confused

[big ferrigno]

my work is kinda starting to pick up (i sell shrubs n trees) and nows the busy time, so i usually don't get much time to break for lunch, what do you suggest i do? i was thinking of getting protien bars and eating them during work. before and after lunch

If i have a shift at say 2, i will get up at 8, have breakfeast, then eat at 10 30, then 12 30, then off too work , at work i willl usually have another meal, then go to the gym, then two more when i get home. The split between meal three and four is like 4 hours, is that alright?

 

[therm]

A Protein bar is a very good way to replace a meal, but you could also have a bag full of mixed nuts, a portable yogurt, and a 1/2 a bagel or multi-grain roll. If you eat a bar, try not to add any of these mentioned foods. The bar should have enough calories, fat, protein, and carbs to make up for a meal. Met-RX and Cytodyne make some of the best that I have come across, but I'm sure there are others out there that are equal.

The split between meal 3 and 4 is nothing to worry about, but if at all possible, eat a piece of protein in a fat (grilled chicken breast, turkey strips, etc...) maybe dipped in a ranch dressing or veggie dip to make it only a 2 hour break. Make sure that the meal prior to the gym is at least 2 hours before - 3 hours and you get a natual surge of Growth Hormone. The post-workout meal is the most important at this point, so be sure to remember that you have a "window" of about 30 minutes to get protein and complex carbs back into the body to be shuttled into the muscles. Any time after that 30 minutes, and the body has a greater potential to store the carbs in our fat cells.

The timing between meals is needed to keep your body in an anabolic environment and to prevent spikes in you insulin levels. Remember to eat proteinand fat at all meals and you can eliminate the insulin spike.

 

[big ferrigno]

Hey therm, just here for an update. I haven' gain much weight since last time, but ppl have been saying that i'm looking thicker. My strength is still going up. Last week i could barely get the 80 pound dumbells up on the incline, and yesterday i got the 85's up for 6 and the 90's up for max of 3! Must be the creatine i'm guessin

 

[therm]

You most likely will not see a true "weight gain"', but what you will notice is that your fat is decreasing at a good enough rate and is being replaced with solid muscle or look at it this way, your lean body mass is increasing while your overall fat stores are decreasing. It does not surprise me that people would see a change in thickenss and not just overall size. What you want is for the change to be permanent now, and not just bulk up and then lose 10 pounds to end up losing a good chunk of lean body mass.

The fact that your strength is increasing and your increased recovery ability are evident that your body is now beginnning to process nutrients more efficiently and that your muscle bellies are getting the protein, muscle glycogen, and rest they need. By the way, the creatine is definitely helping with strength, but priming your body to be anabolic is what my recommedations were all about. By priming your body, you are ready to grow and recover faster, as well as gain natural size and strength by providing the body with natural and controlled surges of insulin - which is the most anabolic hormone we produce. So by controlling our insulin, we can make it work for us.

Keep up the good work and keep me posted.

 

[big ferrigno]

Hey therm, just giving an update.
My weight is being pretty steady, but when i wake up in the morning, i'm now lighter then what i used to be. When i go to bed i'm around 210-215, but when i wake up im 205-208. when i look in the mirror i feel bigger then i used to be, and i'm stronger then ever before! But i'm lighter as well, also my body seems like it doesn't want to pack on any other mass for now. I might just invest in some N large just to get some weight on. But i know then that fat will come too, just a suggestion

 

[therm]

The fact that you feel lighter in the morning is evident that your body is burning fat throughout the night, which is exactly what you want. But this leads me to a good question: What are your exact goals?

The recommendations that I laid out is to re-program your body to be a fat burning machine all the time. This should be the goal of anyone who lifts. You mentioned that your weight at night is different than the AM - this will always be true as the calories you have eaten throughout the day make up the weight at the end of the night. Only weigh yourself in the AM on an empty stomach - this will be a more accurate way of gauging your progress.

Packing on mass may have to do more with your workout than your diet. You are eating ample caloires, protein, fat, and carbs along with creatine, which all prime you to gain muscle. How much fat did you have before you started this plan? Based upon your fat percentage, you may not notice any gain in weight, but you will be tightening up muscle wise and you should begin to look more vascular and solid. Also, remeber it takes the body 12-15 days for it to change its metabolism and 90 days for cellular turnover - meaning after 90 days, your body will burn fat for its primary source of energy.

Try not to add another variable to your regimen just yet, like N-Large. It will be too difficult to measure what is working and what is not. Since you have been doing this plan for only a couple of weeks, you need to rate your progress slower. Unless you want to gain size real quick and then have to lose the unwanted fat along with some lean body mass, you can up your calories and add a supplement to gain weight, but you will then have to diet down with the potential outcome of lost muscle.

The goal weight of 225 pounds - what did you base that off of? If it is just a number, than I would suggest that you eat anything and everything just to get to 225#. But, if you want to look good and make it a solid gain in muscle tissue with very little to no fat gain that will last, then take your time and instead of a number, shoot for how you look, how you feel, how strong you are, and how other people see you. You are your worst critic, so gauging your progress daily will most likely lead to self-doubt and you may lose momentum and begin to fail. Look at your gains weekly and base your successes off of how full your muscles feel and how much you are lifting.

Hope this helps and keep asking questions if you have them. I will try to guide you as much as I can.

Good luck.

 

[big ferrigno]

Therm, your the man! I should just throw the scale away for now and just use the mirror as a judge. I do feel soo much stronger now a days thanks to your diet, and some of my muscles are becoming more evident. 225 was just a number i tossed up because for my height i felt that it was the weight for my self to look "big". Cuz i'm 6'2. I"m gunna stick to this diet then. But i don't wanna go under 200 pounds. Thats toooo small for now. My work out program right now is the 5x5 method. its working great since i'm on a cycle of creatine. I'm still drinking a gallon of water through out the day, and eating the right foods as well. I think the thing is that i weight myself after every meal and when i don't see gaines i get fustrated when i shouldn't. It's just i'm sick and tired being called "average" for my size, because my strength is farrrrr from average for my age. Most ppl in the gym (the rats that is) say i am looking bigger and that they can't believe how much more i'm lifting now. A couple days a go i saw a guy who has been training longer then i have, he was doing e-z bar curls with 30's on each side thinking hes the shit. I was doing the same and i put on the 45 pounds with a 5 pounder. He watched me to it (my form was perfect) i put it down and he said "what the fuck man?" haha, suckerrr!

 

[big ferrigno]

oh yea, about once a week i will treat myself to some wendys, or like have chicken fingers with rice. Just to make sure that i still have taste buds ahah

 

[therm]

It's good to hear that you treat yourself to something special once a week. The real key to this is not only is it good for your taste buds, but you are actually tricking your body burn more calories. If you eat 2,500 calories/day and burn 2,000, then your body will be programmed to burn 2,000. When we "cheat" and eat let' say 2,800 calories, and burn 2,100, now the body is re-porgrammed to burn 100 more calories/day. The best thing is if you are a fat burning machine, then that 100 calories will come from fat stores. Yes, do not look at the scale and definitely use the mirror and how full your muscle bellies feel.

At 6'2", 205 to 210 would be an "ideal" weight if you are vascular, muscular with little to no fat stores. You will look bigger at this weight than if you were at 225. I am 6'5" and weight 232. I feel best at 225, but like you, who wants to look ordinary. Two years ago I was 260 and last year I was 207. I found my "ideal" weight range of 225-232, but it took me some years.

Keep up with the program and give it time and as you are beginning to see, people will notice a difference. Not to mention that using your own insulin to promote muscle gains and fat loss is a greater success in itself. Mark down the little success stories and in the end, you will have a novel.

 

[big ferrigno]

I will start using a journal as soon as possible

just another question what are muscle bellies?

 

[therm]

From my undergraduate classes on Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism and Nutrition for Fitness and Sport, my professor referred to "Muscle bellies" as the Type 1 and Type 2a fibers that comprise our muscles. These types of fibers, fast-twitch (Type 2a) and slow-twitch make up the muscle belly or the "heart" of the muscle tissue. When people talk about their muscles getting bigger, it's actually the fibers that enlarge.

Your creatine is a perfect example - the compund draws water into the muscle belly (Type 1 fibers), which increases the volume or size of those fibers, thus increasing the overall size of the muscle belly.

Hope this helps explain it.

A journal is a good idea, but be sure to not review it daily - again, if you look at it weekly or every other week, you will see more advancement in your progress.

 

[big ferrigno]

Ahh, okay, i knew about fast and slow twitch fibers, i just didn't know that was what a muscle bellie really was. SO you're right then the creatine should help my muscle bellies get bigger.

I started my jornal on a good note. The last time i did max bench i could only do 205, last night i did 225 for 2 good reps. I guess the diet/creatine is really starting to kick in now.

 

[therm]

Keep it up and you should notice changes on a weekly basis with your lifts and diet. Keep me posted and remember, its the little things that add up to a big outcome.

 

[big ferrigno]

hey therm, just here for an update. I have lost about 8 pounds. It's gotta be all fat because my diet has never had so much protein in it before, and my strength continues to climb. My legs are becoming more chizzeled, and my abs are also coming visable. I just wish i could have bigger arms, they are 16" right now but i would like them to be 17-18. But i've only been training for a year and they used to be 12"s so i guess i'm doing alright. It's hard to wake up in the morning and look at the scale and see that i haven't gained much weight, yet. There are times when i feel like going to my supplement store and buying some gainer then eating everything in site, but i decide not to and stick with this diet.

Is there anything i should expect to happen? in weight loss wise, i don't wanna loose too much ya know, i would just like to put on like 5 pounds for the each month started this june, could i do it?

 

[therm]

The 8 pounds that were lost were most likely water weight and now your beginning to tap into the fat stores - visible abs and definition in legs are an outcome of the lost fat. Yes, losing weight can be somehwat defeating, but from what you have written, your muscles are getting harder, you are seeing more definition, and your strength continues to climb - all are VERY good signs that your body is re-programming itself and again, you will look bigger at a ripped 208 lbs. than if you were a full or "bloated" 225 lbs. You can go off this diet and try a weight gainer, but again, look at what you are shooting for - for overall bulk and size -eat everything and anything, but be prepared to lose the fat to show the definition and sacrifice some gains in the meantime- for size with definition, stick with this diet and your gains will be solid and lasting, not temporary. Training for just a year? Man, you've just started to tap into your potential size - give it time as anything worth having takes time, determination, and patience.

A lot of the test cases that followed this diet had outcomes such as:

Starting wegiht: 207 lbs. / 212 lbs. / 187 lbs.
Bodyfat %: 13.5% / 10.5% /9.15%
Lean Body Mass: 179 lbs. / 190 lbs. / 170 lbs.

Ending weight: 193 lbs. / 210 lbs. / 182 lbs.
Bodyfat %: 7.5% / 7.95% / 6%
Lean Body Mass: 178 lbs. / 193 lbs. / 171 lbs.

So, as you can see, all participants lost weight - FAT and no one gained any, but all had increases in their lean body mass and decreases in their bodyfat %'s. Also, everyone reported increases in strength and max reps and looked 100% better at the lower weight - almost the same things you are telling me. Try not to get caught up in a numbers game and go by the way you look and feel - not by the scale. I know its hard when you're looking for weight increases, but this can lead you to give up on a diet and just start eating anything just to get "swole".

Bigger bodyparts come from the type of exercises needed - which brings me to a question - last time you stated that you do E-Z Curls - do you already have thickness of the bicep? If not, take this exercise out and do the following routine for bicpes and triceps:

Straight Bar Curls x 4 sets
Hammer Curls x 4 sets
Alternative Dumbbell Curl x 4 sets

Close-Grip Bench x 4 sets
Heavy Straight arm pushdowns x 4 sets
Dips x 4 sets

Remember, the triceps make up about 60-75% of your arm size, so really hammering these muscles (3 heads) is a key to having larger arms. Also, muscle building is done while we rest and in what we eat, not in the gym. In the gym, we are breaking the muscle down and not building it up, so nutrition and rest are more important than most people think.

Stick with mass building exercises and forget about definition or peaking exercises. Build the thickness first and then start to define the muscle.

Keep the questions coming and I hope you stick it out. Since you've been follwing this less than a month, use 54 days as a measuring tool to see if your fat stores a down, if your muscles are fuller, if your strength and energy levels are high, and if you look more defined and vascular. In the Iron Game, the name of this game is size with defintion. Who wants to look like a blob of size when you can't see any of the muscles that you worked so hard for? Ask any seasoned vet and they would agree with this. Good luck!

 

[big ferrigno]

sweet, thats some good advice, and about the arms thing, my triceps are definately taking up 70% of my arms. My friend says that my triceps are very large, thats why my arms look big from the side, but he said my biceps could be a lil thicker cuz they look small from looking at them strait on.

for arms when you say x4, how many sets and reps should i do. like 5 reps and 4 sets?

 

[therm]

Glad I could help, but don't lose faith yet with this plan. It's a sound plan that has been proven, so I know it can work for you too. Your friend saw the exact thing I was looking for - thickness. Try that arm routine and see if this makes a difference. They all help increase the thickness of the muscle belly.

Reps and sets depend on the system you are using : Continuous tension; Pyramid; Descending Sets, etc...

