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Getting 70's big.......on the cheap!
Godfather
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Okay, so here's my situation:
I'm attempting to become a Krav Maga instructor by early/mid 2011, and i've been training technique and physically for the past two-ish months, both from my KM instructor and my personal trainer, who builds workout routines exclusively around this style of combat. So far i'm in the best shape i've ever been in my life, and i'm well on my way to becoming an instructor to help generate more income for school/living expenses.
However, because of my demanding 35-hour weekly school schedule with at least 3 hours of homework a night, my eating habits have ranged from fair to piss poor. I've literally done everything that I can to eat healthy/correctly, but these last six weeks have been brutal academic-wise, so something had to give. I finally, finally turned in my final assignment for the term yesterday evening, so i'm officially free.
My top priority goal this year is to study realism art over the summer (which after going through the trials of hell I achieved), but at an expense of me having to live as cheaply as possible until I start generating some income. Since i'm studying in Canada on a student visa at a private institution not recognized by the Canadian government, this means that I cannot apply for a student work visa, so legally I can't seek out work/apply for a regular work visa until I already get hired somewhere up here.
That's another issue entirely, but long story short if I don't start generating some necessary extra income i'll be cut off at the knees on a lot of activities, the biggest factor being to bulk up this summer.
I've learned that i've hit a bit of a glass wall when it comes to training in terms of strength, and that's the fact that I don't have the body mass desperately needed to shape into hard-hitting muscle force. I'm an extremely skinny guy with a hyper-metabolism, so this has always been a real problem for me. Right now my figure is actually very toned, but that's only really beneficial if you're working out just to look pretty, and not gain some real upper body strength, which is required for upper body strikes and explosive energy. Fortunately for me, Krav Maga is more about core energy (which I have), and the best KM instructors in the world are lanky, skinny dudes, which is great for me in the long run. Right now I need that extra size to build confidence in my form and power, because technique, while superior, only comes after many hard years of practice, where as size can be acquired through months in comparison.
But again, my overall problem is that to really knuckle down on this, i'm going to have to learn how to prepare high-calorie intake meals, as well as have the extra bank necessary to stock up to eat four hearty meals a day. In the meantime, what are some things that I can buy that won't rape my budget to hard and leave my wallet in ruins? Stuff on the cheap that has an assload of carbs and the vitamins that I need to fulfil my daily intake?
I don't have a scale, so i'll give you my current weight/size dimensions as soon as I can, but I need to know what is a realistic weight goal to shoot for during my five month break from my primary school.
On a related note, Toronto's beef/meat quality is horrible and over-priced in comparison to my home state of Texas, and I don't like dropping $TEXAS for shit cuts of beef, chicken and pork. If anyone could help with this i'd greatly appreciate this as well.
TL : DR - Need to bulk up size for Krav Maga instructor training without killing my food budget costs. What can I do and what type of meal plan should I shoot for during my five month break?
I'm attempting to become a Krav Maga instructor by early/mid 2011, and i've been training technique and physically for the past two-ish months, both from my KM instructor and my personal trainer, who builds workout routines exclusively around this style of combat. So far i'm in the best shape i've ever been in my life, and i'm well on my way to becoming an instructor to help generate more income for school/living expenses.
However, because of my demanding 35-hour weekly school schedule with at least 3 hours of homework a night, my eating habits have ranged from fair to piss poor. I've literally done everything that I can to eat healthy/correctly, but these last six weeks have been brutal academic-wise, so something had to give. I finally, finally turned in my final assignment for the term yesterday evening, so i'm officially free.
My top priority goal this year is to study realism art over the summer (which after going through the trials of hell I achieved), but at an expense of me having to live as cheaply as possible until I start generating some income. Since i'm studying in Canada on a student visa at a private institution not recognized by the Canadian government, this means that I cannot apply for a student work visa, so legally I can't seek out work/apply for a regular work visa until I already get hired somewhere up here.
That's another issue entirely, but long story short if I don't start generating some necessary extra income i'll be cut off at the knees on a lot of activities, the biggest factor being to bulk up this summer.
I've learned that i've hit a bit of a glass wall when it comes to training in terms of strength, and that's the fact that I don't have the body mass desperately needed to shape into hard-hitting muscle force. I'm an extremely skinny guy with a hyper-metabolism, so this has always been a real problem for me. Right now my figure is actually very toned, but that's only really beneficial if you're working out just to look pretty, and not gain some real upper body strength, which is required for upper body strikes and explosive energy. Fortunately for me, Krav Maga is more about core energy (which I have), and the best KM instructors in the world are lanky, skinny dudes, which is great for me in the long run. Right now I need that extra size to build confidence in my form and power, because technique, while superior, only comes after many hard years of practice, where as size can be acquired through months in comparison.
