15 years old, I need advice

What was your starting weight, end weight and height?

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Starting weight weight was 160 and weight in the second photo was 172 and I was 5’10.5” in both photos. I was a chubby 138.5 pounds when I started lifting at the age of 12 but wrestling and cleaning up my diet really helped lean me out. The lifting and quantity of high quality, high protein food helped me add substantial mass.

And to make a training log, just go to the training log section on this site and write down what your training sessions are like. They can even include some insight into your diet. You can also ask questions there and the T-Nation community and can help give you answers and help, just like we are here. Personally, I just write my workouts down in a notebook, take a picture of the notebook entry and give a little bit of an overview of how the session went and sometimes talk about any dietary adjustments I’m making. You can check that section out if you want to get a feel for others like to lay theirs out. It’s just an awesome thing to do, because it helps the members of the site get an exact idea of what you’re doing so the advice can be a bit more personalized and relevant.

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Thanks bud

Just start a new topic (i assume you know how to do this as you have already started this one).

Then select ‘Training logs’ from the category drop down menu

Give the Log a catchy Title of your choosing and add your first post details. Most people introduce themselves (nothing personal) or give a little bit of information on their training goals. You then just update the log each day with what ever details you like. Most people record their training sessions, some their diet and some other life details. Go look at a few logs in this section and it will give you an idea of what others use them for.

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You are 207 lbs. How much have you gained in those 6 months?

When I started training I was 170 or 180. I didnt take it down simply because i didn’t think it was important. Definitely under 185.

I think your caloric range is too big and you should not be eating in a large surplus. You cannot force feed muscle growth.

Noted. My biggest resource for this type of thing was the online calculators. What do you think my range for a surplus or defucit should be?

It depends.

What are you closer to eating 3500 or 4200? Are you gaining weekly right now? What is your current goal?

Current goal is 220, not feasible at the minute. It varies for what I can eat.

You should be losing.

3500-4200 is a big difference what are you closer to eating daily?

3800 ish. It varies from what is available.

You are 15yo. I think you are putting WAY too much thought into this. This is a long game. It literally takes years. A couple hundred calories isn’t going to make you or break you at this point.

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Thank you! This is nuts. You’re going to hate this hobby by the time you’re 20. Learn what foods make you feel good, get some protein in, and learn to eat up or down based on where you’re at bodyfat-wise. There is no reason for this level of neurosis at this point.

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There is no fast way for this stuff. I started lifting at 15 and I’m about to be 21. I didn’t see gains I liked until I was 19. Also, I’ve always wanted to be active my whole life. I see no point in doing dumb short term sighted things that could have large impacts down the road (so no motocross or rodeo for me)

OP you need to learn to:

  • Cook (money and time permitting). You shouldn’t have to be choking down nasty food and a lot of people do not know how to cook
  • Use the mirror as a guide rather than a scale or counting calories. I think scales are dumb. Also counting calories is one of those things you might need to do it if you’ve exhausted everything else (recovery wise and need that little extra push to get to the next level) but you should have a pretty good handling on eating without it
  • Training and nutrition go hand in hand. You need to eat and train like you want to get bigger and stronger if you want to
  • Go play a sport so you have kinesthetic awareness. If you find one you like, cool stick to it. If you don’t go play multiple. Just do something like this
  • Go learn about behavior modification and nutrition while you are young. It’s a lot easier to get started on this early than to have to figure it all out at 40. Plus there’s great stuff for free on the internet
  • Build habits so in 4 years when you are busy and life is changing, you’ll have a really good base line
  • Be mobile and do mobility stuff
  • Do some sort of cardio outside in the sun. You need vitamin D and a heart that can work well
  • Have a life outside of the gym
  • Lastly, work hard in a way you enjoy. There’s no reason to be training in a manner you hate for years on end. It has a time and place but it’s not a long term thing
  • Also don’t neglect jumping

Some of that is off topic but I know a 15 year old me needed to hear that. Learn your body, learn what works, get off tiktok, and go have fun!

I think this video series is a good place to start from

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Thank you. This is genuinely helpful

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