First let me say how impressed I am that you're still doing this. I stumbled upon this sticky ~4 years ago, and you're still at it!

Q: I've gotten out of shape and I'm skinnyfat now. 28 years old, 6'0, 170lbs with not much muscle and a bit of a gut. I don't know if I want to bulk or cut; 170lbs redistributed would probably be fine with me.

Because of work and other obligations, I don't think I could squeeze in anything more than a 3 day split (not counting cardio). Any suggestions?

Going into week 5 of my 5x5 hardgainer's diet/workout and until this week I hadn't gained much.
Weeks 2-3 I gained my goal of 2.5 pounds, this week I gained 4 pounds and I know there is no way that was all muscle, I feel like I'm toning less and gaining fat along my stomach line.
On the bright side my weight is going up and my lift weight is also going up

My question is, should I put a little cardio in this week to try to burn some of that fat on top of the 5x5 program? or do I cut down on the number of gainer shakes I have? (Putting on roughly 3 - 1,000 calorie gainer shakes a day)
Don't get me wrong I want to get bigger but I don't want to get fat and gaining 4 pounds in one week makes me a little nervous!
Thanks

This post was edited by Trev on Jul 14 2013 08:26pm

You will not experience any atrophy PWO unless you go a very long time without refueling. However, your body is immediately catabolic during intense exercise and immediate consumption of protein PWO, especially BCAA's as well as carbs for glycogen depletion will put you back into anabolism. The more you are in anabolism the more you will grow.

Basically the sooner you get viable nutrition PWO, the better.

Any exercise that is weighted is superior to pure bodyweight exercises in terms of more rapid muscular growth and more calories burned (with equal intensity/duration)

I would advise the following exercises with added weight: Roman Chair situps, decline situps, hanging leg raises (dumbbell held with your feet), cable crunches (kneeling), planks w/ weight on back, seated crunch machine, DB side bends, etc.

Hey there.

Thanks for the kind words!

Assuming that you want a 3 day training week with maximum volume gains, do this:


http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=345358141
Hypertrophy Plan 3-on-1-off

(except do just 3 days each week, rather than 3 days 2x per week)



If you are more interested in developing POWER, try this:


http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=390946395
3 day Power Training



Lastly, here is a sample of other 3 day plans:




http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=403152701
3 day Hypertrophy, Cutting, and Power Routines

Body information:

Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 160
21 years old

unknown bf%

I have never really taken a swing at the full diet/exercise routine, and all I do now is a little bit of cardio, but really only to keep myself where I'm at (which is not exactly ideal). Over the past year or so I've started developing a little gut and I want to nip it in the bud, maybe take it a little further, I want to look and feel good. Be healthy and ideally have a little mass and definition that I can then maintain.

I've been perusing the thread and have picked out some things that seem close the direction I'm looking for, but 1600 pages is a little much - if you could point me to the right plan for this kind of thing (because I'm sure you've already posted it) it would be much appreciated.

Yo raynor

I feel like my back is severely unbalanced compared to the rest of my body

Do you have a suggestion for any programs that'll add muscle on my back?

Currently do lat pulldown, cable rows, bb/db rows, deadlifts

Any suggestions?

Can I get a diet plan for a woman; age 34, 185 lbs to lose weight.

She wants to do body bye vi shakes or whatever they're called, to me they're a rip off $120 dollars a month, but I told her she does not need that.

Thanks raindaddy.

Hello -

With regard to fat loss, start here:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=335587138
Fat loss 15 tips


For your current body dimensions, it is safe to assume that a diet of approximately 2,100 cals per day would be sufficient, in conjunction with exercise to yield mild gains and keep fat down.


Heres a sample meal plan:

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=414562935
2,100 calorie sample meal plan



With regard to exercise, do you have gym access? If not:


http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=331184643
Circuit Stations

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=331731288
Bodyweight exercises



If you do...


http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=379997654
4 day upper/lower split for beginners or maintenance

Those are all excellent exercises. However, the problem is most likely the following:


1. Not enough volume (need to do around 30-40 sets on back day, and maybe even train back 2x per week)
2. Improper form (you need to take your time and make sure each rep is slow, controlled, and has a big pump)
3. Not going hard enough (you need to really push yourself and make sure that your back is FAILING when you train it - if you feel exhausted, take a few breaths and hammer out another few reps - the key to any stubborn group is tenacity!)