Diet and exercise regime advice/criticisms

2013kev

Howdy folks,

I realise that threads such as this one are frequently posted, but I couldn't resist starting my own. I even signed up to do so - long time reader, but first time poster. Basically, I want criticisms and advice when it comes to diet and an exercise regime.

I think I have my diet almost perfect.

Meals:

Breakfast: ~60g porridge oats with about 30 grams of milled linseed, gojiberries, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds - bought from Aldi - mixed through, as well as a chopped banana and about 20 blueberries thrown in.

Lunch: Tuna/chicken salad. A tin of tuna or a diced breast of chicken with copious amounts of green leafy salad - usually about 6 or 7 varients, such as spinach, watercress, and so on, with a handful of cherry tomatoes and sweetcorn.

Dinner: 60% of the time it's a couple of grilled chicken breasts; 30% of the time it's a baked fillet of salmon; 10% a fillet of steak. Always served with mountains of vegetables (broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and so on) and a couple of small potatoes.

Snacks: 4 scrambled eggs, or a 5/6 egg omelet. A homemade protein bar (I got the recipe from this forum). Natural yogurt. Fruit. Nuts. Lots of milk. Whey protein shakes to supplement my protein intake.

I'm 6'3", 87kg, 23 years old, and I try to get at least 3000 calories per day, 99% of which comes from the above sources. I have a good idea of my daily marcos and calories, but I must start using a site like fitday or myfitnesspal.

The above is my diet on at least 5 or 6 days of the week, but I'll sometimes go out for dinner or have dinner at a friend's/family members, so I can't be so sure of the ingredients. It's typically clean, whole food, though. I stay away from bread and pretty much all wheat sources, from fast food, from beer (bar one or two nights of drinking per month), and most crappy food.

Now, my exercise regime:

I've basically just been pricking around with free weights for the past 2-3 months. I've been working on my form for all of the major compound lifts (excluding the squat, for reasons I'll explain below), recording myself using video and comparing my form with what I find online. I'm happy with how my bench press and deadlift have progressed; I've a one-rep max of about 100kg with the benchpress, 130kg with the deadlift, and 70kg shoulder press. This is from about 10 weeks of messing about; I've used this time to get to know how my body reacts, how quickly it recovers, and so on. I'm happy I've done this other than jumping straight into some programme.

I can't/don't squat properly because: a) I have no power-rack or squat stands, only a simple bench designed for the bench press, and b) I run/cycle quite regularly (run about 45k and cycle over 100k per week), so programmes such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts do not suit: I can't have tired, heavy legs from squatting three times per week. I do squat sometimes, but never more than about 60kg - since that's what I'm comfortable with when it comes to shoulder pressing, which is the only way to get the barbell over my head. I know that this isn't doing much good. I've been working with most exercises in an 8/6/4+/4+/4+ rep scheme, with, for example, the bench press being, say, after ascending warm up sets, 8x70kg, 6x72.5kg, 4x75kg (though with the maximum weight I'd usually have, say, 6x75, then 6x75, with the final set being 4/5x75.)

What programme would you recommend? I can exercise 7 days a week, if needs be. I'd like something that is not dependent on squats. I've seen Built Like a Badass, but a lot of the exercises are gimmicky isolation ones. Any 5x5 ethos regime with more emphasis on the other 4 compound lifts and less on squats?

What's my goal? To get strong; not super strong - I have no goals of competing in competitions or anything like that. To get physically fit. To build an athletic physique. To know I can run 5 miles at a good speed if I need to, but also be able to be physically strong with respect to compound lifts. I could hire a trainer or coach to build a programme for me, but I find that most of the fun is in figuring all of this out for myself.

Any tips/advice/guides? Any ideas for a good, solid workout regime to help achieve what I want to achieve?

Thanks. And sorry for the long post.