Strength / Weight Training

I'm with the group. You're over thinking it. Smash protein shakes. Bulkpowders and myprotein do high quality high percentage whey which is what you need.

Fair comment. It is either MyProtein or GoNutrition shakes which i have been taking.

I also have been taking MyProtein BCAA Plus tablets which seem to work brilliantly as i get no pain after squats when i take them.

Richard

2000 calories is also quite low if you are training with weights and cycling. It's the average UK recommendation for a woman men is usually 2500. Unless you have a very slim & short frame its more towards losing weight/undereating range.

I know you said you don't want to gain fat. But perhaps it's worth investigating if another 200 calories gives you nearly all recovery/muscle gains and very little fat gain?

I think a couple of things might help. You can easily find diet/lean versions of your pre and post exercise nutrition, they'll mostly cut out carbs and fat but leave the protein, which for muscle mass is the more important of the three

secondly, perhaps start viewing your overall calorie/nutrition intake on a weekly average as opposed to per day, might give you a bit more licence.

as to what others have said, I also agree that 2000cal per day is a low target if you're lifting and cycling regularly. by all means aim for a calorie defecit if losing fat is your aim, but no more than 10-15% deficit or you'll run out of energy.

also losing fat and gaining muscle/strength are quite hard to do at the same time. not impossible, but you'll get there quicker by bulking then cutting, then bulking, then cutting.

remember that carbs are about 9cal/g but protein and fat are about 4cal/g

Think you may want to check your facts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_energy

whoops - typo slip. it's about 4cal/g for protein and carbs (once you include the thermogenic effect of protein), 9cal/g for fat. will amend.

As TGR said he's using MFP: Their targets are low. Anybody that isn't a very scrawny person will have a higher metabolism from muscle mass. Or perhaps the weights using way more calories than people think. Either way, for me lifting just twice a week they're already too low.

I am at 2500 + exercise calories, the 1850 they give me is waaaaaaaaay too low. (yes I did get heavier, yes it's nearly all muscle mass)

Good afternoon all,

I have had another read at Bigger, Stronger, Leaner and it appears (typically) that i have erred slightly with my figures. The 2000 cal is the dieting number, the bulking number is much higher and the middle number is for maintenance at around 2450cal.

I am a little busy now but will advise later when i get the exact numbers. I have used the diet figure but, as most of you have said, it is probably low if i am training 2 or 3 days a week and playing squash 3 or 4 days a week and my fair weather cycling - minimal at the moment but hopefully this will increase if the weather improves.

Richard

Definitely too low then! Slowly up your cals from clean sources you may feel a lot more energetic :)

Seems to me that those shakes are pretty calorific. Just go for a simple whey shake and avoid gimmicks. You could also look at some of the diet whey/lean max type stuff, but they're more of a meal replacement really. Seems pretty dull to waste 900 calories on shakes, when you could be eating a chicken breast and some ricotta cheese instead.

As for cutting carbs and all that - few simple workarounds you can try.

Grilled chicken with carrot and chickpea salad. The classic Chicken and Broccoli. Or try just a small handful of pasta but bulk sauces with pulses, lentils, etc, then serve with another meat protein source. Make a lean ragu with low fat mince, plenty veggies (spinach, broccoli) through it, and serve either with a small handful of pasta again or with courgetti/butternut squash spaghetti etc. Once you start eating like this it becomes the norm really quickly, as it's so tasty. :)

Loads of good recipes kicking about and you can nick ideas and fit them into your diet and to match your tastes.

https://www.reflexnutrition.com/blog/why-whey-protein-what-is-the-best-form-of-whey-how-is-whey-protein-made/

I agree with most of that, but why low fat mince? animal fat, particularly the non-processed stuff that gets caught up in the mincing, is good for you!

I suck at sprinting in road racing. It's getting better by doing 1min max efforts either on the road or on a trainer. Will doing squats and deadlifts help much? I've been at about 100-115%BW for a set of 10 for most of my lifting life if that helps.

If so, what rep/weight combo is recommended? And more importantly, how to incorporate them into an 8-10 training week when I don't want DOMS to majorly impact my 4 cycle training sessions?

So many questions, hive mind.

If you want to be better at sprinting, do more sprinting. 1 min efforts aren't that useful for sprinting - sprints don't last that long and if you're in the wind for a minute you're really messing it up. The following rollers session is basically the boss:

Proper warm up, couple of light gear spin ups, then 30s all out- give it everything you've got (I mean EVERYTHING not roadie 'full gas') target cadence is 140-170rpm on the rollers, recover for 8 mins. 4x reps of that. Then warm down and get off.

Getting 8 mins between efforts will feel really weird, but if you're getting bored between efforts then you're not giving it everything.

Getting better at sprinting is about being able to really empty the tank - you'll make more gains from getting the mental side of it right than lifting.

That said, bigger lifts will give you a better kick - but you should also be doing some plyo or fast twitch stuff. Too many big, slow lifts can blunt the snap you need in sprints.

Also (not being rude - I've never seen you sprint) most people can get better at sprinting by just getting better at the tactical side of it. If you're smart in a sprint, you don't need to be the fastest or strongest.

Good evening all,
An update on my previously flawed figures. I had another check of the notes I had made and the figures are as follows -
Dieting - 2059Cal
Maintenance - 2619Cal
Bulking- 3021Cal

It appears I have been on/about the diet figure for a while, I really should be on the maintenance figure! I have figures for macros for each situation too. It appears that I may not now need the nutritionist advice but help from a better optician!!

I will update MyFitnessPal for maintenance and see how I go from there.

Thanks all for making me aware of my stupidity! Perhaps a forum donation is in order as this has saved me at least £65.

Richard

Congratulations. Now eat all the biscuits.

LOL
Only protein biscuits!

Richard

Yeooo...! :):)

Maybe a protein brownie.

Richard

FWIW, were you losing weight on the restricted diet?

Ha! None! Well spotted. But, this is why I posted - the macros didn't work out correctly so I was always over 2000Cal and could not meet the protein macro. The macros vary for dieting, bulking and maintenance.

Previously, I had used a similar 2100Cal diet with different macros and I lost 6lbs. I should mention that it was not easy and I lacked energy.

Richard

you realise you don't need to sign off all your posts right?

I do realise that but I think it is my preference as the poster 😀

Richard

Hahahaha

So funny

ChainBreaker