Pinkmans first post

[Pinkman]

Hi guys,

I'd like to start by saying that I love Nerd Fitness and Steve's fitness philosophy. I've been following NF for about a 6 months now and I think it is about time I join the rebellion properly. I am 18 years old and I'm about to move out and go to college in a couple of months.

I've always been a sporty kind of guy, I've been playing football (soccer) for about 7 years until last year. As to fitness I've been on and off different workout schedules, like the Basic Training routine from Dumbbell Division and the BBWR and I've put together some workouts myself with dumbbells, but I always quit after a while because I found them too easy or because I thought they werent effective. But after a lot of reading and learning, I think it is time to do it right this time.

Im 18 years old, weigh 62kg (136lbs) and Im about 1,78m (5'10"?). Im sort of skinny-fat, I have skinny arms, chest etc. But I do have a a bit of belly fat. (My legs arent really skinny because of football, but I think if I hadn't played football for that many years they would be skinny too.)

My goal is to become bigger and stronger, so gain muscle. According to the Operation Bulk Up guide book, I should eat a lot (about 3000kcal in my case), but Im afraid my belly fat will increase even more. Because I still live with my parents, I am sort of dependent on what my mom cooks for dinner, this is usually vegetables, potatoes and meat, pasta or rice, so that's ok, but I cant really make big changes to my diet. My diet now looks something like this:

Breakfast: bowl of yoghurt with 4-grain muesli (oats, cornflakes, barley and wheat) and a large cup of milk.

Snack: apple

Lunch: 2 peanut butter sandwiches and 2 sandiches with cheese

Snack: another 2 peanut butter sandwiches

Snack: handful of almonds

Dinner: whatever my mom cooks and another bowl of yoghurt as dessert

Post-workout: large cup of milk

Drinks: water

Unfortunately the occassional milkshake, icecream or beer gets thrown in there as well, but Im trying to cut that out as much as possible.

As to my working out:

I have a adjustable dumbbell set (up to 17,5kg (38,58lbs) per dumbbell), a pull up bar and a bench to my availability. My plan was to do some kind of adjusted version of the dumbbell division workout:

A

5x5 dumbbell push press

3xMax chin ups

3xMax dumbbell push ups

B

5x5 dumbbell front squats

3xMax pull ups

5x5 dumbbell straight leg deadlift

C

3xMax chin ups

3xMax dumbbell push ups

5x5 dumbbell bent over row

D

5x5 dumbbell front squat

3xMax pull ups

3x8 dumbbell lunges

But since the dumbbell division workout is (sort of) aimed a 4-day split, and Im planning on doing a 3-day split, is it maybe better to combine some exercises to form a 3-day split with only 2 workouts (so only A and B ) with more focus on the entire body? So instead of alternating between more upper body and legs focused workouts to 2 kind of workouts focussing on the entire body?

Another thing is that I have a bench that I can use, so are there some great bench exercises that I can throw in here? (like dumbbell bench press or bench shoulder press or anything)? I want my workout to be simple, challenging and effecient.

I've been doing a lot of these exercises (without the bar exercises) the last 4 months or so within different workout plans, but as I said I quit after a while, because they were too easy or I didn't think they were efficient. I gained some strength, but I didn't gain mass. For example I am able to do 5x5 dumbbell front squats with 10kg (22 lbs) dumbbells and 20-15-10 dumbbell push ups, but I don't gain mass. After reading the Strength Guide again, I realized I wasn't eating enough. This time I want to do it right. I now have a pull up bar to my availability and I'm ready to start tracking again and go for it!

Long story short:

I've read and learned a lot from Steve, I know the basics, I have some fitness history (Im a total rookie though) and I'm ready to do it right this time, but I still have some questions:

-Are there any tips to improve my workout?

-I'm afraid that if I start bulking seriously (in order to do gain muscle), my belly fat will increase, any tips?

I guess that's about it, thanks for reading and I hope I will learn a lot from you guys.

Pinkman out.

[Guzzi]

Just thought I'd say hi, can't offer too much advice on the other stuff...

[The Most Loathed]

welcome to the party!

A couple thoughts spring to mind

1. Don't let living with your parents be an excuse. How excited would your parents be if you made supper a couple nights per week for them (and did the dishes). That would give you some control. If your parents simply won't stand for that, then it's still on you to find time and a way to make some good protein that you can consume on your terms, allowing you to skip over the carbs in some meals.

2. why a three day split? Will you be doing it twice per week? If you're only training 3 days per week, you will struggle to progress.

