New! Lean bulk time?

Hey guys im new to the forum, im 5 ft 7 and 146lb. Ive been pretty much pissing about for the past 2 years, trianing on and off (mainly chest and arms, yeh i know...) and eating whatever I can and put on a lot of fat. But I need your help to change!

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/6128/dsc00923a.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8603/dsc00925m.jpg

As you can see from my pics im pretty skinny, about 13 inch arms and 26.5 inch chest. I have a large amount of fat around my stomach area, do you guys think I should bulk and train hard then cut towards the summer time? BF % estimate?

Also what routine do you guys think I should do, 4 day split or maybe I should start rippetoes? (done squats about 6 times and deadlifts 5 times in my life).

Any help is appriciated, thanks!

Welcome to the board bro, and congrats on making the decision to transform yourself!

I mean no disrespect, but based on your pics, you are what we'd call 'skinny fat'. You look thin with clothes on, but you actually have very little muscle and a considerable amount of bodyfat.

I would not bulk at all right now. You need to build a basic foundation while working on reducing your bodyfat. A solid workout routine with plenty of cardio should get you moving in the right direction. Once you reduce bodyfat down to an appreciable percentage, you can reconsider a lean bulk.

Good advice gbrice couldnt of said it better

Hey no diesrespect taken, any critisim is helpful! Thanks for the quick reply, do you think I should stick to my 4 day split:
Mon:Chest/Biceps
Tues:Legs
Wed:Rest
Thurs:Shoulders/Tricep
Fri: Back

I have got a treadmill at home, maybe I should do HIIT training 3 days a week?

On the nutrition side, im guessing I should stick to a high protien low carb/fat diet. How does this sound?

Morning (8:00): Oats + Protien Shake
Meal 2(11:00): Large chicken breast Sub
Preworkout:CNP Weight gainer (already had some?)
Postworkout: Chicken/rice/veggies (ProShak straight after training)
Night: More meat (most likely chicken breast)

Also Ill have a good amount of semi skimmed milk during the day, how does it sound guys? :) Thanks for everything!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GD_102

Hey no diesrespect taken, any critisim is helpful! Thanks for the quick reply, do you think I should stick to my 4 day split:
Mon:Chest/Biceps
Tues:Legs
Wed:Rest
Thurs:Shoulders/Tricep
Fri: Back

I would. I actually like your split. Would like to see the details of your workouts though

I have got a treadmill at home, maybe I should do HIIT training 3 days a week?

5 days/week minimum. I would do a combo of HIIT and lower intensity, 30 mins at least.

On the nutrition side, im guessing I should stick to a high protien low carb/fat diet. How does this sound?

Morning (8:00): Oats + Protien Shake
Meal 2(11:00): Large chicken breast Sub
Preworkout:CNP Weight gainer (already had some?)
Postworkout: Chicken/rice/veggies (ProShak straight after training)
Night: More meat (most likely chicken breast)

To be blunt, your diet is sh!t bro. Use the info I posted below to learn about diet and nutrition - it will be instrumental in your progress

Also Ill have a good amount of semi skimmed milk during the day, how does it sound guys? :) Thanks for everything!

Drop the milk ASAP. You don't need any additional sugar while running a cutting diet

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My comments above in bold. Also, use the info below to educate yourself on proper diet and nutrition. Come up with a decent diet, post it up here and be sure to include macro info for each meal along with time of day. We will help you sort it out.


**** EDIT - Argh! I have the info saved on my home PC and i'm at work right now. I'll post it up for you when I get home tonight, sorry bro ****

Hey thanks alot bro, post it whenever you got time!
For the split part, Ive got a home gym so I pretty much do everything there.

Chest: Barbell bench, incline dumbell bench, flys
Biceps:EZ curl, hammer, concentration
Legs: At the moment only do squats, which are drop sets/calve raises
Shoulders: Seated military press/side lateral raises/Bent-Over Dumbbell Lateral Raises/shrugs
Triceps:Behind the head dumbell/skull crushers/dips
Back: Deadlifts/bent over barbell/pullups

Mainly I do a warmup set followed by 3 reps of about 8, but I tend to add more weight every set so its kind more of 8,6,5.
I would really hate to drop weight again, could I not clean bulk and ignore the excess fat for a couple of months then cut? I dont think i have enough muscle to cut!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GD_102

Hey thanks alot bro, post it whenever you got time!
For the split part, Ive got a home gym so I pretty much do everything there.

