My Meal Plan and Work Out Routine

H

hockey13

0
Hi, I wanted to know what you guys thought about my meal plan ( didn't want to call it a "diet") and my work out routine.

I am 177 pounds.

My meal plan changes kinda everyday( so i dont get bored), but its overall the same foods. I decided to give you two days.

Day 1

Breakfast: 2 Egg omelet with veggies and meat

Snack: 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Lunch: 3-4 oz grilled white meat (skinless), 2 cups of veggies, 1 tbsp vinaigrette

Snack: 1/2 cup cottage cheese , 6-8 unsalted almonds

Dinner:3-4 oz grilled white meat, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 cup brown rice

Day 2

Breakfast: 3 egg whites with veggies and meat

Snack: small piece of cheese or (1/2 cup cottage cheese), one piece of fruit

Lunch: Chicken wrap:, 4 oz grilled white chicken, shredded lettuce, 1/2 avocado, whole weat wrap and 1/2 cup berries

Snack: 1/2 cup fat free yogurt, 10 almonds

Dinner: 3 oz grilled white chicken, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup green salad with 1/4 cup veggies, 2 tbsp vinaigrette dressing.

Workout

My workout routine may seem a lot to day in a day, but I can do it. I do take one or two days off.

-Stationary Bike at a speed of 13 ish, for about an hour, which usually leaves me around 12.3 miles

-Walk on the treadmill at a high walking pace for 30 minutes

-Leg weights 15 reps- 4 sets

-Arm weights 15 reps - 4 sets

I also add in, squats and planks.


Some of you may find this hard and impossible to beleive, but my goal is to lose 30 pounds by September 1. I am going to do it. This may seem unhealthy, but I am eating and exercising, I will do it.

If you have any advice, feel free to share it with me, I am up for that. Also if there is anything I should add to my workouts, I would love to know that also!

Thanks
 
hockey13,

i was 172 lbs in november and now weigh 149'ish... and arguably very physically fit looking. i did this by adopting a fairly similar meal plan to what you have above, with slight variations, along with implementing a strict fitness/weight plan (more weights than cardio for me). all in all i think you have a very well-rounded, healthy plan layed out... and while i wouldn't guaranty that you'll lose 30 lbs in the next 2.5months, i would say you can probably get pretty close.

one suggestion i do have is to add an ab routine in to your workout plan. 1 - 3 days a week before your workouts. start out doing 100 - 150 total reps over a span of 5 - 7 exercises... eventually working up to 250 - 350 over a span of 10 - 12 exercises. the idea is to do 15 - 30 reps of an exercise, rest for 30 seconds... and then go in to 20 - 25 reps of the next exercise. i can provide more details on an ab routine that i have adopted that has really worked well for me if you'd like.

keep doing what you're doing... and good luck!
 
Thank you! Yes I would love to see the details on the ab routine. Is there a big point to focus on ab, if right now I flab? Because what I have been told, correct me if im wrong, is that I wont burn any fat off, or make a difference if I work on my abs, if I have flab.
 
hockey13 said:
Hi, I wanted to know what you guys thought about my meal plan ( didn't want to call it a "diet") and my work out routine.

I am 177 pounds.

My meal plan changes kinda everyday( so i dont get bored), but its overall the same foods. I decided to give you two days.

Day 1

Breakfast: 2 Egg omelet with veggies and meat

Snack: 1/2 cup berries, 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Lunch: 3-4 oz grilled white meat (skinless), 2 cups of veggies, 1 tbsp vinaigrette

Snack: 1/2 cup cottage cheese , 6-8 unsalted almonds

Dinner:3-4 oz grilled white meat, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 cup brown rice

Day 2

Breakfast: 3 egg whites with veggies and meat

Snack: small piece of cheese or (1/2 cup cottage cheese), one piece of fruit

Lunch: Chicken wrap:, 4 oz grilled white chicken, shredded lettuce, 1/2 avocado, whole weat wrap and 1/2 cup berries

Snack: 1/2 cup fat free yogurt, 10 almonds

Dinner: 3 oz grilled white chicken, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup green salad with 1/4 cup veggies, 2 tbsp vinaigrette dressing.

Workout

My workout routine may seem a lot to day in a day, but I can do it. I do take one or two days off.

-Stationary Bike at a speed of 13 ish, for about an hour, which usually leaves me around 12.3 miles

-Walk on the treadmill at a high walking pace for 30 minutes

-Leg weights 15 reps- 4 sets

-Arm weights 15 reps - 4 sets

I also add in, squats and planks.


Some of you may find this hard and impossible to beleive, but my goal is to lose 30 pounds by September 1. I am going to do it. This may seem unhealthy, but I am eating and exercising, I will do it.

If you have any advice, feel free to share it with me, I am up for that. Also if there is anything I should add to my workouts, I would love to know that also!

Thanks
Click to expand...

Hey Broski,

Looks pretty good, you seem to have the balance protein/carb/fat/fiber thing going on. Remember to not skimp on your post/pre workout carbs & protein.
 
TytMyk said:
hockey13,

one suggestion i do have is to add an ab routine in to your workout plan. 1 - 3 days a week before your workouts. start out doing 100 - 150 total reps over a span of 5 - 7 exercises... eventually working up to 250 - 350 over a span of 10 - 12 exercises. the idea is to do 15 - 30 reps of an exercise, rest for 30 seconds... and then go in to 20 - 25 reps of the next exercise.
Click to expand...

Don't do this. Your entire workout should be less reps than you are doing for just your abs if you do that. And you'll come back wondering why you don't have "ripped abs". The answer will be because you work them too much.
 
correct. if you don't get rid of the belly fat, you won't see your stomach muscles... no matter how strong/toned they are. keep up your meal plan and cardio to get rid of that.

my opinion on ab routines is (even if you still have some "flab").... why not start building/flattening/defining your muscles while burning the fat. it can only help you and speed up the visual results.

When I get home tonight I will post a couple routines that work very well for me. What I outlined in my first post is a good general idea as to how they flow though. Its all about muscle confusion. 7 - 12 different exercises, 20 - 50 reps each... depending on your strength. Also, pick up an 8 - 10 lb medicine ball and do leg lifts with it between your feet.... laying on your back. 4 second negatives on those. Great for lower abs.
 
Ride_On said:
Don't do this. Your entire workout should be less reps than you are doing for just your abs if you do that. And you'll come back wondering why you don't have "ripped abs". The answer will be because you work them too much.
Click to expand...

This is not necessarily true Ride_On. I have been using this structure of ab routine for three months and it has made a big difference in my overall ab definition. I'm not the type of person to post pics of myself, but I'd be happy to show what it has done for me. I definitely don't want people thinking that what I'm saying is not accurate. Having said that, we all know that what works for one person might not work for another... so its sometimes a process of trial and error. The routine I have described definitely works well for me... and I know for a fact it has worked very well for others.

Ride_On - Can you jot down what you consider to be a good ab routine? I'm not being a smart a$$... I truly would like to know, cause I do like to switch things up every once in a while and would like to see found to work well.
 
It is true. First of all, like you said, what works for your won't necessarily work for other people. And if that gave you more definition, my guess is that you had abs already. Or you were just beginning, at which point almost anything works. An excessive amount of work like that is not going to get somebody abs. Most importantly, like you said, abs are made in the kitchen.

I don't have a specific "ab routine" . I do workouts that incorporate all of the muscles. Just like I don't have a "chest routine" or a "back routine".

If you want my recommendation, I would say abs 2-3x per week at the end of a workout, probably in the range of 10-12 reps per set. I definitely wouldn't tell anybody to do countless reps without any weight, which, correct me if I'm wrong, seems like what you do. I would focus on things like hanging knee raises, incline reverse crunches, woodchops, cable crunches, and planks. They don't need to be worked as hard as everyone thinks. I will say this again - abs are made in the kitchen.
 
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Ride_On said:
It is true. First of all, like you said, what works for your won't necessarily work for other people. And if that gave you more definition, my guess is that you had abs already. Or you were just beginning, at which point almost anything works. An excessive amount of work like that is not going to get somebody abs. Most importantly, like you said, abs are made in the kitchen.

I don't have a specific "ab routine" . I do workouts that incorporate all of the muscles. Just like I don't have a "chest routine" or a "back routine".

If you want my recommendation, I would say abs 2-3x per week at the end of a workout, probably in the range of 10-12 reps per set. I definitely wouldn't tell anybody to do countless reps without any weight, which, correct me if I'm wrong, seems like what you do. I would focus on things like hanging knee raises, incline reverse crunches, woodchops, cable crunches, and planks. They don't need to be worked as hard as everyone thinks. I will say this again - abs are made in the kitchen.
Click to expand...


I agree that abs are made in the kitchen... 100%. Everything starts with nutrition.

