Hey there.

If I read that correctly, you are doing upwards of 6 hours of intense exercise per day. If that is correct, you are on "elite" status with regards to fat burning and metabolic function with that type of routine. HOWEVER, your diet and sleep patterns need to be evaluated further.

First of all, if you are doing 6 hours of intense physical exercise per day, that's approximately 3,000-5,000 calories in energy burned. Add your basal metabolism, and you are around 5K-7K calories per day to conduct general maintenance.

Your total diet, depending on the quantities of each item, could be in the area of 2,500 calories - give or take 500.

That being said, unless you are morbidly obese, you are going to perform much worse with such few calories for so much exercise.

I would HIGHLY recommend you ramp up your eating habits considerably, or alternatively reduce your energy expenditure. Eventually you will either achieve muscle wasting, physical injury, setbacks, or a combination thereof with insufficient energy intake, vs energy expenditure, at that level.

With regard to sleeping, you really need at least 9-10 hours of sleep per night with a training routine like that in order to fully recover, even with sufficient calories.


Am I missing something? OR are you actually training 6+ hours per day at high intensity?

Last note:: With regard to 5/3/1 or circuits, etc - I would advise sticking to strength, either 5/3/1 or 5x5, or similar - IF you are going to conduct the same training routine in addition to it (all the extra cardio, circuits, boxing, mma, etc). I would, however, highly recommend that you ramp up the calories, considerably. If you need a meal replacement, get some weight gainer shakes, such as Cytogainer, and use those throughout the day to give your body the energy it needs.

I'm not morbidly obese but I do have a good amount of fat on me. I can pm a pic I took a few days ago. How many calories more do you think I should add? Sleep is what gets to me and I end up missing sessions due to it. That's why I'm trying to set up a schedule I've trained with a
Pro boxer in the past 3x a day so I know I can do t now if I get enough sleep and proper nutrition.

its under a club coach (who doesn't have any experience with a lifting routine for swimmers)
and it alternates by day

Distance Mondays
Tuesday: Coach's choice
Stroke Wednesdays
Thursdays: Coach's Choice
Sprint Fridays
Swim on my own Saturdays (usually a mixture of whatever sets i've done throughout the week)

1-2 hours a day
About 2500yd/m - 4000 yd/m a day

This post was edited by Shekkie on Jul 23 2014 03:12am

Hey, I am trying to put on lean muscle and get my body fat % down to about 10%.

I am 5'6" and 160 lbs.
Currently about 20% body fat.

I am doing Dwayne Johnson's Hercules workout.

I need to figure out what kind of diet plan I need.

I need to know how many calories per day, how many g or protein, carbs, and fats.

I also need to know what foods to buy on a budget.

If you could help me out, thanks.

Hey raynor,

Ive been bulking for about a month now after my cut, how do i minimize my face being bloated on a bulk. Last bulk this happened and it has deter me from going all out on this 2nd bulk. it seems as tho no matter how slow i bulk, 100 cal,200,500 , my face is always the first place to appear fatter
Also, what should my f/c/p ratio be on a bulk

This post was edited by Noun on Jul 23 2014 02:56pm

On training days, with the schedule you provided me, you should be eating at least 3,500-4,000 calories...and that's absolute minimum assuming that the exercise you're doing isn't pure insanity for 6 hours.

On days off, that's when you can taper the calories down to your BMR level. If you're at 2,500 cals BMR, you should be taking in 2,000 cals a day on non-training days to maintain a true deficit.

You can also have a cheat day every 2 weeks with absolutely filthy eating and have no issues whatsoever. Remember, eating too little, especially in harsh training environments will result in stalled fat loss and even muscle wasting.

Weight training 5 days a week with swimming won't overload you as long as you eat enough AND get enough sleep. You need to be in the area of 500-800 cals extra food per hour of exercise. In addition, you need to have at least 8-10 hours of sleep per night depending on the amount of training performed.

ok so do you think in order to make my dieting simpler i should just add more carbs to my meals?? i originally counted the calories when i first wrote up my meal plan and its like 2500-2900 calories. it was about 200g of protein 120 g of fat and 280 g of carbs

i can pm you a pic so you can get a rough estimate of where im at

This post was edited by brownside on Jul 23 2014 05:07pm

alright sounds good
i'll give your 5x5 a try

thanks for the advice

Hey there.

First of all, I would highly recommend that you consider doing a cutting meal plan first, and ultimately branch off into a lean bulking plan.

To try and lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, NATURALLY, is an act in futility if you aren't a natural purebred mesomorph.

That being said, given your current height/weight, you will be burning approximately 1,700 calories per day on your own, without exercise. Menial activity throughout the day increases this figure depending on what you actually do for work and throughout the day (not counting exercise). Exercise then figures in at 500 cals per hour of intense activity. That being said, you need at least a 500 cal deficit in order to promote gradual fat loss.

On non-workout days, 1,500 cals per day would be proper.

On workout days, 2,000 calories would be the number to hit.

Sample 1,500 cal meal plan:

Meal 1 - 3 whole eggs + 3 egg whites + 1 oz cheese + 1/2 cup green peppers/onions + 1 small apple or orange (approx 400 cals)
Meal 2 - 40g protein shake + 1 cup of oatmeal + 1 tsp peanut butter (approx 300 cals)
Meal 3 - 1 large green salad with 6 oz grilled chicken + 1 tsp olive oil + vinegar (approx 300 cals)
Meal 4 - 1 large chicken breast (approx 6 oz) + 1/2 cup black beans + 1 cup broccoli (approx 300 cals)
Meal 5 - 1 cup cottage cheese + 1 tbsp peanut butter + handful of almonds (approx 300 cals)


Sample 2,000 cal meal plan:

Meal 1 - 3 whole eggs + 5 egg whites + green peppers and onions + 3/4 cup oatmeal (uncooked volume) + handful of mixed berries (any)
Meal 2 - 6 oz grilled chicken + 1 large salad + 1 tbsp olive oil + vinegar
Meal 3 - 2 slices whole grain bread + 1 can of tuna + 1 oz of 2% cheese + 1tbsp mayo + veggies (tuna sandwich)
Meal 4 - 4 oz grilled sirloin steak (trim off the fat) + 1/2 cup black beans + 1/2 cup brown rice + veggies + 1 tbsp olive oil
Meal 5 - 40g protein shake + handful mixed berries + 1 slice whole grain bread w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter and 1 tsp jelly (POST WORKOUT MEAL)
Meal 6 - 3/4 cup of 2% cottage cheese + 1tsp heavy cream + handful mixed berries + 10 almonds + cinnamon to taste



After you get down to where you want to be, you will then be able to do a lean bulk and the diet will change.

It would be highly recommended for you to do 20-30 minutes of HIIT cardio immediately after each workout as well. Make sure you train at least 5x per week for maximum benefit.