What should I do?

B

Bobo8

0
Hey all,
This is where I am stuck and need urgent help. My goals are to get the six-pack I once had back and to work on developing muscles in the upper part of my body (i.e. arms, chest etc).

19 years old
Male
182 cm
78 kg
Bf% - I'm currently waiting for my caliper to arrive. However, I have done an online body fat test and the results are as listed (according to , they believe these results are close to accurate, give or take 2%;
Your Results

You have 11% body fat.

You have 8.6 Kilograms of fat and 69.4 Kilograms of lean (muscle, bone, body water).

To the main few questions,
Heres the catch. I really want my six pack back but at the same time I want my skinny arms and my upper body to be bigger. I'll be doing 40-45 minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week, I'll be hitting the gym 3-4 times a week along with doing some ab workouts 3-4 times a week (i.e. sit ups etc).

This is the question that I am really confused about. Would it work like this;
1. If I cut then bulk - I cut until I get my six pack back then I start bulking to get my muscles in my upper body whilst at the same time making sure that the extra calories I'm eating (to bulk) DON'T affect my six pack? I really don't want to cut to get my six pack and then lose it through bulking.
2. If I bulk then cut - Could I still develop a six pack and muscles in the upper parts of my body by bulking at the same time?
3. Would it be best if I maintained my current calories as this would help me develop a six pack and muscles in the upper parts of my body at the same time(go bigger)?

4. So guys, based on these statistics and my goals, should I cut then bulk or bulk then cut or should I maintain my current calorie intake (according to mreik's formula) of 2558.5 calories (with my activity level being 1.4)?

Thank you for your time!
 
1st off, we'd need to know how long and how serious you have been training. If its the 1st time youve done any seroius training then 4 lots of weight training and 5lots of cardio is a hell of a lot. There is no way a begginer could fit that much into a week, your body wouldnt be able to recover quick enough and you'd prob last about a week before you gave up.
If you can do it, it just means that you were not doing your best in each workout.

next, read up on HIIT and do that instead of a straight 45 run.

It all depends on what you enjoy most, your body type, how dedicated you are and many other things. Most of the time its best to bulk 1st then cut. Its all about controling your diet, you must know exactly how many cals your eatting a day. this means keeping a strict diary which you write down everything you eat and all your training. If you know what your doing you can bulk up quite a bit without adding too much fat.
Last time I bulked for 4months, I managed to loose all the fat I gained in less than a month.

Dont worry about your body fat %. the ONLY true way of telling is with a 7 or 9 point caliper test or in a floatation tank. last time I used other meathods (scale test, 5onlines tests, measured test) I got results from 9-20, with an average of 17%. when my body fat was really 11%.
 
Sorry to sound mean but what's with the six pack obsession? They mean just about nothing, they don't always even mean you have a strong stomach. A lot of the guys I see trying to show off their six packs during the summer have no idea just how silly they look perminantly flexing their stomach while they walk around with tiny arms and legs

My advice to you would be to forget about the six pack, aim to put on muscle by bulking up a bit and before you know it the six pack will be there without you even trying for it. I hardly ever target abs directly, it certainly isn't part of my regular workout but I have a very strong mid-section and put most guys to shame when my t-shirt comes off

Get a good full body routine and stick to it, even through in a few crunches and you'll see the results you want if you stay patient
 
First and foremost, I am definitely serious about starting up. I have been wanting to start for a while now but never really had the time. I currently have a bit less than 3 months off university and have decided this is the time to start (break from university).

My history -
- I have never been to the gym (hence my skinny arms) but I've got mates who regularly go to the gym who can show me how to use the equipment and help me out.
- I will be fine with the sit ups, push ups and cardio. I used to play soccer (involved training 3 times a week and playing a game on the weekend) and I know I can do the cardio exercises without any problems. This gives me some motivation knowing that I can do it.

R.Lewis, I have read a bit about HIIT from the sticky that you have put up in this thread and I can tell you that I will be giving that a shot. You provided some excellent information in that thread that I have seriously taken into consideration.

I am dead set serious about starting. I have been reading all about nutrition, exercises etc for the past week. I believe the first few weeks to month(s) will be the hardest but I know I can pull through.


Regarding the diary, I have registered on fitday.com in order to create a diet. I was in the process of creating a diet however I figured I need to work out how many calories I need to take in each day and whether to bulk/maintain/cut calories to achieve my goals.

I haven't decided how many days a week I will be going to the gym, but ill most probably start off with 3 days, 4 days of cardio (bike riding, HIIT etc) and a couple days of abdominal exercises.

I really want to achieve my goals but am really unsure whether bulking/maintaining/cutting will help me achieve these goals. I know that there are people in here who were once in my shoes and could help me out with some tips.

I'd love to develop these abs before I start university again (just under 3 months away, if possible) and work on my upper body(i.e. hopefully making my arms etc a bit bigger so that my arms aren't skinny anymore). Once I start university again, I'll continue with my diet and with my cardio/gym exercises(ill just need to adjust the times I workout as they will clash with my timetable) and I'll continue to train.

Thank you for your reply and time in replying.
 
CCR said:
Sorry to sound mean but what's with the six pack obsession? They mean just about nothing, they don't always even mean you have a strong stomach. A lot of the guys I see trying to show off their six packs during the summer have no idea just how silly they look perminantly flexing their stomach while they walk around with tiny arms and legs

My advice to you would be to forget about the six pack, aim to put on muscle by bulking up a bit and before you know it the six pack will be there without you even trying for it. I hardly ever target abs directly, it certainly isn't part of my regular workout but I have a very strong mid-section and put most guys to shame when my t-shirt comes off

Get a good full body routine and stick to it, even through in a few crunches and you'll see the results you want if you stay patient
Click to expand...
Don't be sorry, your not being mean at all.

I understand what you are saying when you say there are guys walking around with six packs but with tiny arms. That is why I'm not solely focusing my workout on abs but on my arms and upper body as well. My goals are to get my abs back and work on my upper body.

Ideally I would love to bulk up, but I am not sure if i could still develop abs if I chose to bulk up a bit. If I decided to bulk up, would all the fat in my stomach get burnt through cardio/gym whilst all the food I eat (i.e. protein) go straight to my upper body. Would this mean that I can bulk up and still develop abs?

Thank you for your time!
 
OK, I'm not an expert on this but the general rule is that if you want a big upper body you have to work the lower body; it all about hormones.

I'm not an expert by any means but to keep things basic (the highest level I know I'm afraid) you want to trigger an Endocrine release when you work out, this hormone will help you build muscle. It is released by the body when it's placed under stress, as the muscles in your lower body are the big boys it's these that will make the biggest impact.

For your abs to show through you need to target a body fat % of about 10 or under. To gain muscle you need a calorie surplus (about 500 calories above BMR) and a lot of protein which makes losing fat difficult but far from impossible, you just need to eat a very healthy diet so you increase muscle and lower fat.

Look around the forum for a full body workout
 
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