Please critique my proposed bulking diet & workout

[GustaveX]

Hi all, I've decided to start bulking in a couple of weeks and have come up with the following diet/exercise program to assist me. Being new to bulking I would gratefully appreciate some advice. One caveat, however, if you are going to critique my diet/workout and offer suggestions, please, please, please explain your suggestions. There is nothing more annoying to the novice bulker/cutter than someone ripping on his proposed training scheme without bothering to explain why what they're criticizing is bad. I'm here to learn from my mistakes and I don't learn anything from comments like (for instance) "Too much milk. Take it out." or "Too many carbs in meal 5" and stuff like that. Thanks.

Anyway, lecture over Here's my stats:

Age: - 24.
Height: - 5 feet, 11 inches.
Weight: - 12 stone, 3 lbs.
Body fat % - Don't know.
Training Experience: - Almost a year.
Goals: - Build muscle while keeping fat accrued to a minimum.
Steroids? - No way.

And here's my proposed diet. I've tried to be as accurate as possible with the calories and macronutrients but please remember that all values are approximate. I got the information from the back of the packets and also from this weksite ---> http://www.calorie-count.com/

Breakfast - 7:00am

50g porridge oats with water & Candarel artificial sweetener. - 8.5g protein / 3.5g fat / 33g carbs.
1 chicken breast (grilled) 15.5g protein / 1.75g fat / 0g carbs.
1 pint of skimmed milk - 17g protein / 0g fat / 25g carbs
Calories = 419

Brunch - 10:00am

1 low carb Protein Shake - 48g protein / 2g fat / 2g carbs
Calories = 217

Lunch - 12:30pm

1 chicken breast - 15.5g protein / 1.75g fat / 0g carbs.
2 slices of wholemeal bread - 8g protein / 4.5g fat / 37g carbs
1 slice of beef - 6.5g protein / 1.5g fat / 0g carbs
Calories = 260


Lunch 2 - 15:30pm

1 low carb Protein Shake - 48g protein / 2g fat / 2g carbs
2 cheese slices - 10g protein / 14g fat / 0g carbs
Calories = 377

First Dinner (I intend to have this after coming home from the gym)

1 high carb Protein Shake - 45g protein / 0g fat / 75g carbs
50g porridge oats with water & Candarel artificial sweetener. - 8.5g protein / 3.5g fat / 33g carbs
Calories = 646

Second Dinner - 9:00pm

250g rice - 9g protein / 7g fat / 75g carbs.
1 chicken breasts - 15.5g protein / 3.5g fat / 0g carbs.
4 boiled potatoes - 2g protein / 0g fat / 30g carbs
2 slices wholemeal bread - 8g protein / 4.5g fat / 37g carbs
Calories = 535

Protein total = 265g
Fat total = 46.25g
Carbs Total = 349g

Calorie total = 2479

So yeah, that's my proposed diet. If there is anything you think I should take out or add more of, please let me know.

But wait there's more! Here's the workout scheme I've got planned. I'm hitting all the major body parts once a week to allow for maximum recovery and I've included a few supersets to jazz things up a bit. The basic rule I've followed is three sets of 10 reps for each exercise (except calves, abs, & supersets). One area I'm especially ignorant about is the amount and type of exercise required to induce maximum hypertrophy.

Monday - Back, biceps & traps day

3x10 Barbell rows @ 45kg
3x10 Lat Pulldowns @ 49kg
3x10 Deadlifts @ 55kg

3x15 Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs @ 15.kg

3x10 Barbell bicep curls @ 30kg
3x10 Dumbbell hammer curls @ 15kg

Tuesday - Rest day

Wednesday - Chest, triceps, & abs day

3x10 Barbell bench press @ 60kg
3x10 Incline dumbbell bench press @ 25kg
3x10 Pec fly's @ 77kg

3x10 'Nosebreakers' @ 25kg
3x10 Overhead dumbbell tricep extensions @ 10kg

3x15 Rope crunches @ 25kg 'Supersetted' with 3x15 lying leg raises.

Thursday - Leg Day

3x10 Squats @ 40kg
3x10 Leg extensions @ 56kg
3x10 Romanian deadlifts @ 45kg
3x10 Hamstring curls @ 49kg
3x20 Calf raises @ 88kg

Friday - Rest day

Saturday - Shoulders & Arms day

3x10 Dumbbell front raises @ 8kg
3x10 Dumbbell side raises @ 8kg
3x10 Shoulder presses @ 35kg

3x12 nosebreakers @ 25kg 'Supersetted' with 3x12 barbell bicep curls @ 25kg.
3x12 dumbbell hammer curls & 15kg 'Supersetted' with 3x12 dumbbell tricep extensions @ 12.5kg
3x12 Cable Pushdowns @ 45kg 'Supersetted' with 3x12 regular Dumbbell curls @ 15kg.

Sunday - Cardio day

45 mins fasted cardio.

So that's pretty much everything. I gratefully appreciate any comments you may have but as I said above, please do explain your suggestions otherwise I won't learn anything.

Thanks in advance,

Gus.

[GustaveX]

By the way, I'm sure somebody will recommend I include eggs in my diet. While I would certainly like to, I'm afraid I'm allergic to eggs and can't even stand to be in the same room as someone who is eating one because of the powerful smell.

[MISSINGLINK]

Any routine that has legs for 1 day=bad routine

[GustaveX]

Why? May I please remind other posters to explain the reasoning behind any criticisms you may have. Thank you.

[MISSINGLINK]

You need to be doing the majority of your lifts the compound way. The squat is the grandaddy of them all. Look into the Intermediate 5x5 or Rippetoes starting strength. THose are solid programs that are designed around strength. I would give those a try.

[GustaveX]

Ah, I see. Thanks for the tip. The trouble is I can't see how to include extra leg days without either sacrificing a rest day or neglecting other body parts. Would it be enough to throw in 3x10 squats on Back day?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions which could improve my diet, or is it OK?

[GustaveX]

Sorry to bump this up, but I'd be really keen to know what you guys thought of my proposed diet. Thanks.

[James.Unit]

I think what Missinglink was implying was that you should ditch your proposed workout plan and replace it with the Intermediate 5x5 or Starting Strength depending on your level of experience, because unless you've been lifting for awhile (3 - 5 years) you're not going to have enough practical experience and knowledge to design a good workout program.

As regards your diet - 12 stone is about 170 pounds? A common way to calculate your calories for a bulk is to multiply your bodyweight in pounds by 18 - 20 and start from there...so for you thats 3060 calories (170 x 18). You aren't going to gain muscle without a little fat, unless you're a complete newb, but you can limit that fat gain to a minimum by making sure your training program is damm decent and keeping a track on your calorie intake. My guess is 2470 calories isn't near enough to build muscle, but you know your own body better than I do.

[Fallen_]

True, it seems that your better off with Rippetoes Starting Stength, but considering your goals, that would mean that you would have to moniter you diet meticulously since this program was originally built to pack on the mass on skinny teens.

[Black_Spit]

How many lb's is 12 stone? It looks like your skimping on quality fats. Personally I'd add in a tablespoon or 2 a day of Olive/Safflower/Fish or coconut oils.

Since you've been training less than a year, I'd take MISSINGLINK's advice and read about some of the abbreviated-style strength/size routines.

Good luck.

[d_k]

diet looks weak, eat more real foods and less of protein shakes and protein shakes with 2 slices of cheese. You dont need an arms day either, your arms will grow fine from heavy back/chest work respectively and the stuff you did for them on back/chest day.

[GustaveX]

Thanks for taking time out to give me your advice, guys! I'll rework my diet & exercise plan tonight to incorporate your suggestions.