College muscle

[Z-FIT]

Hey what's up you guys im postin this thread just to see everybody out there that bodybuilds while going to college. When dieting I think carbs are very important because I'm always walking to and from class all day and I am actually seeing good results, decreasing fat while holding onto muscle. Any other input about college bodybuilding would be awesome!

[G-Roy]

Hey what's up you guys im postin this thread just to see everybody out there that bodybuilds while going to college. When dieting I think carbs are very important because I'm always walking to and from class all day and I am actually seeing good results, decreasing fat while holding onto muscle. Any other input about college bodybuilding would be awesome!

Its def hard with odd hours and messed up sleep patterns; not mention all the temptations that abound in college. Im almost 2 years out of college and I honestly think the best diet approach is keto style diet but in college it can be dificult especially if you like to have a few beers or hit up the cafeteria.

[AFTazz06]

Its def hard with odd hours and messed up sleep patterns; not mention all the temptations that abound in college. Im almost 2 years out of college and I honestly think the best diet approach is keto style diet but in college it can be dificult especially if you like to have a few beers or hit up the cafeteria.


The best thing to do is not have those few beers and avoid going to the cafeterias. I have done both bulk and keto during my college career and i can honestly say, yeah its tough but it can be done. It just depends on how badly you want to reach that higher level for your physique. i know a couple of other guys that are huge, ripped and one of them is a medical major, so if he can do it, anybody sure can.

[GrayBull]

The cafeteria is great for bulking!

Mountain high ice cream waffles, and double stacked blueberry bagels cheesburgers... oh yeah. 'Freshman 15' was an all to easy task.

[Z-FIT]

hahaa i hear ya man i'm one week out right now then after my show im gonna blow up like a balloon!

[Dr.Natural1988]

I'm a sophmore in college too right now man...its not easy balancing school with all the eating and lifting, but if i wanted to do something easy i'd stick to something lame ass like chess. As for now my only advice is EAAT...now is the time to grow!

[G-Roy]

The best thing to do is not have those few beers and avoid going to the cafeterias. I have done both bulk and keto during my college career and i can honestly say, yeah its tough but it can be done. It just depends on how badly you want to reach that higher level for your physique. i know a couple of other guys that are huge, ripped and one of them is a medical major, so if he can do it, anybody sure can.

we all know drinking is detrimental but Im glad I didnt totally avoid alcohol because I had a lot of fun in college d drunks when youre sober. Im nto going on a rant about you should drink booze but in college a few occasional beers will provide you with some good memories.

[CodyKelly]

I hear ya guys. All my buddies are calling me on the time "Yo, bro lets go party"!!! "Na, man on my keto diet. lol. I'm losing friends over this diet, but screw em. haha

[ANADROLicfreak]

suffering for the cause i see.ha

[Nelford]

Have fun while you are in college. I party all the time when I was in College and was still able to add muscle to this frame. Once you get out there in the real world of working a full-time job you will be missing those good old college days.

[txmuscle]

Freshman year was the hardest living in the dorm. I gained the freshman 15 but it wasn't as solid as i would have liked. Once i got into a house and could cook all my meals i was able to really blow up in a good way.

[billyjr]

Best thing I did was become friends with the cafeteria employees. They would hook me up with huge sandwiches. I actually got lucky and one of the guys who worked there part time was on my flag football team, he would literally stack a pound of turkey or ham into a roll, it was insane.

But yea, I suggest your freshman year to try your best, get your schoolwork done and do as much as possible until your settled in. When your settled, you can really plan your diet around your schedule.

[esgibson]

hey guys i'm in college right now and i'm dieting for my shows this year. i'm about 3 weeks out from my first one and honestly..i think it's easier dieting in school than it is over the summer. it would simple be because i'm away from home and all the food i have to eat is what i buy.....not what my parents buy....the key is..don't buy junk food!!! and as for drinkin a couple of beers..i turned 21 within 2 weeks of starting my diet and i didn't have a drink..it all depends on how bad u want it and how hard ur willing to push urself..and when ur friends tell u that ur lame for not goin out and stuff on the weekends...don't worry about it cuz ur doin something they could never dream of accomplishing...

