I’ve been contemplating starting a workout regimen for a while, and have recently started to become very motivated. I had surgery last month, so I can’t work out for another two weeks or so, but was hoping to begin sorting out a workout regime, and learning up regarding what I should be doing.

I’m currently 18 years old, just under 6 feet tall, and 195 pounds. I was always pretty thin until I was about 16, when I stopped playing all sports in order to focus on school. I gained quite a bit of weight during that period, but did end up in my dream school, it was a trade off I don’t really regret J. I’m currently taking a year off from school as I want to get back into shape before I go to school, because I know I won’t have the time to get fit there, merely a maintenance regimen will be possible.

My goal is to bulk up, but I would like to eventually have toned legs and glutes. I’ve seen a lot of people with really big legs and I just don’t find it visually appealing. I would like a strong, but cut upper body. I’m very inclined towards being cut, rather than bulky. Similar to the way John looked through his progression.

I haven’t even the slightest clue where to start with this, I’ve been doing a lot of reading and have heard that if you’re trying to bulk up you should stay away from cardio. Due to the fact I am marginally overweight, would it be a good idea for me to run 10 kilometres a day 3 days a week, and hit the gym 3 days a week? I’d like to get in some cardio as near the end of the year when I’m trying to get “cut” I’d like to be able to sustain myself through long runs, or even through long duration HIIT.

I have about eleven months before I head back to school, and if I could look like John did after 6 months I’d be more than satisfied ;) I’m a lot thinner than he is in his original pictures, but not at an amicable weight by any extent of the imagination.

Does anyone possibly have a direction they can guide me in as to what I should do? I’m confused about whether I should do cardio and bulking up at the same time, and what I should do regarding meals. Should I be eating a low calorie diet considering I have ample fat on me now to work with for bodybuilding? Or should I try and go with a high calorie diet. Also, should I be using any supplements?

How advisable is it to invest the money to work out with a trainer? They’re pretty expensive, but if it could yield results I’d be more than willing to invest the money. I’m just mainly wondering is it possible that if someone reads up regarding working out, are they capable of setting up their own regimens and just saving the money on a trainer?

Also, one other point of concern for me is diet. I'm unfortunately not the best cook, and with both my parents being very busy with their jobs my mom doesn't cook too often. I was wondering if there's any ready made, or easy to make meals that would work well with someone who is trying to get fit. I'm going to try and get a bit better at cooking, but anything to hold me in the meantime would be great.

Any help that anyone is willing to give me is greatly appreciated; I’m still researching and have found these forums to be extremely useful. I’m hoping within the next two weeks I can be well on my way to a physical transformation.

I'm just mainly wondering is it possible that if someone reads up regarding working out, are they capable of setting up their own regimens and just saving the money on a trainer?

Welcome to our little club! Although, some peoeple here are trainers and some are nutrionalists. Okay, now onto my advice.

You have two conflicting goals: bulking and cutting. Have your body fat checked. You can do it yourself using calipers, or have a professional (trainer, doctor, etc) do it. Or, you can post a shirtless picture of yourself in the media gallery and people will estimate it if you ask. But, if you are low (under 15%) then bulk. If you are high (over 15%) then cut. Once you hit a certain size, you switch to the other. I would cut first based off your suggestion. In the time frame (11 mos), you should be able to do a cut, then bulk, and then cut up until school starts. So, I'd cut for a month or two or three (really just until your body fat is low, around 12%) and then bulk for 6 months, and then cut for the rest. But, that's up to you and your body.

Bulking, cutting, and maintenance is primarily determined by your diet. And then by your exericse. Here's your diet stats for cutting, based on the Testoserone Advatange Plan book. You can search the forum for the equation if you search for TAP.
Maintain weight: 3218 calories
Lose 1 lb per week: 2718 calories

Protein: 195 g, 780 calories (mostly lean meat - chicken, etc)
Carbs: 242 g, 969 calories (all complex carbs, eat them almost all before 5:00 pm, e.g. whole wheat bread, oatmeal, etc; only simple carbs in your PWO shake)
Fat: 108 g, 969 calories (all polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, minimal saturated fats, no trans fats. think fish, almonds, olive oil, etc)

Keep your diet to these numbers, exercise as prescibed and you will lose fat. And, everytime your diet goes down by 10 lbs you should recalculate the numbers (Roughly 150 calorie drop). Dropping faster than 1 lb per week will cut muscle.

On to the workout. Don't worry about putting on bulk at this point. You won't put on much size while cutting, but you will be adding muscle. Also, you want strong legs. The legs have tons of muscle in them.

So, here's your workout plan:
Sets x Reps = 3 x 12
Rest for Compound Lifts: 1 minute
Rest for Isolation Lifts: 30 seconds

C stands for compound lifts, I stands for isolation. Compound lifts are, by far the most important.

