Aejaxe

Haha yeah man, I'm only 20, and have had a super fast metabolism since I was a kid, so I'm sure I could get away with doing something similar to you. Keeping everything so clean and controlled though just satisfies some sick sort of anal-retentiveness in me lol. But thanks for your opinion/insight, I'll be sure to get me some of those multivitamins! Hey, totally right about the beef, and it's something I've noticed. I'd really like to get some halibut or salmon stocked up in my freezer, but no stores in my area sell them in bulk =( The risk of hyper amounts of iron also didn't occur to me. I guess I'll need to brainstorm a bit and balance out my beef consumption. Thanks for the post amigo! Heh, boobies... I feel embarrassed to say, but I had no idea this was a problem when cooking with olive oil. It's honestly something I picked up from cooking with me Ma' when I was a kid, along with some reinforcement from the internet (cooking with butter just skeezes me out). So I don't know the specifics of how it works, but I haven't had any issues with using olive oil when cooking/baking/frying. Just crank the stove up to a 5-6, and once my pan is heated up, toss a light layer of olive oil over it. Move the pan around to even everything out, let the heat warm the oil up and then I'll add my potato slices. Adds a nice flavor, and if you throw a lil' salt and cheese (if you need the extra calories), mmmmm... those potatoes turn out quite dandy.

Hey NF, I've been altering my meal plan to continue putting on muscle. I think I'm covering all my bases, but I was hoping I could get a few fresh sets of eyes on what I have lined up. I'm currently 6ft tall, weighing 170 lbs, and I recently trimmed down from 180ish. So I'm fairly lean, just looking to add more bulk, with less fat this time around. Anyways, here's a pretty standard day for me- Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs (w/ cheese) 1/2 Avocado (w/ pinch of salt) Protein shake (Milk + Ice + Whey protein powder) Veggies (carrots, broccoli, spinach... etc) Lunch: 1-2 beef pattys (w/ cheese, no bun) 1-2 grilled chicken breasts (w/ cheese, no bun) Fried potato slices (fried with olive oil, and a pinch of salt) Veggies (something other than what was had at breakfast) Dinner: 2 beef pattys or chicken boobs (w/ cheese) 1/2 Avocado (other half from breakfast) Protein shake (same as breakfast's) Snacks: 1 cup of plain almonds (w/ a handful of craisins) Protein shakes Each meal is around 600-800 calories, with the almonds taking up nearly 1300 calories throughout the day, plus a little extra if I decide to have to craisins with them. Adding all that up turns out being around 3600 calories a day. With my protein shakes alone, I'm taking in 120 grams of protein. When including what I'm getting from my chicken/beef/eggs/almonds/avocado, I'm confident there's enough protein available. So yeah, apologies for the lengthy post, but if anyone has some critiques or pointers, I'd definitely appreciate it. I'm mostly going off past experience and whatever info I can find on the web, lol. If there's any helpful info that was left out, just lemme know and I'd be happy to include more. Cheers, Aejaxe

Solid advice man. I'll do another day of my normal calorie intake, and drop it down a couple hundred like you recommended.

Heya NF, it's been a while since I've posted on here, and things look a lil' different. Hopefully this is the place to post my question. I've been doing the bulking-up stage, going from 145 lbs to 180ish lbs, and I'm really happy with my results thus far (I have biceps now!). Following Steve's 'Rebel Strength Guide' I've gone 10 pounds above the weight I'd like to settle at, that weight being 170 lbs. However, I'm not entirely clear on how I should lower my calorie intake. I looked at my BMR, and it's currently something like 1900 at my current weight, while a BMR for a guy my size at 170 is around 1800. I'm doing 3+ days of moderate to intense workouts, so I multiplied the exact BMR amounts by 1.55 (HB Equation) and the amounts were 3056 (current) and 2998 (175). Soooo... yeah, that's pretty much a handful of almonds difference in calories. My question being this; When I'm trying to lean, should I just maintain my exercise regiment and drop from the normal 3.5-4 thousand calories a day, to three thousand? Is that the correct way to go about this?

100% agree.

Couldn't just say 'Guy sure eats right and works hard'? There will always be sheep, with or without guys like Rippetoe. Not sure how hating on a guy who's had success and a grasp on a way to train the body will change the mindset of that group people. Just my two cents.

