Completely lost. Need Help. Somebody hold me and tell me I'm gonna make it (brah). - General

I guess I'll start from the beginning. Entering high school I was fat as fatass. I used to weigh roughly around 230 Lbs. (About 104 Kilos/ 16.5 Stone for you European folk out there). I hated my body, still do. After a while I got tired of being fat and said "Fuck this" and decided to get my shit together and I started to see a nutritionist. 2 years of eating right and BAM! I went from weighing 230 Lbs. to what I weigh now, 155 Lbs. (70.3 Kilos/ 11 Stone for you nice European folk out there) simply by eating less and replacing all the nasty shit in my diet with healthier alternatives. Calorie counting, all of that. Hooray :dance:. Then I decided to start weight lifting because as you could've guessed, the aesthetic bodies we all crave don't come from simply just losing weight in most cases, especially cases like mine. So I began seeing my HS coach after school because I didn't know the first thing about lifting so I figured I'd ask the guy who taught gym for a living if he could give me a nudge in the right direction, and surely he did. I'd see him pretty much every day after school four days a week,, roughly two to two and a half hours a day and he'd guide me in lifting, tell me what to do, etc. etc. This went on for six months, and then I couldn't see him anymore because after school wrestling season came and he had obligations. And the second he left I went to the gym and I had no fucking clue what to do. Without him there to guide me to do things I had no idea what to do anymore and as you may have guessed I stopped going because I just kept doing whatever and I felt as if the shit I decided to do on my own wasn't getting me anywhere, which it wasn't, or at least it didn't feel like it. I'm here obviously because I want to make it but I don't fucking know what to do. I don't know how to build my own routine, don't know what accessories to do, and I have no idea what my goals should be currently. I have experience, I know the basics, but I don't know anything about routines, how to build them , how many workouts I should be doing alongside the main lifts like Squatting, Bench Press, Deadlifting, and I think that's it shit man I haven't lifted in like 3 months I can't remember fuck you want from me son anyways I appreciate any amount of help I can get, and sorry if this entire mess of a borderline auto-fuckin-biography is too much to read or if it's scatterbrained I don't want to be dismissed as some kind of a troll or anything like that because I end up giving information that's too vague or I end up asking a question that sounds really common to the point where it's like I'm here just to waste people's time. Also here are some of my stats: [IMG]http://i42.tinypic.com/15rb0vs.jpg[/IMG] Again, many thanks in advance for any advice I can get and I really appreciate any good answers you guys can give me, I've tried out stuff like SS and SL but neither really felt intense enough. Again, sorry for this clusterfuck of a borderline essay.

How tall are you? Height is also an useful information you have. Also, now that you're 155 lbs, might be a good idea to start eating a bit more and start gaining mass and strength, as someone who lost weight from 265 lbs to 175 lbs right now, I can tell you that I haven't grown a lot in muscular mass and strength, I'm not as weak as I used to be but my lifts are all really mediocre. So basically, might be time to stop the cut and start bulking a bit, get that mass and strength increase going, it's what I'm about to do, losing that last 5 pounds to 170 and then bulking back to 190 probably, I'll see how it goes. Might cut a bit more, I want absicles for the summer season if only to feel like I accomplished something since I've always been a fat sack of shit and don't know what having abs looks like even if I'll be pretty skinny for my height and probably won't look really big since I'm 6' at 175 lbs right now. But as soon as the summer season is over, I'll just be bulking like mad until about january before going back on a cut.

in general heres what you should do. first know that you dont.need a coach or anything compound lifts[bench deadloft swuat are king] eat big and clean to get big find a solid program. I siggest babyslayers 5x5 or any begininer program that is popular on bodybuilding.com now and lastly lift.and put effort.and.research into ps supplements aside for protein n vitamins are garbage

eat big and clean to get big but just don't eat as big as qeef also listen to his supplements advice creatine will make you leak

protein, carbs, multi, deadlifts, pullups, bench [editline]5th May 2013[/editline] squats if you have the genetics for it

