Lose the Fat or Bulk Up First?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey im new to the site and have a question.

I am 19 5’9" and 130lb.

I do not know the exact amount of body fat i have.
I have ALOT of fat on my stomach and very little on the rest of my body.

My goal is obviously to get bigger BUT not very big. My view of a good body is at about 175lb, very little or no body fat, a six pack, a good size chest , and biceps to match it. I am not interested to get big like the people that go to compitions do. There is nothing wrong with that but that is not what i want to look like.

I know it takes time, hard work and dedication. I have read some other posts i know eating and resting is a major role in the body building sport. Since i am not even at point one, i thought id ask a question before i start.

My question is should i first loose the fat i have OR should i bulk up.

After the little bit of reading i have done i THINK i should lose the fat while uping my calorie intake and cleansing my diet of fatty and junk foods. but since im not sure i thought id ask anyways.

ALL and ANY help AND flaming is appreciated.

2

go do what this guy did:

http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1684916

3

Since your goals seem entirely aesthetic, I’d say loose fat first. Otherwise the muscle you build might just make you look fatter, and you probably want SOME indication of success over what will presumably be something like an 8 week period.

That said, loosing weight can drive you insane. If you don’t already have healthy eating habits or incredible mental fortitude, this might be something you have to slowly ease yourself into.

4

If you want to be 175 and ripped and your a tiny 130 bro clean up the diet and train hard. Sure eat BIG but not stupid and start gaining some muscle on that frame. Adding lean mass will make even the amount of fat you have look better

Phill

5

You must be a really skinny bastard. only 130 lbs at 5’9"? Dont worry about dropping fat (if there really is anything) and just train hard and eat plenty. As a beginner and skinny bastard you should be worrying about training properly and eating enough and the rest will come naturally.

6

[quote]Legionnaire wrote:
Since your goals seem entirely aesthetic, I’d say loose fat first. Otherwise the muscle you build might just make you look fatter, and you probably want SOME indication of success over what will presumably be something like an 8 week period.

[/quote]

Did you not read the part where he said he weighs 130lbs?

Lose the fat down to what? your 130lbs man you need to eat lots of good food and lift weights, just give it a shot.

7

I apologise. I use the metric system and things like that don’t register when inattentive. So I guess the ‘fat’ on his stomach is more an issue of being proportionately skinny everywhere else.

8

Thank you guys for the feedback. Yes i am skinny but my body looks wierd like im skiny all the way around and have a stomach with some fat on it lol, ill try to post a pic after work.

So i should just bulk up with a clean diet while working out, does anyone have any good ideas for a workout plan for a person at this stage, or should i just bulk up with the clean food first?

9

Whatever belly fat you have at 130 lbs will start taking care of itself as you start training and eating right. I cannot imagine that you are particularly fat. With some muscle mass added which will up metabolism, added calorie expenditure from exercise, and a cleaner eating plan, you should not worry about dieting down yet.

Eat and Lift.

Also, you should know that shooting for no body fat is ridiculous. If you had zero body fat you would die. Bodybuilders at contest time, when they have very low (but not zero) body fat, have pushed the limits of their internal organs to peak at that low body fat. They can only maintain it for a day or less, and they do it at a risk to their health. It is not uncommon for them to use supplemental oxygen backstage during the contests.

A certain degree of reserve bodyfat is neccesary for a healthy existence.

If I were you, and had purely aesthetics in mind, I would shoot for about 10% bodyfat at 175 lbs first. This may or may not show your abs to the extent you want(depends on where your fat is stored, the ammount of ab muscle you have, genetics, etc). Once you are there and know what kind of diet and training is neccesary to keep your body in that shape, and what changes would need to be made to cut lower (stricter dieting, different training maybe) then you can decide where you want to go with it.

10

[quote]Moon Knight wrote:
Whatever belly fat you have at 130 lbs will start taking care of itself as you start training and eating right. I cannot imagine that you are particularly fat. With some muscle mass added which will up metabolism, added calorie expenditure from exercise, and a cleaner eating plan, you should not worry about dieting down yet.

Eat and Lift.

Also, you should know that shooting for no body fat is ridiculous. If you had zero body fat you would die. Bodybuilders at contest time, when they have very low (but not zero) body fat, have pushed the limits of their internal organs to peak at that low body fat. They can only maintain it for a day or less, and they do it at a risk to their health. It is not uncommon for them to use supplemental oxygen backstage during the contests.

