Gain or Cut?

Training Beginners
1

I am a rank beginner to weight lifting-having spent some time online now reading about exercises, and having purchased a book about weight training technique. One idea that comes up is that a lifter should either try to gain muscle or cut fat and focus, rather than doing both. I’m debating which I should do.

Here’s my situation. I’m 19 years old, and 6’7" tall. I used to weigh something around 260 pounds, then I decided to diet down to lose some weight. I didn’t really work out, so I lost alot of muscle with my fat. Now I’m 196 pounds, but oddly for somebody so slender, my abs really aren’t visible (though they are firm). It’s tempting to try to gain muscle back, but having been fat in the past, I really don’t want to risk gaining back the wrong kind of weight. Would you suggest that it would be wiser to diet to get extremely lean, or focus more on building?

Okay, here is the second question. From what I’ve read, here is the weight training workout that I’ve put together. Does it look sensible?

Monday:
Bent over barbell rows (2 sets)
Barbell Bench Press (2 sets)
Pullups (2 sets)
Dumbbell shoulder press (1 set)

Tuesday:
Barbell Squats (3 sets)
Stiff leg deadlift (1 set)
Leg curls (1 set)
Standing calf raises (1 set)

Wednesday: rest
Thursday: same as Monday
Friday: same as Tuesday

I also plan to do about 30 minutes of cardio every day, alternating between jogging and hiking the stairs.

2

It looks fine. You can fine tune it later.

Eat enough to maintain your energy level and then gradually add calories until you start seeing noticeable gains. Try to gain about 1 lb a week. Slow down if it’s going up faster. As long as you are gaining strength you are likely building muscle. If you start getting concerned over fat levels, on the weekend, cut way back so that you are about 500 calories less than maintenance. That will probably be a lot less than your workout days because you are less active and on your workout days you should be in surplus. Make your cardio as intense as you can.

3

You should gain. For someone of your height you will look a lot better with more muscle than you would being extremely lean. I know it’s hard for someone who was formerly overweight to try to gain muscle as there is always the possibility of gaining fat with the muscle and many people fear the possibility of being fat again. This is just a psychological aspect you will have to overcome. So I think you should gain mass and if you gain too much fat you can always diet back down later.