[QUOTE=Heigou;40541100]How tall are you? Height is also an useful information you have. Also, now that you're 155 lbs, might be a good idea to start eating a bit more and start gaining mass and strength, as someone who lost weight from 265 lbs to 175 lbs right now, I can tell you that I haven't grown a lot in muscular mass and strength, I'm not as weak as I used to be but my lifts are all really mediocre. So basically, might be time to stop the cut and start bulking a bit, get that mass and strength increase going, it's what I'm about to do, losing that last 5 pounds to 170 and then bulking back to 190 probably, I'll see how it goes. Might cut a bit more, I want absicles for the summer season if only to feel like I accomplished something since I've always been a fat sack of shit and don't know what having abs looks like even if I'll be pretty skinny for my height and probably won't look really big since I'm 6' at 175 lbs right now. But as soon as the summer season is over, I'll just be bulking like mad until about january before going back on a cut.[/QUOTE] 5'8" is my height

Just ask for advice here. We all would love to help you

Also I appreciate the advice you guys have given me but my main issue is building or finding a routine, I'm not sure what to do. I'm still flabby as fuck, If I kept cutting would my body eventually look good so I can bulk in the fall/winter or should I bulk now and how much weight should I gain before going back to a cut? Also to qeef can you post the Babyslayer 5x5 routine? I can't find it, many thanks in advance. My main issue with most of the beginner routine's I've found is that they aren't intense enough for the most part and they don't feel like they're working, but maybe that's because I started day one doing a 4 day split with a compound lift plus like 6 or 7 accessories, I don't know. And no, I'm not kidding, apparently people tell me that's A LOT or hard to believe I was doing that much as a beginner and not puking mid workout, but I was. I didn't get many gains from it, I was maxing out Dead lift at 1x370 starting at 1x295 and for squat I got to 1x265 from like 1x185 and from bench I got to 1x140 or 145 I don't remember from like 1x105 in just 6 months. My arm strength was always and still is lacking, stopped getting upperbody gains after a while it was weird, everything else kept going up slower then before but still going up minus my arms after those six months, had I plateau'd after just six months? What could have led to that happening? Overworking myself? Not enough sleep?

you got a pretty strong foundation, you can go places bruh

[QUOTE=aznz888;40544153]you got a pretty strong foundation, you can go places bruh[/QUOTE] Too bad I have no clue where to go. I just wish I knew what routine to do.

come on man don't be a dumbass. you cannot possibly have forgotten everything he taught you. there's a generally simple rule to follow: for every push, have a pull. let me give you a simple 3 day split routine. you'll take one day off between 2 days of working out. if you want to have it weekly, take saturday and sunday off. i advise you to go 2 on and 1 off even if it's not a 7 day thingie. [I]exercise / number of sets x number of reps / (rest time)[/I] A: pec/triceps Incline Benchpress 45° 4x10 (2min) Benchpress 4x10 (2min) Dumbbell Flies 3x10-12 (means you can do 12 max but you do 10 only) (2min) Pull Over 3x10-12 (1min30) Dips 3x10 (if you can't do 10 it's okay, work your way up; less than 6 and do cable pulls) (1min30) [url="http://www.musculaction.com/triceps1.htm"]this one[/url] 3x10 (1min30) B: back/biceps [I]***Deadlift 4x8 (2min)[/I] Behind the neck wide pulldown 4x10 (2min) Lat pulldown wide 4x10 (2min) *Dumbbell rows 3x10 (one set is for 2 sides each) (1min30) Larry Scott 3x10 (1min30) Standing up barbell curls 3x10 (1min30) (to sway less, be more stable, stay on your knees; and don't sway back and forth like a beggar) [I]*** if you want to add deadlift to this routine, do it first on this day and don't do the dumbbell rows then [/I] C: legs/shoulders Squat 4x10 (2min) Hamstring curls (machine) 5x10 + Quad extensions (machine) 5x10 (alternate with no rest - you shouldn't be able to do more than 12 reps on your first set) Barbell Lunges 3x10 (1 set for 2 legs each) (1min30) Military press 3x8 (1min30) Side lateral rises 4x10 (1min30) Reverse dumbbell fly (on incline bench) 4x10 (1min30) (don't do these perpendicular, but actually at a 45 angle down so you emphasize your back delts more, in a sweeping up motion rather) Well, I hope this helps you. [editline]6th May 2013[/editline] oh and ab workout? do stuff between your sets in your rest periods, on the not so intense exercises. [editline]6th May 2013[/editline] daily

Thanks Blah, I really appreciate it. Also, just to clarify when you say 4x10 for example you're doing 10 reps every set and not starting up from or building up to 10 reps right? Some people have explained it in different ways to me.

4 sets of 10 reps.

You want to hit all 10 reps in that set. Ideally, you should have to be struggling to bang out the tenth one. So 4x10 is as SpaceGhost said, 4 sets of 10.

Alright, thank you spaceghost and thank you evilan. I've actually come across a few people who explained it as following some kind of a pattern where 4x10 for example would be the last set and the first three or last three would be something like 7,4,1, and then 10 as a break down or something along those lines. Again thanks for clarifying, that's usually the way I always went with but a few people here and there made me doubt myself a little along the way.

what evilan and spaceghost said yes [editline]6th May 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Felipe;40545700]Alright, thank you spaceghost and thank you evilan. I've actually come across a few people who explained it as following some kind of a pattern where 4x10 for example would be the last set and the first three or last three would be something like 7,4,1, and then 10 as a break down or something along those lines. Again thanks for clarifying, that's usually the way I always went with but a few people here and there made me doubt myself a little along the way.[/QUOTE] 5, 3, 1 and 7, 4, 1 and other stuff are good for strength and increasing quality reps and weight, but slowly. this is mostly a combo between strength and mass, more geared towards hypertrophy [editline]6th May 2013[/editline] on this program, add 1kg on each main lift every two/three 3day splits like this for example: 14kg 14kg 15kg 15kg 16kg 16kg then after 6 3day splits you can deload and do 15 again, start from there play with this in your mind so you're always progressing :) on other lifts such as tris , bis and stuff that doesn't grow up that fast, try adding weight each three/four splits or something it's up to you. don't overtrain, keep reps steady. and always do deloads from time to time, when you feel you're having a hard time

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the help you guys are giving me. I just found out today I'm actually down to 148-149. How do I decide whether I should be cutting or bulking? Also keep in mind I haven't been to the gym in a while, I was going for six months straight but I haven't lifted in a few months.

I'd say it's time to clean bulk

[QUOTE=Felipe;40549511]Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the help you guys are giving me. I just found out today I'm actually down to 148-149. How do I decide whether I should be cutting or bulking? Also keep in mind I haven't been to the gym in a while, I was going for six months straight but I haven't lifted in a few months.[/QUOTE] Count your calories of what you eat. It may take several weeks, but find out where your maintenance calories are (the amount of calories that if you eat this every day your weight won't change). Once you find that, write it down somewhere so you won't forget it. Eventually your maintenance calories will change once you gain more lean muscle, perhaps if you get a physical job or just do things to burn more calories but it's going to be very useful to know your maintenance calories off the bat. Whatever your maintenance calories are, eat above that. Anywhere from 300-800, really doesn't matter tons you don't have to hit a specific caloric intake number every day since you're not competing for a BB comp or anything. Eat clean foods, asparagus, chicken, steak, rice, avocado, potatoes etc. etc. and eat enough of it so that the amount of calories you eat in a day falls between preferably 300-800 calories about your maintenance level. Do that for as long as you want, tweak your diet a bit tweak your calories a bit play around with shit since you don't have to be super serious about all of this and just enjoy it. If you put on a little bit of fat don't even worry about it cuz that shit can come off like nothing especially once you know what your maintenance calories are

snip

[QUOTE=Pandamox;40550725]Count your calories of what you eat. It may take several weeks, but find out where your maintenance calories are (the amount of calories that if you eat this every day your weight won't change). Once you find that, write it down somewhere so you won't forget it. Eventually your maintenance calories will change once you gain more lean muscle, perhaps if you get a physical job or just do things to burn more calories but it's going to be very useful to know your maintenance calories off the bat. Whatever your maintenance calories are, eat above that. Anywhere from 300-800, really doesn't matter tons you don't have to hit a specific caloric intake number every day since you're not competing for a BB comp or anything. Eat clean foods, asparagus, chicken, steak, rice, avocado, potatoes etc. etc. and eat enough of it so that the amount of calories you eat in a day falls between preferably 300-800 calories about your maintenance level. Do that for as long as you want, tweak your diet a bit tweak your calories a bit play around with shit since you don't have to be super serious about all of this and just enjoy it. If you put on a little bit of fat don't even worry about it cuz that shit can come off like nothing especially once you know what your maintenance calories are[/QUOTE] So you're telling me to bulk? Eating about 500~ kcal above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure in calories would be something you would do to bulk. Can you still gain aesthetics from bulking? I'm still gonna do it because my lifts must be pitiful by now but I'm just wondering, also, how many pounds should I be aiming to gain per week and what would be a good weight for me to stop bulking at and start cutting? If it helps I am 5'8" 149 Lbs. and 18 years old.

