Skinny, want to become lean strong/well rounded, example pics inside!

[krocket]

Hi,

Firstly, the 4 pics below are examples and are not me. Please follow carefully to assess my situation!

Secondly, let me begin here... im in my 20s, 5'8 and 135-140lbs, bf no idea but it's pretty low. My physique resembles the one of the example in the images labelled OLD, listed below, however i have less muscle definition and a slight belly/smooth non-defined arms (even though im underweight). My diet is non-meat but i do consume eggs/dairy. I also have access to weightgainer and protein which i will buy soon and join a gym.

I want to remain lean strong like the images at the very bottom (labelled NEW). What should i do to achieve this physique? I want this type of body because i play a lot of basketball and i've seen very many atheletes/highschool ballers with this frame, and it's very ideal for the sport. Any ideas on diet, types of workouts (ie high weight + low rep or low weight + high rep), etc?

I know a lot about supplementation, i guess i just see a lot of people when they workout and supplement gain heavy mass in the very end, which is something i don't want (again im starting skinny like the 2 first pics, and want to end lean/defined but well rounded like the end). I am the type of person who sticks to my goals when i set them!

Thanks! :D

OLD (Pre-working out)
http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/6526/35sk.jpghttp://img112.imageshack.us/img112/9913/40bs.jpg

NEW (After-working out)
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2596/100bm.jpghttp://img112.imageshack.us/img112/4373/113ye.jpg

[FerrisB]

You're going to need to eat like crazy and lift weights. You'll gain some fat along with the muscle but that can't be avoided. Once you've gotten big enough, then you keep lifting and go into a caloric deficit to cut the fat. There are lots of techniques to reduce catabolization of muscle while you're cutting. That's it in a nutshell, I suggest you start researching on the internet and design yourself a plan.

[poedua]

In a nutshell..............

Lean - reduce body fat with a combination of cardio, weights and a good diet to create a net calorie deficit

Strong - do weight training of a whole body workout 3 times a week to start to add muscle mass and functional strength

Supplementation - a complete waste of time and money for someone like you IMO , nothing a good diet and hard work in the gym can't provide.

Better to ask some "specific" questions on any of the above - there are a lot of members on this forum with great training experience & advice you can tap into

[jayisthebest88]

in the "old" pictures.....hw was working out too :lol: He probably took them a week after he started to work out....

Am I wrong?



Anyways, thats huge improvements, Thats the thing, Not everyone can be handsome, but everyone can be ripped!

[krocket]

In a nutshell..............

Lean - reduce body fat with a combination of cardio, weights and a good diet to create a net calorie deficit

Strong - do weight training of a whole body workout 3 times a week to start to add muscle mass and functional strength

Supplementation - a complete waste of time and money for someone like you IMO , nothing a good diet and hard work in the gym can't provide.

Better to ask some "specific" questions on any of the above - there are a lot of members on this forum with great training experience & advice you can tap into

1. What is a net calorie deficit? Eating less?
2. Why not supplement with at least protein if im vegetarian?

[krocket]

To add to the two questions above,

3. Also I know what muscle mass gain involves, but what exactly is meant by "cutting"?

[Flyer]

I eat plenty, exercise, and yet I an still skinny as hell with a woman's waistline (http://img29.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cimg00101qp.jpg)...

[astrolad]

There an excellent book called Scrawny to Brawny. You can find it on amazon.

There's a website here: http://www.scrawnytobrawny.com/
with a free 5 part flash course that covers the first couple of chapters' content.

John Berardi (Co-author) has a PhD n Kinesiology, with a specialization in Exercise Biology and Nutritional Biochemistry. If you want to know about eating to grow while adding minimal fat, he's da man. He has plenty of free articles on his company's website at http://www.johnberardi.com/

[poedua]

1. What is a net calorie deficit? Eating less?

The best way to get lean or look "cut "or to get that ab "6 pack " is to simply lose weight. It's a function of the amount of energy (calories) taken in versus the amount of energy expended burned. Excess calories in the body are simply stored as fat - regardless of the source (carbohydrate, fat or protein).

I'm guessing, most guys your weight would need about 2,200 calories a day just to maintain your current weight. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. In order for you to gain or lose a pound, either you increase or decrease your intake of calories by this amount - so to get lean, eat fewer calories, burn off more calories with cardio or do both.

So, let's say you want to lose 1 pound of fat - and....let's say you want to lose 1 pound of fat in 1 week. If you drop 3,500 calories, you drop a pound of fat, so to lose 3,500 calories in 7 days you have to lose 500 calories a day ( 3,500 / 7 ). You need to create a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day. To stay at 140 lbs..you need 2,200 calories a day...you want you be at 1,700 ( 2,200 - 500 ) per day if you want to lose a pound in a week.

How to create the deficit of 500 calories ? Lot's of ways....

- eat the same and do cardio and burn 500 calories a day via cardio
- eat an extra 250 calories a day and burn 750 calories a day via cardio
- eat 500 less calories a day and don't do any exercise
- eat 250 less calories a day and burn 250 calories a day via cardio

Remember fat is not only just under you're skin but ( if you have a lot it ) it's riddled throughout your muscles like the ' marbling ' or fat you see in a steak. If you want your muscles to to ' taut' and ' toned ' you want nothing but muscle - get rid of the ' marbling ' by burning the fat via cardio. Lean muscle - lean cut of meat - same principle - virtually no fat found in either.


2. Why not supplement with at least protein if im vegetarian?

I depends on how much protein you're getting now.

For 140 lbs., and for most average athetes of that weight, you'd need about 110 grams +/- of protein a day...that might even be a bit high.

