Hey!!

S

ScottieDoo

0
Hello everyone!

I'm Scott.
I've been weight lifting for a number of years, but do very little cardio - Hard Gainer situation!
Looking to get back into the Forum scene to share advice and tips.

Cheers!
 
Thanks man!

Don't suppose you've ever heard of the GOMAD (gallon of milk a day) diet? I'm trying it out to see how quick I can get some gains within this month and next.
 
Yeah, I've heard of it. It actually comes from the old "Squats and Milk" routine, where you put heavy squats into your routine three days a week along with everything else and the gallon of milk a day. It's a crazy old school routine that has the potential to put on some serious weight. A variation of it would be something like this..

Day One:

Bench - 5x5
Heavy Squats - 30 reps.
Incline Bench - 5x5
Dumb Bell Pull-overs - 3x8


Day Two:

Dead Lift - 5x5
Heavy Squats - 30 reps
Barbell Rows - 5x5
Widegrip Pull-ups - 5x5


Day Three:

Heavy Squats - 30 reps
Power Cleans - 5x5
Hack Squats - 5x5
Military Press - 5x5


And when I say "heavy" squats, I'm talking like 30 reps of 300 lbs, and a gallon of milk every day of the week. That routine is no joke haha.

And rest. Tons of rest on this routine.

How long have you been trying the gallon a day?
 
Aha - that makes sense. I can see how it could be effective. I've only been doing GOMAD for 4 days now... and it's not easy. You become very bloated very fast, and it actually becomes an effort to get the milk down you, along with your normal food intake. I haven't actually reached a gallon a day just yet, I'm working up to it. A gallon is around 7 pints a day, and I'm hitting around 5 currently, but I hope to be on 7 by end of the week.

Slight issue is I actually just cancelled my gym membership to save some funds. I've got a bench at home, but I'm trying to find a DB only workout, which still puts my body under enough strain to show good gains. This is purely because I can use the bench during the summer, but won't have access to it over winter - so the sooner I find a workout I can continue all year long, the better.

I was thinking of tucking back into the IWSPA (I Want Six Pack Abs) workout, as I did that 2 years ago and saw some serious nice results - but it does focus a lot on bodyweight exercises so may have to start using backpacks with weights etc.

What workout you currently on Justin?
 
Drinking milk instead of water got my intake up to a level that let me know I can't drink over 6 pints for more than a month and a half without having issues with lactose.
 
ScottieDoo said:
Aha - that makes sense. I can see how it could be effective. I've only been doing GOMAD for 4 days now... and it's not easy. You become very bloated very fast, and it actually becomes an effort to get the milk down you, along with your normal food intake. I haven't actually reached a gallon a day just yet, I'm working up to it. A gallon is around 7 pints a day, and I'm hitting around 5 currently, but I hope to be on 7 by end of the week.

Slight issue is I actually just cancelled my gym membership to save some funds. I've got a bench at home, but I'm trying to find a DB only workout, which still puts my body under enough strain to show good gains. This is purely because I can use the bench during the summer, but won't have access to it over winter - so the sooner I find a workout I can continue all year long, the better.

I was thinking of tucking back into the IWSPA (I Want Six Pack Abs) workout, as I did that 2 years ago and saw some serious nice results - but it does focus a lot on bodyweight exercises so may have to start using backpacks with weights etc.

What workout you currently on Justin?
Click to expand...

I'm big into old school stuff. 5x5 mainly. Not a lot of machine work. I'm currently on a pyramid routine focusing around the big three lifts(Bench/Dead/Squat)

I started a log a couple weeks ago.. http://training.fitness.com/journal/5x5-deadlifts-2-66178.html
 
CrazyOldMan said:
Drinking milk instead of water got my intake up to a level that let me know I can't drink over 6 pints for more than a month and a half without having issues with lactose.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping I'll only have to do it for 3-4 weeks tops. I'm noticing my weight is going up... but no guarantee it's muscle mass, as I'm assuming my BF% is also going up pretty fast. Bust as a hard gainer, it'll be nice to be a bigger size and I;ll work on BF% once I've reached my optimum weight.

JustinRVA said:
I'm big into old school stuff. 5x5 mainly. Not a lot of machine work. I'm currently on a pyramid routine focusing around the big three lifts(Bench/Dead/Squat)

I started a log a couple weeks ago.. http://training.fitness.com/journal/5x5-deadlifts-2-66178.html
Click to expand...

Yeah I was researching the 5x5 last week actually. You only aim to do that 3 times a week too right?

I'll take a glance at the "log" now - thanks!
 
Wouldn't be too worried about the max 4% fat in milk, the calorific difference will be easy to train away.
I like milk, real whole milk, not this halfway rubbish that most go for now, and as long as I am sensible it likes me too.

I tend to stay relatively lean, mixture of the ectomorph (hard gainer) genetics, and activity level. Find it funny how many younger than me are talking about how they can't stay trim like they used to and are so confused. My brother is more realistic, he knows the weight isn't new, just compounded over years of beer. Even my sister is getting more realistic now, she says she would like to be slim, but likes food more, so the weeble shape is there to stay.

