I'm not skinny, but I'm not dead fat, what to do?

[spacebetween]

I would like to know whats best for me. I weight 185lbs and I'm about 6 feet tall. I'm lifting/running since about a year but not very seriously. I go to the gym often, but its mosty for exercise and I don't see a lot of result. I also don't really know how to eat well.

So I'm not really fat. I have a good silhouette even with my shirt off, but I would like to see my abs one day. I also am a ****ing weakling!! I cant bench more than 100 lbs for 8 repetitions or so. I never seen someone with weaker shoulders than me. I want to have bigger shoulders and chest. My arms are not skinny and I don't want to have huge arms anyway. My middle back is very weak and I would like to strengten it. I dont really care what it looks like tho. Also, I like to run. If I can include it in my training it would be cool. I like to run for 45min-1hours at slow pace.

So my questions are:

What should I eat? Right now I eat almost no carbs, someday none at all. I don't know if its good. I take 1 multivitamin and drink a lot, but only water. I don't like shakes since I eat a lot of eggs and meat but if you think its good I don't mind.

What kind of training should I do? Should I stop lifting till I lost the weight I want? Should I stop running? Should I do both, like one day I run the other I lift?

What kind of weight lifting should I do for my shoulders/chest if I want them bigger? I mean by that how many reps, what excercise, and what frequence, etc...

What kind of excercise and how many rep should I do for my middle back if I want to strengten it? What frequence?

What should I do for my abs?

I never did any leg lifting cause I mostly want to look good and do cardio when I exercise, what do you recommend?

Its probably gonna take a while to anwser my post so I understand if noone is willing to do it. If you just want to link me to something you think will anwser my questions it'd be awesome thanks.

[slickpoppa]

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What kind of training should I do? Should I stop lifting till I lost the weight I want? Should I stop running? Should I do both, like one day I run the other I lift?

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BBill Star's 5x5 Primer:

http://www.eclipsegym.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=57 (warning: long, but definitely worth reading)

Here's a shorter version thats better for quick reference:

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:NvT...;cd=1&gl=us

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What kind of weight lifting should I do for my shoulders/chest if I want them bigger? I mean by that how many reps, what excercise, and what frequence, etc...
What kind of excercise and how many rep should I do for my middle back if I want to strengten it? What frequence?

What should I do for my abs?

I never did any leg lifting cause I mostly want to look good and do cardio when I exercise, what do you recommend?

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See above links. Bench presses and military presses will strengthen and bulk your chest and shoulers. Deadlifts, pullups, and dynamic rows will strenghten and bulk up your back.

Completely rid your mind of any notion about not lifting legs. And don't worry about seeing your abs for at least several months. Having really ripped abs has more to do with having really low bodyfat more than anything. And if you want to gain muscle mass, it is going to be impossible for a noob lifter like you to gain muscle mass and get really ripped. Get back to me in 6 months after doing the above routine and I'll show you a diet that can get you really ripped abs.


I don't feel like going into details about diet, so hopefully others can chime in about diet details. Bascially you're gonna want to eat a lot of protein. Also, someone your size should not worry too much about losing fat at this point. Worry about adding muscle and you will look a lot better even if you just maintain your current BF%.


As far as running goes, that will have to be a second priority if your #1 goal is increasing muscle mass. You can still run, but your legs are going to be hit hard from this routine, so you should be running no more than 2-3 times a week and focus on shorter, more cardio intensive runs that don't tire out your legs.

[Doug Funnie II]

Age is pretty important to know. If youre <25 I'd say strength first, lose fat later. You don't want to squander the time in your life when its easiest to build muscle by being on a diet trying to lose 15 glamour pounds.

You may also need to change your conception of what it means to eat properly. If you could post a sample day of eating for us it would help a lot. Somebody your size should be eating 2500 calories a day if they're lifting, but they should be clean calories (read: little processed food, little saturated fat, lots of fiber and low glycemic carbs). If you really get your diet in check, you can build strength and muscle while losing fat.

As far as chest and shoulders, I'd say focus on dumbell bench press for chest, and lateral raises for delts.

