jamescosworth

been going to the gym regular now for the past few years and although im in half decent shape would like to get abit more toned and lift more weight etc...im 5ft8, 11.5st, approx 16% bodyfat, 32'' waist.

i currently train 3 maybe 4 times a week with the 3 sessions consisting of back and biceps, chest and triceps, shoulders and legs and the 4th session training whatever i feel like on the day. i also try and do some ab work once or twice a week. i cycle to the gym on the evenings after work which is about 1 mile up the road at a steady pace and try to push myself on the return trip.

diet wise an average day goes....
7am bowl of fruit n fibre with semi skimmed milk
10am 1 apple 1 satsuma 1 low fat yougurt and 2 slices of 50/50 toast
1pm cooked ham and boiled egg in a wholemeal pitta with sweet n crunchy salad with salad cream, apple or satsuma or banana, small choc bar.
3pm protein shake
5pm gym for approx 1hour with protein shake at the end of session.
approx 7pm meat and mixed steamed veg or spag bol or beans on 2 toast with poached eggs (or other meals depending on what i fancy, try and stay as healthy as possible tho!)

i normally buy myprotein.com's impact whey but at the moment ive got nutri1st all in one whey as it was on offer in tesco's. it contains 29g protein and 19g carbs....the carb content seems very high compaired to others on the market? is this more of a pre-workout shake?

does anyone have any other advice? been thinking about buying some of those fat burner tablets...do they work? anyone tried/using them?
any recipe's would be appreciated too!

i do enjoy going to the gym and have come on quite abit from when i first started..could only bench press 15kg dumbells but can now do 70kg on the barbell so quite pleased but feel like ive hit a wall and cant progress....help please!

matthewpickup

bloody hell you do more than i do but i have done it since i was around 16 years old now 23 , i am 6,2 and 14st .
the way i train is i do all groups in the one as i prefer to do it that way 3 times a week when work allows , i use free weights as its alot more harder the machine but you have to be careful as its easy to hurt yourself .
the only thing i take is whey protein , dont eat anything diffrent , meats red/white , pasta .
what you might find is once you get so big it seem hard to pass it , i just lift more weight and less reps and keep doing it till i can do the full sets .
so dont know if thats helpful or not but hope you get something to work for you

matthewpickup

your lifting a fair bit tbh i use dumbells for bench press as its ment to be harder a makes each arm support its self , the most i have done on that is 34kg each arm in sets , most i have ever managed to curl is 30kg lol

jamescosworth

thanks for the reply mate!
as far as the chest session goes i start off with some press ups and stretches to warm up, then put 2x15kg plates on a 20kg bar so im lifting 50 kg...do 2 sets at that weight to warm up then put 25kg each side of the bar and do 3 sets of 6-8 reps, then use 25 kg dumbells to do incline bench, then finish the session with flys, cable crossovers and bodyweight dips leaning forwards, then i go onto my triceps.

jamescosworth

woops forgot to put my age im 26.

matthewpickup

have you ever tried triangle press ups ?

jamescosworth

not sure mate..tell me more!

matthewpickup

right well i will try lol very hard for the triceps
make a triangle with your two hands , thumbs and index fingers , then same as a normal press up you want your chest to be above the triangle (hands), then keeping your elbows in do press ups remember elbows in face right down and off your toes at non of this cheating stuff on the knees lol give that a go its good maybe not great for size but my triceps have got bigger by doing it , doing this will incress the size of your tricep (the big one at bottem as you maybe know there is three

simontrayler

Hi mate.

The key to maintaining muscle gains is to vary your exercises. By this I mean don't just do the same 3-4 exercises for thr same muscle groups week on week. Alter them, switch it up, change regularly or your body will just become conditioned to what your doing and gains will cease.
A lot of building is down to your mentality. Keep telling yourself your not getting stronger, or you can't get bigger, then you won't. Sounds silly, but believe you can do it and you will.

In all exercises you do, aim for a solid 8 reps and be about to shit yourself by rep 8. Push yourself. Every week just try to add 2.5 kilos to every exercise, bit by bit.

You also need to up your protein intake a fair bit from what you've said. I was/am taking 4-5 protein shakes per day. Have one before bed too mixed with milk rather than water (milk digests slower ergo protein is released slower and feeds your body through the night. Always get a solid 8 hours sleep!

It helps to train with a partner too, when you get to heavy weights more for safety than anything else, but your more inclined to try for that bit more when someone is there to bail you out if you need it.

Bodybuilding 90% diet and 10% training.

Whist training always maximise what your doing. For example, when benching, go slowly up and just as slowly down, utilising the negative.

Throw some supersets in there too, the work wonders and works extremely well.

Hope that helps a bit. And before any says I'm making it up, lol, it's based on years of traing and going from 13 stone to 17.5 stone at my largest, benching 180kg barbell and up to 75kg dumbells, unassisted for a reps solid at 3 sets.

I've trained both naturally and also with supplements

Good luck and as my gym Moto states, get ripped or die trying.

matthewpickup

now i dont know if this is true but i got told if you dont train your legs this will stop you from getting bigger on the top ?

simontrayler

It's neither true, or untrue really mate. Your body has its own internal regulating systems of you will and looks to create a kind of symmetry in its appearance. Obviously you can completely over ride this by just testing one arm and not the other. But the gains will be far slower than they would be if you trained both arms.

So if you don't train your legs you will eventually get a slowing affect up top. But for the levels an average or semi advanced bodybuilder gets too, it'll never really have a bearing and again, in the long term can be overridden. But, this is just based on reading and maybe scientific myth...

Either way, it's working training legs. Nothing worse than a large torso with a pair of chicken legs sticking out the bottom!

