Due you need to stop worrying about cutting what ever fat you have. Your not gonna have shit to show for it. You need to lift man and eat. I’m not telling you to get fat but cutting is just going to further screw you. Vegetables a side you need more calories period.
You can run SS and many other strength focused programs fine with minimal to no weight gain. I suggest SS, since you have experience with it, while attempting to eat at maintenance, but clean. One way to approach a “recomp” is to eat as much as possible without gaining weight (or minimal weight gain), making sure you have reasonable macro targets.
If you eat clean, this is a lot more food than you think. This will minimize fat gain while ensuring your body has what it needs to grow, since you are always on the verge of gaining fat. If you do end up gaining 1-3 lbs in a month, you can be sure it’s quality mass.
This approach will give you the strength gains you need while giving you time to refine your diet. I wouldn’t bother thinking in terms of cutting and bulking. Just try to keep getting better. This will require adding food as you move along and maybe the occasional conditioning session. Once you have your diet in check, you should be able to focus more on hypertrophy and increasing your food levels.
diet diet diet
Im really really sorry guys i know im a pain in the head
But i have to get this right this time
Now im confused a little bit hows everyone recommending strength program without thinking about the amount of fat i have to lose
And i read that being in a 10% bf will give me an advantage of better food partitioning plus i would rather be skinny than fat
How am i going to even gain strength when im eating at maintenance.
I just cant look in the mirror and see myself that fat and keep maintaining
Your diet sucks and your lifting sucks.
Your attitude is right up there too.
You likely…
Barely sweat during your workouts
Don’t drink enough water
Use artificial sweeteners
Sneak in candy or other shitty foods, but never tell anyone about it
Your squats look like shit
…Or you have thyroid disease
Which I doubt
I really work hard in gym and maybe the diet is the problem and thats what im trying to figure
So either help or just dont post
Thanks
[quote]Ronaldinho92 wrote:
Im really really sorry guys i know im a pain in the head
But i have to get this right this time
Now im confused a little bit hows everyone recommending strength program without thinking about the amount of fat i have to lose
And i read that being in a 10% bf will give me an advantage of better food partitioning plus i would rather be skinny than fat
How am i going to even gain strength when im eating at maintenance.
I just cant look in the mirror and see myself that fat and keep maintaining[/quote]
It is in your best interest to lose the idea that you know anything about training, because based on your own admission, you do not know how to get the results you want.
You are being recommended weight training programs, not strength programs. The point of these programs is to provide you some sort of structured resistance training. You could do just about anything, as long as you pushed yourself hard.
You can easily gain strength eating at maintenance. I gained strength while cutting 10lbs for my last meet. The idea that you can only gain strength while eating a surplus is a myth perpetuated by small and weak people to justify their own failures.
[quote]Ronaldinho92 wrote:
Age 22
Height 180 cm (5’9)
Weight 83.5 kgs (182 lbs)
Inbody result was 22% bf
[/quote]
What is your current waste size?
I’m about your height. I’m not a very big guy based on T-Nation standards and I’m an old fart. I generally weigh about 215 at around 22% body fat and wear size 36 jeans at that weight. I need 38s when I hit more than 220. I am very lean when I’m sub 200 and can easily slide into size 34 jeans when I’m 200-205 and I can easily slide into size 32s when I am sub 195.
If you cut down to 10% fat without adding any lean you’d be around 160 lbs. Right now based on the numbers you posted your max squat is around 300-310 (assuming you are squatting to depth). These numbers (weight, strength, and BF%), to me, mean that you have lots of room to get bigger and stronger at age 22.
I’m generally with Reed. You need to eat more meat, eggs, and good fats, and maybe load carbs post workout. Hit the weights hard. Put on some mass. Get stronger. Make your short-to-medium term goal to bench more than 300; squat more than 400; and deadlift more than 500. If you are not getting measurably stronger every month and moving toward these goals, something is wrong and you need to adjust something. If you can hit these numbers and stay under 190 pounds you will look like a guy who lifts. Just lay off the sugar, bread, and empty calories, especially booze, beer, and sodas, and the rest should take care of itself.
Do you really eat 2 cans of tuna a day?
[quote]Ronaldinho92 wrote:
How am i going to even gain strength when im eating at maintenance.
I just cant look in the mirror and see myself that fat and keep maintaining[/quote]
SS was just recommended for familiarity’s sake. You can pick literally any program on this site and do fine on maintenance: 531, edt, madcow, texas method, anything by dan john, henriques, anything. heck, if you do amit sapir’s program, he has a forum on here where he’ll coach you for free.
If you are maintaining your weight but getting stronger, what do you think is happening? Yes, your CNS is getting more efficient and you may be getting better at technique, but you’re also building muscle. “Maintenance” doesn’t mean “staying the same,” it means staying the same WEIGHT.