[spacebetween]

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Age is pretty important to know. If youre <25 I'd say strength first, lose fat later. You don't want to squander the time in your life when its easiest to build muscle by being on a diet trying to lose 15 glamour pounds.

You may also need to change your conception of what it means to eat properly. If you could post a sample day of eating for us it would help a lot. Somebody your size should be eating 2500 calories a day if they're lifting, but they should be clean calories (read: little processed food, little saturated fat, lots of fiber and low glycemic carbs). If you really get your diet in check, you can build strength and muscle while losing fat.

[/ QUOTE ]I'm 18.

Usually I eat:

Breakfast: 6 eggs or less eggs and bacon if I have some.
Between breakfast and dinner or between dinner and supper: I eat cheese when I'm hungry, 300-500 caloeries of cheddar, goudda, etc...
Dinner: I eat 2-3 steaks. If I'm still hungry I eat eggs or cheese.
Supper: It depends, if I have nothing else than eggs I will eat eggs. Otherwise I will eat pretty much anything for supper. I often go out or cook something with a friend.
I drink about 3 liters of water a days.

I try to eat low carbs and lots of protein (dont know if its right or not). I also love eggs and cheese so thats conveniant. I eat a lot. Prolly 3000+ calories a days. I sometimes eat 4-5 meals a day, usually smaller if I take several meals. I eat when I'm hungry and till I'm satisfied. I guess I woudnt mind having a diet, I just don't really know what/how much to eat so.

[AZK]

too much protein, not enough carbs, not enough fruit, not enough veggies (read: none). Some other fat source would be nice too.

[rider_1]

OH my good lord. You want to gain weight and you don't eat carbs, ummmm, WTF. Forget about the exercises/gym, you want to grow? You need to friggin eat man. WOW. You need food to grow, if you don't get enough calories you'll never, ever pack on any real mass at all. First of all, if you're serious about gaining mass (i.e. bulking phase), you need to generally eat 4000+ calories/day. You absolutely need to ingest carbs.
As a general rule of thumb to maximize growth, you want to eat meals of either fat+protein or carbs+protein (this has to do with insulin response--one of many factors that trigger/enhance growth). Body builders, in addition to using large quantities of roids, also inject insulin at certain times to further enhance their growth. Anyways, off topic here.
Eat more and you will grow. And for God's sake, get some carbs in you man.

Here's a link that probably has all the answers you'll ever need: www.t-nation.com

[spacebetween]

Thanks slickpoppa. The site you linked is totally awesome. It completely changed my view on exercising. I will ask my friends to teach me how to do the program. I think my gym has a machine where you can do squats, is it any good?

Thanks for the comments on my Diet. I was pretty much clueless about this. I'll start eating more today.

This forum rocks so much!! I will post an update in 6 months.

[spacebetween]

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you want to eat meals of either fat+protein or carbs+protein (this has to do with insulin response--one of many factors that trigger/enhance growth)

[/ QUOTE ]Why is this? I never know what to look for in the nutritional value charts of things. Like whats the differance between a pop tarts and an apple? It seems that the pop tarts have more fat, but that's the only differance I can tell. There's fat in steak, there's fat in about everything with protein, I'm confused? Is it that food with protein+fat (like cheese and eggs are good) but food with carbs and fat (like pop tarts are bad??)

[Thremp]

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you want to eat meals of either fat+protein or carbs+protein (this has to do with insulin response--one of many factors that trigger/enhance growth)

[/ QUOTE ]Why is this? I never know what to look for in the nutritional value charts of things. Like whats the differance between a pop tarts and an apple? It seems that the pop tarts have more fat, but that's the only differance I can tell. There's fat in steak, there's fat in about everything with protein, I'm confused? Is it that food with protein+fat (like cheese and eggs are good) but food with carbs and fat (like pop tarts are bad??)

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I really dislike this eating plan. It also undermines everything else this guy writes. Some of which is v v good IMO.

[skunkworks]

spacebetween,

You've got a long way to go when it comes to nutrition knowledge [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] There are a lot of differences between a Pop Tart and an apple, namely that the apple has a fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and fairly low sugar. Even the sugar that it does have is fructose (fruit sugar) which is digested more slowly than other sugars and therefore will not give you a sugar rush (insulin spike).