[QUOTE=Felipe;40553544]So you're telling me to bulk? Eating about 500~ kcal above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure in calories would be something you would do to bulk. [/QUOTE] Here's the Katch-McArdle way to calculate Base metabollic rate. BMR = 370 + (21.6 x LBM)Where LBM = [total weight (kg) x (100 - bodyfat %)]/100 You want to eat somewhere between 250-500 kcal over the number you get from using this formula. This is probably the most accurate way to calculate your BMR, but even it is not perfect. And eating 250-500 cal over helps solve any error and you will still gain muscle and cleanly bulk up. In terms of macronutrients you should be intaking somewhere around here: [B]1. Protein[/B] You want to eat 1-1.25g protein for each lb you weight or You want to eat 1.33-2g protein for each lb of lean body mass you weigh These are on the low end, you could safely go higher than this. [B]2. Fats[/B] You want to eat somewhere between .45g - 1g of fat per each lb you weight. It's okay to stick to the low end of this if you want to cleanly bulk. [B]3. Carbs[/B] This is a more vague area, once you intake your daily needs for both fats and protein, fill the rest of your calorie needs with carbs. If your diet is good you could easily intake 200-300g of carbs while hitting the rest of your macro needs. Hope this helps clarify your eating needs.

[QUOTE=Felipe;40553544]So you're telling me to bulk? Eating about 500~ kcal above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure in calories would be something you would do to bulk. Can you still gain aesthetics from bulking? I'm still gonna do it because my lifts must be pitiful by now but I'm just wondering, also, how many pounds should I be aiming to gain per week and what would be a good weight for me to stop bulking at and start cutting? If it helps I am 5'8" 149 Lbs. and 18 years old.[/QUOTE] Yes, definitely bulk. Don't worry about Aesthetics, when you have a caloric surplus and you first start lifting your strength will increase tons and your muscle mass will increase tons. Depending on your genetics and how clean you eat, you could look fairly lean while still putting on muscle mass (although this is hard for a majority of people to even attempt). Aesthetics comes from bulk and cut cycles, bulk up to put on the muscle and cut to lose the fat while maintaining the muscle you gained from bulking. At 5'8 ~150 is fairly light but if you're at 150 and around 12% BF at 5'8 then you've got a good foundation. I'd say for the first while a lb a week will probably be expected. Honestly just shoot for more than 2lbs gained in a month and less than something dramatic like 8lbs gained in a month, if you're in that range then just go with it. Cut whenever you feel like it, LBs are just a number and shouldn't be relied on, what you should rely on is your looks. If you think you look like you've put on a nice amount of lean muscle but too much fat along with it, cut. Don't choose a LB mark [editline]7th May 2013[/editline] As for macros for bulking, depending on how many cals you're taking in i'd stick with a 50-70g of fat baseline (i like to stick with my bulking fat macros for cutting even), protein and carbs could both be anywhere from 200-300 each [editline]7th May 2013[/editline] also make sure you get in a good amount of fibre, 30-50g. don't want to have messy protein shits nomsayim

[QUOTE=Felipe;40553544]So you're telling me to bulk? Eating about 500~ kcal above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure in calories would be something you would do to bulk. Can you still gain aesthetics from bulking? I'm still gonna do it because my lifts must be pitiful by now but I'm just wondering, also, how many pounds should I be aiming to gain per week and what would be a good weight for me to stop bulking at and start cutting? If it helps I am 5'8" 149 Lbs. and 18 years old.[/QUOTE] Cutting and bulking are two sides of the same coin. You want the aesthetics you need to do both.

Apparently I just found out I'm like 16-17% body fat should I still bulk or cut?

bulk 200 cals over maintenance, or eat maintenance and train hard, so you'll slowly get lower body fat and also building muscle really slow

500 cals is superior fuck this slow gain shit gotta get swole newbrah

if u can pull it off witout gettin fat

[QUOTE=blah2;40618117]if u can pull it off witout gettin fat[/QUOTE] Alright so if I do cut first how much weight should I lose starting at 149? When I bulk what should I bulk to?

nigga have you ever heard of the phrase "do whatever the fuck you wanna do" if you wanna cut then cut, if you wanna bulk then bulk. you cut till you wake up in the morning and look at the mirror and go "well god damn i look good" you bulk to the point where you look at the mirror and go "damn imagine if i lost this fat"