Current workout/diet. Any adjustments I should make?

[Sivok]

Hey all,

 

As of two weeks ago I began a new diet/exercise routine and im looking for some advice as to how I can get the results I want. I've lost 11 pounds so far. I was 6'3" and 236 when I started. I'm now at 225

 

Morning: two packets of maple & brown sugar oatmeal, a multivitamin powder mixed in water. 1 hour of burst cardio (sprint for 1-3 minutes, walk for 2, repeat); i keep going until I'm completely beat.

 

Mid-morning: Thermos of coffee with light cream and light sugar.

 

Lunch: Large soup of varying variety (whatever the caf's soup is that day) from vegetable soup, to chicken soup, to chowders.

 

Mid-afternoon: Thermos of green tea plain; no sugar or milk/cream.

 

Dinner: can of tuna or bowl of cereal.

 

I drink alot of water throughout the day too.

 

Right now I've been focusing primarily on cardio but I know if I keep heading this way I'll lose the fat, but not have the muscle mass I desire at all. Should I do about a half hour of weight training during my lunch hour 3-4 times a week in addition to cardio? If so, how drastically does my diet need to change? I heard you need roughly a gram of protein per pound of body weight to properly build muscle a day..

 

Any help will be appreciated

[Lauriebell82]

Congrats on the weight loss so far!

 

A few things that I see:

 

1. diet: It looks like you are eating 3 meals a day and drinking caffeinated drinks in between. Those are making you dehydrated, therefore you are not burning the amount of calories that you would if you were having small snacks.

 

You should really be eating 5-6 times a day...small meals. It looks like you work out in the morning, therefore I would eat enough carbs (healthy ones) to jump start your metabolism. Also maple and brown sugar oatmeal is junk, it's nothing but carbs, calories, and sugar. Trying eating plain oatmeal and putting some fruit in it for a little bit sweeter taste. (like bananas). Also, a protein shake of some sort would give you energy as well. Have you ever tried Muscle Milk? That would be good for you.

 

As far as lunch goes: soup has a TON of sodium in it. There are "healthy soups" (like vegetable soup) and unhealthy soup (like chowder which is loaded with carbs and sugar). How about a nice chicken salad? Also I suggest brining lunch..much healthier then the crap that cafeterias serve. Bring a small lunch like a turkey sandwhich on whole wheat toast and an apple.

 

Keep snack food with you (healthy snack food) like some carrots or celery sticks. When you get hungry mid afternoon have a snack.

 

Dinner: a bowl of cereal is not dinner! Eat a real meal, like a piece of fish or lean chicken. Also you can cook up some veggies that you can buy frozen at your local store. Dont' overload on what you eat at night, just something enough to fill your stomach.

 

Then have a snack before bed, something light like a protein shake or some kind of vegetable.

 

Oh, also don't eat the same exact thing everyday. Your body will adjust to it. Same with working out: switch up your routine. And also begin weight training!

 

Good luck!!!

[tman666]

First of all, congratulations on the weight loss so far! For the purposes of this post, I'm going to assume that you're a male. If not, what I'm saying still applies, but the tone may not match what you are looking for.

 

Your diet needs to change drastically if you want to have a "hard body" look, as opposed to a "skinny-fat" or "deflated" look. From what you wrote below, your diet will run you into the ground eventually from not getting enough essential micro and macro-nutrients. Yes, you'll lose weight, but you'll also most likely be weak and tired all of the time. If you push yourself and train hard with a diet like this, you'll eventually burn out or get injured.

 

I think before you do anything else, you need to define what your goals are regarding your physique. Are you wanting to be hyooge (like a body-builder)? Do you want to look like a boxer or MMA fighter? A marathon runner?

 

Also, how do you want to perform athletically? Do you want to be able to go forever and ever with certain activities like running, swimming, biking, hiking, skiing, etc? Are you looking to be able to perform shorter bursts of strength and speed, such as in sprinting or weightlifting? Or are you simply wanting to be strong and look good in the buff?

 

Your answers to those questions are going to determine how your diet and training looks. You'll want to emulate the diet and training style of those who have obtained your vision of the ideal physique.

