I've gotten out of shape, and frankly im disgusted with myself. I really want to get toned, but basically what John is now. I want to know what he has to say, cause he would have done it over.

Right now, I'm 5'10" 157 lbs...19 years old. I just started doing 2 miles every other day, and I'm hitting the gym 3 times a week...2 exercises, 5 sets of each per muscle group. But what should I really do? I need to muscle up, and it looks like my chest is uneven (i feel more strength in my right side than i do in my left)

HELP!
http://www.jafshari.com/bodybuilding/front.jpg
http://www.jafshari.com/bodybuilding/side.jpg
http://www.jafshari.com/bodybuilding/back.jpg

Not sure what you should do, but I can offer an opinion.

You don't look like you've got a lot to lose, fat-wise (you're being kinda hard on yourself man).

I bet if you started bulking up and eating clean, the losing fat part will almost take care of itself.

Yeah, I agree with Brownguy, I would bulk up and then if you havent already lost the extra body fat you could do a quick cutting phase.

You dont have a whole lot of muscle mass and if you started cutting now, before long you would look like a drug addict :)

With your chest, everybody has body parts where one side is better than the other. You look at yourself and you think its really obvious but other people probably wouldnt even notice. Just work it with dumbells and concentrate on your weaker side and before long it should even out.

Marcus

I agree with everyone so far. Hit the gym and build up those muscles. If you are eating good then you are bound to loose some fat in the process. I am 5'10" at 176 lbs (2 weeks ago I was 186) and I wish my body shape was at your stage now. You definitley have a great base to build on!

id say both!

eat enough calories to promote lean muscle mass.. but not enough to grow like crazy.. but just enough not to promote fat growth

kind like a cuttingbulk diet :)

I agree with the others, you don't need to lose anymore total weight. I'm 5'10" and I weigh 198 lbs, more than 40 higher than you. You are well below what I would consider my end weight goal of 170 or so. What is your body fat%, this should be more an indicator of what you should do. Mine is 27%, so I currently have over 50 lbs of pure fat on me. Check what yours is. From pictures you are way below 27%.

Whatever workout system you choose to do make sure you track your bodyfat % and weight everyday and check that your lean mass is staying the same or going up while your fat mass is dropping. If this isn't happening alter your workout and diet.
Good luck!

I agree with the others, you don't need to lose anymore total weight. I'm 5'10" and I weigh 198 lbs, more than 40 higher than you. You are well below what I would consider my end weight goal of 170 or so. What is your body fat%, this should be more an indicator of what you should do. Mine is 27%, so I currently have over 50 lbs of pure fat on me. Check what yours is. From pictures you are way below 27%.

Whatever workout system you choose to do make sure you track your bodyfat % and weight everyday and check that your lean mass is staying the same or going up while your fat mass is dropping. If this isn't happening alter your workout and diet.
Good luck!

How do i measure my body fat?

How do i measure my body fat?

At the end I quote John Stone's FAQ page he mentions three ways to check BF %.
http://www.johnstonefitness.com/html/faq.html

I suggest you read that entire page.

I use the first method, a scale that does electrical impedence, they vary in price from $40 to $80. It is not as accurate, but it is good to get a trend. If the number keeps going down every morning you know that you are reducing the amount of fat you have.

Don't just check what your weight and BF% is each day, actually write it down. And do the multiplication to see what your lean mass and fat mass are. Track both and make sure the fat is going down and the lean mass is not. (e.g. you are 157 lbs, if you have 15% BF than you have 24bls of fat and 133 lbs of lean mass. every morning track the numbers, this is really easy with excel). If you don't have access to a computer each morning than just put a notebook and pen next to your scale and write down the info.

from John Stone's FAQ
Q: How do you measure your body fat?

I check my body fat percentage 3 different ways, then I average the results. (below links open new browsers)

First, I bought a Taylor BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) body fat scale. They are not very expensive, and can be found at retailers such as Target. Most BIA scales tend to read a bit high when measuring body fat (especially when measuring athletic individuals), but they are good for tracking relative changes.

I also use a set of digital body fat calipers which I purchased for about 30 bucks.

The third way I check my fat is using Heath Central's online body fat calculator. You'll need a good soft tape to take your measurements. You can't beat the MyoTape.

Once I have the results from all three of those methods, I just add them up and divide by 3, then round the result to the nearest whole number.

At some point I will have my body fat percentage tested professionally so I can see how close my personal method is to the "truth". Many people have told me that based on my pictures I look pretty close to what I'm reporting.