[Minovsky]

Hello, this will be my first actual post (and topic) on this forum but I have been reading it along with a number of others for some time in an effort to become more educated on this sport, what it can do for me and how it can help me to achieve my goals. Forgive my ramblings.

First some background. I am a computer science student in Canada, at age 21 and an avid kick boxer. I also remain relatively active doing a lot of walking and biking outside of the time not spent with my kick boxing instructors. Weighing in at approximately 208-214 pounds at 6'5", I estimate my body bad percentage to be between 14% and 18% based purely on pictures provided on a website that was linked here at some point. I believe it was John Stone or somesuch. At any rate, at home I have access to some assorted dumb bells going up to a paltry 50 pounds or so, a flat bench and a bar with some assorted weights. Being a student with limited means, I am seeking to put together a home gym and routine that will require as little non-permanent investment as possible. For example, I can justify burning a couple hundred dollars to get some pieces of equipment but I can't really see myself getting a gym membership especially with the price of gas these days! I also figure that as I get stronger and exceed whatever foundation I have in terms of equipment available that I can just pick up new things.

So, seeking to get into competition shape, here I am.

The first thing I adjusted was my diet. Dragging myself away from the three meal a day routine, I sought out 'clean' foods that were described in books and this website, seeking to increase the amount of protein I was taking in as well as increasing the amount of calories. Eventually, I found that cooking meals perpetually was not practical and turned to a nutritional supplement called All Max QuickMass to fill in the gaps.

My average day looks something like:

Breakfast - 5 eggs, whole wheat toast. Salsa for flavor. Glass of soy milk.
Snack - Half serving of MRP shake. Nuts.
Lunch - Chicken. Some sort of carbohydrate in the form of whole wheat buns, home fries (self cut, spiced etc.) or a whole wheat pasta of sorts. More milk.
Snack - Half serving of MRP shake. Some other protein.
Dinner - More chicken or clean protein like fish. A salad or mixed veggie stir fry. Some other carb.

Pre-workout: Whey powder with creatine.
Post-workout: Full serving, MRP with some simple carbohydrates or a piece of fruit.

I also take a multivitamin without iron to fill in the gaps coupled with lots of water during the day. I try to avoid flavored drinks of all sorts.

So, by changing my diet I did end up getting stronger, a little more defined in terms of my musculature and I did appear to put on some more lean mass but I'm not satisfied with the outcome yet. Relying on my kick boxing exclusively for my gains is clearly not the answer.

Based on what I've been reading, I think a split training regiment would be good.

Day 1: Legs - After the two day rest period and being one of the largest groups, this would be a good focus time.
Day 2: Biceps, triceps and forearms - Avoiding larger muscle groups and things that require my legs for stability.
Day 3: Rest.
Day 4: Chest and deltoids - Should have enough time for my biceps to recover from day 2 to not interfere with my chest workouts.
Day 5: Back and trapezius - Trying to keep the back workouts and the legs seperate as the majority of the exercises appear to use related groups.
Day 6 and 7: Rest.

My understanding is that I should be doing two or three exercises for each muscle group or each piece of the larger muscle group in the case of my legs. I also believe I should be keeping my reps relatively low, somewhere in the neighborhood of 8, 3 sets and keep the weight as heavy as possible without injuring myself. I've read about supersets and 'exhaustion sets' as well but I'm not sure how to integrate those or if they're even needed. I've also read that putting focus on the negative part of the contraction is more important than the positive.

Time to cut to the chase.

I want to know what the minimum equipment I should be shooting for is. I'm pretty sure that I should get a bench capable of doing incline and decline exercises. That will help me to get the use out of my bar and my dumb bells. I likely need to get a wider range of dumb bells and weights for the bar as well. Unfortunately, the space I have is limited featuring 7 foot ceilings and square footage that doesn't really allow for huge smith machines or the like. Perhaps more concessions can be made if really necessary but at this point I don't see how it would be.

I'd also like to see a sample routine (exercises included) that I could run through as well with the equipment I have available. Maybe some tips on how to determine the weight I should be using or whatnot. Some idea of what I could achieve would be good too. :)

Thanks for reading.

