Originally posted by: deadlift

5x5 is a good starting place. I'd also consider 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. Both are percentage based programs, which is love and the workouts will have you in and out of the gym in under an hour if your busting it. Whichever program you choose.. stick with it for atleast 6 months. You will see gains from either of these programs if you're dedicated and your nutrition and rest is on point.

Considering you do manual labor you're probably going to wanna up those calories A LOT once you get in the gym. I'm 175lbs when i'm not competing and do not work a manual labor job, but I have to consume 3200 calories to just maintain my weight because of the amount of work i put in at the gym. Everyone is different and you just have to find your sweet spot in terms of the amount of calories you need for your desired goal. A good start is to find your maintenance level and add 300 calories and monitor your progress for 2 weeks and evaluate. if you're adding too much fat, cut calories.. if you're losing or staying idle.. add 100-200 calories and do it all again. Like I said, everyone is different and you just have to find what works for you.

You say you don't eat a lot of meat or dairy.. so i'm probably not the person to talk to about what you should eat to hit your goal. Wren would be a better person to offer advice about what to eat as a replacement for meat and dairy to hit your protein needs.

If you have any questions about anything i'm more than willing to help.

edit: i don't know how much experience you have with strength training and the main compound lifts, but master your form and don't start off these programs with inflated numbers.. it's better to start conservative because if you don't and you're not prepared.. you'll be in for a rude awakening real quick.

Originally posted by: Aunt_Pee

dead lift, i need to shed pound age but keep tight. i also dont care about loosing weight. in fact i want to gain muscle mass and just lose the fat.


will this battle be fought in the kitchen? will i need to add a cardio regiment to my lifting routine. both?


halp

Originally posted by: Breakfast Sandwiches

what foods / meals would you recommend eating if you wanted to increase muscle by 10 - 15 pounds, but avoiding things like bread and pastas.