Thread: Need help New to building muscle

This is my first day but that is my plan so far and just wanted to mention I have goten my calories up to about 2600-2700 now, just had some more food.

First day and I think I have allready messed up!
I am 5 ft 10 133 lbs male 18 years old
I did upper body weight training today for about 70 mins and had about 2600-2700 calories, that is what a calorie calculator told me to have but when I checked my bmr it is only 1661!!! everyone here says if you exersize add 500 more calories to your BMR, I ate over 1000 because of that stupid calorie calculator on google!

Am I wrong? was I supposed to eat 2600 cals or am I suposed to eat about 2100? Please help me I am new at this and was very motivated and wanted to do this but I seem to be doing everything wrong

If you are trying to bulk up eat as much as you can. If you want to cut body fat just cut back on stuff like processed carbs and sweets.

I want to eat enough to bulk but not over the limit so I dont gain much BF%, I definately dont want to cut yet because I got nothing to cut to, I am skinny fat, no muscle in some places I can see my bones clearly.

Congrats on finally wanting to get into shape..

Eat 1.5 grams of protien per lbs of body weight.

^ thats the only rule for you at your age... eat whatever else you want till your full but make sure you get your protien in.

Of course choosing healthy sides will only add to your overall physique and well being like wheat carbs and cutting out sugar.

Just get your proten in, lift heavy and do your cardio....

Make sure you eat till your full 6 times a day.

Do I have to eat less on rest days? I am changing my workout a bit so I get 4 days a week or more working out,
Day 1: Chest/Triceps
Day 2: Legs/calves
Day 3: OFF or abs
Day 4: Back/Biceps/forearms
Day 5: OFF or cardio/abs
Day 6: Shoulders/traps
Day 7: OFF or abs

About hour workout on each one, maybe swap day 4 and six around, do I not need to carb cycle with this? Im not sure about cardio because I dont want to loose muscle or get much more skinier, want to bulk then cut at the right time, should I use my BMR+500 on workout days or the calorie calculator which says 2600 cals a day my BMR+500 comes to 2100 cals but thats because I dont weight much, should I eat the workout calories everyday with allitle less carbs or fats?

Should I be eating more carbs and less fats or more fats and less carbs on days off? also could you please help me the question above (should I alter calories on days off) and please tell me if the workout is okay for a beginner or a upper workout then lower workout is more suitable, thanks

Eat as much protein as you can. Whey is the best source there is next to whole food sources.
Advantage whey has over whole food is it is very easily digestible and fairly cheap. I drink at least 4 shakes a day to get 1/2 my protein from it.
Fats: don't skimp on fats, they are good for you.
Carbs: this is an individual thing. adjust carb intake up or down on how you feel and how your body composition reacts to carb intake.
Some people can eat tons of carbs and won't gain an once. Others look at carbs and blow up.

Originally Posted by suraj

(should I alter calories on days off)

Keep your protein at about 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of body weight.
Fats about 1/2 that. Adjust your carbs to make up the difference in calories. You'll probably find you can bump calories up some and still not put on much body fat if your protein and fat intake is high enough.

At 18 you would have no problem training more than 3 times a week. Spend more time in the gym and you will get want you desire.

Great, Thanks for all the help. do you have any ideas what my diet should be like? I mean including morning food and post workout I take in like 10 egg whites, isnt that bad?
People say eat porridge oats in the morning, how many should I have and should I make them with millk or water?
Dont have whey and dextrone at the moment, been told I can use scotts porridge oats with some honey and egg whites as substitiute for now, how much should I use of each (g oats, teasoons of honey and can I use milk or water) do oats contain simple carbs?
Is my diet okay so far and does it matter if I have weetabix instead of oats?

Thanks for all the help so far, very helpful.

Originally Posted by suraj

Dont have whey and dextrone at the moment

I wouldn't worry about dextrose. You can get plenty of carbs from whole food sources such as those you've mentioned. I'd get some whey as soon as you can. Between whey and whole food protein sources you'll make a huge difference in packing on lean mass providing you progressive resistance train.

Originally Posted by suraj

been told I can use scotts porridge oats with some honey and egg whites as substitiute for now, how much should I use of each (g oats, teasoons of honey and can I use milk or water) do oats contain simple carbs?
Is my diet okay so far and does it matter if I have weetabix instead of oats?

I guess it can be substituted. Never used it myself although I do eat allot of eggs and oatmeal as a whole food breakfast an hour after my morning whey shake.

Oats do contain allot of carbs but also allot of fiber and some protein so it is slower digesting than simple carbs.

How much should I eat, my BMR is 1661 and people say I should eat 1661+workout calories burnt+500 for muscle growth, so about 1661+300+500 for an hour workout, about 2400 cals???
Others have said my mantainance is 1200-1300 so I should eat 1900 on workout or 1600 on rest day, I dont know which one I should follow please help me.

Your BMR is 1661. Your level of activity is moderate (exercise 3-5X per week); therefore you need to multiply your BMR by a factor of 1.55. Even though you only workout 3X per week, you are 18, this means you are more active than a 30 year old computer programmer. Your daily caloric intake should be 2,574 to maintain body weight. If you want to gain weight, you need to add 500 calories, so you should be consuming in the neighbourhood of 3,000 calories.

Daily calories is not important, what you consume in a week is. So if you overeat one day, offset it the next day. This also goes with all your micros. If you only eat 100g of protein on monday, eat 200g on Tuesday. You want to try to stay consistant, but you're 18, you cannot let your diet control you life or you will fail. 40/30/30 is what I follow, but 40/40/20 will be fine too. I find I build more muscle on 30% fat.