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]Ronaldinho92 wrote:
Age 22
Height 180 cm (5’9)
Weight 83.5 kgs (182 lbs)
Inbody result was 22% bf
[/quote]
What is your current waste size?
I’m about your height. I’m not a very big guy based on T-Nation standards and I’m an old fart. I generally weigh about 215 at around 22% body fat and wear size 36 jeans at that weight. I need 38s when I hit more than 220. I am very lean when I’m sub 200 and can easily slide into size 34 jeans when I’m 200-205 and I can easily slide into size 32s when I am sub 195.
If you cut down to 10% fat without adding any lean you’d be around 160 lbs. Right now based on the numbers you posted your max squat is around 300-310 (assuming you are squatting to depth). These numbers (weight, strength, and BF%), to me, mean that you have lots of room to get bigger and stronger at age 22.
I’m generally with Reed. You need to eat more meat, eggs, and good fats, and maybe load carbs post workout. Hit the weights hard. Put on some mass. Get stronger. Make your short-to-medium term goal to bench more than 300; squat more than 400; and deadlift more than 500. If you are not getting measurably stronger every month and moving toward these goals, something is wrong and you need to adjust something. If you can hit these numbers and stay under 190 pounds you will look like a guy who lifts. Just lay off the sugar, bread, and empty calories, especially booze, beer, and sodas, and the rest should take care of itself.
[/quote]
thank you so much for this feedback
my current waist size is 38
thanks to everyone tried to help me and be sure i’ll use this information and starting from today i’ll readjust my diet to maintenance and will read about each one and choose the best program and maybe will post after a month the results.
thanks again
hope it works this time
This just gave me pause:
[quote]Ronaldinho92 wrote:
Age 22
Height 180 cm (5’9)
Weight 83.5 kgs (182 lbs)
Inbody result was 22% bf
[/quote]
5’9" is 175 cm and 182 lb is 82.5 kg.
That combined with what others have said about your diet makes me wonder how accurately you were tracking your food intake to begin with. Were you using scales to do so? If not, start now.
you gotta eat man
i didnt even do a good routine for most of my first year, but im 10 months into lifting now, went from 130-185 morning weight, yes i gained some fat but nothing extreme, i look noticeably different
you should do a routine that mainly consists of compounds (squat, bench, deadlift, press, row, chins, and dips) and few isolations (curls, etc), and do those compounds often. eat a lot more and make sure that you are gaining weight every 2 weeks or so
you shouldnt really care about gaining fat that much when youre a beginner, because you have to gain some fat in order to gain a bunch of muscle
[quote]Captain Wheels wrote:
you gotta eat man
i didnt even do a good routine for most of my first year, but im 10 months into lifting now, went from 130-185 morning weight, yes i gained some fat but nothing extreme, i look noticeably different
you should do a routine that mainly consists of compounds (squat, bench, deadlift, press, row, chins, and dips) and few isolations (curls, etc), and do those compounds often. eat a lot more and make sure that you are gaining weight every 2 weeks or so
you shouldnt really care about gaining fat that much when youre a beginner, because you have to gain some fat in order to gain a bunch of muscle[/quote]
This kid is 180 lbs and has a 38 inch waist. Did you miss this part? He does NOT need to gain any more fat. That’s the last thing he should be doing if he gives a shit about his health in any capacity. Maybe you should wait until you’re not a beginner before you start handing out terrible advice.
Anabolic response to exercise will be significantly greater if he can first cut a significant amount of fat. THAT should be the number 1 priority here. I honestly don’t believe he needs to move his scale weight up at all, at least for awhile. Hell, I’m taller than him and only 5 lbs heavier. A lean 185 would be tremendous at his height.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
[quote]Captain Wheels wrote:
you gotta eat man
i didnt even do a good routine for most of my first year, but im 10 months into lifting now, went from 130-185 morning weight, yes i gained some fat but nothing extreme, i look noticeably different
you should do a routine that mainly consists of compounds (squat, bench, deadlift, press, row, chins, and dips) and few isolations (curls, etc), and do those compounds often. eat a lot more and make sure that you are gaining weight every 2 weeks or so
you shouldnt really care about gaining fat that much when youre a beginner, because you have to gain some fat in order to gain a bunch of muscle[/quote]
This kid is 180 lbs and has a 38 inch waist. Did you miss this part? He does NOT need to gain any more fat. That’s the last thing he should be doing if he gives a shit about his health in any capacity. Maybe you should wait until you’re not a beginner before you start handing out terrible advice.
Anabolic response to exercise will be significantly greater if he can first cut a significant amount of fat. THAT should be the number 1 priority here. I honestly don’t believe he needs to move his scale weight up at all, at least for awhile. Hell, I’m taller than him and only 5 lbs heavier. A lean 185 would be tremendous at his height.
