Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post your photos and show everyone the progress you have made with your physique!

Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose

Post Reply
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

This is how I'm doing things at the moment:

DIET:
breakfast: 3 pieces of bread with peanut butter and tahini, 1 cup of muesli with soya milk, glass of orange juice
lunch: two vegetable burgers with wholemeal bread + two fruits (apple and orange)
dinner: wholemeal pasta with broccoli, spinach, carrot, tofu, cucumber

snack #1: energy bar + dried figs
snack #2: banana shake (soya milk, soya yoghurt, soy protein, banana)
snack #3: oatmeal with grapes and almonds

EXERCISE: free-weights 3 times a week, HIIT 3 times a week, one day totally off.

Here's a picture of myself at the moment: in order for abs to show, would it suffice to burn some fat or do I have to build more muscle first?

Image
Foto del 17-04-13 alle 09.57 di fdsa34, su Flickr

Thanks,
Fdsa
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15458
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Boss Man »

Bulk then cut.
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

Great thanks. Can I ask a couple more questions?

1. At what point should I start the cutting phase?
2. Is current plan ok for bulking? Some have told me to avoid HIIT because it interferes
With weight gain, but it's working for me.

Current stats (if they help)
20 years old
185 cm
75 kg
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

As in, is it too early to start cutting? Would I just destroy the muscles I've gained?
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15458
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Boss Man »

Cut the HIIT to two days, so you give yourself two days off.

I reccomend you splitting those days as well, so you could work with this kind of system.

Day 1. Weights

Day 2. HIIT

Day 3. Weights

Day 4. Day off

Day 5. Weights

Day 6. HIIT

Day 7. Day off.

As for the cutting phase don't bother doing it now until you've bulked. I'd aim to get at least another 10lbs heavier before cutting. Any cutting phase now might possibly affect your levels of bulk, but also you'll just look a bit stick thin, with partially visable abs.
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

Thanks! Really good advice. I'll stick to what I'm doing (with an extra rest day, as you suggested) and will let you know how I get on!
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

Thanks! Really good advice. I'll stick to what I'm doing (with an extra rest day, as you suggested) and will let you know how I get on!
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

Hi Boss Man,

following the aforementioned regime, I had gone from 70 to 74.8 kilos in about a month and a half. Each week I would see an improvement of about half a kilo. This last week, however, I haven't gained a single gram. Was on 74.8 last week, and am still on 74.8 this week. Do you think I need to increase the calories?

Thanks
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15458
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Boss Man »

Yes, I would do this.

The mistake some make is just change the routine, looking for progress when they plataeu, then if that doesn't work after 3-4 weeks, change it again, but I know from experience it's often calories that fall short and cause the issue, not the routine, so all the routine changes yield nothing, except a prolonged plateau and possibly some new understanding of things you don't like doing.

I would go one of two ways.

if you're eating 6 times a day, add another 300 calories per day, working out as 6 seperate 50 calorie increases with each meal.

These are two possible ways.

1. 5g protein, 5g carbs, 1g fat, (49 calories)

2. 5g carbs, 3-4g fat, (47-56 calories)

To bulk, you only really need an upper limit of 1.2g per lb of bodyweight with protein and 1.5g max, so I'd go for the first option to start, but when you next plateau if you think your protein is good, use option 2 or stick with option 1 for another time, then reassess next plateau.

You don't need to be jacking the calories up big time, as your body wouldn't use them all and you'd convert a lot of them to fat, the excess gradually becoming less over time, when your body would use more calories to bulk.

Too many people plataeu early on in the process and when they read what big guys eat they get tempted to copy it, when there is no need, as if they want to be that big, then they'll eat like that when the time comes.

If you're eating 5 times a day, use one of the two methods described, than add another meal in about 2-3 hours after the last, with 200-300 calories in it.

Hopefully that all makes sense :).
Fdsa
STARTING OUT
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 6:05 pm

Re: Should I gain muscle or loose weight?

Post by Fdsa »

Yes, makes sense thanks. I'll go for option one then and let you know how I get on!
Post Reply