Input needed on my diet & training

Hi guys

So I've been offline for about a month and now cannot find my original post :blink: Initially I was interested in attempting a Keto diet but realised it won't fit into my lifestyle right now. I'm now focusing on eating clean and training hard.

Current stats:
Female
23
1.76m
59kg
+/- 18% bf

Goal:
12-15% bf with a fabulously toned body over the next 2 - 3 months

My maintenance calories amount to 1900cal and BMR 1400cal

A typical day right now looks as follows:

06:00
30-40mins low intensity cardio

08:00
100g Fibre Bran & fat free milk

10:00
1 medium fruit

12:00
Diet fuel shake

14:00
50g cashew nuts
1 medium fruit

17:00
40-50 mins intense weight training

18:00
200g chicken breast/fillet & free veggies

20:00
Leafy greens

During the day I drink about 3L water along with vit/min supplement.

I do cardio 3x per week and weight training 3-4x per week, & then I ride my horse the other 3-4x per week with 1 day off from gym per week.

I do believe my diet is not good enough for building proper lean muscle. I know I need to incorporate more protein but as I am not really a big meat eater, I am finding this hard. Should I add a a whey shake perhaps? I mainly want to trim down a little and then also shape up nicely. One issue I am sitting with is that I have genetically under developed calves, with quads that pop instantly :dry: I want to balance my legs out by developing my hammies and calves. Any training ideas to shock my calves/hammies into growing without over-developing my quads?

Any input appreciated

A typical leg day for me would go as follows:

Walking lunges with weights
3 sets @ 15 per leg

Squats with weights
3 sets @ 20

Leg extension
3 sets @ 15

Sitting leg curl
3 sets @ 15

Leg press
3 sets @ 15

Standing calf raises
3 sets @ 20

Usually at the endof my workout my legs are burning and I feel like I need to crawl down the stairs, but I'm never stiff the next day :huh: Any suggestions?

MissFitness wrote: A typical leg day for me would go as follows:

Walking lunges with weights
3 sets @ 15 per leg Leave the lunges for last when you have properly shredded your legs

Squats with weights
3 sets @ 20

Leg extension
3 sets @ 15 I also do before squats as this is a very good warm up.

Sitting leg curl First leg press to complete quads, then do the hammies.
3 sets @ 15

Leg press
3 sets @ 15

NB!!! Stiff leg DL´s

Standing calf raises Do 4 sets. Make sure you squeeze as much as possible
3 sets @ 20

4 sets Seated Calf raises or Donkey calf raises.

Usually at the endof my workout my legs are burning and I feel like I need to crawl down the stairs, but I'm never stiff the next day :huh: Any suggestions?

Everything above is 100% my ideas and what works and makes sense to me. Many have their own theories and they are welcome to share their ideas too.

Also, none of my friends are focused on fitness/healthy living. Currently I'm jamming it out on my own in the gym and it SUCKS. Anyone in the Pretoria area looking for a serious gym buddy for mutual motivation, especially on weekends? Sorry if such a request is not allowed on here, then you may obviously delete this post

Thanks Pyroclasm. It makes sense and have made notes. Will make the changes as of today.

MissFitness wrote: Also, none of my friends are focused on fitness/healthy living. Currently I'm jamming it out on my own in the gym and it SUCKS. Anyone in the Pretoria area looking for a serious gym buddy for mutual motivation, especially on weekends? Sorry if such a request is not allowed on here, then you may obviously delete this post

I will... :evil: but I am in Capetown

I understand your pain also lived in P-town. Unfortunately no swapping of details is allowed at all.

Haha Mike. I'll call you then we can have phone gyming! Haha!

Ah well, at least I still have the other voices in my head!

@ Pyroclasm

How many days per week do you train legs?

Once a week then I am so stiff for 5 days I walk like Lucky Luke the Cowboy.

mike123 wrote: I will... :evil: but I am in Capetown

Bere daai Test Prop :evil:

Haha! I will give the adjusted leg workout a go tonight and HOPEFULLY I'll be stiff tomorrow! Hate being fine the day after legs as it then feels like I didn't push hard enough (even though I want to crawl out of the gym)

Normally for me I´m not stiff at all the next day. The second day I can feel it coming along but laugh cause I know tomorrow I´m gonna be crying. Third day sucks the big one. We call this Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS).

I don't even get DOMS. Feeling so ripped off! :silly:

Do you train to failure, or only till you struggle with the last 2 or so reps of each set?

You should squat deeper, Ms Fitness You should feel the stretch when you squat. Don't rest when you reach the top. Try supersetting and squeeze the quadriceps when you do extensions. Add stiff legged deadlifts. The more you focus on the eccentric movement(the stretch) the greater the pain will be tomorrow, or the day after.

Thanks Bent. I try my best with the execution but guess there's still room for improvement.

Anyone with suggested modifications on the diet?

Also:

- why should I stay away from dairy when trimming down? (have read/heard this from a few sources)

MissFitness wrote: Do you train to failure, or only till you struggle with the last 2 or so reps of each set?

COMPLETELY regardless of the training program you follow, if you don't train till absolute failure you are wasting your time. I train to positive failure and negative failure. If you don't know about neg failure do yourself a favor.

I cannot believe the effect the workout had last night just by changing the sequence in which I did the different excercises. I was a bit cautious of training till failure with the leg press as I did not have someone to spot me, but with the rest I pretty much nailed it. Feeling a tiny bit sore today, let's see what tomorrow looks like....

Happy that you like it MsF. Let´s hope it works for you in the future. Doesn´t your leg press machine have safety bars?

It does yes,but is sometimes a mission to get it back up high enough.

For leg press, don´t go down much further than what the safety bars allows. After the you are gonna stress your lower back. Go back to the point where your knees are in line with your toes from your line of sight.

I hear you,makes sense. Does it matter how/where you place your feet? If so,what position works which primary muscles?

Feet on top gives more focus to the quads. Feet on the bottom tends more focus on hamstrings. Ideally you want somewhere in the middle.