Help Making a Training Plan

partiallynothing · 02-10-2008, 10:46 AM

Hello all. I am new to the Dungeon. I skipped posting in the "Introduce Yourself" board, as I am essentially doing that here. I am looking to both loose body fat and gain muscle mass - for the normal reasons, but primarily self confidence and personal health. I am looking for some help creating a good training plan that will help me accomplish my goals.

About Myself

Age: 20
Height: 5' 10"
Sex: Male (perhaps this effects the recommended routine?)
Weight: 230lbs
Body Fat %: Unknown (can this be easily calculated?)

My Expectations

Body Fat % Loss
Muscle Gain

To clarify, I do not care about scale weight - I know muscle is heavy and can easily counter any fat loss. That being said, I am also not interested in gaining muscle mass that cannot be seen because of fat. I don't mind if it takes 3 months, 4 months, or 12 months either - I would like to make this routine steady and regular. I would also like to stress I am not interested in becoming a "bodybuilder", but simply want to have muscle definition.

Diet

I am currently studying in college, I live in a dorm room (not an apartment style one), and I eat at the university dinning hall. So I have:

No stove
A very small fridge
No money

I cannot cook my own food, nor can I pay to purchase healthy food every day. The dining hall has much to offer, from varying meats (steak, pork, beef, etc.) to carbohydrates (pasts, breads, etc.) to vegetables and fruit. Food selection should not be much of an issue, but determining statistics (calorie counts, sugar amounts, etc.) is almost impossible. Does anyone have an idea as to how I should go about this?

Edit: I plan on going to the gym before classes Monday - Friday, sometime around 8:00am. As this might effect a suitable diet, I thought I should add it.

Workout

I have done weight training in the past for high school football, but my goals were much different. I was a lineman, so weight wasn't much of an issue - I was primarily bulking up. After some general research and talking to a few people, I think a simple lower/upper body split workout might work nicely. Perhaps something like this:

Sunday: Cardio (1 Hour)
Monday: Upper Body, Cardio (1/2 Hour)
Tuesday: Lower Body (No cardeo)
Wednesday: Cardio (1 Hour)
Thursday: Upper Body, Cardio (1/2) Hour
Friday: Lower Body (No cardio)
Saturday: Off

Supplements

I have used protein supplements in the past to facilitate muscle reconstruction, and I think it would be appropriate to use it now, even with my slightly different goals. The protein should allow me to eat less food while still providing my body adequate energy to repair and rebuild muscle.

More recently I have looked into the benifits of pre-workout supplements. I like the idea of energy before my workouts. I plan on trying SuperPump in the near future, and perhaps No-Xplode. There are already enough threads comparing the different pre-workout supplements, so I am mostly looking for information regarding their implications in regards to weight loss. Do they hinder/help weight loss?

Lastly, how about weight loss supplements? Do they actually work/help? Perhaps something along the lines of Leviathan? I know I am young, and weight loss supplements are generally used as one ages, but I haven't had much luck with dieting in the past. Diet ideas also welcome.

Other

Any idea/comments/suggestions welcome. Thanks.

**under construction** · 02-10-2008, 12:01 PM

looks good for the goals you have outlined just be consitant. as far as the pre WO supps mine is coffee wait for some one else on that. For weight loss just play around with your calories and see what works you do a lot of cardio so it shouldnt be hard to shed fat. Welcome

KM · 02-10-2008, 12:14 PM

Excellent split it seems. Give it a go, can't hurt. You do not need a pre workout supplement, let's leave it at that. Eat more. and you'll have the 'energy'. 'Laviathan' is supposively an awesome Fat Burner/thermogenic. Without the diet in straight, the fat burner is useless. So work on the diet first, then supplement. If you're running low on the money, then perhaps get all the nutrients you need from food, and food only. Your choice. Split looks good, good luck, Let us know how it goes.

Cain Marko · 02-11-2008, 01:36 AM

Love the description of you cooking facilities mate, good looking routine, do you do any stretching?

<3Frosty · 02-11-2008, 01:48 AM

Does your cardio sessions during your off days need to be one hour? Id implement HIIT or interval training here as it burns less muscle and arguably more fat.

When is cardio done on off days? In the morning? If possible, try to not do it on an empty stomach or "fasted-state cardio". Id suggest doing it mid-day or after noon.

I was in your boat for food selection a year or so back. I just figured everything had a certain amount of protein, and a certain amount of overall calories. I kept to things that was easy to measure usually. You may even want to go fake grocery shopping, and pick up bags of lettuce or things like that and see the nutrition facts, and then try and estimate how much of that you are eating when you eat. Bags of pasta, canned beans, etc. Milk especially.

Cheerios are an excellent carbohydrate source that you can probably sneak a bag in and take or just walk out with meals in boxes. I always took some non-fat milk with me after leaving the cafeteria. A banana as well.

Since your goal is to keep off the fat, id suggest trying to eat more often but smaller meals. If possible, like i already said, take meals to go after eating. Then, you can eat a small meal at your dorm without having to purchase separate meals.

EDIT: I was on a dirty bulk when i was eating at the cafeteria, so sugars and calorie content wasnt quite as important if off by a 100 or so. I generally downed 1000 calories a meal.

partiallynothing · 02-11-2008, 08:32 AM

@under construction
I kind of like the idea of coffee, I will have to keep that in mind.

@KM
Thanks for the info. I want to quickly comment on the fact that (after reading many, many threads with responses from you) I am so, unbelievably impressed with your age/knowledge ratio: its amazing.

@Cain Marko
I would not even know where to begin with stretching at this point. I learned a little during football, but not enough to implement stretching myself. Do you think this is something I should be doing regularly?

@<3Frosty
HIIT is probably an excellent idea for the cardio. I think I will implement that starting today. What are the cons of cardio on an empty stomach? Thanks for the meal info, I'll have to look into multiple small meals throughout the day.

@everyone
I'll try to post some updates and comments as I progress: thanks for the support guys.

<3Frosty · 02-11-2008, 09:48 AM

Yea, KM is pretty young for knowing so much. But, he is in high school, so he probably has nothing better to do. :P

Cardio on an empty stomach leads to alot of catabolism of muscles, doesnt burn fat quite as well as one would think, especially afterwards, and sucks to begin with. Otherwise, ITS GREAT! lol.

Also, you should definitely be stretching man. That is a big part of injury prevention. Your a pretty big guy, im gunna assume you are gunna lift some heavy weights pretty soon if not already, so id start doing some standard stretches at least. I usually warm up for 5 minutes with a light jog and then stretch before any physical activity.

KM · 02-11-2008, 04:34 PM

Thank you. I guess. Haha, BBing is my Passion. Nothing I'd rather know more about. I come here to learn for the most part. And help others who are going through what I've gone. Hard work. I have a life! =P

<3Frosty · 02-11-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KM

Thank you. I guess. Haha, BBing is my Passion. Nothing I'd rather know more about. I come here to learn for the most part. And help others who are going through what I've gone. Hard work. I have a life! =P

Even when having a life, going through high school is a breeze compared to upper level college classes totaling 15 hours with three writing enhanced courses and a foreign language.

KM · 02-11-2008, 07:34 PM

Ok. I'm not doubting you. I'm not super crammed with work. But for my level and my state right now, I'm pretty well off. Bodybuilding comes 2nd in my eyes. After school work.

Cain Marko · 02-11-2008, 07:43 PM

Don't stretch before a workout, this increases the risk of injury, only stretch the muscle back to its original length during a workout, never past, this will allow you to lift heavier and better, after a workout and probably on a daily basis you should be doing a proper 10-20 minute stretching session for your entire body, not only does this improve recovery but it feels awesome! Everything else looks good tho mate

<3Frosty · 02-11-2008, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cain Marko

Don't stretch before a workout, this increases the risk of injury, only stretch the muscle back to its original length during a workout, never past, this will allow you to lift heavier and better, after a workout and probably on a daily basis you should be doing a proper 10-20 minute stretching session for your entire body, not only does this improve recovery but it feels awesome! Everything else looks good tho mate

Okay. You werent very clear, to me at least, because of what i said previously in my post.

First, you shouldnt stretch before a workout if you DONT warmup, is that what you are getting at? Stretching before a workout is like the first rule for any physical activity. Cold muscles with a ton of stress on them can really get hurt in my opinion, and there is no denying that weight lifting is VERY stressful for muscles.

Second, what does original length mean? When im doing the standard touch my toes stretch while bending over, where would original length be considering i can put my knuckles on the ground.