The Fysical Phitness Thread

[DM]

WB: personally, I wouldn't isolate your abs like that for an entire week (I'm assuming a phase is one week long). Mix those exercises into Phase One, do them after the lifting but before the cool down. Or, start with abs, and then move onto the other muscle groups. The way you have it laid out, you're going to stunt the growth of all your muscle groups because there is too much time in between workouts that isolate them. I'd also bring up the lack of variation, but at the beginning of a new regimen, it's not bad to keep it simple.

so i'm 5'5, 15, and 120 pounds and i wanna try and bulk up. i'm pretty defined as in i have a six pack and my biceps / triceps are obvious but i can't seem to gain any weight. i know that i'm supposed to eat a lot / lift but i don't have any access to weights. any suggestions? /: i dunno if bodyweight exercises can substitute. i've actually been trying to do like a liter of milk per day but i haven't had any results at all.

my activity level is fairly high (i bboy and do random stuff like backflips, etc), if that makes any difference. i also can do one handed pushups so i'm not *completely* unathletic

First thing you need to do is start adding lots of lean protein (chicken, fish, whey powder) to your diet. Try to make sure your protein accounts for about 50% of your daily caloric intake.

Body weight exercises, if your only immediate tool, will have to do. If you're going to do pushups, do a LOT of them. Do 20 regular width, wait 60 seconds, then do 20 wide width, wait 60 seconds, then do 20 military... then do all three again, and then again. If 20 isn't enough, do 25 or 30. If it's still easy, you should invest in a weighted vest to wear while you work out. Also, don't do this every day, at most do it every other day.

also: how do you work your pecs? i've tried everything from dumbbell flies (i have up till 20 pounds dumbbells /:) to wide grip pushups but my shoulders are the only muscle that feel any pain

Without proper bench press equipment, your options are limited. Pushups and flies will get the job done, but at a much slower rate of growth than the traditional bench press.

 

[ssbbm]

would it be acceptable to do something like drink whey protein + milk? i use lactaid (haha) which has ~12 g of protein and my whey has 25 g per scoop so would drinking 3 cups of milk + whey a day be good enough?

also: thanks for the responses guys, guess it's time to get to a gym haha. oh, and i'm trying to actually bulk up not just gain weight (although i understand that i'll lose definition as i bulk /:)

 

[Stylish Interval]

why 50% protein on a bulk?

 

[WaterBomb]

@DM - actually Phases were going to be completely separate, with Phase 2 not beginning until Phase 1 was complete (I reach my desired look). Obviously I wouldn't completely stop working my other muscles after the phase was over so I could maintain the results, but I would downshift to a more upkeep regimen with light, toning lifts and focus on the abs.

I see what you're saying though. Would you recommend just combining the two phases and reworking the program so it's all done at once? Or maybe set it up something like this:

Day 1: arms and chest
Day 2: abs
Day 3: cardio
Day 4: arms and chest
Day 5: abs
Day 6: cardio
Day 7: rest

Does that work better? It's been so long since I assembled a program, I'm a bit rusty. Also I fully plan to add more varied exercises, I just wanted to keep it simple at the start like you noticed. What I have now is just a foundation, I haven't completely built the sets yet.

 

[WaterBomb]

sorry for double posting but ssbbmm you really want to try your best to get your protein and other things from natural sources. The problem with the whey protein supplements is they say they contain 25g of protein per scoop, but your body doesn't assimilate even close to all of it. I recommend lots of tuna (33g of protein per can), poultry, and other high protein foods in your diet and try your best to avoid the GNC bought supplements.

 

[Stylish Interval]

I'm just spitting shit out, I'm no expert, I just read a lot and spend my time digging through bookmarks, looking up articles, and copying and pasting links.

---

@Waterbomb,

Why not try some simple, cookie-cutter splits?

Split 1

Day 1: Back/triceps
Day 2: Chest/biceps
Day 3: Legs, shoulders, abs
Day 4: Off or repeat

Split 2

Day 1: Chest/Back
Day 2: Quads/Hams
Day 3: Biceps/Triceps
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Repeat

The most basic split of all time

Day 1: Chest
Day 2: Back
Day 3: Legs
Day 4: Arms and shoulders
Day 5: Off

Here's a T-Nation article in case you want to build your own though: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online...ance/how_to_design_a_damn_good_program_part_1

Not saying yours is bad, just saying it never hurts to read up! (Plus I love to plug T-Nation!)

