6. Drink only non-calorie containing beverages, the best choices being water and green tea.

7. Eat mostly whole foods (except workout and post-workout drinks).
So what about calories, or macronutrient ratios, or any number of other things that I’ve covered in other articles? The short answer is that if you aren’t already practicing the above-mentioned habits, and by practicing them I mean putting them to use over 90% of the time (i.e., no more than 4 meals out of an average 42 meals per week violate any of those rules), everything else is pretty pointless.
/QUOTE] Credit: John Berardi

Be careful about a caloric deficit if it's going to affect your game plan. I'm sure the trainers in France would have a better idea. A zig-zag diet might work, though. What you do here is to go 2-3 weeks at -400cals, then 2-3 weeks at +300 or 400cal. This allows your body time to recompose - both build muscle and burn fat, instead of strictly losing weight. This method also helps to use nutrient intake more efficiently, so it's more effective than it seems at first glance.

Hope I've covered the important points.