Hi everyone,

I've posted this in the beginners section because, whilst I have been training for 2 years, I am not really sure where to go now.

I am 6' 1" and weigh 170lb. I'm 25. I went to university 6 years ago and put a lot of weight on very quickly (up to 240lb at heaviest). I dropped this weight and have been between 170 and 180 ever since. Unfortunately this has left me with stretch marks (although not too bad). Not sure about my body fat %, although my waist is 31", which I think makes it pretty low. I am quite muscular, but only in certain areas (arms, thighs for some reason). I've posted up a couple of pretty crappy photos.

What do you guys think I need? And from the awful photos, what do you think I need to work on? And any guesses on bf%?

Cheers

You are very lean. I would bulk. As for body fat %, probably around 11% or anywhere in lower teens.

Hi everyone,

I've posted this in the beginners section because, whilst I have been training for 2 years, I am not really sure where to go now.

I am 6' 1" and weigh 170lb. I'm 25. I went to university 6 years ago and put a lot of weight on very quickly (up to 240lb at heaviest). I dropped this weight and have been between 170 and 180 ever since. Unfortunately this has left me with stretch marks (although not too bad). Not sure about my body fat %, although my waist is 31", which I think makes it pretty low. I am quite muscular, but only in certain areas (arms, thighs for some reason). I've posted up a couple of pretty crappy photos.

What do you guys think I need? And from the awful photos, what do you think I need to work on? And any guesses on bf%?

Cheers
Welcome. :)

You've got a great physique! Awesome shoulders.

I would probably go on a clean and slow bulk if I were you. However, it's really up to you and you should do what you want. :)

Congratulations to you on your success so far!

Thanks, really appreciate the compliment. It’s been a long road but definitely worth it.
I’ve got a few questions which I hope you can answer if you have time. I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, use mainly compound exercises splitting upper body/lower body. Routine goes
Day 1: Upper body
Day 2: Lower body
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper Body
Day 5: Lower body
Would you suggest changing the routine? On upper body days I do bench presses, dips, chin ups, pull ups, lat pull downs, military presses, one arm rows and compound rows. Generally 3 x 9/8/7 at about 75% of my one rep max. Lower body days are squats, leg presses and lunges.
And any ideas for diet in terms of calories and protein/fat/carb splits?
Thanks

Thanks, really appreciate the compliment. It’s been a long road but definitely worth it.
You're welcome, but I was just stating the obvious! :tucool:

I’ve got a few questions which I hope you can answer if you have time. I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, use mainly compound exercises splitting upper body/lower body. Routine goes
Day 1: Upper body
Day 2: Lower body
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Upper Body
Day 5: Lower body
Would you suggest changing the routine?
Considering my split looks almost just like this, NO, I would not suggest changing it. :D

Actually, it's up to you really. If you've been doing this for a while and want to change it, then that's totally fine.

On upper body days I do bench presses, dips, chin ups, pull ups, lat pull downs, military presses, one arm rows and compound rows. Generally 3 x 9/8/7 at about 75% of my one rep max. Lower body days are squats, leg presses and lunges.
I WOULD probably change the exercises though. Take that lower body day and add in low back work (pullthroughs, hyperextension, reverse hyper, etc.), possibly calves, and some ab work.

For a very simple change you can take one upper/lower day and go heavy weight, low volume (2-3 sets of only 4-6 reps for example), then take the other upper/lower days and do a little bit more sets/reps and use lighter weight. You could also change the exercises used on each day. For example, pullups on one day but lat pulldowns on another, flat bench press on one day but decline bench press on another, deadlifts on one day but squats on another. Etc.

Just throwing out a few ideas. :)

And any ideas for diet in terms of calories and protein/fat/carb splits?
Thanks
Bulking?

What's your current diet look like? In terms of cals/pro/carb/fat/etc.? Wanting to change this? How long have you been doing it?

Hey Ashie, here's a workout similar to what I described (different rep ranges on each day, 4-day upper/lower split). I don't really love all of the exercises used, but there may be some good ideas in here: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beast30.htm

Going to change my splits to the program you suggested and see how that goes. Been doing my current program for so long, think my body (and me) are bored of it!

As for my diet, it's around 2500 cal a day, 40/45/15 protein/carb/fat. Should probably be taking in more fats, but fear of being a lard-ass again scares me a bit:)

Going to change my splits to the program you suggested and see how that goes. Been doing my current program for so long, think my body (and me) are bored of it!

As for my diet, it's around 2500 cal a day, 40/45/15 protein/carb/fat. Should probably be taking in more fats, but fear of being a lard-ass again scares me a bit:)

Hi ashie. If you'd like to bulk, I'd recommend more than 2500 cals a day given your current stats. Try maybe 3200 to start and see how that goes for a while - adjust accordingly. Also, don't be afraid of fat in your diet. Fat doesn't necessarily make you fat;) I would personally increase your fat ratio, but that's because I love peanut butter:eat: