Advice Needed

[lburna]

I have been reading these forums for the past few weeks as I have recently decided that I wanted to get myself back into the physical condition I was in before my accident. I am turning this over to you guys that eat, sleep, breathe, maintaining a good physique and understand the diet and supplement regimen needed to maximize results. Prior to my accident I was a very athletic guy, even stayed in pretty good shape throughout college. I have since become pretty heavy due to inactivity and injury...especially with weight accumulating in my midsection. About 3 weeks ago I began working out and doing cardio, changing my diet and my whole lifestyle. Can someone please provide me with suggestions on how to get myself back to the old me? (Diet and Exercise Plan) Based on a lot of research I have decided to go with the Leviathan Reloaded/DCP stack along with Lean Extreme, Fish Oil Pills, and green tea extract. After my last Dr. visit I was told that my current Body Fat percentage was 23.6%. I am 6'3 260. I look forward to any suggestions you may have, thanks.

[grila jujitsu]

I have been reading these forums for the past few weeks as I have recently decided that I wanted to get myself back into the physical condition I was in before my accident. I am turning this over to you guys that eat, sleep, breathe, maintaining a good physique and understand the diet and supplement regimen needed to maximize results. Prior to my accident I was a very athletic guy, even stayed in pretty good shape throughout college. I have since become pretty heavy due to inactivity and injury...especially with weight accumulating in my midsection. About 3 weeks ago I began working out and doing cardio, changing my diet and my whole lifestyle. Can someone please provide me with suggestions on how to get myself back to the old me? (Diet and Exercise Plan) Based on a lot of research I have decided to go with the Leviathan Reloaded/DCP stack along with Lean Extreme, Fish Oil Pills, and green tea extract. After my last Dr. visit I was told that my current Body Fat percentage was 23.6%. I am 6'3 260. I look forward to any suggestions you may have, thanks.

you need to post your diet!

[suncloud]

crossfit, HIIT and diet are all you need, though support supplements like leviathan, DCP, RPM will help. just ease back into this - there's nothing worse than getting an injury when getting back in shape and being sidelined for a month.

[lburna]

I probably should have included my diet, I apologize for this oversight. I work in investment banking so my hours are pretty erratic at times.

Morning:
Oatmeal or cereal/Skim Milk
Fruit
Some days Protein Shake instead of solid food

Lunch:
Salad/chicken breast

Snack:
Power Bar

Dinner:
Chicken Breast/Broccoli/Cottage Cheese

Post Work Out:
Fruit and Protein Shake

[lburna]

I have been easing myself back into it for the last 3 weeks. My doctor told me it was ok to start lifting and increasing my intensity. I understand some of the limits I have. With that being said, can you tell me exactly what crossfit is and an example of HIIT? Thanks.

[tim1985]

crossfit, HIIT and diet are all you need, though support supplements like leviathan, DCP, RPM will help. just ease back into this - there's nothing worse than getting an injury when getting back in shape and being sidelined for a month.

I wouldn't recomend HIIT at his size. just my .02

[suncloud]

I wouldn't recomend HIIT at his size. just my .02

lol. i did say go into this light

[lburna]

I guess I should let you know that I have been rehabing my leg for the past year with two major surgeries. I was playing baseball for the wooden bat league trying to get my chance to make it to AAA. I slid into home and the catcher was blocking the plate, i ended up tearing my acl/pcl/mcl/lateral meniscus and cracked my femur all in one swoop. I might not be able to do some high impact leg activity but i know i can hit the treadmill for an hour or swim for my cardio. I am asking as someone that wants to get his life back if you can direct me on a proper cutting diet and exercise program to shed this weight i have gained. Thanks for all the support.

[Lacradocious]

I think you about have it covered. I would stick to just a multi-vitamin, fish oil, green tea, etc until you are in a comfortable routine and then doing the LR/DCP stack once you are back into a routine. I think you will get more from the stack if you start it after you have built your cardio back up, but it wouldn't hurt to start now.

Limit your transfats (hydrogenated oils) and stay away from bad foods like Soda or fast food.

Since you were athletic before, I bet you will still have good muscle memory, and you probably already know how to train right. Just be strict and stay with it, and you will be back in the game in no time. Sorry to hear about your accident, it's hard hitting set backs like that. Keep your head up though. Attitude is everything. Wish you the best of luck.

