Hey, noob here! :) advice!

[Jubert39]

First off, I wanna state that I have been browsing these forums for a bit, read some of the stickies, and have searched (not everything) but a couple things...

Didn't know where to post since there wasnt really a noob section, but I have a few questions anyways, so any help/advice, or directions would be great.

Im 24, 5'9", 155lb-ish.
As everyone, I wanna have a more muscular defined look. I know this is VERY vague, but I was wondering if you guys could help me.
I spoke to an amateur body builder, and told me to quit all cardio! This was shocking since I use to run 3-4 times a week, and played soccer and hockey. Since then, Ive been eating eating eating (junk food included)

He told me to go with this routine (4 day cycle, 1 rest day in between)
legs
chest and tris
back and biceps
shoulders and calves

I have been doing the normal protein shakes 2x a day and eating around 150g of protein and filling the rest with just as many calories as possible...

issue now is, im getting chubs! I researched and I guess thats sorta what happens as you bulk.
I am posting 3 pics of me as of today (a lil chubs)

I was wondering, based on the pics, I guess im an "ectomorph?" so I ask, should i still be bulking up? even if im getting chubbier (esp in the gut which i hate) If my goal is to be 150 lbs in pure muscle, 8% body fat, should i shoot for 160 lbs? 170?

thanks, I know this is kinda loaded- but i figured Id post.

****
edit- i guess i need 30 posts to put up pics (i will as soon as i get more posts up)

[dawlson3]

bulk up shoot for 170lbs. dont worry about fat u can always cut later

[henmaniac87]

You dont have to bulk to make good gains. You'll gain less fat and still gain muscle if you split your meals up so that youre eating 6-7 smaller meals a day like every 2-4 hours staying over maintenance levels so you continue to grow, this keeps the metabolism up which allows you to gain muscle and gain less fat. That's how Ive managed to gain quite a bit of muscle and stay lean in the process.

[henmaniac87]

It really comes down to the look youre going for.

Big and Bulky or Lean and Defined?

[Jubert39]

i guess i wanna be more on the lean side, but not scrawny...

right now i can post pics, but id guess im in the 15%-20% body fat range.
im 5'9" and 155lbs. I dont know whether to bulk more, or just cut till im at lower bf% and go bulk again???

right now im currently eating a lot to try to bulk, but not sure if im going about it the right way. keeping the cardio to a minimum.

[braden101]

If you really are 20%, your better off doing a cut then going on a nice slow clean bulk.

Get some pics up though, we'll be able to give you an estimate, really doubt your 20%

[braden101]

Oh and get off that f*cking split.

I dont care what the Amateur bodybuilder says to do, your obviosuly not as his level, so why train like you are.

You need to find a fullbody PROGRAM for the time being, concentrate on your big compound lifts and get those lift numbers up!

[Kirra]

Starting Strength.............

[Jubert39]

thanks for the replies
Im gonna post pics once i have enough posts!

as for a workout, im really trying to set something up. Ive read about compound lifts, and wanna focus on building a strong foundation.
Right now, its just mental games cus i really dont wanna get chubs, but i know you gotta pay to play, so bulking will mean fattening up a little.

My plan is basically like this, criticisms appreciated
Monday:chest + tris
Tuesday:hockey game (my form of cardio) + abs
Wednesday:back + bis
Thursday:legs
Friday:rest
Saturday:Shoulders + calves
Sunday:soccer (form of cardio) + abs

eating about 150-170g of protein daily

[Jubert39]

http ://s922.photobucket.com/albums/ad70/Jubert93/

+if you guys could just copy and paste (deleting the space between "http and :") you should be able to see my pics. As you can see i got the stomach flub starting but im kinda scrawny up top.

help is GREATLY appreciated. What bf%age would you guys guess? and if so, would bulk be the right move? or should i cut then bulk?

[braden101]

Read my post..get off the split.

and

uururgghh! a soccer game the day after calves?..No thankyou...

[Kirra]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

Read that. And do the program, you are still a novice mate, fullbody 3 times a week will work better for you than a split.

