Bulking and Cutting

[Bound2Gain]

Ok now i been reading up on stuff , Dont think i been doing as good as i shoulda been on my workouts. Eh i guess cus its cus its around that time of the year i been slackin slightly.. didnt put weight on or anything just not been getting results i want really. Um ok, now People say you need to bulk up then cut. Since i am on the kinda bigger side (not fat but just made big cus i'll show u in the pix when i actually grab how much fat is on me) I dont really feel i need to "bulk up" and cram a bunch of food into me. I got a question though, Since im made kinda big , my arms are ok and i know if my body like my mid section was slimmer and cut my arms would look much bigger to me.. I dont wanna be skinny what so ever, though i do need abs!!! thats my main thing i just want abs without losing muscle. If i were to run more often (like i used to) do get my heart rate up to lose the fat, do ab work to reveal the abs, Can just simple weight lifting keep the muscle on my arms without havin to "bulk up"?

I guess what im saying is... I know to lose fat you must basically run but with too much cardio some muscle will be lost as well.. And I DO want BIG arms not just lean muscular arms i want BIG arms and shoulders.. , TO not lose muscle and add muscle while trying to lose fat and reveal abs, will heavy weight lifting maintain the muscle you have and add muscle as your trying to reveal abs and trim fat? Take a look at my pix below and also let me know how far I have to go to get to my goal and what I need to do to get to it.. I also supplement with whey and creatine and my eating habbits are excellent. I want to know if this will work about just liftin and lifting to maintain and add muscle while revealing the abs and losing the fat at the same time... Thanks.

oh and here are sum pix right quick to show what i mean that i dont have a whole lot of fat to grab off of my frame. and The question of "how long to reach my goal".... I postd up a pic of what iwant my body to look like as the goal part for right now...

 

[aresstrong]

Hey, I wish you good luck on all your goals!

There are some basics, you may know.. but I just want to reassure you..

If your goals are to build muscle and lose fat, this is not an impossible thing to do. And you don't need fat to build muscle. This is simply a myth. I am not a Physical Trainer, however I have been weightlifting, and bodybuilding for years, and compete in amateur competitions twice a year.

Basically, you'll want to cut down a lot of the fat in your diet to lose fat. But diet only will not accomplish this, you must also increase your cardio. But like you said, if you do not do cardio properly, you're going to lose muscle, because if the muscles are not fueled properly, they will "eat themselves" in a catabolic state.

A great trick to lose fat, is when you first get up in the morning... Eat several EGG WHITES, or drink a protein shake mixed with water or skim milk. WAIT 30 minutes after you eat this, so that the protein actually makes its way into your system.. then go out and run, bike, treadmill.. wtv you want.. but keep your heart rate up for 20 minutes. This alone will allow you to lose a good ammount of fat. Just make sure you don't "cheat" with your diet throughout the day.

Carbs are totally fine, and not off limits. The atkins diet is bullshit, as it is very unhealthy, and as soon as you get back off the diet, you will gain weight again. There is no substitute for a high protein, low fat diet, and an increased ammount of exercise.


To build muscle, insure that you are doing lifts with proper form. Do not just watch the other people in a gym you work out at, although they may be doing a certain form.. it might be wrong. I would highly advise you to pay for ONE SESSION with a personal trainer, and ask him or her, to go over a full body workout and show you the proper form for many exercises. This may cost 30-50 dollars, but it is well worth it, and you don't need to keep seeing them... Once you know you have the proper form for all lifts, you need to workout! A workout should never last any more than 1 hour and 15 minutes.. more is not better... I would advise that you take on a SPLIT schedule. On monday, work Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders. On wednesday (thats right, skip a day to recover) on wednesday, work legs.. You must work your legs. You cannot support a muscular upper body with weak legs. having strong legs helps your entire body to be more anabolic. Skip another day, and on friday, work back and bicep. This is a great schedule, and is the one I currently follow. For muscular size, work to do at least 2 different exercises per body part, and do 3 sets for each exercise, with 8-12 reps. This routine will help build muscle size. I think it is also superior to being well rounded, because you are not going to be powerlifting, or very long endurance training. Its sort of in the middle, and produces the best muscular size. Talk to any bodybuilder and they will reccomend that you do this rep ammount as well. When taking protein. I would advise you to take it 3 times a day. Once in the morning, after your workout, and before you go to bed at night. Do not go to town on protein... Too much is no benefit. Your muscles can only absorb so much, before you piss/shit it out. Not to mention this will save you money.

GNC has a very good, lean protein right now, called Wheybolic Extreme. It has 60 grams of protein per serving, and a very small ammount of sugar and fat, both of which are bad. Start taking this protein, or one similar. However, I wouldn't take anymore than 40 grams at a time. Even less... you're just wasting money, and your muscles will not absorb it. I would not recommend creatine. I have tried cycling creatine before for 3 months.. and did not notice any specialties. It will give you an energy rush the first few times, but your body will quickly become more tollerant to it.. and you will get less and less a rush each time. Like a dependent drug.

