Critique my Plan

[Dbl_D718]

So I've been lifting and running for a while, and I've definitely seen some gains lately, but I'm curious if I could be missing out on quicker/better improvements somewhere. Just looking for input on what I'm doing, good or bad.

 

My main goal is building strength, secondary is cardio. I don't really care about having washboard abs, but I would like to loose a bit of fat off the stomach too.

 

For lifting, I've been doing the 5/3/1 program, three days per week because I cut out the deadlift day. I change up my auxiliary lifts every three months, but here's what I'm doing now:

 

Monday

Bench 5/3/1

Incline 5x10

Flat DB flys 3x8

Curls 3x10

 

Wednesday

Seated military press 5/3/1

Standing DB shoulder press 5x10

Lat raises 3x8

Triceps extension 3x10

 

Friday

Squats 5/3/1

Lat pulldowns 5x10

Seated rows 3x8

Hyperextensions 3x10

 

Tuesday and Thursday I run ~4.2 miles, pretty much the same route every time. I run it backwards to change it up sometimes.

 

So I get up at 5 am, eat a granola bar (10g protien) and hit the gym, then come home and drink a protein shake in water (54g). Lunch is at ~11 am and is usually a tuna, deli meat, or PB&J sandwich with a little bag of baked chips and a piece of fruit. Dinner is usually around 6 pm and typically 3/4 to 1 lb of grilled chicken, pork chop, or fish and a large serving of a vegetable.

 

I rarely snack, but if I do, it's peanuts. That's the only snack food I buy.

 

Anyway, if you read all of that, I'd like to hear some input.

[NickB34]

Now that I'm older, I always question "what do I need the extra strength for?" Usually the answer is not a damn thing. For that reason, I've been doing the Insanity workout program. (I did P90X for quite some time and it is great for building strength) Aside from that, it looks like you have a pretty well balanced work out program. I use the "loseit" app to track my calories (loseit.com) and it has been quite the eye opener since I started using it.

[AKLGT]

Your calories look pretty low. Remember food is fuel . Regardless of goal, your body still requires food for energy. If overall fitness and fat burn is the goal then you need to eat for it. That's based on your height, age, weight, and activity level. I like to keep a 45:35:25 ratio.

[c-lo]

My main goal is building strength, secondary is cardio. I don't really care about having washboard abs, but I would like to loose a bit of fat off the stomach too.

 

So I get up at 5 am, eat a granola bar (10g protien) and hit the gym, then come home and drink a protein shake in water (54g). Lunch is at ~11 am and is usually a tuna, deli meat, or PB&J sandwich with a little bag of baked chips and a piece of fruit. Dinner is usually around 6 pm and typically 3/4 to 1 lb of grilled chicken, pork chop, or fish and a large serving of a vegetable.

 

I rarely snack, but if I do, it's peanuts. That's the only snack food I buy.

 

Anyway, if you read all of that, I'd like to hear some input.

 

 

Your calories look pretty low. Remember food is fuel . Regardless of goal, your body still requires food for energy. If overall fitness and fat burn is the goal then you need to eat for it. That's based on your height, age, weight, and activity level. I like to keep a 45:35:25 ratio.

 

what AKLGT said. your caloric intake is pretty low. 3 meals a day isn't sufficient enough for your goals or your workout. Your lunch needs to be cleaned up. ditch the chips, or any other processed food you are eating. you haven't mentioned your fluid intake yet.

[Dbl_D718]

Fluid intake is mostly water, I'd estimate 2 liters per day. I'll do a glass of milk with dinner a few times per week. I rarely drink soda, maybe twice a month if I go out to eat, and the same with beer/alcohol.

 

Suggestions on what else to eat? How much does time of day matter for the meals?

 

For what it's worth, I'm 24, 6'2", and 185 lbs.

[BraddA]

My two cents: Boooooring;)

 

Changing up your auxiliaries every three months? Me thinks you may want to consider switching everything up every 9-12 weeks, even if strength is your primary goal. Not only will you more easily avoid plateaus and mind-numbing boredom, your body will thank you for it. We need variety.

 

Also, why no deadlifts? You're answer might make my next point moot, but I see no explosive/olympic lifts in your regimen. They're fun, functional, and improve coordination, speed, and cardio (if tweaked right for safety).

I also only see squats. One needs variety and perhaps a greater volume of lifts there, too. Hips? I see nothing. Even if you've got an issue in the region, hips are they key to athletics, IMO, and can be trained w/o massive deadlift weight/volume.

 

The run. You gotta switch up the run. Hills, repeats/intervals/Tabata's ...whatever. Your consistency is admirable, but I really think you're selling your potential gains short.

 

Ever tried intervals on a rower? They're miserable. I highly suggest them.

[c-lo]

everyone is a bit different. but your body needs fuel to burn. I have to eat something every 2-3 hours. I'm a mess if I don't.

 

what to eat? whole foods. green veggies, lots of them. fish, chicken, red meat every now and then. throw in some pasta/rice/quinua (sp).

[Dbl_D718]

Yeah, I can't deny that I'm usually fairly hungry by the time I eat. I guess I figured I was intaking enough because I still have a some fat that's not going away. Not that I'm trying to lose all my body fat, I just seem to be maintaining.

 

My two cents: Boooooring;)

 

Changing up your auxiliaries every three months? Me thinks you may want to consider switching everything up every 9-12 weeks, even if strength is your primary goal. Not only will you more easily avoid plateaus and mind-numbing boredom, your body will thank you for it. We need variety.