 

As Lauribell posted above, each of your meals can be instantly improved by removing the crap from your diet. Basically, a good rule of thumb is that if a food is pre-packaged or "instant", it is most likely bad for your physique. Instant oatmeal is full of refined sugar, and breakfast cereal (mmmm, as much as I love breakfast cereal) has very little nutritional value. The sodium in pre-made soups, restaurant food, and other pre-packaged and pre-made foods will retain a lot of water on your body, as well as elevate your blood pressure. This will not only make you feel crappy (unless you have chronically low-blood pressure), but you will look soft from the water retention.

 

A good investment at this point would be a lunch box. This will allow you to prepare and have readily available your own meals that consist of lean-protein, green vegetables (broccoli, spinach, bell peppers), beans, whole grains like quinoa and brown rice, and good fats such as found in avocados, eggs and fish.

 

The more green vegetables you eat, the better off you'll be. You'll be getting a lot of essential fat loss/muscle building nutrients, as well as feeling full. Who likes to starve? I know I don't.

 

Remember this general rule: eat protein and fats together, or protein and carbs together, but not carbs and fats together. You should have protein with every meal, and you should consolidate most of your carbohydrate intake to the mornings and right before/after workouts.

 

Also, don't bother with supplements at this point. You'll be throwing your hard earned money away on most of them. If you want to supplement protein, make sure you look at a high quality whey protein powder that you can mix with milk, water, frozen fruit, cottage cheese, flax, etc. (the possibilities are limitless). Protein bars and pre-mixed protein drinks (such as Muscle Milk) are often very high in sugars and sugar alcohols, which can not only wreck your physique, but can make you feel pretty crappy too. Sugar alcohols do some funky (read: cause explosive flatulence) things during digestion.

 

If you're looking for a solid weight training program, check out Jim Wendler's 5/3/1. It's very basic, but very effective, especially if you're eating a ton of clean foods. The key to this and any other strength/hypertrophy program is to eat enough, get enough sleep, and drink enough water. Don't overdo the cardio either if you're looking for muscle. Hill sprints are good, car pushes are good, high intensity interval training is good, complexes are good. If you're doing any of these properly, you won't last more than around 20-30 minutes, tops. Basically, if you eat a lot (around 2500 to 3000 kcal/day) of clean foods every day, and keep your water intake high (around 200 ounces per day, for a person your size), you'll be ramping up your metabolism, as well as keeping your body fueled and ready for your intense training sessions. Also increasing your amount of NEPA (non-exercise physical activity, such as walking, taking the stairs, mowing the lawn, etc.) can help you keep the grease off. I think that you'll find if you do this, you'll see the results you're looking for.

 

My apologies for the rambling nature of my post. I wrote it over the course of the morning at work...

[Sivok]

Thanks alot for your advice!

 

So far I've been hitting the gym for about a month now. I've been very consistent with my workouts, but I need some serious work on my nutrition. I'm not eating enough, and the stuff I do eat is alot of the 'crap' you mentioned above.

 

I've seen and felt gains in strength, but I feel with an improved diet i can do that much better

[Star Gazer]

1. You're not eating enough - by any stretch of the imagination. You should be getting way more in terms of calories and nutrients, as tman said... otherwise you'll get thinner but will be "skinny fat" and not have the body you're looking for. Plus, as soon as you put some real food in your mouth, you'll blow up and gain it all back.

 

2. Cut out all the processed foods, including the oatmeal and canned soups. Go au natural.

 

I'm going to assume you're looking to burn fat and build muscle. In that case, this is the sort of diet all the guys I know who are in GREAT shape follow, including a BFF who's a trainer:

 

Breakfast:

2 egg(s) (hardboiled for ease, but any other way works too), and plain Cheerios with skim milk

- OR -

BIG Protein shake

 

Snack:

Apple/banana and Yoplait light yogurt

 

Lunch:

Sandwich on whole wheat with tons of veggies and lean meat, mustard (no mayo)

- OR -

Salad topped with tons of veggies and chopped chicken, low-fat dressing

 

Snack:

Celery sticks with peanut butter

-OR-

Protein bar

 

Dinner:

Grilled or baked chicken or fish with veggies and a small portion of carbs (plate should be 1/2 veggies, 1/4 meat, 1/4 carbs)

 

Snack/dessert:

Small protein shake

 

 

You can obviously make some substitutions here, but this should give you an idea of where to start. HTH

[Lauriebell82]

1. You're not eating enough - by any stretch of the imagination. You should be getting way more in terms of calories and nutrients, as tman said... otherwise you'll get thinner but will be "skinny fat" and not have the body you're looking for. Plus, as soon as you put some real food in your mouth, you'll blow up and gain it all back.