For mass, stick with 4 sets - 4 to 6 reps and go heavy!! Also, add in some negatives in the last set. These will really blast your arms up, but be sure to have a spotter for safety.

What do you base your workout on? How about this - PM me or post your workout regimen and I will give it a quick eval. and see what jumps out at me.

 

[big ferrigno]

alright here is my work out regime.

chest- (one day i will do flat bench, then the next time i train chest i will start incline, then just reg. bench) first i'll go heavy doing about 5 reps for 5 sets and a little more then 2 min breaks.

Then i'll do incline press and do 2x8 not really heavy
Then i'll do cable crossovers 2x8
then 3 sets of supper sets between explosive on incline (shooting the weight up as fast as i can) and hammer machine

Back- heavy heavy rows about 220 pounds for 5x5 sets
lat pull downs with 2x8
then either pull ups or wide bar rows 2x8

Arms
Tri over head extension HEAVY 100 pounds for 5x5
then overhead cable 2x8
then reverse cable 2x8

Bi's heavy E-z bar curls 5x5
hammer curls 2x8
machine curls 2x8
(somtime i will do a super set as well just to get a good pump)

Legs
Heavy squats about 350 lbs 5x5
leg press- 500 pounds to 700 2x8
smith machine lunges 2x8

abs crunches with ball and one with machine 30 reps with 4 sets, 45 sec breaks

traps- heavy shrugs about 360 pounds (traps are doing awesome!) 5x5
dumbell shrubs 2x8
super set seated shrugs with barbell shrubs, 3 sets of 10 45 sec breaks

shoulder- arnold press 2x8
machine arnold press 2x8
front arms rasies 4x10

i train calves 2wice a week and abs three times a week
with calves i'll do light calves raises with high reps, then low reps with heavy weight

i train three days in a row , then one day off three again, one day off etc.

my main goal is to try and get thicker arms this summer, hopefulyl you can see where i'm going wrong!

 

[therm]

How do you combine your bodyparts for a daily workout? What you have listed is enough to analyze, but I will need to know if you do Chest and Back, or Arms and Back, etc...

Here is what jumped out at me first:

Chest - Are you looking for a broad thick chest? If so, you should do incline first, then bench, then decline (the most ignored exercise that adds a lot of shape to the bottom of the pecs). Cut out the cable crossovers unless you already have size - this is a shaping exercise. Replace with incline dumbbell flyes - this will expand your chest and will make it look wider.

Back - No Deadlifts!! Add this in immediately and you will see growth right away in you lower back and rhomboids. Keep the rows and lat pulldowns. You may want to add in low pulley rows - this exercise and deadlifts will help the thickness of the middle and lower back. Back exercises also help with arm size.

Triceps - Too many shaping exercises. Keep the over head extensions, but then add in close grip bench and dips. Stay away from all shaping exercises at this time.

Bi's - Take out the E-Z curls and repalce with straight bar curls. Keep the hammer and machine curls, but alternate with dumbbells - this will help increase the size of the ancillary muscles in the arm and should help increase you overall arm strength (harder to cheat with dumbbells). Stay away from all shaping exercises at this time.

Legs - Where are your hamstring exercises? The others ones look fine, but you need to add in leg curls or stiff-legged deadlifts. If you have access to the hamstring machine, use that.

Abs, Calves, traps, and shoulders look fine, but you may be lacking an exercise for the rear deltoid - add in reverse pec deck flyes. When do you train forearms? If you are looking for bigger arms, then you need to add in wrist curls and reverse curls to the days you work abs and calves. Do 4 sets of each for 15 reps.

Keep your rest periods to no more than 60 seconds. If you wait too long, the muscle may cool down and you will potentially lose some natural testosterone surges and blood flow. Keep all sets to 4 and reps between 4-6. These are specifically for mass and going heavy. Always use continuous tension and try not to lock-out your arms.

Let me know what you like and don't like and let me know how you group your muscles. This may have something to do with your arm size (potential over-training).

 

[big ferrigno]

the only reason why i stayed away from deadlifts is because i am worried about a disk slipping. I don't have back problems, its just always at the corner of my mind. I train hamstrings and forearms i do the same amount for forearms that you stated, and as well as hamstrings(on the hamstring machine). I used to train chest with back, but now i'm gunna start training back with arms now.
For chest i never do decline because it fucks up my shoulder way too much so i have to stay away from that. My chest is doing well. I'll start doing inlcine dumbell flyes my next chest exersise.

This is my training spilt- Chest, shoulders