helllp =[

[Jaygo181]

Hey. Im 16 years old going on 17, 5'8 and 150. People say i am "skinny fat" and it is kind of true. I used 2 go to the gym last winter and i was getting pretty nice results, but i wasnt eating healthy at all. Ive been reading about all this bulking/cutting stuff and i dont know which AND how i can do these.

I want to have BIG and CUT muscles lol. i still have some left over muscles from when i used 2 hit the gym 5 days a week but i also have a bunch of fat. I play a bunch of sports, and that caused me to stop going to the gym due to baseball practice being every single day. after baseball season i was nowhere near as strong as i was before.

I am going to start going to the gym again on sept. 2nd 4-5 days a week. i need some advice about that bulking and cutting stuff. please help =]

 

[runner2000]

Right, if you want big muscles, you must bulk.

So bulk now until you gain however much weight you want to gain. If you gain weight easily, you should eat clean, if not just eat lots of calories. By eating clean I mean lean meat and veggies etc.

Only cut once you gain more than ten pounds. Otherwise you will not have any muscle to show. You only weigh 150 so you probably don't have much muscle now so cutting would be worthless.

I would personally go with (I am doing this right now) a huge bulk to gain a decent amount of weight ~ 20 pounds and then cut if you want to. You will not gain muscle if you try to cut and bulk at the same time.

When you bulk, do not be discouraged if you cant see any muscle. Just gain the weight while lifting well. Big compounds movements, fbw or upper lower split (don't break it up more than that if you are going for size) with 3 or 4 sets in the 6-12 rep range. This is for muscle growth. Every now and then do a week of different rep ranges to change it up. Also change exercises from squat to deadlift or from bar bench to dumbell bench.

If you want big muscles, you will probably want to add around 10-20 pounds of lean mass. You can try to clean bulk (not eating too much excess) but if you try this be sure that you are actually gaining weight.

Good luck and welcome to the forum

 

[Jaygo181]

Thanks for your reply man. When i used to go to the gym i used 2 run first then do some ab machines for a while then some chest and end up with about 650 for each of them. On the ab machine i used 2 do about 70 pounds and on the chest machines (butterfly + chest press) i used to do 90 pounds. each set for abs i would do about 25-40 and same for the chest. I would do as many sets as it took to make me tired and now thinking back i dont think it was the right way to work out. i was wondering if u guys can tell me the right way to work out by like giving me a sample workout plan or something. Also about the bulking/cutting thing. What is the difference from bulking and cutting when it comes to the actuall workout. im really interested in doing what you told me but i dont know if il do it correctly.

 

[runner2000]

Okay (deep breath).

First - even though you are lifting for looks, you still NEED to lift with your legs as these are huge muscle groups. When you do big compound lifts (multi-muscle) your body responds and releases testosterone and other growth hormones. For this reason doing compound lifts on all of the muscle groups is essential if you want muscle growth.

There are four big compund lifts that will work wonders for you:

Squat/ leg press / deadlift
Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Lat Pulldown/ row
You will also want to work the hamstrings so maybe some romanian deadlifts or hamstring curls (romanian deadlifts preferably as that is a compound exercise).
As you are a beginner I suggest using machines for the first few weeks until your muscles get used to the actions and then, if you want to you can move onto the free weights which are probably what you should aim for.

So when you walk into the gym you will first run. When you are done with this you will walk over to the leg press machine.
You will do a quick warm up set - initially very light then increase so that you are pushing quite hard. Rest for about a minute and then get to a heavy weight (you have to push hard to lift weight). You should be able to do between 6-12 reps at this weight. Remeber good form - start with knees at 90 degrees, straighten but don't lock knees, then back to 90 degrees and repeat. Take a 1-2 minute rest between each set and do 3 or four sets in this rep range. Stretch after you are done

Then walk to the bench machine. Do a warm up set or push ups. Then do 3-4 sets at 6-12 reps with 1-2 minute rest in between. Stretch

Walk to the lat pulldown machine. Do a warm up set and then 3-4 sets in the proper rep range then stretch. Proper form - pull it down until it is below your chin, don't cheat.

Walk to shoulder press. Warm up then same deal as above then stretch.

Go to leg curl machine and do same as above.
Now you have worked all groups apart from core (lower back and abs).

