Bodybuilding Forums

First a little bit about me. I am nearing 40 years old. I am 5'11" and weigh about 206lbs and my body fat perecent is about 28% according to a body fat testing scale I have. I have never had an easy time gaining muscle and can do maybe 3 pushups. I've been going off and on to the gym for a couple of months doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps in a split of upper and lower body with 2 to 3 sets per muscle group.

Now for the question. Should I try to cut and get under 200 lbs or should I start with trying to gain mass? I am worried that I am too out of shape for the program and will give up but on the the other hand I understand I need to gain a lot of muscle. Is it true TA 3.0 isn't for beginners? Should I be doing something else for a X amount of time to get in better shape first? Help!

You need to cut mate try Marks TSPA Program which has a diet paln and workout routine, good luck.

Need2Gain wrote:First a little bit about me. I am nearing 40 years old. I am 5'11" and weigh about 206lbs and my body fat perecent is about 28%...

Yep, you're too fat (and I speak from experience, I've been there too!). The truth is, at your fat percentage, just about ANY program will work to bring you down to 20% fat or so. Get started on SOMETHING. Even if it's MANS, you'll lose weight for quite some time before you stall out. Then when you do stall out, just start analyzing your diet -- watch EVERYTHING that goes into your mouth, and track it somewhere like fitday.com or livestrong.com -- to see where you can trim excess dietary fat during the week and excess carbs on the weekends.

My suggestion is to try Mark's free Total Anabolism program for six weeks, then come back and report with a sample diet of what you're eating during a 7-day window, and your progress so far. I bet you'll enjoy the results so much you'll want to keep going longer than 6 weeks!

Hi Need2gain,
My advice would be the same as any basic fat loss program-exercise more (which you're doing properly if you're foolwing TA2 or 3), and eat better.

The last bit is vital, and maybe you're not too bothered about following a strict diet (such as MANS) that Mark is a proponent of.


If you're not following a hugely strict diet, then combined with your exercise routine you can do a few things to help:

1) Take the post workout shake that Mark also does after his workout.
2) Eat more protein (builds your muscle and therefore burns fat while you're resting)
3) Eat less white carbs-white rice-jacket/baked/mashed potatoes/ white pasta
4) Eat less refined sugar - chicolate bars, sweets, so called healthy muesli bars etc

You don't have to become a complete lunatic and spend your time in health shops/supermarket aisles for hours checking fat content etc.
Hell, even if you eat 10 chocolate biscuits a day, what I'm trying to say is, just cut down little by little. Make it 9, then 8, then 7 etc.
If you can't do a huge u-turn in terms of diet then don't-it's very hard. Just do it gradually and the results will come

Ultimately, any eating plan that follows these three rules will be successful in preserving muscle mass while reducing fat:

* Eat at least as many grams of protein per day as pounds of LEAN weight on your frame.
* Lift weights three times a week.
* Eat fewer calories than your maintenance level.

That's it. We all play variations on the theme, but if you always follow those three rules you'll lose fat regularly. We can argue about the most effective weights to lift and how often, or the exact calorie distribution across macro-nutrients, or how much more protein we should eat than the amount above... but those are the three basic rules for winning the fat-loss game.

Anybody can figure out their maintenance calories. Eat normally and carefully track your weight and what goes into your mouth for two weeks. If your weight remains the same, average your calories per day & you've found your maintenance calories. If it goes up or down, figure the amount in pounds, multiply by 3500 calories, then divide those calories across the number of days you measured, and apply that difference to your average calorie count.

Here in the MuscleHack forums, we spend a lot of time talking specifics, but those are the ground rules for losing fat while preserving muscle.

Hello,

Its really very important think for the bodybuilding and exercises.
You post a nice thought. Thanks for sharing.
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