 

Also, why no deadlifts? You're answer might make my next point moot, but I see no explosive/olympic lifts in your regimen. They're fun, functional, and improve coordination, speed, and cardio (if tweaked right for safety).

I also only see squats. One needs variety and perhaps a greater volume of lifts there, too. Hips? I see nothing. Even if you've got an issue in the region, hips are they key to athletics, IMO, and can be trained w/o massive deadlift weight/volume.

 

The run. You gotta switch up the run. Hills, repeats/intervals/Tabata's ...whatever. Your consistency is admirable, but I really think you're selling your potential gains short.

 

Ever tried intervals on a rower? They're miserable. I highly suggest them.

 

Boring doesn't bother me really. Avoiding plateaus is good, which is why I change everything but the main 5/3/1 lift. I started the 5/3/1 thing 5 months ago to get past a plateau, and it definitely has worked so far.

 

No deadlifts because the gym I go to doesn't have a hex bar, and I'm just afraid of injuring myself doing them. Otherwise for legs, I guess just haven't been too interested in other leg lifts since it take 3 days just for the upper body.

 

No olympic lifts because I'm in the gym by myself usually, so no spotter and if I hurt myself, I'm on my own. The only lift like that I've done before is hang cleans, and I'd do those without a spotter. I might try adding those in.

 

No rowing equipment besides the seated row cable machine.

 

My running route is all rolling hills, with two fairly long/steep uphills, so I've thought about using one of those hills for a hill workout. Just haven't ever done it.

 

Thanks for all the input!

[c-lo]

Yeah, I can't deny that I'm usually fairly hungry by the time I eat. I guess I figured I was intaking enough because I still have a some fat that's not going away. Not that I'm trying to lose all my body fat, I just seem to be maintaining.

 

your intake is low if you are hungry. you need to become a grazer. look for your fibrous foods (broccoli among others) to help fill you up between your main meals.

 

if you've been at this routine for a bit, you should adopt an interval routine, add in some short bouts of cardio between exercises. your legs are big muscle groups and burn alot of calories when you work them. add in some more squats and lunges into your routine.

 

go on youtube and search metabolic training workouts.

[AKLGT]

Broccoloccoli!

 

I eat a lot of greens! Fighter diet style. Like 5-6 lbs/day. Aside from oatbran, almost all my carbs come from vegetables. I am half your size and I bet I eat a good 500-1000 cals more. Lol. Also, love me some anaerobic metabolic workouts. I get bored with weights. I think that's why I avoided traditional lifting so much. But the jumping and sprinting and more jumping has jacked my right leg so time to strengthen! New focus centered around weights.

 

But deadlifts.... essential. Same with squats. Maybe add in some step ups. That hill sprint workout? Definitely do it.

[AKLGT]

Intervals on the rower..... dayum! I have a rower. This is gonna happen later. TRX is also fun if you've not tried it. My new choice of workout on the go.

[Dbl_D718]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll make some adjustments and post back when I've had some time to see how they work.

[05LGTLtd]

Look at the the paleo diet recommended carbs and see if you think adding some in will help. Obviously earlier in the day is better. I have been packing raw jicama cut like fries with my lunch. Good source of prebiotics. Carrot and celery sticks are easy to prep for the week as well. Just cut up all three and wash then put in a plastic container and cover with water to make sure they are crisp all week.

 

I eat the little bags of baked chips too sometimes. Yes they are processed, but they are not the worse choice you can make.

[FLlegacy]

Maybe resurrecting this from the dead but thought I might add to the suggestions, you could join a forum like Muscle and Strength or just bookmark their workout sections. I rarely go more than 12 weeks on the same routine, right now I am on Super 8 routine.

 

I think you need to break up your upper body workout, focusing on one muscle group per workout. Like chest and biceps one day, leg day with shoulders, triceps and back. That way you are working your muscles individually harder than if you try to squeeze arms and chest all together.

 

Also do deadlifts, they are the single most important lift for gaining strength. Your body will respond better to all your muscle growth by incorporating them into your workout. You don't need a hex bar, believe it or not you can do them with a standard barbell and they are effective more so than squats. Although personally I never miss squat day, deadlifts are part of my leg day (stiff legged) and back day (regular deadlift).

 

Also eating is very important if you are trying to gain muscle you should never allow yourself to feel hungry that can shut down your metabolism and trigger fat storage in your body as well as muscle breakdown (catabolism).

[Nrw]

Love Wendler's 5/3/1 program. I've had great progress with it while still being fairly new with it (coming up on my 4th cycle). Add deadlfts back in, and just follow it by the book all the answers are in there. I personally like his Boring But Big assistance programing.

[Dbl_D718]

I've changed things to some extent since my last post. I lift four days per week now, including the deadlift day using a straight bar. I also go to a different gym and have added other different lifts I didn't have equipment for before, like rows.

 

Still doing 5/3/1 though, and mostly still like it. I change my accessory work every cycle now, and I started taking creatine a couple weeks ago and am really enjoying the gains. Hoping to get to the coveted 315 lb bench press before too long lol (at 275 lb now).

 

I stopped running for a long time and am just restarting this week to prepare for the Tough Mudder Chicago.

[FLlegacy]

Went for my physical today, my Dr laughed when I said I was going to run. She said very honestly, we are not made to run distances our bodies are made for running to get to safety, but then walking. I take that to heart even before she pointed it out, you can get a good cardio workout doing just about anything as long as your intensity remains high.

[SSpeed]

Funny, when you said you wanted to build strength I was going to suggest 5-3-1, then I read on and you'd started it. It's done wonders for me.