Need weight gain advice

kevin_bvbfan

So here is my situation. I am 5'8" at 173, and want to get up to 200#. Need to drop my gut (not bad, but there) and want to gain more muscle mass. The question is I am 45, is it wise to set these types of goals at my age or just shoot for dropping gut and lean muscle mass rather than shoot for the gain in weight

ErinG781

I am not a doctor and I don't play one on tv My own opinion on it is, absolutely! Set goals! I'm not sure if what you want is unrealistic, but go for it! The more muscle the more weight. Cardio and strength training will help you loose your gut and build muscle at the same time (adding the desired weight).
Question. Why do you 'need' to get to 200?

kevin_bvbfan

I just figured it was a nice round number. The most I ever weighed was 185 right after the Army. Just wanted to see if I could get bigger than the last time, which was over 20 years ago

LaurenAOK

I don't think your age is a limitation at all, but I do think you may want to consider cutting a bit more before you go for a bulk. My general understanding is that people like to wait until they are at a lower and fairly satisfactory body fat level before attempting to put on muscle weight. If you still have a gut that you are troubled by, it may be wise to work on getting rid of some of that fat first and then focusing weight/muscle gain later.

Depends on your personal goals, though!

codsterlaing95

Drop the fat before entering a surplus otherwise you'll add far too much fat when you bulk. Ideally, you want to start a bulk at around 12% body fat.

Here's a good read:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html/

883xlsportster

I found that once you start you can tweak your goals as you progress and work with or around what your body is telling you.
Good health to you on your journey.

Yi5hedr3

Most folks have to do a "Cut", followed by a "Bulk".