3. It's going to be hard to build mass with a dumbbell workout. It's not impossible but it's tough.

4. 5X5 splits are more strength than hypertrophy, play with some different set rep schemes. In fact, check out Starting Strength and learn about periodization and how to undulate set rep schemes throughout the year.

[Pinkman]

Just thought I'd say hi, can't offer too much advice on the other stuff...

 

Thanks anyway, hi to you too

[Pinkman]

welcome to the party!

A couple thoughts spring to mind

1. Don't let living with your parents be an excuse. How excited would your parents be if you made supper a couple nights per week for them (and did the dishes). That would give you some control. If your parents simply won't stand for that, then it's still on you to find time and a way to make some good protein that you can consume on your terms, allowing you to skip over the carbs in some meals.

2. why a three day split? Will you be doing it twice per week? If you're only training 3 days per week, you will struggle to progress.

3. It's going to be hard to build mass with a dumbbell workout. It's not impossible but it's tough.

4. 5X5 splits are more strength than hypertrophy, play with some different set rep schemes. In fact, check out Starting Strength and learn about periodization and how to undulate set rep schemes throughout the year.

 

Thanks

The cooking for my parents is a great suggestion! That way I can also prepare for when I'm living on my own in a couple of months, thanks I was also thinking about making myself some natural post-workout protein shakes, I found some good recipes online.

 

I was thinking about working out 3 days per week, just like I have been doing up til now. That works best for me in combination with school and work. That's why I would like a workout that is challenging, effecient and working the entire body. With two workouts I mean just 2 different kind of workouts, so only A and B for example, instead of A, B, C and D. With A and B I don't mean the A and B workouts mentioned in my first post, but they can be any set of exercises. What I was trying to say is maybe it is better to create two kind of workouts (A and B ) covering the entire body?

My week would then look like this: day 1: A, day 2: B, day 3: A etc.

 

As to the building mass with dumbbells, I happen to have a barbell, but I don't have a squat-rack and since I'm training by myself in the attic, I think it's quite risky to squat and bench press without them. But since I promised myself to make changes, maybe it is time to start experimenting with the barbell. I'll try to think of a new workout scheme.

Ah of course, the 3 x 8-12 set/rep scheme is better to archieve my goal right?

 

Thanks a lot for your advice!

[The Most Loathed]

If you're looking for an A-B approach (two workouts you and exchange repeatedly) you can go with a body builders Upper/Lower or a powerlifters Push/Pull or Static/Dynamic. I'm a total body guy so I'm going to point you down my pet path (but know there are others and they are valid) and suggest that you do a barbell/dumbbell day followed by a bodyweight day. Something like:

 

A:

Hang cleans 

Push press

Overhead squat

Straight leg deadlift

 

B:

Pushups

Pull ups

Lunges

Back bridges

 

As far as set rep scheme. I encourage you to mix it up but you will want to go higher initially for your goals.

Good luck, I look forward to your progress

[Pinkman]

If you're looking for an A-B approach (two workouts you and exchange repeatedly) you can go with a body builders Upper/Lower or a powerlifters Push/Pull or Static/Dynamic. I'm a total body guy so I'm going to point you down my pet path (but know there are others and they are valid) and suggest that you do a barbell/dumbbell day followed by a bodyweight day. Something like:

 

A:

Hang cleans 

Push press

Overhead squat

Straight leg deadlift

 

B:

Pushups

Pull ups

Lunges

Back bridges

 

As far as set rep scheme. I encourage you to mix it up but you will want to go higher initially for your goals.

Good luck, I look forward to your progress

 

I'm sorry for my late response, but thanks a lot for your advise!

I like the idea of a push/pull workout, I checked out Steve's push/pull workout in Barbell Batallion, but what is a static/dynamic workout plan? Thanks for your workout plan! I checked out the barbell hang cleans, but they look very difficult, I've never really touched the barbell before, so I'm gonna start by practising the barbell deadlift and front squat with increasing weight before advancing to hang cleans. Also, is there a certain advantage for alternating between a weightlifting day / bodyweight day? I like the idea. I think my next plan of strategy is to practice a lot with the barbell.

 

Thanks again!

[The Most Loathed]

no prob on any of it. I'm probably using the wrong words for the static and dynamic plan but it was a plan Westside Barbell used to promote where one day was just a couple lifts very heavy followed by a little assistance work (static day). Dynamic day was lots of reps on the big three lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) and they would use a faster pace and often bands or chains to make it more challenging. 

For you it would be a couple of days per week where you would go really heavy on a couple lifts and a different day where you'd just rep it up. If you're happy with a push/pull split, there;s no need to dig into it deeper.