Go to ab machine (preferably one where the legs are involved too) and do as above. I know that people can never agree upon how to work abs but this works for me and I know many people that swear by this. Also do lower back and obliques.
You have now worked the whole body. Now and only now can you do some isolation exercises if you so wish e.g. bicep curls, triceps, butterfly chest etc.

That is what you will do when you workout. That is a good workout. Try to make it last not much more than an hour. You will need to switch up your exercises after a few weeks (2-4 on same program then switch). The switches don't have to be huge but there are a few simple types of switches that keep the muscles working slightly differently for good growth.

1. Change exercise. E.g. Now squat instead of leg press or do rows instead of lat pulldown.
2. Change rep range. E.g. For a week lift heavy. Lower rep range to 3-6 per set.

These both work well. You need to leave one days rest between exercising. So workout on Monday and then Wednesday. You probably will want ot workout three times a week so you can have a bigger rest at one point in the week e.g. Friday to monday. But you can workout four times a week. Do not lift weights on the same muscles two days in a row as you can damage yourself and will inhibit growth.
The rep range 6-12 maximises hypertrophy (muscle growth) but you should also have improvements in your strength. Lifting heavier (lowering rep range) focuses more on strength while raising your rep range focuses upon muscular endurance.

Bulking is just eating a caloric surplus in order to gain weight while cutting is simply the opposite - it is just going on a diet.

Cutting and bulking are just reffering to you diet and have no effect upon how you workout.

There. Good luck with this. One final question - are you still running and if so how far/fast/often.

 

[Adumb]

Bulking or cutting is up to you. From what is sounds like to me, you have a small frame, but you have a higher body fat. My advice would be cutting for sure.

 

[runner2000]

DO NOT CUT.

Adumb, why would someone who presently has little to no muscle but wants to have muscle cut? That makes no sense.

To gain muscle you bulk and maybe put on some fat as well. Once you have gained your desired amount of weight as muscle/fat, you cut and you look ripped.

If you cut now you will just look skinny. Bulk for a while, gain 20 pounds and then cut and you will have muscles to show.

Again, DO NOT CUT!! Wait until you have gained some weight (more than ten pounds).

 

[Jaygo181]

Thanks. im sure i shouldnt because i still have a bunch of fat on me as u can see in the picture
Thanks for ur replys runner. currently i dont run. i play basketball a few times a week, but i will be running and doing the workouts you told me 2 do starting on sept. 2nd

 

[runner2000]

Your frame looks very good for adding muscle mass. You should be able to gain muscle quickly with a good bulk. I would keep it clean which means eating roughly a 2-300 calorie excess. Find an online calculator and workout out how many calories you burn and then count your calories every day to get the right amount. If after a few weeks (two or three), you have not gained weight or have gained to much, adjust your calorie intake accordingly.

By no means are you fat. You do have some fat on you but only a little. You should definitely not feel at all self-conscious about it - you don't have any fat spilling over your shorts so you are absolutely fine. I would definitely still class you as thin/skinny. After you bulk you could lose the fat in a week or so.

I know it is tempting but do not cut now. It is difficult to bulk entirely cleanly so even if you cut and then bulk, you will probably have to cut again. Just bulk now during the autumn when no one expects you to take your shirt off and then shock the world in 9 months time when you have an additional twenty pounds of muscle.

I am glad that you took my advice. Do not expect instant results. Maybe take a picture in two months or so and compare.

Good luck with getting the body you always wanted. Not a better feeling in the world than waking up each day and being pleased with the body you have created.

 

[Jaygo181]

Thanks for the advice man. im glad i joined this forum thingie. I need a few things cleared up thought. so the bulking is adding callories to my diet while still eating well and trying to gain weight right. cutting is cutting down callories so u can see u muscles more? Also when i warm up all my muscles and ready for the isolation part of the workout, The thing i told u about me doing 650 butterfly reps at 90 pounds, that isnt good right? should i be doing less reps at more pounds? Thanks again man, most people that i ask so many questions to get pretty frustrated.

 

[runner2000]

Yeah. Bulking is gaining weight (by eating more calories) while lifting so that some of the weight gained is muscle. A clean bulk is when not a large surplus is consumed (200-300). The goal of a clean bulk is to try to gain almost purely muscle instead of a mix of muslce and fat. Clean bulk might not maximise your muscle gain while a heavier bulk (more weight gained) will.