@Kishi Thanks man, I'm gonna check that out when I get a chance @Dustin Haha fair enough. I've definitely read some stuff that the human body isn't built to digest milk properly, and that it has to adapt to it if its been a while since its had any. I know I'll be dropping it again once I put on the weight I'm looking for! @Matilda Gracias! Just trying to keep up with Vets like you

Update 10/31 Swimming Did lots and lots of distance stuff. We started the season doing around 1500 yards a workout, and now we're up to something like... 3400 today. Not as much as I used to do back in the day, but its a hell of a start. Lifts 5x3 Deadlift: This kicked my ass last week when I was in my post-break funk, so I wanted to get some vengeance today. Warmed up with some sets at 155lbs, moved up to 175lbs, 185lbs, 190lbs and then settled at 200lbs for my five sets of three. 2nd Lifting Goal Completed Pull Ups: Also kicked my butt last week. Started at 35lbs, 40lbs, 45lbs, and then got to 50lbs and rocked out the five sets there. Today felt goooooooooood. I almost want to say I was slacking before, but I definitely remember trying to lift this much and just hitting a wall. Somethings clicked, I think.

@Kish & @Nightlight Thanks for the kind words!! @Dustin Thanks man, we'll see how it goes. And that blows my mind. If its alright to ask... does your body not absorb certain nutrients very well? I have a friend I used to swim with who was always super skinny no matter what she ate, because her body didn't absorb iron well. Just curious. @Laura I used to =( But then I left the comforts of home for a college dorm, and now I don't have luxuries such as a large freezer, or a proper sink to wash out a blender. I might not even be allowed to have a blender in my room... So yeah, there's a little smoothie shop next to the gym that I go to after workouts and between classes.

Update 10/30 Arghhhh... So I cut loose last night... and judging from how I feel this morning, I obviously didn't mess around. Anyways, if this post is just all screwy with typos and run on sentences... Apologies. I'll edit stuff at a later time, but I want to get in an update today. Circuit (for 10/29) 4 sets of specific reps for each exercise - Handstand Push Ups: 8 4/2 Chin Ups: 8 Side to Side Plank: 12 Pistol Squats: 8 Hands to Feet+: 5 '8' is my magic number today... Just two more work outs with Handstand Push Up until I switch to real ones. Currently I'm only going half way, maybe two thirds of the way, down. But once I can do 10 in a row for a circuit, I'm going to lower my reps and make myself go all the way to the floor and then back up. Looking forward to that... then comes the trick of making myself not use the wall anymore... Diet My stomachs feeling much much better now. I'm thinking I'll give myself another week and then I might shoot for doing a full fledged GOMAD... but we'll see. Being the poor college student I am, I gotta check the budget and see if I can cover buying so much milk all the time.

Haha, hey, you were just practicing your running. That counts as a way to spend a day off to me. How were you suppose to know that you were so much beastlier (yup, its a word) than from your previous runs? Freaking awesome, man.

Update: 10/28 Swimming Did a lot of stroke work today, so not a whole lot of yardage or intensity. Still a good stretch out though. Lifts Today was a fun day for lifts. 5x3 - Squats: Did a couple sets at 175lbs, then decided to bump it up to 180lbs. That was my goal for the session, and I was able to do it. But I still felt ballsy and threw on five more pounds, and knocked out five sets at 185lbs. Push Press: My goal for the set was to hit 140lbs. Did it, added five more pounds. Thought about it, said 'screw it' and threw on five more. Did five sets at 150lbs. Push Press Goal Completed Diet Took a page out of Steve's book and I'm changing things up a little bit. Instead of eating every two hours, I'm doing a half-GOMAD diet, meaning a half gallon jug a day. Combine that with my three protein shakes, almonds/nuts, double meat scrambled eggs for breakfast, and a bacon cheese burger with two chicken breasts (no bun, of course) for dinner, I'm finding it a lot easier to get to 3,000 calories and above. This weekend I plan on picking up a bottle of olive oil and start taking a couple shots before each protein shake, and see if I can get around the 4k calories mark. On a side note, I'm like... 99% sure why apple are included with GOMAD diets. They are tasty, they do have micronutrients... but at least for me the main reason to get some sort of fruit or veggie in there, is the fiber! Cuzzz... that much dairy really put my gut through the loops the first day or so I made the switch... And upping my fiber really saved me some extra discomfort. Goals Decided I'm gonna throw in a new fail goal to mix, to give me something to chase like I had tonight. Fail Goal #2 Knock Out All Lifting Goals by the 3 Week Marker

Update: 10/27 Kick Boxing Today was legs and core. Kinda nice, since squats from Tuesday really put a beating on me, so pretty sure I got a good chunk of elastic acid flushed out. Swimming Kicking and kicking and kicking and kicking... Circuit 4 sets Side to Side Pull Ups: 7 One Leg Plyo Push Ups: 6 ec Bulgarian Squats w/ 20lbs: 8 Dive Bombers: 10 1/1 Plank: 10

What's the deal with apples? I've seen them posted around a lot lately when it comes to adding up calories. Are they a good source for those?

Damn, I've been having some mentality stuff to deal with at the start of this challenge, and reading this really made me pull my head out. Lookin beastly! Good luck with the novel btw, people in that squad should definitely share they're finished product if that's cool... Always down for a good read.