Chest: Barbell bench, incline dumbell bench, flys
Biceps:EZ curl, hammer, concentration
Legs: At the moment only do squats, which are drop sets/calve raises
Shoulders: Seated military press/side lateral raises/Bent-Over Dumbbell Lateral Raises/shrugs
Triceps:Behind the head dumbell/skull crushers/dips
Back: Deadlifts/bent over barbell/pullups

Mainly I do a warmup set followed by 3 reps of about 8, but I tend to add more weight every set so its kind more of 8,6,5.
I would really hate to drop weight again, could I not clean bulk and ignore the excess fat for a couple of months then cut? I dont think i have enough muscle to cut!

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You're in a similar boat that I was in. True you don't have enough muscle to cut, but you have too much fat to bulk. Obviously, like me, you're predisposed to gaining fat easily. Even with a clean bulk, you will most likely put on more fat then the average guy. It happened to me, and my diet was super clean. It will be MUCH easier for you to do a clean bulk once you get the bodyfat in check.

Of course this is your choice, but I speak from experience when I say that in my opinion, you won't be thrilled with the results. Unless you don't mind being big and muscular, but fat.

Cant thanks you enough for these replies!

I dont think im prone to getting fat very easily, its just the food's that i ate were pretty BAG, ive got mcdonalds across the road so im sure that didnt help hee hee!

To be honest, I dont mind not having six pack I just want to fill out a tshirt but then again i dont want the belly to be too obvious (if im making myself clear)! Too bad I got a small body frame!!

Would you still think I should cut then bulk? Or knowing that I dont mind have packs, should I go for the clean bulk and get huge? :)

Thanks again bro!

I personally would cut, but that's because being very lean is important to me. I was a little bigger a few months ago then I am now, and in clothes I felt good, but down the shore or when I went to a resort in Mexico, I felt pretty awkward. Being in a bathing suit and bending over to pick something up off the ground while your fat rolls hang over your shorts... that's just unacceptable to me.

It comes down to personal choice. You can bulk now, and if you don't like the direction it's going, you can drop calories and start a cut. However, you can also do the opposite, and I think the latter is the better way to go in the long run. Cut first, add lean mass after.

Here you go bro, as promised. Info courtesy of Damienm05:

BMR/TDEE formula:

Let’s start with BMR. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate. AKA – how many calories you burn each day by just sitting on your ass. In order to figure out your BMR, you need to know what your lean body mass is. In turn, you need to know what your body fat percentage is.

If you don’t know your body fat percentage, go to your gym and get tested (please don’t use electronic scales to get your bf % checked, they're horrible). If you don’t have a gym that offers this service; ask me and I’ll give you a pretty good estimate.

With your bf % in hand, here’s the formula:

BMR (men and women) = 370 + (21.6 X lean mass in kg)

Total weight x bf % in decimal form = total bf weight

Total weight - total bf weight = total lean body mass

For example:

I am 6'1 210 lbs at 10% body fat... so I would multiply 210 by .10 (converted from percent to decimal) = 21 lbs
210 – 21 = 189 lbs lean body weight

189 / 2.2 = 86.0 lean mass in kg

370 + (21.6 x 86) = 2227.6 BMR (this is high for the average person)

Now that we have a BMR figure, we can move on to TDEE. Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is how many calories we actually use during the day via our BMR and activities such as work, exercise and various tasks. We can figure this number out with simple math but be honest because this figure is to be the cornerstone of your diet and healthy lifestyle. We need to determine your activity level. We’ll choose from a few levels:

§ If you are sedentary (little or no exercise): Calorie - Calculation = BMR x 1.2
§ If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
§ If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
§ If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
§ If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training): Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

For example:

I train with weights 5 days for 90 minutes per week. I play hockey three times per week
for 90 minutes. I do 60 minutes of cardio training 5 times per week as well. I also practice my sport 3 times per week for 90 minutes. Either via skating or puck/shooting drills. All are high-intensity. I am between very and extra active. Let’s say BMR x 1.8. My TDEE is 4010.