But again, my overall problem is that to really knuckle down on this, i'm going to have to learn how to prepare high-calorie intake meals, as well as have the extra bank necessary to stock up to eat four hearty meals a day. In the meantime, what are some things that I can buy that won't rape my budget to hard and leave my wallet in ruins? Stuff on the cheap that has an assload of carbs and the vitamins that I need to fulfil my daily intake?
I don't have a scale, so i'll give you my current weight/size dimensions as soon as I can, but I need to know what is a realistic weight goal to shoot for during my five month break from my primary school.
On a related note, Toronto's beef/meat quality is horrible and over-priced in comparison to my home state of Texas, and I don't like dropping $TEXAS for shit cuts of beef, chicken and pork. If anyone could help with this i'd greatly appreciate this as well.
TL : DR - Need to bulk up size for Krav Maga instructor training without killing my food budget costs. What can I do and what type of meal plan should I shoot for during my five month break?
Godfather on
Posts
Peanut butter
Ice Cream
5 eggs a day
McDonald's (yes, really)
KFC's new dish
Buffets
Protein Shakes
http://www.70sbig.com/
They're easy to cook, you can make scrambled eggs, put them in breakfast burritos, put them in milkshakes, fried egg sandwiches, boiled eggs, poached, egg salad, deviled eggs, fritatta's, quiche, omelets, put them on a chef's salad, eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner. Each of those has a dozen different variations too.
Eggs supply all essential amino acids and they are considered a meat under the FDA food pyramid.
yeah I know. Some people put some faith in it though.
You can also mix lots of those things together; for a while I was having ice cream, milk, and peanut butter mixed in a blender between meals. That alone is a ton of calories and you can chug it in under 10 seconds if you really want to.
Also, keep snacks around you 24/7. I keep a big ass can of peanuts by my computer and in my backpack.
I get these frozen chicken strips / breast for fairly cheap in the states. It's not really Tyson (though similar I think). Back when I was living with the rents, we ate chicken a lot because you could get a big bag of it for like $8. Right now, I've got a bag I've been eating out of at least 3 nights per week (2 - 3 strips) for the last month.
Another thing we did was pinto beans. I hated them but if you've got a crock pot you can cook them during the day and have a good meal for extremely cheap. Throw in some fried potatoes and you can feed a family for extremely cheap.
Pasta is a great cheap meal. If you balance you're noodles, pasta sauce, and meat, you can expect to eat a few times off one jar of sauce and a box of noodles. It goes good with the chicken I mentioned earlier.
Eggs are a great source of protein. And if you're creative with them, you can eat eggs all the time and never have the same thing twice. Bread + Eggs are real life savers when you're hungry and down to your last few dollars.
I know these might not be high calorie or very lean, but it is a cheap source of food. Maybe it'll help?
Chicken.
Chicken.
http://www.proteinfactory.com.
Chicken.
2% Milk.
Chicken.
That should have you covered.
Fuck, just read this.
http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/carnals-treatise-heavy-iron-402978/
Corned Beef Hash (the grocery stores answer to Anadrol 50)
Chicken (fried, baked, BBQ'd whatever)
Beef
Pork
Fish
Mac and Cheese
Pizza (especially with lots of meat)
Burrito's
Potatoes (mashed, au grattin, red skin, golden, whatever, just shove them down your gullet)
More or less, if it's full of protein, fat and carbs, you want it in your belly.
If you happen to be a skinny fuck naturally, then you can go even crazier. Eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s before you go to sleep. Set your alarm for the middle of the night, get up and down a pre-prepared protein shake and go back to bed. Most ectomorphs who think they're eating a lot aren't eating enough to feed a gerbil. Eat as much as your budget will allow you to. If you have more or less unlimited access to food, eat until you feel sick. When you don't feel sick, eat some more. I'm dead serious. This is especially true if you’ve got a lot of Growin’ Food handy.
Dave Tate:
There was a time at the Old Westside gym where I couldn’t gain weight to save my ****ing life.
There was this dude who trained there who could just put on weight like ****ing magic. He’d go from 198 to 308 and then to 275 and back down to 198. And he was never fat. It was amazing.
I finally asked him one day how he did it.
“You mean I never told you the secret to gaining weight? Come outside and I’ll fill you in.”