Bulking up takes time, so I normally suggest going for long term sustainability rather than short term fix, lesson learned from mistakes made. Get a diet you can stick to for a good year or so, a few sessions you can rotate on a 6 to 8 week rota that are good for gaining, 10 to 6 reps, in the 95 to 100% rep max range, and you will do well.

I took around 4 years to get from 126 pounds to 168 and then I stayed there, by choice, until last year which was almost 2 decades at one weight. The best gains were when I was consistant and commited worst were when I chopped and changed around. At 5'10 the 126 pounds made me a great distance runner and climber, but not exactly the modern image of bodily perfection I wanted.
One thing that helped me was training with giants. Most are intimidated by having fellow gym members with arms bigger than your legs who use dumbells weighing more than you do and gain more in 8 weeks on the gear than I could hope to in a year. I liked it and seeing them around made me want to work harder to show I could do it, but I have always been a bit strange. It can be very amusing watching the insecure brigade sobbing over their 'tiny' 20 inch arms talking about how they don't know if to try growth hormone, deca etc. next time to sort them out.
 
ScottieDoo said:
I'm hoping I'll only have to do it for 3-4 weeks tops. I'm noticing my weight is going up... but no guarantee it's muscle mass, as I'm assuming my BF% is also going up pretty fast. Bust as a hard gainer, it'll be nice to be a bigger size and I;ll work on BF% once I've reached my optimum weight.



Yeah I was researching the 5x5 last week actually. You only aim to do that 3 times a week too right?

I'll take a glance at the "log" now - thanks!
Click to expand...

Yeah, the 5x5 I was working was full body Monday(Heavy)/Wednesday(Light)/Friday(Medium). I would throw in some isolated bicep work and tricep work just for an added bit, but that's it. The 5x5 requires a lot of food and rest though. And I hope you have good knees lol. It went something like this..

Monday - Heavy 5x5 - 90% of 1rm

Bench Press
Squat
Dead Lift
(Optional) Skull Crushers - 3x8

Wednesday - Light - 50% of 1rm

Dead Lift
Bench
Squat
(Optional) High Pulls - 3x8

Friday - Medum - 75% of 1rm

Squat
Dead Lift
Bench
(Optional) Barbell Curls - 3x8
 
ScottieDoo said:
I'm hoping I'll only have to do it for 3-4 weeks tops. I'm noticing my weight is going up... but no guarantee it's muscle mass, as I'm assuming my BF% is also going up pretty fast. Bust as a hard gainer, it'll be nice to be a bigger size and I;ll work on BF% once I've reached my optimum weight.



Yeah I was researching the 5x5 last week actually. You only aim to do that 3 times a week too right?

I'll take a glance at the "log" now - thanks!
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're bf% is going to shoot up on that diet. I've read about guys gaining 30 lbs in a month on Squats and Milk. You're in for a hell of a cut, but the results will be well worth it.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
Wouldn't be too worried about the max 4% fat in milk, the calorific difference will be easy to train away.
I like milk, real whole milk, not this halfway rubbish that most go for now, and as long as I am sensible it likes me too.

I tend to stay relatively lean, mixture of the ectomorph (hard gainer) genetics, and activity level. Find it funny how many younger than me are talking about how they can't stay trim like they used to and are so confused. My brother is more realistic, he knows the weight isn't new, just compounded over years of beer. Even my sister is getting more realistic now, she says she would like to be slim, but likes food more, so the weeble shape is there to stay.
Click to expand...

At least you have some realistic people in your life. I constantly get people saying "Just wait till you're 30 - then you'll regret eating all this food. You'll be so fat you'll spend your life trying to lose it.". Last night was the worst - I had people giving me diet/nutrition advice, who do not have admirable bodies in the least. Very frustrating.

JustinRVA said:
Yeah, you're bf% is going to shoot up on that diet. I've read about guys gaining 30 lbs in a month on Squats and Milk. You're in for a hell of a cut, but the results will be well worth it.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I hope so. Although I was having some second thoughts last night/this morning. I'm only 4 days into the milk diet and I'm bloating quite a lot. My stomach definitely feels 'acidic' for some reason, and my abs have disappeared completely. To be honest, that is expected as I can't keep my BF% low whilst trying to bulk up... but my major concern is my workout isn't intense enough to make good use of the milk intake.
As I've just quit the gym, I'm having to do home workouts with next to no equipment. So the best I can muster is dumbbells going up to 15kg max, and a pull up bar. So I'm having to do things like pushups with 20kg plate in a back pack.

What's your guys thoughts? Think with a home workout I can still reach a good size and not pack on too much fat in the process? I'm about to start the IWSPA workout ()
ANd for the record - I've never had to 'cut' in my life, so that will be a shock to the system when that day comes around after my bulking phase.
 
