Here's my advice. aka 2 cents

It's a lot simpler than the other guys, though they have made some very good specific advice...

Be consistent.

Don't go to the gym for 2 weeks, overexert yourself and then give up for another year.
too many people do that and it's pathetic. Have some persevereness.
Working out is a lifestyle, yes have goals and targets, but there is no final destination. you do not achieve X weight or X bodyfat and then stop working out - it is part of you.
live it, love it.

All you have to do is have hard training sessions when your at the gym, eat GOOD CARBS 6 days of the week

Your meals should look very similiar

5-6 times a day
Lean meat ( chicken )
Black Beans - best slow digesting carb
Spinach/green vegetable (legumes are the best)


Eat more healthy foods (caloric surplus) + gym and your on your way man gl!

I'm a Performance Coach in the Bay Area.

It's difficult to sift through information over the internet. Lot's of misguided people doling out bullshit advice.

Keep it simple brother...work on the basic compound lifts: back squat, deadlift, military press, pullups/chinups

Learn FLAWLESS technique for all lifts. I cannot emphasize this enough. Practice with very light weights, master the technique and once that is adequate or near perfect, work on being as EXPLOSIVE AS POSSIBLE. This means being able to generate as much speed in the first few inches of the lift as possible.

Do 3 lifts a day: a push, a pull, and either deadlift OR squat. Do not do both on the same day.

So recap:
- focus on 3 lifts a day, alternating squats and deadlifts
- NAIL the technique (either find a good coach or a good video on youtube, PM me and I'll help with that)
- once technique and body-positioning is solid, work on being EXPLOSIVE.

*note I did not mention anything about increasing the weights...this is not nearly as important as being able to accelerate the load as quickly as possible

- keep weights light and focus on doing as much volume as possible, meanwhile monitor how you feel physically and mentally


BONUS:
- signs of mental (central nervous system) fatigue: low energy, low sex drive, bad mood, low motivation
- signs of physical fatigue: prolonged soreness (not to be mistaken for initial soreness), pain, inflammation of joints, excess tenderness in muscles


As one of my favorite strength coaches says, "The more you can do without exceeding the capacity to recover, the more you will progress."

Wish you all the best, don't hesitate to PM me with questions. I haven't mentioned the nutrition aspect yet, but I will some other time perhaps in private.

_________________
Inner Game is everything...be Unlimited!

Seductive Instinct for LIFE

seductiveinstinct.com

Rather than debate with a bunch of people over rather or not this is possible (whom only one on this thread has proven to me that he is actaully lifts), I'll post an article on the subject.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fat_los ... _trick.htm

I Hope this answers your question.

_________________
"Long is the way
And hard, that out of hell leads up to light." - John Milton's Paradise lost.

the-adventures-of-ilium-vt134843.html

tnation.com

Best site ever. It's what got me into the health/fitness industry in the first place and sparked my passion in the whole field.

Lots of great articles archived from 1998...really a gold mine.

_________________
Inner Game is everything...be Unlimited!

Seductive Instinct for LIFE

seductiveinstinct.com

Technically, it seems impossible to build muscle and lose fat. Here is why: Your body needs about 2,500 calories to build one pound of muscle. So if you wanted to make one pound of muscle in seven days, you could eat an extra 350 calories every day. Assuming you are weight training, those extra calories can easily be converted into muscle. But you also need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. So if you wanted to lose one pound of fat in seven days, each day you would need to eat 500 fewer calories than you were burning so that your body would use your storage fat for energy instead of the calories you were eating. Unless you have a very cool, physics-defying trick up your sleeve, it’s impossible to eat an extra 350 calories a day to build muscle and also eat 500 fewer calories a day to lose fat! So at first glance, it should be impossible to both build muscle and lose fat.
What Do Fat Burning and Muscle Building Studies Tell Us?
In a situation like this, the best place to turn is science, which can tell us whether something that seems to be impossible may actually be possible.
One study from California State University tracked a group of healthy men for eight weeks. The men ate a lot of food--over 4000 calories a day--and did weight training four days a week for 60-90 minutes. The men gained an average of six pounds of muscle, but also gained ½ pound of fat. In another study, men also trained with weights several times a week, but this time, they ate just a little over 2000 calories a day. This group gained 2.5 pounds of muscle and lost over 7 pounds of fat!
What About Fat Burning and Muscle Building Studies with Women?
A similar set of studies were done on women. Women who performed weight training workouts for eight weeks, but didn’t diet, added 2.4 pounds of muscle, but didn’t lose much fat. In the same study, a group of women who dieted added a pound of muscle over the same time frame, but lost a significant amount of fat.
So far, we’ve learned that you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, but you need to be willing to gain muscle at a significantly lower rate than you would if you weren’t trying to lose fat at the same time.
The Most Interesting Finding
But perhaps most interesting is a study of fourteen women who were on a significantly small, 800 calorie, high protein diet. Seven of the women lifted weights for 30-40 minutes three days a week, and the other seven women dieted but did not weigh train. Both groups of women lost 33 pounds, but the group that weight lifted actually increased their lean muscle mass by 6 percent, whereas the women that did not lift weights lost muscle along with the fat.
So now we’ve learned that if you want to lose fat and build muscle at the same time, you can even do it when you’re dieting, but you have to lift weights!
How Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time
Now, there is one missing key that will make if far easier to lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Rather than simply going on a low-calorie, high-protein diet and lifting weights, you can get much better results if you cycle your caloric intake.
No, this does not mean that you eat while you're on a bicycle. What it means is that you fluctuate (or cycle) between a period of low caloric intake and weight lifting, and a period of high caloric intake and weight lifting. Although you can lose a significant amount of fat with this strategy, it will allow you to build muscle more quickly than simply dieting.
So how do you use this muscle-building, fat-burning strategy? There are two options. The first option is to eat a low calorie diet, 500-1000 calories lower than your metabolic rate, and make sure you're consuming adequate protein (read more about how much protein to eat in the article Do Muscle Building Supplements Really Work?) Do this 5-6 days a week. Then 1-2 days a week, eat a higher amount of calories, preferably 500-1000 calories more than what you're burning. That is called a re-feed day, and you can learn more about it in the Get-Fit Guy newsletter.
The second option, which can be much tougher to adhere to, is to eat the same low calorie diet while weight lifting for 3-5 weeks, then spend 1-2 weeks incorporating a higher calorie intake. I can tell you from personal experience that spending 3-5 weeks on a low calorie diet can be mentally and physically

