Bulking vs cutting

[Eph]

I'm a little confused on which I should do first, because I read in one of Disel's posts that its almost impossible to do both at the same time, and you should choose one or the other. I've been working out on and off for a while and recently (since like May/June of this year) consistently. Now, my workout consists of nearly all cardio (just started doing 2 sets), but I do do pushups (either regular or a cardio version where I'm on my side) and lift every other day.

With the lifting I'm stuck at 30lbs since I don't have any bigger weights (yet). But I think its fine for now because I think I may have just had improper form before. Each time I checked my weight I've went from 115 to 117 to 118. Being skinny, would it be better to lay off cardio for a while and bulk up first and then while maintaining it restart my cardio? Side note: I'll be in JROTC during school later this month so one way or another I'll be getting cardio in. And my goal is to be all around bigger and have a six pack

 

[georgie24]

get atleast 30 pounds more on your frame before cutting

what are you going to cut down to if you start now ? bone?

 

[Eph]

Do you even eat? GOMAD+SS quick


http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/Nutrition,_Supplements_and_Cardio

yeah each time I checked was within like a month of each other since I check whenever I can since we dont have a scale.

And not really looking to cut exactly, just trying to get my bf down enough for a six pack to show

 

[Falfa]

If you're obese or already overweight, you should probably cut first. When you're down to a desirable body fat percentage, start bulking.

 

[Eph]

@Falfa I'm pretty skinny.
Anyway, I think it would be better for me to bulk up some then cut so that's what I'll do

 

[Eph]

If you are a skinny-fat (Skinny but higher bf% than 10 percent) Just cut till you're 10 below and then bulk. It will make things a lot easier

not sure what my exact bf% is, but I'm sure it hovers around 10% if not lower.

 

[georgie24]

he weights 118 pounds for christs sake, how much muscle mass do you guys think he has? if hes 4 feet tall hed probably be muscular looking but i doubt it

GET MUSCLE THEN YOUR ABS WILL SHOW

GET MUSCLE = BULK!

BULK = Eat good macronutriants that puts you in caloric surplus not PIG OUT and eat ding dongs and pizza all day everyday!


:rockon:

 

[Eph]

The last time I checked (which was at a doctor) I was 5'9 BUT that was a few months ago and my brother who is pretty tall said I grew since the last time I say him but even that was a few weeks ago. So my best guess would be I'm anywhere from 5'9 to about 6'0.

And according to my BMI I'm about 17.5, so I'm 5lbs underweight. And one more thing, you can kinda see my abs. My upper ones are the easy to (usually) see, but with a little flexing you can see AT LEAST an outline of a 6 pack.

PS. I already mentioned above I think it would be best for me to bulk some first then work on cutting.

 

[ATX1001]

he weights 118 pounds for christs sake, how much muscle mass do you guys think he has? if hes 4 feet tall hed probably be muscular looking but i doubt it
[/B]
:rockon:

He's also only 14. If he were my son, I wouldn't let him pick up a heavy weight until at least 16/17. Until then bodyweight exercises and plenty of running around outside.

 

[Eph]

He's also only 14. If he were my son, I wouldn't let him pick up a heavy weight until at least 16/17. Until then bodyweight exercises and plenty of running around outside.

lol for the time being that's covered. Biggest weight I have is 30lbs, which I'm sure you wouldn't consider heavy. But what bodyweight exercises would u recommend besides pushups (working on passing 50, or at least past 20 on my 2nd set), cardio, or pull/chin ups (nowhere to do them currently)?

 

[georgie24]

He's also only 14. If he were my son, I wouldn't let him pick up a heavy weight until at least 16/17. Until then bodyweight exercises and plenty of running around outside.

so your approach to a son who wants some musclarity at 14 years old is to groom him into a ballroom dancer??

whats your logic on NOT letting him lift anything heavy at 14 years old?

id love to see a CURRENT picture of you, i bet your either obese or skinnyfat or rail skinny

 

[Bible_Belt]

whats your logic on NOT letting him lift anything heavy at 14 years old?

And what's yours on criticizing a 14 year old for only weighing 120 pounds? He's still growing, for crying out loud.

