In desperate need of some HELP! Ahhh

[acuratlman789]

I actually have a few questions that i would greatly appreciate if you would answer them.

First off I am trying to gain muscle mass while losing fat. I am at 9.8 percent right now but I want get around 6, mainly so u can see my abs without flexing. I am currently using the max ot program ( on the 6rd week) very low reps 4-6 for 2-3 sets, with about 2-3 exercises per muscle. I amalso stuck and not getting much gains, and havnt for over 8 months.... But here is the other problem, I am stuck at 165 pounds. I CANNOT get over that weight. a also cannot get below 9.8 percent body fat. I am stuck with both of these figures. I workout just like instructed on the max ot site as well as taking 100 percent whey protein. (ON's 100 percent insantized whey protein.) I take protein about 3 times a day as well as eating a very clean diet as in. a days food intake consists of Breakfast: Cereal or oatmeal, protein shake, banana/ then i workout and have another protein shake...lunch: Turkey sandwich (LOTS of turkey) on wheat, or pb and j on wheat, with 6-8 egg whites, and some water../ Dinner: some veggies either xtra lean beef, chicken, turkey, whole wheat pasta, chicken and brown rice, or something similar. and then a shake before I go to bed also I do max ot cardio every other day. If someone can tell me if I need to change my workout and or what I can do to shred this fat away. Thanks so much! Iv included some pictures I took about 3 months ago :-/. I look pretty much the same now.

.... Now, I am willing to try things like CLA 1000 and GABA as well as creatine (what is the best deal for the money but while still being quality stuff) if u really think that will help me with my goal of getting bigger while losing fat. But I want to stay natural . I truly only want to gain 10 15 pounds MAYBE 20 :-/ of muscle. I took some pictures so u would have something to work with. Thanks again for the help.

http://www.acurainspired.com/gallery/showalbum.php?aid=1623&uuid=204 (and remember im flexing hard as I can in these pics lol. (sad I know) Please help me out!!

 

[KIAN]

Welcome to EF

Your first question: Not possible.

You can retain and/or define mass while you reduce bodyfat but you cannot add mass. You have to decide whether you wish to bulk or cut but not both. If you want to add mass then say goodbye to your abs for a short time. The old bodybuilder's saying 'Abs on show ... muscles won't grow' is true. Continue eating clean. Keep your protein intake to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. Don't get carried away with your carbs and keep your fat levels to under 60 grams per day. Reduce your cardio and increase your weight training intensity. Once you get to a weight you are comfortable with, then gradually switch to a cutting phase. Increase your protein intake further. Decrease your carbs and increase your fat intake if necessary to make up the short fall. Increase your cardio activity. Ideally, try to do it first thing in the morning when you wake up for 30-60 minutes at a high intensity. Follow this with a healthy breakfast. During this cutting phase you will also have to lift heavy to retain the mass which you have.

During the whole bulking and cutting phases, you should keep a detailed record of your nutritional intake so that you can tweek it if necessary. If you don't have any of that information right now, then that should be your starting point. Always keep yourself properly hydrated too.

As to supplements, concern yourself with a quality protein source. Whey isolate pre and post workout. If you want to use creatine, purchase a pure monohydrate (not mixed) source or try CEE (creatine ethyl ester) as the absorption rate is greater without the tendency to 'bloat'.

________________________

KP -- Fitness Basics

 

[TheOak84]

actually, according to mke mentzer, you can add muscle and lose fat. the only thing is, adding natural muscle is a very slow process. 15 pounds of muscle a year is about .27 pounds of muscle a week, something you wont notice week to week, but every few months.

he also was saying that gaining fat to gain strength is pointless because you dont use the fat to push weight and intramuscular fat makes you weaker. your muscles cant contract as much if there is fat inbetween them.

so really, you can stay at a low bodyfat and gain muscle, very slowly.

or you can stay at a moderate bodyfat, and gain pure size (fat+muscle).

