32 years wasted, dont have any energy

[SouthernKen]

Hi there.

The heading is a bit of a lie considerig I am 32 now.

Ive always been the runt, you no the type, I used to get called the "torleen boy" lol. Have been smokeing cigarets since I was 12, drinking booze and smokeing dope sinse around 15 and to be honest never realy gave a toss about looks, health ect.

I had a good look at myself not long ago, looked at my kids and thought to myself, hell im sick and tired of being sick and tired and Id like to live forever and watch my children age to 100.

Now I no that the last part of that is not possable but to change myself for the possative I can.

I stoped smoking pot about 3mths ago and funnily enough dont miss it at all, was a daily smoker and always thought it was going to be a struggle. It wasnt. I just said no more and thats it.

Stoping smoking pot led onto knocking the beers back. I was drinking 3 crate bottles a night dureing the week and drinking a couple of 24 packs a weekend. I now drink around 6 stubbies a week includeing the weekend.

I thought that giveing up the smokes was going to be the hardest of them all. It was hard to break the habbit of lighting one but mentally it has been a lot easyer than I thought.

Now as to why im here.

Ive always had a secret want to get bigger. But always found it hard to build up muscle.

I bought myself a home waight bench. Problem is I don't no what I should be doing on it.

I also really lack energy. I am up at half 5 and start work at 7. Finnish at half 5. I am a builder and do mostly commercial work. Lots of lifting and generally full on days. Form work, concrete, digging shoveling gravel ect.

I eat poradge and tind fruit for breakfast, pasta for smoko, 2min noodles in a cup and small can of fish for lunch, sometimes saveloy. banana and pack of chips for afternoon tea. Tea time is whatever the misses has cooked. Meat and veg in general. Userly some yogurt and nut bars in there over the day also.

I weigh 88kg these days and are 180cm tall.

I want to bulk up. Get as big as I can without taking it to ext-reams.

Thats why im here.

I want to find the right workouts, diet ect and find out what I can do or eat for energy.

Hows that for an intro lol.

I have read a lot on here so far. Some of it goes way over my head but im slowly picking up on things.

Thanks for having me.

Regards

Ken

This is why im here

PS,I apologise for the spelling, I no its not good. Funny how education becomes so important this many years after throwing it away.

[Ninja]

Good on ya ken for giving up the smokes i know how hard it is. Good luck with the weights

[jimmybro1]

It's awesome your turning your life around its never to late, it won't be easy though but the rewards are worth it. As from training programs do some light research on bodybuilding.com their are some good programs on there also good advice on diet. I would recommend dramatically increasing your protein intake by eating more meats.

[Pseudonym]

Welcome Ken. That's a bloody good intro! (I don't think I've ever given kudos points for an intro before, so well done!)

Have you read our Newbies Guide to Bodybuilding articles? That gives you the basics of diet and workouts routines.

The key thing is to stick at it. You've made some big changes to your lifestyle - do you have mates that are doing the same? Do you have a plan to help you stick at this even if your mates are still on the piss?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

really congratulations for changing everything around, living long enough to be able to play around with not just the kids but the grand kids too is a great source of motivation for living a healthy life.

as pseudo has said, check those newbie guides and feel free to ask any questions you feel necessary.

also if you don't have a gym partner (friend/relative with similar drive towards getting big as you) then perhaps even head out to the gym for a short membership maybe even 1~2months where trainers can help you learn the basic movements for free. another benefit is that it'll help you get an idea of what sort of equipment you'll need to sort out at home if you wanted to get the most effective workout for yourself in your home gym.

do you have any source of inspiration yet as far as the kind of body you'd like to achieve? might be a favourite athlete, pro body-builder etc.... once you have one, you can use it in many ways to help motivate you to work harder.

[legacy]

Hi Ken,

Welcome and bloody good on you for making some positive changes in your life.

Whereabouts in the country are you? If you are in Christchurch I would be happy to give you a few pointers to get you on the right track.

[SouthernKen]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I have been reading a heap of helpful info on this forum. Its great.

Jimmybro1, I thought I was eating quite a bit already but looking through this site I see that I am not eating the right foods. Today I bought some protein powder (aussie bodies protein gain, 850g) have a cup of brown rice boiling and two chicken drums, no skin, grilling for lunch tomorrow as well as my can of fish, cup of noodles and nut bars and orange as well as starting the day with a serving of oats.

