Toning and building mass

[CollegeRugby]

Hello, currently at college I have been making use of my REC center track along with rugby practices and have really cut down some noticeable fat around the waste and hips. However, I am still looking to tone my thighs down more so that it will be less resistance when I run but at the same time I am looking to bulk up my upper body muscle mass.
My situation is that I have 2 hour practices each day which is mainly a cardiovascular workout and then I hit the REC center afterwards at least once where I work on my upper body every Mon Wed Fri which consists of bench press 4 sets of 12/10/8/6 and I add 5lb each set and preacher curls which I can only get three sets in because right now my biceps are underdeveloped, andI'll do some tricep barbell lifting and some upper shoulder extensions also dips if I have the energy.
Lower body workout Tues Thurs which consists of squats 4 sets of 12/10/8/6 with increments of 10lb per set, also I do leg extension, leg curls, then running since I can't do deadlifts at my gym. This is really bad because I do not know what else I can do to really burn my legs, I know lunges work great but there is no room to do those in this gym.

Since my leg workout is lacking enough lifts I do leg extensions and leg curls everyday.

My diet is 2 meals a day, I can't help it its just my college meal plan.
Breakfast 4 egg whites, two glasses of skim milk, a peice of fruit
bout 10-12 cups of water inbetween meals
lunch 2-3cups of cottage cheese, wrap sandwhich w/ lettuce and tomatoe + fresh deli meat and no mayonnaise, 2 cups of fruit, 1glass skim milk, 1 OJ

From there on it is water and maybe a cup of applesauce or 1/4 pickle slice but my snacking ends at 7p.m.



I would like to know if there are better/faster ways to trim thigh/hip fat also what are some other good lifts for lower body that I can throw in with squats and what is generally a good sets/reps scale to build muscle mass for the upper body? The leanness I can get with cardio. Also is my diet bad?

[malkore]

First of all, you cannot 'tone'. You can build muscle mass, or you can lose fat, but everything you've heard about 'toning' a muscle, like with high reps, is just a myth.

I see absolutely no exercises for your back..just chest, biceps, shoulders and triceps. Add pullups, pull downs, cable rows, lat pull downs, bent over rows, shrugs, and back extensions (since your gym doesn't allow deadlifts)

Its bad to do cardio, especially 2 hours, then lift weights. You wont' have proper energey for weights at that point. If you can't lift earlier in the day, then you'll have to live with sub-par results for now.

For legs, squats are king, but you can also do leg press, hack squats, and front squats. Don't forget your calves either.
Deadlifts are a back exercise.

And yes the diet is bad. I see 2 meals listed. You should be eating 5-6 times a day, 7 times if you're bulking and have problems gaining weight.

[CollegeRugby]

Tone was just my word for cutting fat, I basically want to cut as much fat as possible but with my lifting in the upper body i want a set/rep plan that focus's on building muscle mass more than strength.
Two meals a day plan is all I can afford and I cannot change that, however the water inbetween and slight snacking helps keep my digestive system going and my metabolism some-what normal.
Thank you for noticing the spot failure in my lifts, I was totally oblivious to the fact that I was ignoring my back, I will add that into lower body workout starting now.

[malkore]

if you're doing squats, do not add deadlifts to the lower body workout. Your back won't be able to handle both, and you'll likely injur yourself.

You can cut fat, or you can gain muscle...but you can't effectively do both.
Since you cannot afford 5-6 proper meals, I would focus on leaning out, and trying to retain as much muscle as possible. Heavy on protein, 25% maximum fat calorie percentage, adn stick to fruits and veggies for most of your carbs...but a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast would be wise, and maybe brown rice with lunch.

but don't expect much from 2 meals a day. the body will be borderline starving, and may prefer to burn muscle for energy, and retain fat stores.