 

[BOOEY]

Doggrapp author Dante throws the whole idea of only being able to bulk and cut separately out the window. His theory was up in the stickys over at I-M but the bastard has taken them down. It made sense - and it made me question everything I was raised to believe about bulking and cutting.

The jist of it was to eat a little above maintenance, with most of the cals coming from protein, cutting the carbs off at 6pm and doing 4-5 days/week worth of cardio. He said he trained people naturally who gained muscle and lost bodyfat when subscribing to his method.

 

[rbtrout]

I think you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, if you're diet is correct. There's many people on both sides of the fence, though.
The basics are that if you want to gain size, you have to eat more calories than you burn in a day. When I want to put on some size, I usually a another meal to the list, instead of making all of the 5 bigger. I also usually make the meals about 2.5 hours apart. One thing to remember is don't add too many cals at one time or the body can store the excess as fat.
You have to lift heavy and I usually do HIIT training for cardio. A 2-3 month cycle like this and I've added about 15 pounds, while keeping my bf% the same. I have trouble being strict enough with my diet, though.
You might look into 5X5 training. It's good for muscle mass and strength.

 

[Madcow2]

The body can definitely do both at once. However, once you get into the low bodyfat regions this gets a lot harder to accomplish. The primary purpose of the body is to survive. If fat is already low and decreasing further, from a survival standpoint it would be the utmost in stupidity to increase calorically expensive muscle mass at a maximum rate (people with genetic predisposition to this died out long ago in famine #1). The body preceives 2 threats - one, it being unable to cope with workload (proper training which most people don't do but believe they do) and two, sustained lack of adequate food. If you are at 20% BF and drop to 15% that's one thing, going from 10% to 6% is quite another as you are into territory where most people's bodies do everything they can to cling to fat.

 

[BOOEY]

I think this whole aura around Bulking and Cutting comes from people wanting to emulate the pros. What people have to understand is that a pros way of putting on mass, and then eventually cutting, is going to be very different from the average joe's. First off, and most obvious, the average joe doesn't need to cut down to insane levels like 4% bodyfat for a contest. Secondly, pros usually live year to year. Meaning, they try to put on as much mass as possible for THIS year's contest - which is why they balloon up during the offseason. I'm sure if a pro planned years ahead, instead of contest to contest, they would subscribe to a method of slowly adding on quality pounds, with minimal bodyfat.

I think for an average person, the key is to cut down to a bodyfat which is desired, say 9-10% bf. Then little by little add lbm - which would be eating above maintenance with a high ratio of protein vs. moderate carbs and low fats. Second, continue to do cardio. If you can get in that right niche, you'll be able to put on muscle without fat. Now, finding that niche is pretty hard to do, but hey, this was never supposed to be easy.

rant over

 

[acuratlman789]

What do yall think about the suppliments iv listed? I dont want to waste my money but i dont want to be depriving my body of something htat i could be using to help reach my goal.. Oh and thanks for all the help so far

 

[acuratlman789]

???

 

[UA_Iron]

Gaining muscle and losing body fat at the same time seems very elusive...it is possible but only in the bigger picture. It revolves around 'net gains'. In a period of 1 year if you started at 165lbs and 9.8% then successfully bulked up to 190lbs at 13% then thats 35lbs gained - 25lbs of which will be muscle, 10lbs fat.

Then cutting down and to 184.4 - if you spare all the muscle then you'd be at 6%.

now that seems like a lofty goal...not nearly as outrageous as being able to bulk and cut at the same time. I am still skeptical of any training stimulus that says it can put muscle on you with a reduced calorie diet - even if it is possible it would be a very very small amount. Anyone got any studies backing up puting on muscle with a reduced calorie diet? Logically it doesnt make sense.

You need to look at the big picture of things - first bulk up. you'll gain some fat but so what? fat will come off with diet. This will require that you eat more than your maintenance and keep adjusting it with weight that you add.

Cutting - same thing, you'll lose some muscle mass but the fat will be coming off.

I would choose one or the other. Your bulking may be more effective if you cut down first and then bulk up- then cut down again.

This is realistic, what you're searching for is the holy grail.