 

2. Cut out all the processed foods, including the oatmeal and canned soups. Go au natural.

 

I'm going to assume you're looking to burn fat and build muscle. In that case, this is the sort of diet all the guys I know who are in GREAT shape follow, including a BFF who's a trainer:

 

Breakfast:

2 egg(s) (hardboiled for ease, but any other way works too), and plain Cheerios with skim milk

- OR -

BIG Protein shake

 

Snack:

Apple/banana and Yoplait light yogurt

 

Lunch:

Sandwich on whole wheat with tons of veggies and lean meat, mustard (no mayo)

- OR -

Salad topped with tons of veggies and chopped chicken, low-fat dressing

 

Snack:

Celery sticks with peanut butter

-OR-

Protein bar

 

Dinner:

Grilled or baked chicken or fish with veggies and a small portion of carbs (plate should be 1/2 veggies, 1/4 meat, 1/4 carbs)

 

Snack/dessert:

Small protein shake

 

 

You can obviously make some substitutions here, but this should give you an idea of where to start. HTH

 

This is a very good list.

 

The only comment I would make is that protein bars sometimes make you retain water. While they are an excellent source of protein and very convienant, they tend to make me bloated and give me very bad gas. So I try to stay away from them for that reason. Everybody is different though, they might not do that for you.

 

I would stick with protein shakes though, but again those sometimes will give me gas/bloating also if I use to much of them. In other words don't make them the main source of protein in your diet.

 

But I completely agree with SG, those are great suggestions.

[tman666]

This is a very good list.

 

The only comment I would make is that protein bars sometimes make you retain water. While they are an excellent source of protein and very convienant, they tend to make me bloated and give me very bad gas. So I try to stay away from them for that reason. Everybody is different though, they might not do that for you.

 

I would stick with protein shakes though, but again those sometimes will give me gas/bloating also if I use to much of them. In other words don't make them the main source of protein in your diet.

 

But I completely agree with SG, those are great suggestions.

 

The main reason that protein bars and even some shakes give so many people gas/bloat has to do with the artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols that they load them with to make them edible. Artificial sweeteners do not metabolize very well in the human body; thus the explosive byproduct. It's also another reason why diet soda bloats people up so much.

 

My suggestion is to get as much of one's nutrients as possible from "real" foods. There are some good protein powders out there too, but like you said, if you're loading up on them as primary meals, you're going to feel pretty windy.

[Lauriebell82]

The main reason that protein bars and even some shakes give so many people gas/bloat has to do with the artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols that they load them with to make them edible. Artificial sweeteners do not metabolize very well in the human body; thus the explosive byproduct. It's also another reason why diet soda bloats people up so much.

 

My suggestion is to get as much of one's nutrients as possible from "real" foods. There are some good protein powders out there too, but like you said, if you're loading up on them as primary meals, you're going to feel pretty windy.

 

Yeah, you are right about the protein bars. I gave up diet coke recently and I have definately seen a difference in the decrease of water retention. The bad thing is that I'm going through more caffeine withdrawal because of all the diet coke I was drinking throughout the day. Now I only drink like a cup or two in the morning and then water throughout the day so Im exausted. That could probably be why I am having trouble adjusting to my new work schedule also.

[Sivok]

Hey all, I thought I'd give everyone an update as to how I've been progressing!

 

I vastly altered my diet to compose of the following:

 

BREAKFAST:

 

Oatmeal with a tablespoon of peanut butter, half cup of almonds, half cup of eggwhites, and multivitamins.

 

SNACK:

 

32g protein bar

 

LUNCH:

 

Turkey Sandwhich on whole wheat with tomatoes and lettuce along with a V8

 

SNACK:

 

24g whey protein shake

 

DINNER:

 

Skinless Grilled Chicken Breast with brown rice and spinach/broccoli OR Grilled Salmon instead of chicken

 

SNACK:

 

A can of sardines w/ vegetable oil or a can of tuna, depending on mood

 

BEFORE BED:

 

32g casein protein shake

 

I've been following that diet regiment religiously.

