Hoping you guys can give me some advice, perhaps drawing from your own personal experiences.
At this stage of the game, I haven’t been to the gym in about 3 weeks and the eating hasn’t been clean at all (school, final exams, lots of pizza).
With exams over on the 18th, I plan to go back hard but don’t know whether to first focus on losing the fat that’s accumulated or to just go ahead and try getting bigger, worry about losing fat later.
I’m currently at 168lbs, probably around 14-15% bodyfat. I’d like to get to 180lbs by mid-February.
I’ve just ordered 2 Mag-10 (4 in total) - should I only use these on the bulking phase or is there a benefit to starting the mag 10 while on the get lean phase of training?
Basic physiological fact. People with a higher BF% tend to lose more fat (than muscle) when they diet. They also tend to put on more fat (than muscle) when they bulk. On the flip side, people with a lower BF% tend to gain more muscle (than fat when they bulk.
The general consensus 'round here to to diet down to about 10-12% before bulking. However, all of that aside (and since you are in possession of some Mag-10), I would recommend that you take a look at the Cheater’s EDT Diet. If you can’t find it here, you may have to do a search on the 'Net for the particulars of the diet.
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Basic physiological fact. People with a higher BF% tend to lose more fat (than muscle) when they diet. They also tend to put on more fat (than muscle) when they bulk. On the flip side, people with a lower BF% tend to gain more muscle (than fat when they bulk. [/quote]
I know Berardi has said this in the past, but myself along with a number of very knowledgeable others (Joel M. and Kelly Baggett come to mind) don’t find this to be the case - at least in terms of having a higher bodyfat leading to more fat/less muscle gains when bulking. It just doesn’t make much difference. This is just one of those things that is individual and just one example of how what happens in the lab isn’t always consistent with what happens on the field. Muscle gains tend to be better for me when I am at more moderate bodyfat percentages as opposed to starting out very lean.
However, in the end it’s up to you. How comfortable are you at your present weight? My personal opinion is that given your bodyfat percentage, you should diet. You’re going to put on a least a little fat when you start bulking, which means you’re going to be at least in the high teens. That’s a long way to come down from when you start dieting.
Assuming 15%, you have to drop 9-10 lbs of fat to be at 10%. You could easily do that in 4-5 weeks. At that point, switch it up and get big.
I find the point about being very lean before bulking to be counter productive to a bulking cycle in the begining. I am talking close to mid single digits. Instead of using the added calories to build muscle, my body seems to use the fuel to bring my body fat up to what I guess is a more natural level for me, around 10-12%. It is not until that point that I can experience good gains in lbm.
With that said I would have to agree with TT and Thunder. It is a matter of what BF% you are personally comfortable with. Some people carry higher %'s better than others. Also that you will be more pleased with your gains if you diet down first to around 10%.
As far as the Mag 10. I would suggest not using it to diet. I would save it for the bulking so you can get full use of its potential.
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Instead of using the added calories to build muscle, my body seems to use the fuel to bring my body fat up to what I guess is a more natural level for me, around 10-12%. It is not until that point that I can experience good gains in lbm. [/quote]
I gotta agree with Daox. Don’t even think of using supplements until you get your diet and training in order.
Which segues me into my next thought: rather than bulking or cutting, why not get the diet thing down, begin with a new training program when you’re ready to hit the gym. Something like ABB (by Chad Watterbury). Just eat to maintain your energy for the training.
I gaurantee you’ll see some LBM gains; which will enhance your metabolism and may get rid of some excess BF%. After 6-weeks, THEN look into bulking.
I’m with Daox and Patty,
you will prob drop a couple of pounds of fat just by scrubbing up on the diet and training. use the first month to get back into training using some moderate load regime (maybe EDT and beradi style eating) with then go hard with the Mag10 and the bulking.
After reading the subsequent recommendations, I’m going to stick with the recommendation to get down to 10-12% first. It will only take you a month. Obviously this requires you get your eating back on track as has already been mentioned.
Say you clean up your diet (necessary whether you’re going to bulk or cut) and start CW’s ABBH program. You still have to have a goal in mind - gain or lose. If you’re going to try and put on size, you’re most likely at least going to put on some fat, which puts you in the high teens. When you do decide to diet, you’re going to have a long way to come down and the longer you find yourself on a diet, the harder it is to retain your size.
Cleaning up your diet is already obvious. I think you should diet for four weeks without the MAG10, and then make your primary focus muscle gain.