To the original poster, you didn't say what branch of rotc, but the Army uses pushups, situps, and 2 mile run as their fitness test. You can do all of those by yourself. Situps are a little easier if someone holds your feet, but you can wedge them under a couch or a weight to improvise. When you do your pushups, go almost all the way to the ground with your chest in between reps. If you do them outside on the lawn, you should be touching the blades of grass with your chest each time.

 

[georgie24]

whats your logic on NOT letting him lift anything heavy at 14 years old?

And what's yours on criticizing a 14 year old for only weighing 120 pounds? He's still growing, for crying out loud.

To the original poster, you didn't say what branch of rotc, but the Army uses pushups, situps, and 2 mile run as their fitness test. You can do all of those by yourself. Situps are a little easier if someone holds your feet, but you can wedge them under a couch or a weight to improvise. When you do your pushups, go almost all the way to the ground with your chest in between reps. If you do them outside on the lawn, you should be touching the blades of grass with your chest each time.

Capt Obvious here !

Point out to me where im CRITISIZING him for weighing that much ?

Im critisizing the thought of cutting without having mass first, we need to know his BMI, BMR, current acuratley taken BF%, current caloric daily intake and height to help him start

whats you beef:trouble:

 

[Eph]

Bible_belt: Marine JROTC, which from what I know about marines is mostly cardio lol. I think I'll be fine with all the cardio I did this summer. But being skinny it's kinda hard to get my chest to touch the ground, so I just try to go as far as I can.

 

[Krueg]

I'd stick to cardio, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups for a little while. I mean your only 14, you still going through puberty and your body is still developing. I dont know if your in high school yet but, I'm sure there be some weight training classes you can take then.

Just have fun being a teenager.

 

[Eph]

I'd stick to cardio, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups for a little while. I mean your only 14, you still going through puberty and your body is still developing. I dont know if your in high school yet but, I'm sure there be some weight training classes you can take then.

Just have fun being a teenager.

...I'll be a Sophomore in highschool next week lol. I turned 14 LAST year, in case you were wondering how I'm a 14 year old sophomore. As for the weight training classes, that's why I'm taking marine JROTC.

 

[Bible_Belt]

When you get ready for college, the ROTC scholarships are the easiest ones to get of all scholarships, which makes sense because you owe the military your time after college. You can apply for all of them. The Army hands out the most, and the Air Force quite a few. The naval rotc scholarships are the hardest to get, because there are the fewest of them. If you want to be a Marine officer through rotc, you get the naval rotc scholarship and take the Marine Corp option.

The Marines like pullups, but I don't think you have to do that with any other branch. Pushups, situps, and 2 mile run are the norm. I think I had to run two miles in 16 minutes just to pass the run. 12 minutes was a perfect score.

 

[Eph]

When you get ready for college, the ROTC scholarships are the easiest ones to get of all scholarships, which makes sense because you owe the military your time after college. You can apply for all of them. The Army hands out the most, and the Air Force quite a few. The naval rotc scholarships are the hardest to get, because there are the fewest of them. If you want to be a Marine officer through rotc, you get the naval rotc scholarship and take the Marine Corp option.

The Marines like pullups, but I don't think you have to do that with any other branch. Pushups, situps, and 2 mile run are the norm. I think I had to run two miles in 16 minutes just to pass the run. 12 minutes was a perfect score.

Wow I read that for the PFT I need 44 pushups in 2 minutes (80+ being perfect), 50 sit ups in 2 minutes, and to run 3 miles in less than 28 minutes. And actually I've already got a scholarship for college (well as long as I graduate with at least a 2.5 GPA)

 

[ATX1001]

so your approach to a son who wants some musclarity at 14 years old is to groom him into a ballroom dancer??

whats your logic on NOT letting him lift anything heavy at 14 years old?

id love to see a CURRENT picture of you, i bet your either obese or skinnyfat or rail skinny

At 14 his body is still growing, not all his bones have fused and it's a lot easier to have permanent, life long injuries if he starts lifting heavy too soon.

I can't be bothered taking pics but I'm nothing special, 165lbs 5'7" with 12% BF measured by a DEXA scan.

 

[dally]

Everyone has his own point of view regarding this.If you're obese or already overweight, you should probably cut first. When you're down to a desirable body fat percentage, start bulking.