Maybe I gave my high-level explanation poorly, cause I truly don't do "countless" reps without any weight. I was going to post a more detailed description later that would further detail what my routine is. Just to clarify though... I never do the same exercise twice in the same ab workout... and use body weight techniques along with medicine balls for added resistance. I am a firm believer that once you hit 25 - 30 reps in a set of abs, you're wasting time... for the most part. I keep each set to 15 - 25 reps, depending on the exercise (some are much more difficult than others). Resting for about 30 secs between sets... I do a total of 10 exercises, on average. Its a great workout... and has given me great results. Not sure if thats a better explanation... but maybe we just have to agree to disagree somewhat. I'd also like to add that I never do the same exercise sequence two workouts in a row. I always make sure I change the order or a couple of exercises up. Again... the muscle confusion theory.
 
Yeah we will have to agree to disagree here. I think that consistently doing even 25 reps of anything means it isn't hard enough. If you're restricted to a BW workout or you do some BW exercises, than it's a different story. Even with a high rep range though, I could understand it, but not with 10 different exercises for the same muscle. I think that's overkill and most people are walking a fine line between hypertrophy and atrophy at that point. Overworked muscles look deflated.
 
Ride_On said:
Yeah we will have to agree to disagree here. I think that consistently doing even 25 reps of anything means it isn't hard enough. If you're restricted to a BW workout or you do some BW exercises, than it's a different story. Even with a high rep range though, I could understand it, but not with 10 different exercises for the same muscle. I think that's overkill and most people are walking a fine line between hypertrophy and atrophy at that point. Overworked muscles look deflated.
Click to expand...

Even when I'm only doing 1 set per exercise? How many total sets do you usually do for ab's? You noted that you do them 2 - 3 x's a week, 10 - 12 reps per set... but didn't say how many exercises or sets you do. Just curious.

Thanks for your insight, by the way. I do appreciate other viewpoints and will take yours in to consideration going forward. I by no means claim to be an "expert". Just have a lot of personal from 12 years of training on my own and reading up on things. I found what works best for me and sometimes find it hard to break from that.
 
hockey13 said:
Hey, what do you mean when you say that?
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He probably means, make sure you eat/drink plenty of protein and a healthy protion of carbs following your workouts. You need to provide ample energy to your recovering muscles... most importantly, immediately following a workout. Depending on your goal... I'm a believer in the theory of loading up on carbs from morning to lunch.... and then weening them down and consuming mostly protein by the end of the day. (Make sure you're getting a lot of protein in the AM hours as well... but combine that with good carbs. i.e. oatmeal, whole wheat bread, brown rice.) I usually eat no carbs after 8 PM and drink a protein shake right before bed... even on non-workout days. Again, I'm by no means a nutrion and/or fitness expert. Everything I do is based on personal experience and research... and it works well for me. This is a fairly common meal structure though.
 
TytMyk said:
Even when I'm only doing 1 set per exercise? How many total sets do you usually do for ab's? You noted that you do them 2 - 3 x's a week, 10 - 12 reps per set... but didn't say how many exercises or sets you do. Just curious.

Thanks for your insight, by the way. I do appreciate other viewpoints and will take yours in to consideration going forward. I by no means claim to be an "expert". Just have a lot of personal from 12 years of training on my own and reading up on things. I found what works best for me and sometimes find it hard to break from that.
Click to expand...

I used to do 3 ab exercises per workout (3x a week). Ex: 3x12 hanging knee raises, 3x15 decline crunch (25lb weight), 3x12 cable crunch or woodchop

I just started NRoL though, so I'm only doing one ab exercise at 3 sets of 15, 3x per week right now.
 
Ab Workout

Sorry for the late response! Check these videos out. Its basically what I use as a baseline for my routine. Its an abdominal workout used by boxing trainer Freddie Roach. I've been using this technique for a few months now and it has made a BIG difference in my core strenghth and appearance. Its based on the "muscle confusion" theory:

Part 1


Part 2


It is important to concentrate on form. Do not force movements just to complete a rep. Only do rep if you can do it properly. If you're just starting out and all you can do is 8 - 10 reps, or less, of an exercise... that is OK. After going through the routine a couple times you'll know your capabilities. Write them down for each exercise and continue to log your reps every week to track your progress. Eventually you'll get to a point where you can do 25+ of an exercise, at which time you should either add weight or substitute a more challenging exercise for that target area in its place. Also, go ahead change up the order of the exercises every couple weeks... or even every time you do this routine. Keep your ab's guessing and keeps you from getting bored. 2 - 3 times a week is all you need.

Hope this helps! It has definitely helped me!
 
keegz said:
Brilliant! Thanks a heap.
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No problem Keegz. Hope it helps! Another point I forgot to mention is the rest periods between exercises. I generally try to keep it to 30 seconds, but will sometimes jump right to the next exercise, depending on fatigue. Bottom line is, change it up. Keep it interesting. Try to keep the whole routine to a15 mins or less if you can.

Let me know how it goes!
 
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