[braden101]

Your not 20%.

Cut now and you'll lose sight of yourself lol

Keep bulking, SLOW AND CLEAN, youll wanna gain about 0.5lbs per week.

Eat healthy, that means whole natural foods, nothing processed. Keep an eye on the scales and the mirror.

And get off the split, find a fullbody PROGRAM with scheduled progression, your focus should be to gain a small amount of weight each week EVERY WEEK, while consistenly getting stronger on your main lifts, Squat, Deadlift, bench, row, pullups etc.

[Jubert39]

O and sorry if there info is all out there... its just kinda overwhelming cus there is so much info and i dont know where to start. i read the beginners simple routine in the sticky, and it seems people were criticizing it, so perhaps if someone could lead me to a better program based on where I am at now (novice). thanks!

Read my post..get off the split.

and

uururgghh! a soccer game the day after calves?..No thankyou...

true, perhaps i could move it to another day perhaps?

Read that. And do the program, you are still a novice mate, fullbody 3 times a week will work better for you than a split.

sorry for the noob, by split i assume u mean weights one day and cardio another... so if u dont want me to do a split, what would that be called? I was looking at p90x then? would that be an example of a program i should look into. And if so, what about my diet, should i work on gaining or just keep the same? thanks for ur honesty!

Your not 20%.

Cut now and you'll lose sight of yourself lol

Keep bulking, SLOW AND CLEAN, youll wanna gain about 0.5lbs per week.

Eat healthy, that means whole natural foods, nothing processed. Keep an eye on the scales and the mirror.

And get off the split, find a fullbody PROGRAM with scheduled progression, your focus should be to gain a small amount of weight each week EVERY WEEK, while consistenly getting stronger on your main lifts, Squat, Deadlift, bench, row, pullups etc.

what would u guess my bf% to be? 15?
and as i mentioned earlier, if i should stay off a split, does this just mean no cardio and jsut focus on "squats, deadlift, bench... etc" or p90x? or both?

[Kirra]

No, a split is when you do something like

Day1: Chest
Day2: Arms
Day3: Back
Day4: Legs

Ie, when you split the bodyparts as opposed to using a fullbody routine when you are training your whole body every workout.

Seriously, just do Starting Strenght while eating clean and you will have GREAT results that I can promise you.

Also, post pics of yourself shirtless so we can wan... ehh, guesstimate your bodyfat %.

[Jubert39]

No, a split is when you do something like

Day1: Chest
Day2: Arms
Day3: Back
Day4: Legs

Ie, when you split the bodyparts as opposed to using a fullbody routine when you are training your whole body every workout.

Seriously, just do Starting Strenght while eating clean and you will have GREAT results that I can promise you.

Also, post pics of yourself shirtless so we can wan... ehh, guesstimate your bodyfat %.

i posted pics, just gotta copy and paste cus i cant post links till i have at least 30 posts. And by "starting strength" are you referring to this?
Workout A
3x5 Squat
3x5 Bench Press
1x5 Deadlift

Workout B
3x5 Squat
3x5 Standing military press
3x5 Power cleans

You train on 3 nonconsecutive days per week.

So week 1 might look like:
Monday - Workout A
Wednesday - Workout B
Friday - Workout A

Week 2:
Monday - Workout B
Wednesday - Workout A
Friday - Workout B

[Kirra]

Oh yeah, I missed the pic.

Yes, that's it. It's all in the long ass thread I linked you to.

About your body fat %. No way in hell are you over 20%. My guess is that you are somewhere in the 15-18ish range. Just eat at maintenance or slightly above and follow the program.

[Jubert39]

Oh yeah, I missed the pic.

Yes, that's it. It's all in the long ass thread I linked you to.

