Serious body builders/trainers only please :)

TrailNurse

Sorry about the title and I hope that no one is offended by it…..I don’t have time to filter through a lot of opinions or theories. I would love to hear comments from people who have been where I am now and pushed through or any professionals who have seen this phase of muscle development and have constructive criticism or helpful suggestions. Please have a look at my food AND exercise diary and let me know where I can improve, cut back or eliminate.

I would also like to add that I have hemochromatosis (iron overload) and I can’t eat bread, pasta, rice, oats or cereals on a daily basis. Nothing fortified with iron because I can’t get rid of it.

My goal is to be as muscular as my body will allow me to be. At this point (4 months now) I am stuck at the same weight with no real progress. I feel like I have a layer of fat sitting on some really awesome muscles and it refuses to budge. I am not a “girly” girl who is afraid of bulking. I want it and I know I can do it! I dedicate approximately 2-2 ½ hours in the gym Mon-Fri. I normally do an hour of cardio a day (elliptical, HIIT, Rowing, Jump Rope, etc) and an hour to an hour and a half on weights. I also either run or hike on the weekends.

Here are my stats:
5’2”
136 lbs

Starbucks doubleshot pre work out
Protein shake during weight portion of workout
Sweet potato directly after workout

I alternate between the two workouts below.

1st Week:
Mon - Deadlifts/cardio
Tue – Arms/cardio
Wed – Rest Day
Thu – Legs/cardio
Fri – Abs/cardio
Sat- Hiking
Sun – Hiking

2nd Week:
Mon - Arms/cardio
Tue – Legs/cardio
Wed – Rest Day
Thu – Back & Chest/cardio
Fri – Abs/cardio
Sat- 6 mile run on bluff
Sun – 6 mile run on bluff

[img]http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p790/slhengy/Weight Loss/null_zps81296702.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p790/slhengy/Weight Loss/null_zps7f2c65f3.jpg[/img]

Dana31601

Check out the group Eat, Train, Progress. You can find some excellent help/advice there...

ndj1979

you might benefit from less cardio and more of an upper/lower type split

mon - uppper (chest/back/arms/shoulders
tues - lower (squat, calf ext, sumo DL, etc)
wesn - off or cardio
thurs - upper (chest/back/arms/shoulders/tris
friday lower (deads, leg curl, front squat, etc...

as far as eating..if you want to bulk figure out your maintenance calories and then start eating about 100 cals over that and see how it goes...

SkimFlatWhite68

Excuse me for popping in, but I really need to see the replies on this one. Agree that Eat Train Progress may be the go to for you. Ask Sara.

Adding: If you want to CUT - you need to be eating a deficit, and will therefore reveal the killer body underneath.

usmcmp

If you're looking to add more lean mass look into the original PHAT program by Layne Norton (not the new version, the original one is better).

Many traditional bodybuilding splits are Heavy Upper, Heavy Lower, rest, high volume chest/arms, high volume legs, high volume back/shoulders, rest. (Sometimes the high volume days are split chest/shoulders/tris and back/biceps).

ETA: Bulking is a little of what you eat (enough protein, fat and carbs to satisfy your body's preference, you have to experiment), but more of how much you eat. Over time you will have to keep increasing your calories.

a_vettestingray

Nothing helpful to say - except I haven't seen your new pics. You look rocking!

mustgetmuscles1

Bump

Crazy4Healthy

Honest opinion, for all the training you are doing, you are not eating near enough. You need to close the gap on your deficit. If you want to continue to lose to reveal the muscle, you want to keep a deficit for the time being, but in looking at your diary, your deficit is quite large. You have lost so much weight (great work by the way), but now that you are in the home stretch, you should only be looking to lose maybe 1/2 lb a week (250 cals a day). You are eating a nice amount of protein which is good. You might want to dial the cardio back just a bit. 30 minutes or so at a time should be plenty especially if you make it worth it.

You are looking awesome, great work. ♥

Dre8604

Bump.

emafairycake1986

looking at your diary you arent eating enough to gain muscle lovely ...also mayb tone down the amount of cardio you do as i train 6 times a week for at least an hour a time and only do cardio 1/2 times a week and the rest is weights

SpleenThief

Perhaps a forum dedicated to body building would be a good place to hang out. Looks like you've gotten some good info here, but really maxing out is a long involved process. Consistent feedback from those serious about the same goals will help. I'm a runner, I get really good info from running sites.

Side note: nice quads.

fitbugfreak

bump

LJSmith1989

I can't believe thats you in the two photo's you look completely different.

Congratulations on your results so far - great job!

TrailNurse

Thanks for the help everyone. I am going to cut my cardio back to 30 minutes a day and do HIIT only to make it count. Started today!!! I am also going to try going heavier on the weights and increase my calories. Hopefully I will start to see some real results.

pcastagner

Sorry, could not resist popping in to compliment your amazing progress.


I can recommend leangains, and I put on great muscle these past two months with the following:

Day 1 upper body high volume. Calorie surplus
Day 2 rest or cardio. Calorie surplus
Day 3 lower body high volume. Calorie surplus
Day 4 rest or cardio. Maintenance cals.
Day 5 upper body, low volume (3rm). Small deficit
Day 6 lower body 3rm small deficit
Day 7 rest. Small deficit.


On the high volume days, try to keep your rest between sets at 30 seconds. On the low volume days, give yourself 3 minutes between sets (you can superset to save time). You won't grow as fast as a traditional bulk cycle, but you won't put on fat either.