[CollegeRugby]

Borderline starving? Since I've gotten here I've found little problem to adjusting to the the 2 meals a day(and I have a big appetite), I never get hunger pains from the hours inbetween or after meals and I'm always active or exercizing inbetween.
To be honest I am looking more fit and cut then I've ever looked before plus I have more energy than ever before.
I know the 6 meal a day plan would be better for me for bulking mass but I have no doubt that I am consuming enough nutrients and am not "starving myslef". Also the elapsed time inbetween or after meals is actually better for cutting fat. The workouts occur 4-5 hours after a meal and my body is then using energy stored within me rather than digested food and so long as I get enough sleep, EAT RIGHT, and continue to drink water like its my job, I will cut fat from my body like never before.
As for the bulking I will just increase my protein intake and use the arnold bodybuilding technique. It relies on high intensity but with lesser weight, more reps, and more sets. It requires your musclles to use more fibers than just packing weight and pumping 2-5 times.
So hopefully this plan will be able to function correctly with my diet and at least give me some minimal mass increases

[newf]

Only 2 meals a day will make it very hard to gain mass and/or lean out without losing muscle in the process. This is well documented in the fitness world.

[malkore]

4-5 hours after a meal, when you're working out, you're using muscle glycogen for energy, not fat. once glycogen is depleted the body will use fat if its currently receiving enough macros throughout the day. if its not (regardless of 'hunger pains') it may use muscle as well.

best of luck training like Arnold. all the huge guys at my gym lift heavy weight, low reps, varied sets.

[Iffy]

@ Malkore, I'm not so sure about the "You can cut fat, or you can gain muscle...but you can't effectively do both" comment.

I've been training since mid-April this year and started off at 242 pounds with little or no muscle mass or defination (or strength for that matter).

Since then, I've lost 36 pounds by doing regular HIIT and slower paced cardio along with weight training. The weight training has been focused on the "heavy weight lower rep" method doing 3 sets of 8 reps per excersize. On weights days I work 2 body parts doing no more than 3 excersizes per part as well as 3 sets of 12 weighted crunches for my abs.

Not only has my weight and bf% dropped dramatically (dont have bf% reading yet, gonna get that sorted at my gym in the next week or two.) since April but I have made significant gains muscle wise. In particlar my back and shoulders. I am also stronger now than I ever have been and have made good progress from when I started...

Bench Press

Starting weight 3 sets x 8 reps - 90 pounds

Current weight 3 sets x 8 reps - 160 pounds

Arnold Press

Starting weight 3 sets x 8 reps - 27 pounds per arm

Current Weight 3 sets x 8 reps - 49 pounds per arm

It is possible to burn fat and build muscle at the same time, I've done it myself (even though I have a long way to go before I am completely satisfied with my body).

Please don't think I'm being disrepectful or anything like that, just pointing out that certain things are possible despite popular belief.

[speedkills]

its possible but you would have seen better gains if you did a cut and bulk cycle..

[CollegeRugby]

Well how much exactly do you consider a meal? My two meals consits eachof a bowl of cottage cheese, 2 glasses of skim milk, a chicken breast or fish fillet, a cup of veggies, and maybe some brown rice.

Is that too much for one meal? If I was to have 6 meals a day what would one look like, because everyone here is praising the 6 meals a lot and if I have to go out and buy grocieries for a month to test it I would like to know a basic layout of what im lookin at per meal and the time inbetween meals.

[newf]

That is a big meal try spliting it up in 4 to 6 meals a day.

Whats your BMR? That's your starting point. How old are you?

[CollegeRugby]

Im 18, BMR?

[newf]

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

This is only a guide.

[evolution]

Eating frequently will keep your metabolism higher=a better fat burning potential.

The cottage cheese is great since you're going so long without food but even if you added a protein shake and an apple two times a day you'd have better results. Can you move either you wrap or the cottage cheese to a few hours after lunch? You might add some oatmeal into breakfast. You don't have to have 6 meals a day, but 4 would be good. Check out www.johnberardi.com (he has some great free nutritional articles).

My vote for your weight lifting-
Bill Starr's 5X5 program, a much better choice for athletes than what you have lined up.

[CollegeRugby]

I've found a way to get at least 4 meals in a day, I've been going to the corner market inbetween meals and buying turkey sandwhiches on wheat w/out mayo.
Also I'd like to thank you guys for the advice and all the help. Yesterday at the gym some lifters in the gym confirmed everything you guys told me. That there is no way to just gain muscle mass without the fat because in order to get bigger I need to eat more than what I am and more often.
So I'm glad I got that misconception taken care of. However I've now changed my mind and since I've all ready been cutting fat I might as well continue the trend since so far the results have been good for my image.

My question now is, should I continue to try and eat 4-6 meals a day, and should workouts just be 50% cardio 50% weights