Cutting is just dieting. It is losing weight (by cutting down on calories) while still weight trainging. The goal of this is to lose weight by losing fat. This results in your abs and other muscles not being covered by fat so they can be seen.

A little worried about that last question. The compound lifts are what will build you the most muscle. You should not focus too much on isolation. If you do isolation then do it in the same rep range (6-12). Do not judge a workout by how many reps you do in total.
Do all the compound lifts (the main part of your workout) and then do a few sets of isolation if you want. Isolation helps but not too much.
You said you can do around 30 reps at 90 pounds on the butterfly. 30 reps is useless. As I said earlier, this will only build muscular endurance, it will not increase strength or size. Do 8 reps at a higher weight.

ALWAYS STAY IN THE 6-12 RANGE!!

The compounds are not to warm up your muscles. The first set of the compounds warms up your muscles. After that you do 3 or 4 hard sets of 6-12 reps on each exercise. You should maybe be able do one more rep after you finish each set but it should be difficult.

Again, the compound exercises are NOT the warm up. They are the workout, the isolation is just added on at the end.

Don't worry about asking a lot of questions. We all did it when we first started out. I will be happy to answer more if you need help.

 

[Adumb]

DO NOT CUT.

Adumb, why would someone who presently has little to no muscle but wants to have muscle cut? That makes no sense.

To gain muscle you bulk and maybe put on some fat as well. Once you have gained your desired amount of weight as muscle/fat, you cut and you look ripped.

If you cut now you will just look skinny. Bulk for a while, gain 20 pounds and then cut and you will have muscles to show.

Again, DO NOT CUT!! Wait until you have gained some weight (more than ten pounds).

Professionals often recommend cutting first. Getting yourself down to a lower bodyfat keeps your body producing testosterone and makes your bulking easier. Not only that, you're going to leave yourself with more work to do after bulking. In response to your first sentence, when you hit the weights as a beginner, you're going to be putting on a lot more strength anyway before you start plateauing, so bulking or cutting won't be much of a factor. You'll be gradually stacking on more weight(the weight you're working with, not bodyweight), week after week until you get into the plateaus that usually begin in 2-3 months of training. I wouldn't recommend getting down to 7% body weight going for striations. Because you're right, you won't get striated. However, what I mean is cutting for the purpose of lowering overall body fat until it's right around 10-12%.

 

[razorsedge7]

or you could do starting strength.

 

[Jaygo181]

Hey guys. My first week of weight training officially ends today. I feel very good about this week because i think i did good, but i would also like another opinion which is why i will be posting what i do on here every few nights =]. I went on tuesday, wednesday, and friday.
On tuesday i ran about 10 minutes in the gym. after that i did about 3 sets of 15 on the machine for my calves on 110. After that i did the machine where i am sitting down at an angle and there is a platform for me 2 push off with my legs. I did 3 sets of those also ranging from 12-15. First set i started at 130lbs. then went up by 20 for each of my last two sets. for my next workout i did one for my back but only a few reps. after that i did a set or 2 of the butterfly on 70lbs(trying to reintroduce my self to it again,lol). then did some chest press. after that i did some abs, dumbbells, and pushups then left. that day i was doing a bit of everything but wednesday i got serious. Ran for 10 minutes in the start then started off with the first to things i did on tuesday again. then i did 3 sets of 15 on some back machine. did about 6 sets of chest (butterfly and chest press) 12-20 reps each set. Did about 2 sets of triceps. A few sets of abs. biceps and pushups at the end. When i got home from this workout i could barely lift my arms, i think that was good =]. the next day my whole upper body was sore. friday came and i ran the first ten minutes. Did everything i did on wednesday with some more sets added to each work out. then ran the last ten minutes. i did not feel sore on saturday. with my first week i can see some improvement in my arms(i dont know how i see results so quickly). There is one thing i have 2 bring up though. my diet is pretty much the same as always. i find it pretty hard 2 eat healthy Living in the Washington heights area of manhattan. my usual lunch is probably chinese food or other kind of food (usually fast food). then dinner is rice and chicken. i never used to eat breakfast because i never had time, but now i am waking up early and eating cereal.