After 4 months of pretty hard dieting I had finally lost 40lbs. After 4 months of hard dieting I thought I was ready to start body building but that is sadly not the fact, I think. After posting a little on here and actually talking to the sports doctor at my gym I think I should go for another 12 week cutting phase. This will mean 12 more weeks of eating, about, 2200 calories a day. The difference is I am not sure how to do it this time. Last time I did a 50% Protein, 30% carb, 20% fat for the first 4 weeks to kinda get the weight coming off through lower carb eating and then I bumped up 300 calories and a 40/40/20 split for 8 weeks. The month of August has pretty much been just maintenance and I really do not want to waste anymore time. At 19% body fat should I go ahead and try an honest-to-God bulk phase or just go for another 12 weeks of cutting, my goal will be 12% body fat if I do another 12 weeks and I will be just as strict as I was last time. Any answers appreciated, and if you have an idea of what I should do nutrition wise that would be awesome.
Age: 16
Weight: 189lbs
Height: 5’11"
Body Fat: 19%
If you start a bulk at 19% body fat, most of the weight you will gain will be fat. Get down to below 15% to improve your insulin sensitivity, then start a slow bulk (bwx16 calories/day).
Pleas epost a picture at 5’11 189lbs unless you have 0 muscle mass your not 20% body fat. Your also 16 thedumbest thing you can do right now is restrict your body of food. I made this mistake and 5 years later I am still paying for it man. Unless you are a complete fat ass do not cut at your age. You obviously dont have enough muscle mass in order to compete in a bodybuilding show so there is absoluutely no reason for you to be cutting. You need to eat a sensible and protein rich in protein. Eat good clean food and lift. I promise you will regret it in the long run man. Your strength levels are going to be even lower and your just going to 160lbs of pathetic un muscular teen. But do as you please and to each his own.
[quote]Sn4zzle wrote:
After 4 months of pretty hard dieting I had finally lost 40lbs. After 4 months of hard dieting I thought I was ready to start body building but that is sadly not the fact, I think. After posting a little on here and actually talking to the sports doctor at my gym I think I should go for another 12 week cutting phase. This will mean 12 more weeks of eating, about, 2200 calories a day. The difference is I am not sure how to do it this time. Last time I did a 50% Protein, 30% carb, 20% fat for the first 4 weeks to kinda get the weight coming off through lower carb eating and then I bumped up 300 calories and a 40/40/20 split for 8 weeks. The month of August has pretty much been just maintenance and I really do not want to waste anymore time. At 19% body fat should I go ahead and try an honest-to-God bulk phase or just go for another 12 weeks of cutting, my goal will be 12% body fat if I do another 12 weeks and I will be just as strict as I was last time. Any answers appreciated, and if you have an idea of what I should do nutrition wise that would be awesome.
Age: 16
Weight: 189lbs
Height: 5’11"
Body Fat: 19%
[/quote]
I don’t know if there’s any particular reason to bulk when you’re that young. The point of bulking is to create the most suitable environment for your body to build lots of muscle in a “short” period of time. Being a teenager, your body will already be doing this, without the need for all the extra food.
Practically speaking, wouldn’t your best bet be lifting/conditioning and just eating as much as you feel the need to?
I think it would be best if folks here knew your numbers on the big four though. That and pictures.
I do think a drop from 19% to 12% bf in 12 weeks is a bit unrealistic though. Think in terms of building muscle instead of trying to lose fat. They both achieve the same purpose in terms of reducing your bf %.
[quote]Sn4zzle wrote:
I will post pictures if I can get them uploaded, I have not had my bf tested by a doctor yet, I am just going off a hand-held tester. [/quote]
Don’t spend money to go to a doctor and get your body fat tested. That is a gigantic waste of time and money. Just post up the pics, and guys in this forum should be able to give you some help in what step to take next.
[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Don’t spend money to go to a doctor and get your body fat tested. That is a gigantic waste of time and money. Just post up the pics, and guys in this forum should be able to give you some help in what step to take next.[/quote]
I am definitely going to stick to cutting right now because if I do a jumping jack I jiggle (sorta) so I will stick to cutting for another 12 weeks. I think I will do fine 1 more time, if I start to lose weight rapidly I will up my calories some.
Conversation I just had with my friend about this thread:
Me: everyone else is saying “dude, you’re 16, you’re at your hormonal prime to put on tons of muscle if you just eat enough and train hard… DO NOT CUT”
Me: and, like any 16yo kid, he ignores advice
Me: he asks for advice, but then ignores it
Friend: they call those people “askholes”
[quote]Chris87 wrote:
Don’t spend money to go to a doctor and get your body fat tested. That is a gigantic waste of time and money. Just post up the pics, and guys in this forum should be able to give you some help in what step to take next.[/quote]
I am definitely going to stick to cutting right now because if I do a jumping jack I jiggle (sorta) so I will stick to cutting for another 12 weeks. I think I will do fine 1 more time, if I start to lose weight rapidly I will up my calories some. [/quote]
Again, why cut when adding large amounts of muscle via heavy lifting and some fat amounts to the same thing? Your body WANTS to be adding muscle AND fat right now. That’s the entire point of puberty. You grow bigger.
Because of the amounts of testosterone and other growth hormone that your body is producing, fat gain will be minimal (provided that you’re not eating a horse everyday) if you do anything above 70% or so on your main lifts and do some form of intense activity.
And, really, I don’t think you should bulk. Bulking is incredibly time-consuming and, at least for me, mentally challenging. Trying to follow the traditional methods of bulking basically means that you’re too damned full all the time, feel too heavy, too busy dealing with the numbers, and if you’re not an athlete/have someone who can help you with bulking, too stressed about all the fat that you’re gaining.
None of this seems very helpful to being a decent student at school, which should be your priority at least in high school.
I tried to “get shredded” by cutting calories to <1000/day. All I did was make myself weak and small, at 115 lbs with 5’11". Now I weigh a little under 160 (same height) and I could beat the crap out of my former self in a fight, in the weight room, in breakdancing (my “sport” that I lift for), not to mention I look so much better, and it all came at the low low cost of having a 5-1/2 pack instead of a 6-pack. I lost 9 months that could have been spent getting stronger so I could look like a Calvin Klein model. All I really needed to do was focus on getting strong. Not even thinking about “bulking” or “cutting”. I arbitrarily chose 2500-3000 calories a day and gained weight and got stronger. Now I stopped gaining weight and I’m still getting stronger.
Guys… 20% bodyfat isn’T morbidly obese but it IS a lot. And anybody saying “just bulk, you’ll put on more muscle than fat” has no effing clue about insulin sensitivity at 15+ % bf. And no, not all teenagers have a raging metabolism (though I was one of those); just telling him “eat man, your age means that you’ll drop the fat like it’s nothing” is ****ing ignorant.
