# Nutrition Plan



## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Hey...

Firstly a bit of background, I have an ectomorph body type which is normally associated with being a "hard gainer". I've been playing around with a new nutrition plan, with the end goal of gaining weight and lean muscle mass along side a weights program. It works ous to just under 3000 calories and is in a 36:49:15 protein:carb:fat split.

If anyone has any input it is appreciated.


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Sounds like I have the same problem, I'm intaking over 200g of protien a day and in the last month not put on any size (luckily no fat either).


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

Bump for info??? Anyone??


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## details (May 13, 2009)

Im no expert looks very good on the whole, slightly heavy on the protien possibly as a rule double the carbs to protien mainly because your body will break down and use the protien as body fuel if you dont eat enough carbohydrate. Carbs are what keep you going protien slowly repairs the muscle fibres. 250g protien a day seems alot to me your body can only use so much say 35-40g max per sitting say 2-3hrs. In total per day your body can use so much the rest passes in your urine to much can be bad for your kidneys 120g is alot of protien per day imo, I am excatly same body type as you also. How much do you train?


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## Alex L (Oct 25, 2005)

details said:


> Im no expert looks very good on the whole, slightly heavy on the protien possibly as a rule double the carbs to protien mainly because your body will break down and use the protien as body fuel if you dont eat enough carbohydrate. Carbs are what keep you going protien slowly repairs the muscle fibres. 250g protien a day seems alot to me your body can only use so much say 35-40g max per sitting say 2-3hrs. In total per day your body can use so much the rest passes in your urine to much can be bad for your kidneys 120g is alot of protien per day imo, I am excatly same body type as you also. How much do you train?


Yep, exactly what my problem is.

Just need to up my (good) carbs now, still trying to find somewhere that simply explains how my diet should be (Cals per day, etc)

I'm 5'10" - 70kg and 10.8% Bodyfat, I want to be 80-85 kg with 10% bodyfat.

I'm not too worried about being ripped, just bigger


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## Blazebro (May 18, 2007)

I posted a link some time ago which was for a dietrey site. That would've helped you with typical foods you should be eating and give you ideas for diets. It was a sticky but it's gone now.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

in reply to the diet posted, IMO there is too much protein from shakes
change to real food source i.e. chicken, tuna, soya etc etc
double the protein intake at lunchtime
more protein at breakfast and mid morning
yopu could also increase the frequency of eating to every 2 hours, fit another 2 meals in there

the point about enough carbs is a good one
i would suggest your cals need to be up around the 4000 mark
sure your body needs protein to build muscle, but if you dont have enough carbs, you have no fuel

how hard do you train ? are you training for size ? may seem like a daft question, but your set range and weight lifted can have an effect on how you well you grow as well

lastly, this is no quick fix i.e. eat a bit more for a couple of months. It takes a concerted effort over a prolonged period of time to put on serious mass, especially for a "hard gainer". Plus eating that much food isnt easy. For the first two-three weeks its like force feeding cause your body isnt used to it. You get used to it eventually, but then you are hungry all the time.

Its great


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Ok sorry for the late reply, just got back off holiday today. Thank you for all the input so far, it's much appreciated.

To put you more in the picture I'm 6'3", 134lbs and hovering around 5% body fat. Training at the moment is 3 times a week doing some all over conditioning with weights. Vague I know but I am just building a bit of a base before I join the gym again.

The plan for the gym is going to be...

Push A- Monday 
Bench Press 3 X 4-8 
Military Press 3 X 4-8 
Close Grip Bench 3 X 4-8 
Squats 3 X 4-8 
Seated Calf Raise 3 X 4-8 

Pull A- Tuesday
Bent Over Row 3 X 4-8
Lat-Pulldown 3 X 4-8
DB Shrug 3 X 4-8
DB Curl 3 X 4-8
Stiff Leg Deadlift 3 X 4-8

Push B- Thursday 
Incline DB Press 3 X 4-8 
DB Shoulder Press 3 X 4-8 
Skull Crusher 3 X 4-8 
Leg Press 3 X 4-8 
Leg Press Calf Raise 3 X 4-8 

Pull B-Friday
Deadlift (Full or Rack) 3 X 4-8
Pull-Up 3 X 4-8
Barbell Shrug 3 X 4-8
Barbell Curl 3 X 4-8
Lying Leg Curl 3 X 4-8

The aim is to train for size. 