 

I've been working out with the correct diet for a little past two months now. I saw the following improvements (note, all these workouts are 3 pyramid sets - 10 9 8)

 

Note: all examples are maximum lifts on 3rd set

 

Lunges

from 10 pounds to 25 pound dumbbells

 

Pull Downs

from 90 max to 120 max

 

Dumbbell Chest Press

from 30 (each dumbbell) to 55(each dumbbell)

 

vertical flys

from 10 pounds to 15 pounds

 

Hammer Curls

from 20 a dumbbell to 30 a dumbbell

 

Assisted tricep dips

from 100 assist to 60 assist

 

Is that fair progress? a bit slow?

[tman666]

Long time no see, Sivok.

 

You're diet looks pretty clean, but you still might be under-eating. What's your weight now?

 

Also, what are your goals? Are you trying to lose fat, put on muscle, etc.?

 

Without establishing firm goals of what you want physique wise and fitness wise, it's hard to know what you're supposed to be doing with your training and diet.

[Sivok]

Right now my focus is to put on muscle with minimal fat gain. When I started in March, I weighed around 220 or so. I'm currently at 229. Note - I'm 6'3 with a large frame. My pants haven't gotten any tighter so it seems my lean muscle to fat weight gain ratio is decent so far.

 

Another note - I didn't start following this diet until the middle of April

[ADF]

Not to get off-topic, but how much more weight do you intend to lose? You're 6'3". I would think weighing 225 at 6'3" is perfectly healthy.

[Sivok]

I'm working on gaining muscle now, not losing weight. Original post is a bit dated

[tman666]

For future insight, what is your age? Also, do you have any pre-existing conditions or chronic injuries that prevent you from doing high intensity training?

 

Assuming you're in good general health, you'll need to get stronger if you want to put on some serious muscle.

 

There are many different gauges of overall strength, but I can tell you that the isolated movements (such as curls) aren't them. This doesn't mean that you have to quit doing isolated movements all together, but they should not be the primary focus.

 

You'll need to start doing some deadlifts and squats. Do you have any experience with them?

 

If you don't have any experience performing these lifts, I would start off by learning how to do them properly. Good form is critical for longevity, proper muscle development and safety.

 

I would also recommend that for your goals, you use total body workouts instead of a split routine (at this point). This will allow you to train each muscle more frequently, accelerate fat loss, and minimize the time you spend in the gym. The trick with total body training is frequency over volume. This means that you're hitting each muscle group more frequently as opposed to doing tons of reps for each muscle group. This high rate of muscle stimulation (at a controlled volume) will allow you put on strength more quickly.

 

If you would like, I would be more than happy to share an example of my own TBT routine for example.

 

Diet wise, you're looking good as far as content. If you end up plateauing on strength or muscle growth, it is most likely diet related, and it almost always involves eating more.

 

Muscle gain does not have to be complicated. If you're not growing, eat more. Lift explosively and lift often. Get plenty of rest and drink lots of water.

[Sivok]

I'm currently 23 years old and have not sustained any injuries with long lasting affects. I'd be happy to hear about your current work out.

 

I do have experience with squats, although the gym at my current job doesn't have the right setup for weighted squats... So I've been resorting to lunges for the glutes/quads. However, that will change in one month - when I head back to university

 

Oh, and to add, for abs I do Ab Ripper X 3 times a week

[tman666]

Ok, well, below is essentially what I've been doing. The poundages are arbitrary for showing progression throughout each session. Every week, I change up the exercises but keep the same muscle groups in each "slot". I.E., I will change out Romanian Deadlift with Conventional DL, DB Flat Bench with DB Squeeze Presses or BB Bench, and Front Squats with practically any other squat variation. Also, if I repeat an exercise the the consecutive week, I make sure that I beat my previous weeks poundages. It's essential to try and beat your own PRs. This doesn't mean that you have to establish a 1 RM. You can use the same weight and try and get more reps. This is safer and often more effective.

 

Monday:

 

Warm up: Spinning bike set at high resistance, hill climb form (standing, lean forward), 3-4 minutes as at a tempo of about 1 full pedal cycle per second.

 

A) Romanian Deadlift: 4 sets working up to a heavy double (eg, 8, 6, 4, 2) followed by a 5th set of 15-20 reps on a lighter weight (225 for me).

 

B1) DB Flat Bench: 4 sets, increasing weight each set, as many as possible, as heavy as possible (e.g. 10 with 90's, 8 w/105s, 6 w/110s, 4 w/120s), followed by a 5th set of 15-20 reps with lighter weight, such as 80s.

