Deployed and really need help with training program

[jacobt5150]

A little background: I've been training seriously since February of this year although i have been lifting weights since I was 14 for sports. My roommate during AIT was a personal trainer so he started getting me into the bodybuilding aspect of training which is what ive geared my training towards since feb and now i am deployed in afghanistan. I have made a ton of progress from February. i was about 6'1 190lbs and a decent amount of bodyfat( and by decent i dont mean fat at all, just football player build thick and strong, no real ab defintion prob 12-14% body fat) and now i float around 200l-204lbs with visible abs. Im 20 yrs old in a month and have just seem to hit a sticking point not really like a plateau as far as lifting weights is concerned but more so with my training. I have about 8-10 weeks left here and i want to get as lean and vascular as humanely possible in those 8-10 weeks, but still maintain my hard earned muscle and continue to gain strength. I really am now sort of lost with my training and bounce all over to much. Any help with training and a diet with that training to achieve my desired goals would be much appreciated.

 

[PaulBlack]

I have about 8-10 weeks left here and i want to get as lean and vascular as humanely possible in those 8-10 weeks, but still maintain my hard earned muscle and continue to gain strength. I really am now sort of lost with my training and bounce all over to much. Any help with training and a diet with that training to achieve my desired goals would be much appreciated.

Diet and most likely caloric restriction will get you lean. As far as keeping the mass, you may lose a little depending on how fast you cut. The faster you try to lose fat, the more you may lose lean tissue. So watch that. Lose weight slowly ie: #2 a week will be better than #10.
Stay hydrated.

As far as training, stick with the compound basics and a regular schedule. (you are probably used to a structured schedule since you are in the service) You know how sticking to a schedule makes things work and makes things very effective and efficient.
Lots of good routines to choose, you just got to work them to get results.

BTW, thanks for your service to the country...!

 

[jacobt5150]

Thank you i appreciate the advice and support! With the diet i have been keeping it under 2000 cal and around 300g of protein with 50g or less of carbs. I dont know if that is enough to suffice for solid cutting without loosing to much mass? So for lifting what would be the quality rep range and amount of sets for my goals? i was thinking running fst-7 in a sense where id do 4 sets of 12 and then apply the 7 sets at the end, but that might be overkill with the diet im on. What program/training split with compound movements do you reccomend for my goals?

 

[PaulBlack]

So for lifting what would be the quality rep range and amount of sets for my goals? What program/training split with compound movements do you reccomend for my goals?

Personally, I don't think that a specific rep range is the most important factor, as long as you are working hard and utilizing the biggest structures and muscles of your body. 3-5 sets, of anywhere from 5-12 reps, in say the squat, is going to go much farther to inroad the systems, than the same rep and set ranges for leg raises or leg curls, (say iso). Just saying. Iso work is just easier (and I always kept that for the very end of workout or say polish) and has less systemic production overall.
Compound exercises first and foremost (the ones that make you breath heavy, sweat hard, pump much of the body up and you want the sets to be done, not keep going on...! wink wink)

Your goals are to get shredded sure, but IMO, the same exercises will be the best to overall build and strengthen, while you lose weight thru diet etc. to get that goal.

Upper and lower spilts are pretty popular and have many guys able to focus pretty well and recover well too. Say example 4 day spilt...

Day 1
Squats (maybe leg presses)
Rows or Chins
Arms
Abs
Grip/forearm

Day 2
Standing OHP's
BP's or Dips
Shrugs
Core
Some arms

Day 3
Deads
Pull Dwns
Grip/forearm
Abs

Day 4
BP's
OHP's
Shrugs
Core
Arms

Focusing the most energy on the first few exercises and then hitting a few sets maybe 2-3 for arms at the end is plenty IMO.
I see guys spend 8 sets for arms, and frankly, there arm size and strength, is not better than if they did 2-3 hard sets.
The arms get good overall work on stuff like BP's, Rows, Pull Dwns, etc.
This way you are hitting the big structures 2x+ per week and the arms 3x. You can set it up like a HML or something too and spit it up with 3 days a week etc. depending on time.

Other set ups...
W/O A (Maybe Monday)
Squats or Leg Presses
Flat BP's
Chins/ or Rows
Arms
ABs

W/O B (Wed.)
Standing OHP's
Deads
Pull Dwns
Core/abs
Grip

W/O C (Friday)
Squats or Leg Presses
Dips or Incline Presses
BB rows or Chins
Shrugs
Arms

W/O D (Monday)
DBOHP's
Deads
Chins
Grip
Abs

Wed. will be "A" again say and just repeat pattern...

More full body stuff, but still able to hit the major musculature 2x+ per week.

Just a few examples. Depending on the effort you put in, body transformations can be had utilizing the biggest structures and compound lifts almost exclusively. Then some iso work at the end. You build muscle mass, strength, power, cardio and work capacity and can trim BF depending on the diet approach.

 

[jacobt5150]

Thank you i appreciate the help that was exactly the advice and info i needed! With your help im sure ill be able to achieve my goals now. Ill run it exactly like you set it up, keep my diet and cardio in check and this should work great! Thanks again!

 

[Sean1332]

Paul knows his ****! Solid advice. Good luck with getting lean for whatever lady you're coming home too

 

[jacobt5150]

Hahaha thank you!

 

[Wrivest]

Paul put a no sh*t plan together for you! In my experience, deployment is the best time to get shredded, as long as your mission isn't 100% balls to the wall. I was deployed last year, working 12-13 hour shifts and still had time to pack on the best size of my life. Good luck man, stay safe!

 

[jacobt5150]

I'd say so the plan looks awesome i cant wait till tomorrow to start! Im working about those same hours and i always find a way to get to the gym if i can even if we work longer. Its always good to meet another service member thanks for the support and ill do my best to come home safe!

 

[PaulBlack]

Thanks for the comments/support guys,

as long as your mission isn't 100% balls to the wall.

And right. Another reason I suggest say, a HML ( heavy-medium-light set up thru the week).
If you hit the Squats hard Monday, you hit say deads Fri, lighter or med.That way you can wave the intensity on the upper and lower stuff and drag out the cycle pretty long, picking up momentum and making longer term "stick with it" habitual gains.

 

[jacobt5150]

Thanks for the comments/support guys,



And right. Another reason I suggest say, a HML ( heavy-medium-light set up thru the week).
If you hit the Squats hard Monday, you hit say deads Fri, lighter or med.That way you can wave the intensity on the upper and lower stuff and drag out the cycle pretty long, picking up momentum and making longer term "stick with it" habitual gains.

Okay that makes sense ill be sure to do that! One other question would be how do you feel about pre and post carbohydrates with this kind of a program? Lets say 50g pre 50g post? I feel like i will need it with the compound lifts but i still want to get lean.