One of the greatest things about getting older, the number of people attributing my physical prowess or appearance to my age is shrinking all of the time. Funniest I had recently was having someone saying they were OK before but now they are in mid thirties they are struggling, and how I would see that soon. I wasn't sure if to advise nutrition, training, a white stick for not seeing I was older than they are, I've never worn well, or be downright insulted.
Age is as much a barrier as you let it be. If you eat too much and train too little then at 30 you will be in worse shape than you are now. If your training is balanced to your diet you will likely look better, if not as young.

One of the power-lifting competitions I helped out at had a record attempt for single and double armed shoulder press, in the over 60s age category, it is not uncommon for these to take place at events like these, they have to be officially verified. One of the others helping out declared that the guy had an amazing pysique for his age, and I told him the age part was irrelevant, he had the aesthetically best physique in the building. Skin needed a bit of ironing, hair was grey/white but his definition and proportion was incredible.

Many like to assign success of others to anything but hard work, it makes them feel better for not bothering. If you keep at it, the future could easily hold cases like I've had where people half your age are saying they want to look or be as capable as you are. I am a strange case, but the benefit to that is knowing that I can outrun, outlift and out manouvre the majority of the population. The part that upsets many even more is that I am not the brainless muscle head type either, I am obsessed with training to a boring degree, but the grey and white matter inside my head still works. Good job I have no personality, otherwise I'd be too darned perfect for words, modesty is over-rated.
 
It's not really surprising that your stomach is reacting that way. This is a big change for your body and it's going to take some time to adjust.

Have you checked YouTube for videos on how to make your own stuff at home? You'd be surprised at what people make to lift in their back yard.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
One of the greatest things about getting older, the number of people attributing my physical prowess or appearance to my age is shrinking all of the time. Funniest I had recently was having someone saying they were OK before but now they are in mid thirties they are struggling, and how I would see that soon. I wasn't sure if to advise nutrition, training, a white stick for not seeing I was older than they are, I've never worn well, or be downright insulted.
Age is as much a barrier as you let it be. If you eat too much and train too little then at 30 you will be in worse shape than you are now. If your training is balanced to your diet you will likely look better, if not as young.
Click to expand...

I'm liking the spin you put on the situation... age is just a number. Body fitness and overall health is always in the hands of the beholder. I'm no longer scared of the years to come! ;)



JustinRVA said:
It's not really surprising that your stomach is reacting that way. This is a big change for your body and it's going to take some time to adjust.

Have you checked YouTube for videos on how to make your own stuff at home? You'd be surprised at what people make to lift in their back yard.
Click to expand...

So what do you suggest? Continue with the milk and soon my body will adapt?
I haven't checked just yet, but I will do in just a moment. I was researching how to make an incline bench from things around the house. I suppose it's always a difficulty that my weights only reach 15kg each... bench press will never be as good as going to the gym. Same for squats and such.
 
You could probably develop a decent chest doing flys with paint cans filled with sand.

But anyway, you might want to try(if you want to stick with the milk) is cutting back to a half a gallon a day and adding some stuff like brown rice and chicken into your diet, if you don't already. I could eat brown rice and natural peanut butter all day.

I guess it all depends on how bad the milk is making you feel.
 
Great idea with the paint cans and sand. Flys on the floor without a bench right? I often wonder how much of a full range of motion you'd get without using a bench.

I'm cracking down on my diet a little more now. I was over doing the carbs and lacking in protein.

Today - so far:
8.30am - Half a pint of milk. Banana. 2 Eggs. Oats. Whey Protein.
11am - Cheese ham and pickle sandwich. Lasagne. Apple. 50g almonds.
2pm (which I'm about to eat now) 200g of chicken. Salad. Banana.

When I review my eating plan (which is very rarely planned if I'm honest) I can see areas where I slack and need room for improvement.
I'm drinking close to 3 litres of water a day, and I'll take your advice to drinking just a couple of pints of semi skimmed milk a day to begin with.
 
You would need some sort of bench, or something to elevate your upper body off the floor enough to let your arms open fully to get a good rep, but you could do standing back flies with just the paint cans and nothing to sit on.

You could take those same paint cans and put them on a 5 ft metal bar and to overhead presses with them. Just make sure you tie them down somehow to keep them from sliding off the bar.

The best thing about making stuff at home is that what you're doing with it is going to be very natural. If you're dead lifting 5 gallon buckets of sand, it's going to be a more natural feeling lift for your body because that's something you would do in "real" life. When I'm at work, I'm not going to have to go outside to pick up 300lbs on a bar, you know? Call a local tire shop and ask them if they have an old tractor tire you can have. You can flip that in your back yard, and most of the time, places will let you have it for free if you come and pick it up because then they won't have to worry about it any more.


Don't feel bad about the diet. That comes with time. My diet is not very well planned either. Fortunately, I've been in the habit, for quite some time, of only buying stuff that is good for you, so anything I throw in last second for breakfast and lunch at work will be what I need.
 
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