B2) One armed DB Row: 4 sets with as heavy as you can go and still get 8-10 reps on each arm, followed by set of 20-25 on each arm with lighter (e.g. 130lb DB for first 4 sets of 8-10, then 75lb DB for last set)

 

C1) Cable Curl: 3 sets of As Many as Possible, As Heavy As Possible (AMAP/AHAP)

C2) Rope Pulldown: 3 sets AMAP/AHAP

 

 

 

Wednesday:

 

Warm Up: Same as Monday

 

A) Lunges or DB Step Ups (4 sets AMAP/AHAP, 1 set light AMAP)

 

B1) Overhead Press (4 sets progressing AMAP/AHAP, 1 set light AMAP (eg 8, 8, 6, 4, then 15-20 light))

B2) Pull Up (4 sets, progressing AMAP/AHAP) Note-if you can't do pull ups, a cable pull down machine can be utilized.

 

C1) Leg throw downs 4x20 (need partner, otherwise, Russian Twists)

C2) Standing Calve Raises 4x20, AHAP

 

 

Friday:

 

Warm Up: Same

 

A) Front Squat (4-5 sets up to a heavy double, then 15 on light (eg. 8 w/ 135, 6 w/ 155, 5 w/185, 4 w/205, 2 w/225, then 15 w/ 125)

 

B1) Weighted Dip (4 sets progressive AMAP, AHAP)

B2) Seated Wide Row (4 sets progressive AMAP, AHAP)

 

C1) Farmer's Walk (3 sets to failure, AHAP)

C2) Dumbbell Swings (3 sets of 8-10, emphasis on speed)

 

 

I usually do some sort of HIIT on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Thursday I usually do some sort of "Active Recovery" such as playing tennis/basketball. I don't train on Sundays.

 

If you have any questions, let me know. You also may want to check out Rosstraining.com for ideas on bodyweight and lightweight only workouts that may be real effective considering your current gym setup.

[Sivok]

Impressive weights. You must've been working out for some time now.

 

So three days a week is sufficient?

 

Also, how important is the warm up pre-workout?

 

Btw thanks alot for the routine, I'll make adjustments as a result

[tman666]

Impressive weights. You must've been working out for some time now.

 

So three days a week is sufficient?

 

Also, how important is the warm up pre-workout?

 

Btw thanks alot for the routine, I'll make adjustments as a result

 

Thank you, but I posted them for the purpose of example. My lifts are very weak compared to many.

 

The warm up is immensely important. I use the spinning bike because I have to make sure that I warm up my knees and hips thoroughly, as I'm currently trying to recover from about 8 months of IT Band inflammation. Either way, warm ups are always extremely important for safety. Jumping rope is great too. Another one I've used is something along the lines of 5 sets of 10 burpees followed by 5 pull ups. The idea is not to get worn out prematurely, but to warm up your tendons, ligaments, and muscles to a point that they're ready to be trained. Usually, my warm up takes no more than 5 minutes, but it's very important nonetheless.

 

Three days a week is more than sufficient as long as you're training hard and with heavy weights. If you think about it, the program I posted above is hitting nearly every muscle group once every 2-3 days. That's a high frequency approach, and it allows me to keep the weight and intensity high without having to spend a lot of time trying to make up the training effect with high volume (lots of reps). The lower volume, higher frequency approach allows for harder training because I'm not as sore; my recovery time is a lot better with a TBT routine than it is if I use a split routine.

 

Split routines have their place, but I feel that most people would benefit more from TBT.

[califnan]

I don't think you can loose with Vegetables, Legumes, Fish, Chicken, Grains, Fruit (in that order) .. Don't starve yourself. If you are hungry - fill in with these.

 

When you are on these diets you Must take in a lot of water..

 

I think the Curves Member Guide & Recipes is good.. available for $9. on eBay ..

[Sivok]

Thank you, but I posted them for the purpose of example. My lifts are very weak compared to many.

 

The warm up is immensely important. I use the spinning bike because I have to make sure that I warm up my knees and hips thoroughly, as I'm currently trying to recover from about 8 months of IT Band inflammation. Either way, warm ups are always extremely important for safety. Jumping rope is great too. Another one I've used is something along the lines of 5 sets of 10 burpees followed by 5 pull ups. The idea is not to get worn out prematurely, but to warm up your tendons, ligaments, and muscles to a point that they're ready to be trained. Usually, my warm up takes no more than 5 minutes, but it's very important nonetheless.

