Need some help.PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE

[Angel Rising]

Hi, thought I'd put in my photos as i need help reaching my goals and would LOVE some feedback.

I want to gain some definition but really need to lose the fat around my butt area without losing any muscle.

If you were starting at this point what workout and diet would you follow?

I currently have started working out on an upper/lower split mon/wed/fri rotating two lower and one upper to two upper and one lower, each week.
With cardio on the other three days with one off or an active rest day.

I really need help with diet...mainly with cheat foods which I findd it hard to stop craving...
Please please please help!!!!!!

Thanks Sarah

[justanothagirl]

how tall are you and how much do you weigh? you look very skinny

[Angel Rising]

I am 181cm (6ft) and i weigh about 60kg. i know that i need to put on muscle. it's about finding the right amount of cardio, weights and food.

I think that's why i really need to clean up my diet because i find that i still put on fat around my butt, but too much cardio and i lose too much muscle which i can't afford to lose.

I like food to much to starve myself too, it's genetics that make me skinny. Just so you know.

Sarah

[terracotta]

you are just skinnyfat - skinny with very little muscle..
work on building muscle by eating ~300 cals over maintenance and doing weightlifting with minimal cardio.. this will improve you greatly.

You should check out my website http://terracotta2.googlepages.com

[Angel Rising]

Thanks terracotta, I have actually checked out your site, its very informative.

Do you think that a 3 day/week split rotation, upper, lower, upper etc is enough or should i go up to two upper and two lower per week? Or does it matter?

i work out from home and have dumbbells and an incline bench with barbell. A fitball also.

I've just started following the Body for Life book just to change my workout around. I try to go as heavy as I can with good form but i only ever workout alone. can't afford a trainer.

[terracotta]

Thanks terracotta, I have actually checked out your site, its very informative.

Do you think that a 3 day/week split rotation, upper, lower, upper etc is enough or should i go up to two upper and two lower per week? Or does it matter?

i work out from home and have dumbbells and an incline bench with barbell. A fitball also.

I've just started following the Body for Life book just to change my workout around. I try to go as heavy as I can with good form but i only ever workout alone. can't afford a trainer.

I really like the 3x/week upper lower rotation.. lots of time for recovery, which is going to be important for someone who is trying to build muscle and is a hard gainer

Good equipment! Looks like everything is in place, and you will have to ensure that you are eating enough.. for someone who is skinnyfat this might be a LOT of food (I used to be skinnyfat myself). I suggest tracking your measurements, and if they don't go up biweekly (they should be going up since you should be gaining mass for the most part), then raise your daily calories by 100 each week until you see gains

[Angel Rising]

Thankyou...much appreciated. Just got the dumbbell workout off your site. it wasn't too dissimilar from what i was doing but I think I need more food and less cardio then before.

Anyway, i will let you know how i go.

Just as a question. how long did it take you to build muscle?

[terracotta]

hmm.. not sure how long.. I look better now at 128 lbs than I did 1.5 years ago at 117 lbs.. and now I have to lose 10 lbs of fat. I was carrying about 5 lbs of fat then to start with.. you just look worse if you try to lose the fat first though. And I've had a few breaks! Most of that muscle was gained in the first 6 months.

[terracotta]

I guess that didn't really answer the question lol..
you can gain 1-2 lbs a month of muscle

[terracotta]

oh, and when you start lifting, for the first few months you will see more than that in weight gain as the body will increase glycogen storage in the muscles.

[Angel Rising]

Do you have any before and after pics...maybe a link on the site. How tall are you?

I do have a bit of muscle underneath...i was very very thin when younger....but it needs to build and be defined more...It just doesn't show because i'm so tall.

Of course i still need a lot of work

[terracotta]

I'm 5'4
I only give my before and after pics to people I feel I know. I also don't have any pics from before the first 6 months.. so the progress pics are not even that indicative. There is a video of current pics on my website linked off of the main page (about me or something).

When I was 16 I was 98 lbs (weighed heavy -ie. I always took the heaviest number), and started going to the gym, went up to 108 lbs in 2 years (definately doing non-optimal things), stopped lifting for 2 years, lifted for 3 months, stopped lifting for 4 more years, then started up again a year and a half ago. Now I weigh myself light (always taking the lowest number).

