I have a hard time finding skim milk in stores i thought reduced fat would be ok. Another thing for when it comes to working out is their a set time limit i need to keep my workout in likr 45 minutes to an hour. I have a hard time getting all exercises i need in 45 minutes or is the shorter time better than being in there for 70 to 75 minutes. Would you recommend a full body workout for muscke gains if i usually go to the gym 3 days a week.

@Tmcclone9119 Reduced fat will be OK, even regular milk is OK as long as you fit it into your overall macros. In fact regular milk might be better because it's the least processed version.

There's no set time you need to aim for (unless you're on a time crunch). Just go in, do what you need to do, and don't worry too much about how long you're in the gym. If you're in there for 3 hours then you might need to change something, haha, but 70 - 75 minutes is great!

And yes full body workouts will be really good if you're only training 3 times per week! Got my full body program coming soon! 💪 

So here is another debateabke subject. Mass gainers. I was at GNC today and i bought this mass gainer. It was 62 dollars. Is it a good idea to drink a serving of this before bed after midnight when i get home from work.

This is also the protein i drink for pre and post workout on the gym days. Other days i take a different protein on my off days.

Im also still struggling with feeling sluggish during my workouts even having a protein bar and a bannanna on monday. I did real good on the flat barbell bench i did 4 sets of 165 for 8 reps except last set i did 6 reps. But about 30 minutes into my workout i started to feel sluggish. It hinders my workouts where i can not rep out as much reps as i could because of just being sluggish not because muscle could not perform any more reps. Tomorrow im going to drink half a protein shake for pre workout shake a slice of whole grain bread with table spoon of peanut butter a bannanna and little bit of greek yogurt and hit the gym 30 to 45 minutes later. Ill post my workout and my food intake and if i felt sluggish during my workout tomorrow. Any other ideas.

@Tmcclone9119 The cold stone protein is fine - great choice! My favorite at the moment 😁 The mass gainer is OK if you need it. But it should only be something you have if you literally can't get all of your macros and calories from whole food. If you really can't get what you need from real, whole food, then using a mass gainer to replace those missing numbers is fine.

Do you drink coffee? Coffee can be a great pre-workout drink. Or if you want, you can try a pre-workout supplement. I'm using Endo Rush right now, and it's AMAZING! But your pre-workout food choices that you're going to try sounds good! Carbs and fat will tend to fuel your workouts so that option sounds like it has a good mix of both!

I thought you took the same mass gainer.

@Tmcclone9119 No man, I don't take any mass gainers. But that would be what I recommend for anyone who needs it. The key word being 'needs' 😊 ðŸ’ª ðŸ™Œ 

This is my full day of eating and work out. Please let me know if you see any flaws or anything that needs improvement

When i get home from work about 12 30 am 2 scoops of true mass gainer vanilla flavor with 1 cup 2 percent reduced fat milk. I choose to take the mass gainer before bed because it was a recommendation from another trainer. Whats your thoughts. 550 calories total.

8 45 am pre workout

1 slice whole grain bread

1 table spoon peanut butter with 1 table spoon of jelly

1 bannanna

3 table spoons of greek yogurt vanilla flavor

About one third to a 1/2 of my post worwork out shake. The pre workout i took worked fine no sluggishness at all.

My workout started close to 9 30 am.

Dumbell bench press with 60 pound dumbells 4 sets of 10 reps with around 90 seconds rest

1st set 10 reps

2nd set 10 reps

3rd set 10 reps

4th set 7 reps

Best i ever did so i think its about time to bump it up to 65 pounds now.

Dumbell shoulder press 5 sets of 6 reps with 40 pounds. With 90 to 120 second break between each set

1st set almost 7 reps

2nd set alnost 7 reps

3rd set 6 reps

4th set 6 reps

2 minute break 5th set 3 reps.

Rear delt flyes 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps with 10 pound dumbells

Weighted Tricep dips close griped to target triceps. Body weight 158 to 160 pounds with 15 pound kettle bell attached 90 second break between each set.

1set 10 reps

5 minute break due to being in the rest room.

2nd set 10 reps

3rd set 7 reps

4th set 7 reps 20 second break after 7th rep then body Weight dips to failure only was able to do 8 more reps

Barbell bent over row 4 sets 8 reps 150 pounds 90 second break between sets

1st 8 reps

2nd set 8 reps

3rd set 7 reps

4th set 7 reps.

I wanted to do another set but i was short on time.

T bar row machine close grip to hit more lower lats. 4 sets of 10 reps with 75 pounds

1st set 10 reps

2nd set 10 reps

3rd set 7 reps. Dropped the weight to 70 pounds

4th set did 5 reps took 15 second break then did 5 more reps.

Is it ok to do 2 rowing exercises in a row.

Barbell curls with 65 pounds 4 sets shooting between 6 to 8 reps 90 second break

1st sets 6 reps with 1 cheat rep

2nd set 5 reps with 2 cheat reps

3rd set only to 4 reps dropped the to 60 pounds did 4 more reps

4th set 6 reps at 60 pounds.

Dumbell curls burning out with 10 pound dumbells.

1st set 20 to 30 reps

2nd set 20 to 30 reps

3rd set 20 to 30 reps

4th set 20 to 30 reps

Workout time 75 to 80 minutes went a little longer than i wanted it too. Workout was good though let me know what you think

Post work out shake syntha 6 birthday cake remix flavor my favorite

Post workout meal 11 45 am 1 bowl quaker oats with 1.25 cup of 2 percent reduced fat milk

2 eggs scramblec with spinach and peppers

On my way to work one 8 ounce bottle lipton green tea. Around 2 pm

4 pm 2 slices whole grain toast with 2 table spoons peanut butter and 1 bannanna.

7 pm dinner 5 ounce chicken breast that was sauteed in vegetable oil. Half cup brown rice with a quarter cup of quinoa

From 9 45 to 11 pm 14 grams almonds 130 grams of green grapes and 1 yellow bannana

Then i head home and get there around midnight where i start all over again.

Total calories 3,508

Fat 104g. 26% of macros

Carbs 465g. 51% of macros

Protein 209g 23% of macros

My biceps are sore from yesterdays workout i go to the gym tomorrow i was planning on doing cheat and recover for my biceps at the end of my workout is it ok to do that or should i stay away from my biceps because they are still sore.

@Tmcclone9119 It might be too late now, but you should have waited until today before training to see how they felt. Could have changed between then and now. If they were still quite sore today, then I would have suggested leaving them to recover a bit more.

Did my workout and my dieting look good. Another thing is it om or healthy wise to sauteed chicken breast.

@Tmcclone9119 The workout looked interesting. What's your goal with it? It seemed mostly like a pull workout (majority of the exercises were for back), but you had one chest movement and one shoulder pressing movement. Is it intended to be full upper body?

And your macros looked pretty good. Carbs are quite high but if you're bulking that's OK, and as long as you're not noticing that you're gaining too much excess fat from it, then you can keep them there. If you notice you're retaining/gaining too much fat, try cutting back the carbs and boosting the protein and fats even higher.

For example, 250g of protein and 120g of fat (if you need to reduce carbs).

Well ill tell you a little more about myself. I am 25 been lifting for about a year and 9 months. When i first started i had a trainer hit alot of upper body not alot of lower body cause idc alot for legs. I was very scrawny and weak then i could not even work out on the barbell bench press 80 pounds was a struggle for me here i am now able to do 5 sets of 5 reps at 170. But alot of my gains came from those first 6 months i was able and to work out in the 150s and in the past year i made little muscle and strength gains granted for awhile i was not eating enough and i had some set backs such as consuming too much protein and it caused me some digestive issues. My trainer has plenty of experience he is a powe lifter and lifted for 15 years of his life but i wanted another opinion and i found you scott on you tube you seem like you know what your talking about i wanted a second opinion. Im curious how many years of experience do you have with working out.

How often can i switch up my workouts. I do try to keep my big exercises about once a week like barbel bench press incline dumbell press dips chest and tricep variations. Different variations of rows pull ups military press barbell and ez bar curl dead lifts and squats. But i like to change the weight and reps i do on some exercises and ill do different variations of tricep push downs and cross cable pulls.

How can i see monthly gains in muscle and strength. Other than the cheat and recover method

Is it smart to save body weight exercises at the end of your workout such as pull ups and dips. My trainer i had recommended that.

I developed some belly fat on me would you recommend before going to sleep to take caesin protein or the mass gainer i showed you. Will the mass gainer add belly fat

How can i effectively use drop sets and pyramid sets in a work out/exercise can you provide an example.

How can incorporate all 3 methods of building muscle.

What foods will help burn fat.

Building muscle can be such a frustrating thing at times i discovered its a very opinionated subject and there is more wrong information out there then there is the right and im no power lifter or body builder or movie star and i feel likeci devote too much of my time to weight lifting for just a guy trying to get big and strong even when going to the gym is my hobby.

@Tmcclone9119 I've been training for 20 years!

It's good to switch things up every 8 - 12 weeks or so, but you only NEED to change things up when you stop seeing progress / results with what you're doing. If you're still seeing progress, no need to change anything.

It's all about implementing progressive overload to see gains monthly. That doesn't mean you HAVE to use Cheat & Recover, but that can be a good method if you're a more advanced lifter who has hit a plateau.

Body weight exercises are great as finishers!

Doesn't matter what you have before bed. As long as your overall macros and calories for the day are on point, you'll be on track with your goals. A mass gainer is something you should only take if you NEED it because you can't get all your macros / calories from whole food.

Check out my 5 Day Body Building split for how to use drop sets / burn sets effectively! https://muscularstrength.com/5-Day-Bodybuilding-Split

Have you seen my 'Make It Bigger' series on YouTube? Those are routines that incorporate all 3 muscle building mechanisms!

There is a lot of information out there, but if you're following my channel and you're here on the site, then you can be sure you're only getting the best information possible!

I have an important question i was training with my usual trainer just to increase strength gains for the month and im certain i have actually lost some strength not because of his workouts but i was in a big caloric deficit. I gained some belly fat unfortunatelym from trying to bulk up and he had me just eating mostly protein and vegetables at my meals. I can tell on my row and on the bench press exercises i cant workout with my usual weight. I used to eat 3200 to 3500 calories everyday to just eating 1700 to 2000 calorie deficit. I was able to lose some fat but i think i lost some strength gains so im here asking for another professional advice from you scott. I did eat alot of protein so i did keep it high. Whats your advice. I only did this caloric deficit for a month.