Ow and FYI, say applies to the forearms so I've read. You need to train them also to maintain a solid arm mechanism and motion.

matthewpickup

thanks for the info mate
and yea strong forearms are good lol
i do alot of manuel work so its helps me to that bit stronger one of the best things i started

simontrayler

No worries buddy

Doing a physical job does help a lot and training also with the job. All round winner

Just keep constant, always keep pushing yourself and the results will come, slowly but surely.

simontrayler

Ow and protein wise, use Syntha 6! It's one of the best and tastes the nuts

matthewpickup

i have just used whey protein from holland and barret , thing is i am not really into taking things incase it messes my body up later in life , and it works for me so just kept using it lol i only take one shake a day maybe your ment to take more but seems to work at that

matthewpickup

so have you tryed it yet ? or managed to decode what i said lol?

simontrayler

Syntha 6 is just a better quality product than what your using and will not mess you up in any way. It's available in lots of places and us just a better mix all round for muscle gains. Not too many carbs, contains BCAA's (branch chain amino acids, again totally fine and can be bought separately from holland and barret. Check the reviews and look on myprotein.com. Its just a label/branded version of holland and barrets run of the mill stuff. It'll help trust me and is no steroid or anything

One shake a day is fine, but you'll only get do far. Protein is fuel for muscle and muscle growth. More protein = more results and muscle growth

matthewpickup

hmm intresting my have a look into this as i am all most out of protein lol
i guess you did body building ?

simontrayler

Do, you won't regret switching to it! It will help get results for sure And as for taste, when your drinking 5-6 of them a day it really counts, and this stuff you'd drink just for the taste, the other benefits are just a bonus. Mint choc was my favourite!

Still do do the bodybuilding, but have had to take 5 months out due to a rotata cuff injury

Will be back on it in another month again getting ready for summer

matthewpickup

lol think i will give it a try , how many do you think i would need to take as i dont do body building ? and o not good , bet you really cant wait to get back to it , have you done it for a while?

simontrayler

Once you do, you'll use nothing else! You really want to have 3 a day. Prob best having one in the morning (difficult to get lots of protein in for breakfast unless you fancy a steak first thing, lol), one at lunch and one before bed with milk. On training days have one straight after you've finished training, ideally within 30 mins of finishing your session.

No not good at all, lol. Hurt like hell and being a typical bloke and not wanting to waste 2 years solid planned training and routine, I kept going with it for a few weeks till I literally couldn't move my arm. Nearly had to have surgery on it, but I was told to rest for 6 months or it'd only go again

Been training properly with the aim of getting bodybuilder big for 5+ years, off and on 10 years before that

matthewpickup

lol will give a go then dose it come with some hulk coloured green paint lol
and yea sounds nasty , so i guess your having to work aswell as do all your training ? would good to do it as a job

simontrayler

Lol, you get the paint with your tenth purchase, lol. I used to get it off amazon as it gets delivered to your door and they were pretty reasonable. But maybe worth shopping around a bit. Comes in 2 size tubs, so get the bigger one (£50 ish) as its better value and lasts longer

Yeah have to work still Unfortunatley, bodybuilders key supplements, diet, gym memberships ain't cheap if you wanna get big. Was costing me prob £700+ a month, lol.

Would love to be paid to train 2 a day, everyday! Would make it so much easier!

matthewpickup

lol , and thats not bad the whey i was getting , for two tubs was around £60 and that was a deal lol
and o thats rather costly lol
i just have free weights and train at home myself (so kinda limits the amount i can push) as i work for myself so no idea when i get finshed so its easier for me and cant be bothered with busy gyms .
i dont think people know how much work is involved in what you do its not a sport its a lifestyle lol

simontrayler

Yeah it's not too bad... Prob £50 every 3-4 weeks on it it should costs you, give of take

And yeah, there is nothing cheap about doing it properly!! I understand your point about wanting to just train at home, easier, no messing about etc etc, but there is only so far you can go at home though. I started at home years ago, then joined a local gym, then after a year I was maxing out all the machines in the gym, dumbells only went up to 40kg and I was throwing them around like toys, so I had to move to a proper strength and power lifting gym! Their dumbells go up to 120kg EACH! Their massive, lol.

You've hit the nail squarely on the head bud, it does become a lifestyle and a way of life!!

StephenC

Not sure I'd recommended syntha 6 as a good choice, very high in carbs although yes it does taste good. You start knocking that in 5 times a day two things will happen, fat body and skinny wallet!!!

StephenC

Look at the usual suspects, bodybuilding warehouse, pro 10 , the protein works, all taste good and much cheaper than bsn etc, better profiles too. Use code SC1225 at registration at http://www.theproteinworks.com for a free 250g of whey protein, their cherry bakewell flavour is nice.

simontrayler

As already mentioned matey, I was 17.5 stone then and bulking up. My clearly viable abs and 30 inch waste never had any problems with it either But also as mentioned, it was costing me a lot.

Guess its horses for course and always personal preference. Everyone's body is different. Worked for me

StephenC

Know what your saying mate. I'm so carb sensitive (insulin sensitivity is fucked and needs getting back incheck) so aanything other than isolate 3 or 4 times a day is noticeable on me.

jamescosworth

no not tried them yet matt but deffo will! some great advice been posted back up so thanks lads its been a great read! think im going to start mixing my workouts up abit more from now on, kinda got stuck in my ways i think!

anyone got any advice how to blast the dreaded love handles away? not that mine are hanging over my primark boxers but would love to keep them at bay!

matthewpickup

glad to hear it lol , and well there is the fat burners but cant say i can shed any light on that as i have always been skinny (no computer games for me lol) and as i dont go into it in such a big way ie shows , i just like to be that bit stronger so i can work faster and harder and also so i can get things done by myself

matthewpickup

thats some amount of weight lol you could stay at home and benchpress the house lol