Is this a good start?

Pseudonym, Thanks for the kudos, im honoured lol.

Yes ive read http://www.nzbodybuilding.co.nz/newbies it is very informative. I will be reading it more than once.

I do plan to keep at it, my kids and my health is my motivation and generally being someone I never have been before mental and physically.

My plan to stick to this while everyone else keeps tipping bottles is simply to keep at it. With me changing my lifestyle over the last couple of months my ties to most of my "social" mates have slowly been untying. I don't have a problem with this. I have a support team. Maybe not anyone to workout with but there all for my changes.

Fellowshipoftheron, yes I agree, To see Grandkids would be great. My two eldest children (8+5) got to no there Great grandfather well and he left a great impression on them. Unfortunately my youngest (16wks) has unfortunately missed him but still has his Great Grandmother.

Yes I am looking at heading down to the gym for a couple of hours a week, as you say it will give me a great start to the right weights for the right muscle group.

Inspirational body idea, yea Brad pit on fight club, don't we all want to be ripped like that??? LOL Seriously though I hadn't thought much about it. Wasn't really looking at hugely defined arms abbs ect, I would like to go up a size in shirt. Medium to a large. Work on shoulders, neck, back and arms obviously but am interested in bulking up rather than getting lean. More a power lifters body than a body sculpture if you get me.

Legacy, nice name. Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the offer but unfortunately I am in Southland.

[jimmybro1]

I still don't think that's quite enough. Try getting into a habit of reading nutritional information on food packets. Aim for 30-40g of protein a meal.

I would recommend oats (1 cup) and 2 scoops of whey in the morning simple tastes good and 60g protein, 40-50g carbs and 5g fat.

Try eat at least 4 meals a day. Add it egg white omelets (5 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, if size 8), then throw in mushrooms (B vitamins), tomatoes, onion etc.

Red meat is a good source of protein when lean rich in B vitamins, and zinc. Also fish and chicken breasts, and nuts as snacks.

The whey protein you brought is from the supermarket? It would be rather expensive?? look online you can buy protein cheap and free delivery. For example 1kg can be brought for around $25-00.

What you have is a good start though, don't think of it as a diet rather a lifestyle a diet implies its only temporary.

Best of luck.

[teamfatboy]

Heya - nice to see another Southern Man on the boards...

Firstly, well done for the stuff you've done so far - those lifestyle changes you've made are awesome, and take strength. Clearly, family's really important to you, and your choice to get big and strong can only be a great example.

The stuff that Pseudo pointed you to is a great foundation - a lot of hard-won experience in there, so have a good explore of the Resources tab.

I reckon your diet's probably already pretty good - hell, most of us on here probably start the day with oats ! We make it with a protein shake, rather than milk, but it's a great start. With your diet having five-six small meals (like pasta at morning tea) you've learned another valuable lesson there about keeping the body fed. Throw a protein shake into your afternoon tea - you should be getting at least the amount of protein in a serve of that powder (30-40g) in every meal. Keep the water intake up too - a 2l bottle on the jobsite's a good thing to have.

Working hard on the job, you'd probably be surprised at how many calories you need, just to keep an 88kg body going - a rough check on your age/height/weight/gender and activity says just to maintain your weight, you need around 3000 calories (12,000 kj) a day. To gain mass, eat more, clean food.

As for what to do on the bench - again, the resources tab can help, but some time with a trainer can explain what the lifts look like... and youtube can be helpful too, although there's a lot of shocking form on youtube. Less so on bodybuilding.com, but still there!

One last thing - consider starting a workout journal, if not in the journal space here, then in a school notebook. There's three things I'd think about writing down, esp in a notebook just to keep yourself honest.

First is food - if you feel better (stronger, more energetic) or worse, chances are diet'll have something to do with it, so it's good to learn how your body responds.

Second is you - weight and dimensions. Ask the missus to help measure your chest, hips, waist, one thigh and one biceps. That way, as you make gains, you have proof.

Third is what you lift - exercises, sets and reps. With the advice you'll get on here, you WILL make gains, and it's really awesome to look back, even after only a few months, and see the improvements you've done, for yourself.