[30-A rider]

I guess that didn't really answer the question lol..
you can gain 1-2 lbs a month of muscle

A little bit exagerated in most cases. As a Noob, who has never trained before, with some genetic potential one can maybe gain 1-2 # a month in muscle..but as muscle accumulates the gains slow quickly. Most pros are lucky if they can gain 5-7 lbs lean mass in a year. Think about that 1-2 lbs a month...so most people can gain 12-24 lbs of muscle a year??!!!!!!!!NOt very many! That s a lot of muscle in a year....now add that over a 5 year period......that would mean gaining 60-120lbs muscel gain in 5 years! So yes maybe in first year of bodybuilding with a strict caloric intake one may gain 12-24 lbs in first year...and that would be rare....but after first year that will slow a lot!

[terracotta]

A little bit exagerated in most cases. As a Noob, who has never trained before, with some genetic potential one can maybe gain 1-2 # a month in muscle..but as muscle accumulates the gains slow quickly. Most pros are lucky if they can gain 5-7 lbs lean mass in a year. Think about that 1-2 lbs a month...so most people can gain 12-24 lbs of muscle a year??!!!!!!!!NOt very many! That s a lot of muscle in a year....now add that over a 5 year period......that would mean gaining 60-120lbs muscel gain in 5 years! So yes maybe in first year of bodybuilding with a strict caloric intake one may gain 12-24 lbs in first year...and that would be rare....but after first year that will slow a lot!

right.. 1-2 lbs a month is for the first 6 months of hitting the weights hard.. after that it is very slow.. I should have mentioned that

[Angel Rising]

I have been weight training on and off for a few years but nothing that has been really consistent and i get so much conflicting advice about what to eat etc. that i keep changing my diet/training around before any real progress.
i know this is my downfall.

So I guess now i'm just ready to 'do it for real' and make the big changes etc. etc.

Just trying to get the right information for my body type and work eally hard on my diet which is the hardest area for me.

Thanks for the advice though.

[Angel Rising]

I know this is a bit of an old post but i forgot to ask about cardio. Although I need to gain mass, i do have fat to lose and wondered how much cardio and what sort I would need to do?

Thanks

[Havok]

I'm a guy so I hope you don't mind me posting here. I would suggest that you just focus on weight-training for the time being, and not worry about cardio.

[*supermomma*]

Agreed -- you are very skinny, you don't need to do cardio.

You need to lift, heavy, and eat, a lot.

Isn't BFL a fat loss program? You need a mass gaining program, not a fat loss one.

[Angel Rising]

Thanks. i am thinking of replacing my cardio with yoga....just for the time out.

I have decided to do the upper/lower split rotation and feel weird not doing anything on the 'in between' days.

I know I have to work on my eating...especially eating clean...and get in the calories. Difficult though.

As for BFL...I was following it as a guideline to build lean muscle while burning as much fat with as little muscle loss as possible. I'm still learning.

Thanks though.

[Titania]

There's pletny of great advice already here in this thread so I am just going to support what has been said,

Thanks. i am thinking of replacing my cardio with yoga....just for the time out.

I have decided to do the upper/lower split rotation and feel weird not doing anything on the 'in between' days.

I know I have to work on my eating...especially eating clean...and get in the calories. Difficult though.

As for BFL...I was following it as a guideline to build lean muscle while burning as much fat with as little muscle loss as possible. I'm still learning.

Thanks though.

Replacing your cardio with Yoga is a very good move IMHO.
Clean nutrition and plenty of calories is a must. It is also the part I find the hardest too. Trust me, on 5 - 6000 cals a day, you get sick of eating and cooking!! But there really is no substitute.

[plasticsword]

Hi Angel Rising I'm like you I find sticking to a 'clean' diet very very difficult.

What sorts of food are you craving or cheating on? I found that some of the stuff I craved could be replaced with far healthier options so psychologically at least, I felt ok with chomping away. Also if you find a lot of the typical bodybuilder diet bland then we could think up some cool ideas to make 'em taste better? Whaddya think? Hate to say it, but I'm sick of chicken already. Doh!

[Angel Rising]

My main thing is V-drinks! I just have to have them. It's the sugar and the caffeine that's a killer. And chocolate of course. But the V-drinks is my biggest challenge...and I HATE the sugarfree kind!!!!

I'm pretty good at cooking up healthy meals that taste great.....add all those herbs and spices.

I have a wicked fried rice recipe that is great (and I cook everything in my Wok!) if you are interested.

[ilovemuscle963]

try to lift weights or workout at home. if you like to bild some muscle try to lift very heavy wrights for 2 to 4 months and you may see some resolts.