Shakes wise, to be honest I've been using them as they are a no fuss alternative. I don't mind food prep but don't have loads of spare time to do it.

I'm thinking of trying to shoehorn some salad in with lunch. What extra small meals would you possibly suggest?


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

try some chicken with rice & veg
not a massive portion, maybe 50g of chicken

you are gonna need more carbs for that workout mate
looks like a TBT (Total Body Training) programme
if you arent used to this, you will need fuel for it as TBT is pretty demanding


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Thanks again for the input. I am currently working on adding more to the above plan and will post it up when done for you to critique if possible.

I have been eating like this now for 5 weeks and have put on just over 5lbs, which o be honest is a major achievement for me as my weight very rarely fluctuates.


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

t1mmy said:


> Thanks again for the input. I am currently working on adding more to the above plan and will post it up when done for you to critique if possible.
> 
> I have been eating like this now for 5 weeks and have put on just over 5lbs, which o be honest is a major achievement for me as my weight very rarely fluctuates.


How do you feel in general as a comparison to before?

Reason I ask is I've slipped from healthy eating to junk food on the back of an injury, from here on in I've only got more injured and felt worse, now got back issues.

Just wondering if you feel the healthier diet has a positive impact on your general feeling of well being, do you have more get up and go?


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

> The plan for the gym is going to be...
> 
> Push A- Monday
> Bench Press 3 X 4-8
> ...


Depending on how much weight you are using i.e going to failure on your last sets and maxing out at 4-6 reps on last set, you are getting close to overtraining body parts with your routine and injury will occur given time. 
For example you are training your legs EVERY session. 
You need to incorporate more recovery time, its how your muscle grow. Maybe try splitting your training days into push/pulls/shoulders/legs i.e

Mondays(push)
Chest 
Triceps
Abs

Tuesday (pull)
Back
Biceps

Thursday
Legs
Abs

Friday
Shoulders

Me personally if I am training hard I could not Bench press then do Squats in the same routine it would kill me. :thumb:

Your Diet looks okay though, just need to remember to change it around during the week, I found I fell of the 'diet wagon' due to boredom eating the same foods every day.

:wave:


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Spoony said:


> How do you feel in general as a comparison to before?
> 
> Reason I ask is I've slipped from healthy eating to junk food on the back of an injury, from here on in I've only got more injured and felt worse, now got back issues.
> 
> Just wondering if you feel the healthier diet has a positive impact on your general feeling of well being, do you have more get up and go?


Since eating healthier and more consistently I've felt a lot healthier and definately have more bounce so to speak.

I used to have to drag myself out of bed at 6am to get ready for work, it now seems to be a lot less painful to do. I had some more junky food the other day for convenience and it really didn't sit well once I'd had it.

I wouldn't say it has made a huge difference as I ate quite healthy before, but it has definately improved my overall health.


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Tiggs - Firstly, thanks for the feedback.

Diet wise I actually have a different evening meal each night to keep a bit of variety, so as you said I don't get bored. The rest is staying the same everyday for the moment as it fits around my work schedule and as yet none of the things have got boring thankfully.

In terms of the exercise plan. I'm planning on starting this in April as I am doing other exercises at the moment. I definately don't want to overtrain and I understand the importance of muscle recovery. I'm really liking the look of how you have split the 4 days up differently. If I re-jig the exercises please can you critique them?