[suncloud]

I guess I should let you know that I have been rehabing my leg for the past year with two major surgeries. I was playing baseball for the wooden bat league trying to get my chance to make it to AAA. I slid into home and the catcher was blocking the plate, i ended up tearing my acl/pcl/mcl/lateral meniscus and cracked my femur all in one swoop. I might not be able to do some high impact leg activity but i know i can hit the treadmill for an hour or swim for my cardio. I am asking as someone that wants to get his life back if you can direct me on a proper cutting diet and exercise program to shed this weight i have gained. Thanks for all the support.

well that certainly changes things! HIIT and crossfit may be too much for your leg. how about doing a total body workout 3x per week going fairly light on squats. a total body workout would consist of :
squats
bench
pullups (assisted)
deadlifts
clean and press

do 4 sets of 10 reps monday, wednesday, and friday. here's the catch(es).
1 - no carbs post workout for as long as possible
2 - when you break down, do complex carbs only
3 - do these exercises as supersets, and focus on speed rather than weight

this is not to say do bench press with the bar. it should still challenge you, but you should always be able to hit rep 10. this workout will peak your growth hormone levels - which will stay spiked for up to 24 hours, but will return to baseline with simple carb intake. the goal is to do all 4 sets of 5 exercises in 25 minutes or less.

having high growth hormone levels will help you chew through fat, and being the 2nd best muscle builder will preserve a good portion of the muscle that you do have (remember your body will try to ditch muscle first). between that and swimming on tuesday/thursday and whenever else you want to, you should see a difference within a month - 2 inches off your waist at least. i'll guarantee that, if you can limit your post-workout-till-bed carbs

EDIT : i've had two friends do this type of workout, and one lost 2 dress sizes in a month, the other lost 2.25 inches off his waist. the girl had much better carb control than the guy. the guy kept going to charbucks after the workout

[lburna]

Thank you for the suggestions and kind words. I have been extremely strict with my diet since I made the decision to change my life. I no longer eat fast food, limit my carb intake as much as possible, try to create a calorie deficit to start burning the fat, and stay away from all sodas and sweets. I no longer drink alcohol in social settings, just sticking with water. I have this uncanny will power right now. Thank you for recommending a workout that you think I could be successful at. I will definitely take your advice and start creating that routine in the following week. Just to make sure I understand this, are we talking about doing 4 sets of each exercise (40 squats, 40 bench press, etc. all in the 25 minute window?) I hate to burden you guys but how would you recommend dosing these supplements I have to help maximize results?

[suncloud]

Thank you for the suggestions and kind words. I have been extremely strict with my diet since I made the decision to change my life. I no longer eat fast food, limit my carb intake as much as possible, try to create a calorie deficit to start burning the fat, and stay away from all sodas and sweets. I no longer drink alcohol in social settings, just sticking with water. I have this uncanny will power right now. Thank you for recommending a workout that you think I could be successful at. I will definitely take your advice and start creating that routine in the following week. Just to make sure I understand this, are we talking about doing 4 sets of each exercise (40 squats, 40 bench press, etc. all in the 25 minute window?) I hate to burden you guys but how would you recommend dosing these supplements I have to help maximize results?

those supplements are not my forte, so hopefully someone else can answer that. yes, all 200 reps in 25 minutes makes this workout what it is. it should leave you breathless - that's not an exaggeration . my workout partner (the guy) did those with me. the girl didn't time restrict, but she still had great results based on a superior diet. i think if you combined both of those things (diet and speed) you would have phenomenal results.

if nobody answers how to dose the supplements, just follow the bottle

[Lacradocious]

Check out some LR/DCP logs on here to see how people have been dosing them. I would dose the fish oil at 6-8 caps a day.

As far as supplements go, I would recommend CLA and ALA as well. 3-4 caps a day. These are great anti-oxidants and may help you lose some fat. Another thing you might look into is bulk acetyl-carnitine. Dose that at about 2 grams a day. It is similar to one of the ingredients in DCP. It assists with focus, and helps mitochondria oxidise and use fatty acids. If you supplement with it, take it in conjunction with the green tea caps and ALA to scavenge free radicals that are formed from the oxidation process.

Nutraplanet has pretty good prices on all this stuff and has reviews on most of the products as well.

