Building Muscle - My Diet and Exercise Plan

Monday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast, apple
Post-workout - protein shake
Lunch - chicken, cheese and avocado in a whole wheat tortilla
Snack - carrots and edamame hummus
Dinner - pork tenderloin with salad
Snack - banana and peanut butter
Workout - NROL4W Workout A:

Squats - 2 x 12 @ 50 lbs

Alternating sets:
Push ups - 2x12
Bent over row - 2x12 @ 30 lbs

Alternating sets:
Step ups - 2 x12 holding 15 pound dumbbells
Jacknife with stability ball - 2x10
 
Tuesday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), apple
Snack - almonds
Lunch - leftover pork tenderloin and salad
Snack - yogurt and blueberries
Dinner - salmon with 1 tbsp Hollandaise sauce, green beans and 1/2 cup brown rice
Post-workout snack - banana and skim milk
Workout - RPM (50 mins)
 
Wednesday:
Breakfast - peanut butter and banana on toast (2)
Snack - 1/3 cup almonds
Lunch - Amy's organic frozen burrito
Snack - yogurt and blueberries
Dinner - chicken, broccoli and chickpeas with Trinidadian green seasoning
Post-workout - protein shake

Workout - NROL4W Workout B
Deadlifts - 2 x 12, 50 lbs
Dumbbell shoulder press - 2 x 12, 15 lb dumbbells
Lat pull down - 2 x 12, 25 kg for first set, 20kg for second set
Lunges - 2 x 12 each leg, 15 lb dumbbells
Stablity ball crunches 2 x 10

As with squats in Workout A, I added a bit of weight to the Olympic bar. It could be my imagination but the bar seemed a little easier to pick up this week, meaning my strength has improved a bit. Shoulder presses were good with the 15 lb dumbbells... I finished each set but just barely, so I think that was the perfect weight. Lat pull downs were kind of a disaster at 25kg so I reduced the load for the second set. I'll try 25kg again next week. For lunges, my legs can definitely handle more weight but my grip muscles suck -- I might switch to a bar across the shoulders next time (one of the options in the book).
 
Thursday (rest day):
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), apple
Snack - yogurt and strawberries
Lunch - leftover chicken, chickpeas and broccoli
Snack - cucumbers and 1 tbsp ranch dressing
Dinner - grilled chicken, vegetables and tzatziki in a whole wheat pita
Snack - grilled chicken strips (clearly, it's time to grocery shop when you resort to eating strips of grilled chicken as a bedtime snack)

Friday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), skim milk
Snack - yogurt and strawberries
Lunch - shrimp, cucumber, tomato and feta salad with whole wheat couscous; 1/2 baked sweet potato with butter
Snack - apple
Dinner - 5 oz glass white wine; two slices bread with hummus, oil and vinegar; seafood gumbo; 1/2 serving sticky toffee bread pudding
Workout - Body Attack
 
Saturday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), apple
Post workout - 1 cup chocolate milk
Lunch - egg, avocado, spinach and cheese in a whole wheat tortilla
Snack - home-made peanut butter protein bar (ingredients: protein powder, natural peanut butter, ground flaxseed and water)
Dinner - grilled chicken breast with goat cheese, mixed Asian greens and chickpea salad; 5 oz glass of wine
Workout - Body Pump - only increased for the back track (from 10 to 12 kg) but still felt I pushed myself hard, especially during squats.
 
Sunday:
Breakfast - peanut butter and banana on toast (2)
Post workout - 2 cups skim milk
Lunch - egg, avocado, spinach and cheese wrap, apple
Snack - PB protein bar
Dinner - curried shrimp with yogurt sauce, whole wheat couscous with mango and jalapeno pepper
Snack - cucumbers with 1 tbsp eggplant hummus
Workout - Boot Camp

Combination 1:
Curtsy squats with an abductor lift using 10kg body bar (1 minute each leg)
Bunny hops (1 minute)
Side plank with 4kg dumbbell raise, push up, switch arms (1 minute)
Dynamic lunges (1 minute)
Jumping jacks (1 minute)

Combination 2:
Wide rows w/ 10kg bar (1 minute)
Half-turn jumps (1 minute)
Sumo squats with overhead press using two 4kg dumbbells (1 minute)
Regular squats with 10kg bar (1 minute)
Jumping jacks (1 minute)

Combination 3:
Box jumps with a 2.5 kg plate (1 minute)
Tricep dips (1 minute)
Burpees and jump squats (1 minute)
Jumping jacks (1 minute)
Repeat x2

Combination 4:
Side plank with twist (30 seconds one side)
Mountain runners (1 minute)
Side plank with twist (30 seconds other side)
Mountain runners (1 minute)

I really love the boot camp instructor; she's one of the few instructors at my gym who will actually go around and correct individual people's form during the exercises. It's like a having a personal trainer for free (she actually is a personal trainer, she just does fitness classes on the side). She made some adjustments to my squat form and also pointed out that I'm not getting close enough to the floor during push ups. I'm going to work on both of these things in today's NROL4W workout.

