Best tip for hardgainers?

IMO, there no such thing as a "hardgainer". They are either not eating enough, or lack genetics to improve to what they desire.
I've trained with many dudes who want my arm shape and size. And they do everything they can to do it, with little results. I've gotten away with great looking arms by training them every other week.
Now LEGS, that's a different story.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

bruhaha007 wrote: »

So what do you recommend @chiefirg to lower the bf% while still consuming the sufficient number of calories to gain lean muscle? Cardio and limit my fat intake?

Eat less than your TDEE and you will lose fat. Eat enough protien for your LBM/activity level and you will lose minimal muscle during the cut process. Protien level will be dependant on weight/bf%. I find a goal of .5-1% loss of body weight per week to be optimal for me. So currently I'm 224lb with my BF@14%....I feel conformable losing 1-2lb weekly. Everybody is different, but I can still training for a couple hours without being drained at that rate.

My macros breakdown for a cut is the following for my activity level, BF% and current health. Note these are the minimum amounts I consume.
1gr of protien per lb of LBM
.35gr of fat per lb of LBM
I'm not a fan of using percentages for macros. Because as you lose fat/weight it would having you eat less protien and fats while in reality you should be eating more to retain muscle.

Cardio is for your heart and lungs and is not neccesary to lose fat. I do 0% cardio, while eating at least 67gr of fat per day. Eating fat doesn't make you fat, it helps you with normal body fuctions. Cut the fat from your diet and your body will not function at peak levels. I eat ice cream every day and plenty of it either when on a cut and or a bulk.

borrego6193 wrote: »

Make sure you're in a caloric surplus, gotta eat big to get big lol, keep reps low & heavy 2-6 Reps

For strength yes, but if one is going for hypertrophy to increase muscle size, a regimen of high volume (16 sets per body part) and reps in the range of 6-12 would be more desirable.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Having seen some of your other threads I'm going to say that you need to set a goal and stick to it. You either need to bulk or you need to cut. Either way you have to find a solid progressive lifting routine to follow. You also need to drop the cleanses because you could damage to your digestive flora and your electrolyte balance.

If you want to bulk do it. Lift and eat. Don't beat yourself up for the cheat meals, don't cleanse after cheat meals. Eat, lift, gain.

bruhaha007 wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

Having seen some of your other threads I'm going to say that you need to set a goal and stick to it. You either need to bulk or you need to cut. Either way you have to find a solid progressive lifting routine to follow. You also need to drop the cleanses because you could damage to your digestive flora and your electrolyte balance.

If you want to bulk do it. Lift and eat. Don't beat yourself up for the cheat meals, don't cleanse after cheat meals. Eat, lift, gain.

Great tips @usmcmp I do agree I need to focus on either bulking or shredding and not attempt both at the same time. Makes complete sense! However, I doubt we would ever truly come to an agreement on the value of fasting/cleansing as a technique to safely lose weight which is something I have researched in considerable detail. Please know I respect your opinion and thank you for suggesting I pick a path as I have been trying to decide this week whether I want to wait until next winter to bulk and shred going into the summer. I am leaning towards shredding for the next 16 weeks.

I'm curious as to what you'd research is. Have you actually done look at the research of just read random Internet sites and pop books? I'm guessing it's the latter because there is no credible evidence for cleanses but fasting can be a useful tool for weight loss if done properly but there is no need to detoxify unless you have kidney issues and that's a lot medical issue you would need serious help for.

Please listen to people like USMCMP because she knows her stuff.

codsterlaing95 wrote: »

bruhaha007 wrote: »

usmcmp wrote: »

Having seen some of your other threads I'm going to say that you need to set a goal and stick to it. You either need to bulk or you need to cut. Either way you have to find a solid progressive lifting routine to follow. You also need to drop the cleanses because you could damage to your digestive flora and your electrolyte balance.

If you want to bulk do it. Lift and eat. Don't beat yourself up for the cheat meals, don't cleanse after cheat meals. Eat, lift, gain.

Great tips @usmcmp I do agree I need to focus on either bulking or shredding and not attempt both at the same time. Makes complete sense! However, I doubt we would ever truly come to an agreement on the value of fasting/cleansing as a technique to safely lose weight which is something I have researched in considerable detail. Please know I respect your opinion and thank you for suggesting I pick a path as I have been trying to decide this week whether I want to wait until next winter to bulk and shred going into the summer. I am leaning towards shredding for the next 16 weeks.

Would you mind linking the websites? I think you should bite your ego and just listen to the good advice Usmcmp is handing you...

These guys are definitely right. Cleanses and detoxes are just industry gimmicks.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1159755/looking-for-a-detox-cleanse/p1

cgvet37 wrote: »

Remember to change up your ruotine as well. Doing the same movements over and over, will fail eventually. You have to keep your body guessing. Also, heavy lifts is not the only way to gain mass. Pumping blood into your muscles, will force your muscles to grow. So even when you are resting, contract your muscles, and keep the blood pumping. You should be sore the next day, if not, you are not working to failure. The last few reps, when the muscle burn is intense, is the time your muscles are going to respond the most.

Do what now?

Currently resting in bed and contracting muscles. Man, this is all I've needed to do for gains. Been doing it wrong.

cgvet37 wrote: »

Remember to change up your ruotine as well. Doing the same movements over and over, will fail eventually. You have to keep your body guessing. Also, heavy lifts is not the only way to gain mass. Pumping blood into your muscles, will force your muscles to grow. So even when you are resting, contract your muscles, and keep the blood pumping. You should be sore the next day, if not, you are not working to failure. The last few reps, when the muscle burn is intense, is the time your muscles are going to respond the most.

There is a lot wrong with this.