Monday: Legs/Abs - 15 Sets Total
C Full Squats
C Romanian Deadlifts
C Walking Lunges
I 1-Legged Calf Press
I Weighted Crunches

Wed: Back/Biceps - 15 Sets Total
C Deadlifts w/ Shrug
C Pull-ups
C Bent-over Rows
I Lower back extensions
I Barbell Curls

Friday: Chest/Triceps - 12 Sets Total
C Incline Bench Press
C Flat Bench Press
C Dips
I Triceps Extension (Skull Crushers)
I Wood Choppers

Tues, Saturday: HIIT 20 - 30 minutes
Thursday: Steady State Cardio - 40 minutes
Sunday: Rest

Good luck.

I can't help you much with cooking, but here goes:
For Carbs: Salads, Frozen Veggies, Bread, and Oatmeal are easy
For Fats: EV Olive oil goes on tons of stuff, Almonds are easy
For Protein: Protein shakes, low-fat cottage cheese, and chicken are fairly easy.

Take a look at the recipe forum for some help, and look for some 5 ingredient or less type cookbooks. They are easy, but you will have to filter out the good and bad recipes. Also, learn to read labels really well!

Good luck, and keep us updated with your progress!

Wow, thanks for all the information. I'm actually just headed out the door right now to take my dad out for his birthday dinner, but I'll read through it as soon as I get home.

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond so thoroughly :)

I'm not sure how helfpul this would be, but I'm currently using the Steven Creek BF estimator (http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/pi.cgi) and I'm coming up with the following info:

Estimate #1 based on height and weight
Your "Ponderal Index" is 12.26 which gives an estimated body fat of 28.4% (55.1 pounds of fat)

Estimate #2 based on waist size and weight
Estimated body fat of 13.8% (26.8 pounds of fat)

I'd say the first one sounds more accurate, as I have a good friend who's pretty skinny and is about 150 pounds. I'd say it's at least around 25% current BF.

How is the progress for 1 lb a week being lost? It seems like a rather small amount, or am I trying to keep it down to a number like that? Not questioning your knowledge of the subject, merely curious. :)

Where do you typically find all the information regarding calories? I was in the store today and the chicken I was looking at didn't contain any details regarding how many calories it had, how much protein etc it had. And if I'm eating something which has 350 calories for instance, and it has 10% protein, I'd assume that's 35 calories of protein? or am I missing something?

For simple carbs for my shake, what would be some good examples of them?

To clarify, after I lose 10 lbs, so if I'm 195 now, once I'm 185 I'll begin to eat 150 less calories a day? or 150 more?

When it comes to the types of fats in foods, is there any site you possibly know of which can list off some common foods and what type of what they have in them? I'll basically be having chicken every night from the way it looks, going to have to get creative with it ;) Not a big fan of fish.

As I haven't worked out in a while I was thinking of going for the first 6-9 weeks with the "couch to 5k running plan" (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml) from Coolrunning.com. I'll probably consolidate the first three weeks into one, as I'm not in *that* bad shape ;). I just doubt I could effectively complete HIIT for now.

Also, what's the best method of doing HIIT? I have a pretty good treadmill at home and typically like to run on that as it's close to my TV, and running out here is going to be tough soon (live in Western Canada, so it gets pretty cold here).

Also, should I take in more calories on days im weight training? or was the total you gave me there for days I'm weight training. Furthermore, should I be using protein shakeson the days I'm working out? or wait till I've slimmed down a bit?

How is the progress for 1 lb a week being lost?

The progress will be good. If you go over 1 lb to 1.5 lbs per week of weight loss, you risk losing muscle. You want to maintain the muscle otherwise your metabolism will slow, making it easier for you to gain weight in the future. So, shoot for 1 lb per week and if you go 1.5 its cool, and if you go .5 its cool. Some people can lose 2 lbs per week without losing muscle, but it varies by person. As you learn more and as you start to lose, you will figure out what your body is capable of.

Where do you typically find all the information regarding calories?

There are a number of ways. If you live in America, all food is pretty much required to have the nutrional information printed on it. Otherwise, head over to fitday.com and sign up for a free account. You can track your diet intake there. Also, sites like calorie king and diet-data.com have nutrional information for foods.

For simple carbs for my shake, what would be some good examples of them?

It depends on what you can stand in them. Personally, I just have skim milk + protein and then a pack of fruit snacks (pure sugar). Look at the nutrition forum and the recipe forums for ideas. People use gatorade, dextrose, and a whole bunch of other stuff. The real key is to put no fat in it because fat will slow absorbtion of protein into the body.

To clarify, after I lose 10 lbs, so if I'm 195 now, once I'm 185 I'll begin to eat 150 less calories a day?

That's roughly correct. Here is the forumula I used:
Weight is in lbs. Metabolic rate (the 0.5) is based off age and activity level. The choices are 0.2 for low, 0.3 for avg, and 0.5 for high. High = young (under 24), and working out 3+ times per week.