_________________
Beachbody Coach

Get on bodybuilding.com a read every article you can. Attack this the same way you would attack learning how to pick up women. Read, Learn, Do, re-learn, re-do, repeat.

1- is it possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
YES.
its very possible, in fact its almost impossible not to unless your diet sucks azz. you dont need overwhelming amounts of calories to build muscle. people have gotten the idea that calories are whats turning into muscle? WTF? no. to keep it simple and not go into RETARDED miniscule details ill put it like this: "Calories are a form of measurement we use to measure energy" BAM. thats all. we're not in the 80's or 90's anymore, do some research you dont need to get fat to gain muscle (bulking) its just what people find easier to hit their daily macros (dont stress your little head yet ill get into this later) Losing body fat % could be done by just reducing junk/crap in your diet and eating correctly (DOING NO ADDITIONAL EXERCISE IS POSSIBLE, although i wouldnt recommend)

2- Do i need to eat X amounts of meals per day to gain muscle?
NO.
in reality no. if you can eat clean meal(s) which hit all your macros (macronutrients protein/carb/fat) in 1-2 sittings cool, youre done. simples. although timing is essential for when the meal is had, i wont go into details you can research LEANGAINS.
http://www.leangains.com/

3- so, supplements are crap? i want to bench 500lbs and deadlift 700lbs like that dude on page 1!
LOL
First off, no, NO, youre either not natural OR youre not serious.
majority of supplements are BS. my advise, stick to basics. PROTEIN, CREATINE, AMINO ACID and if you need a boost/energy for your work outs take a form of caffeine pre-workout (jack3d or craze is good) the rest is BS. Id say take some multi-vits' too.

Protein
My suggestions would be low carb high protein - protein shake. "iso 100" i believe was very good. heres a supplement sheet for it:


Creatine
GreenMag is a good choice, works well. youll see decent strength gains, your recovery time will be a little shortened during workouts and your muscles will look fuller (you will look slightly puffier rather than vascular as it causes water retention) heres a supplement sheet for it:


Amino Acid
super-amino 4800mg was a good one i used. amino acids are used to provide fuel for growth, health wellbeing etc etc. heres a supplement sheet:


Multi-vit?
anything.

4- SO, i have my supplements what now?
DONT rely on supplements, they are an addition/supplement to your diet. so id suggest researching, making yourself a good meal plan and going from there. start working out like a beast! if youre a noob to weightlifting youll see amazing gains to start with, youll probably make the best gains of your life.

anyway, thats all MY advise. do what you want, follow what you choose. id suggest doing a bit of research, joining a bodybuilding/gym forum. theres tons out there. youll soon find out what works for you and what doesnt.

heres what i did in 5 months.


ive been bigger, but suffered an injury (dislocated shoulder) which caused me to get lazy and give up. getting back into it now.

goodluck.

the problem with diets is that everyone has a goddamn opinion, nobody will tell you "I dont know, pasta?".

Instead of giving you "my" answer, let me give you 2 links to guys who really knows what they are talking about and with conflicting views, which are great for one´s own independent thinking:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/ (especially http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/20 ... -exercise/ I think will interest you

and

http://www.bulletproofexec.com/, here is an article about whey protein and which kind to use: http://www.bulletproofexec.com/announci ... -proteins/


I follow a combination of these two, basically Tim Ferris´s diet are slow-carb meals lentils beans etc and Dave Asprey´s is a form of paleo altough "upgraded". Cant tell you how good I feel after changing my eating habits. Talks a lot about mycotoxins aswell which is a major cause of fatgain and general bad health.