 

Three days a week is more than sufficient as long as you're training hard and with heavy weights. If you think about it, the program I posted above is hitting nearly every muscle group once every 2-3 days. That's a high frequency approach, and it allows me to keep the weight and intensity high without having to spend a lot of time trying to make up the training effect with high volume (lots of reps). The lower volume, higher frequency approach allows for harder training because I'm not as sore; my recovery time is a lot better with a TBT routine than it is if I use a split routine.

 

Split routines have their place, but I feel that most people would benefit more from TBT.

 

I did notice that i've lately been getting aches as i've been moving up in weight, I'll be sure to start warming up beforehand. I assume the higher heart rate from that warm up probably helps in lifting higher weights too?

[tman666]

I did notice that i've lately been getting aches as i've been moving up in weight, I'll be sure to start warming up beforehand. I assume the higher heart rate from that warm up probably helps in lifting higher weights too?

 

Higher heart rate helps to some degree (as long as you're chest isn't pounding), but the main focus is to get your joints, ligaments and tendons ready to lift. A dynamic warm up will help get your sinovial fluids warmed up, which helps lubricate your joints. It's always best to work up to a heavy weight. For example, even if you're shooting for a 405 lb deadlift, you're not just going to walk up to 405 and lift it (at least safely). You'd probably start at 135 for a set of 8, 225 for a set of 6, 315 for a set of 4, 375 for a double, and then try for 405. You don't want to creep up on it too slowly though, because each rep you do fatigues your muscles and your central nervous system. That's why I try to hit my heaviest weight for the day on about the 4th or 5th set. Even when I've done higher volume approaches (like 10x3s, etc.) my best sets are usually always on the 4th or 5th.

 

Overall though, don't pay too much attention to the number of lbs on the bar (unless powerlifting is your goal). For most training purposes, you're better off trying to increase your 3 rep max on a lift to a 5 or 6 rep max as opposed to trying to put more weight on the bar too fast. It's an ego check thing, and it's something that we all struggle with, hahah.

[Sivok]

In your workout, when you say for example C1, C2, are those power sets?

[tman666]

I'm not sure what you mean by power sets, but I'll explain.

 

The letters (A, B, C) signify the order of the exercises. You do the "A" exercises or exercise, in this case, first. So on Monday, for example, do all of your deadlift sets first. Once you have those out of the way, you move on to the "B" exercises. You can perform them as straight sets (i.e., do all of the "B1" sets first, then move on to "B2" and do all the sets), but it is set up as an antagonistic pairing, which allows for a better training effect (google it). This means that when I do my workout, I utilize the antagonistic pairing by performing the first set of B1 (which is usually a pushing movement), then the first set of B2 (which is usually a pulling movement), then the second set of B1, then the second set of B2, etc. The same goes for C1 and C2.

 

For the best training effect, try and keep your rest periods under 1-2 minutes. Also, you can perform the B1/B2 and C1/C2 exercises as a superset. This means that you would perform one B1 set, then one B2 set without resting in between. The only rest you would get is before you start the second B1/B2 set.

 

It would look like this:

 

Perform: 1st B1 set, immediately followed by 1st B2 set.

 

Rest 1-2 minute.

 

Perform: 2nd B1 set, immediately followed by 2nd B2 set.

 

I apologize if I'm dumb*ssing you to death here, but it's good info to know, as a lot of programs are written with this sort of nomenclature.

 

I should also note that the "C" exercises are usually not true antag. pairs. They mostly happen to be a couple of "accessory" exercises that I like to do at the end of my true "ball busting" sets (A's and B's). The C sets are the ones that, if you're training correctly, you should be really feeling the burn/fatigue on. Take them seriously, but don't hold out for them. Think of them as almost a "cooldown" or a finisher.

Edited June 9, 2010 by tman666

[tman666]

By the way, Sivok, once you're back in touch with a proper gym (one that allows you to lift heavy on bench, squat, deadlift, powercleans, etc., and that allows chalk, preferably), you might want to look into purchasing the 5/3/1 e-book by Jim Wendler. It just might be the best $20 bucks you'll ever spend. It teaches you the basic tenets of strength training, and I personally have found it to be quite effective.

 

Elite FTS .com has it for sale.

[Sivok]

Cool, I think I'll check it out. There's just TOO much info online that it's hard to package it in a custom workout plan haha.

 

Yeah, that's what I figured you meant by B1/B2 etc. Thanks a lot for the tips thus far, they've really been helpful. I'm excited to go back to my school gym now