Critique/Advice of my Workout Plan/Supps/Nutrition

[cv1980]

Hello All,

I've been an avid follower of the material on this site for a few years, but only recently became a registered member. This is my first post. I apologize in advance if I've posted in the wrong category.

I'm really looking for some advice and/or criticism of my current regimen. I'll try to give you as much information about my overall situation now, so that you have something to base your advice around. I'll be posting my workout/supplementation with this post. Be brutally honest if you must. I'm open to anything at this point.

So here it goes...

I'll first start by stating my goals, which are pretty specific:

1- I'm trying to become a firefighter and I want to maintain or improve upon my current level of cardiovascular fitness while SIMULTANEOUSLY increasing my strength. I currently run 2 miles in about 13m:20s, and 4 miles in about 29m:10s, and do each run once/week, but they are taxing when combined with my lifting program. I have no 1RM figures for the major lifts, but my bench is 205 lbs x 4, deadlift is 315 or more, and my squat is 225 or more.
2- I'd like to bring my BF% down to 10%
3 -Increase my energy level. My energy level is not what it once was, and I'm not sure if I'm training too hard or if there are some nutritional issues at play.

I'm a 30 year old male.

So with my goals out of the way, lets move onto nutrition...

Approximately 18 months ago, I began a serious weight loss program and I initially discussed my goals with a trainer who had seen success in the amateur bodybuilding world. After he gave me the "nuts and bolts" of weight loss/nutrition/exercise, we fell out of touch and I decided to go it alone. I began this process at 6'-03", 307 lbs., and 36% BF (caliper-measured). Today I weigh 200 lbs., but have no up-to-date BF measurement. I am starting to get a hint of abdominal definition, if that means anything to anybody.

Nutrition-wise, I started by making all of the typically recommended changes, including portion control and increasing my meals to 6/day, but I never did the fad diet thing. However, I do subscribe to the Primal Blueprint's theories on nutrition. This was not a cold turkey lifestyle change toward a Primal way of eating, but within the last few weeks I have gone completely Primal- no grains, fruits and dairy in moderation, lots of veg and quality protein, and moderate fats from meats and nuts. Nothing drove me toward Primal eating except for a strong desire to change my body composition. I have no aversion to grains or anything keeping me from consuming them or dairy. My plate is typically 2/3 veg with 1/3 protein from some cut of beef/chicken/fish. Sometimes the veg-to-protein ratio is 1:1. I have cut out virtually all sweeteners (except for one splenda in a large cup of tea about 5 times/week, and my one cheat treat of frozen yogurt once/week), and drink lots of water, etc. Whey protein shakes are made with either water or unsweetened almond milk and ice, with spices or extracts like cinnamon, cocoa powder, or vanilla and a small portion of fruit for flavor. More recently, I've been supplementing with fish oil, creatine, N.O., and multivitamins. I'm just not sure if my current nutrition program is helping or hindering my athletic progress/energy level.

Workout-wise, I'm not following a dedicated sets, reps, or exercises scheme, but there are lifts that I ensure that I do as a part of my program. Oly lifts- Bench, DLs, Squats, Power Cleans- and bodyweight- pullups, pushups, chinups, dips, lunges, wall sits. As far as the specific exercises I use to train different muscle groups, I switch those up quite a bit for variation, but I usually do 3 or 4 exercises/group. I can say though that what I may lack in organization of my workout, I make up for in intensity. I make sure I go pretty hard and tax myself, with minimal rest between sets and lifting what I perceive as heavy loads. I never do a set with more than 8 reps on any exercise, and I've felt the value of working in the 3-5 rep range for certain exercises. Typically, I work until one rep from failure since I never have a training partner, regardless of the weight I select. I also do about 40-50 mins of cardio at about 60%-70% of my max HR on each workout day, and shoot to burn somewhere between 500-600 cals from cardio alone. The days where I complete my multi-mile runs are the exception to this rule, when I'm often working in the 85%-90% HR range and burn between 600 and 800 cals.

What I'm looking for from you guys are ideas on how to make this program more sustainable, while still reaching my goals. I'm in the gym for two hours or more each workout day, and because of my intensity level, I find it difficult to complete my workouts. I almost feel like I need to take an additional rest day, but I have so much I want to complete as a part of my workouts that I feel like I can only afford one rest day. I feel that I am "strong enough" to complete my firefighting tasks, but I am not willing to sacrifice my level of cardio fitness and would like to improve my strength if possible. Maybe I can get by with just doing one of my multi-mile runs each week instead of two. Maybe I can combine some bodyparts on different days. Maybe I need to eat differently. Maybe I need to adjust the amount of cardio I'm doing. Maybe I need to stop bitching and suck it up!

Take a look at my program and tell me where you think I can make adjustments. The link to my workout is at the end of the post. I'm all ears. If you made it through this entire post, thanks for taking the time to help me out. Post any questions you may have and I'll do my best to stay on top of the posting and answer them.


P.S.- The "colors" in the Supplementation section of my workout are the colors of the pills in the multivitamin/cratine/N.O. stack I'm taking. Purples are creatine, Whites are N.O., the rest are either pills in the multivitamin pack or fish oil caps. If you have any comment on my supplementation, feel free to enlighten me there as well. Thanks again.

[Mixelflick]

Robb (Wolff) and I just did an interview of Superhuman Radio about this. His "Primal Blueprint" juxtaposed with my "Blueprint".

If so inclined, you may want to check it out under "current shows" at, bodyrxradio.com.

Party starts at 39:30 or thereabouts.

Hope that helps!!

Take care,

ROB

[DHamiz3Z]

good work nice progress pics keep us updated brah pceout