[/quote]
I agree with everything you say, but I would stop at discouraging him or just about anyone from pursuing strength, assuming his extra fat is not placing him in immediate danger.
Speaking for myself, gaining the strength to move barbells has been instrumental in gaining the strength to manage my diet. My approach is not at all optimal, but I am a firm believer in the power of momentum, especially for those of us with a lot of work to do.
I never got off the ground with fat loss until I found out that I love lifting weights. Now that I’ve made lifting a part of my life it is easier to pull other positive changes into orbit around that activity. That has been my path and I’m sure many others could find success with it.
So we can all agree that the OP needs to drop some fat, and the sooner the better. However, if the weights are calling, maybe it is time to answer with renewed effort and focus. Exorcising the demons built up over a year of zero-progress lifting could be the jump-start OP needs to assume a good trajectory with his health and fitness.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
I agree with everything you say, but I would stop at discouraging him or just about anyone from pursuing strength, assuming his extra fat is not placing him in immediate danger.
Speaking for myself, gaining the strength to move barbells has been instrumental in gaining the strength to manage my diet. My approach is not at all optimal, but I am a firm believer in the power of momentum, especially for those of us with a lot of work to do.
I never got off the ground with fat loss until I found out that I love lifting weights. Now that I’ve made lifting a part of my life it is easier to pull other positive changes into orbit around that activity. That has been my path and I’m sure many others could find success with it.
So we can all agree that the OP needs to drop some fat, and the sooner the better. However, if the weights are calling, maybe it is time to answer with renewed effort and focus. Exorcising the demons built up over a year of zero-progress lifting could be the jump-start OP needs to assume a good trajectory with his health and fitness.
[/quote]
I honestly saw nothing in Flipcollar’s post that indicated to me he was discouraging strength gains. I absolutely agree he should get his diet in check AND get stronger.
We’re mostly splitting hairs here, but I took it as an implicit part of advising that he not gain any more fat. If he lifted for a year with no progress, it is probably unlikely that he’s going to get stronger without putting a bit of fat on.
But yes, we’re all saying the same thing. Work smart. Work hard. Improve diet. Nothing but good things will come.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
We’re mostly splitting hairs here, but I took it as an implicit part of advising that he not gain any more fat. If he lifted for a year with no progress, it is probably unlikely that he’s going to get stronger without putting a bit of fat on.
[/quote]
I actually greatly disagree with this, and think this mentality is what holds back a LOT of beginners. Weight gain does not need to happen in order to get stronger, and in reality many trainees can lose fat and get stronger at the same time, beginner and otherwise. Since he has had no success in the past, I think it means that he’s actually DUE to start getting stronger, as long as he starts eating better and busts his ass in the gym.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
We’re mostly splitting hairs here, but I took it as an implicit part of advising that he not gain any more fat. If he lifted for a year with no progress, it is probably unlikely that he’s going to get stronger without putting a bit of fat on.
But yes, we’re all saying the same thing. Work smart. Work hard. Improve diet. Nothing but good things will come.
[/quote]
Maybe I should have posted something about training as well, I just wanted to realllllly emphasize the fat loss thing. But yes, lifting is a good idea. Of course I’m going to advocate lifting, I’m a powerlifter, lol. My main point was that the previous poster had indicated the OP needs to get even fatter than he is now. That’s absurd, and I don’t know how anyone would come to that conclusion.
The OP can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, given his current physique. His diet and training are probably both terrible, but everything will be easier if he figures out diet first.
I definitely approach lifting from the standpoint that you can get very, very strong while staying moderately lean, year-round. Plenty of lifters do it these days. The top powerlifters in the world that are sub-250 bodyweight are all in great condition. Dan Green, Richard Hawthorne, Jesse Norris are all great examples of this.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
We’re mostly splitting hairs here, but I took it as an implicit part of advising that he not gain any more fat. If he lifted for a year with no progress, it is probably unlikely that he’s going to get stronger without putting a bit of fat on.
[/quote]
I actually greatly disagree with this, and think this mentality is what holds back a LOT of beginners. Weight gain does not need to happen in order to get stronger, and in reality many trainees can lose fat and get stronger at the same time, beginner and otherwise. Since he has had no success in the past, I think it means that he’s actually DUE to start getting stronger, as long as he starts eating better and busts his ass in the gym.
[/quote]
Could be. I rode a pretty great wave of fat loss and strength gains for a period, but I was REALLY fat and REALLY weak at the time. Nowhere to go but up, and leaner/stronger took place in spite of a suboptimal diet. Maybe OP is still in the same sort of start mode, even after a year of lifting. Maybe he is not, but can still pull it off with hard training and a good diet.
None of us can predict if that will take place for OP or not, but there is only one way to him to find out, and that’s where we all agree.
Work smart, work hard and fix the diet and see what happens.