Total Calories:
(Weight * 11) + (Weight * 11 * 0.5) = Maintenance Calories
Maintenance Calories + 500 = gain 1 lb per week
Maintenance Calories - 500 = lose 1 lb per week
Maintenance Calories - 1000 = lose 2 lbs per week (but 2000 cals is lower limit for men)

Nutrional Breakdown:
Protein (in grams) = Weight * 1
Protein (in calories) = Protein in grams * 4
Carbs (in calories) = (Total Calories - Protein in Calories) / 2
Carbs (in grams) = Carbs in calories / 4
Fat (in calories) = (Total Calories - Protein in Calories) / 2
Fat (in grams) = Fat in calories / 9

Using these will give you your total calories per day, and the breakdown in grams and calories of how the fat/protein/carbs should break up. When you lose 10 lbs (you can do 5 if you want), then plug your weight back in and recalculate. It is about 165 less and that gets cut from fat and carbs. Protein always stays at 1 g per lb.

When it comes to the types of fats in foods, is there any site you possibly know of which can list off some common foods and what type of what they have in them?

Try the nutrional forum and you can get a book if you want. Also, google will yield a lot of results as will the nutrional labels.

Also, what's the best method of doing HIIT?
It's actually easier to do on a treadmill or elliptical. Since you watch tv while running, use the commercials. Run at a constant pace (60-70% max heart rate) for the show, and alternate high (90% max heart rate) and low (60% max heart rate) during the commercials. For example, if you run 6 mph normally, up it to 9 during the first commercial, back down to 6 during the second, up to 9 during the third, and back down during show. John has some good HIIT notes in his logs.

Also, should I take in more calories on days im weight training? or was the total you gave me there for days I'm weight training. Furthermore, should I be using protein shakeson the days I'm working out? or wait till I've slimmed down a bit?

You want to keep it pretty consistent and you want to "make" the diet numbers. I consider making it within 100 calories above or below. Use protein shakes as post workout, and then only if you can't make protein requirements for a day. Keep that protein at 1 g per lb. Don't worry about it if you go over so much for protein. For example, even if I hit my protein intake before my workout, I still have a PWO shake w/ protein in it.

Monday: Legs/Abs - 15 Sets Total
C Full Squats
C Romanian Deadlifts
C Walking Lunges
I 1-Legged Calf Press
I Weighted Crunches

Wed: Back/Biceps - 15 Sets Total
C Deadlifts w/ Shrug
C Pull-ups
C Bent-over Rows
I Lower back extensions
I Barbell Curls

Friday: Chest/Triceps - 12 Sets Total
C Incline Bench Press
C Flat Bench Press
C Dips
I Triceps Extension (Skull Crushers)
I Wood Choppers

Tues, Saturday: HIIT 20 - 30 minutes
Thursday: Steady State Cardio - 40 minutes
Sunday: Rest


No Shoulders?

Is there any chance you know a good book where I can get a start regarding the nutrition aspect?

Also, I signed up for ediets as a recipe source.

When I go to their page it says

Search by Nutrittion
Looking for:
------ (food name here, ie: chicken)
with less than:
calories /serving
% calories from fat
protein g. /serving
total fat g. /serving
carbs g. /serving

Lets say I wanted dinner with say...500 calories. How would I know how much of that should be calories from fat, and how much protein, total fat, and carbs in grams per serving using your numbers?

Sorry for all the questions, and I appreciate your help greatly :)

No Shoulders?

Shoot! I must have cut them out when I was putting it up. That's what I get for writing it sick at 11:30 at night on cold medicine.

Friday: Chest/Triceps/Shoulders/Abs - 18 Sets Total
C Incline Bench Press
C Flat Bench Press
C Dips
C Shoulder Press
I Triceps Extension (Skull Crushers)
I Wood Choppers

I'd start tracking your diet with Fitday. You will learn what you need to prepare for dinner based on what nutrional requirements you meet and what ones you fall short on. If I am going to have food later (like a protein shake), I put it in early in the day. That way when I get home, I know right about what I'll need and what I'm getting. I often end up having chicken w/ olive oil and then green beans w/ olive oil for dinner. It's pretty low carb, high protein, and moderate fat.

Today I had 4 meals and 30g protein shake in the morning, and 30g again in the evening before bed, and I'm only getting up to 1800 calories :S Any tips on how I can try and boost it up a bit? Or is that not bad?

Yeah, the one thing I forgot to put in my post(s). Eat 6 meals per day. It is a lot easier to hit calorie amounts then. Also, it will turn your body into a furnace (metabolism boost) because you'll be digesting food all the time.

So, it was roughly 2700 calories. Over 6 meals that is 450 calories per meal. That's not that hard to do. If you can get to 2600, consider yourself pretty much at your goal. My tip is to look at what you need in your macronutrient breakdown. Carbs? Fat? Protein? Then design a simple meal that will best fulfill those needs.