Strubes' and x2's Health and Fitness thread!

Check my diet out. Just remade it, specially formulated to give me what I need to build mass with food I can get on campus.

diet.jpg


2100 to 2300 calories is about optimum for me for mass gain (5 foot 9 inches, 120 pounds) and the 30-40-30 protein-carb-fat ratio is (from what I've read) ideal. Right now I am using TrueMass protein (to help gain mass) but after thats out I'm probably switching to Gaspari.
 
Also, some general tips-

Use a weight belt, especially when doing things like squats and anything that can put stress on your back. You do NOT want to hurt your back lifting.

Supplementing lifting with cardio is a great way to see (better) results (faster). Cardio helps burn fat, which makes the muscle easier to see. Walking is actually just as beneficial, if not more so, than running because the need for energy quickly is less than higher intensity cardio. Thus, the body burns fat instead of carbs for energy.

Taking protein right before before bed (in addition to right after working out) is a good idea, because while sleeping the body enters a catabolic state where it burns muscle mass for energy.
 
Honestly that is an excellent diet. I really don't see anything to change. And yea, either 30-40-30 is good or 40-40-20 as well. I know red meat gets a bad rep health wise, but it is the best meat because it has the most nutrients, aminos, and natural creatine. So I am glad to see it in your diet.
 
I notice in World's Strongest Man" competitions sometimes the guys wear their weight belts backwards.Why is that?
 
Hmm not sure on that one KAZ. But Spartan is right, you should always wear a belt for squats! Another one that I don't do but really should is to wear wrist support while bench pressing.
 
Yeah, I spent a few hours last night researching nutrition facts of things on campus (buying off campus food frequently is inconvenient and expensive at this point) trying to put something together and I am very pleased with the results. And yeah, the burger is in there because frankly, it fit perfectly. High calories, but it got me right to the right range and it has enough fat content to put me near my ideal range. Plus it tastes good! I subbed in Balance BARE protein bars for the in between meal protein supplements from the 6 meal diet I was working off of, because frankly, protein is too expensive for me to take 3 times a day. But they are pretty healthy for you, they even have more protein per serving than my TrueMass has.

The one thing I might do is drink another serving of Protein Monster right before bed and write off the TrueMass calories as calories burnt during the workout (the guide I was working off of said to do this, but I'm wary since I've never heard of that before.

Ans yes, safety comes first ALWAYS! Even when you aren't doing a lot of weight, you never know when something could go wrong with a ligament or joint and you could seriously be hurt (not to mention that the month or two you lose resting that body part means it will atrophy majorly).
 
Also, some tips for dieting- allow yourself a cheat meal every once in a while. I generally do once a month, I'll have a milkshake or something like that. But don't overdo it. Too many cheat meals will kill the positive aspects of your diet.

Also, don't let your diet get in the way of special events. If its a birthday party or thanksgiving dinner, enjoy. Just be reasonable. Have one piece of cake, and don't go back for seconds. But don't let your diet stop you from enjoying the little things in life like those.

Obviously, a hardline weightlifter might disagree, but for a casual weightlifter dieting can be a serious pain and those two tips make them infinitely easier to stick to.

Also, NO POP. Soda is calorie dense and has no nutrients. Stick to water, or low calorie sports drinks (Vitamin Water 10 calorie isn't bad and is packed with nutrients). Personally, I use the Hawaiian Punch flavor packets (5 calories a pack, maybe 3 or 4 packs a day which is still about a tenth of a can of Coke) when I'm not working out.

And fried foods in general are something to avoid. High calorie and high fat, you will have problems fitting them into any diet.
 
Nice tips Spartan :) I usually do a cheat meal once a week, which works for me. But like you said, don't go overboard on your cheat meal or it will be too hard to get back into the swing of things. I made that mistake once by having my cheat meal be a complete pizza all to myself....yea, bad idea. Just try to make your cheat meal as satisfying as possible without overdoing it, so maybe something like a couple slices of pizza and a bowl of ice cream.

I like your second tip there a lot! On the bodybuilding forum I go to I see stuff like guys refusing to eat any of the cake their woman made for them because of their diet. Lame. You still gotta live and let loose sometimes, a little cake or ice cream won't kill you!
 
Yeah, I know I struggled with that at first, wanting to stick to my diet 110% faithfully. But at the end of the day, you have to live a little. My weightlifting partner is, pound for pound, the strongest person I know and even he will go order steak and fries on his parent's birthday, or have THREE pieces of ice cream cake on his own :lol

But yeah, as long as you keep your cheat meal within reason it is a great way to reward yourself without hurting your goals.

Also, never work the same muscle group two days in a row. As you can see in my plan, I work muscle groups every other day. Recovery time is key to making good gains and avoiding injury.
 
Going GREAT man! I've been really focusing on what I eat and getting in enough protein. Boy what a difference it makes. All of my lifts have gone up significantly. How about you man? I just did chest so I gotta go grub, but I'll check out that vid later for sure :)
 
Things have been going a lot better. I made a make-shift gym in my backyard, and I have a different friend over each day working out with me. I recently got shin splints though (ouchhhhhhh) so I can't run until they're healed, but everything else is great. Took a bit of a detour on my diet over Easter weekend because of family dinners and such, but I'm back on track now! And yes, please let me know what you think of the vid. :)
 
Dude I just watched that video and it gave me goosebumps. Seriously great stuff. I bookmarked it to watch during my workouts. Thanks :)
 
No problem! I want everyone to see that video. I've shown it to Hines and Mega so far and they both loved it. It gave me goosebumps too.
 
Gah. I've been lifting and running consistently, but I still don't have any sort of protein supplement or whatever. I just dunno what's good.


And I friggin hate shin splints. I had to deal with them most of last fall; I could never rest them long enough to heal so I just had to keep running on them. Terrible.
 
Yea you definitely need to be taking in enough protein. 1 Gram per pound of body weight is the recommended amount for athletes. Obviously this is almost impossible with straight food, so the protein powders help big time. I usually do a scoop in the morning and 2 scoops after a workout. I linked some of the better brands below. Honestly you can't go wrong with any of these. For flavors I usually stick with chocolate or vanilla, but some brands have a great strawberry, like the Myofusion in the first link.


http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gn/myofusion.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/whey.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mgn/pureisolate.html
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/dym/elitegourmet.html

Do you take creatine yet? It's an awesome and 100% safe supplement. One of the very few supplements out there that is actually proven to work and it's quite cheap. It basically sucks water into your muscles making them fuller and stronger. Really good stuff!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sport/justcreatine.html
 
Hey we all start somewhere man! Yea, you can either use water or milk, or a mix of both. Just pour about 6-8oz of water or milk in a cup and then put in your scoop or 2 of powder. Then mix it around with a spoon. It won't dissolve right away, so you gotta stir it up, then wait a minute or so and stir again. I recommend getting a nice shaker bottle {check link} because mixing is almost instant with these. Just pour in water/milk, then powder, close the lid, shake it good and it will be all dissolved with no chunks.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/shakers.htm
 
I can't imagine chocolate powder in water being a very good combination, haha. Thanks for the info, though. Is it best to order that stuff online or are there stores that carry it cheaper?
 
It's cheaper online by far. And chocolate in water really isn't too bad at all. You'll most likely just be chugging down the drink anyways. For ordering online I like the site in those links, nutraplanet.com, and vitaminshoppe.com. All have great service with reasonable shipping costs.
 
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