Alright, what I want to do, and as sure as I am that most of you here have heard this request before, I want to cut down on bodyfat while at the same time bulk up. Is this possible? I'm 15 years old, 5'11" and 160lbs. My workouts are in ab format. Like, mondays: lift. tuesdays: cardio. wednesdays: lift. thursdays: cardio, etc. I rest on sundays.

On A days I do a fullbody workout with 3 sets of each exercise and 8-12 reps per exercise. So far the exercises are: Dumbell Curl, Dumbell bent-over row, barbell bench press, barbell close grip bench press, , squats, deadlifts, leg extensions, pushups, and crunches on a fitness ball. (I plan on adding some more in the future- please recommend some to me for muscle groups I'm missing. Afterwards I drink a protein shake.

On B days I run interval cardio. It goes like this:
> 2-3 minutes to warm up
> 1 minute sprinting at max speed for me
> 1 minute jogging to catch breath
> repeat process from sprinting
> End after 10 minutes of sprinting and 10 minutes of jogging.

My diet is usually something like this:

Mornings: Mini-wheats and sometimes an apple. Plan to have bigger breakfasts after school ends.

Snack at about 10 am: Some beef jerky

Lunch: Roast beef sandwhich with american cheese, lettuse, and mayonaisse. Also a "Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey- 100% Natural, excellent source of whole grain." snack bar, and a small package of fruit snacks.

Snack at maybe 2-3 pm: Beef jerky or almonds.

Dinner: Sometimes steak and mashed potatoes, or a PB&J sandwhich, etc.

Snack: Small fruit snack again or some cashew nuts.


I heard that with interval cardio, which I'm doing, I can lose calories with not too much of it being muscle lbs. So, if I keep this up, can I effectively cut down bf% and bulk up too?

NO!............

I dont think ur able to bulk up when ur trying to lose body fat

that was what my trainer told me a few months ago

if u want to get bulky, first of all, u need to get ur body fat % down, then start bulking up. u cannot do the same thing at once... ><" well not from my experience

I wasted about 3 months of my life doing the same thing you're doing. If you want to bulk, you have to give your body a surplus of calories at the end of the day. If I were you, I would cut the running to 1-2 times a week, and literally DOUBLE what you're eating. One sandwhich for dinner sometimes? Please. You're going to gain a little bit of fat, it's just something that has to happen.

If you're not too skinny I suggest you cut for the summer and bulk during winter. You should decide on cutting OR bulking, otherwise it's likely that you're not getting anywhere.

Alright, here's a pic of me.



Cut or bulk, would you guys say?

bulk
(stupid minimum character limit)

Alright, thanks everyone, I guess I'll start to bulk up now. A couple of questions though.

Should I drop running altogether, if not, how should I limit it? Without running I now do a fullbody workout every day. I'm thinking maybe some jump rope skipping or some interval running, but I don't want it to interfere with me bulking up. What should I do?

do not do a full body workout everyday. You need to give your muscles time to rest or else they wont get bigger. When you lift you tear down the muscle tissue and during the rest period, the muscle grows back larger than before. If you are doing a full body everyday, you will just continue to tear the muscle and wont give it time to repair.

You can keep your current lifting schedule, doing full body every other day. And as long as you are eating more calories than you are burning by running you can run as well. It just means youll have to eat more.

Oops, I meant to say fullbody workout every other day. And, I don't want to have to eat more, I'll probably just drop running altogether (never liked it anyway ). Anyone else?

If you already have a solid cardio base than do it twice a week for 30 minutes. This is what i do and it helps me maintain a fair amount of conditioning although don't expect to fully maintain what you already have.

I'm still borderline on the decision of if I should cut, lose some weight and some bf% first or if I should bulk, but those who replied said to bulk.. eh.

if i was u i would start cutting to a nice slim body, then you can start bulking from scratch . and you can make sure its a good clean bulk.

Thanks for the reply, I'm still considering cutting. Anyone else?

I'd bulk, clean.