Your post is well constructed and coherent.
Firstly, your dietary requirements.
The foods which I recommend that your diet should revolve around are: whole eggs and whole milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, red meat, poultry, fish, whole grains (wholegrain cereal, bread, pasta, and rice. I strongly recommend going wholegrain on your cereal and bread. As for pasta and rice, if you don't like wholegrain rice, miss rice out altogether. If you don't like wholegrain pasta, then refined pasta will suffice every now and again), nuts/ pulses/ seeds, and a wide spectrum of different fruits and vegetables. Also make sure to drink plenty of water through out the day, say... 3 litres as a minimum).
Avoid heavily refined and processed foods: soft drinks, cakes, biscuits, sweets, tinned/ packaged foods, takeaway and convenience foods etc., all the usual suspects of an unhealthy diet. If you have abit of a sweet tooth, it would be better to eat abit of chocolate rather than candy/ sweets, as good quality chocolate is far healthier and less processed than sweets.
Try to divide your foods/ calories into the following CFP ratios: 55-60 % Carbs, 20-25 % Fats, 20-25 % Protein. Aim to eat 4-6 small to medium meals daily, eat a meal every 2-3 hours, and snack on healthy alternatives such as fruit, yoghurt, nuts etc inbetween meals if you are hungry.
Estimating how much you will need to eat each day is something of a trial and error. If you are aiming to control your current bodyweight aim around the 2'000 - 2'500Kcal mark each day.
As you are wanting to gain strength, and are taking "weight lifting" classes next session, below is a routine which I have personally used, and have given to a number of people at my gym. It is actually more strength/ powerlifting orientated than mass/ bodybuilding focused, but is an excellent routine for beginners and has brought about really good strength gains from the people that have used it properly:
Monday or Tuesday: Squat day - Regular Squats 5x5, Good Mornings 5x5, Power Snatches 3x3
or jump squats 3x3
or Lunges 3x8 and Sit - Ups (weighted if possible) 3x10 (Get a School Gym Teacher or experienced lifter to show you the technique for Snatches. They build INCREDIBLE total body strength and power IMHO.)
Wednesday: Bench Day - Flat Bench Press 5x5, Bent Over barbell Power Rows 3x8 (Instead of the bar being in your hands the whole set, bar starts on floor, pick it up overhand grip with as much power as possible up to just below your sternum, then lower it to the floor and let go, and repeat), Dips 3x5 (weighted if you're strong enough), Lat pulldowns 3x8 or pull ups/ chins 3x8 (depends on your strength), and lastly skull crushers 3x8.
Friday: Deadlift Day -
Regular Deadlift 5x5 or 8x3, High Pulls or Power cleans 3x3 (do a google search on them if you don't know the exercises), Push Presses 5x5 (Strict military presses are for bodybuilders. Use your knees/ some leg power to force that bar up!), and another deadlift movement, such as
romanian deadlifts 3x8.
Do grip training on Mondays and Fridays aswell: Dumbell/ Barbell holds, plate pinches and weighted/ non weighted hangs are some really good grip exercises.
Cut out all the bodybuilder exercises. No knee extensions or leg curls, no hack squats or leg presses, cut out fancy machines and pulleys and limit your dumbell work, no upright rows or bent over barbell rows or preacher curls or military presses or dumbell flyes etc etc. Leave that stuff to the bodybuilders!
Give the routine 3 to 4 months consistent training to merit a decent shot at it before throwing it on the scrap heap.
Periodisation Methods:
(1)With 5x5, 5x3, 3x3 and 3x1 you take the same approach. For each period of training you have five workouts to accomplish a 2.5kg incrament. If you train Squat, bench on Monday for example, you will have five Mondays to accomplish whatever weight and repetitions you're attempting (as above). Start at 5x5 with whatever weight you can do comfortably for 8 repetitions for one set. You'll probably notice that it's too easy, so enjoy it while you can. Stick with 5x5 until you're unable to successfully accomplish an incrament of 2.5kg per workout. If after five workouts you're unable to do this then drop to the next stage, 5x3 and so on until you reach 3x1. This type of training is great for squatting and benching, however deadlifts are a little different IMO. Deadlifts should be trained with doubles and triples. I use the above program for squatting and benching. For deadlifts I train 8 sets for three reps and 3 sets for 2 reps. The 8 sets are usually progressive to about 80% and the 3 sets I use one weight at approx. 90 to 95%. I have found more then 3 repetitions is hard on your hands and shins.
(2)Move the sets/ reps on your bench and squat to 5x5, increase the poundages to an amount that you can do with moderate ease for this set/ rep range. There is no point in being able to do this weight "15 times", as you are training for explosive power and strength, not endurance. make 2.5kg incremental increases on they two lifts weekly until you struggle to complete 5x5 for that given weight. Attempt 5x5 with the weight a couple more times, you may adapt, and try another 2.5kg increase. When it becomes impossible to complete 5x5 for the weight, move the bench/ squat to 5x3, and increase the poundage by 5-10kg (triples are alot easier to do than 5 straight sets), and take the 5x5 as far as you can, just like you did with the 5x5. When you can do no more, go to 3x3, take it as far as you can, then 8x3, take that as far as you can, then back to 5x5. You should find that you have made a strength increase of between 20 and 25%.
- B.A.
Linear Mode
