what do you think of my current diet:

wake up and eat 4 egg whites with broccoli and carrots w/ a few scoops of peanut butter
a few hours later i eat a turkey/ham/swiss cheese sandwich w/ wheat bread and usually with pineapple
a few hours later i have oatmeal with chicken or a burger
a few hours later i have rice and beans and more chicken
also throughout the day i snack on peanut butter (jiffs natural PB, no extra crap in it)

it varies on a day to day basis depending on whats in my fridge but id say thats a pretty typical day for me. also include in there my gainer shake which is 550 calories and 54g/protein. and of course i drink plenty of water through out the day. would you add or replace anything here?

also i wanted to ask you how much beer affects gains and working out in general. ive heard conflicting opinions, although most say obviously its bad.. but i was wondering if you can slightly break it down for me. its one problem i have is that on weekends (twice a week) i usually drink a lot of beer, as much as ive cleaned up my diet i cant kick the drinking. so i guess i just want to know how much it really affects gains and what not. what are some simple tips that i can use to help reverse the effects of drinking?

This post was edited by Bean` on Dec 1 2011 05:22pm

The diet looks good for now, could use some more raw veggies.

The beer itself won't hurt your muscular gains - but it will increase fat gains. Beer is high in calories and carbohydrates - both of which are the enemy of a lean body.

I would advise that you switch to a low cal beer like michelob ultra, Bud Select 55, MGD 64, or Rock Green Light.

edit: also you could try hard liquor such as vodka with a no-sugar mixer such as club soda or diet soda. Either way though, alcohol is bad for your liver, kidneys, and stomach and should be avoided to excess.

This post was edited by SKCRaynor on Dec 1 2011 05:36pm

Just to clarify one thing, when you state "85%" on your hypertrophy plan, do you mean 85% of your 1 rep max before working out, or 85% of your 1 rep max as you are gauging it to be during the workout.

Example (numbers are loose, don't know my curl maxes): I'm halfway into my workout, and normally my 1 rep max for a proper dumbbell curl might be 70 pounds with correct form. However, halfway through my workout, I feel as though my 1 rep max is likely only 50 pounds at this point. So when I get to my final set of "as many of 85% max as possible", should I be doing 40 pound curls based on my current gauging of 50 pound max, or 60 pound curls based on my original 70 pound max.

I would assume it's 85% of my current perceived max, since when I get into the latter half of the hypertrophy plan, I'll only get 2 reps out of 85% of my real max, whereas I can get 3-7 reps out of 85% of my current perceived max.

Just checking. Thanks

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Dec 1 2011 06:32pm

what do you think of Prostar Whey Protein

it has low calories, low carbs, and low sugar, but 20 g of protein in every scoop

also, how's salmon as a protein source?

This post was edited by TempoONE on Dec 1 2011 07:53pm

well i drink bud light which i believe is a low calorie beer. i am also still trying to put on weight so i guess it helps if anything.. for now, heh. would you say that 20 lbs in 2 months is a bit much to gain or does that sounds pretty accurate? should i be doing any cardio or save that for when i want to cut? at what point should i cut, im still pretty skinny, and currently my goal is 200 (175 now) is that too long to wait? 45 lbs?

In addition to the last thing I mentioned, could you take a quick look at my modification of your hypertrophy plan. I took all the exercises, and I just switched it up a tiny bit. Primarily the modifications are based on what I have in my own home, however a couple changes are based on what I feel will benefit me better to start with (ex. barbell rows I feel I have been making great progress with, so I put them closer to the start). I'm a bit disappointed by not having a cable crossover option on chest day, so I'm wondering about your opinion on that: should I do an additional set of flies at the end of the workout? Or maybe I should purchase a $150 attachment for my bench to do pec flies? I want to make sure my days are all rounded-off well.

For reference, your original hypertrophy plan: http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=345358141#p345358141








This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Dec 1 2011 07:50pm

its 85% of your current 1 RM after exercise.

Not familiar with prostar and I am very picky about protein - quality and reputation are very important

Salmon is a great protein source

Enjoy the beer

Don't bother with cardio unless you need it for stamina.

20 lbs in 2 months is a bit too much, try more like 4 months.

[QUOTE=SKCRaynor,Dec 1 2011 07:12pm]Not familiar with prostar and I am very picky about protein - quality and reputation are very important

May I ask what then is a reputable brand?

This post was edited by TempoONE on Dec 1 2011 09:22pm