---

@ssbbm,

Here is the hierarchy of body-weight exercises as I've learned it:

Pushups -> Close Grip / Triangle Pushups -> One Armed Pushups
Bodyweight Squats -> High Step Ups -> Pistols -> Jumping Pistols
Pullups -> Uneven Pullups -> One Armed Pullups
Situps -> Lying Straight Leg Raises -> Hanging Straight Leg Raises
Pushups -> Pike Pushups -> Handstand Pushups

Personally reccomend Convict Conditioning or You Are Your Own Gym. Never done them, but read success about the programs all the time. Reccomend looking into both (although you'll probably need to ask around if you aren't willing to drop a little cash [20-30 bucks, maybe?]).

Pullups >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your back gets huge from pullups.

Also bodyweight exercises are just grand. Herschel Walker never lifted weights. He just worked his way up to doing like 1000 (some 2000/3000) of every bodyweight exercise. This is him:

Kill 'em dead.

If you're looking to put on weight, eat more. Your BMR is 1537.1. Jock those calories up, bruh. Put peanut butter on everything. GOMAD is tried and true. Get a shit ton of nuts / trail mix and put it somewhere you walk by; take a handful everytime you walk by. (seriously, peanut butter on everything.) also i strongly disagree with 50% protein. that's pretty ridiculous for someone who obviously isn't eating much in the first place.

 

[popemobile]

I recommend adding exercises that aren't just for chest, arms and abs. You are working like 1/4th of your total muscle at the very most.

 

[Stathakis]

what stylish interval means is you should be doing full body heavy compounds 3x/week at least until you can get your squat to 250+ and then go with a cookie cutter split. you will be much better for it. look at rippetoe's starting strength or strong lifts 5x5. these seem to do the trick for most people.

edit @ssbbm, you can't go wrong with the bw exercises s_i has posted. I'd focus on making them harder though, rather than doing 1000+ reps. start adding weight to your pullups, consider dips and weighted dips, and WORK THEM PISTOLS. 100% srs, pistol squats might be the best bodyweight exercise in existence.

 

[Stylish Interval]

jumping pistols*** hahaha :P

 

[uragg]

what you really need to do is join #lifting so you can hang out with cool people and talk STRENGTH and LIFTING etc

 

[ssbbm]

thanks for the responses guys (:

sorry for double posting but ssbbmm you really want to try your best to get your protein and other things from natural sources. The problem with the whey protein supplements is they say they contain 25g of protein per scoop, but your body doesn't assimilate even close to all of it. I recommend lots of tuna (33g of protein per can), poultry, and other high protein foods in your diet and try your best to avoid the GNC bought supplements.

haha, i'll try to see what meat i can get (i try to eat like ~3 eggs a day so i'll see what i can do) thanks for the advice ^^

@ssbbm,

Here is the hierarchy of body-weight exercises as I've learned it:

Pushups -> Close Grip / Triangle Pushups -> One Armed Pushups
Bodyweight Squats -> High Step Ups -> Pistols -> Jumping Pistols
Pullups -> Uneven Pullups -> One Armed Pullups
Situps -> Lying Straight Leg Raises -> Hanging Straight Leg Raises
Pushups -> Pike Pushups -> Handstand Pushups

Personally reccomend Convict Conditioning or You Are Your Own Gym. Never done them, but read success about the programs all the time. Reccomend looking into both (although you'll probably need to ask around if you aren't willing to drop a little cash [20-30 bucks, maybe?]).

Pullups >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your back gets huge from pullups.

Also bodyweight exercises are just grand. Herschel Walker never lifted weights. He just worked his way up to doing like 1000 (some 2000/3000) of every bodyweight exercise. This is him:
If you're looking to put on weight, eat more. Your BMR is 1537.1. Jock those calories up, bruh. Put peanut butter on everything. GOMAD is tried and true. Get a shit ton of nuts / trail mix and put it somewhere you walk by; take a handful everytime you walk by. (seriously, peanut butter on everything.) also i strongly disagree with 50% protein. that's pretty ridiculous for someone who obviously isn't eating much in the first place.

haha, i'm allergic to nuts :x but i'll try to get some nut-free high protein things (although i can't find any -_____-) but it's good to know that i can get big with bw exercises

edit @ssbbm, you can't go wrong with the bw exercises s_i has posted. I'd focus on making them harder though, rather than doing 1000+ reps. start adding weight to your pullups, consider dips and weighted dips, and WORK THEM PISTOLS. 100% srs, pistol squats might be the best bodyweight exercise in existence.

