I’ve been getting back into lifting over the past semester. I spent last year traveling around Asia and got down to a ridiculously skinny 130lbs because of the lack of protein in my diet. I’m now back to around 160lbs. (I’m 21 years old and about 5’7".) I’m at college and I don’t have a kitchen and so I can’t control my calorie intake too well.
I have been eating mostly whole-wheat subs with extra meat and I’ve avoided pizza and too much alcohol. As far as supplements I’ve taking creatine and two sometimes three protein shakes a day (two scoops of Grow! Whey with non-fat milk). The protein shakes I see more of as snacks between meals than actually supplements.
My problem is even though I’ve gained mass very quickly I’ve also added some fat, not too much, but enough to cover some of the muscle I’ve added. At the moment I normally run once or twice a week - about five miles for thirty minutes. (I was a cross-country runner in high school so as strange as it sounds I actually enjoy running.)
I’ve always thought it was better to make clean gains rather than do cycles of bulking or cutting so while I’m starting to notice a little fat gain I’d like to stop it now. My question is because I can’t control my calorie intake that well and I’d really rather not take the risk of eating too little, should I increase my cardio (possibly to 4 or more times a week) or even possibly take something like HOT-ROX to cut the fat until I’m at a point where I’m happy with my bodyfat percentage and then continue to try and make muscle gains? Or should I just simple not worry about it, because at 160lbs after only training for a semester I still have a long way to go?
If you are currently 160 lbs with some fat, are you going to be happy with your new weight after you cut that fat off? Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is going to be a very difficult process and will take much longer than simply getting big and then getting lean.
Look up G-flux by Berardi. Trying to do a ton of extra cardio and take fat burners while not controlling your calorie intake does not sound like a good idea to me and really seems more like a way to accomplish very little while trying to do a whole lot.
[quote]Stronghold wrote:
If you are currently 160 lbs with some fat, are you going to be happy with your new weight after you cut that fat off? Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is going to be a very difficult process and will take much longer than simply getting big and then getting lean.
Look up G-flux by Berardi. Trying to do a ton of extra cardio and take fat burners while not controlling your calorie intake does not sound like a good idea to me and really seems more like a way to accomplish very little while trying to do a whole lot.[/quote]
I’m gonna agree and disagree with a one or two points in that reply!
Firstly you say its gonna be a very difficult process to gain lean mass while losing fat…I dont agree with that, eat clean, dependant on your bf restrict carb intake to 1 day a week and monitor your calories, you’ll gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, simple as that! The key to doing it is monitor your calories and limit your carb intake!
I do agree with the ‘trying to do a ton of cardio and take fat burners…yada yada’ comment! Do cardio once a month, and DO NOT TAKE FAT BURNERS, you’ll grow and grow and grow and grow!
Look my friend, thats a pretty hazy way to explain it to you but the guts of what you need to know is there, now you need to pull the finger out and search the site for the info needed to work out calories, good exercise programs (look for Poliquin’s stuff), what food to eat and what percentage of protein to fat to carbs should you be eating…now go and grow!
[quote]Davenegger wrote:
Stronghold wrote:
If you are currently 160 lbs with some fat, are you going to be happy with your new weight after you cut that fat off? Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is going to be a very difficult process and will take much longer than simply getting big and then getting lean.
Look up G-flux by Berardi. Trying to do a ton of extra cardio and take fat burners while not controlling your calorie intake does not sound like a good idea to me and really seems more like a way to accomplish very little while trying to do a whole lot.
I’m gonna agree and disagree with a one or two points in that reply!
Firstly you say its gonna be a very difficult process to gain lean mass while losing fat…I dont agree with that, eat clean, dependant on your bf restrict carb intake to 1 day a week and monitor your calories, you’ll gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, simple as that! The key to doing it is monitor your calories and limit your carb intake!
I do agree with the ‘trying to do a ton of cardio and take fat burners…yada yada’ comment! Do cardio once a month, and DO NOT TAKE FAT BURNERS, you’ll grow and grow and grow and Grow!
Look my friend, thats a pretty hazy way to explain it to you but the guts of what you need to know is there, now you need to pull the finger out and search the site for the info needed to work out calories, good exercise programs (look for Poliquin’s stuff), what food to eat and what percentage of protein to fat to carbs should you be eating…now go and Grow![/quote]
Let me elaborate: it is extremely difficult for anyone beyond the point of being a complete beginner to gain a great deal of muscle and lose a great deal of fat at the same time.
Okay maybe I add a few things. I lifted a fair amount in high school so I’m not a beginner to lifting per se, but I haven’t lifted in probably three years since I started up again this September so my body probably qualifies as a beginner. Second I didn’t say I was running 5 miles every day, it only about once or twice a week.
Also, while I would love to watch my eating perfectly to get the right number of calories and the perfect ratio of nutrients I simply can’t. I live in a dorm without a kitchen so I have to eat in my school’s cafeteria or at places like Subway.
Finally, I’m not try to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time I realize how difficult that is.
What I was wondering is that since I’ve gained a little weight - I’m certainly not fat, I just want to be able to see my more muscle definition and if possible my abs - should I cut right now until I get down to a very small bodyfat percentage and then focus on gaining muscle without gaining fat (I believe that’s called clean gains isn’t it?) or should I just continue to try and add muscle and hope that my bodyfat percentage will eventually decrease as I gain more muscle.
My last question was if I do decide to lose the fat now and get really lean should I do that increasing the running and possibly taking something like HOT-ROX, because I’d really rather not try to starve myself by eating less.
Thanks, sorry if I wasn’t clear in my first post.
I find questions like this baffling as I started out very skinny, maybe around 160ish and got up to the 190s and I always gained lean muscle without any extra fat.
My diet even sucked. I ate turkey burgers and stuff like that but hardly any sweets. I ate beefy things but my diet wasn’t perfect. I think the creatine kept any extra fat off of me. I also played football so I lguess that did it for me also.
[quote]Stronghold wrote:
Davenegger wrote:
and he is…
1 semester of lifting
1 semester= roughly 5-6 months
5-6 months lifting does not equal complete beginner.[/quote]
I’ve been lifting for about a year and 3 months, gained 35 lb’s OF MUSCLE and dropped my bf from 12 to 7%…Now under his circumstances its gonna be more difficult to reach his goal but he can take solace in the fact that people have done extraordinary things to their physique under much more limiting situations!!
how many carbs a day would you say for the average person at 12%bodyfat shoudl take in if he wants to go to 10%, but also gain muscle. Also is it bad to eat carbs before bed? I thought it was until i starting reading articles on how the carb plus protien before bed built mroe muscle.