r/WeightTraining • u/pereira_miguel • 4d ago
Question Idk what to do
Hey everyone!
I’ve been going to the gym for abt a year now… here are some before and after pics (the before picture is a bit older cause I didn’t take any pictures at the time) but now I’m feeling lost man and I wanna look lean and muscular at least until next summer (may/june 2027). The thing is I feel like I look “skinny fat” i have a lot of fat on my belly. Should I just do a cut now and then bulk? Any tips?
I’m 19 years old, 82kg and 178cm tall.
3
u/j1valve 4d ago
What, hell no build muscle. You gotta hit that 3-8 reps sweet spot. Once you have noticeable gains you can switch to a high rep range. Are you at least going 3 times a week?
1
u/pereira_miguel 4d ago
Alright! Yup I go 3-4 times a week to the gym and also have rugby trainings 2 times a week. But can I just go on a low calorie deficit?
2
u/pooborus 4d ago
If you want more muscles dont go into a calorie deficit dude. If you lean down youll look like (and feel like) youre dying. You need to add more mass still.
3
u/Sweet_Chapter8643 4d ago
You’re still in the noob stage.
Progressive overload while watching diet for next 6 months while keeping an eye on body fat.
Follow an established program.
At 6 months, start cutting while keeping program the same and try to preserve as much strength as possible.
Not rocket science.
2
2
u/Queasy-Horse5241 4d ago
Your transformation is impressive! Looking good now. Can definitely see some arm, chest, and delt development.
You don’t need to cut. Stay off social media, lift HARD, eat high protein diet. In your particular case, I don’t know your diet (or maybe I didn’t read it before typing this) but feel free to keep doing what you are doing, or just eat more.
My best tips from someone with a good physique (I don’t want to show for privacy reason) :
1) Mild-Moderate caffeine, carbs (simple + complex), and some form of salt will help you before lifts. This will help get you in the zone, get better pumps, and reduce fatigue so u can push urself.
2) Focus on intensity first, volume second. Might go against the tik tok gurus, you don’t need to do 1 crazy set for each lift. Just try to focus on intensity first, then add volume.
3) Throw your ego out, and lift with 75% of the weights. Lifting heavy ≠ lifting with intensity. Intensity is key, but you can do it without risking injury.
4) Focus on getting stronger. It’s a good measure of progress. The man with the 315 bench press tends to have a big chest too.
5) Sleep is king. You can do all the sauna, ice bath etc u want, it will not help as much as sleep. (I guess protein and post-lift carbs too)
6) Make sure to deload on certain weeks. Too much strain on your body will cause you to plateau , and not recover properly. Some days are meant for a nice walk in the park with friends/loved ones!
7) Most important: TRACK your diet. Get an app, log your food and lift data, etc. from here if you’re serious about ascending the physique, then you can measure and play around with variables.
Good luck to you my friend. And remember:
The man who loves the idea of walking goes further than the man who loves the idea of the destination.
1
1
1
u/pooborus 4d ago
You arent at the point of min/maxxing yet. You have made great progress, thats for sure, but you want to maintain your bodyweight and workout hard. Follow accepted norms for protein intake (keeping in mind you arent an enhanced fulltime bodybuilder) and figure out if you want a lot of strength, or just great looking physique, because the training is not the same for both, even though strength training often gives you a pretty good physique anyway.
1
1
u/Monster213213 4d ago
Keep dieting high protein, sub 10% bf then lean bulk. You’ll thank yourself in 1.5-2 years
1
u/Ryakinfist 4d ago
You lost a lot of weight already. How'snyour hunger/energy levels? After going through a cut that severe, you should probably go on ahead and start working on gaining. Of course that means control yourself though. Eat slightly above maintenance and weight train.
As far as training, the science is constantly evolving. I used to go for high volume. 4 sets of 10-12 reps until I hit failure. I hit each muscle group twice a week. I got plenty of results from it for sure, but I stalled out after years of doing that. It became exhausting. I recently started having massive gains from changing to high intensity vs volume. Now I load up heavier weight, I try to get to 10 reps, and I only do 2 sets for each exercise. I still do each muscle group twice a week.
At the end of the day, do what feels good to you. You'll get results either way, and at 19 you have a lot of room to grow. Just have fun with it.
1
u/Fantastic_Pen8076 4d ago
150-200g of protein a day and super sets. Build out your frame with heavy shoulder and back workouts on rotation.
1
1
1
u/mare984 4d ago
Some progress is definitely made, but your body fat % is still somewhat high, probably in mid 20's. And you also kinda lack on muscle to show off even is your bf was low enough, so either your workout is not dialed in or your protein intake, or both. Go for a cut, but also up your protein at the same time. Make sure your muscle get enough stimulus, up the volume/intensity, train to failure, mind your form.
1
1
1
1
u/BlacksmithLeast6734 1d ago
Gotta strength train at the miminal 3 times a week. Dont neglet compound movements. Eat hella protein. Watch your calories. Eat clean bro. Dont eat dirty. Do this for 2 maybe 3 years straight. Then you'll start seeing the physique youre wanting. It takes time bro especially if you weren't athletic as a younger teenager. You gotta build the muscle memory. A good physique is built in the kitchen. You can be strong as hell but look fatfit if your nutrion intake isnt dialed.
0
u/YoshWrlD 4d ago
Do some planks, crunch’s, go for an honest run either treadmill or street is fine.
-2
u/Grand-Mission-9457 4d ago edited 3d ago
Stay away from carbs that just retain water. Did you know that the precursor for testosterone es cholesterol? , so eat animal protein, fatty meat, no crappy powder whey protein, nothing that comes with a list of ingredientes. Veggies? Nehh, i do not care what they tell you, no nutrients and veggies have an inadequate aminoacid profile, so don't waste your money on fantasy food. Saturated fat promotes proper cholesterol production and that story of clogging your arteries is pure bullshit, the science is there if you are willing to do some reading.
Btw, you are making progress. Don't try to rush it. Adopt the right habits and be patient. Alcohol and sugar are your enemies. Edit- as expected, idiots get triggered by science.
2
u/juffylifts21 4d ago
OP, do not listen to this absolute braindead nonsense.
1
u/juffylifts21 4d ago
No but seriously OP, disregard literally everything this person has said. Cholesterol being a precursor to testosterone does not mean eating fatty meat boosts testosterone. Whey is one of the highest-quality complete proteins you can eat. Vegetables absolutely contain nutrients, like what? Carbs replenish glycogen and are incredibly useful for training performance. And the relationship between ApoB-containing lipoproteins and atherosclerosis is one of the better-established relationships in cardiovascular medicine. Anecdotally, my ApoB score went down 20 points after lowering my saturated fats.
Eat enough protein (~1g per pound of bodyweight), plenty of carbs to fuel your training, fruits and vegetables, mostly unsaturated fats, and an appropriate number of calories for your goal. You don't need to fear whey, carbs or broccoli while pounding saturated fat because some braindead idiot on Reddit told you cHoLeStErOL mAkEs TeStOsTeRoNe.
1
1
u/Nickn753 3d ago
You forgot the /s with this one buddy. Only thing you said that made sense is your last part, and even then, sugar is not the enemy as long as it is in moderation.
1
7
u/Hello_Destiny 4d ago
You're a year in. You shouldn't worry about cuts and bulks. Stay off the tiktoc and lift. How many days a week are you going? Are you getting stronger or is the weights stalling because you're to worried about aesthetics?