thanks! i actually do do some pistol squats actually already haha although i'll try them weighted now X)

oh, and since i heard you were resident usain bolt: every time i try to run my lower back flexes really hard and it gets incredibly painful - is this a problem in technique or just natural running pain? it doesn't hurt when i do like 100 m (i ran track last year but stopped :x)

 

[Stathakis]

umm, it could be either of the two. for instance, if you are arching your back like crazy it might be bad for you. "proper technique" is running with your hips really forward, so pretend your are thrusting a girl and see if that hip position helps. if it does not help, then it may be a core imbalance (too strong abs not strong enough lower back??? idk). I'd say if you are doing any sort of ab work add planks to it. planks basically strengthen your actual core muscles rather than the abs people see, so they translate much better to running. also, they strengthen both sides of the pair of muscles (i.e. not just front but also back). idk man =/ I've never had back pain while running.

 

[Venom]

so i'm 5'5, 15, and 120 pounds and i wanna try and bulk up. i'm pretty defined as in i have a six pack and my biceps / triceps are obvious but i can't seem to gain any weight. i know that i'm supposed to eat a lot / lift but i don't have any access to weights. any suggestions? /: i dunno if bodyweight exercises can substitute. i've actually been trying to do like a liter of milk per day but i haven't had any results at all.

my activity level is fairly high (i bboy and do random stuff like backflips, etc), if that makes any difference. i also can do one handed pushups so i'm not *completely* unathletic

also: how do you work your pecs? i've tried everything from dumbbell flies (i have up till 20 pounds dumbbells /:) to wide grip pushups but my shoulders are the only muscle that feel any pain

Sucks you don't have access to real weights, eating alone to bulk up alone can get you so far and you got to pray that the weight you put on is actually worth it. The only thing I can suggest in your case, which appears to be 20 pound dumbells, is go very high repetitions on your sets. You can go as far as 20 times in one set. You need to feel that burn in your muscle where you feel your shit is gonna tear.

I managed to get some decent pecs with dumbells when I was broke and didn't have my barbell. I remember doing 2x25 or 3x25, but that's because I've always pushed myself...you might not have the same mindset as me. 20 is pretty good to start with, but if it's to heavy for you then you might not be able to do repetitions of 24, let alone 20 probably. The best way to determine your max of reps is test it. Go all out curling and doing flies and find out on what number you stop at (where you cannot go anymore) and that should be the number should be aiming for. As far as the sets go, you can do 2-5, it doesn't matter, what matters is getting the reps in. Let's say you max rep was 12, after a week go through 12 and you feel you can do 13/14, then you go for 13/14, and then the next week 15/16 and so on.

Push ups suck for bulking. Any body weight exercise sucks really for bulking. But just to answer your question on the wide push ups; the reason why you feel only your shoulders getting worked is because you are actually working your shoulders more than anything else. Imagine a arrowing bow. When you pull the string back the strings are on the far ends of the bow, and it puts pressure on those ends only. Same shit with your shoulders. If you do a wide grip pushups your shoulders are going to feel the pressure, not your chest. If you want to work your chest/pecs then close grip is the way to go. Close grip should be hands outside your chest area really. If you put your hands under your chest almost and do push ups from there, then you'll be working your triceps out more. Just remember, to feel the burn you have to do more reps.

Something off the top of my head for you;

Day 1: OFF
Day 2: Shoulders/Back/Traps -
Day 3: OFF/Cardio/Stretch/Your ab shit
Day 4: Legs/Calves -
Day 5: OFF/Cardio/Stretch/Your ab shit
Day 6:Chest/Arms -
Day 7: OFF

Hypertrophy Chest/Arms- DB Incline Bench 3x12-20
DB Flat Bench 2x12-20
DB Hammer Curls 3x12-20

Shoulders/Back/Traps-
DB Shoulder Press 3x12-20
One arm Db rows 3x12-20

*** Note: If you don't have a bench or somewhere to laydown, then replace "Bench" with "on the floor"

Legs/CalvesHonestly, you're extremely limited with a pair of dumbells. All you can do really are dumbell squats, but honestly you won't even be working your legs 1/4th with this exercise.

