I’ve said before that one of my interests belongs to working out. More importantly, it belongs to lifting weights. Over the past three years, I’ve attempted to make it a regular part of my day, just as I would with showers or brushing my teeth. For the most part, this has been successful, and it has been fruitful for the most part, though I sometimes do believe I’ve hit a wall.
And so begins my rambling. I’ve been on an unsteady diet for about a year now, throwing out the sodas and sweet teas in favor of water (for the most part), and snacking on healthy and non-fatty stuff like carrots and rice cakes (for the most part). I recently went full-on with this plan and I have now seen more success than ever. And I am happy! I may not be the most muscular guy in the world, but it is overall not at the top of my worries, though I have to say that the slow expansion of muscle does bother me…
So one day, I decided to do something about this! I asked myself in this new new diet: “How do I shred fat while gaining all kinds of muscle. It turns out it’s easy!
Just kidding. It totally isn’t. I took advantage of my one free consultation at my gym by visiting with my very friendly and cordial gym instructor who carefully listened to my daily exercise and dietary routines. I have to say I was very honest with him, and I say this right now because it could be very easy to lie to one’s gym instructor: “I eat incredibly healthy and exercise everyday.”
I gave him my routine, though. My workouts for a sample week are as follows:
Monday: Back routine (1 hour and 30 minutes)
Tuesday: Chest routine (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Wednesday: Arm routine (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Thursday: Cardio routine (40 minutes)
Friday: Back routine (1 hour and 30 minutes)
Saturday: Chest routine (1 hour and 15 minutes)
Sunday: Shoulder routine (1 hour and 15 minutes)
My regular diet consists of eating three eggs with green chile, as well as two fruits for breakfast. For lunch, I’ll eat a full plate of grilled chicken with a couple fruits and carrots. And dinner really depends. One day, I’ll have soup, and another, I’ll have salmon. Additionally, I’ll drink protein shakes after workouts, and for snack I’ll either have nuts or a rice cake topped with peanut butter and honey. I stave off desserts until cheat day rolls around, and that rule goes out the window. Believe me.
This is clearly not a perfect routine by any means, and I’ll bet the fitness nuts and bodybuilders reading this are like, “he is ruining his body” or “he should have one rest day” or “he isn’t eating enough [insert nutrient here].” Fair enough. I’ll concede that I am not the prime example of godlike physique. If I were, I might be writing a much different article on a different website titled “King and Queen’s Beans & Bodybuilding” or some such nonsense. But I’m not.
Nevertheless…
When I told him this, he was very calm, cool, and collected. And he remained this way throughout. But his response was fairly dumbfounding. “Alright, to start off with, you’re eating only 70 grams of protein. We’re gonna up that to 220 grams.” …..WHAT!? I understand that’s based on my current weight, but I’m not sure he really understood my goals. I want to be fit, but I don’t want to be the god of thunder. Upon my shocked expression, he told me that, being age 23, it was my primetime to get a move on and hit the weights and protein harder than ever.
I was supposed to drink 120 oz. (15 glasses) of water a day, and would have to up my protein shake intake to two a day, as well as some chicken for midnight snack. This may sound completely normal to those whose veins are visible at all times, but for someone like me, who is in the business of looking good, being fit, and able to lift a bit more than the average dude, my eyes glazed over. Much of what he told me continued to make my wallet tremor with fear.
Fortunately, the only thing he had to say about my workout was that I’ve been doing the same one for too long. I believe this to be the case, but I have yet to sit down and come up with a new routine. I’ll post my current one soon!
I then left to meet with Quinn at Cracker Barrel, ironically, with the physical trainer’s advice rattling around in my mind. I couldn’t wait to tell people of this bizarre exchange where I fully realized, one-on-one, the discipline required to be a bodybuilder. However, I’d argue it doesn’t end at discipline. It almost evolves into obsession where you put yourself through pain and suffering to maybe, eventually, look like Thor, Captain America, or, better yet, the Hulk. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the physical trainer walked me through it with some level of caution or awareness of the expansion of my dietary scale. In other words, as he’s been sticking to such a strict routine for so long, it seemed like he became out of touch with people like me; Wanting to look fit without 24-inch biceps.
Well, that’s it for me. What do you guys think? Am I just being a whiny tattletale? Or am I justified in feeling overwhelmed and nearly turned off? Please let me know down in the comments if I should start eating all those eggs or stick to my current routine!
Sincerely,
Brandon McIntyre
King & Queen's Beans & Things 