Need a little help

[Firstcycle]

I know body fat is high ...but what is lacking and what about shoulders...feel front deltoid are a little bigger than others.

 

[Driven2lift]

I'd want a side-shot of the shoulder to elaborate on symmetry

For the overall, What is the end goal here?

 

[Firstcycle]

I just want to be big ... Not to worried about being 5%body fat or anything but more of the strongman look

 

[Driven2lift]

Fair enough, at this point what you need most then is time.

Going to need to bring everything up, but you know that. It's really hard to comment on what to do at this point.

Progressive Compound movements are your best bet, just keep at them and you will grow. If you want the look faster the best route is weight-loss from here.

You can look bigger much faster by lowering body-fat a touch but that can be later on if you want to consider it, even if just temporarily for a summer season as many guys do.

 

[Firstcycle]

Body worried about dropping the Body fat.. Plan is to just keep hitting the weights hard 3 times a week and keep trying to add weight .... Thank you just curious and new to it .. Had a ankle surgery around April so getting back at it

 

[john.patterson]

Time and consistency will be the biggest factors. Building muscle takes time and work, so keep aiming to increase weight on your big lifts and focus on eating a healthy diet. A lot of people who want the 'strongman' look think they can get away with eating anything. You'll gain weight by eating crap, but you'll gain quality size if you eat a quality diet.

 

[Joe12]

One thing about lifting is the options are unlimited. What I see is a solid frame to pack up some muscle, especially in your arms/shoulders.

IMO, dropping bf initially would be my personal goal. From there, it will be much easier to enter a nice lean bulk where you can see the results. You could try training each muscle 2x per week, or at least 1.5x per week. Also, some HIT training, or solid cardio would be great to add, if you are not already doing it. Last but not least, a solid diet is going to be the key to your success. You can never out train a bad diet. Figure out your maintenance calories and drop it 500 (if you want to cut). You can find some great meal prep recipes at body building .com

 

[Firstcycle]

Thank you for all the help.. I do need to shape up my diet for sure ..I work shift work ...and son plays baseball a lot so always traveling.. But i know it's possible lol. A lot of great advice ... You say my arms and shoulders ...I want that thick chest and side back also ..I will up my cardio I normally ride a bike about 2.5 miles a week. Will do 5 miles a week from now on and see the change. Thank you ...

 

[Firstcycle]

Just curious would a 5x5 workout be a good workout to go with ..being all compound movements and getting stronger or..a 4x10 compound movement workout

 

[john.patterson]

Just curious would a 5x5 workout be a good workout to go with ..being all compound movements and getting stronger or..a 4x10 compound movement workout

5x5 will be better for strength gain, but there isn't a right or wrong answer here. I would utilize different rep ranges, keep your compound movements with lower reps and heavy weights to start your workouts. Then follow up with higher rep hypertrophy work

 

[Firstcycle]

I have been doing
Bench 4x10
Overhead press 4x10
Deadlift 4x10
Rows 4x10
Pull ups 4x10

Should I change that ? Or keep at it

 

[john.patterson]

I have been doing
Bench 4x10
Overhead press 4x10
Deadlift 4x10
Rows 4x10
Pull ups 4x10

Should I change that ? Or keep at it

So you're doing a full body workout? How many days per week are you doing this? And where are you squats?

 

[Firstcycle]

I am about to start squats today ....ankle is recovering ...and 3 times when possible but for sure 2

 

[Joe12]

Thank you for all the help.. I do need to shape up my diet for sure ..I work shift work ...and son plays baseball a lot so always traveling.. But i know it's possible lol. A lot of great advice ... You say my arms and shoulders ...I want that thick chest and side back also ..I will up my cardio I normally ride a bike about 2.5 miles a week. Will do 5 miles a week from now on and see the change. Thank you ...

Your back has a natural Y to it, so once you cut some bf that tapper will show even more.

Regarding your workout question, as john.patterson mentioned, there is not a right or wrong answer. It really comes down to your goals. If your goal is raw strength, then something like 5x5 would be great for someone that is newer. If your goals are more geared toward body transformation, then go with a higher range... your current 4x10 workout would be nice for this or you could work between the 10-15 range. If you want the best of both worlds, try 12, 10, 8, 6 (maybe 4) rep pyramids.

 

[Firstcycle]

Thank you both for the help and guidance. I totally appreciate the help. I am going to stick witht he routine I have for a bit and like I have been reading a lot ....it's a marathon not a sprint .... I will be the first to admit tho I love the horseshoe triceps but goignt to stick with the big movements for now .... The rest will come thank you

 

[john.patterson]

Thank you both for the help and guidance. I totally appreciate the help. I am going to stick witht he routine I have for a bit and like I have been reading a lot ....it's a marathon not a sprint .... I will be the first to admit tho I love the horseshoe triceps but goignt to stick with the big movements for now .... The rest will come thank you

You said it perfectly! Don't be impatient, just stick to your plan and stay consistent. It will pay off over time. And if you aren't already, I would also recommend adding in a few staple supplements to help with your progress. Keep it simple though - I think creatine and a joint support (fish oil) would be all you need for where you currently are. For a creatine, I would recommend Powermax XT, as it contains a full serving of creatine and betaine along with some other great daily staple ingredients that can improve performance, endurance, and recovery.

 

[Firstcycle]

My only question or concern is at what point do you think the front deltoid is over worked...meaning I fear mine are overpowering my reardelt so I dropped a little weight on barbell row and doing more repent help them catch up

 

[john.patterson]

My only question or concern is at what point do you think the front deltoid is over worked...meaning I fear mine are overpowering my reardelt so I dropped a little weight on barbell row and doing more repent help them catch up

Rear delts are always tricky to target. Just do more exercises to target your rear delts and upper back. Its hard to tell if there's an imbalance from your pictures, you need to show a side shot so we can compare the front and rear delt. Don't stress over it too much, just keep working at developing your shoulders evenly, and add in more rear delt/pulling work if you find that your front delt is overpowering your physique

 

[Firstcycle]

Cool thanks

 

[Tylerfife71]

Nicely put

 

[BennyMagoo79]

Hey mate!

5x5 is an awesome protocol for long term natty gains as it has been shown to affect both 'types' of muscle growth.

For nicely balanced shoulders I highly recommended you purchase at least one light rubber exercise band. There are multiple exercises you can perform with this that will really aid your shoulder gains by keeping them healthy.

 

[Switchfoot]

Hey mate!

5x5 is an awesome protocol for long term natty gains as it has been shown to affect both 'types' of muscle growth.

For nicely balanced shoulders I highly recommended you purchase at least one light rubber exercise band. There are multiple exercises you can perform with this that will really aid your shoulder gains by keeping them healthy.

Good point on the band's. I wish I would have took you advice 20 years ago.

Thank you for all the help.. I do need to shape up my diet for sure ..I work shift work ...and son plays baseball a lot so always traveling.. But i know it's possible lol. A lot of great advice ... You say my arms and shoulders ...I want that thick chest and side back also ..I will up my cardio I normally ride a bike about 2.5 miles a week. Will do 5 miles a week from now on and see the change. Thank you ...