As for food you have to eat a lot. This means have an extra plate for dinner. Drink milk at random times. Walk down the street with a carton of milk. Eat a lot of bread and veggies. If you're mexican, beans are your best friend. Tell your mom to buy you shitload of tuna cans. Eat ramen noodles. If you can't eat too many eggs, try putting some in your shakes raw. Some people might bitch about contamination, but cmon really, I haven't read of anybody getting poisoned from this. You can also try something like 2 raw eggs with a glass of orange juice if you want. Just get those eggs in.

Sucks you're allergic to nuts...pecan pie is amazing.

 

[Venom]

p.s: be limited on what you eat and most importantly HOW MUCH you eat. You aren't lifting as needed to be seriously bulking. Going overboard 500-800 calories seems ideal.

 

[popemobile]

current lifting program, for those interested:

Day 1: Chest/Biceps
Day 2: Legs/Traps
Day 3: Back/Triceps
Day 4: Off
Day 5: Biceps/Calves
Day 6: Shoulders/Abs
Day 7: Off

decent results so far, will post specific lifts if anyone is interested. Currently eating a ton, aiming for 200 lbs eventually. At about 185 lbs right now.

DAT WINTER BULK

 

[WaterBomb]

May I point out that the goal of my program is specifically to work my arms, chest and abs? I don't work the other muscle groups because I don't desire to increase them. I can't do much leg lifting with my knees in the shape they are in. I mentioned this in my first post, so please don't suggest I do other sets in my workout I don't need. I might expand and work my back and shoulders at a later date, but for right now I just want to work on bis, tris, pecs and abs. Keep this in mind when making suggestions.

 

[popemobile]

terrible idea. Working chest but no back creates huge shoulder imbalance, and makes it very likely that you'll get a rotator cuff injury. Working abs but no lower back also creates a muscle imbalance that will likely cause you lower back pain later in life. Working legs through squats and deadlifts increases knee health. Doing heavy compound exercises like squat, deadlift, row, overhead press and bench press will add far more muscle than basically any lift you would be doing. Your "program" is garbage and should be treated like such, and I'm sorry you had to find out like this but it's for your own good unless you want problems down the road.

Also "bis tris pecs and abs" is the definition of a bro beach muscle program. Follow the advice of everyone itt and do a real program, not some crap you made up. You can still do ab and arm work, but having that be the focus of your program would get you laughed off of anywhere.

 

[WaterBomb]

=P I don't plan to ignore the other groups completely, I just didn't include the toning stretches and exercises because I figured they were a given. I guess it's easier to assume I'm a retard than that I have some knowledge of how to work out.

However, if you'd like me to include in my setup "raised elbow lower back strengthening exercise" so you know I'm actually working on it, I will.

Also, as I mentioned several times, those four areas are my focus that I want to build, but the program I have listed is a FOUN FUCKING DATION that is to be built upon. I'm quite aware that the skeleton I have listed is garbage in and of itself, which is why I posted here for suggestions.

If you're going to suggest additions, suggest them. If you're going to insult me, go fuck yourself.

 

[-RatCheesy]

Since your main priority is to develop your arms, chest, and abs is to stick with heavy compound movements and one isolation day. Bench Press which you have in your program is excellent also add incline bench press and on your arm days close grip bench press (chest/triceps) along with ez bar skull crushers (triceps). Chin ups and pull ups are good additions to developing strong arms and include weighted dips. Also, did you know pull ups can develop strong wrists and forearms, the wrists and forearms are very important as this gives you the power to push and pull. 3 heavy compound movement days will improve your goals and what you want to achieve. Since you mentioned you have some sort of knee problem which is totally understandable, I won't suggest doing weighted Squats since it might have too much impact on your knees. You could try modification exercises like body weight squats or lunges but like you said legs aren't your main focus. The important is thing is to work them but to the level you feel comfortable with. Adding resistance bands would be another suggestion. Circuit training exercises can help you target the muscles you want to improve, it helps with cardiovascular endurance and keeps your heart rate elevated and has proven to be effective in cutting fat. I also suggest doing core exercises like planks and supermans once a week and weighted ab exercises once a week. Abs are like any other muscle group, they need rest to grow and working them out more than 3 times a week is counterproductive as I used to train them too often and the abs get burnt out. One last suggestion is to include one isolation day since your goal is to improve lean muscle mass on your arms, the basic idea of including isolation type workouts is to target JUST the secondary muscle groups in order to keep your muscles confused. Compound movements target all the primary muscles but once your body becomes routinely accustomed to compound movements the body will remain the same unless you constantly intensify the workout. The three important factors in a workout are frequency, intensity, and duration of exercise. Often times people spend too much time lifting weights more than an hour which is again counterproductive, the body begins to release cortisol which affects your body and this will affect you in any of your goals as cortisol which is termed 'fight or flight' is a response of too much stress in the body. Cortisol is an important hormone in the body secreted by the adrenal glands and the body can't be constantly stressed for long duration.

