After about 12 years of getting away from the iron and letting my self go, I got back at it in May of this year. In the mean time, I developed some significant health issues including Type II Diabetes, Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) and Hypertension, all of which can and are helped by, you guessed it, resistance training.
I have now been lifting heavy since May, tracking my intake on Calorie Count etc also. For the longest time, I hung around 282-285 but could tell that I was getting leaner based on my appearance and waist size. I did what I could with the PAD for cardio work (mostly walking and peddling) but have recently discovered that I can do some HIIT work on elipticals. (Have been running 20/40 for 5-6 cycles plus warm ups on upper body days, 15/30 for about 4 cycles on leg days.)
I know that some may call this BS, but I swear it is the truth. Over the last month, I have shot up to 315 with only some minor fat gain (can take my heavy belt to the 7th notch instead of the 8th for heavy sets of squat/dead lifts.) However, a few significant things occurred in that time:
1) I quit smoking 11/5/10;
2) I switched to an honest to goodness gym with a real weight room instead of the local hospitals "Healthfit" Center that I had outgrown;
3) I came out of about 5+ months of caloric deficit (Had been running about 2700-3k daily with a few "less disciplined" days here and there, but kept it pretty tight.
(Also, my PCP switched me to Januvia for the diabetes in early November, I wonder if there is a connection?)
At some point about 2 weeks ago, I said "F it", "if my body wants to pack it on, then so be it" and resolved myself to a mass building cycle. I have been making steady gains in my major lifts and this is what keeps me happy and motivated. Anyways, the 2nd part of that resolution was that I would become focused on stripping out after the holidays. ( I mean 315, really, this boy has gotta burn some fat now!)
Here in essence is my plan:
Continue with my four day split (Upper day 1, Lower Day 2, Day off 3, Upper Day 4, lower day 5 with 4 sets of 6-8 reps for major muscle groups/compound movements. 3 sets 10-12 reps for smaller groups) and maybe put a little more emphasis on the Cardio by pushing the HIIT to 8 - 10 cycles 20/40 (and start to decrease rest periods as my overall cardiovascular health improves)on upper body days and maybe a bit less on leg days then throw in a 25- 30 minute walk or bike ride in over the weekend.
Cut daily calories to a strict 2700 daily, shooting for at least 250g or so of protein. (This is the part I would really like some feed back on. Is that too limited? I do not want to strip away the mass I have been working for the last few months. What macro ratios should I shoot for? (35/35/30?)
There are a few things that will have to be taken into consideration:
1) Seeing my lifts increase is what motivates me. I have never been and never will be some one who will stick to a "pick up a 15# dumbell and do 25 reps" program.
2) Any Cardio work will have to take into account the PAD which results in pain full cramps due to limited blood flow. I do find that machines that take the weight off of my feet (bikes, elipticals that I can lean on ) can be help full in getting around this. This has improved greatly since I quit smoking, but building this back up will be a process.
I know that my BF estimate on my profile of 18% is likely wrong (based of 3 site measurement caliper) but I doubt that I am above 25%. Even if we were to assume 30% , that still leaves me about 220lbs of lean mass, so I figure that 260 is a good goal weight.
So long story short, I have never really stripped out seriously before ( but do know from my wild child days of addiction that I look sickly below 215) and could really use some input here. Anything from changes in routine, to cardio work to diet or supps.
If you took the time to read this, thanks for your time, and hopefully, thanks for your input.
, so I am changing me routine for the next few weeks to let it heal.