Anyways, follow that advice for fat loss, muscle building, and supplementation/diet.. And I gaurantee you will be looking much better in no time.

As for your goals, I think the 1st and 3rd pictures are very attainable.. within a year of dedicated work. But the 2nd picture... those arms are pretty big.. that is a result of years of lifting.. at least 3. But do not lose hope! your body will look much better, and weightlifting and Penis Enlargement'ing are very similar. I hope you go through a massive body changing experience!

Best of luck.. ares

 

[TheStick]

whenever my abs start to get a little flabby I do a good situp/ crunch workout. Keep it varied, put a pillow or two under the small of your back to hyperextend your abs a little for a better ab workout. And when you get as far forward as you can with a situp or crunch give it a little extra flex, maybe hold it for a second or two if you like. The pillows really help to hit your lower abs all the way down to your pubic bone.

 

[Bound2Gain]

whenever my abs start to get a little flabby I do a good situp/ crunch workout. Keep it varied, put a pillow or two under the small of your back to hyperextend your abs a little for a better ab workout. And when you get as far forward as you can with a situp or crunch give it a little extra flex, maybe hold it for a second or two if you like. The pillows really help to hit your lower abs all the way down to your pubic bone.

I need to try that, good lookin out on the tip

 

[Bound2Gain]

Hey, I wish you good luck on all your goals!

There are some basics, you may know.. but I just want to reassure you..

If your goals are to build muscle and lose fat, this is not an impossible thing to do. And you don't need fat to build muscle. This is simply a myth. I am not a Physical Trainer, however I have been weightlifting, and bodybuilding for years, and compete in amateur competitions twice a year.

Basically, you'll want to cut down a lot of the fat in your diet to lose fat. But diet only will not accomplish this, you must also increase your cardio. But like you said, if you do not do cardio properly, you're going to lose muscle, because if the muscles are not fueled properly, they will "eat themselves" in a catabolic state.

A great trick to lose fat, is when you first get up in the morning... Eat several EGG WHITES, or drink a protein shake mixed with water or skim milk. WAIT 30 minutes after you eat this, so that the protein actually makes its way into your system.. then go out and run, bike, treadmill.. wtv you want.. but keep your heart rate up for 20 minutes. This alone will allow you to lose a good ammount of fat. Just make sure you don't "cheat" with your diet throughout the day.

Carbs are totally fine, and not off limits. The atkins diet is bullshit, as it is very unhealthy, and as soon as you get back off the diet, you will gain weight again. There is no substitute for a high protein, low fat diet, and an increased ammount of exercise.


To build muscle, insure that you are doing lifts with proper form. Do not just watch the other people in a gym you work out at, although they may be doing a certain form.. it might be wrong. I would highly advise you to pay for ONE SESSION with a personal trainer, and ask him or her, to go over a full body workout and show you the proper form for many exercises. This may cost 30-50 dollars, but it is well worth it, and you don't need to keep seeing them... Once you know you have the proper form for all lifts, you need to workout! A workout should never last any more than 1 hour and 15 minutes.. more is not better... I would advise that you take on a SPLIT schedule. On monday, work Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders. On wednesday (thats right, skip a day to recover) on wednesday, work legs.. You must work your legs. You cannot support a muscular upper body with weak legs. having strong legs helps your entire body to be more anabolic. Skip another day, and on friday, work back and bicep. This is a great schedule, and is the one I currently follow. For muscular size, work to do at least 2 different exercises per body part, and do 3 sets for each exercise, with 8-12 reps. This routine will help build muscle size. I think it is also superior to being well rounded, because you are not going to be powerlifting, or very long endurance training. Its sort of in the middle, and produces the best muscular size. Talk to any bodybuilder and they will reccomend that you do this rep ammount as well. When taking protein. I would advise you to take it 3 times a day. Once in the morning, after your workout, and before you go to bed at night. Do not go to town on protein... Too much is no benefit. Your muscles can only absorb so much, before you piss/shit it out. Not to mention this will save you money.

GNC has a very good, lean protein right now, called Wheybolic Extreme. It has 60 grams of protein per serving, and a very small ammount of sugar and fat, both of which are bad. Start taking this protein, or one similar. However, I wouldn't take anymore than 40 grams at a time. Even less... you're just wasting money, and your muscles will not absorb it. I would not recommend creatine. I have tried cycling creatine before for 3 months.. and did not notice any specialties. It will give you an energy rush the first few times, but your body will quickly become more tollerant to it.. and you will get less and less a rush each time. Like a dependent drug.

Anyways, follow that advice for fat loss, muscle building, and supplementation/diet.. And I gaurantee you will be looking much better in no time.

As for your goals, I think the 1st and 3rd pictures are very attainable.. within a year of dedicated work. But the 2nd picture... those arms are pretty big.. that is a result of years of lifting.. at least 3. But do not lose hope! your body will look much better, and weightlifting and Penis Enlargement'ing are very similar. I hope you go through a massive body changing experience!