Most of my clients at the gym I have them change their routine every 8-12 weeks because the body loves constant change, never want it to plateau.

Edit: If you decide to include isolation workout then focus on a slow positive concentric phase (shortening of the muscle) and then a negative eccentric phase (lengthening of the muscle). The heavier weight helps build muscular strength and develops the connective tissue (tendons and ligaments), conditioning your body to then train with heavier weights than it would normally be used to training with. Negative training holds the potential for building TREMENDOUS strength.

 

[WaterBomb]

@Rat - Good suggestions, I'll examine them closer. Also, at the risk of sounding like a moron, please define a couple of things for me in the context of working out:

-heavy compound movement
-isolation
-modification and circuit training exercise

everything else I get, but I don't remember what these terms are. Thanks for your help!

 

[-RatCheesy]

Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that rely on the coordinated
actions of several muscle groups to move two or more joints through a range
of motion.

Examples are:

Deadlifts
Bench Press
Squats
Rows
Pullups
Overhead Press

Isolation exercises are those which move a single joint through its range of
motion.
Some examples are:

Bicep concentration curls (elbow joint)
Triceps kickbacks (elbow joint)
Leg extension machine (quadriceps muscle and knee joint)
Calf raises (ankle joint)

These movements are called "isolation" exercises because they put a lot of
major stress on a single, isolated muscle.

Modification is adjusting an exercise to meet a specific need way or account
for a physical limitation, while keeping the original intent of the exercise.
Most clients with osteoarthritis can't do high impact exercise
so low impact excercises like swimming (aqua aerobics) are perfect for those type of
conditions.

Circuit training exercises involve using your body weight along with
other equipment like dumbbells or resistance bands and jump ropes.
Basically its a method of physical conditioning in which one
moves from exercise to another usually in a series of different stations
or pieces of equipment. The basic protocol is 60 seconds of work,
15 seconds of rest, repeat again until you complete one entire circuit
of ten exercises.

 

[Stathakis]

Also, as I mentioned several times, those four areas are my focus that I want to build, but the program I have listed is a FOUN FUCKING DATION that is to be built upon. I'm quite aware that the skeleton I have listed is garbage in and of itself, which is why I posted here for suggestions.

take my next post with a grain of salt, as I am a runner not a lifter, but I have researched the topic of foundation building for beginners ad nauseum, so most of this should be truth.


it is my impression that once you are strong, you can perform dedicated splits much more efficiently; that is, if at the same weight you can bench 315 vs. being able to bench 225, you will be able to gain mass on your chest much more quickly, simply because your chest will be able to endure more work, harder work sets, and thus more stimulus to grow.


it is my experience that a huge muscle imbalance is also not very conducive to everyday life. I see this everyday as a runner. I can squat near 200 lbs, leg press 540 for reps, but squeaking out 3x5x65 lbs on the bench is a struggle. for me, it sucks. It doesn't feel good being insanely balanced towards the lower body, and not a day goes by where I don't feel week in every day-to-day activity. I'm sure if I hit upper body as hard as I hit lower body, I'd get injured almost immediately. But, as a competitive runner extra upper body mass and strength are detrimental to me. my sport requires an unhealthy muscle imbalance, so I deal with it. if I didn't want to be fast, believe me I would be trying every day to be strong in my whole body. imbalance sucks THAT much.

you, however, don't have any need for muscle imbalance as far as I can tell. thus, I think it would benefit you greatly to build total body strength before going to a split. I realize you don't desire to train your legs, but if you truly want a foundation, then you have to train legs. and back. and shoulders. and everything else other than bis/chest/abs. I think you are under the impression that you have this covered with your toning and stretching exercises, but think about this for a second. if you are hitting your chest really hard and then 'toning' your legs, which one do you think will end up really strong, and which one do you think will not? there will still be a muscle imbalance even if you don't completely neglect your body. I used to be able to do 15 dead-hang pull-ups +30 pounds, and I was still WAY imbalanced with a much stronger lower body. thus, I suggest that even the exercises you are doing to hit the rest of your body are not enough.


