Eating more on workout days ?

Kevalicious99

So .. I am a newbie here at MFP, so well I am just doing what I can to make progress. Am I doing the right things .. who knows.

But anyways .. just wanted to put some things by the group.

First some background info .. I am male, 48, 5 ft 9 and about 27% body fat. My goals are just to lose this body fat .. and hopefully gain some muscle at the same time. I go to the gym 4x a week .. 2 hours of cardio and 2 hours of fitness classes (Group Power) and about 2 hours of weights per week. I also try to walk on my rest days if the weather is nice .. about an hour per time (3.5 miles).

I have changed my calorie limit for the day .. I am eating 1700 cal on workout days and from 1500-1700 on rest days. I think I am eating reasonably well, I have dropped almost all the processed food from my intake. My food diary is open.

But .. I have noticed, for example that I have been able to do much more when it comes to my weights. For example, on Dec 9th I bench pressed 65 lbs 3 sets .. 22 reps. (10/6/6). Well this past Thursday I did 70 reps (7 sets of 10) . I am eating carbs, protein and veggies before my workouts, and smoothie with protein powder after. So .. am I getting stronger ? or is it just that I am fueling myself better ? I am trying to gain muscle and improve on the muscle that I do have .. as the number on the scale doesn't mean much to me, though I do want to lose body fat. I would like to get down to 12% eventually.

So does my plan seem reasonable ? Or should I do something different ?

Thanks
- Kevin -

Sarauk2sf

Eating more on workout days is a good way to go about it if it helps gym performance.

Your rep range looks high though. What program are you doing?

Kevalicious99

I am not doing an official program .. just doing different exercises based on the body area I am doing that day.

I normally do 3 sets of 10-12 for my exercises. But I want to increase my chest ... and triceps/biceps. Its a guy thing .. *blushes*.

But for my bench press .. I was told to do 7 sets cause it will work. So I am doing it .. I am not doing crazy amounts of weight and I can do 7 sets without any problem, with a little break between sets.

But I am open to suggestions on the whole bench press thing .... or anything else of importance.
The only thing is that I am on a calorie deficit .. does that mean that I will not gain any muscle mass ? I really haven't noticed a great deal of difference in muscle size .. but I know it takes time, so I am just fine with all that.

Thanks.
- Kevin -

SideSteel

Get on a pre written program rather than just moving weights around. It will pay off in the long run.

All Pros or Stronglifts or Starting strength would be good places to look.

I can't see a reason to do 7x10 on bench press. Your time could be better spent, most likely.

Kevalicious99

Thanks .. Stronglifts it will probably be at the end of January.

- Kevin -

Sarauk2sf

Locking the thread so we can track active ones better. Please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will be happy to unlock if you have further questions.