About your body fat %. No way in hell are you over 20%. My guess is that you are somewhere in the 15-18ish range. Just eat at maintenance or slightly above and follow the program.

thanks a lot man! i appreciate it, Im gonna with the Workout A+B then. So out of curiosity, I wouldnt be considering bulking or cutting, this is just maintaining and gaining very little weight slowly correct? Anyway, gonna continue reading that "long ass thread" haha

thanks again

[Kirra]

Just eat lots of clean food and drink some milk. Chances are that you will get REALLY ****ING HUNGRY once you start squatting 3 times a week. I'm gonna start my 2nd go at that program tomorrow. Good luck man!


oh btw, make a journal here on these forums and update it. Heres mine:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?p=535548803

And don't misspell the title like I did lol.

[Jubert39]

Just eat lots of clean food and drink some milk. Chances are that you will get REALLY ****ING HUNGRY once you start squatting 3 times a week. I'm gonna start my 2nd go at that program tomorrow. Good luck man!

will do. Except i plan on replacing the power cleans with the bent over rows.

how much weight should i do? should i up each set? should my final set be max? i couldn't find it in the thread.
also, how long would i be on this program for? 2 months? 4?

edit: nvm i found it. same weight straight across, and a weight that is heavy enough to keep my exhausted by the last set with perfect form

in the basic workout, should we do any warmup sets? or just start with the heaviest weight we can handle 3x5?
and when should we up it? every week by 2.5-5 lbs?

[Kirra]

...

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...5&postcount=21

"Question - What weight should I start with during the first week?

The weight you use is going to be determined by the amount you can do for 5 repetitions with proper execution and technique.

The way the "first day" is explained in Starting Strength, the trainee warms up with the bar, then adds a bit of weight and does a set of 5. Continue to add weight and do sets of 5 until form/technique breaks down. Keep the weight there, correct the technique problems/weak points, and perform 2 more sets with this weight. That is your first "3 sets of 5" workout for that exercise.

However, since we're talking about the internet, where 99% of all novices do NOT use proper technique, it has proven itself to be useful to advise that the trainee drop anywhere from 5-15% off his 5-RM, and start his next workout using that weight.

Yes, this is low. It allows for a certain fudge factor that is present when dealing with a novice's ability to evaluate his own technique performance.

Generally, if a newb says "I benched 135 x 5 for the first time, my technique was great!", what he really means is that "I benched 135 x 5, but I probably should've only used about 120 or 125"

Be on the safe side, start lighter than you think you need to, and go from there. This also helps develop a base of conditioning with slightly less weight than absolute max, which helps reduce initial DOMS.

Let me say that one again.

Start off using weight that is LOWER than you think you can handle, and progress upward. It is better to use weight that is too light than weight that is too heavy."

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...6&postcount=25

"Question - How long should I do this program?

"Until it stops working" is the frustrating response I have given on several occasions. This is obviously an overly simplistic way of describing things, so I will attempt to describe it further here, and give a method to the madness of the slightly more advanced programming necessary for the intermediate trainee.

As I stated earlier, only 2 resets for the squat and perhaps 1 for the deadlift will be done before it's time to move on.
You will probably reset the press a few times before it is time to change programs. As long as the squat and deadlift are still moving up, however, there is no need to change programming. If you need to do a "bigtime reset" as described above, or if you are stalling on multiple exercises at once, then it is time to move on as well."

It's all there

[Jubert39]

yep i actually just got through reading those things just before u replied. Lol, its kinda confusing the way they had everything, but i got all the info. just made an excel spread sheet so ill see how my progress goes... gluck to you, and im excited as ever to start this.

[Kirra]

Personally I'm gonna print out a bunch of these to keep track of my progress:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/printworklog.htm

[Ramsesnyc]

Read a lot of good advice on here, I'm on the same boat!

[Jubert39]

So i posted in the nutrition section about (based on my pics~post#10), whether i should cut, bulk, or maintain while doing this "novice routine," and i was recommended I cut... Is this the right move?

[Kirra]

You are going to stall really fast if you eat below maintenance. Just do the routine as written, and eat plenty of clean food. As of now there is no point in cutting as you have nothing to cut back to.

My bodyfat % is about the same as yours btw. Who cares, it's winter soon anyway