In terms of food choices, here goes:

I love analogies. Let’s use a good one. Think of your perfect body as a house that you must build. You’ve figured out your BMR and TDEE, so you know the exact specs of the property you have to work with. You know how exercise affects weight loss and how much of a caloric deficit/surplus we must create to lose/gain said weight; so you know how to build - you understand architecture. You also know the pace you intend on losing/gaining weight at based on these other factors, so you know it will be harder to get your house built in weeks as opposed to months. The only thing left is the tools/building material you must use and because you don’t know how to eat, you still can’t build anything. At least, not well. Sure, you can starve yourself for a few months but you’ll just gain all the weight back in a couple weeks of binge drinking and shitty eating on a vacation – you’re house will fall down!

So, let’s talk tools baby. Let’s talk food. First off, there are only 3 types of foods/macronutrients. Protein. Carbohydrates. Fat. That’s it.

Protein – 4 calories per gram - Building material. Bricks. You can’t gain energy from protein, you can only use it to build muscle/skin/hair/nails. It’s basically just amino acids and it’s what our bodies are made of. As such, we need lots of it. 1g of protein per body lb is a good number to shoot for . Go as high as 2g per body lb if you’re lifting weights and trying to build muscle. For example, I am 207 lbs and I eat between 300-400 grams per day. Our body can only break down so much at one time however, so we want to eat 20-40 grams of protein in every meal, several times per day. Protein, being building material only and not energy/labor – the body can rarely find a reason for it to be stored as fat. If you must over-eat – make it lean meat/fish.

Carbs – 4 calories per gram - Think of these as human labor for your house. Think of sugar as dudes you pick up out front of home depot and oatmeal as a skilled carpenter. Both are carbs, both serve very different purposes. Carbs help transport essential nutrients to the muscles, create glycogen stores, and as such, increase protein synthesis but do not build muscle; they are simply an energy source. As such, they should only be eaten/used when we need energy. Any carbs we ingest before bed or before watching a movie, or something sedentary are not used as energy, and as such, are more likely to be stored in the body as glycogen (glucose/water in our muscles that we will use when doing high-intensity exercise). Once our glycogen reserves are full, they will spill over and be stored as fat. Yes, they will make you fat. Carbs can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

Fats – 9 calories per gram - Like carbs, fats are an energy source, not a building material like protein. They provide nowhere near as much energy as carbs however. Ask anyone who's on a ketogenic diet. With regard to our house, think of fats as the glue/cement. They provide much needed essential fatty acids, which are great for joint/organ health and increase our protein synthesis. Going back to our analogy, cement/glue increases the effectiveness of bricks! If we give our bodies the right fats, it will be able to burn stored body fat quickly as it won’t see any use in keeping it. Remember, like carbs – not all fat is good and ALL fat is high in calories so watch out. A tablespoon of peanut butter can be a good addition to a meal. Snacking on 5-6 tablespoons, however, means you’ve just eaten over your TDEE for the day.

Acceptable proteins for your healthy lifestyle diet:

The goal is to eat lean protein. Meats/other sources low in fat/carbs.

§ Ground beef (93% lean or better)
§ Lean steak (Flank, flat iron, or top sirloin)
§ Bison sirloin (the highest quality red meat)
§ Chicken breast
§ Turkey breast
§ Tuna (canned or sushi grade)
§ Salmon
§ Tilapia (mostly all white fish)
§ All shellfish
§ Venison
§ Whey protein (post-workout recovery purposes only)
§ Casein/Cottage cheese (before bed only)

Black-List Protein sources. Do not eat these because they are high in fat. And not the
good kind we find in nuts and olive oil – I’m talking about cholesterol raising saturated
fat!