Now remember, we’re at Westside Barbell. And this guy wants to go outside to talk so no one else can hear. Think about that for a minute. What the hell is he going to tell me? This must be some serious **** if we have to go outside, I thought.
So we get outside and he starts talking.
“For breakfast you need to eat four of those breakfast sandwiches from McDonalds. I don’t care which ones you get, but make sure to get four. Order four hash browns, too. Now grab two packs of mayonnaise and put them on the hash browns and then slip them into the sandwiches. Squish that **** down and eat. That’s your breakfast.”
At this point I’m thinking this guy is nuts. But he’s completely serious.
“For lunch you’re gonna eat Chinese food. Now I don’t want you eating that crappy stuff. You wanna get the stuff with MSG. None of that non-MSG bull****. I don’t care what you eat but you have to sit down and eat for at least 45 minutes straight. You can’t let go of the fork. Eat until your eyes swell up and become slits and you start to look like the woman behind the counter.”
“For dinner you’re gonna order an extra-large pizza with everything on it. Literally everything. If you don’t like sardines, don’t put ’em on, but anything else that you like you have to load it on there. After you pay the delivery guy, I want you to take the pie to your coffee table, open that ****er up, and grab a bottle of oil. It can be olive oil, canola oil, whatever. Anything but motor oil. And I want you to pour that **** over the pie until half of the bottle is gone. Just soak the **** out of it.”
“Now before you lay into it, I want you to sit on your couch and just stare at that ****er. I want you to understand that that pizza right there is keeping you from your goals.”
This guy is in a zen-like state when he’s talking about this.
“Now you’re on the clock,” he continues. “After 20 minutes your brain is going to tell you you’re full. Don’t listen to that ****. You have to try and eat as much of the pizza as you can before that 20-minute mark. Double up pieces if you have to. I’m telling you now, you’re going to get three or four pieces in and you’re gonna want to quit. You ****ing can’t quit. You have to sit on that couch until every piece is done.
And if you can’t finish it, don’t you ever come back to me and tell me you can’t gain weight. ’Cause I’m gonna tell you that you don’t give a **** about getting bigger and you don’t care how much you lift!”
Did I do it? Hell yeah. Started the next day and did it for two months. Went from 260 pounds to 297 pounds. And I didn’t get much fatter. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, though.
I'll be honest with you. That sounds pretty disgusting. And expensive.
I'm gonna pick up reguar, non-lean cut ground beef, practically drown it in worchestershire sauce, and stack on the cheese like it's going out of style for today. I'll have to pick the cheapest brand of GB with the largest amount of size, as well as stock up on pasta and some type of sauce.
Right now the ice cream seems like a bit of a luxury until I start generating some income, but it's definitely something to think about. And what's the deal with the protein shakes? Where can I get them, and how much will it cost?
EDIT: Yeah Bruce, that would rape my budget hardcore.
It's not an option at this point.
go to a Chinese or Indian neighborhood and get bulk rice or dal (lentils). These are like 10-lb bags. They are for families that eat rice at every meal ... or for broke people who want to gain weight. The bags are also pretty and reusable, for what it's worth.
As far as meat and price goes: you pay extra for convenience. For example, bone-in chicken breasts (or, even better, bone-in chicken thighs) are MUCH cheaper than boneless chicken breasts. You just have to do a little kitchen surgery to debone them. Consider buying cheap, neglected cuts of meat. If you want beef, get non-lean ground beef, skirt steak, tri-tip, or brisket. Don't forget organ meats. Pot roasts, shoulder and shank cuts usually require slow cooking -- you'll need a cookbook and some planning ahead -- but it's not really difficult cooking. Generally it just means you might do some prep and start your dinner in the morning, and then have several days worth of leftovers.
Also, Costco and Sam's Club are your friends.
The cheapest protein powder brand I've found is Optimum Whey.
http://numberblog.wordpress.com/
That would suck.
For a while I was eating a ridiculous diet to bulk up, we're talking between 3,000 and 4,000 calories a day. I was drinking a gallon of 2% milk a day. I was also eating a much cleaner diet than posted above, because hello diabetes.
Man I bulked up, and I got a lot stronger, but in the end my health suffered for it. Though I looked like a beast, my blood pressure was awful, my skin was awful..
It's not worth it IMHO. You're better to focus on not eating garbage, shoot for CLEAN calories (chicken, fish, beans, eggs, skim milk, whole grains, etc.) and try to pack in as much as you can. You'll feel better, and while you'll not necessarily get the same gains, you'll actually be healthy..