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

Tiggs said:


> Depending on how much weight you are using i.e going to failure on your last sets and maxing out at 4-6 reps on last set, you are getting close to overtraining body parts with your routine and injury will occur given time.
> For example you are training your legs EVERY session.
> You need to incorporate more recovery time, its how your muscle grow. Maybe try splitting your training days into push/pulls/shoulders/legs i.e
> 
> ...


i dont agree with your overtraining point. Despite training legs back to back, the movement isnt the same, plus there is a break on the Wed. Its a tough programme sure, but not unrealistic IMO.

if you look on T Nation, there is a v similar programme called the TBT Programme on there. Its certainly not for novices, and they do recommend doing the "SOB Workout" first to prepare.


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

> i dont agree with your overtraining point. Despite training legs back to back, the movement isnt the same, plus there is a break on the Wed. Its a tough programme sure, but not unrealistic IMO.


If you can train your legs four times a week and not feel muscle soreness, then you are not training hard enough.:devil:

Try ass to grass squats doing 20 reps for four sets of 60-70% of your one rep max, see if you feel like training legs the next couple of days. :thumb:

Weight training breaks down the tissue of you muscle,you need rest for it to repair and essentially get bigger to cope with the demand. If you continue to break down the muscle fibers i.e train same body part, it will at some point reach its limit.......... and injury comes.

And this only gets worse as you get older........like me.

.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

look mate, im not flaming you, sorry if it came across like that
im agreeing that doing the same group for more than 2 days back to back isnt a good idea, but equally you can train harder than once a week
before xmas (when i broke my leg) i was doing 25km running per week and one session of 4x20 @100kgs squats
yes my legs felt it on the Friday (after 15km and a squat session), but i wasnt anywhere near injury
i agree that overtraining can happen, i just think that people can be put off pushing themselves for fear of it happening

oh, and i feel your age comment - im gonna be 35 next week !

as for the op, i guess you work out whats best for you

what ive learned over the last 5 years or so is that one size does not fit all - what works for you, doesnt necessarily work for me


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## Tiggs (Feb 28, 2007)

> before xmas (when i broke my leg) i was doing 25km running per week and one session of 4x20 @100kgs squats


How did you break your leg, I bet its drove you crazy not being able to run or train. How long have you told before you can get back to that level?



.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

slipped on some stairs (when drunk)
fractured my fibula

have been running the last few weeks, but treadmill only
up to 8 mins now
another week and im back to road running


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Ok I've found some time to re-work the plan a bit, again all feedback is much appreciated.


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

pretty good IMO
varied, plenty of protein
only thing i would drop is the Nutri-grain bar
crap food dressed up as "healthy"


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback. Do you think I should replace the Nutrigrain with anything?


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## scottg2540 (Feb 23, 2010)

hi i have looked at your plan and you need to be taking 1 gram of protein per pound in body weight you also need to only be taking a maximum of 44 grams of protein at any one time any more and your body will turn it too fat as it cant process that amount in 1 go also try training 1 muscle group per session or maybe two i normally do the following

monday

chest and triceps

tuesday

biceps and shoulders

wedensday

back upper and lower

thursday 

legs

friday

core

training 1 muscle group at a time gain muscle easier i find but all people are different


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## DCR (Sep 12, 2008)

t1mmy said:


> Thanks for the feedback. Do you think I should replace the Nutrigrain with anything?


no i dont think so
you are getting plenty of food without it


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## t1mmy (Dec 9, 2006)

Cool, again thanks.


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## JonnyM7 (Feb 16, 2010)

Im no expert but i do, do sport and exercise science. And i've just finished my Nutrition unit, we were doing these sort of things as an assignment. The best thing to do is check online for your BMR so you know exactly what intake you need per day, as it changes daily depending on what amount of exercise you do each day you will need to eat alot more or alot less. Once you have found out the amount you should eat just to sustain your wait add a few hundered calories to each day in order to add some weight. The main thing to realise is your going to be using different amounts of energy so whereas you might think your eating over 200 calories than your average you might be undereating by 200 because your daily energy expenditure is higher than usual due to the exercise carried out. Hope this helps in anyway shape or form.


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