Quote:
Originally Posted by ebase131
Hey, I'm sort of new to the whole lifting scene, but I have been pretty serious the past 4 or 5 months lifting with a friend in a stage he called the "bulking" stage. I haven't gained a lot of weight (started around 173, up to about 177.5 lbs in weight), but I think that is because I replaced the fat with muscle as I definitely have seen a big improvement in every muscle group of my body and have drastically increased the weight I could lift.
I feel pretty comfortable with how big I have gotten, but now I want to get cut and tone (most notably in the ab region) while keeping as much solid muscle as possible.
Obviously running/cardio helps that, but what kind of weight lifting program should I follow now that I want to get CUT instead of build lots of muscle? Should I do more ab related workouts if I really want to bring those out? I think having really nice abs shows how "cut" someone is, that is probably a stupid way to say it but in my eyes that's what I think of right away.
How should I eat, should I avoid taking whey protein now or avoid eating heavier foods even when I'm really hungry? I'm sure these questions sound stupid, but I'm trying my best and I (and my girl) would appreciate any help anyone can give!
Thanks,
Eric
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Bulking 4 lbs. really isn't enough. During your average bulking phase you should bulk up 20 pounds, minimum. My first bulking phase lasted about 12 months, and I put on around 60 lbs.
If you haven't grew enough, you aren't eating enough. You have to stuff those calories down your throat before you can even think about growing. . .
As far as "cutting exercises" go, there's no such thing. Cutting is something done in the kitchen, and if you cut now you're most likely going to be smaller than you where before you even started bulking, as 4 lbs. will slice very quickly.
A lot of people add more isolation exercises into their routines though, during a cutting phase. They feel it increases the intensity of your workout. I personally feel that it's all done in the kitchen. Cardio is something out you need to be getting used to, running and jogging and such to help burn the fat that you added while bulking.
Eat around 5-6 times per day, but eat small meals. As far as as WHEY protein goes it won't hurt you to drink that. Since you won't be eating as much it's fine to get in a few extra grams of protein and such from WHEY.