Seeking advice on Nutrition and Workout

TommyKnocker

Hi All

I wonder if any of the folks on the boards could answer a question or two for me please or if anybody could recommend a good (sports minded) nutritionist/trainer that I could book a consulation with?

*** Long Post ***

About Me:
Gender: Male, 46yrs old
Weight: 72/73kg (160lbs)
Height: 5' 6"
Body Fat %: 12%

Some History:

About 3 years ago I took up running to loose weight, as at the time I was over 87kg with a 36" waist. I enjoyed running and it brought my weight down to around 70 kg with a 32" waist. Then last September I got a heel injury which put paid to my running, so rather then revert back to my former couch potato self I joined a gym. I found I enjoyed the gym and I took a little more interest in my training and nutrition as a result.

Today I am 72.75Kg with 12% BF. Resting heart rate of 42.

In almost a year in the gym I have added 1" to my upper arms, 2" to my chest, 1.5" to my thighs.

I go to the gym at least 5, mostly 6 times a week and do both Cardio and Weights.

Workouts as follows: (Time in brackets denotes duration of weight workout only!!! Does not include Cardio)

Sat: Cardio, 1hr Spin, 30 min Rowing on CII, 30 cross country skiing on machine (Interval prog, low level 10, high level 14) & Abs 20 Minute

Sun: Weights (1 hr 20 min) Chest, Triceps, Forearms, Abs & Cardio, 40 min Spin

Mon: Cardio, 40 min Spin / Weights (40/45 min) Shoulders & traps

Tue: Weights (1 hr) Back, Biceps, Abs / Cardio, 30 min Rowing

Wed: Cardio, 40 min Spin / Weights (40/45 Minutes), Legs

Thur: Weights, Full body Compound lifts (1hr) / Cardio 40 min Spin

Fri: Day Off

I believe I have a pretty clean diet (comments & advice welcome).

Typical Daily meal plan:

05:30 - 06:00 Breakfast: Musili with added mixed seeds, Nuts (Brazil, Almond, Walnut & Hazelnuts), Goji berries, Berries (Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberries & Blackberrires) & Grapes. I take skimmed milk with this and an organic natural yogurt. I have a mug of green tea also.

10:00 Morning break: 120g mixed nuts with some dried blueberries and cherries, an apple, a kiwi and a mandrin & a mug of green tea.

13:00 Lunch: Some kind of lean meat (Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Tuna) on a wholemeal Pitta bread with Lettuce, onion, spring onion, baby tomatoes, mixed peppers, cucumber, a banana, a plum, a mandrin, a organic natural yogurt. A mug of Green tea

16:00 Afternoon break: a tin of tuna or some chicken or some eggs, 3 Kelkin oat cakes, a banana & a kiwi

20:00/20:30 after workout: Whey potein shake (2 scoops Whey, 1 scoop Glucose, 5g creatine & 5g Glutamine) & a banana

21:30/22:00 Dinner: Lean meat (Chicken, Beef, Turkey, Salmon) and mixed vegetables (Brocolli, Green beans, Cauliflower, Sprouts, etc. Usually frozen as it's quicker at this time of night). A mug of Camomile Tea

I am pretty much happy with where I am at present physique wise, However I would not mind building up my chest, shoulders & arms a little more and this is where I am a little confused.

I have read the Nutrition stickies and also a good number of articles on the web regarding nutrition for resistance training/body building and quite a lot of the information is contradictory.

As I said I would like to make some improvements in the body parts listed above, but I do not want to sacrifice my BF% or my Cardio fitness to do it. In fact I would like to try and drop my BF% a litle lower, say around 10% if possible. Chasing the ever elusive 6 pack

So if anybody has managed to read through all of this and is still awake and could advise as to whether it is possible to gain lean mass while not increasing BF% (too much/at all). If I increase my calorie intake using only lean protein, will this allow me to gain muscle while not gaining extra fat?

Also if anybody has any suggestions on either my training or diet, it would be much appreciated.

I can provide a more detailed outline of my weight workouts if required.


Best Regards & Thanks in Advance,

M

TommyKnocker

Anybody ???

BossArky

Two quick observations:

1) Eat more often. Something like nuts (protein & good fats) at 8am, 14:30 & 18:00. Some of the current gaps may be slightly long. Keeping the meals small and often will keep your metabolism ticking over.

2) You may be burning too many calories with all that training if you are looking to build your chest and arms.

Sorry, I'm stuck for time at the moment.

TommyKnocker

Two quick observations:

1) Eat more often. Something like nuts (protein & good fats) at 8am, 14:30 & 18:00. Some of the current gaps may be slightly long. Keeping the meals small and often will keep your metabolism ticking over.

2) You may be burning too many calories with all that training if you are looking to build your chest and arms.

Sorry, I'm stuck for time at the moment.

Hi BossArky

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and respond. Much appreciated.

Can I just further ask...

... You say in point 1 that

I should eat more often, something like Nuts at 08:00, 14:30 and 18:00.

If I add 3 more servings of Nuts to my daily food intake will the fat content (even though it is classed as healthy fat) not be way too much? Maybe I could work in a small Whey protein shake (1 scoop) and/or 4/5oz of lean meat instead ?

In point 2 you advise that

I may be burning off too many calories to be able to increase the size on my chest, arms and shoulders.

I was hoping that I could just eat extra protein from good sources and add a little mass.

