[rickyslam]

I'm 5'5" and was at 180. I've cut down to 143 at 3%, but gotten back up to 155 in 3 weeks. Then I slimmed back down to 150. I've known that I have a slow metabolism and I can easily gain weight. The problem is I don't know what I should be eating in my meals so I know that the gains are muscle and not fat. I work out 5days a week, a different muscle group for different days. What should I be eating and how much of it so that it would help my muscles grow, and not gains in my belly?

[FOOTBALL FAN]

I just asked people to help me with my diet as well basically I suppose you know about eating six times a day you want to eat eggs for breakfast and some oatmeal and then through out the day get some carbs in ie brown rice wholegrain bread rice cakes eat veg like brocholli make sure your getting enough protein chicken fish turkey breast about 10oz a day and protein shakes two meals after your workout if you want it in more detail just ask

[Palmetto]

First off, you need to find your caloric intake for bulking. When you find this out (check the nutrition stickies, i'm pretty sure they have a calculator link) you need to find out how to get those amount of cals by eating as clean as possible. Such foods are what FOOTBALL FAN rattled off. Breakfast should be high carbs and protien, before work out, carbs and then after workout you need a protien shake and about 45 minutes after that you need to take in complex carbs with protien in whole foods. That is just a basic outline, check out other people's diets, there are a lot of good ones in this forum. You can check out mine in my training log session if you want too. I used this diet for cutting not bulking but you can get an idea for the types of food you want to be eating. Make out a diet and post it up for us and we will be glad to help you out bro.

[rickyslam]

Ok well heres how I eat now and I gain weight already.

11AM - Sandwich (wheat bread, turkey, mustard ) - 21g of protein
- Protein shake - 21g of protein

3PM - Protein shake 27g of protein
Banana

5PM - Sandich (wheat bread, tukey, mustard) - 21g of protein
- Protein shake 27g of protein

8PM - Banana
- Protein Shake - 27g of protein

10PM - Cereal (honey bunches of oats, no milk)

I work out around 5PM-8PM, or 8PM-10PM. Depends on how I'm feeling. I do 30minutes of intense cardio. Usually running on the read at 7-8mph. Is the running part bad while I'm trying to build muslce? I want to gain muscle and muscle maturity, but I dont wan't the bulk with fat.

[Palmetto]

Bro, that is no where near enough food while you bulk. Especially with 30 minutes of intense cardio. Try upping your food intake and try eating around 7-8 times a day. Try gettin whole foods in at 3 and 8 and try to throw in some whole foods such as chicken or steak at 10 pm after you work out. If not, at least a protien shake with your cerial. That isn't enough protien after you lift.

[FOOTBALL FAN]

palmetto's right I dont know how your gaining fat with that much cardio and so little food intake really you should be cutting your cardio back do it on days you dont workout, you should find you make better progress if you workout 3 times a week depending on how long you have been lifting post your workout routine and how long have you been lifting?

[rickyslam]

Monday - Shoulders
Dumbell Military Press
Barbell Military Press
Front Raisers
Lateral Raisers
Rear Delts

Tuesday - Arms
Standing Barbell curl or dumbell curl
Spider Hammer curl or dumbell hammer curl
21's or cable curls
Tricep cable push down
skull crusher
tricep reverse cable pull down

Wendnesday - Legs
Squats or front squats
Lunges or hack squats
Leg Press
Leg Extension
Leg curls
Calves

Thursday - Chest
Flat bench (Bar or dumbell)
Incline bench (Bar or dumbell)
Decline bench (Bar or dumbell)
Fly (incline, decline, or flat)
Bend over cable fly

Friday - Back
Wide Pull-ups
Dead lift
Rows
Iso Lat pull downs
T-bar
Cable Lat pull down (front)

Saturday -
Abs

Takes me about 2 and a half to 3 hours to finish everyday including my 30mins of cardio. I guess my biggest concern is gaining muscle without losing my 6pack. I thikn thats why I'm being so stupid and doing cardio. I've heard that I can eat at least 200grams of protein a day and I should run so I only gain muscle and not fat, since that person also said that I wouldn't burn muscle on the tread. I'm not sure he know's what he's talking about. That kid is pretty big too, maybe he's just hating on me.

So if I do eat whole food at 10pm after I work out, how much protein should I be taking in. A shake at 27g and then some chicken worth about 30g? Total of about 57 sounds good? I also eat cereal and protein before I sleep at 1 or 2am.
Thanks guys

[FOOTBALL FAN]

you wanna cut back on the cardio and im pretty sure your overtraining on weights if its taking you 2 hours to do, and 5 days a week is quite alot how long have you been working out and are you still noticeing gains?

[FOOTBALL FAN]

you should still run just every other day and your supposed to eat 1-2 grams of protein for every pound you weigh so 200 would be alright try to eat a meal at 10 ie chicken breast or fish about 10oz and some vegetables

[Palmetto]

Yea bro, the rule is usally 1.5-2 times your body weight in protien. I also have to agree with Football Fan when he says he thinks you are overtraining. That is WAY too long to be in the gym. Make it fast, get to the point and get out of there. Remember you dont grow in the gym and you must give your muscles adequeate time to recover. They can't recover if you are constantly using them. Make sure to get plenty of rest too. 1-2 am seems pretty late and you only grow while you sleep bro.

[rickyslam]

I think If I worked alone it would only take me an hour to an hour, bust I bring along a partner with me. I think that's why it takes so long. So should I just start taking in a lot of protein and less carbs? Thats what I hear.

I've been working out since October of 2005. That was when I was at 22% fat. I then started cutting down all the way til the end of May. I was able to get down to 3% at 143. Now I'm back at 150-155. I know that I can gain weight easily, just not sure if its muscle. It doesn't seem as if I'm moving up in pushing weights, but I am moving up in lbs. I gained 12lbs in 3weeks, while I was eating more than I eat now, but I wasn't able to push anymore at 155 than I was at 143. That's why I'm not sure if the weight I'm gaining is muscle or just fat.

So am I still overtraining if I bring a partner along? I do 4-5 excercise for a muscle a day. Except for arms when I do 3 for biceps and 3 for triceps.

[Rocky]

At the minute you are training too much, or not training hard enough and your rest between sets and exercises is too long - the duration is too long and imo you don't need to do that many exercises.

If you have put on 12lb in 3 weeks then that is pretty much all going to be fat I would say. The key is to slowly adjust your intake, so if you have put on 12lb in 3 weeks then cut it back A LITTLE not lots, until you are gaining something like 1 to 2lb per week. Again 1lb of that may be fat but it'll help to grow steadily like this and hopefully allow you to increase in your lifts. If you aren't increasing at the minute then it may be that you need to change your training routine around. I would suggest doing either fullbody workouts or a smaller split, this should make it easier to do less exercises for each bodypart too as you'll be doing as much work but for more muscles each session.

Your diet looked like quite a little food, but it seems you still put the weight on, so keep carbs lower but keep your protein intake up. Don't completely forsake carbs though or you'll have no energy and start feeding off your muscle. Adjust everything slowly so as not to affect the gains you've made already.

[rickyslam]

I think I train pretty hard. It's not like I'm chillin at the gym. For example on dumbell chest presses I do 80x10, 85x10m 90x8, 100x6-8. After everyset I'm exhausted. But yes, I try to lift as heavy as I can. I always get in right after my partner's set, so we don't waste time. I guess I can try cutting down on the exercise to about 4 a day? How does that sound?

[FOOTBALL FAN]

yeh that would be better you should notice better gains

[tim290280]

I do 4-5 excercise for a muscle a day

If you can't do that in under an hour you are goofing off in the gym.

I find it very hard to believe that you think you got to 3% BF and yet understand so little about your eating and training.

[rickyslam]

Well starting in October, my excersises have been about the same. I ate very very less fat, and I ran a lot, and slowly I got down to 3%, I'm back up to about 5% now. I mean I know how to lose the fat, but I just don't know how to gain muscle. I've been cutting down ever since I started. Since football made me into a pork chop. So just one hour a day, even with a partner? What if my partner takes forever to finish a set? Does that count in that hour?

I guess I can show you guys some pics.
Before
After
After
I kind of think it was a mistake cutting down, but I was pretty high in BF%.

[rickyslam]

Another After picture. The other was takin back in Dec 2005, this one is June 2006

After

[tim290280]

I would've put your BF% at more like 10% from those pics. Still looking lean though.

The amount of time that you are in the gym lifting is counted. So if you stand there spotting your mate while you rest between sets then that is all part of your training time. Get a stop watch and time your breaks between actual lifting. Use it as a way to maximise time lifting so that you aren't standing idle (which can happen easily).

[rickyslam]

Sounds good. I'll give it a try. I'll cut down to 1 hour a day, and I'll rush my partner to finish and stuff too. I'll see how it goes in a month or so. I'll be sure to update. Those pics might look like 10, but I have so much freakin loose skin on me. The guy who pinched me was amazed, how thin my skin was though.

Thanks a lot guys. I'll give it a month and see how it goes.