Hi Hermanation! (first post :)

I have run 3 marathons (PB 2HR 58MIN) and 4 half-marathons (PB 1HR 20MIN) in the last 4 years, but have done a fair bit of weights over the last 2-3 years.
A few months ago I decided to focus on just bodybuilding - quite a change I know! I enlisted a personal trainer who has put me on a bulking phase over the last 4 weeks and given me a workout routine.

Personal info: (weight 4 weeks ago was 72kg) current weight 74kg, height 174cm, BF 12-15%, goal - muscle gain/bodybuilder, exercising for 2-3 years (weights), injuries/restrictions- occasional sore knees

Macros (i have alternating days on the following macros)

day1

3036 calories
333 carbs (of which 55g are sugars)
74g fat
232g protein
62g (fiber)

day 2

2845 calories
306 carbs (of which 55g are sugars)
55g fat
261g protein
62g (fiber)

(Then repeat)

workout routine:

Training Programme includes 1 or 2 FST-7 excercises per day
Day 1 – Chest & Biceps
Day 2 – Quads & Glutes & Calfs
Day 3 - REST
Day 4 – Shoulders & Triceps
Day 5 – Back & Traps
Day 6 – Hamstrings & Calfs
Day 7 – REST
Cardio x4 a week 30mins LISS (To begin with), keep Heart Rate between 130-135BPM
Cardio 1
Complete immediately after cardio session 1
*Crunches x3 sets 30reps
*Hanging Leg Raises x3 sets 20reps
*Standing Twists using straight bar 30reps
Complete immediately after cardio session 3
*Weighted Side Bends (Using a 20kg Plate) x3 sets 15-20reps
*Side Crunches x3 sets 20reps
*Weighted Cable Wood Chops x3 sets 20reps

Although I have made some good muscle and strength gains I would like your opinions on the plan Hermanites, anything I could improve on? :)

I am also having some personal issues with the PT, in that he does not respond to messages and was very late in giving me the plan (3-4 weeks late!). He is also quite snappy when I question anything about the meal plan. So I'd like your thoughts Hermanites, should I just scrap him?!

Many thanks in advance for any and all advice, and thanks to the fitness gods for givings us scott herman! #thanks for all the help and advice you give Scott!

Sunil

Hey man, welcome to the site!

So you want to get into bodybuilding, so I'm guessing your first goal is to put on muscle, right? If that's the case, you want to be training with high volume as volume builds muscle.

How many total working sets are you doing for each muscle group?

Your meal plan looks OK, you may want to lower the carbs a bit though if you want to avoid gaining excess fat. You don't need to do a 'bulking phase' where you just pile on heaps of weight. What you want to do is bulk with lean muscle over time. Correct me if I'm wrong, but given you're a marathon runner, I'm guessing you aren't fat at all :) Even so, I suggest lowering the carbs and increasing the fats a bit more.

Do you have a regime for how you plan what days you use each meal plan? So do you follow the 3000 calorie one day, then 2800 the next and keep alternating or is it a different structure?

Your training programe looks good to me, you have everything covered. What rep range do you work in? 8-12?

My main question would be how long have you been following both the meal plan and training regime, and what sort of results have you seen?

As for your PT, it's really up to you if you get rid of him/her or not. If he's/she's not worth paying, then let him/her go. But if you think you need him/her for extra assistance and you think he/she is worthwhile having, then keep.

Hope this helps!

Jordan

Hi!

I just wanna put on as much muscle as possible! :)

Total Working Sets are as follows:

Chest 16sets

• Biceps 13sets
• Quads 24sets
• Calf 6sets (2 exercises supersetted)
• Shoulders 24sets
• Triceps 13 sets
• Back 26sets
• Traps 11sets
• Hamstrings 20 sets
• Calfs 6 sets (2 exercises supersetted)
• (All sessions will include at least one FST-7 routine - 7 sets with 30 seconds rest in between).
• Rep ranges vary but are a usually 12 or higher reps per set. a few sets will have upto 20-30 reps, for example calf raises. I'll do maybe 2 or three sets in a sessionwith 8 rep ranges (usually heaviest set) in the whole workout

Cardio x4 a week 30mins LISS (To begin with), keep Heart Rate between 130-135BPM

Abs as follows after the 1st and 3rd cardio sessions:

Cardio 1 – Complete immediately after cardio
*Crunches x3 sets 30reps
*Hanging Leg Raises x3 sets 20reps
*Standing Twists using straight bar 30reps
Cardio 2 – 
Rest
Cardio 3 - Complete immediately after cardio
*Weighted Side Bends (Using a 20kg Plate) x3 sets 15-20reps
*Side Crunches x3 sets 20reps
*Weighted Cable Wood Chops x3 sets 20reps

I agree with you regarding reducing carbs, I do feel I'm putting a bit of excess fat on - shall I reduce carbs from meals other than those around my workout time (leaving them to be put to good use) ? And then make up the calories with increased fat intake.

I wish I was lean with a six pack :) but I reckon the stress from running long distances caused me to store fat around my lower abs and hips - gonna start doing HIIT to try and help get rid of this instead of one of my cardio sessions.

The meal plan regime is as follows:

Day1 2800 cal, Day2 3000 cal, Day3 2800 cal, Day4 3000 cal, Day5 2800 cal, Day6 2800 Cal, Day7 3000 cal (and repeat)

Do you have a regime for how you plan what days you use each meal plan? So do you follow the 3000 calorie one day, then 2800 the next and keep alternating or is it a different structure?

I have been following this plan for 4-5 weeks now and I have put on muscle gains and noticed an increase in strength. But as mentioned I do feel I'm putting on a bit of excess fat so will reduce carbs and increase fat (maybe 50g less carbs to start with per day?)

I have also been slacking off on a few cardio sessions which probably didn't help in this respect!

And thanks for the PT advice!

Cheers, Sunil

Hey Sunil.

I think you are on track with reducing carbs other than around workout times. Before and after your workouts are the most important times to get carbs in, both for energy and refuelling.

Generally the worst time to eat carbs is before bed, because you aren't going to need them for sleeping and that's a time when they are especially stored as fat. For the most part though, it doesn't actually matter when you get your macros in, your body doesn't care when, it just cares that it gets them.

Subtracting 50g a day to start with is a good first step, so in that case you want about 22-23g fat to replace it.

Is there a reason you have 3000 calories some days and 2800 on others? Whenever you have 2800, is that a rest day or something? I suppose if it is working keep at it, but as you put on muslce you will naturally gain an increase in metabolism and therefore will need more food to grow.

Adding in some HIIT sounds good, that should help with the fat loss, although if you are already at a low body fat percentage but are holding fat in specific areas (E.g lower abs/hips), that will probably be hard to shred. Intermittent Fasting might be able to help you in that regard.

For the most part your set ranges look good, but why do you only have 16 for the chest and over 20 for the other big muscle groups? Is your chest quite big already? Also, you may want to keep your reps in the 8-12 range for muscle building. 12-15 or higher can sometimes be more endurance, but if what you are doing is working, it's probably all good. Most muscle gains really comes down to proper diet AND proper training.

And you're welcome for the PT advice haha :)

Jordan