Much obliged for any help and suggestions!

[chrispghmuscle]

Welcome to the dungeon,, reading it you seem very calm and straight forward.. good to know..

As for the bench, forget the decline, just get the basic flat with incline attachment.

Here is my current split

Mon-chest,bis
Tues-Legs
wed-off
thurs-shoulders.tris
Fri-back
Sat-off
Sun-off

[Freak]

Welcome to the dungeon. I bookmarked this thread. I'll get back to it later I gotta hit the coma.

[chrispghmuscle]

^^ he works at night..

[mr_bhana]

Try buyin or main your own powerack if you can. Thats probably the best thing you could have at home

[Kaboom]

Man Chris i love that split lol

Well You have a bench so thats a good start.You need a bar capable of holding the weight you can lift and enough weights to challenge you and for you to be able to keep moving up when needed believe strength usually comes pretty quick the first few mos.Yes you need a good assortment of dumbells to accomodate all the different exercises.Cheapest way is to get some adjustable ones.

[Kaboom]

Or if you live near by I can make you a deal on several sets of dumbells and an all in one machine that fits nicely in the corner

[Minovsky]

Thanks for the replies! I didn't even know something like a power rack existed. I like the fact that it's very basic and with a lat tower attachment that seems to come with certain brands, I think it could meet all my current and future needs. Are there any specific brands that I should be looking for or specific design features that are an absolute necessity?

[Freak]

You need to eat more and make your diet more precise. 'Some other form of carb' isn't gonna do it.

Do not set a bodyweight goal without setting a body fat goal too. Otherwise you focus too much on the number and gain fat in order to reach your goal.

Make a definitive goal and also state when you want to achieve it. This goal should be realistic to build your confidence and as you proceed your goals can become more of a stretch and they will push you instead of depress you.

Start by tracking everything you eat/drink for an 5-7 days. Take the average of your total calories, grams of protein, carbs, and fat. This is your baseline and is very important.

From here increase your calories by 500/day. This is your target caloric intake.

You want 1g/lb of bodyweight. No more, no less.

You want simple carbs when you first wake up and after your workout. The rest of the day you want complex carbohydrates.

Your total caloric breakdown should be 50-60% carbs, 20-30% fat, and 1/lb of bodyweight for protein.

You want 7-8 meals/day. This greatly increases absorption. Cook your meals in advance and it would be very helpful if you can afford it to purchase a rice cooker. Stick to fresh/frozen foods when possible. (try to avoid canned products).

Fat should come primarily from unsaturated sources.

Buy a few (1) gallon jugs of water. You want to consume 1 gallon/day. This may seem like a lot but its not.

Good foods are:

Protein: round steak, salmon, tuna, chicken breast, turkey, milk, and whey protein.

Carbs: oatmeal, sweet potatoes, yams, whole grain pasta brown rice, fruits.

Fat: Olive oil, unsalted almonds, flax seed oil.

Vegetables can and should be sprinkled throughout your diet. I like broccoli and asparagus best.

Calories per gram:

Protein: 4
Carbs: 4
Fat: 9
Alcohol: 7

You should avoid alcohol as it reduces protein synthesis and dehydrates you.

For the next 4-5 years forget steroids even exist.
As far as supplements:

Don't buy Muscletech. A good supplement stack is:

Creatine Monohydrate, whey protein, flax seed oil, bcaa's and a general multi-vitamin.

Get your body fat determined and take measurements of your body. Also take monthly pictures in a variety of poses. This is one thing many of us forgot to do and greatly regret.

Get some of your favorite quotes and keep them around your room. Check out some of our pics/vids and use them for motivation. If you are having problems don't quit or get depressed you can come to the dungeon for support.

[Minovsky]

Is there any value to variety in one's diet or is it primarily a mental thing when you can apparently rely on multivitamins and other artificial means for macro nutrients?

[Freak]

You can eat fruits and vegetables. You don't want a pill to replace food.