How do I get cut and look like I workout?

[Anonymous]

I'm 6ft 180 pounds.
I have solids arms and back but it seem like I have extra fat in my mid section.
i just want that cut ripped look but I know if I lose weight I'm gonna go back to looking skinny.
how can I look ripped and muscly without looking too skinny?

[guy532]

So you're skinny fat. This question has been debated over so many times and there's really no right answer and it depends on the person. This is what I would do if I were you and a COMPLETE noobie (doesn't know any proper form):
1) Start out with full body high repetition cardiovascular exercises. Why? Because it's going to be very low weight and you can work on your form properly. You'll still get very sore and you'll lose some weight and build up your stamina. Do this twice a week for about a month or until you feel like you have proper form down.

2) I would do reverse pyramid training. Basically you start out with your heaviest set and only 1-2 reps then work your way to more sets and lower weight. Every week you should gradually be increasing the number of sets, basically you're going to gradually transition from strength training to hypertrophy training. For example: first week you do 1rep, decrease the weight and do 2 reps, then 3, 5, 5. Next week you do 1,2,3,5,7 etc until you're doing almost exclusively hypertrophy training (then you'd transition back, but by then you'd have enough experience to have a better idea of what it is you want). The upsides to doing this is that you're not going to get too sore and miss out on gym days. Cardiovascular training doesn't get you that sore and if you jump into hypertrophy training right away and you don't know what you're doing it's only going to slow down your progression. So by starting out with strength training first (VERY important to have proper form down). You not only don't shock your muscles into tearing too much, but you also train your nervous system into lifting heavier weights so when you're at the point of doing hypertrophy training you're lifting a lot more than you would have if you started off with hypertrophy right away. This means you'll pack on more muscle faster (you'll be lifting more total weight).
That's what I would do, I used to be a huge gym rat, have studied exercise theory in my own time and in med school so i do know and understand the bio behind it. Best of luck on your gains!

[Asker]

How about my diet.
I how many calories should I eat to promote muscle growth and cut fat.
I don't wanna look really big, but ripped.

[guy532]

It's always best to have a caloric intake when you're first starting out and trying to gain muscle. You'd rather gain muscle with some fat then limit yourself on muscle gain. Most people go through a bulking phase then cut back (the more muscle you have, the more calories you use, so the more weight you lose). I know it seems counterintuitive, but in the long run you're better off. I can't tell you exactly what you need since everyone is different. There's so many calorie counters out there that will help you out way more than I ever could. Just make sure you're getting enough protein (about 1 gram per pound of body weight). Remember to keep an eye out on how much you're burning as well. When you're doing strength training, you're not going to be burning up as many calories so you have to cut down not to gain too much fat. I also recommend you use supplements to help you out. What I would use are: protein supps, multivitamins, creatine, taurine, beta-alanine, and L-glutamine. Those are

[guy532]

probably the best supplements to take and they're all safe to use. Your body makes them naturally. Don't listen to all the bs bro science that they're bad for for you blah blah blah, if you know the physio behind them you know it's utter bs and they're perfectly safe to use. They make a big difference too, so they are all very worth it. None of these will mess with your hormone levels either so they're not drugs.

[guy532]

If you want to learn more about exercising, look up strength camp on youtube, that guy knows his stuff very very well.

[CristopherC]

The best way to look like you work out is to work out and not eat a bunch of crap. It's pretty simple. If you need extra control, count calories with an app like LoseIt! or MyFitnessPal.

[Asker]

Yeah but how many calories should I eat to promote muscle growth and lose fat.
I'll do anythingZ

[CristopherC]

Typically, it's nearly impossibly to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Gaining muscle requires a caloric surplus, losing fat requires a caloric deficit. For that reason, a lot of people will go through phases.. a couple months of a "cut" in which they are eating a caloric deficit and losing fat, followed by a "bulk" where they eat a surplus to gain muscle.

Usually if you take your weight in pounds and multiply it by 14 for a sedentary person (desk job, on the computer a lot) 15 for a person of average activity levels or 16 for very active individuals, it will give you your basal metabolic rate in calories... that is to say, that will tell you approximately the calories you need to stay at the same weight. Drop it by about 300-500 calories per day to lose weight, increase it by 300-500 per day to gain weight. Always do weight training with heavy weights and progressive overload (beating the weight or reps you achieved last week) no matter if you're bulking or cutting.

[CristopherC]

Also, it is possible if you've never lifted weights before that you could experience "newbie gain" and both increase muscle mass and lose fat at the same time, even at a caloric deficit... even though that is not seen in people after the first month or two of lifting and proper nutrition.

Also, make sure you're getting a minimum of.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight.