novice seeks advice

I am 23 and work as an engineer... alot of sitting during the day. I would like to optimize my nutrition and strength training efforts to build my body up to its potential. I have been lifting for several years, somewhat uneducated in the body building realm other than personal experience. Recently, I consulted a nutritionist at my gym (former bodybuilder & Mr. PA) about my nutrional needs. He prescribed the following diet:

6 meals / day : 300 g protein, 200 g carbs, 30 g fat, 1 gallon water, 1 multi-vitamin, 2800 calories

protein sources: multi-blend powder, tuna & salmon, chicken, egg whites, cottage cheese

carb sources: cottage cheese, multi-grain bread, brown rice, broccoli / carrots / low sodium V8 juice

fat sources: vanilla soy milk, peanut butter, flaxseed meal

My workout routine is on a 4 day / week schedule with approx. 1 hr / workout doing 4-5 exercises per muscle group, 3 sets of each exercise with occassional super or drop sets:

Chest - heavy flat bench, incline presses, cable crossovers, seated incline isolateral presses (machine), decline flies & crossovers

Back- seated rows, lat pulldowns in front of chest, bent over rows with smith machine, pull-ups

Shoulders- arnold military dumbell presses, lateral raises, seated bent over shoulder rows, machine or dumbell shrugs, rear delt seated reverse flys

Arms-
Biceps: dumbell curls (isolated sitting), barbell curls (21s - 7 full - 7 upper - 7 lower), reverse grip pull ups, incline bench breadth curls (wrists 90 degrees to normal curl trying to get width)
Triceps: behind head dumbell raises, rope pushdowns, kickbacks, dips, close grip pushups

Legs- just started hitting legs last month... squats, front extensions, rear curls, leg sleg, calves (usually thrown in with an upper body workout at the end).

Additional supplementation is with 1 serving of creatine monohydrate approx. 30 minutes before workout with water.

I am in reasonably good shape but would like more abdominal definition (without the cardio) and a more powerful, fuller chest. I am new to a sport, where in the abscence of genetics or steroids, knowledge is everything.

Welcome Cale. Looks like you have got a good plan for reaching your goals. Keep us posted on your results.

[Fudomyo]

Yeah, welcome to the board.

That's 2,270 by my count. :confused: What's your current weight? BodyFat % ?

How many reps are you doing? Till failure? Otherwise your workout looks pretty solid.

fwiw, ab definition is somewhere around 10% bodyfat. Don't you hate that.

Fudo

I currently weigh 198, 6'0, with body fat of 10.5%. Most reps I do either 3 sets of 10 or a 10-8-6 power set. Failure occurs typically on the last one or two reps. Every other week I mix in a 2nd chest workout with lighter weights, concentrating on form. That is aimed at developing my chest more quickly... any thoughts?

[Fudomyo]

You should lose weight at 2,270.

I believe that you get more muscle stimulation at lower reps. 6 or lower (w/ 4 warmup sets). Occasionally I'll even do 4-5 sets of 2 (after much warmup). This worked great on chest for me. Be sure and do your compound movements first, then flies and cable work after your triceps and delts are fried. Where are the dips?

Let us know how it goes.
Fudo

i do "dips" on the piece of equipment that people do knee raises for their abs. I face the inside (back rest), support myself on the handle grips, and raise&lower my body in a controlled fashion (sometimes weighted with a belt). The exercise is supposed to hit my tricepts as well as my upper chest & shoulders.

from what i've been reading in fitness magazines and hearing in the gym, i'm eating the correct balance of food. My question is how critical is nutritional timing? other questions along the same lines: creatine before or after workout? with water ok? can i get too much water? protein or carbs immediately following workout? what is the optimum pre-workout food source? carbs better earlier in the day? how long between last meal and going to bed? many, many questions on this subject. still learning...