§ Bacon
§ Sausage
§ Expensive fat-marbled Steaks (Ribeye, Strip, Filet)
§ Pork and beef ribs
§ Pork/Lamb chops
§ Restaurant ground beef (80/20 fat – most burgers)
§ Duck
§ Chicken legs/thighs
§ Chicken skin
§ Cheese

Acceptable Carbs for your healthy lifestlyle:

Complex carbs are now your creed. These are slower-digesting, natural, low on the glycemic index carbohydrates that digest slowly and provide us with sustained energy. They do not drastically affect our blood sugar and do not cause insulin spikes. Thus our body sees no reason to store them as fat, it would rather burn them for energy. Simple carbs such as enriched white breads/pastas/rice/potatoes/sugars (including most fruit) cause insulin spikes and are high GI foods. They should not be eaten when on a strict diet. Fruit can be consumed early in the day or pre/post-workout because of it’s high nutritional value but should usually be avoided due to being a form of simple sugar. Remember, healthy, low-calorie foods aren’t always the correct foods and such is the case with fruit.

§ Oats/Oatmeal
§ Grits/Cornmeal
§ Unsalted/non-buttered popcorn (great, low-cal snack)
§ Sweet potato (the best choice)
§ Butternut squash
§ Whole wheat pasta (not enriched)
§ Organic whole wheat bread (not enriched wonder bread crap)
§ Brown rice
§ Ezekiel bread
§ Swedish grain bread
§ Gluten free bread
§ Wheat couscous
§ Corn
§ Quinoa
§ Lentils
§ Beans
§ Many more, look up the GI (glycemic index) for healthy choices

Black List:

§ White pasta
§ White bread
§ Baguette
§ Bagels
§ Cookies, cake, muffins, cupcakes, all sweets basically.
§ White couscous
§ White rice
§ You get the idea…

Don’t get discouraged upon reading this list. I still make desserts all the time with whole
grain flour and splenda. I buy bagels and baguettes at the health food store that use
complex carbs as a base. If you’re dedicated, you don’t have to miss out 100%

Acceptable fats for your healthy lifestyle:

We look for fat sources that are high in omega-3, 6, and 9 fatty acids. Also, many are high in protein. We do not want saturated fats such as butter, cream, meat fat. We don’t want test tube fats like trans (the worst). We want mono/polyunsaturated fats that our body can use for something other than calories. Remember, even good fats are high in calories.

§ Natural peanut butter (no sugar added, just roasted peanuts)
§ Natural almond butter
§ Cashews
§ Almonds
§ Peanuts
§ Flax seeds
§ Flax seed oil
§ Salmon and Trout (great fatty proteins)
§ Fish oil
§ Extra virgin olive oil (should be used on all veggies/salads)
§ Chia seeds
§ Grapeseed oil
§ Macadamia nut oil

Acceptable miscellaneous foods:

These foods don’t provide much as far as macronutrients but are great for adding vitamins/minerals and taste. Notice some of these other foods are dairy. Dairy is another animal’s milk. We lack the enzymes to digest it as they do and it’s high in fat/sugar. It should only be eaten early in the day for nutrient purposes with the exception of whey and casein (cottage cheese).

§ Skim milk (Hood brand is only 45 calories and 3g of sugar per cup)
§ Greek yogurt (no sugar added)
§ Berries (all berries are much lower in sugar than other fruits and packed with fiber/nutrients – eat berries)
§ Green Vegetables. These are technically carbs but they are packed with fiber (a type of carb that isn’t used as energy or stored). In bodybuilding/nutrition – we refer to most vegetables as fibrous carbohydrates. While a serving of Broccoli may have 6g of carbs, 5 are from fiber. Meaning that it contains only 1g of storable carbohydrates. In addition, green vegetables are a calorie neutral/negative food (our body uses more calories to digest them than they contain – think celery). Veggies should be eaten with every meal. Every day. If you do this, you can become almost impervious to getting sick. Some vegetables are better than others for healthy diets.
§ Many non-green vegetables. Most are fine – just check labels, some have a good bit of sugar and should be eaten in moderation only (carrots)