trying to get shredded, overkill?

[soontobbeast]

so me and my brother have been trying to get cut for ages, to no avail. we are both around 150lbs and 5'7'' and i would say probably around 14-16% bodyfat ( i know some of you might say we should bulk instead, but to each his own )

since we haven't been able to achieve an 8-pack with dieting, we ordered a bunch of supplements to help so far we have these ( the only one i'm taking right now is CLA and ECA) :

ALCAR
green tea extract
lipodrene ( ephedra )
CLA
Leviathan RL

any suggestions on mixing or not mixing these? any additional comments?


thanks for any help.

 

[Steveoph]

Can you provide details about your workout plan? If dieting didn't work, I would try and address this before adding in supplements.

 

[soontobbeast]

my workout routine is typically 5-6 times a week, 4 being the lowest and rarest amount but never more than 6 days a week

the sequence goes something like this :

chest/back - day 1
shoulders - day 2
rest - day 3
chest/back - day 4
shoulders - day 5
biceps/triceps/ maybe some pullups day 6
sunday - my day of rest

and then it starts all over




in all of my workout days i typically do 4 exercises each muscle group with 4-5 sets each exercise.

 

[D3vildog]

EDIT - Posted before i could read ur new entry...

Whats ur diet look like. Also you need to add legs into that workout. Boost up ur testosterone by hitting the squats and dead lifts. But you can't out train a bad diet. (credit to whoever first said it).

 

[Steveoph]

What sort of cardio do you do in there?

 

[time lord]

ummmm...... if you're in a calorie deficit that routine looks like you're definately overtraining/undereating... and why no legs? you're going to have a very very hard time cutting w/out working those legs.

 

[soontobbeast]

we are trying to just get a few food groups and eat them each day so we have

salmon cans
potatoes
skim milk
whey protein
kashi cereal/wheat bran
boneless skinless chicken breast
96% beef from walmart a couple times a week
sara lee whole wheat bread
pacante sauce
barilla plus spaghetti ( whole wheat + protein )
carrots
fat free cheese

we try to eat 5 times a day

supplements i take right now are ECA, b complex, milk thistle, cla, aged garlic and flax seed oil

 

[soontobbeast]

we don't work out our legs because we naturally both have kinda big/soft/pudgy legs ( i guess i'm scared of making them bigger )

 

[D3vildog]

Whats ur Water intake per day?

 

[soontobbeast]

i don't get enough water a day for sure, but do you think that could completely halt the fatloss?

 

[soontobbeast]

to answer steve, i do about 15 minutes of eliptical after my workouts typically because your metabolism is already elevated i supposed it would be better. i also don't do alot of cardio because i don't think i'm eating enough as it is.

 

[time lord]

you're legs, quads specifically, are the biggest, leanest muscles in your body... they need to be built up so they can be your furnace

looking at your routine it's obvious that a couple things are going on:

1) your workout intensity level is very low. if i were to follow that split and really go balls out there is no way i would be able to make it through a week, and i eat up to 6000 calories a day sometimes.

2) given that you don't have that much muscle mass and are not really putting that much on w/ your routine, you will not burn very many calories at all w/out cardio... if you aren't doing cardio b/c you don't want to work your legs you just have to suck it up and do. your legs may get slightly bigger initially because of some muscle gain but they will shrink up significantly once the bf really starts to get low.

 

[D3vildog]

lack of water will def, halt fat loss. The more water you drink, the more your body will let go of. It also cleans out your system and helps your muscles, which helps ur metabolism.

If your body is drained of water, its gonna hold onto it longer. Increasing water weight.

 

[soontobbeast]

time lord i can tell you put a lot of thought into your response, i appreciate that.

however, i feel like my workouts are pretty strenuous. my muscles get extremely pumped and fatigued, i do sets of 4 of the heaviest weight i can do, especially with chest, then go up to sets of 6 and 8 and 10 with back, so im exerting alot of energy when i workout. i'm not being lazy by any means. i don't do alot of cardio because i am probably only averaging 1900 calories a day. i can do more cardio if you think my small frame doesn't burn enough calories though.

 

[time lord]

this is what i think you should do...

change your split up a bit, and add a leg day:

day 1 upper body.
day 2 lower body.
rest/cardio
day 4 upper body.
day 5 lower body.
rest/cardio

keep your weight sessions short and sweet. instead of going high volume bodybuilder style and trying to keep that pump, go for all out intensity circuits and keep your heart rate up. i know you want to feel that pump b/c that's what lots of people talk about but if you're working each muscle that hard and long twice a week AND only intaking 1900 calories there is absolutely no way you will grow.

day one: upper body

1. bench press
2. bent over row
repeat 3 times
1. dips
2. pullups
repeat 3 times
only rest 30seconds between sets and really go all out in terms of weight pushed and keeping the HR up.
follow this up w/ 15-20 minutes HIIT cardio

day two: legs
1. squats
2. stiff legged deadlifts
3. lateral lunges
15-20 minutes HIIT cardio

day three: cardio
try to burn as many cals as you can

day four: upper body
1. decline bench
2. pullups
repeat thrice
1. military press
2. rows
repeat 3 times
15-20 minutes HIIT

day five: lower
1. walking lunges to failure
2. calves/tibs
15 min light cardio

day six: cardio
all you can handle

day seven: REST


you're trying to keep all your lifts compound and keep moving! you will still overload all muscle groups just enough to grow and you will also burn wayyyy more cals

also consider upping your daily calories... 1800 calories is considered a starvation diet and i would only use that on clients with type III obesity who absolutely positively have to lose weight as quickly as possible or die.

 

[soontobbeast]

so all i have to do to get shredded is drink more water, eat a little more and work out legs?

 

[soontobbeast]

wooops didn't see timelords massive post lol

 

[time lord]

i'd recommend something on the order of 2300 calories per day. anyways, i'll leave you alone for now and let some other people throw their opinions in... good luck

 

[soontobbeast]

timelord i really appreciate your taking the time out to compile that workout for me. i have read it completely and i will copy and paste it into a word doc for later. based on the foods that i have listed , is there anything you would add or take away? how much more calories do you think we should eat? and in what form? maybe ill post pics later. it's just frustrating. we both are willing to do anything and everything to make getting cut happen. it just doesn't seem to happen . i appreciate all the help everyone's given

 

[time lord]

i think you should eat about 2200-2300 cals per day, spread out over 6 meals (at least).

that means eating approx 360-380 calories every 3 hours. get some good low glycemic fruit in there like berries, melons, and granny smith apples. also try to add as many veggies in there as possible. the more broccoli, spinach, squash, mushrooms, peppers, etc. the better. also try to make all your fat healthy fat... i.e. olive oil, raw nuts, avocado

the only thing i would take out of your diet is potato. replace w/ sweet potato. you can use it just like you would normal potato but it effects your blood sugar much less and has many more beneficial vitamins.

also i don't know if you mentioned it anywhere, but pick up a good multi-vitamin. probably the most important supplement you can take in the beginning.

 

[D3vildog]

Time Lord Nailed it. I can only add drink more water at this point till you come back with more results or .. no results. Good luck