Newer to lifting... Need some help! want to build muscle

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MichelleNicole93
MichelleNicole93 Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Started lifting on and off since maybe last year.... But for the past month I've been totally committed!
I weigh anywhere from 150-155 but I want to get down to maybe 130 Because I'm 5ft3. My body fat according to my fitbit scale says 29%

I lift heavier and follow a muscle group kind of program. But I don't change it up. I heard you should... ex: Ill do legs every friday doing the same workouts on that sheet. I do sets of 15-12-10 or recently because Im lifting heavier Ill do 12-10-8. I still feel sore from them though

Ill eat anywhere from 1200-1400 calories a day and sometimes eat back the exercise calories. depends.
Im really interested in muscles. I think they look amazing...
I have no idea where to start. I try to drink whey protein and I try to eat a lot of leans but I guess I need some help getting started. What do you do... How to lose the fat and gain muscle and how much and of what to be eating. Also with weights what you should be doing.

Read about casein protein and whey and do you use it? Where should I start?!:wink:

Replies

  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
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    Are you following any sort of program? I'm currently on Jamie Eason's Livefit, which is all about gaining muscle and cutting.


    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html


    I'm only a couple weeks in though.
  • MichelleNicole93
    MichelleNicole93 Posts: 89 Member
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    Im not... I wish I was though... Do you like the program and are you seeing any results?
  • oakfred
    oakfred Posts: 13 Member
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    muscleandstrength.com has some great ideas on mixing it up i find if i change my workouts every month my muscles don't get bored
  • augustremulous
    augustremulous Posts: 378 Member
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    I'm not following it closely. I'm doing my own diet thing, and I'm replacing some of the exercises with therapeutic exercises to address my weak hips and tight hip flexors and quads.

    It's only been two weeks. I haven't lose weight, but I do look better in my jeans.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    OP, have you thought about finding a coach? Possibly one that coaches for fitness model competitions?
  • gelove84
    gelove84 Posts: 16 Member
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    Stronglifts, Starting Strength, New rules of lifting for women. I currently do stronglifts and i like the results i have seen so far.
  • Bearpunk
    Bearpunk Posts: 4 Member
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    I wouldn't worry about changing it up too much at this point. Starting Strength (Rippetoe) and I think Stronglifts suggest you keep one program until you actually plateau. For a beginner that can take months. The more important thing is to lift consistently (i.e., don't miss days) and to track your lifts so that you make sure you are making progress.

    Also, you might want to look into volume versus intensity and decide how they fit into your goals. If you do higher reps (10 to 15 range) with lower weight, the overall volume is higher (10 reps for 100 pounds = 1000 pounds) and is preferred by bodybuilders (generally) because it increases size. By contrast, at 150 pounds you might only be able to do 5 reps. The total volume is lower (750 pounds) but the intensity is higher. This is the style preferred by powerlifters as it promotes strength.

    For my money, I would suggest working toward heavy weights with low reps (high intensity) to build a solid base of muscle and skill at lifting and then once you've started to plateau (waaaay down the line) you can start investigating other programs that target your specific goals.
  • PeterSedesse
    PeterSedesse Posts: 124
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    You are doing great. If you are only a month into it, you still have some room to go with your current system. If you want to build muscle, you want to increase the weight you are using each time you can fairly easily complete your sets. You also might want to try droping your reps down to 10-10-8 while increasing the weight you are using. The idea being that as soon as you can do that third set of 8, it is time to increase the weight you are using.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    OP, you need to look at your intake, not just what program you're getting on. Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time isn't exactly plausible. It can be done, but not in the way you're thinking. It takes a ton of time and you need to eat really, really close to your TDEE. You're not going to build any muscle in the midst of cutting 20-25lbs. Building muscle takes a ton of work, but it takes calories too. Eating 1200-1400 calories, and occasionally eating back exercise calories isn't going to help.

    What you're probably looking at doing is lifting heavy on one of the programs listed above and eat at a mild deficit. This way you will maintain as much muscle possible while losing mainly water and fat in your deficit.

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