Good luck, and welcome.

[drizzt]

I just want to chip in with a congrats on what you've achieved so far, awesome work Ken :clap: With that sort of determination, I bet you'll have no problem getting bigger, stronger, and healthier mate. Good luck 8)

[Paul]

Well done Ken

[SouthernKen]

I still don't think that's quite enough. Try getting into a habit of reading nutritional information on food packets. Aim for 30-40g of protein a meal.

Shit thats a lot of protein compared to what I have been getting, around 15g at the best.

I would recommend oats (1 cup) and 2 scoops of whey in the morning simple tastes good and 60g protein, 40-50g carbs and 5g fat.

As of Friday that is how Ive made my morning oats. Have been eating oats for a few mths now for morning enery. I never realised it was good for growth also

Try eat at least 4 meals a day. Add it egg white omelets (5 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, if size 8), then throw in mushrooms (B vitamins), tomatoes, onion etc.

Red meat is a good source of protein when lean rich in B vitamins, and zinc. Also fish and chicken breasts, and nuts as snacks.

The whey protein you brought is from the supermarket? It would be rather expensive?? look online you can buy protein cheap and free delivery. For example 1kg can be brought for around $25-00.

Yep was $40 odd. Will be looking out on line from now on. Thanks

What you have is a good start though, don't think of it as a diet rather a lifestyle a diet implies its only temporary.

Best of luck.

Lifestyle change it is.

[SouthernKen]

Heya - nice to see another Southern Man on the boards...

Firstly, well done for the stuff you've done so far - those lifestyle changes you've made are awesome, and take strength. Clearly, family's really important to you, and your choice to get big and strong can only be a great example.

The stuff that Pseudo pointed you to is a great foundation - a lot of hard-won experience in there, so have a good explore of the Resources tab.

I reckon your diet's probably already pretty good - hell, most of us on here probably start the day with oats ! We make it with a protein shake, rather than milk, but it's a great start. With your diet having five-six small meals (like pasta at morning tea) you've learned another valuable lesson there about keeping the body fed. Throw a protein shake into your afternoon tea - you should be getting at least the amount of protein in a serve of that powder (30-40g) in every meal. Keep the water intake up too - a 2l bottle on the jobsite's a good thing to have.

Water has been a big change for me. I used to run on a couple of energy drinks a day and that was it. Now I have a 1.5ltr of water on site and try to get it empty twice a day. Its amazing how shit you can fell, have a drink of water and then bang you all good again. Hydration is key aye. Try to tell the workmates lol. The energy drinks get left at the shop now. Infact wallet gets left at home so temptation on any junk can not take over.

Working hard on the job, you'd probably be surprised at how many calories you need, just to keep an 88kg body going - a rough check on your age/height/weight/gender and activity says just to maintain your weight, you need around 3000 calories (12,000 kj) a day. To gain mass, eat more, clean food.

I did that check also and was quite amazed. What do you class as clean foods and how do I get that many cals in as well as the protein? What foods double up?.

As for what to do on the bench - again, the resources tab can help, but some time with a trainer can explain what the lifts look like... and youtube can be helpful too, although there's a lot of shocking form on youtube. Less so on bodybuilding.com, but still there!

One last thing - consider starting a workout journal, if not in the journal space here, then in a school notebook. There's three things I'd think about writing down, esp in a notebook just to keep yourself honest.

First is food - if you feel better (stronger, more energetic) or worse, chances are diet'll have something to do with it, so it's good to learn how your body responds.

Took on board. viewtopic.php?p=330881#p330881

Second is you - weight and dimensions. Ask the missus to help measure your chest, hips, waist, one thigh and one biceps. That way, as you make gains, you have proof.

Will also be doing this tomorrow. Will also be doing http://www.linear-software.com/online.html. Will post all on viewtopic.php?p=330881#p330881

Third is what you lift - exercises, sets and reps. With the advice you'll get on here, you WILL make gains, and it's really awesome to look back, even after only a few months, and see the improvements you've done, for yourself.

Have decided to start here viewtopic.php?f=33&t=15765

Good luck, and welcome.

Thanks. Its support and info like this that I am after and it keeps a man keen and pointed in the right direction.

Again thanks to everyone for the advise. Keep it coming. \:D/ :dancing:

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