Best of luck.. ares

Thanks for the input Ares i love the info, but hey let me ask you a couple more questions since your pretty experienced... as for my diet here is what I eat

breakfast= egg whites, wheat bread with water and maybe a protein drink along with it

lunch = nothin but lean meat like chicken, broccoli and sometimes a whole wheat tortilla with lettuce/diced chicken/ crumbled feta cheese

dinner = usually talapia fish with more broccoli and other veggies
and i was told i need some type of good fat in my diet which I chose to eat almonds.

Does my diet look good?

Ok as for the personal trainer, I was trained a couple times for about a month or two two times a week and he kinda switched sayin let your muscles recover or else they wont grow. but then he said one time when i said im sore from the other day he said it was ok and to keep workin em. Sometimes i dont know when to limit myself with lifting. My last question is... When training certain muscle groups in split days like you gave an example to (like monday chest triceps and shoulders) will this give me quicker results for muscle growth? I see my lady for the first time (long distant relationship) in about a month or more I Know it'll be in january (i know its short time but somehow my body developes actually pretty quick somehow. like results really show well when i stay true to my workout and diet right and unfortunately it shows if i dont stay on my diet and workout faithfully).. so to hopefully get better results not so much like a replica of the pics exactly cus that would just be impossible but to get as close as possible in a short amount of time is the Split day thing the thing to do for quickest results or at least to get somewhat bigger arms and abs shown even a little bit? All im lookin for for right now before i see her is just for my abs to even show a little bit and little bit of bigger arms.. Please let me know. Thanks man.

oh and i definitely plan to get to my goals for real like those pics and i will never stop and quit once i reach my short term goal for right now, I just wanna know about those 2 questions for my "short term goal"

 

[aresstrong]

Its good to hear my advice is appreciated!

Your first question... "Does my diet look good?"
You diet looks solid, you are eating all the right foods. However, there is a problem, that will definitly hinder muscle growth, if you really do not do this.. What you need to do, is eat more often. The typical American daily meal plan is horrible - 3 meals, spread over about 16 hours. Ouch! I would recommend, to decrease meal size, very slightly, but eat a light snack between breakfast and lunch, and right before bed.

The whole deal with the egg whites and whatnot for breakfast is good, but sometimes this can be a pain in the ass if you're in a hurry. Every week, I like to buy some Turkey meat, and good whole grain bread. About 4 days a week, I will make a turkey sandwich, with lettuce, and cheese, on the grain bread. This is a perfect breakfast, if you add a banana or some fruit. Otherwise, yes, I will eat egg whites on a sandwich, with light cheese, like mozerella.



Your second question, "Is the split training schedule going to give me the fastest gains?"

Yes! I made the mistake of trying full body workouts, and upper body/lower body workouts, when I first started lifting... and I think I could have had faster results if I started with a program like I am now. But, I also never knew I would get into bodybuilding.

I can understand the whole deal with you seeing your girlfriend in a month. haha.. you want to show her something new?? I would recommend doing the fat burning cardio plan, I explained in the last post. Eating protein right in the morning, and doing cardio right after... The whole deal with that is... Carbohydrates are the body's main energy source. If you only eat protein (to prevent muscles from going into a metabolic state, eating themselves), then do cardio, you have no carbs to run on! the body is FORCED to use the fat stored under the skin for energy.

This, combined with the metabolism boosting benefits of weight lifting, will help you slim down greatly. It is entirely possible to lose a solid 5 lbs of fat in a month. Your stomach/abs, as well as shoulders, will look much better. HOWEVER, do not worry if the scale shows the same weight.. Because, as well as you losing fat around your midsection... The weightlifting, and your diet will promote muscle growth, so you might gain 5 lbs of muscle, as you lose 5 lbs of fat... However, I would still imagine you will lose some weight.. The muscle does not grow at the same rate fat is lost, sadly.

But good luck, you can surprise your girl..

 

[TheStick]

By eating only the egg whites you are depriving yourself of the vitamins and Omega 3's contained in the yolk. Also the cholesterol content of the yolk is negligable.

 

[aresstrong]

By eating only the egg whites you are depriving yourself of the vitamins and Omega 3's contained in the yolk. Also the cholesterol content of the yolk is negligable.

I get a lot of vitamins from the fruit/vegetables I eat, and a multi vitamin I take daily. I get omega 3, and omega 6 EFA's from other sources.

I could care less about the cholesterol, my reason for only eating the whites, is the fat content of the yolks. And is also important for someone like him, who is trying to lose weight fast.

 

[TheStick]

You should read the book Good Calories, Bad Calories. The author is a respected science and health writer. He looked at pretty much all the major clinical studies on diet and health and examined the research methods and findings. Very interesting stuff. Fat makes you fat = MYTH. Refined carbs make you fat = the truth. Cholesterol level is mostly genetic and cholesterol lowering drugs, according to the hard numbers, only reduce the risk of coronary event in 1 in 70 people.

 

[AfroMan10]

Cutting is 90% diet. Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym