Add definition whilst keeping lean

[thomseddon]

Hello, have been loitering for a while now, and have read through the stickies and many threads and have decided to dip my toe
I am 19, 167cm and have been training well since moving to Uni around 6 months ago, when i could finally take control of my diet more easily.

Since then i have settled into a fairly regular full body/cardio routine as follows:
Mon - FULL body
Tue - rest day
Wed - hard cardio (gym)
Thur - FULL body
Fri - 5/10km run (real world!)

my full body workout's consist of:

• pull ups
• dips
• chest press
• pec flys
• bicep curls
• skull crushers
• my Pièce de résistance: clean an press (up to 55kg now)

combined with a varied ab routine on all 3 gym days.

I would consider my diet very good, typical days would be:
Breakfast: Fruit and Fibre + skimmed milk
Snack: Peanut butter sandwich (wholemeal)
Lunch: turkey + tomato sandwich + apple
Snack: Ryvita + cottage cheese / protein shake
Dinner: Chicken breast + steamed veg + salad
Snack: Fat free yoghurt + home made flapjack
Pre bed snack: Ryvita + cottage cheese

I endure a large spoon of cod liver oil every morning with a fairly comprehensive multi vitamin.
I have been consistently taking whey protein through the week including before/after work outs...


....all this has left me with a lean physique and my weight has dropped from around 75kg to 64kg, and it shows.

Basically my question is, how can i start to add more definition (hence muscle mass?) without sacrificing the fat loss goals i have already reached.
I enjoy being fit and healthy i.e. the combination of weight/resistance and running, but i want to develop my muscles from a purely aesthetic point of view, which i also find rewarding. I really admire and aspire to the physique of a typical *generic* mens health-related magazine cover model.

Should i bail on the full body routine and hit some isolation 3 times a week? Should i ditch some of the cardio?
I have just got a new bag of impact whey, if i replaced this with hurricane XS (creatine) would that make the difference? BCAA? HMB?
(please remember i am a student and do have somewhat limited funds)


Any help appreciated

Thom

[SpiderDan]

Dude 64kg is pretty small, you definitely need get some mass on.

to add muscle you train hard and eat more calories than you burn.....its not rocket science. You will not add muscle without gaining at least some fat unless you're on absolutely spot on with your diet 100% of the time.

1. Pick a free weights program

2. Get a general idea of your dietary intake using calorie calculator.

3. aim for 1g /lb bw protein, a 500 calorie surplus on your maintenance and at least 30% of your calories from good fat sources. The rest is up to you, I dont get on too well with carbs so I make it up with more fat, you may well tolerate them more.

3. Train, eat, rest

4. Rinse, Repeat

[laxx]

If you try to add definition whilst remaining as skinny as you are, nobody will be able to tell the difference.
At 64kg if you want to look good you need to get bigger, which means more big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench etc) more often, not more isolation work, and follow what SpiderDan said!

[thomseddon]

Quote

a 500 calorie surplus on your maintenance

What would be a accurate way to calculate my "maintenance"?

Quote

Dude 64kg is pretty small, you definitely need get some mass on.

Quote

If you try to add definition whilst remaining as skinny as you are, nobody will be able to tell the difference.
At 64kg if you want to look good you need to get bigger, which means more big compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench etc) more often, not more isolation work, and follow what SpiderDan said!

I can assure you even though i weigh 64kg i am by no means "skinny". Maybe pictures would help, but the root of my question is that now i think i have a good and fairly lean physique, how do i go about focussing on just packing on muscle whilst keeping the fat i have lost, away.

EDIT: and remember i am only 167cm (5ft 5 1/2")

[Narcotics]

Quote

What would be a accurate way to calculate my "maintenance"?





I can assure you even though i weigh 64kg i am by no means "skinny". Maybe pictures would help, but the root of my question is that now i think i have a good and fairly lean physique, how do i go about focussing on just packing on muscle whilst keeping the fat i have lost, away.

EDIT: and remember i am only 167cm (5ft 5 1/2")

Lean muscle - Your goals | Myprotein

Diets page.

[ATZ]

What you're essentially asking to do is the holy grail of natural bodybuilding - adding muscle without fat.

Now what you have to realise is that by getting lean you have primed your body for fat storage (the body is strange like that eh?), but you can play some tricks to minimise potential fat gains whilst trying to add some mass.

Firstly I'm assuming you know how to train, if not you need to pick or devise a sensible resistance programme with adequate rest, none of this "5 days weight training per week" crap. Also you should be hitting compound exercises (Squat, Dead, Bench, Row, OHP, Chins, C&P) heavy and hard as your base, and isolations as necessary.

Secondly, diet is going to be key. My recommendation would be to shoot for that 500cal surplus Dan is talking about but only on days where you weight train, you may want to prioritise carbohydrates on these days too as they'll be used to fuel you workout and replenish glycogen afterwards. To work out your maintenance there's loads of complicated calculators out there, but a good ballpark figure for maintenace calories is 16-18 calories per pound of bodyweight. Start with 16 cal per lb, and on weight training days add the extra 500cal. Protein should be set at 1g per lb of Bodyweight regardless.

See how you go with this, if you find you're not growing you may need to up the cals, if you find you're adding too much fat too quickly you may need to reign it back, there is no one answer for everybody. You may however find this approach ends up being a VERY slow process however. It's much easier to bulk for 8-12 weeks not allowing fat gains to get totally out of control (say no more than 15% BF) then do a short intense cut to strip back the fat, it's much quicker to lose fat than it is to gain muscle.

[ATZ]

Quote

Lean muscle - Your goals | Myprotein

Diets page.

Not the best if I'm honest. Cookie cutter approach that won't suit individual needs.

[Fred]

Quote

What you're essentially asking to do is the holy grail of natural bodybuilding - adding muscle without fat.

Now what you have to realise is that by getting lean you have primed your body for fat storage (the body is strange like that eh?), but you can play some tricks to minimise potential fat gains whilst trying to add some mass.

Firstly I'm assuming you know how to train, if not you need to pick or devise a sensible resistance programme with adequate rest, none of this "5 days weight training per week" crap. Also you should be hitting compound exercises (Squat, Dead, Bench, Row, OHP, Chins, C&P) heavy and hard as your base, and isolations as necessary.

Secondly, diet is going to be key. My recommendation would be to shoot for that 500cal surplus Dan is talking about but only on days where you weight train, you may want to prioritise carbohydrates on these days too as they'll be used to fuel you workout and replenish glycogen afterwards. To work out your maintenance there's loads of complicated calculators out there, but a good ballpark figure for maintenace calories is 16-18 calories per pound of bodyweight. Start with 16 cal per lb, and on weight training days add the extra 500cal. Protein should be set at 1g per lb of Bodyweight regardless.

See how you go with this, if you find you're not growing you may need to up the cals, if you find you're adding too much fat too quickly you may need to reign it back, there is no one answer for everybody. You may however find this approach ends up being a VERY slow process however. It's much easier to bulk for 8-12 weeks not allowing fat gains to get totally out of control (say no more than 15% BF) then do a short intense cut to strip back the fat, it's much quicker to lose fat than it is to gain muscle.

I'm going to be picky here and point out that the bold bit indicates that getting lean before bulking is the wrong thing to do, when it is actually the best way to approach this. I don't think it was ATZ's intention as he later mentions how it is much easier to perform a short cutting period from say 15%bf down to 12/10%.

Everything else in this post is absolutely dead on.

[James]

It IS possible to add muscle without or even kind of losing fat... in theory....

If you are adding muscle mass whilst keeping fat gain as low as possible, although you are putting on fat the gain of lean mass will 'out-gain' it thus actually keeping the same or even possibly lowering your bodyfat - in ratio percentage relation to lean mass.

[thomseddon]

Ok thank you for your good advice....

but what about the cardio? I have a really active lifestyle so should would i be best compensating for lost calories to cardio? this seems a bit backwards...what should i replace these lost calories with?