Build Muscle / Become Toned

Discuss your weight training questions, concerns and tips!

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alexh132
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Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by alexh132 »

Hello,

I am a 19 year old who's been working out pretty consistently (4-5 per week) for about 5 months now. I used to weigh 145 lbs, and now I'm at 185 lbs. I have seen quite a bit of progress in terms of muscle growth but I've also seen a bit of an increase in fat. I don't look extremely large, per say, but I sort of have that bulky/muscular look. I pay attention to calories and I try to eat in a surplus. I have a high metabolism, so for me it's about 3,500 calories per day. I understand that muscle growth happens best when the body is in a caloric surplus, which is why I want to stay in a surplus while I'm working out. However, I don't want to get too chunky either. I have heard of body re-composition but I don't think I have quite enough body fat on me to make that work. overall goal is to be generally healthy. Optimally, I would have a muscular, slightly toned look at around 175-180 lbs.

Does anyone have any fitness advice? I can go more in depth into fitness program if necessary. Currently, I do a arm/shoulder/back day, a chest day, a leg day, and I repeat the program with a rest day in between.

I appreciate any advice greatly.
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Boss Man
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Re: Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by Boss Man »

Hi Alex, good to talk to you.

Can I just clarify; are you saying you've gained 40lbs of weight in just 5 months?
alexh132
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Re: Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by alexh132 »

Its been about 6 months now, and I've gained about 35. I would attribute about 5 lbs to water weight caused by creatine. A lot of the weight is muscle, but some is fat.
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Boss Man
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Re: Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by Boss Man »

One thing you could do is alter the carb to fat ratio.

You could reduce the carbs in each meal by 10g, which is 40 calories, then increase the meal by around 4-5 grams of fat, which is 36-45 calories, as then the body wouldn't get as much primary energy, so it might try to tap into secondary energy resouce which would be fat.

This could help mediate your current fat levels and give you a bit more control of how prevalent they become.
BryanMTech.Stud
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Re: Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by BryanMTech.Stud »

Hey Alex,

From what I can tell, it seems like you have a good general concept. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems like for your workout you do arms on day 1, shoulders on day 2, back on day 3, chest on day 4, and legs on day 5, then you take a rest day and repeat the process.

First of all, I’d recommend combining your workouts in such a way that you don’t have two consecutive days of upper body workouts or lower body workouts. In addition to that, its good to start with exercising the largest muscles first, and then work your way down to the smaller muscles.

For example, when working the upper body start with the upper torso (chest, upper back and shoulders), then the arms (biceps, triceps and forearms), and then abdominals, and finally the lower back. When working on the lower body, you’d start with hips, then the upper legs (hamstrings and quadriceps), and finally the lower legs (calves or dorsi flexors).

There are also a couple of tips to keep in mind when strength training to achieve maximum results.
1. Attempt to increase the resistance used or the repetitions performed every work out
2. Perform one set of each exercise to the point of muscle exhaustion
3. Perform each repetition with proper technique
This is very important because improper technique can lead to serious injury. In addition, keeping proper technique with a lighter weight is more beneficial than using a heavier weight with improper technique
4. Strength train for no more than one hour per workout
5. Perform no more than roughly 14 exercises each workout

It is also important to keep in mind that a balanced workout is key. From what you’ve said, it doesn’t seem like you do any cardiorespiratory activities. In the American College of Sports Medicine Guidelines for Exercise, it is recommended that adults do an average of 3-5 cardiorespiratory activities per week from moderate to vigorous intensity. However; if you are deconditioned it is recommended to start with light intensity. Moderate intensity is between 40%-59% of your HHR (Heart Rate Reserve), Vigorous intensity is 60%-89%, and light is 30%-39%.

HHR can be calculated by the following equation: [HHR = HR(max) – HR(rest)]. Calculating Maximum heart rate is easy, the fastest but less accurate way to predict your maximum heart rate is with the following equation: Predicted Maximum Heart Rate = 220 – (your age). For your purposes this is perfectly acceptable to use.

I apologize for the lengthy response but I hope this is of some use to you!
LisaSmith
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Re: Build Muscle / Become Toned

Post by LisaSmith »

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this but you could try supplements like Beta-Alanine and Citrulline Malate which will increase the amount of blood flow towards your muscles when you are exercising. Therefore this will help increase your pump and vascularity when you're working out. I personally used the ones from this website https://healthygymhabits.com/nutrition/ ... -for-pump/ and have found great results.

Although its not specifically helping you lose weight, Beta-Alanine and Citrulline Malate are supplements that will help you appear more vascular and cut (at least while you're at the gym). Try them out, you'd be surprised how much they can make a difference!
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