hi, I have a question about sleep.

currently at university my sleeping pattern has been terrible, sleeping from 8am-5pm. the quantity of hours slept is fine, but is the quality reduced enough to affect my gains? i usually go to the gym around 7pm and maintain a bulking diet

As long as you sleep in darkness (blackout curtains, etc), you should be fine. The body's circadian rhythm is mostly affected by light and inability to conduct daily activities at night.

hi raynor i am currently trying to lose around 20 pounds
i am 6"0 and at 205 and lacking general guide lines on what to eat and what kind of excersise i need
in no rush at all but i know i am not eating healthy or sleeping right
do u have any guides that you can direct me to
thanks

Hey raynor,

First, thanks for all the advice you've given me every time I've asked here on this sticky, as they've been very resourceful.

My strength has grown tremendously under your 5x5 strength program as a result.

I come to you again in the hope that you will assist me with endurance now, mainly running. I need to be able to run a 1.5mile in under 13 min

any advice will be great.

thanks

This post was edited by Noun on Nov 17 2014 05:43pm

Hey raynor,

First, thanks for all the advice you've given me every time I've asked here on this sticky, as they've been very resourceful.

My strength has grown tremendously under the 5/3/1 and still is, except my bench press

it's been stuck for a whole cycle. I'm thinking maybe because I had too much volume on chest days!

would you advice changing things up or think the plateau will go away eventually? if you need any information let me know

thanks

This post was edited by Jam on Nov 17 2014 06:51pm

Just wondering if I got skipped on accident lol

Given your stats, you will need approximately 2,000 calories on non-workout days, and 2,500 cals on workout days (with 1 hour of exercise).

You will also need to reduce carbs to around 30% of your daily intake, and increase fat & protein intake. This will mean, 40% protein, 30% fat, 30% carbs, approximately.

Remember, fat has 9 cals per gram, carbs/protein have 4 cals per gram.



Now, as far as diet/exercise routines go...

Workout Days:

2,500 cals (approx)

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 cup cooked brown rice + 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 - 6 oz grilled sirloin steak 90/10 or leaner (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 =
Meal 6 - 3/4 cup of 2% cottage cheese + 1tsp heavy cream + handful mixed berries + 10 almonds + cinnamon to taste =



Non-Workout Days:

2,000 cals (approx)

Meal 1 - 2 slices whole grain toast + 2 tbsp peanut butter + 1 tsp jelly + 20g protein shake (half a shake basically)
Meal 2 - 4 oz LEAN ground beef or steak + 1 cup broccoli + 1 cup black beans
Meal 3 - 1 large apple, 1 large banana, 20g protein shake
Meal 4 - 6 oz chicken breast + large green salad + olive oil and vinegar
Meal 5 - 6 oz salmon or other fish (or any lean meat) + green beans + carrots
Meal 6 - 1/2 cup greek yogurt + handful of mixed nuts




Now, because you are new to working out, start with this plan:

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



You can do that for approximately 3 months, and then transition into something better which I will provide for you then.

You should also be doing at least 30-45 minutes of cardio every day, either jogging, cycling, swimming, etc. On days off, it would also be good to do some cardio, again, at least 30-45 minutes.



Lastly, refer here for some more helpful hints:

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



Good Luck!

I would reduce the total volume for chest (per day) and increase chest days to 2x per week (if doing 1x already)

Switch up to standard 5x5 or 3x5 for chest, focusing ONLY on Bench Press and Incline Bench Press (that's it!!)

Chest day should be 5 sets of 5 reps of bench, followed by incline, or vica versa. Take around 3 minutes of rest between sets. Each set should be 5 VERY difficult reps, of all the same weight. The following week, increase your weight by 5 lbs on each exercise, and repeat the process over and over for the next few months. You will see a rapid change in chest strength.

Answers in bold below::

(sorry for delay, I missed your post somehow)

So only two exercises? Usually I did flies as well, which I'll definitely take off, and then triceps/biceps. Is it worthy to keep arms? Them big guns be important too ha-ha

Also I currently do OHP followed by incluned DB one day, and bench press followed by BB inclined, so going with your advice I should replace OHP with bench correct?

Thx Ray