Health · weekly plan

The week — train & eat

The operational layer: which session on which day (and when, and why), plus a 7-day meal rotation built around an all-vegetarian kitchen with non-veg taken out at lunch.

// pairs with fuel-and-training.html — that's the why (protein targets, exercise form diagrams, the toolkit). This is the what, when.

// 01 the training week

Training schedule

Badminton stays on its 3 evenings. Strength fills two gaps: one home session on Tuesday evening, one on Saturday evening, plus a bigger barbell session at the society gym on Sunday morning. Thursday is a full rest day.

Day	Session	When	Focus
Mon	Badminton	eve · 19:00	conditioning, agility, legs
Tue	Strength A	eve · 19:15	upper push + arms + core (home)
Wed	Badminton	eve · 19:00	conditioning
Thu	Rest	—	recovery
Fri	Badminton	eve · 19:00	conditioning
Sat	Strength B	eve · 19:15	upper pull + arms + core (home)
Sun	Strength C	morning · 08:30	barbell lower + overhead (society gym)

Why these times — the reasoning

Physiology barely cares: Time of day has only a marginal effect on muscle and strength gains — consistency and recovery spacing dominate. So the slots are chosen to fit your life and protect your priorities, not to chase a 2% edge from training at 6 PM.
Tue → evening, at home: Tuesday evening is badminton-free, so strength slots in cleanly. Three wins: you train fed (not fasted at 7 AM) so the lifts are stronger; your 09:15 morning study block stays intact — job prep is the priority; and dinner right after becomes your post-workout protein meal.
Sat → evening, at home: No office, no commute — the free afternoon leads into an evening strength session. Post-workout dinner follows naturally.
Thu → rest: A full recovery day mid-week. Still an office day — just no training. Lets the body catch up between badminton and strength.
Sunday → morning, at the gym: It's your one barbell-access day, so the big compounds that need a loaded bar — squat, deadlift/RDL, barbell row, overhead press — live here. Morning gives the most time and a clear head, and the 10-minute walk is worth paying once a week to get real lower-body load.
Upper-bias on home days: Your targets are arms/limbs and the midsection — and badminton already hammers your legs three times a week. So legs get badminton + the Sunday barbell session, while Tue/Sat concentrate on arms, shoulders, chest, back, and core. Curls land on both home days because arms are your stated priority.
Recovery: Thursday is a full rest day, which gives the body proper mid-week recovery. If you ever feel run-down, the lever is to make one badminton day casual, not to skip lifting. Sleep (your 8 hours) is the real recovery; protect it over a late study push.

// 02 the three sessions

What to do each session

Antagonist supersets (the two moves back-to-back, rest ~75 s, repeat). Form diagrams for the home moves are in fuel-and-training.html. Loads: dumbbells ~5–10 kg per hand from your adjustable set; barbell loaded from the gym's rack.

Session A · Tuesday · home — upper push + arms + core

~40 min · push the last 1–2 reps of every set

SS1

DB floor / bench press 3 × 8–12 + Band pull-apart 3 × 20

SS2

Pike pushup (or DB shoulder press) 3 × 8–12 + DB lateral raise 3 × 15–20

SS3 · arms

Overhead triceps extension 3 × 15–20 + DB biceps curl 3 × 15–20

core

Hanging knee raise 3 × 10–15 + Plank 3 × 45–60 s

Session B · Saturday · home — upper pull + arms + core

~40 min

SS1

Pull-ups 3 × AMRAP (band-assisted or negatives if needed) + Diamond pushup 3 × near-fail

SS2

One-arm DB row 3 × 12–15 / side + Band pull-apart 3 × 20

SS3 · arms

Hammer curl 3 × 15–20 + DB biceps curl (supinated) 3 × 12–15

grip + core

Farmer carry 3 × ~40 s + Hanging leg raise 3 × 10–15

Session C · Sunday · society gym — barbell lower + overhead

~50–60 min · straight sets, rest ~2 min on the big lifts · this is hypertrophy, not a max-out

Back squat 3–4 × 6–10 · form ↗
Romanian deadlift 3 × 8–10 (or conventional deadlift 3 × 5 if confident) · form ↗
Barbell bent-over row 3 × 8–10 · form ↗
Barbell overhead press 3 × 6–10 · form ↗
Bulgarian split squat (DB) 2–3 × 10–12 / leg — unilateral accessory
Calf raise 3 × 15–20 + Hanging leg raise 3 × 12

Sunday legs Saturday is upper pull + core, so Sunday legs come in relatively fresh — but still keep the squat controlled and prioritize quality reps over heavy top sets.