[poedua]

To add to the two questions above,

3. Also I know what muscle mass gain involves, but what exactly is meant by "cutting"?

From the net......

Cutting Up:

Stripping the body of excess bodyfat while retaining maximum muscularity. Also can be called Ripped, Shredded, Sliced, etc.

[krocket]

Gotcha poedua, thanks :)

So since im 5'8 @ 135-140 lbs, im still underweight, my first step is to gain mass while working out 4 or 5 times per week, that is what i will begin with then.

Since im 135ish, what is a good weight to get up to before I realistically have to begin cutting? Is 155-160 good?

[poedua]

Gotcha poedua, thanks :)

So since im 5'8 @ 135-140 lbs, im still underweight, my first step is to gain mass while working out 4 or 5 times per week, that is what i will begin with then.

Since im 135ish, what is a good weight to get up to before I realistically have to begin cutting? Is 155-160 good?

You may want to not focus so much on the weight you see on your scale.

Here's why.

The goal of "bulking up" is to gain lean muscle mass without an increase in bodyfat. To that end, when starting to try and add mass like you want to do , you can expect to gain about 1/2 to 1 lb. or muscle a week in the first 6 months, and then it tapers to about 1/2 lb per week and eventually to a 1/4 lb. per week.

The thing to remember is, on a pure volume basis, muscle tissue ( protein ) is much denser than fat and therefore muscle is slightly heavier than fat. A good way to think about it, is to visualize something about the size of a deck of cards.....a deck of card size amount of steak ( which is MUSCLE ) is heavier than the exact same volume deck of card size amount of butter ( which is FAT )

Muscle is heavier than fat. Why is this important to remember ? Because, if you're doing cardio AND weights for awhile, the weight you see on your weigh scale at home may actually remain unchanged or actually go up slightly after you start doing cardio and weight training.

The scale doesn't not distinguish between the amount of fat and muscle that you have. As your weight and cardio training improves, you will lose fat BUT you start gaining muscle mass.

[krocket]

^

Thank you poedua!

There an excellent book called Scrawny to Brawny. You can find it on amazon.

There's a website here: http://www.scrawnytobrawny.com/
with a free 5 part flash course that covers the first couple of chapters' content.

John Berardi (Co-author) has a PhD n Kinesiology, with a specialization in Exercise Biology and Nutritional Biochemistry. If you want to know about eating to grow while adding minimal fat, he's da man. He has plenty of free articles on his company's website at http://www.johnberardi.com/

I FULLY recommend any skinny person to watch the 5 flash course. This all makes perfect sense to me now. I think im going to order this book! Thanks! :) By the way, has anyone ever used the Scrawny-to-Brawny book/method before? If so, what were your before/after results?

Thanks!

[astrolad]

I FULLY recommend any skinny person to watch the 5 flash course. This all makes perfect sense to me now. I think im going to order this book! Thanks! :) By the way, has anyone ever used the Scrawny-to-Brawny book/method before? If so, what were your before/after results?

Thanks!

I am working on Phase 1 right now (only a couple of weeks in to it so far) and am up between 5-7lb at the same bodyfat % I started with.

[Nuprapture]

dude, we're in teh exact same situation.. im 6'0 and i fluctuate between 130 and 135 pounds everytime i step on a scale. I'm not necessarily scrawny, but i do a lot of martial arts and have very little body fat. My muscles (or lack thereof) are defined, but now that I'm stopping tournament and moving toward teaching i figure i'll use this chance to bulk up and gain some size/weight. I'm gonna order this book!

[marclebert]

great discussion! a few things you may want to consider.

make sure your weight training routines are not routine! hit it harder that you have before- either more reps or more wieght. for example, i sometimes do one-arm rows for the same # of reps as the dumbell is. if i grab a 50 pounder, i had better be prepared to get 50 reps before i put it down. now i may not be able to get them all with stellar form but i persevere.

i also have my clients hit the legs VERY hard with walking lunges, jump squats, etc. this is so tough but it burns the most calories during and after and when the legs get stronger the whole body does.

i also highly recommend boxing. it's a killer workout and good cross training for any sport- including your basketball!


Marc Lebert

“Strength Training Right to the Core”

http://www.lebertequalizer.com

[FerrisB]

Agreed. Don't waste your time in the gym. Use the proper weight and use good form. Try to NEVER use jerking motions, maintain the same speed through the whole range of motion and isolate the muscle group you're working. (ie. if you're doing barbell curls, keep a straight back and try and keep your elbows in one place, people that do the 'drinking bird' routine are not helping themselves, no matter how much weight they're heaving around).

Basically, make it as difficult as possible while maintaining good form. For me, I feel that my last 2 sets are where I make most of my progress. 8x reps, and then I try for 5 going to failure. I try to be the hardest working person in the gym.

great discussion! a few things you may want to consider.

make sure your weight training routines are not routine! hit it harder that you have before- either more reps or more wieght. for example, i sometimes do one-arm rows for the same # of reps as the dumbell is. if i grab a 50 pounder, i had better be prepared to get 50 reps before i put it down. now i may not be able to get them all with stellar form but i persevere.

i also have my clients hit the legs VERY hard with walking lunges, jump squats, etc. this is so tough but it burns the most calories during and after and when the legs get stronger the whole body does.

i also highly recommend boxing. it's a killer workout and good cross training for any sport- including your basketball!


Marc Lebert

“Strength Training Right to the Core”

http://www.lebertequalizer.com

[marclebert]

FerrisB, could not have said it better myself!



Marc Lebert

“Strength Training Right to the Core”

http://www.lebertequalizer.com