Advice Needed

SteakandKidney

Hi,

I know this question has been probably been asked numerous time before but here goes.

I am a 30 year old male, quiet active, play a lot of GAA so between 2-3 evenings a week including games. I do a little core and light weights( Chest Flies, Dumbbell Curls), only really to keep me from going soft from sitting down in the office during my days. Anyway I have also started doing a bit of gym work as I would like to add more muscle than what I have at present. I was just wondering what products would you recommend in order to keep whatever muscle gains I have made as I know little or nothing about what to take. I have a reasonable diet and within that I would eat a reasonable amount of Protein per Day ( Approx 2 Eggs and Chicken/Tuna) but would like not for whatever work being done in the gym not to go to waste. Currently I am doing 2 Sessions during the week for the GAA team( Tuesday/Thursday) and 2 Gym Sessions ( Wednesday/Saturday or Sunday depending on Matches).

Thanks

colman1212

If you only have 2 days in the gym per week, then focus on the compund and bodyweight exercises such as squat, deadlift, bench press, military press, chinups and dips.

Diet wise, what did you eat yesterday?
You probably need about 200g of protein a day for muscle development.
100g chicken breast = 21g protein
1 egg = ~ 7g of protein.

What is your current height and weight?

SteakandKidney

Monday to Friday I usually have the following, give or take one day when I am not in the Office.
Morning- Cereal and Fruit
Lunch- Salad with a few potatoes and 2-3 Chicken Thighs
Dinner- If I am training I will have some fruit and maybe a Can of Tuna or Toast after training, Dinner the other days usually chicken or fish or some kind of stirfry
Average 3-4 Cups of Coffee a Day
Weekends differ really depending on Matches but generally go for Dinner out on one of the nights at least and tend to eat a little more, and not as well as during the week.

I am about 5'9-5'10 and am currently about 13st 8lbs but would say my fighting weight is closer to the 13st mark.

kevpants

colman1212 wrote: »

You probably need about 200g of protein a day for muscle development.
100g chicken breast = 21g protein
1 egg = ~ 7g of protein.

I'd say I have less than 100g of protein every day. Wanna compare muscle develoment?

colman1212

kevpants wrote: »

I'd say I have less than 100g of protein every day. Wanna compare muscle develoment?

I'm just going off what has worked for me and quite a lot of other people.
Everybody is different. Personally since I have moved to getting more calories from quality protein and fats and less from carbohydrates, especially gluten, my body composition has improved dramatically. Ok I'm not talking about muscle development on its own, but more body composition, as in maintaining a low body fat and still getting stronger.
Calorie wise protein 30%, fats 30% and carbs 40% is probably about right for me, but again, everybody is different.

colman1212

SteakandKidney wrote: »

Monday to Friday I usually have the following, give or take one day when I am not in the Office.
Morning- Cereal and Fruit
Lunch- Salad with a few potatoes and 2-3 Chicken Thighs
Dinner- If I am training I will have some fruit and maybe a Can of Tuna or Toast after training, Dinner the other days usually chicken or fish or some kind of stirfry
Average 3-4 Cups of Coffee a Day
Weekends differ really depending on Matches but generally go for Dinner out on one of the nights at least and tend to eat a little more, and not as well as during the week.

I am about 5'9-5'10 and am currently about 13st 8lbs but would say my fighting weight is closer to the 13st mark.

OP personally, I'd switch the cereal and fruit up for eggs in the mornings with a little avocado for fats. You are basically eating sugar for breakfast at the moment and its not the best way to start the day. After training it probably the best time to get some carbs in as your blood sugar is low. Get in some rice with your tuna. Switch the potatoes at lunch time for sweet potato as its lower GI, also much nicer.

I would imagine you will see big improvements if you get a proper program for the two days you are in the gym with more compound movements.

SteakandKidney

Thanks for that, I was thinking that the cereal was probably not the best thing if you were trying to build extra muscle.

Would you recommend any supplement/Protein for the Days I am training or in the Gym, I do notice( Probably getting older) but my energy levels the following day are not the same as they were even a year ago. My mate takes a whey Isolate( Reflex is the brand I think, not 100%) and swears by it, although I don't want to take something that would potentially have me gaining unwanted weight.

colman1212

The best thing you can do really is take every thing you eat on a daily basis and use calorie king or myfitnesspal etc and work out how many calories you are consuming on a daily basis and how that breaks down in protein fats and carbohydrates. Then decide on your goal. If your goal is to lose weight, then cut 200cals from your daily intake and weight yourself again in a week. If you havent lost weight, repeat.

Whey protein is essentially just another source of protein just like chicken and eggs are. Brands are irrelevant really, protein is protein.

I would definitely recommend getting a good feed in after training, something like the chicken stirfry you mentioned but add in some white rice as its high GI and will replenish your blood sugar. You can always do carb cycling, so go heavy on the carbs on training days and reduce them on non training days.

For the moment just try
1) switch cereal for eggs with some greens and 1/4 avocado for breakfast
2) 150g white rice after a training session with chicken and veggies
3) Get a decent program in the gym, include squats and deadlifts as these are compound lifts which will burn more calories than any other.
4) if you aren't taking a multivitamin and fish oil - get some.
5) You say 3-4 cups of coffee, ditch milk and sugar here if you currently take some. This will make a big difference also.

SteakandKidney

Colman 1212,

Traveling for the last 4 weeks, Thanks for the advice.