Go to bodybuilding.com and look up these 5 exercises and find someone who will teach you proper form. Do these exercises for a year and you will gain 20lbs of muscle. Even if you have some fat on your frame, you will look great. I'm 38 and have been training off and on since I was 15. Even today I mainly do the core 5 and don't mess around with girly isolation exercises. I only do arm curls 1X per week, some weeks I do no isolation at all. You will put more muscle on your arms doing squats than if you only did arm curls every day.

Bench Press or Inclined DB Press
Bent over BB Row
Deadlift
Squat
Overhead Press

Day 1 (monday) Squat, overhead press, 3 sets, 10 Reps. (3X10)
Day 2 (Wednesday) Bench Press, BB Row, deads. (3X10)
Day 3 (Friday) Repeat day 1
Day 4 (could be Sunday or Monday) Repeat day 2
and so on...

Have at least 1 day rest between workouts. So if you train Sunday, go Tues, Thurs, Sat and back to Monday. If you miss a workout, no big deal, as soon as you get back in, rest a day and continue. If you miss a week, not big deal, get back in and go hard for a month. Periodic layoffs will not hurt you (as long as it's not several weeks in a row)

Each days starting exercise should start with 3 warm-up sets, then 3 working sets. when you move to excersise 2, one warm-up set should be sufficient, unless you don't feel like you are sufficiently warmed up.

After 6-9 months of dedicated training. Switch to 5X5. You will see explosive growth and strength on this program. You are not even close to ready to start this program now and if you do, you will not fully benefit. 5X5 is 5 reps X 5 sets, 3 warm-up sets for your first Exercise, so for squat on day 1, you will do a total of 8 sets (5 working).

The other guys have already said, 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, lean towards 1.5 or go 2 grams per kilo.

I Joined my first "real gym" when I was 16. I took in protein powder when all that was available was shitty tasting weider in a 1lb can. I did not notice any result until about 3 months and then the next 3 months were dramatic...

Keep it simple, eat good quality food (no hydrogenated oils), use protein powder after each workout and before bed. Take a multi vitamin and fish oil. Ignore all the bullshit you read in magazines and on the internet. Some supplements work, but the cost benefit for most is not worth it. You need zero supplement except protein and muti vitamin for the first 2 years. When you plateau, you can can experiment with the best rated supps.

I have spent a small fortune on supplements as many here have. We will all tell you to put your money towards good food. With the exception of protein, fish oil and a muti vitamin, most other supps will be money down the toilette at your level. Buy the cheapest protein you can find from a reputable company. If whey concentrate upsets your stomach, buy something with isolates mixed in, but if the cheap stuff works for you, stick with it. You can get a 20lb box of whey concentrate off ebay for $99. That will last you 4-6 months if mixed with milk...

I've just provided you with 80% of what the average guy figures out in 10 years. Now get bussy...

P.S. Don't even think about gear or pro hormones, until you are late into your 20's or into your 30's and have a reall good reason to use them. Just about any guy on here would trade is gear for your natural levels...

Great advice, Just what I needed Thank you very much

Originally Posted by suraj

Great advice, Just what I needed Thank you very much

I was once your age and I have a 16 year old who is just getting started. I know what it's like. You want to have the body that "that guy" does. What you also need to realize is you may not have "that guys" genetics. My genetics are shit, but by the time I was 23, 163 lbs, I was squating 3 plates a side for 5 reps. A lot of the 200lb guys in the gym with 18" arms could not do it.

I was 5'7" and 160lbs when I was 18; 20% BF. At 23, I was 5'8", 163lbs and 8% BF. If I knew half of what I just told you, I would have been 185lbs and 8% BF, that is a huge difference. 14" arms to 16 or 17. I was also constantly injuring myself by working harder than all the others.

Back in the day, low fat was the thing, I was eating 5% fat. I didn't know until my mid 20's how bad this was, the research was not conclusive in my teens and early 20's...

Frozen bags of green peas, "natural" peanut butter and 100% sprouted grain bread are your best friends. All 3 are packed with protein, they all have big time fibre and the Peanut butter has a lot of good fats. When I'm not dieting, I eat 2 table spoons of peanut butter with 2 slices of Squirrelley Bread. That's 18 grams of protein and 14 grams of fibre. Add in a large Apple and you have 2/3rds of your daily fibre requirements. Eat 3 cups of green peas with dinner and you have almost your entire days requirement of fibre. The average Westerner consumes 1/3rd the daily reqirement.

Other foods, Whole Egg, 1% or 2% milk, Apples (1-2 every day), other nuts and mixed greens. I eat a lot of pistchios. 45 kernals or 1/4 cup (unshelled) is 171 calories, 6 gms of protein, 14 gms of good fat and 3gms of fibre. What ever meet you want as long as it's not processed (lunch meat is shit), I'm not a fan of pork, but will eat the loin once and a while

One serving of deep fried chicken wing and 2 pints of Guinness is over 1,000 calories. Drink the Guinness, skip the chicken wings...

If you are trying to bulk up eat as much as you can.

involve in more compound exercise

Everything is more or less covered in Vancouver's post. I just wanted to congratulate you on posting in the Diet and Nutrition section rather than the Supplements or Anabolic Zone like most other dipsh*ts would. Well done and good luck