I'm actually doing that myself. I've amped my training way up, and am eating a beastly amount of clean calories. We'll see how much stronger I am after the summer.
YMMV obviously. I'm a hard gainer. Not a "I don't eat enough" hard gainer, but a "I have a small frame and am not predisposed to being athletic" hard gainer. Even eating like a pig and training hard I could never break 200 pounds.
I need explosive energy and stamina; this is not up for debate. I don't care if eating fast food three times a day will get me that size, if I can't move the muscle I worked so hard to gain efficiently, the entire process was worthless.
I just need to stock up enough without murdering my body in the long run. I need the size, but the stamina and endurance comes first. I'm not shooting to deadlift for a living, I simply need enough power to be able to explode with the necessary force whenever threatened. I've learned throughout training that size means nothing in a fight, and once I get a hold of the back of the neck, the fight is over, and he'll probably have his arm broken as a result.
To be an instructor you have to go through nine days of pure hell, from 9 to 5 with no breaks, where they'll come at me with baseball bats, various knives, different firearms, and blunt force striking power. And then I have to do this twice, the second time through twice as difficult.
I need the size to build muscle, but I need to move it efficiently. I'm not bulking up to become bouncer security at some club, i'm undergoing training to get paid to save lives for a living. There is a huge difference here. I need to be on my A-game for this to work.
Recommend anything dietary-wise, but if it's going to cause my sodium level intake to kill me by age twenty five then i'll have to pass. I want to bulk up, but on a clean diet that won't murder my internal organs.
Here's a photo of my current size. Apologies for the crap photo, it was literally the best one I could get that day:
And if the mods allow it, here's where I stand in terms of core strength. Just an abdominal shot, so i'm going to spoiler it:
I'm just looking to add some more size in the arms and pectorals. I need them the most for fundamental palm strikes and punches, as the more advanced movements use abdominals/core energy first, tear/break away motions second, and brute force third. I need the stamina above all else, but even though brute strength is number 3 on the list, it's still extremely important to gain.
I just need to do this in an educated, smart fashion.
If you want bigger arms and pecs, do chest (bench press, etc.) exercises.
Usually, for upper body, the big three is bench press, rows (preferably standing), and military press. But, I'm almost certain someone will argue this.
You asked about making a protein shake. I can only really speak as a vegetarian, but I have a number of shakes I like to make. Whoever said eggs in a shake? Ew. You'll want to start with milk, obviously. They taste a lot better with ice-cream added, and obviously would have more calories with it, but you don't have to add that if budget doesn't allow. Throw a bunch of peanut butter in for some more protein and calories. Add a little fruit to taste (I keep frozen strawberries and fresh bananas on hand most of the week), and put in whatever else you think would be good. Instant oats are good, and as long as you blend for a while, wont be gritty. Protein powder is good, and if you're going for calories, I assume whey protein is better than soy protein. A lot of powders taste disgusting, but I like the Trader Joe's Whey Protein brand. To top it off, throw some avocado in there for some extra healthy fat, but you might need to make it sweeter with the fruit to balance the non sweet flavors to make it palatable.
Most of the ingredients are easy to keep on hand, but it's easy to sub different components out for other things if you run out of one ingredient. I put spinach that was going bad into a cycling recovery drink once, and it was delicious.
Eat that god damn KFC
You might look good and cut for today's emaciated standards, but if you wish to be more useful for sports and competition, you need to be bigger and stronger. Say good bye to those abs and say hello to your new traps and lats.
You've got to understand that the training needs of an athlete are different than from the lazy potatoes!
I am eating burgers left and right, protein shakes, eggs, milk and pizza. I am eating more than 4000 calories every day, sometimes 5000. Even with that, weightlifting and football season have made me their bitch. I am losing strength and weight like a mofo.
If your technique is as good as you say it is, getting stronger will only make you a better athlete at your sport. It is so rare a sport where getting stronger and putting weight on a squat or a deadlift are counterproductive.
Strong is never a liability
If you are going to get big, you need to eat big. There is only so much you can eat with lean meats and clean dieting. I am sorry, but you are going to pack fat with it. It's not going to be forever and as soon as you get to your target weight, you'll be able to cut and eat decently again. The fat will drop like crazy.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING YOU'LL DO FOREVER.
It's a bulking diet and it's going to take you about 10 weeks to get those extra 20 lb of muscle. Do it right the first time so you won't have to do it again.
This will get you big fast
edit: and if you want to stay away from the fried go for grilled, though I love fried myself
Also, I'm sure you are joking, but those guys in the 70's took all kinds of pills and 'roids. Probably not the path you want to take.