[Joshua H]

After what will be 6 years of college uncluding both my undergrad and my graduate college years I have run the gaunlet of learning how to eat well and not eat well in college. As many have said already you can, yes you can manage to cut or bulk while in college. I did it twice, several other college buddies of mine in our campus fitness club also did so succesfully. I must say however that I feel these years (age 19-22) would be better spent getting as huge as you possibly can by taking time to train and eat (mostly clean). You can look at it as a quadrennial plan as do Olympians who compete once every 4 years. Spend each year of college (and even grad school if you pursue that path) to add new demensions of training and nutritional wisdom and experience to your arsenal of bodybuilding know how. Plan out your training and your goals just like you do you major. What classes you need, what order to take them etc. Plan your training in like its a class in and of itself (which it damn well is given the amount of life long benefit and knowledge you will ascertain from eating better, working out, cardio, keeping a decent body comp etc.)

Then at the end or near the end of your college career (pending internships and job offers) look to do a show so that it all culminates in a worthwile effort that you and everyone else can see the payoff for. Or allow all the years you have under you belt to continue on after college and then do a show or several shows after your more established and making steady income to support your competition plans. Either way if you compete in college or after, it is possible to live like a real bodybuilder. If you live in a dorm, an apartment, a house, what ever, it can be done. Listen to what other past and present college guys and gals do now for tips and suggestions. If your in a tough spot its likely someone else has been as well and they found a way to work around it.

My last little two cents of information is on the topic of alcohol. I leave off with this only because I saw my fare share of college guys and gals who let themselves get so f---cked up in their college years (I was a dormatory RA for 3 years) that it really turned me off (even more the I already was) to drinking all together. I then found even more reason to minimize such activity after starting graduate school and learning about alcohols effetcs on athletic performance. I give this speech to athletes all the time when they ask about how "bad" drinking really is for them if they play a sport in college. So take a look below...



The skinny on alcohol is that it does throw your bodies physiology out of its normal loop for a temporary period of time. Alchohol should be viewed more as a carb then as a fat or protein for that matter because it is in fact a form of sugar. It is caloricly more dense then carbs however with its 7 calories per grams vs carbohydrates 4 calories per gram. This is where the notion of trying to drink in place of eating to lose weight falls flat on its face since your not saving any calories in the end. As far as alcohols impact on the body and performance yes it is a CNS depressent. That in itself is a big red flag for a serious athlete needing full activation of the CNS for optimal performance.

But on a metabolic level alcohol also causes for some clashing to occure. Alcohol needs to go through the liver first for detoxification before entering into general circulation, this messes with protein synthesis, IGF-1 release, blood glucose levles and general recovery. Alcohol also causes for the inhibition of the brain peptide hormone ADH or antidiuretic hormone which then causes or leads to dehydration which brings on a new set of performance detrements.

One last note to consider is that ethyl alchohol is metabolized and absorbed much faster then carbs or fats so it basicly puts a nice block on those foods (carbs and fats) from being used as fuel becuse your body is busy breaking down and using the alcohol as a fuel source leaving anything else you consume to be stored away as fat more or less. (This is where "beer gut" gets its roots, because it promotes abdominal fat deposition).


The rule of thumb I use to tell my athletes and or clients is that when you feel like you have a buzz going you know you have hit your bodies threshold for alcohol metabolism. The alcohol is entering into what we science geeks call the krebs cycle or in some books the TCA cycle. When you feel a buzz it is partly the cerebral effects of alcohol taking place and partly the maximum rate at which alcohol can enter into the TCA cycle and continue to spin to produce energy for general human physiology.


If you continue to drink while buzzed or go right to smashed, you can be sure you have superseeded your bodies limits and landed in an acute bout of metabolic chaos of which with time (and more water) will return to baseline.


The hangover of course is then your bodies shift off the alcohol and back to burning the slower to breakdown and assimilate glucose and fatty acids from carbs and fats as it was ment to do. This added to the dehydration your body has delt with its no wounder that your head is ready to pop the next morning!

Think before you drink!