// 03 the meal week

2-week meals

Everything cooked at home is vegetarian — your flatmate's preference, and it keeps the cook's routine simple. Non-veg and eggs happen only when eaten out, which lands naturally at office lunch 2–3 days a week. On those days, skip the carried box and eat near the office; on the others, carry the veg box.

The daily shake (muesli + 250 ml milk + 1 scoop whey, ~37 g) sits on top of breakfast every day — on Sunday, take it after the gym. Targets land ~120–135 g protein/day.

Week A

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Monbadminton	Besan chilla + curd	Veg box: rajma + roti + curd VEG	Chana + apple	Bhindi sabzi + moong dal + roti + curd VEG
Tuestrength A	Paneer paratha + curd her: idli + sambar	Out — chicken + rice + curd NON-VEG	Peanuts + banana	Soya curry + roti VEG
Wedbadminton	Moong dal chilla + curd	Veg box: chole + roti + curd VEG	Chana + fruit	Lauki–chana dal + roti + curd VEG
Thurest	Poha + peanuts + sprouts + milk	Out — fish/chicken + rice + curd NON-VEG	Paneer cubes + apple	Arbi sabzi + moong dal + roti + curd VEG
Fribadminton	Paneer bhurji + roti her: stuffed paratha + curd	Out — egg/chicken curry + roti NON-VEG (or veg box)	Sprouts / chana	Mixed veg + dal + roti + curd VEG
Satstrength B	Methi/aloo paratha + curd	Chole + rice + paneer butter masala + roti + raita VEG	Peanut chaat / nuts	Turai sabzi + dal + roti + curd (post-WO) VEG
Suncook off	Cook is off — post-gym shake, then eat out or light at home (curd rice / khichdi / order in). Aim for one solid protein hit.

Week B

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner
Monbadminton	Moong dal chilla + curd	Veg box: chole + roti + curd VEG	Chana + apple	Baingan bharta + dal + roti + curd VEG
Tuestrength A	Paneer paratha + curd her: dalia + milk	Out — chicken + rice + curd NON-VEG	Peanuts + banana	Rajma + roti + curd VEG
Wedbadminton	Veg upma + peanuts + milk	Veg box: soya pulao + raita VEG	Chana + fruit	Gawar / beans sabzi + dal + roti + curd VEG
Thurest	Besan chilla + curd	Out — fish/chicken + rice + curd NON-VEG	Paneer cubes + apple	Tofu bhurji + moong dal + roti VEG
Fribadminton	Paneer paratha + curd her: dosa + sambar	Out — egg/chicken curry + roti NON-VEG (or veg box)	Sprouts / chana	Parwal / turai sabzi + chana dal + roti + curd VEG
Satstrength B	Stuffed paratha + curd	Kadhi-pakoda + rice + kadai paneer VEG	Peanut chaat / nuts	Bhindi sabzi + dal + roti + curd (post-WO) VEG
Suncook off	Cook is off — eat out or light at home. Aim for one solid protein hit.

Every dinner = sabzi + dal + curd + roti, so protein holds (~25–30 g) while the sabzi rotates for variety/micros. The daily shake sits on top of breakfast (~120–135 g/day); optional milk before bed (+8 g). A banana around training is the one fruit add worth keeping.

seasonal & printable Dinners rotate through monsoon sabzis — bhindi, lauki, arbi, turai, baingan, gawar, parwal (swap any for karela, tinda, cucumber, pumpkin, cabbage); wash and cook well, go easy on raw salads in the rains. The same fortnight as a print-ready, day-wise sheet with food pictures for the cook (veg-only, Mon–Sat, Sunday off) is in kitchen-sheet.html.

// 04 the swap bank

Rotation options

Don't feel locked to the grid — swap freely within each list to keep it interesting. Protein stays roughly constant across options.