[ShiftyCapone]

well that certainly changes things! HIIT and crossfit may be too much for your leg. how about doing a total body workout 3x per week going fairly light on squats. a total body workout would consist of :
squats
bench
pullups (assisted)
deadlifts
clean and press

do 4 sets of 10 reps monday, wednesday, and friday. here's the catch(es).
1 - no carbs post workout for as long as possible
2 - when you break down, do complex carbs only
3 - do these exercises as supersets, and focus on speed rather than weight

this is not to say do bench press with the bar. it should still challenge you, but you should always be able to hit rep 10. this workout will peak your growth hormone levels - which will stay spiked for up to 24 hours, but will return to baseline with simple carb intake. the goal is to do all 4 sets of 5 exercises in 25 minutes or less.

having high growth hormone levels will help you chew through fat, and being the 2nd best muscle builder will preserve a good portion of the muscle that you do have (remember your body will try to ditch muscle first). between that and swimming on tuesday/thursday and whenever else you want to, you should see a difference within a month - 2 inches off your waist at least. i'll guarantee that, if you can limit your post-workout-till-bed carbs

EDIT : i've had two friends do this type of workout, and one lost 2 dress sizes in a month, the other lost 2.25 inches off his waist. the girl had much better carb control than the guy. the guy kept going to charbucks after the workout

This definitely seems interesting... I have a question or two though.

Are you recommending limitations on carb intake post-workout solely because he works out later in the evening? If not, what other reasoning?

And to the original poster (lburna).... It sounds like you've had a significant amount time off from this active of a lifestyle. As opposed to focusing on speed, how quickly you complete this workout routine, I think it would be much more beneficial if you spent more time getting proper form down right now. With such a long time off from an active lifestyle, not to mention the whole rehabilitation process, you'd want to focus on good form and eventually start increasing the pace. I don't disagree with the routine, I'm just trying to stress the importance of proper form when hitting the weights after an extended hiatus.

As for supplementation:

Fish oil - This should be a staple. I'd recommend taking ~2g with every meal except your post-workout shake. You want to limit (or eliminate) fat intake directly after exercise.

Multi-vitamin - A quality multi should also be a supplemental staple. NOW Adam, ON Opti-men and MST's MVP/ZMK stack are all good choices IMO. You may also want to look into supplementing with "ACES" (vit A, vit C, vit E and selenium) as opposed to a multi-vitamin. I personally still take a multi, but I've heard a lot of really great things about ACES.

DCP/LR - I agree that maybe you should hold off, at least a little while, on something like this. You're going to notice some pretty impressive gains with the new diet change and aforementioned workout regimen. You said that right now you have an "uncanny willpower" right now. Well, I hate to break it to you but that is really going to be tested when the results begin to slow down. Which is where I think a good stack like this one would come in handy. You've only been at it for just under a month. Give it some time...

Green Tea - I would aim for 500mg 2x/day of EGCG. Most types should say the % EGCG. For instance, NP's Bulk Green Tea Powder is a 50% extract. You'd want to take 1g 2x/day to reach the correct amount of EGCG.


Best of luck on your change of lifestyle man. And don't hesitate to ask questions. We're all here to learn....

[suncloud]

This definitely seems interesting... I have a question or two though.

Are you recommending limitations on carb intake post-workout solely because he works out later in the evening? If not, what other reasoning?

And to the original poster (lburna).... It sounds like you've had a significant amount time off from this active of a lifestyle. As opposed to focusing on speed, how quickly you complete this workout routine, I think it would be much more beneficial if you spent more time getting proper form down right now. With such a long time off from an active lifestyle, not to mention the whole rehabilitation process, you'd want to focus on good form and eventually start increasing the pace. I don't disagree with the routine, I'm just trying to stress the importance of proper form when hitting the weights after an extended hiatus.

shifty -

well, IMO when someone's primary goal is to loose weight, increasing GH levels seem the smartest way to do this. GH as you know is great for muscle maintenance (not necessarily muscle growth), and great for fat burning.

spiking GH levels require a few things.
1 - low carbs/slow digesting carbs - a carb spike will return GH levels to baseline.
2 - 3-5 sets of 10-12 reps
3 - compound movements in rapid succession

testosterone has similar guidelines
1 - no trans fat - 2g or more will lower your base testosterone levels
2 - 4-6 reps, 3 sets (even DC rest pause is a count of 8-4-2 = 3 sets)
3 - compound movements with a 1-3 minute break between sets

EDIT : i have a pretty fascinating article about raising natural GH levels that i've copied to picture format (.jpg or something). PM me your email and i will send you the info if you'd like to know "where i'm coming from" or just for further info

[lburna]

Thank you guys for the insight, I apologize for being away.