From what I have read it states that to add weight I need to be eating more than I expend (obviously). The advice seems to be, eat 500 calories per day above what you expend to gain 1lb weight per week and that if the calories come from lean protein sources, then most of the gain should be lean mass (as long as I am lifing to promote muscle growth of course and not lounging around on the couch).

On my current diet I have maintained a weight of 72/73Kg (+/- .5Kg) over the last 10 or 11 months. So I am thinking that I must have calories in -vs- calories out pretty much on the line.

Then it is written that on average ...

1g of Protein = 4 calories
1g of Fat = 9 calories
1g of Carbs = 9 Calories

So I was hoping that if I added an extra 500 calories a day by eating extra Chicken/Turkey/Tuna plus maybe extra protein shakes and continue to lift (trying to go heavier), that even with the amount of calories I am currently buring off in training, that I could add a little size to my upper body.

I really don't like the idea of bulking and cutting in cycles that competition body builders go through. I want to keep myself as lean (low BF%) as possible. Also can I ask if my age (46yrs old) is against me being able to build lean muscle? I have read that testosterone is required for muscle building and that its production decreases with age.


Best Regards and Thanks again for your input,

M

Transform

quick question - what height are you?

some points -

1. You are doing wayyyyyyy to much cardio - to the point that there is absolutely no way you will build up your muscles in any significant way. Plus it will keep your body fat up!!! (excessive cardio is catabolic and no extra protein is going to change that). Again you will just end up looking the same OR worse on your current program due to the excessive cardio - focus on the weights more and cut back time wise on the cardio or simply just have cardio only and weights only days (that does not mean you go and do feckin 2hrs of cardio on the cardio days!).

2. Diet is grand but nothing amazing - lacks decent amount of good fats at times, wayyyyy too much fruit and really your just having to bang in the food just to maintain your current weight.

3. Overall i predict that this program your on if unchanged is unsustainable and in many ways counter productive to your current goals - if you want to look like a skinny endurance runner/cyclist then contiune using it but you will not get any leaner on this program.

Finally, fair bloody play to you for doing soooooo much training and your putting 99% of all 15-30year olds to shame - from the people i deal with just getting them to train for 3 hours a week is a big deal!! Your work ethic is inspiring you just need better direction

Last point now, the transform formula (TM )
LOTS OF CARDIO = become a smaller version of your current body

WEIGHTS (FULL BODY WORKOUTS) + CARDIO (intervlas and longer sessions) = change your shape and improve definition.

TommyKnocker

Hi Transform

Thanks for reading my post and for your constructively critical response. Much appreciated.

Firstly to answer the question you posed, I am 5' 6"

I had a feeling that I would be told that the amount of cardio I do is counter productive to increasing size. However when I started physical activity a number of years back, it was off the back of a couch potato life style. I was clinically obese and totally unfit. I started with my diet and made some good progress with weight loss. When that bottomed out I started running which I really liked. I built up to running 40/50 miles per week when fit and would run in all weather. I only started in the gym as I picked up a plantar injury which put paid to my running I like the feeling of being fit & healthy.

I have been surprised how much I have enjoyed the gym (my second home at times ) and started to take more interest in my diet and body composition. My initial goals in the gym were to keep up my cardio fitness gained while running and I started lifting weights just to supplement my cardio work. Again I am more then pleased at the results I have achieved. Lowest BF% since my teens. Pretty good endurance. Resting Heart Rate (RHR) of 42 bpm. Blood Pressure is spot on (Blood Platelete Donor, so tested once a month before donation).

The reason for my post was that I just imagined that after almost a year in the gym I would have a little more muscle size & definition than I have and I was not sure whether at 46 yrs I am chasing rainbows looking to build muscle or whether my workout routine, diet or a combination of both is working against me.

Now I am not looking for the body of a competition body builder or a sprinter. More the Michael Phelps phyisque. Now I know a lot of what he has is genetics, but it's good to have a goal/dream

I have taken on board the point about cutting back on the cardio and any points you have on moving the diet from "grand but nothing amazing" to "quite/very good" would be much appreciated.

One final question for now. If I cut back on the Cardio, do I just spend less time in the gym for better results (physique wise) or do I use the time I save on cardio extending my lifting routines? Also will my current cardio fitness drop, RHR rise etc or do you think it is possible to maintain these stats with lesser cardio work. I do try to make my lifting sessions quite intense, 30-40 second rest between sets and 90 -120 seconds between exercises (where possible)

Again thank you very much for your input and advice, it is much appreciated.


Best Regards,

M

Colm_OReilly

Briefly, and not to take over from transform who's given you tons of good advice there, but you can maintain most, if not all, of your aerobic gains/adaptations with reduced time/intense cardio.

I'd doubt you need to spend more time in the gym. You might just need to make your routine more effective when you lift, making sure you focus on compound movements like the squat, press, deadlift, and adding in bodyweight stuff like pull ups, dips, push ups, etc.

CrossFit workouts might also interest you for your cardio. They're short (5-20 minutes mostly) and can kick your ass if you approach them right.

Transform

i second what colm has said - having a low resting HR is not everything when it comes to fitness also.

with your diet - it will improve with more nuts/seeds, fish, avocado, fish oil tablets (4-5/day), flax seeds, olive oil etc

you have not got more muscle as again as stated your over cooking the cardio and again weights only one day the next cardio only 20-45mins is plenty.

Spend more time on flexibility than abs as most people have terrible flexibility