Best workout plan... an epic question!

Well... figuring that this is my first post and all, i realized that i need to kick things of right! Firstly, been looking around the site and find it all very interesting, very helpful people on here make it worth while... so i will thank you all ahead of time... THANKS!

Anyways, I, like almost everyone else here, am looking to better myself in one way or anther. A little background; I'm a 20 year old college student with quite a bit on my plate (pre-dental) and plenty of years of schooling left. I swam competitively for 13 years of my life and stopped my senior year in high school so i could play rugby (swimming wasn't going to pay my way to college, it only does for a very select few!). Needless to say, i enjoy working out and staying fit... i hover around 170 and am right under 6 foot tall...

So here is the deal, i'm looking to better my current work-out schedule and dieting to something that will further aid in my quest to tone and build my frame... sounds epic, sweet! Currently i run for about 30min early morning M,W, & F and try to get in an hour of swimming in once a week. I lift everyday (M-F) but alternate muscle groups, Back & Bi's one day with Cheast & Tri's the other (guess it has carried over from high school weightlifting class)... i'm a big fan of shoulders and tend to do them daily (i know... REST REST REST!) and compensate for not lifting legs by running and swimming. I only spend an hour at the gym and try to stay steady with the pace of the workouts... usually doing 3 x 10reps per "lift". I already eat pretty healthy (at least in my eyes) by not eating fast food (very rarely will i, and if so... probably drunk and it would be Taco Bell... ugh!) and by drinking lots of water in a day, no soda whatso ever (unless its a chaser) and just several smaller meals in a day. I also try to make a whey protein shake and have that once a day... usually morning before classes and a couple of hours before i workout.

No i know i have already said a lot, but thats only because i still have a lot to learn, and am interested in learning it. I'm looking for ways to better my work-out... Any good lifts i should be doing, technique, when i should be taking protein, any additional vitamins i should look for at the store, something about 4:1 carbs to protein (heard soemthing, need more info), ways to alter my workout to incorperate rest (without ACTUALLY resting, is this possible) i have read a few things about changing weight from day to day like going from light with lots of reps one day to heavy and few reps the next (but i kinda like just doing my 3 x 10 sets), is there like cycles i should do, sorta like hypertrophy work-outs that sould be beneficial... the list goes on, but i will stop here. Simply looking to gain some muscle mass, 180 sounds like a resonable goal for summer, and then to define what i already have and just drop off any unnecessary extra fat i have hiding!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STAYING ON FOR THE JOURNEY, AND ALL COMMENTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND ACCEPTED (be it good or bad).

Cheers all!
 
Rockstar -

You're going to get this from a lot of people here so I'll say it now. Incorporate squats and deadlifts into your program. You stated "...compensate for not lifting legs by running and swimming." This doesn't work. You need to work legs as well.

Regarding your questions about cycling your workouts day to day with light weight/high reps and heavy weight/low reps. You have loosely described a "west-side" style of training which would be absolutely fine to do. You also mentioned that you like the 3x10 routine you are doin now? This changing of routines is called periodization. A periodization commonly found today is called "linear periodization". Linear periodization is organized as follows: micro cycles of approximately 2-6 weeks making up a meso cycle of approx. 15-22 weeks. Each microcycle has a specific rep/set/weight target with specific goals in mind. Typical phases are hypertrophy, strength, power, peaking, and active rest or transitional. More info on this can be found by here

Sounds like you have been caught in the hypertrophy phase which is very common as well. I'd suggest changing reps and sets from time to time. 5x5 is a popular program typically designed for strength gains.


DIET - The best advice I can give in regards to diet is to log your intake and record cals, protein, carbs, fiber, and fat. Figure out your personal needs. From the numbers you should be able to dial in what works best for you. You will find other members here that can address nutrition better than I.

Good luck and keep up posted.

DM
 
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