Bulking Up

[Joe Tex]

I have recently become interested in getting back into the gym and adding mass. I am a pretty hard gainer and would like some pointers on my plan.

Workout: Workout five times a week, alternating between 3 workouts:

Workout one: Back and Biceps, two exercises for each, 4 sets (12 reps) for each exercise.

Workout two: Chest, triceps and shoulders, two exercises each. 4 sets (12 reps) for each exercise.

Workout three: legs consisting of 5 sets of squats, and 3 sets of calf raises.

Diet:

Breakfast will consist of bowl of oatmeal with artificial sweetener, or some type of cereal (sultana bran etc).

Morning tea: Protein shake (muscle milk) Is muscle milk a good shake to use considering my goals.

Lunch: This will have to be some type of food that I can buy at lunch time, since I don't really like taking my lunch with me to work, and all my workmates buy their lunch. I will try to keep it as healthy as I can though (i.e cut the fries, eat sushi and other healthy options where available)

Afternoon tea: Since I workout in the evenings, i need to eat something in the afternoon at work that will give me the energy but won't fill me up too much (since I find that I lift more when I don't feel full). I was thinking maybe a piece of fruit and a couple of muesli bars. Any suggestions?

Post workout I will have another protein shake and then have dinner about an hour or so later. Again, dinner will usually be sushi, or something similar ( I don't really like cooking for myself, but I will try to keep it as lean as possible).

Supplements:

Vitamins: I will take one "Animal Pak" per day, as well as some BCAA caps.

Creatine: Cellmass, twice per day 6 hours prior to working out and then directly after my workout.

NO Xplode, take 3 scoops directly before my workout. Take one sccop on days off.

Is there anything else I can take, or ways in which I can improve my plan? Also, I drink heavily once per week, usually on a Friday night. On Saturdays I am planning to just eat whatever the hell I feel like.

Thanks,

Sam

[zer0]

1. you won't bulk up without significantly more protein in your diet. you should aim to eat 6 meals with ~30g of protein each (at least, i dont know how much you weigh now)

2. the cell mass + no xplode, if you haven't already bought them, will probably just be extra spending. use it on food, bulking gets expensive, and for the most part you aren't gonna need that stuff when you're first getting back into the gym

3. drink water. a lot of it.

[skunkworks]

You're trying to bulk, but what are your stats and exactly how much of a hardgainer are you? This will affect how strict or loose the diet would be with regards to food quality.

Off the top of my head, you will want a bigger breakfast that includes some protein in it. Mix up some whey into your oatmeal, etc. Also, you shouldn't have to worry obsessively about how "lean" your lunch/dinner will be if you are a hardgainer -- this is tied in to what I was saying above -- just be conscious of getting higher-quality food that is as unprocessed as possible.

[skunkworks]

Also, you're aiming for around your bodyweight in protein. Are you lactose tolerant? Milk is a great way to add pounds.

[Joe Tex]

I am currently about 180 pounds. I would guess my bodyfat % is about 20, I am getting that measured this week.

Should I add in a third protein shake?

When you say "you're aiming for around your bodyweight in protein. Does that mean I should be eating around 180g of protein per day?

Why is drinking a lot of water important?

Unfortunately I have already bought the cellmass and no xplode.

Yes, I am lactose tolerant, should I try and get in a quarter gallon of milk in per day? Fat free or regular?

[zer0]

[ QUOTE ]
Should I add in a third protein shake?

When you say "you're aiming for around your bodyweight in protein. Does that mean I should be eating around 180g of protein per day?

Why is drinking a lot of water important?

Yes, I am lactose tolerant, should I try and get in a quarter gallon of milk in per day? Fat free or regular?

[/ QUOTE ]

no, get more protein out of your meals. chicken, turkey, salmon (your best friend), lean beef, can of tuna, etc

yes, you want to get at least 1g of protein per lb

importance of water: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/animalpak21.htm ...google for more articles. especially while taking creatine and vitamin supplements, it may be the most important part of a diet.

[jah7_fsu1]

you guess your around 20% bodyfat? How tall are you?

I'm thinking a recomp sounds more like something you should be considering unless your greatly overestimating your bodyfat. A recomp is basically trying to shed bodyfat while gaining (small amounts) or at least maintaining muscle mass. If your BF% is accurate you'd probably look a lot better "in the mirror" by dropping some bodyfat (not to be confused with dropping weight).

[skunkworks]

Joe, to be honest you don't sound like you're much of a hardgainer so I wouldn't recommend a huge bulk. If you're kind of flabby (which is sounds like you are) just concentrate on staying away from bad foods and focusing on good ones. Aim for 180g protein/day, a little less is okay. Someone else will probably link to a good list of whole, unprocessed foods that you should focus on, and try to figure out exactly how many calories you should be consuming for your body weight. There are plenty of base metabolic rate calculators online.

[Joe Tex]

I am 5 foot 10, I think most people would not say that I am flabby, so perhaps I estimated the bodyfat percentage a little on the high side. I will measure that this week.

Do you think Ripptoe's guide would be a good program for me to start out with?

Also, I may have misinterpreted the term hardgainer. I certainly have the ability to put on weight, but I do not have the type of physique which lends itself to becoming very large and muscular very quickly.

I think I need to seriously rethink the diet part of my planned regime.

[jah7_fsu1]

No one becomes very large and muscular very quickly without the help of anabolic steroids. Your diet does need a serious readjustment. I don't have time right now to analyze it, but I will try to later. Just by glancing at yours your not eating often enough for the goal of losing bodyfat or gaining lean mass. I will elaborate later tonight.