A certain degree of reserve bodyfat is neccesary for a healthy existence.

If I were you, and had purely aesthetics in mind, I would shoot for about 10% bodyfat at 175 lbs first. This may or may not show your abs to the extent you want(depends on where your fat is stored, the ammount of ab muscle you have, genetics, etc). Once you are there and know what kind of diet and training is neccesary to keep your body in that shape, and what changes would need to be made to cut lower (stricter dieting, different training maybe) then you can decide where you want to go with it.[/quote]

Good post. Everybody’s different , but if you just eat some good food over six meals a day and lift like you mean it that belly will most likely shrink as a side effect. If you were actually fat this might be a different story.

11

It’s been my experience that when starting out, if you work for strength first, the muscle will follow and then the fat will drop off. You need to build the strength first in order to move enough weight to build muscle.

Be careful with the eating because if you don’t have enough muscle initially to burn the fat, you will gain more fat. You have the advantage of youth and that will make it easier to keep the fat down. Just watch out for the beer and chicken wings.

Stu

12

[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Moon Knight wrote:
Whatever belly fat you have at 130 lbs will start taking care of itself as you start training and eating right. I cannot imagine that you are particularly fat. With some muscle mass added which will up metabolism, added calorie expenditure from exercise, and a cleaner eating plan, you should not worry about dieting down yet.

Eat and Lift.

Also, you should know that shooting for no body fat is ridiculous. If you had zero body fat you would die. Bodybuilders at contest time, when they have very low (but not zero) body fat, have pushed the limits of their internal organs to peak at that low body fat. They can only maintain it for a day or less, and they do it at a risk to their health. It is not uncommon for them to use supplemental oxygen backstage during the contests.

A certain degree of reserve bodyfat is neccesary for a healthy existence.

If I were you, and had purely aesthetics in mind, I would shoot for about 10% bodyfat at 175 lbs first. This may or may not show your abs to the extent you want(depends on where your fat is stored, the ammount of ab muscle you have, genetics, etc). Once you are there and know what kind of diet and training is neccesary to keep your body in that shape, and what changes would need to be made to cut lower (stricter dieting, different training maybe) then you can decide where you want to go with it.

Good post. Everybody’s different , but if you just eat some good food over six meals a day and lift like you mean it that belly will most likely shrink as a side effect. If you were actually fat this might be a different story.[/quote]

Exactly great post. while everyone wants to look like them during that time and photo shoots fact is they are at their worst not just strength wise but health wise

Phill

13

Guys i appreciate your help A LOT!!! Ok so i just want to say i wasnt looking for no body fat i just want to see a 6 pack eventually, not tommarow lol, but i mean after X amount of months. So i should clean up the diet and just lift hard. Now for some more help i need suggestions on workout plans for a skinny person like me.

So today i went to the gym for the first time; omg it was hell and it hurts. I dont mind getting flamed so this is EXACTLY how it went.

I go in, all these big guys and hot girls laughing and giving me looks. So i ignore it and think one day i might be one of them and look down on someone else. Then i go pay etc, get my admission and go straight to the treadmills upstairs. 5 minutes and i was having troubles breathing. Then i took off 2 minutes and went on a bike. 5 minutes and im losin it again.

I get on the bench in the empty room(usually were they just hang out) and i put 50lb on each side. NOPE couldnt do it, so 25lb on each side, and that was just right i got 3x10 and i was done. Now i walk into the room with everyone in it and walk to the dumbells, and one of the bigger guys is like " dont hurt yourself noob" and i couldnt take it anymore so i left.

Why are some of these guys such assholes!?!? I mean everyone starts from somewhere right? Say 10 years from now if i was a regualar at the gym and i was in decent shape i wouldnt make fun of new people or skinny people, i wouldnt bother them and if anything i would give them some pointers.

Im sorry i was just tensed from my first time at the gym so i had to pour it out. And NO just because of these fags im not quiting , i will be back in there tomm.

14

[quote]civic00 wrote:
Guys i appreciate your help A LOT!!! Ok so i just want to say i wasnt looking for no body fat i just want to see a 6 pack eventually, not tommarow lol, but i mean after X amount of months. So i should clean up the diet and just lift hard. Now for some more help i need suggestions on workout plans for a skinny person like me.

So today i went to the gym for the first time; omg it was hell and it hurts. I dont mind getting flamed so this is EXACTLY how it went.

