Hi all,
I've been lurking here for some time and this is my first post outside of my workout logs. I tend to stay quiet on forums, but I would like to reach out to the more experienced members for some advice.
Some background:
I've been doing bodyweight training for nearly a year now. In the beginning, I focused heavily on pullup variations since it's an exercise that I've always wanted to be able to do. Now I'm doing something closer to Killroy's template, scaled down to my ability level. I will generally do a handful of FSPs, then 5 sets of paired FBEs, and I recently started experimenting with kettlebell swings. See http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9697 for some recent logs.
There has been progress, but I feel like I should be further along and I want to identify any problems that may be holding me back. Today I was reading about TUT and came across http://www.gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=9443#p84514 mentioning higher volume work. Given my very limited strength levels, this seems like a good idea. I couldn't handle 4 days a week at all, and I've had to skip workouts on several occasions due to joint pain which I imagine is a result of overtraining.
I'm not sure how I would incorporate the higher volume work, though. I rotate between three types of exercises M-W-F. If I were to scale down two of the three days, I suppose I would have to switch the heavier workout to a different day each week. Also, it's not entirely obvious what the "lighter" versions of some exercises are. Here's what I'm thinking:
ring pushups -> pushups on floor or parallettes
inverted rows -> inverted rows with bent legs
pullups/chins -> negatives
ring dips -> negatives?
hespu negatives -> ???
bicep curls/inverted pullups -> ???
I feel like it takes a really long time to progress to harder variations or even add an extra rep. I've been doing 10-15 second L-sits for many months and they aren't getting much easier.
As for nutrition, my diet is pretty clean but there's always room for improvement. I've been following a paleo-style diet for 6 months or so. I recently added more carbs (tubers) and it made me feel better. I was using mostly taro but regular potatoes are hard to pass up because they are delicious and super cheap. I'm 5'9", ~155lbs with a healthy appetite.
A day's meals often look something like this:
Breakfast (9-10am): 1/2 head cabbage or 1 head broccoli, 3-4 eggs, 1 slice bacon, 1-2 tbsp ghee, multi+fish oil
Lunch (noon-1pm) : 4-6 oz roasted meat + steamed veg or large bowl of meat and veg stew, 1 small or 1/2 large russet potato
Lunch #2 (3-5pm): same as lunch
Workout shake (7pm): 1 scoop whey/casein blend, 1 tsp BCAA, ~10g dextrose, consumed during workout
Post-workout shake (8pm): same as workout shake
Dinner (9-10pm): 3-6 oz meat or fish, vegetables, multi+fish oil
I've read some of Josh's posts regarding carbs and I wonder if I might benefit from increasing carbs even more. I'm a little paranoid about gaining fat. I drink moderate amounts of alcohol throughout the week, usually 1-2 beers or glasses of red wine most days, which definitely doesn't help.
I get 7.5-8 hours of sleep every night and I have been making an effort to drink more water. I end up peeing all day long... does this mean I still need to adjust to higher water intake?
I haven't gone as far as counting calories, but I'd be willing to try if it would help. I can't really afford much along the lines of supplementation, but I thought about throwing creatine into the mix.
I know everyone is different, and I definitely feel like the "hardgainer" type right now. I'm sure there are others out there that have experienced similar setbacks. I'm eager to hear any feedback anyone might have!