Hope you find the information useful and interesting

No way in hell that P90X is a fad workout and that it's pointless. I've did P90X and it does help you gain muscle and lose weight. You will not get huge due to it's nature but you can gain some muscle with it. You can always do a few rounds of P90X later to gain more mass but you would have to change your diet.

no way in fuckin hellllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll you gained that much muscle in 5 months naturally

1. If you want to lose weight, burn more calories than you consume

2. If you want to gain weight, consume more calories than you burn

3. Yes, you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, whoever said you can't simply didn't work hard enough. All it takes is a clean bulk (consuming more QUALITY calories than you burn)

4. Eat 6-7 small meals a day

5. Read labels, understand nutrition facts

6. Lift weights 4-6 times a week, do cardio 3-4 times a week and actually train to sweat. It doesn't really matter exactly what training or weight schedule reps/sets etc that you do. As long as you are consistently working out and working hard (if you're not sweating/sore/tired at the end of your workout, you simply didn't work hard enough, stop bullshitting). Strenuous exercise increases testosterone.

7. Invest in a high quality multi vitamin and a whey protein powder of your choice (honestly, it doesn't matter which brand, as long as you like the flavor enough to consistently drink these shakes after every workout or whenever you need a quick meal and don't have time to cook a proper meal). And as for any of those "monster mass" proteins, look at the label. Seriously these companies are so shady, most of these "mass" protein mixes are the EXACT same product as "whey protein x" except that it tells you to shove 4 scoops of protein instead of 1. If you think I am lying just check for yourself, you'll see "whey protein x" will have like 50 "servings" of 1 scoop and you'll get like 25 grams of protein per serving. Then when you look at the same companies "mass monster" protein, and it will literally be in the exact same looking container, except it will have a different label on it where it will say something like 8 "servings" of 4 scoops with 80 grams of protein! like yeah it looks like you're getting more, but in reality the only difference is that they're telling you to take more of the protein at a time so they'll make it more expensive

8. nutrition is honestly the most simple concept in the world, people, supplement companies and advertisements throw A LOT of dishonesty to pry on the insecurities of their consumers into thinking you can lose weight and gain muscle just by taking "product x" when it's just not true.

9. All you really need is a multi vitamin, whey protein and stop eating shitty food, eat veggies, eat fruit. Consume water whenever you remember to. consume nuts and healthy fats. lean meats. plan out what you'll eat throughout the day/week/month and plan out your workouts and stick to BOTH religiously (your organization and consistency will directly relate to how close to your goals you actually reach, there is no if's and's or but's around it)

10. Cheat meals are fine, keep them to about 2 a week (consider a night out drinking at the bar as a cheat meal)

11. If you want any kind of success, I recommend you don't view this as a "diet" that you're gonna do for a couple months to look good at the beach. You can make that a short term goal, but it is best to make this a "lifestyle" change, after the first couple weeks of transition (the hardest part) I guarantee you won't look back once it becomes second nature to you.

12. Goodluck, stay positive and enjoy the experience, you'll be happy you started becoming healthy

_________________
Just keep doing better than you did yesterday

I've lost nearly 8kg in the last couple of months and my lifts have gone up. SPAM diet (the manliest, tastiest fucking diet in the world ) and compound barbell exercises.

Starting strength is an amazing book for beginners on lifting technique. Seriously buy it, it's amazing well done.

Reddit has a decent sub-community for SPAM dieting, lost of good links on the side bar.
http://www.reddit.com/r/SPAM
http://www.reddit.com/r/SPAM

Hi Engima,
Some tips for you to gain weight and lose fat at the same time. Take small frequent meals instead of having three big ones and load up on protein. Drink more water than routine and do not eliminate fat entirely from your daily diet. Avoid taking meals shortly before going to bed.

_________________
Stones Sharp Accountants
Stones Sharp Accountants
Stones Sharp Accountants

Seriously fuck what everyone is saying it used to be my job to train new people to get strong as hell so they could do all the pt (physical training they needed to do) in the shortest time possible. Military style diet is going to work the best.

No cheese
Eat square meals
No deserts
No sugars
No fluids but water
No sauces (terrible source of hidden carbs and saturated fats whih are literally the nutritional devil)
Only one plate per meal, more protein and veggies than carbs.

For exercises you're going to want to do three different things.

1.) high intensity interval training
2.) good weight lifting program
3.) endurance training (long durations of cardio)

It's pretty hard to bulk (gain muscle) and cutt (losing body fat) at the same time but it cm be done through SPAM. Which requires you to eat no carbs until you hit your target bf percentage. As long as you eat your weight in protein while in a state of SPAM your body won't burn your muscles in order to obtain glycogen. Also you can work out during SPAM but it'll be a lot harder because your body won't have the right amount of glycogen that it needs (comes from carbs). So in SPAM if you eat enough protein and hit the gym you won't lose mass but you won't probably gain it either. Unfortunately, but you can at least save your muscle mass then to bulk and cutt more once you have the initial weight off.