How can i build muscle

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Pastor_John
Pastor_John Posts: 33
in Fitness and Exercise
Im a beginner Im 5'4 and weight 257 pounds. im a heavy guy but ive been deiting so the pounds are coming off. Someone said free weights and barbell is best, are lifting machines bad?.......I want to be a big muscular guy like LL Cool J, how should i train like someone my size and how many reps should i do?

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  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    You won't build much, if any, muscle while you are losing weight (can't make something out of nothing).

    However, strength training will preserve the muscle you have, ensuring the majority of your weight loss comes from fat.

    Follow a beginner free weight program such as Stronglifts 5x5 or Starting Strength.

    Once you reach your goal weight, if you want to add muscle you'll need to eat at a surplus to gain mass, then cut to trim the fat. Rinse repeat until desired body composition is achieved.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    5'4'' 257 sounds like your primary focus should be on burning fat.

    the good news is that if you could magically make the fat disappear, your probably a lot more muscular looking then you'd think.

    You can do one of those basic lifting programs like strong lifts or whatever. You want to do some kind of resistance training while you eat at a defecit (with plenty of protien) just to help you hang onto the muscle you already have. You will not be able to build muscle while burning fat because one requires excess calories and the other requires a defecit.

    To make a long story short, You'll want to hit every body part at least twice a week, reps aren't too important but keep them to 12 reps or less is probably going to be optimal. The more sets you do, the more calories it will burn.

    At the end of the day, getting where you want to be is going to be 80% or more about how good you are with your eating.
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
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    honestly wouldn't worry about gaining mass.

    btw, you can GET STRONGER while burning fat. It doesn't add mass, but strength vs mass is not a 1:1 ratio.

    wouldn't hurt to do a little cardio, mostly for heart health. HIIT is great for your heart, its over fast, burns a lot of calories and is probably more supportive of weight training then say running on a treadmill.
  • mschicagocubs
    mschicagocubs Posts: 774 Member
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    Im a beginner Im 5'4 and weight 257 pounds. im a heavy guy but ive been deiting so the pounds are coming off. Someone said free weights and barbell is best, are lifting machines bad?.......I want to be a big muscular guy like LL Cool J, how should i train like someone my size and how many reps should i do?

    If you want to be big & muscular then starting eating a surplus and do heavy lifting programs.

    You will need to make sure you hit your macros for protein and fat to help build muscle and cut fat.
  • tyrsnbdr
    tyrsnbdr Posts: 234 Member
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    LL Cool J got his size through a series of Bulk/cut cycles with a great nutrition plan. It took him years to get to his NCIS size.

    So, get yourself a proven lifting plan and get to work. Show us in 3 years how much success you've had.
  • thatonegirlwiththestuff
    thatonegirlwiththestuff Posts: 1,171 Member
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    Look up carb cycling. Great for making gains and losing fat, especially as a beginner, you have newbie gains on your side.
  • CrusaderSam
    CrusaderSam Posts: 180 Member
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    You can build a ton of muscle because you are already "bulked" so you should have no problem maxing out your newbie gains even on a very harsh deficit. That is an easy 10# of muscle to gain on your upper body. Chances are you wont gain much on your legs because they will already have a lot of muscle from carrying your weight around. Well that's what happened with me.

    As for looking like x person, it wont happen (a lot of guys take roids to get their look, its not about what they do or eat). That being said you can still look very good with out any of that stuff just dont set your goals based on them. A lot of people put in the hard work, dont end up looking like so and so, and just end up going back to their old habits. So before you start, you have to make sure this is a lifestyle change not a I want to look like that guy change.

    As for sets and reps. Just start off doing sets of 12 reps and keep adding weight till you can only do 8. Just keep doing that for about 3 months and by that time you will kind of know how strong you are and what you like and can pick a real plan that fits you. Stick with the diet and the plan and in about a year when you max your newbie gains and cut the fat you will look better then 90% of other guys.

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