Please help an 18 year old novice!

J

Julain

New Member
Hey guys, I just turned 18 and have started my first year of Uni. I've finally managed to land a part time job that will be used to support my bodybuilding ambitions.

I am 100% new to the world of BB, and as such am finding it a bit overwhelming to see so much information on the web, particularly the large amount that is contradictory. This seems like a respectable place to go to with my questions so I'd be tremendously thankful for any and all support you guys have to offer me
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I am 18 years old, 6'2, 195 lbs. I have been physically inactive for over 2 years now and have managed to put on a belly as well as develop moderately large "manboobs". My arms and legs are pretty big too; my biceps are easily pushed inwards, and my calfs are jiggly when I am sitting down and easy to push in when I'm standing up.

I haven't figured out any of my maxes yet.

I am not looking to becoming a bodybuilder or a powerlifter. My main goals are to get rid of the over-sized belly, build abs, eliminate the disgusting manboobs, get rid of the fat on my arms and legs while simultaneously putting on mass/muscle and working my back and chest.

I'm looking to eventually end up with something like this: http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=Marce...w=185&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:86



I've heard people say that I should go the route of HST while others say that 5x5 is the best way to start. I am very confused. Where do I start?

Do I need to start with cutting? If so, would HST be good for that? I don't have a lot of strength so I don't know if it's right for me just yet. Please help :)

Thank you!
 
Well, I clicked the picture of what you want to look like. Since apparently you want to be scrawny like little guy in the picture, I'd start with cutting. Don't be surprised if your goal changes as you grow to something somewhat larger than that little gymnast guy in the picture. I've been there myself. Originally my goal was to get to 180 lbs. Then it became 200 lbs... and well, it keeps going. But that's fine, it's good for you to keep setting new goals for yourself. Never settle for anything, always reach for more. That's how you will succeed in these endeavors.

Anyway, continuing... HST, when set up correctly, is ideal for cutting. I would not do 5x5 for cutting even though 5x5 technically could be considered a variation of HST. I think it will be too hard on your lower back while on reduced calories. So stick with HST. As for your concern that you do not have a lot of strength... uh, well, neither did I when I started HST and I ended up doing alright. HST will help you grow stronger. While it's main goal is not strength, it will happen anyway simply due to increases in neural coordination and also due to an increase in the cross sectional area of your muscle fibers which just so happens to be one of the main side effects of HST training. Since you are new, you will gain strength rapidly for the first while simply due to neural adaptations.

One caveat: You are not going to simultaneously put on significant mass anywhere while losing bodyfat regardless of what routine you use. The good thing is that since you are previously inactive, you will likely put on at least some mass while cutting due to the newbie effect, but don't bank all your hopes and dreams on this - it won't last. So what we need to do is take it a step at a time. No point in bulking if you are carrying around too much bodyfat, so let's get rid of that first. After that, we can focus on adding more mass. Also, diet will be the paramount thing here. HST will do it's job but only if you have a proper diet. check out the sticky thread Dialing up HST for a cut then come back to this thread and we will get your routine and diet hammered out.

I'm assuming you know how to do all the core lifts? We only need a basic routine for cutting. You will want to work on some cardio as well but I don't think you need a ton of cardio at first. Basic HST without going crazy on the volume will be sufficient. Also, realize that you won't turn into Brad Pitt from Fight Club overnight. This process will take a while. Cutting bodyfat can take 3-6 months depending on how lean you need to get and how much fat you are carrying. So be patient. You will reach your goals if you dedicate yourself to putting in the time necessary to make the changes to your body that you desire.
 
Okay!! Thank you very much for your wonderful post and the link to the thread, it was a great read!

I just want to make sure I have everything figured out correctly, if not, please correct me: I will not be doing the 15s, only the 10s and 5s. I workout 3x a week. The first 2 weeks are 10s, the second to weeks are 5s and then the third is a repeat of either one since the goal isn't to get stronger, just to maintain the strength I already have? I should try to do cardio twice a week (during the 3 normal training days, NOT off days) and if I do I can take in slightly more calories. Less calories= more protein intake and vice-versa. I don't know what 5RM is though (5 rep max?). It would be great if there was a place where I could figure out all HST-related abbreviations.

And I should be using fitday.com to track my calorie intake.

Now all I gotta do is get a routine and diet plan figured out. What do you suggest?

Thank you!
 
I read the "Dialing up HST for a cut" thread and re posted in this thread yesterday and am a bit curious as to why it hasn't been made visible yet by the mods. If something went wrong and I need to retype it out, please let me know and I will do so.

Thank you!
 
I am also new here and I also cant understand whats going on here. In which topic I have to rply and where I have to post my problem. I want to get information about my diets and health care. Please help me figure this out.
 
I am new here and have found it fairly straightforward

I would post your diet question up on the Diet and Nutrition part of the forum. I am not sure with regard to health care it will dependent on your question

You can do a lot of research on here and elsewhere regarding diet and working out a basic diet is not that hard (most people know what it is good for them and which foods to avoid). If you try to eat clean 90% of the time. First you will need to work out your your daily calorie requirements will be for Maintenance (I.e. Neither gaining nor losing weight) bulking (putting on weight) or cutting (losing BF) then you will need to calculate your macro nutrients. Once you get that dialled in then it is just a case of working a diet around those nutrient splits. The starting point seems to be 40% carbs 40% Protein 20% Fat (limiting sat fat to 33% of that 20%) If Bulking then you get more calories per gramme by fat than with carbs so do not take the illustrative split above as the holy grail. it is case of making tweaks to those splits to suit you personally and then re adjusting as you go along.

I tend to go off and try and find the answer and if I cant or only find part of the answer then i'll post up my specific query and generally you will get a few responses in around 24 hours (for me as I am in the UK and there is a time difference with some members)
 
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