the solution? it's simple. stick with heavy compound movements. my suggestion to you, however, is to do more compound movements than just bench. you mentioned that you can't squat. I think you might be able to and don't know it, but you know your body best. I am sure that at the very least you can leg press, since that doesn't really hurt your knees. lots of heavy compound movements will get you very strong very fast. according to every competitive bodybuilder I've ever heard of, strength is exactly the foundation you are looking for.

here is some suggested reading. you should probably wander around the site a little bit, as there is a plethora of good information. but at least read the introduction.

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ:Introduction

 

[Stylish Interval]

just dropping this off (damn stat i wanted to post before everyone else, i don't even have time to read that post fuk)

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/3_total_body_programs_for_big_arms

 

[popemobile]

May I point out that the goal of my program is specifically to work my arms, chest and abs? I don't work the other muscle groups because I don't desire to increase them. I can't do much leg lifting with my knees in the shape they are in. I mentioned this in my first post, so please don't suggest I do other sets in my workout I don't need. I might expand and work my back and shoulders at a later date, but for right now I just want to work on bis, tris, pecs and abs. Keep this in mind when making suggestions.

May I point out that the goal of my program is specifically to work my arms, chest and abs? I don't work the other muscle groups because I don't desire to increase them.

idk you tell me if it was a bad assumption. What you posted first led me to believe that you have absolutely zero knowledge of lifting so I treated your program as such.

"Toning" exercises sound like a waste of time to be honest. Much much more effective to do heavy compound lifts.

However, if you'd like me to include in my setup "raised elbow lower back strengthening exercise" so you know I'm actually working on it, I will.

I don't. Those are waste of time. Do squats and deadlifts, which will strengthen your lower back far more, as well as your abs and legs and basically every other muscle group.

Also, as I mentioned several times, those four areas are my focus that I want to build, but the program I have listed is a FOUN FUCKING DATION that is to be built upon. I'm quite aware that the skeleton I have listed is garbage in and of itself, which is why I posted here for suggestions.

the point of a FOUN FUCKING DATION is to build muscle, and then later you can isolate specific groups of muscles more intensely because you have the base of muscle. Focusing on those specific groups right away is a recipie for disaster.

If you're going to suggest additions, suggest them. If you're going to insult me, go fuck yourself.

you might notice I had a few good suggestions in my post. Also I insulted your program, not you.

Go do one of the programs mentioned in this thread like starting strength. You can modify it to add some work to the areas you want to focus on. I guarantee your results will be better.

 

[DM]

would it be acceptable to do something like drink whey protein + milk? i use lactaid (haha) which has ~12 g of protein and my whey has 25 g per scoop so would drinking 3 cups of milk + whey a day be good enough?

also: thanks for the responses guys, guess it's time to get to a gym haha. oh, and i'm trying to actually bulk up not just gain weight (although i understand that i'll lose definition as i bulk /:)

Oh sure, I always mix my whey with milk. I use skim and cut it with water because my stomach isn't a big fan of too much dairy, but make it to your own tastes.

I personally wouldn't drink three of those a day, not unless I'm eating a SHITLOAD of other foods to balance it out. If you're that desperate to bulk, I'd do two, but no more than that. Beyond a certain point, your body can no longer properly process the protein and it goes to waste.

why 50% protein on a bulk?

With 30% carbs and 20% fat, you have a healthy balance. Putting too much in one category starts to minimize the benefits received.

Day 1: arms and chest
Day 2: abs
Day 3: cardio
Day 4: arms and chest
Day 5: abs
Day 6: cardio
Day 7: rest

Does that work better? It's been so long since I assembled a program, I'm a bit rusty. Also I fully plan to add more varied exercises, I just wanted to keep it simple at the start like you noticed. What I have now is just a foundation, I haven't completely built the sets yet.

Yeah, that's a start. Like I said before, I'd never do abs by itself on one day... I'd do something like chest & triceps with abs thrown in, then another day of back & biceps with abs thrown in.

I recommend lots of tuna (33g of protein per can)

Tuna is fantastic protein, I literally just finished eating a can of tuna mixed with my roommate's homemade salsa. Yum.