My other thing I'm focusing on these days is getting more protein. I've increased my intake to about 100g per day, which is about 30-40g more than I was getting in the past.
 
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Monday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast, apple
Post-workout - protein shake
Lunch - egg, cheese and spinach wrap; PB protein bar
Snack - coffee with milk; handful of almonds
Dinner - 4 oz pork chop with unsweetened apple sauce, steamed spinach and a small serving of baked sweet potato fries
Workout - NROL4W Workout A; increased squat weight to 55 lbs and used two 17.5 lb dumbbells for step ups; kept rows at 30 lbs because I was still a little sore from Sunday. Note to self: don't do weights the day after boot camp.

Today:
Breakfast - 1 slice of whole grain toast with almond butter; banana and skim milk
Snack - 1/2 cup low fat greek yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries; coffee with milk
Lunch - leftover pork, spinach and sweet potato fries
Snack - cucumbers and eggplant hummus; a few walnut halves
Dinner - hamburger; garden salad with balsamic vinaigrette; 1 bottle Heineken
Workout - 5km run
 
Weighing yourself can be deceiving at times...........Check yourself out in the mirror..if it looks good then,it is.You seem to have a pretty good handle on how things work....keep it up and youll do fine
 
Weighing yourself can be deceiving at times...........Check yourself out in the mirror..if it looks good then,it is.You seem to have a pretty good handle on how things work....keep it up and youll do fine

Thanks... I agree that the mirror and pictures are the best way to measure progress, especially if the goal is muscle gain as opposed to weight loss. To be honest, I think I've gained a bit of fat since increasing my cals, but I can also see muscle where there wasn't any before, so that's good. I can take care of any excess fat later if I feel the need to.

Wednesday:
Breakfast - slice of toast with almond butter, apple
Post-workout - protein shake
Lunch - egg whites, spinach and avocado in a WW tortilla
Snack - protein PB bar
Dinner - spaghetti squash with roasted grape tomatoes, navy beans and cheese
Workout - Body Pump
Weight updates (I just realized that I haven't been counting the weight of the bar in my Body Pump weights... it's not very heavy, only 3lbs, but still...)
Warm up - 18 lbs
Squats - 45 lbs
Chest - 25 lbs
Back - 29 lbs
Triceps - 18 lbs
Biceps - 14 lbs
Lunges - 34 lbs
Shoulders - we only use the bar at the very end after doing push ups and front/side raises; by that point my shoulders are tired, so I usually end up using my warm up weight.
 
Thursday (rest day):
Breakfast - peanut butter and banana on toast (2), skim milk
Snack - Greek yogurt and blueberries
Lunch - leftover spaghetti squash
Snack - almonds, coffee with milk
Dinner - grilled chicken, vegetables and tzatziki sauce in a whole wheat pita
 
Friday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2)
Post-workout - protein shake
Lunch - egg whites, spinach and cheese in a WW tortilla, apple
Snack - handful of almonds
Dinner - two glasses of pinot grigio, roasted beet and goat cheese salad; 2 small crab cakes; charcuterie and cheese platter (appetizer portion) with bread; 1/2 serving of cookie dough and ice cream

Workout - NROL4W Workout B
Deadlifts - 2x12 - 55 lbs
Shoulder press - 2 x 12 - 15 lb dumbbells (still struggling with this weight)
Lat pulldowns - 2 x 12 - 25 kg
Lunges - 2 x12 per leg - 20 lb dumbbells
Stability ball crunches 2 x 10
 
Saturday:
Breakfast - slice of toast with almond butter, apple
Lunch - breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, cheese, avocado, peppers and roasted potatoes; 2 cups of coffee with milk
Snack - Clif bar
Dinner - garden salad and baba ganoush pita
Workout - none; was planning on going for a run but my hamstrings were sore from Friday's workout. I figured an extra day of rest would benefit me more than a run.
 
Sunday - peanut butter and banana on toast (2), skim milk
Snack - apple
Lunch - went to a Thai buffet for a birthday thing; filled half the plate with mango salad, 1/4 with tofu and vegetable stir fry and 1/4 with beef panang
Dessert - 1/2 slice birthday cake
Dinner - curried shrimp with yogurt sauce and mango couscous
Workout - 6.5km run
 
Monday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), apple
Post-workout - protein shake
Snack - Greek yogurt with blueberries
Lunch - egg white, spinach and cheese wrap
Snack - carrots and eggplant hummus
Dinner - home-made salmon cakes (2), baked sweet potato fries, broccoli
Workout - NROL4W Workout A - increased all weights and did pretty well. The book now calls for 3 sets of everything instead of 2, which has definitely made the workouts more challenging.
Squats - 3 x 10 x 65 lbs
Push ups - 3 x 10
Barbell row - 3 x 10 x 40 lbs
Step ups - 3 x 10 x 20 lb dumbbells
Jack knife with stability ball - 3 x 10
I also decided to check out my macros since I wasn't very busy yesterday... it ended up being an almost even split between carbs, proteins and fats. I would say yesterday represented a pretty typical day of eating (maybe a little light on the carbs) so that most days I'm either even across the board or somewhere around 40C/30P/30F.
 