I go in, all these big guys and hot girls laughing and giving me looks. So i ignore it and think one day i might be one of them and look down on someone else. Then i go pay etc, get my admission and go straight to the treadmills upstairs. 5 minutes and i was having troubles breathing. Then i took off 2 minutes and went on a bike. 5 minutes and im losin it again.

I get on the bench in the empty room(usually were they just hang out) and i put 50lb on each side. NOPE couldnt do it, so 25lb on each side, and that was just right i got 3x10 and i was done. Now i walk into the room with everyone in it and walk to the dumbells, and one of the bigger guys is like " dont hurt yourself noob" and i couldnt take it anymore so i left.

Why are some of these guys such assholes!?!? I mean everyone starts from somewhere right? Say 10 years from now if i was a regualar at the gym and i was in decent shape i wouldnt make fun of new people or skinny people, i wouldnt bother them and if anything i would give them some pointers.

Im sorry i was just tensed from my first time at the gym so i had to pour it out. And NO just because of these fags im not quiting , i will be back in there tomm.

[/quote]

respect is earned… don’t give in.

Always lift before cardio.

a good routine for building innitial mass would be something like rippetoes or an upper/lower split.

15

Glad to hear you are determined to continue. Continue to turn that anger into determination and fuel for putting up bigger weights.

For future exercises that you try, start low and build up. It is better to do an extra set, or do a set that does not get close to failure, rather than struggle and risk injury. If you have to just use the bar, just use the bar, and screw what everyone else is there thinking.

Before you step in a gym again though you need a plan. Without a plan you do not know how you are going to get where you want to be. A plan, written out and taken with you if neccesary, is going to help motivate you to complete it next time too.

If anyone bothers you, ignore them and move on with your workout. Prove you are the bigger person inside (and eventually outside) by being the one that is serious about TRAINING, not working out. Those other folks are in there playing at pumping up because they do not have the fortitude to put into serious research, training, and diet. Their reward is ignorance, wasted time, lacking health (compared to someone seriously trained), and a limited pool of shallow minded mates. Someone that perseveres and trains in all seriousness will be both physically and mentally intelligent, owning a certain kind of knowledge, health, and having the opportunity to select an equally healthy (in all ways) mate.

Picking a program is a little bit personal. Choose something you like so long as it fits certain general guidelines. Make sure it involves alot of the big compound lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, rows, chin-ups, all kinds of olympic lifts). Pick a program from a reliable source such as here at T-Nation, Elite Fitness, or from the personal sites of a respected coach. I am sure there are other resources too, but, just avoid something from say Men’s Health, Flex, or AOL Health Department.

If I had to pick one routine out of the many great ones here to suggest for you to begin with, I would say go do the One Lift A Day Program from Dan John. Follow the link below:

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=483048

You will get to focus on one lift each day. You will get plenty of practice on the big lifts, and you will have less chance of getting distracted by other people in the gym.

Also, minimize cardio. Just do a 5 minute warm-up on the treadmill or the bike or just jog around outside. Whatever.

Also, look up some videos of good form for the exercises on here or elsewhere. There are plenty on the internet. You need to see some good form so you know what to copy.

Finally, eat and eat big.

16

I have no experience with commercial gyms but did that really happen? Well just ignore it, eat good, lift hard and you will show them eventually.

I would start with a basic Chad Waterbury program, do a search in articles, try that for awhile than see what direction you want to go in. I agree 100% with the other poster that beginners should focus on strength first off, you need a good base level of strength before you do anything fancy.

17

Dude, you have the determination and that’s enough. Just do your thing and you’ll enjoy the gains!

18

ok so ive deff been eating more and its all clean food.

i was wondering about those guys who look kinda fat but its really just uncut muscle, They do less lifts of more weight, is that to gain mass, i mean should i left my max 3x3 rather then less at 3x 10? I want to gain muscle first, the cutting can wait till next year, lol, …

19

Don’t go trying to follow the programs of someone that has been lifting for a while. Just find a beginning program and stick to it.

The key to that is ‘stick to it.’ If you are new to the lifting world, any program is going to help you. A beginning program is the best because it will help preapre your body for more advanced programs.

20

Something that I would suggest, and this goes against something that some other people have suggested, would be to spend a little time on your cardio as well.

Of course it’s going to burn some of your precious calories that could be used for building muscle otherwise, but if 5 minutes on the treadmill or stationary bike has you completely wasted, I would definitely recommend spending some time on conditioning for your overall health. Just a thought.

Chad