What do you think?

[terryuk]

Just thought i'd post to see what suggestions you guys had..

I'm 18, just over 6 foot tall, and weigh 11 1/2 stone.
I bench about 150-160lbs, 5 reps.
Bicep curls 60lbs, 10 reps

The thing im unsure about is, i used to eat alot of junk so im not exactly thin. I've started going on regular bike rides about two months ago, and try to eat 3 good meals a day, but it seems like im never hungry. I wanna beef up and get stocky more than anything, turning fat into muscle but i dunno what to do. I wanna exercise and eat less for loosing fat, but then eat more for energy levels and getting big.

What do you reckon??

[hrdgain81]

I would say look at the Sticky called "how to bulk" that will give you a good base.

Now here is the tricky part. Unless your a very inexsperienced beginer, then losing fat and gaining muslce at the same time can be impossible. Which is what your describing. My advice would be to eat big and bulk up. You dont need to go crazy, but if you want to grow you have to eat.

You can always cut later.

[terryuk]

Thanks for the reply, i done the 'Harris Benedict Formula for Calorie Calculations', it says 2800 calories a day! I'll keep reading it. But im never hungry as it is, so i really dunno how im gonna get that much /day, and wouldnt that just make me fatter?

[Eric3237]

Originally Posted by Terry

11 1/2 stone.

What's that in kilos?

2800 calories is nothing for someone working hard in the gym and is 6 feet....it's called nutrient partitioning. If you want it to work you'll need to add squat and deadlift to that list and not worry about curls so much.

You'll have to work up to it and you'll have to force yourself to eat more. Eating less hasn't kept the fat off you in the first place so you could extrapolate something from that. Make sure you get a big breakfast.

[terryuk]

Thanks for the reply, once again.

(11 1/2) stone = 73.0283716 kilograms (google calc

I've started eating better and more recently, scrambled eggs for breakfast, and lots of chicken etc. So im sure ill be able to build myself upto to eating 2800 calroies.

How long should i be bulking for? Should i be worrying about a whole routine? Back, shoulders, etc etc or just bench, squat and deadlift?

[_Wolf_]

umm....u might want to do a search on Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength for Beginners Program. i think itll help u a LOT.

other programs to consider are HST and Fortified Iron's Programs.

but id say run with Mark Rippetoe's. itll probably reap u the best benefits at this stage IMHO

[Eric3237]

Anuj, I'd sure like to know how you lump together FI with Rippletoe. No need for a beginner to do fancy pants stuff like FI and it would be somewhat counter productive for them to incorporate the kind of relatively quick volume changes he has in that hyp/strength program.

The 3x5 aka Rippletoe would certainly be you best choice or you could go right to the linear intermediate 5x5 depending on how hard you want to work. Rippletoe would actually be tougher but IMO that then the 5x5 makes more sense in progression.

[_Wolf_]

eric, i said the FI because
1.) ppl have accused me in the past of pimping rippetoe and i got a lot of negative shit for that
2.) i knew someone would come forward (u or dan) and say the ripptoe was the best

but now i realize i shud've NOT put FI out there.

however, i DO believe that if he was to find his MAXES, take some time off (a week) and start the program he WOULD benefit. BUT, if u put FI against Rippetoe i go with Rippetoe all the way

peace

Sentinel

[terryuk]

Thanks for the good replies! Ill definatley be looking into both, and most likley try them out for sure!

Just curious, but what are the lengths of time for the rippetoe, like how long to see good results etc, like i know im doing something right, ive upped my bench 20kg in 2 months, but id like to train harder n get bigger.

[Eric3237]

Well you're not really pimping Rippetoe your pimping a 5x5 way of training. Rippletoe is just a short hand for the 3x5 same weight a lot of beginners would start with. It's not the only thing Rip used and he certainly didn't hand the same program to everyone.

Now I think someone is going to benefit always from something vs. nothing but in general I think any kind of short periodization is a inappropriate for beginners (they would do better with long linear periodization but that has serioud drawbacks too). The kind of volume changes I spoke of before are especially inappropriate but for a beginner the beginning cycle of that program is too short anyway. But frankly why stop loading the bar after two weeks or three weeks or anything else when you could keep on doing it for several weeks more. Just not optimal, or even good, for a beginner. imo and periodization of this sort is not even needed but there are better methods than the short blocks for novices. Need to keep it simple.

As far as putting Rippletoe against FI I think you don't really understand what I am saying. There could indeed be a person at a place in his/her training where the FI would be better. What I am saying is they simple are completely different and one is better for a beginner than the other.

I have no problem, myself, with recommending the same shit all the time . But then again I don't post in places where I have to contend with 100 opinions of 14 year olds.

On the Rippletoe, Terry, there is no set time on program. You go til you compeletely stagnate on all the lifts. If you eat your ass off you should get great results.