[Z-FIT]

hey Josh thanks man you gave some good information it'll make for some good excuses to give when im dieting

[meatheadio]

After what will be 6 years of college uncluding both my undergrad and my graduate college years I have run the gaunlet of learning how to eat well and not eat well in college. As many have said already you can, yes you can manage to cut or bulk while in college. I did it twice, several other college buddies of mine in our campus fitness club also did so succesfully. I must say however that I feel these years (age 19-22) would be better spent getting as huge as you possibly can by taking time to train and eat (mostly clean). You can look at it as a quadrennial plan as do Olympians who compete once every 4 years. Spend each year of college (and even grad school if you pursue that path) to add new demensions of training and nutritional wisdom and experience to your arsenal of bodybuilding know how. Plan out your training and your goals just like you do you major. What classes you need, what order to take them etc. Plan your training in like its a class in and of itself (which it damn well is given the amount of life long benefit and knowledge you will ascertain from eating better, working out, cardio, keeping a decent body comp etc.)

Then at the end or near the end of your college career (pending internships and job offers) look to do a show so that it all culminates in a worthwile effort that you and everyone else can see the payoff for. Or allow all the years you have under you belt to continue on after college and then do a show or several shows after your more established and making steady income to support your competition plans. Either way if you compete in college or after, it is possible to live like a real bodybuilder. If you live in a dorm, an apartment, a house, what ever, it can be done. Listen to what other past and present college guys and gals do now for tips and suggestions. If your in a tough spot its likely someone else has been as well and they found a way to work around it.

My last little two cents of information is on the topic of alcohol. I leave off with this only because I saw my fare share of college guys and gals who let themselves get so f---cked up in their college years (I was a dormatory RA for 3 years) that it really turned me off (even more the I already was) to drinking all together. I then found even more reason to minimize such activity after starting graduate school and learning about alcohols effetcs on athletic performance. I give this speech to athletes all the time when they ask about how "bad" drinking really is for them if they play a sport in college. So take a look below...



The skinny on alcohol is that it does throw your bodies physiology out of its normal loop for a temporary period of time. Alchohol should be viewed more as a carb then as a fat or protein for that matter because it is in fact a form of sugar. It is caloricly more dense then carbs however with its 7 calories per grams vs carbohydrates 4 calories per gram. This is where the notion of trying to drink in place of eating to lose weight falls flat on its face since your not saving any calories in the end. As far as alcohols impact on the body and performance yes it is a CNS depressent. That in itself is a big red flag for a serious athlete needing full activation of the CNS for optimal performance.

But on a metabolic level alcohol also causes for some clashing to occure. Alcohol needs to go through the liver first for detoxification before entering into general circulation, this messes with protein synthesis, IGF-1 release, blood glucose levles and general recovery. Alcohol also causes for the inhibition of the brain peptide hormone ADH or antidiuretic hormone which then causes or leads to dehydration which brings on a new set of performance detrements.

One last note to consider is that ethyl alchohol is metabolized and absorbed much faster then carbs or fats so it basicly puts a nice block on those foods (carbs and fats) from being used as fuel becuse your body is busy breaking down and using the alcohol as a fuel source leaving anything else you consume to be stored away as fat more or less. (This is where "beer gut" gets its roots, because it promotes abdominal fat deposition).


The rule of thumb I use to tell my athletes and or clients is that when you feel like you have a buzz going you know you have hit your bodies threshold for alcohol metabolism. The alcohol is entering into what we science geeks call the krebs cycle or in some books the TCA cycle. When you feel a buzz it is partly the cerebral effects of alcohol taking place and partly the maximum rate at which alcohol can enter into the TCA cycle and continue to spin to produce energy for general human physiology.


If you continue to drink while buzzed or go right to smashed, you can be sure you have superseeded your bodies limits and landed in an acute bout of metabolic chaos of which with time (and more water) will return to baseline.


The hangover of course is then your bodies shift off the alcohol and back to burning the slower to breakdown and assimilate glucose and fatty acids from carbs and fats as it was ment to do. This added to the dehydration your body has delt with its no wounder that your head is ready to pop the next morning!

Think before you drink!

Your two cents was much appreciated and a very well articulated response.
College (or univeristy as we call it here in Aus.) can be hard when either bulking or dieting. Keto diet is the hardest of all becasue if you are not prepared then it can be extremely hard to find a substitute for that meal.
I agree that these years (18 right up to 30) are the best years for optimal growth and we should take advantage of this to pack on a s much muscle as possible. Note I said muscle. Not just getting 'big' when really all your getting is fat. If its not qaulity then you probably shouldn't be eating it on a regular basis. Put the best in to get the best out.
On a final not, use this time to learn. No other tool is more powerful than the mind. Take advantage of the fact that you have almost unlimited access tan ever expanding training and nutritonal knowledge database and find out as much as you can. You will reap the rewards for the rest of your life.
Happy growing.

[ironstudent]

Been doin it for 3 years, its just about time management. Almost no different than working 8 hours of the day.

[militantmuscle]

Your two cents was much appreciated and a very well articulated response.
College (or univeristy as we call it here in Aus.) can be hard when either bulking or dieting. Keto diet is the hardest of all becasue if you are not prepared then it can be extremely hard to find a substitute for that meal.
I agree that these years (18 right up to 30) are the best years for optimal growth and we should take advantage of this to pack on a s much muscle as possible. Note I said muscle. Not just getting 'big' when really all your getting is fat. If its not qaulity then you probably shouldn't be eating it on a regular basis. Put the best in to get the best out.
On a final not, use this time to learn. No other tool is more powerful than the mind. Take advantage of the fact that you have almost unlimited access tan ever expanding training and nutritonal knowledge database and find out as much as you can. You will reap the rewards for the rest of your life.
Happy growing.


I am in the same predicament as you are, if I am in a fix I just try to use chicken salads (lettuce has zero calories) or hamburgers without the bun (or ketchup) to get by, it's not perfect but you will stay in ketosis.

[meatheadio]

I am in the same predicament as you are, if I am in a fix I just try to use chicken salads (lettuce has zero calories) or hamburgers without the bun (or ketchup) to get by, it's not perfect but you will stay in ketosis.

I feel your pain, being prepared makes SUCH a big difference. Getting used to eating cold meals helps too.

[GrayBull]

hahaa i hear ya man i'm one week out right now then after my show im gonna blow up like a balloon!

How'd you dooooo?? Any pics from the comp?

[Jaredmus]

Ya im competting in a little under 5 weeks than again the week after that, and depending how i do in the teen division i might do teen nationals, in july than maybe northeastern in november? But im goin to college next year, and i plan on bulking as much as i can and taking advantage of the unlimited meal plan. And just compete over the summer. Such as the teen nationals and other stuff. i could be wrong but i think bulking unless competing for a show is smart. You can bulk and stay lean at the smae time you know.

[Irish]

Ive just finished four years of college and during that time I managed to increase lean muscle mass and strength during that time. It is hard when your in college and your lectures and timetable are a bit unpredictable at times as well as the never ending assignments, class tests and final thesis, however I always went prepared and packed enough food and/or shakes for the day. Somtimes when I was in a lecture and it was time to eat i'd simply open my bag and eat, you have to get the protein in.

And as far as drinking goes I usually only drink on a friday or saturday night as it dosent seem to effect my mon-fri workouts. You sorta have to go out when your in college or you might have regrets later on in life, think of all those drunkin women and crazy parties you could be missing:D Trying to find a balance between being a commited lifter and enjoying a few beers with your mates every now and again is what I think is important. Hangovers are obviously the worst part of drinking but if you do decide to go out and get pissed every once in a while follow these rules to prevent/minimize a hangover because they work, fact.

1. Before you go out have a decent meal

2. Don't drink shots (it might seem like a good idea at the time but it won't the next morning when your feeling like shit and your head is pounding:D)

3. After your night out have a decent size meal and drink 1.5 - 1.75 litres of water.

When you wake up the next morning you might be tired or whatever but I guarantee that you won't have that hardcore hangover feeling and if you don't feel like eating for a few hours just drink a few protein shakes.:beerbang: