Hello from the new guy and a plea for help.

[EMARTIN]

Hello. My name is Eric and I am an anabolic….

Your turn [Hello Eric] Wrong forum / meeting?

Seriously I am 41 years young and decided while I was reasonably active (competitive paintball thus LOTS of running around) looking to change a lot about how I felt and looked.

I am 5’ 10”, about 182 pounds and have no idea what my body fat % is but know that it is not what I want (but way lower than it was many months ago).

I climbed on the scale about 9 months ago and saw a number that started with 2 and looked down to see it all in my midsection. Sick of it!!!! I dropped 30 pounds via eating less and better while mixing in a good bit of running / walking / elliptical cardio. I added push ups / crunches etc and saw some decent results in toning. Well I have a fairly addictive personality and thus needed more (and less). More muscle and less fat.

I have NO trouble putting weight on but have a difficult time putting quality lean weight on.

I work out on a 4 day split.

Current routine is
Monday – chest / back
Tuesday – Arms / Shoulders
Wednesday – cardio / core (consider it off)
Thursday – chest / back
Friday – Legs
Saturday – cardio (consider it off)
Sunday – OFF

Supplements are Myofusion protein (normally open and close my day with approx 40 grams of Protein via the Myo and 2% milk, USPlabs Jack3d prework out, USPlabs PowerFULL prework out, Creatine mono post work out (last shake of the day with it).

I do moderate cardio 2 – 3 times a week in the first AM for 25 minutes (this is at about 4:30 AM). I can not work out again till I get home eat and wait an hour to take the PowerFULL. So, best case is hitting the weights by about 7:30 / 8:00 PM. Wife and 4 kids family man with obligations.

I eat a pretty good diet. I do not have some set “thou shalt eat 3 eggs, 1 cup oats, 2 tbs PB” at 9:40 AM “ diet kind of guy. I feel I do a pretty dang good job of spreading my calories; getting about 180 grams of protein a day and most all carbs are complex. I avoid the saturated fat and too much salt.

My goal is to be a lean 180 (for now). Depending on what that looks like I might then alter it to a lean 190. Who knows. I just jumped on the OxyELITE PRO from USP labs to try to shed some of my stomach fat that is hiding the Abs I have worked so hard for but only the top 2 sets show.

I have done all this typing and for what? I have no idea what I am doing besides reading TONS, lifting TONS, spending TONS and then not being able to look in the mirror and say “that was totally worth it”. I might be selling myself short and or have unrealistic expectations. Even back in HS I could lean out and become very defined but stacking on quality mass was an impossibility (it seemed).

Help a brother out. Not sure what to ask, what to further elaborate on, but am eager to get this journey started the right way rather than how I have been.

Ah,, for what its worth all of my lifting / cardio is done at home with a Power-Tech leverage gym (multi station), bar / dumbbells, pull up bar, and a solid elliptical… Never have to leave home. I lack ability to do a few exercises but can do all the basics and most secondary moves / lifts if I show a bit of creativity with the Power-Tech.

Thanks all!!!!!

 

[gamer2be08]

Are you considering aas usage?

 

[EMARTIN]

Are you considering aas usage?

Forgive my ignorance... AAS stands for?

Just looked it up... Google is a wonderful thing... No, not at all. El Natural is how I roll.

 

[MEPSE]

Just wondering why you are doing chest and back 2 times per week. There will be different opinions here, but I follow a 3-day split similar to what you show (chest/back, legs/abs, shoulders/arms) and some occasional cardio (1 to 2 days per week). I feel that working each body part once per week works best for me. From what you have described, you have done a great job getting rid of fat, and it sounds like you just need to build some more muscle (which will help keep burning fat). I also like Myofusion, and I did like UPS Prime for naturals. I am 45, 5'10", currently 205 lbs due to an M-drol pulse. I have also been mostly natural, but like to use the occasional legal (currently) PH/DS (pro-hormone/designer steroid) to break through a plateau. If you needed to drop more fat, I might suggest a whole body workout 3 days per week, but my opinion is that a 3-day split and 2 days cardio will get you where you want to go. I also need to burn a little more fat, and I am finding that I am improving because I am eating more good fats. You probably just need to get your supplementation dialed in a little more. I find that it is a constant learning experience, trying things to see what works.

Good luck - it sounds like you are doing great already!

 

[MEPSE]

One other thought - I would not work shoulders and arms the next day after chest and back. I work chest and back Monday, legs and abs on Wednesday, and shoulders and arms on Friday. I need the rest days to get a maximum shoulders and arms workout in. You may be different, but I always like at least one full rest day between hard lifting.

 

[EMARTIN]

MEPSE,

Thanks for taking the time to lend some advice. I would not normally be doing the double up on chest and back but want to "shock" those muscles into submission. I am doing the double for 3 weeks (only two more) and then will go back to a more "standard" split, much like you describe. You are correct about getting where I want, just not quite as quickly as orig. hoped for. It amazes me what a tiny change in diet / routine will do for the betterment / downfall of this process!!!!

I will take your advice and throw shoulders in after legs to provide a 48 hour rest window before using them for upper body large muscle group work.

I am curious as to what you saw flawed with supplementation that makes you think it might need tweeked. Very open to advice. I am very new to that side of the process!

The goal is to get lean, get bigger with quality weight, get healthier... All without going broke. ;-)

 

[MEPSE]

Eric,

The shock makes sense - I just wondered about the double up. I did something similar for arms not long ago. I did not see any issues (in my opinion) with your training and diet, so it just seems like supplementation might be the only place to improve. I am not as lean as I would like to be right now, but I decided to hit a bulking phase for a little while to see if I can get to my goal weight of 215 lbs. My diet is similar to yours and is not super regimented. I have been experimenting much more with supplementation, especially now that I am 45. Currently, I am just drinking whey prior to working out, and I am drinking MHP Dark Matter immediately after. I also drink Gaspari Myofusion in the evening. I tried Jack3d, but it just did not do anything for me except make my scalp tingle. I am currently pusling CEL M-drol 3 times per week on workout days, and will do this for up to 6 weeks. This is a prohormone, and I still can't believe the stuff you can legally buy versus when I was 21. I seem to have high natural testosterone levels, so I tried to stay natural after using AAS to compete at age 21. I did not use anything until July of this year, when I tried Epistane and Formex. I gained a few pounds of muscle and lost a few pounds of fat, but it was not significant for 5 straight weeks of taking these supplements every day. I also felt like my natural test production shut down near the end, which I was not fond of. My AM friend Dementor suggested that I look into pulsing, and I read a great deal about it. I was always scared of Superdrol (M-drol is a Superdrol clone), but decided that, due to it's strength, it was a good candidate for me to try as a pulse. I am starting my third week, so this should be my best week for gains. On off days, I am taking ZMA, tribulus, and milk thistle (for the liver). On days I take M-drol, I am taking taurine. I take CoQ10, hawthorn berries (blood pressure), saw palmetto (prostate), and multi-vitamins every day. I bought the ZMA, tribulus, CoQ10, and taurine on ebay for a total of $38, and the M-drol was $30 on ebay. Other items came from GNC (gold card) and Wal-Mart, so I spent a little but not a fortune (who has the extra money these days?).

So far, I like this supplementation the best. The negative is that most of the prohormones/designer steroids will be banned January 4th, and many places will stop selling on December 28th. I am going to buy what I can, but it won't be very much. One bottle of M-drol will cover three 6-week pulse cycles, so it is a bargain to me. I will post my results at the end of the 6 weeks (one month from now) with my opinions and any issues. I'll post back if I think of anything else.

Rick

 

[EMARTIN]

Thanks again Rick and good luck with the 6 week cycle. If I coudl carry 200 pounds and look good that woudl be one thing. My first and last venture to 200 was horrid. I did it the hard way, I ate crap for many years to get it! ;-)

180 - 190 and in shape will be AWESOME!

 

[AnthonyIOSOS]

You did not go to much into the diet but 180g of protein and a healthy diet is a start. The workout split needs some changes.

I would not workout shoulders that day following your chest. The chest and shoulders use the same general joint movements, not allowing the full potential for your shoulder day.

If you do arms the following day you may have some difficult performing at your full potential. Don't forget chest exercises also incorporate some triceps.

I like doing chest and back together, but, if you do it on the same day you should be super setting. Meaning chest exercise followed by an immediate back exercise.

One way to do the split would be pull on one day and lower or push on another day.

Monday - Chest/Tri (PUSH)
Tuesday- Legs (LOWER)
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Back/BIS (PULL)
Friday- Shoulders (PUSH)
Saturday - Cardio
Sunday - Off

You can split your routine several ways, just remember some exercises incorporate other muscles and joints. So make sure this does not affect your next day workout.

 

[EMARTIN]

One way to do the split would be pull on one day and lower or push on another day.

Monday - Chest/Tri (PUSH)
Tuesday- Legs (LOWER)
Wednesday - Cardio
Thursday - Back/BIS (PULL)
Friday- Shoulders (PUSH)
Saturday - Cardio
Sunday - Off

That looks much MUCH like what I will be reverting back to in two weeks. Thanks again! I keep having to remind myself its a change of life that comes with slow results. Healthy is the immediate outcome, larger / better body comes in time - over time.

 

[MEPSE]

You'll hit 190 lbs easy with patience. My long time goal of 215 lbs assumes that I will be lean, but short term 215 lbs and not super lean will be a start. There are lots of ways to do your workout splits - you will find what feels best to you. I also change up periodically just to keep things moving forward.

 

[EMARTIN]

You'll hit 190 lbs easy with patience. My long time goal of 215 lbs assumes that I will be lean, but short term 215 lbs and not super lean will be a start. There are lots of ways to do your workout splits - you will find what feels best to you. I also change up periodically just to keep things moving forward.

Just finished back / chest.

it is super sets of push then pull:

Repeat 3x Flat bench for 6-8 reps / Upright row for 6-8 90 seconds between
Repeat 3x incline bench for 6-8 reps / Lat pull downs 6-8 90 seconds between
Repeat 3x Decline bench for 6-8 reps / one arm seated rows 6-8 90 seconds between

I wraped up with a decline to failure with very light weight and then abs.

Thanks again for the assist words of encouragment and patience with a :new guy"!

 

[MEPSE]

Nice! I do chest/back tomorrow - I should throw in some super sets to mix it up.

 

[EMARTIN]

Tore the piss out of my delt / tricep in the right arm tonight... If I was not such a manly man I would have shed a tear of six.... HOLY CRAP this hurts. Might need to go really light for a while. This pisses me off as I had some solid momentum going!!!!

 

[MEPSE]

Haven't read this lately - sorry to hear this. I often wonder at my age if I should go lighter for just this reason - it is easier to tear something.

Good luck and recover soon.