Thread: Lean Bulk

You can't turn fat in to muscle. If you are wanting to gain mass then you either have to a.) suck it up and just accept the fat along w/ muscle gains and cut later. or b.) cut now and then try to gain muscle. or do a recomp. in which you eat a little over maintanance and hopefully a solid diet w/ cardio and heavy lifting will cause your body to burn fat while increasing muscle. It's hard to do and takes time.

Originally Posted by Davo

I am desperate to gain more muscle and mass. I am working hard in th gym but just cannot seem to shift my excess midrift flab. It is the only part that drags me back. I have always carried body fat and never have defined muscles but I am trying very hard this yr to crack that. any suggestions? i yearn for definition and some abs!

Firstly - have you checked out the sticky at the top of the page? "A guide to..."? It has a lot of information on diets that you should read.

Now - What do you mean by 'work hard in the gym'?? You could be working very hard, but it doesn't mean what you are doing is going to be effective... You need to train hard - but you also need to train 'smart'.

Also - what and how much you eat is going to determine how well you gain... And how much you should eat will be determined by your weight, body-fat %, age, activity level and goals in the gym.

So if you let us know a bit more about you (age, weight, height, bodyfat if you know it, how active you are etc etc) and if you also tell up about your diet (eg: type it out as accurately as you can - such as meal 1 - 3 eggs, half a cup of fibre 1, 3 oz milk etc etc) then we may be able to give you some advice.

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

Now - What do you mean by 'work hard in the gym'?? You could be working very hard, but it doesn't mean what you are doing is going to be effective... You need to train hard - but you also need to train 'smart'.

Emma you are an extremely bright and intelligent young lady. Nicely put.

OK - well I am 31, 12 stone and 5ft 10ins. I'm not sure about my body fat but I have : no ab definition but definition of sorts around my shoulders and chest. I say of sorts as it is good for me but in no way do i have the "Ripped" look that many of you lot have.

I've only been at the gym for 1 year and I follow a programme based on some knowledge from magazines and also some input from the gym instructors. When I say a am training hard I mean that I when I finish each set I really couldn't not do much more of that exercise.

My typical workout includes:

No Cardio
Squats
Arm Curls
Tricep Extension
Barl bell Chest Press
Pull Ups
Crunches
Lat Pull down
Lat raise
Shrugs

Thanks for listening

Dave

That's all in one session?

Yes - why do I fear I have made a mistake..! I am making the assumption the numbers on the weights are kg

Squats 40kg (incl bar) 3 sets of 10
Arm Curls 14kg (I assume 14 means kg) 3 sets of 10
Tricep Extension 20kg 3 sets of 10
Barl bell Chest Press 40kg (incl bar) 3 sets of 10
Pull Ups 30kg 3 sets of 10
Crunches - about 30 (less no doubt)
Lat Pull down 20kg 3 sets of 10
Lat raise 6kg 3 sets of 10
Shrugs 20kg 3 sets of 10

either I am trying to do to much or am not doing enough - hit me with it...

take the mags with a grain of salt. I really only trust one or two authors-Chris Aceto and Bill Pearl.

Magazine routines generally suck. Have you read any of the training stickies on this site? Your routine has a lot wrong with it.

OK - thanks for the feedback so - how can I improve it? Should I just read this site or are there any good articles out there?

Originally Posted by Davo

OK - thanks for the feedback so - how can I improve it? Should I just read this site or are there any good articles out there?

Absolutely start here. When you read the "champ's" routines, you're getting some ass-fried bullshit that an editor puts together with the ape. He's chemcially enhanced so anything he does will make him grow. Sorry to be so negative but jeez that's the truth.
There are good articles out there, like I said from Aceto and Pearl (being an old skool type of trainer), as well as your own experiences that dictate what works and what doesnt. I would really stick with something that encorporates bar/dumbell work and use compound exercises with the 6-8 and 8-10 rep range. Dont bite off more than you can chew, otherwise you'll overtrain. PM me for a routine and I will be more than happy to help.

and dont forget-your primary goal is really nothing more than nutrition. You need to lean out before you put on some mass. You cant do both-well, it's possible but VERY hard.

Originally Posted by Davo

OK - thanks for the feedback so - how can I improve it? Should I just read this site or are there any good articles out there?

There are a few threads you could start with - they will give you a better idea:

Designing full body routines
Designing a split routine

But your training can be near worthless if your diet is not on track.. So in regards to your nutrition - you didn't answer my questions... ?? What are you eating? When are you eating? How much? etc etc.

Thanks for the threads. My typical day is :

Breakfast - Porridge
Lunch - Thick Turkey sandwich or Chicken Salad Sandwich
Dinner - Beef Curry & Brown Rice or Tortellini with chicken & pesto sauce

I'll have variations on this basic theme. I don't think it's that bad. Or is it? I am woirking in an office and eating more regularly could be problematic. Thanks for your help

Dave

That diet is not optimal. No offense...but you really need to change it. You should be eating more frequently (6 meals rather than 3 large ones), and you should be concentrating on lean proteins, healthy carbs, and healthy fats.

Read the stickies at the top of the forum outlining a proper diet plan.

OK - I am on it - many thanks

I'm up to eating nine times a day. I never get hungry and I usually take in whole food with a few protein drinks to boot.

Thanks - what doe you mean by whole food?

non processed, close to nature

got it - thanks

best whole food for a bodybuilder by far is oatmeal (OF) and cottage cheese. There are others but these are in my diet daily at least 4 times a day. I go to Costco just to get a 9lb container of OF oats.

nice one - i love oats and will make sure that I get my fill of them - recently i have not been able to as i moved flat and i was missing breakfast at home and going to eat at work. i'm back on it now and will try eating them in the day also - thanks

Make sure you eat Old Fashioned and take it with some protein and fats. Actually mix some almond butter (about a tbsp) into the oatmeal.

OK thanks. I think I can't get that here in London - I'll have to settle for "Quaker Oats"

Those are whole oats.

and quaker makes OF.