Tuesday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2)
Snack - Greek yogurt and blueberries
Lunch - leftover salmon cakes, sweet potato fries and broccoli
Snack - carrots and eggplant hummus
Dinner - beef and vegetable stir fry with brown rice
Post-workout snack - banana and skim milk
Workout - RPM
I'm oddly excited about this morning's weights workout. I find Workout B a lot harder than Workout A, so it'll be interesting to see how much harder it is with an extra set + heavier weights.
 
Wednesday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2)
Post-weights - protein shake
Post-run - 1/2 banana, skim milk
Lunch - egg white, cheese and spinach wrap
Snack - handful of almonds, skim cafe misto from Starbucks
Snack - melon
Dinner - whole wheat pita w/ grilled chicken, veggies and tzatziki
Workout - NROL4W Workout B, 5 km run

Weights workout went well - increased to 60lbs for deadlifts and attempted 60lbs for lat pulldowns but had to reduce to 55 after the first set. Everything else stayed the same because it was my first time doing 3 sets of everything... goals for next time: 65 lbs for dead lifts, 20lbs for dumbbell shoulder press, 60lbs for lat pulldowns and 25lbs dumbbells for lunges.

After getting home from the gym, I decided to attempt an outdoor run. Up until now, I've been doing cardio and weights on separate days so I wanted to see how it would go. Other than it being ridiculously hot outside, the run wasn't any harder than my runs on cardio days, so I think I will pair a light 5km run with my NROL4W workouts from now on (if time permits).
 
Thursday:
Breakfast - peanut butter and banana on toast (2 slices); skim milk
Snack - Greek yogurt and blueberries; coffee with milk
Lunch - leftover beef/vegetable stir fry and brown rice
Snack - almonds
Dinner - soba noodles with red peppers, spinach, onion and mushrooms
Snack - 1 tbsp almond butter... right out of the jar... better than ice cream, I swear

Okay, so I've been meaning to post pics for awhile but I've been lazy/I hate posting pictures. However, I feel it must be done for motivational purposes so here goes...

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The one on the left is from March and the one on the right is from the other day... it's funny cause a lot of women are scared that lifting will make them look manly, yet I think I look curvier/more feminine in the second pic.

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No before pics because it never occurred to me that I'd care what my back looked like. So this pic from the other day will have to be my starting point.
 

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You don't need advice from me, but I did the Beachbody Insanity challenge and still do the workouts 4 days a week with two days of weight training and the Insanity program changed my entire body and my fat burning system. Interval training is the basis and all of the fat melted off my body and I built lean muscle definition in my abs and I "love" my arms too. The great thing is you need no equipment, it is athlete training and you won't get bored because each day is different and the moves change every minute throughout each video. I also eat about 2600 calories a day and still have to try not to lose weight. I am about 5'5" and 114 lbs (need to get some but back so doing some butt lift weights). I hope you try it and find it really works. I also follow the Insanity eating guide, no processed foods, whole grains, low sugar. Your diet looks great, but if you want to gain weight/muscle you have to eat more... ha ha. Who doesnt want to eat more?? My day is like this, coffee with almond milk and stevia, ezekiel toast with peanut butter(1tbsp), plain yogurt with berries and .5 oz walnuts, or pro oatmeal with protein powder and nuts. P90x recovery formula after workout then protein smoothie or Pure protein bar, lunch is a chopped salad, good dressing of course, turkey breast, spinach, feta, carrots, apple, zucchini, whatever is in the house, then snack banana or almonds, later 1 slice ezekiel with 1 tbsp peanut butter or almond butter and real fruit spread 1tsp, next snack usually yogurt or slice lowfat swiss, dinner chicken tacos with whole grain tortillas or good corn tortillas, made in crockpot with fat free broth and seasonings, use nonfat greek yogurt plain for your sour cream, 2% cheese, and good salsa with no sugar, you can do whole grain spanish rice or beans, or we do pasta like you with chicken breast, or try cutting up chicken breast and breading with pounded panko and bran flakes and bake for great fried like chicken fingers. then I have a bowl of Kashi go lean the 140 cal puff cereal, it has 13g of protein per cup before I go to bed. with almond milk. PS I love hummus too.
 
Friday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2)
Post-workout - 1/2 banana and skim milk
Lunch - cheese, egg whites and tomato in a whole wheat tortilla
Snack - Greek yogurt and blueberries
Snack #2 - apple
Dinner - miso soup, small salad with dressing, 14 pieces assorted sashimi
Workout - Body Attack
 
Saturday:
Breakfast - almond butter on toast (2), apple
Post-workout - protein shake
Lunch - spinach, egg whites and cheese in a whole wheat tortilla
Snack - salt and vinegar chickpeas (1 cup)
Dinner - 2 pieces bruschetta, hamburger with ketchup, 2 beers
Workout - Body Pump - for some reason, I struggled like crazy through the chest and lunges tracks despite keeping the same weights. Overall, not the greatest workout.
 
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