Quick food list:
Flax, Olive, coconut, fish oil
Macadema, Walnuts, Almonds, Peanuts, Pecans, Pine
Various nut butters (of above types)
Pumpkin and flax seeds
Protein/Fat
Herring, Salmon, fatty yellowtail, fatty bluefin, shrimp (WILD ONLY)
Grass-fed beef or (preferably) buffalo/bison, ribeye cuts (NEVER CORN FED)
Turkey, Chicken, Pork (FRESH, NOT DELI)
Eggs
Whole milk
Iclandic skyr yogurt (this is the best)
Fiber/Nutrients
Bellpeppers (any color), celery, broccoli, tomatoes, blueberries, pineapple, oranges
Black beans, garbanzo beans (hummus works, too).
Protein shakes
Whey isolate (after workout)
Micellar (before bed and morning)
Energy
Oatmeal, heavy sprout/grain bread, lentils
Quick meal plan:
Micellar Casein Protein Powder - 3 scoops + cinnamon
Eggs whole - 1
Egg whites - 6
Oranges (lowers cortisol levels, good for smaller guys) - 2 medium
Pineapple (Bromelain = awesome) - 1 cup
Lunch
Micellar Casein Protein Powder - 2 scoops
Chicken, Turkey, or Pork (FRESH, NOT DELI)- 200g
Tomato - 2 medium
Broccoli - 1/2 cup
Dinner
Salmon, Fatty Yellowtail, Fatty Bluefin, Hering or shrimp - 200g
Whey Isolate Protein Powder - 2 scoops
Broccoli - 1 cup
Tomato - 2 medium
Post-workout
Whey Isolate Protein Powder - 2 scoops + cinnamon
Orange - 1 medium
Others
Snack 1
Protein Bar (NO SUGAR) - 1
Orange - 1 medium
Snack 2
Protein Bar (NO SUGAR) - 1
Apple - 1 medium
Pineapple - 1/2 cup
Before bed
Micellar Casein Protein Powder - 1 scoop
Whey Isolate Protein Powder - 1 scoop
Celery - 1 cup
Broccoli - 1 cup
*Micellar Casein = slow digesting protein, take in morning and before bed. Taken with fiber (veggies) will enhance absorption.
That is over 3k calories and over 300g of protein from quality, clean, healthy food. Adjust as needed. All you need to do is create a quality exercise routine. PM if you want help with that. It will take two weeks for your body to get used to this. Stick with it 95% for at least 14 days. After that, you're set. Your body will crave this stuff.
Like I said in the PM. You are what you eat. Power won't come from muscle mass alone. You need to functionally train your body (and nervous system) if you want to build useful muscle for what you are doing.
LURK mod for SoC|Backloggery|XBL|XFire|Steam|Zune
For what you want to do, you need to not worry too much about traditional weightlifting. You need to look into olympic weightlifting, plyometrics, jump training, tire flipping, weighted sprinting, etc.
As far as "core strength," the saying is "abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." Having a six pack just means you need to eat more food and drink more water, not that you're in awesome shape.
And yeah.. always deadlift.
For the record, Daemonion is a kravist as well, so he knows what's demanded for the activity, and what each exercise is used for.
Mainly looking for diet advice here. I'm not glazing over the KFC/fast food posts, I just have to look at my options monetary-wise. Last night I picked up a pound of medium-grade ground beef, the fattiest sliced cheese I could find and a bag of hamburger buns, as well as the largest/cheapest ice cream I could find.
That made four burgers lathered in Worcestershire sauce with 2 slices of velveta cheese, followed by two large milkshakes, and I wolfed them all down. I literally felt like I was dying.
I am not ignoring the advice here, trust me. I just want to protect my body from all the unnecessary, unwanted fats that will hurt me in the long run.
EDIT: Also, no, strength will not make me better at this thing. It will help build up confidence, but it's entirely technique based. You focus on tearing away from your attacker and speed to get the job done, not brute force. That doesn't come until many years of hard training. Have you seen the top Krav Maga fighters in Israel? They're skinny as hell. I went to a seminar where the second best KV fighter in the world was there, and that guy was practically a stick. Took down my instructor in a fraction of a second.
Strength means nothing, it's just generally a good idea to have it.
If you aren't Squattin, pressing, benching, deadlifting, power cleaning, doing dips, chins and pullups, it is BS for sports. Maybe not for aesthetics, but as far as sports go, that's what you need
http://www.70sbig.com/?p=181