Set me up on a program

[Sickboy]

Ok I've been reading lots of posts and I figured what the hell I'll let you guys decide my program.

I'm 27 6'1 200...have a bit of a belly, some fat on the sides, fatty ass, somewhat chunky thighs, tiny calves, average arms, underdeveloped chest, average shoulders and back.

I may post a before pic if i can find a digital camera.

I want to basically look good with my shirt off at the beach etc. I wouldn't say I'm fat or overweight...I'm just incredibly out of shape-cardio/stamina wise and slightly over weight in certain areas but still somewhat slim looking.

Got a gym at 24hour fitness and used to work out in the past but havent for like over a year. I work from 8:30 to 6/7ish everyday M-F so I'll be working out at night usually from 7-8 or 8-9 except on Sat and Sunday.

Q 1: What workout should I do? I'm leaning towards going with the Rippletoe that I've seen cbloom and others talking about( though I've never even done a deadlift or pulley row...and hate squats in part because I have weak knees).

So is Rippletoe my best bet?

Figure if I go with that I'll work out

Tues--Workout A

Thursd--Workout B

Sat--Workout A
etc

Q 2. Do I add any cardio and if so what kind do u recommend?
Again I want to get muscular and cover of men's health good looking body wise...but I also want to get into good shape stamina wise. I'm not really needing to be super ripped or anything..but don't want to be bulky musclecular.

Q 3. What supplements should I use on workout days and when? and what supplements on non workout days?

Q 3. what protein powder should i go with? I see muscle milk mentioned often...my roommate uses something called APEX which he recommends.

Q 4. Meals...I'm shooting for 5-6 meals a day.


On workdays it will be soemthing like
Wakeup 8am
Breakfast: eggs, or oatmeal, or kashi with soy milk.

Mid morning 11 am
???????

Lunch 1pm-2
Brown rice and fish(halibit/salmon/etc) maybe some broccoli, maybe chiken breast, maybe ground turkey breasts with whole wheat pasta.

Mid day meal 4pm-5pm
????????

Pre-workout 7-8ish
????

Dinner/postworkout
salmon, or steak, or ground turkey breast, veggies, rice, anything else that would be good?

Pre bedtime 10-11pm
??????

on Sat I can obv workout earlier in the day.


I'll be starting this in a week or two after I figure out what to order supplement wise and get over the cold I have.

So help me fill in all the blanks

Thanks.

[Troll_Inc]

I think you are better off trying to pick up a sport and get in shape for that sport doing full body workouts etc.

I would imagine if you are a poker player you are competitive, so just pick a sport and try and improve at it.

I bet if you just try to workout to look good, you'll never make it.

[Sickboy]

[ QUOTE ]
I think you are better off trying to pick up a sport and get in shape for that sport doing full body workouts etc.

I would imagine if you are a poker player you are competitive, so just pick a sport and try and improve at it.

I bet if you just try to workout to look good, you'll never make it.

[/ QUOTE ]


ughh

this is like the worst advice ever.
but thanks for trying.

did u read the post..epsecially the part about my working from 8:30 to 7 every day...i aint playing poker during those hours.

the only reason the majority of people try to get muscular well defined bodies is to look good and be healthy.

the minority are actually doing it to excel at a specific sport.

[danvh]

I just started a 50 day workout from a book from RossTraining.com. Its pretty good. Fairly simple and does a good amount for strength and cardio..Granted I am starting to train for fighting, but I think most this stuff should carry over to just trying to get in good shape.

Note, I linked the website because under articles there seems to be some good workouts that you can check out without buying the book cuz Im not trying to shill for the book ro site..Just happens to be what I just started..

[danvh]

Also, a lot of people like crossfit.com. It has a program you can follow from their page it seems.

[kyleb]

[ QUOTE ]
I bet if you just try to workout to look good, you'll never make it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. It was impossible for me to hit the gym until I joined a baseball squad.

[Doug Funnie II]

Mid morning 11 am
-all natural peanut butter sandwich on whole grain bread

Mid day meal 4pm-5pm
-half a container of lowfat cottage cheese

Pre-workout 7-8ish
-You're probably going to be pretty tired at this point in your day but I can't stress how important it is going to be for you to stay away from bad carbs. I'd probably have a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Post workout
-you need to have a whey shake within 20 minutes of completing your workout. Ideally you won't eat a meal for another hour after this shake is consumed.

Pre bedtime 10-11pm
second half of that cottage cheese container.


In these meals alone you'll probably be getting around a total of 40 grams of fat, 100 grams of protein, and 150 grams of carbs. If you're really concerned with keeping your calorie count down then only use one slice of bread in the sandwiches with less peanut butter, forget the banana in the second sandwich, and find a low carb protein.

[Troll_Inc]

[ QUOTE ]

the only reason the majority of people try to get muscular well defined bodies is to look good and be healthy.

the minority are actually doing it to excel at a specific sport.

[/ QUOTE ]

It may be true about what the majority want, but the majority of Americans are overweight. Diet plans and exercise plans fail all the time.

There are plenty of evening and weekend leagues. Also, there are plenty of individual sports. Rowing, cycling, running, etc. If you pick an endurance sport you will have to supplement more with upperbody training.

Also, how about rockclimbing? boxing or kickboxing?

It doesn't even have to be organized. How about pickup basketball? I bet most people could play basketball much longer than the could ride a bike or job.

There's like a zillion choices, I'm sure you could find something you always wanted to try.

I'm not saying you can't do what you are trying, I'm just saying that overall I think your chances are much higher if you pick a sport. If I had to prop bet it, I'd say 3 or 4 to 1.

Good luck with whatever you try. Exercising does wonders physically and mentally for a person.

[einbert]

With regards to the sports vs look good issue, personally my "sport" is simply powerlifting. I'm not extremely strong, but my goal is to improve my lifts by incrementing the weight I'm able to do on a weekly basis. This naturally leads to looking big and strong, but I still get the motivation of having higher and higher goals to shoot for. And there is no feeling of inadequacy, because I'm only working to beat my own personal goals. I'm not trying to lift more than the next guy at all. I feel like my mental approach is working quite well so far.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I bet if you just try to workout to look good, you'll never make it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. It was impossible for me to hit the gym until I joined a baseball squad.

[/ QUOTE ]

Really? Looking at my fat ass in a mirror was superb motivation. Once you start looking good, getting that occasional compliment from a random girl (like "ooh, nice tricep") is super motivating.

If you actually find a sport you love and want to excel at, that's awesome, but not everyone can find that. I find it really difficult/rare to find teams that are at the right skill/competetiveness level for me to be able to compete and get motivated. Either they're too goofy/sucky (typical intramural teams) or way too good for me to ever play on them (minor leagues or the top amateur leagues that are generally full of ex-pros and college players).