Breakfast — veg (~18–22 g, on top of shake)

Besan chilla ×2–3 + curd
Paneer paratha ×2 + curd
Moong dal chilla ×2 + curd
Paneer bhurji + 2 roti
Poha / upma loaded with peanuts + sprouts + a glass of milk
Protein oats (oats + milk + whey + peanut butter) — doubles as the shake on rushed days
Sprouts + paneer scramble

Lunch — veg box (~40–50 g, carried)

Rajma + 2 roti + hung curd + salad
Chole + 2 roti + curd
Paneer sabzi + dal + 2 roti
Soya chunk curry + rice + raita
Tofu curry + roti + dal
Mixed veg + dal + paneer cubes

Lunch — non-veg, eaten out (~40–50 g)

Grilled / curry chicken + rice or roti + curd
Fish curry + rice + salad
Egg curry or boiled eggs + roti
Chicken biryani + raita (lighter on the rice)
Chicken / paneer-mix salad bowl

Snack (~8–13 g)

Roasted chana
Peanut / sprouts chaat
Paneer cubes (carried) + fruit
Buttermilk (chaas) + fruit
2 boiled eggs — if a vendor's near the office

Dinner — veg (~30 g)

Paneer sabzi + dal + roti
Tofu / soya keema + roti
Rajma or chole + rice/roti + curd
Palak paneer + roti + dal
Mixed dal + sabzi + curd

the protein math still holds Going all-veg at home costs you nothing on protein — paneer, soya, dal, curd, tofu, besan, milk, and whey carry breakfast and dinner easily. The non-veg-at-lunch days are for variety and enjoyment, not necessity. Keep hung curd (10 g/100 g, free upgrade over regular curd) in heavy rotation.

fruit & hydration — the edge layer Fruit is micronutrients, fiber, and training energy — not protein. Two adds that earn their place: a banana around training (~30 min before badminton/strength, or with the post-workout shake — energy + potassium for cramps), and guava as the go-to fruit-shop pick (high fiber + vitamin C, low sugar; rotate with papaya, apple, pomegranate). Prefer whole fruit over juice; don't overload the sugary ones. Nariyal pani is electrolyte hydration, not a need — best after sweating, which your Sunday post-gym timing already nails.

// 05 supplements & seeds

Supplements & seeds

Short version: one thing is worth taking daily (creatine), seeds are optional and never for protein, and the genuine gaps are settled by a blood test — not guesswork.

creatine — yes, and especially for you Creatine monohydrate, 3–5 g/day. The most-researched, safe supplement for muscle gain — it simply lets you train with a little more volume. Vegetarians carry lower baseline muscle creatine, so you respond more than a meat-eater does. Timing doesn't matter — daily consistency is the whole game, so take it every day including rest and badminton days, any time, mixed into your morning shake or a drink with dinner. No loading phase needed; 3–5 g/day saturates on its own in 3–4 weeks. Expect a one-time ~1 kg bump on the scale early on — that's water pulled into muscle, not fat. Safe long-term for healthy people; the only real caveat is existing kidney disease, in which case check with a doctor first.

Seeds — only if required

Not for protein. You're already covered, and chia is a weak protein source (low in leucine, the amino acid that drives muscle growth). Drop the seeds-for-protein idea entirely. Add seeds only if your omega-3 is thin — i.e. you're rarely eating fish. If so: 1 tbsp ground flax or soaked chia, once a day, stirred into the morning shake, oats, or curd. Flax must be ground to absorb (whole seed passes straight through); chia should soak ~10 min. A cleaner alternative is an algae-oil DHA capsule — plant ALA from seeds converts to usable DHA at under ~1%, so the capsule does what the seeds can't. Use one or the other, not both. Pumpkin seeds or walnuts as an occasional snack are a fine minerals add (zinc, magnesium) but not required.

The real gaps — test, don't guess

What a veg-leaning diet genuinely runs short on isn't protein or seeds — it's B12, vitamin D, and ferritin (iron). Get bloodwork, then supplement only what's actually low. Creatine is the one item safe to start on your own; everything else here follows the test.

Item	When	How
Creatine	any time · daily	3–5 g in your shake / water / juice — incl. rest days
Seeds (if fish is rare)	morning	1 tbsp ground flax or soaked chia in shake / oats / curd
Algae DHA (alt to seeds)	with a meal	per label
B12 · D · iron	per bloodwork	only if low — doctor-guided

not a prescription I'm not a doctor. Creatine is the one safe-to-self-start item for a healthy person; seeds are an optional omega-3 nicety; B12 / D / iron should follow an actual blood test rather than assumption.