Newbie to lifting needing some help. PICS!

[baja_stx]

Hello to everyone. First off I'd like to say that I've found a ton of valuable information on this site and would like to thank all administrators and members.

I hope it's ok to post this thread in this forum topic because I have a little to tell about myself first, but I also have some questions and I've linked some pictures of myself to help you guys answer.

I've been out of high school now for 6 years and in those 6 years I have worked full-time and gone to school part-time and other than that have been a lazy bum... nothing athletic at all. About 18 months ago a few people told me I was getting fat and about 6 months ago I realized it for myself and decided to do something about it. Six months ago I made a big changed my diet (doing some quick math I figured that I was eating 300-500%DV in fat and saturated fat categories); I cut it down quite a bit by cutting out A LOT of fast food. Seven weeks ago I started working and have been keeping my fat and sat. fat both under 60%DV, but have still been eating 2000+ calories daily.

I would very much appreciate it if you guys could look at some of my pictures and help me out with the following questions.

1) What would you guess my %BF is?
2) What do you think the strong and weak areas in my body are?
3) What areas of my body do you recommend I concentrate most on?
4) What workout routines can you recommend?
5) What target weight can you recommend I shoot for?
6) Do you think I look 200 lbs.? (Nobody ever believes me)

I know the answers to some of these questions will vary greatly between different people, but keep my goals in mind. I'd like to gain some muscle mass and also have pretty good definition. I'm not out to be huge... I just want to look pretty damn good on my new boat.

According to some height/weight ratio charts I've looked at I'm about 20-25 lbs. overweight. Honestly I think that if I could replace about 10 lbs. of fat with about 10-15 lbs. of muscle I'd be right about where I want to be.


Pic 1 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm_down1.txt)
Pic 2 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm_cross1.txt)
Pic 3 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm_down2.txt)
Pic 4 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm_extend1.txt)
Pic 5 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm_extend2.txt)
Pic 6 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_arm2head.txt)
Pic 7 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_arm_cross1.txt)
Pic 8 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_arm_cross2.txt)
Pic 9 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_arm_down1.txt)
Pic 10 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_arm_extend1.txt)
Pic 11 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_45deg_side1.txt)
Pic 12 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_45deg_side2.txt)
Pic 13 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_arm2head.txt)
Pic 14 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/f_calves1.txt)
Pic 15 (http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_calves1.txt)
Pic 16 (http://http://www.geocities.com/baja_stx/r_calves_flex1.txt)

[baja_stx]

Oh and for anyone who's wondering.

No I don't shave my armpits or anything else. I have a hair problem called Alopcia Areata.

[baja_stx]

Well since stupid GeoCities is down again as usual I'll just attach a few.

Front - Arms Extended

[baja_stx]

Rear - Arms Extended

[baja_stx]

Front - Arms Down

[baja_stx]

Rear - Arms to Head

[baja_stx]

Front Calves

[baja_stx]

Rear Calves w/ flex

[Saint Patrick]

I knew a chick in College who had Alopecia. Consider yourself lucky, I've just started shaving body hair and it's a pain in the ass.

Well you've got a good foundation to start with, but based on your goals I'd say you need to decide if you want to cut down and lost more weight, or add some mass.

1) What would you guess my %BF is?

I'd guess 15-17%

2) What do you think the strong and weak areas in my body are?

I don't really see any strong OR weak points

3) What areas of my body do you recommend I concentrate most on?

All of them.

4) What workout routines can you recommend?

WBB1 Located here (http://www.wannabebig.com/article.php?articleid=25)

5) What target weight can you recommend I shoot for?

Depends.

6) Do you think I look 200 lbs.? (Nobody ever believes me)

yes

And another thing. Ignore the %DV on nutrition labels. Those are designed by the FDA who created them the average schmuck. If you are a bodybuilder then they don't apply to you. It's okay to eat more than 2000 cals, just make sure you're eating healthy foods and getting lots of protein. If you're trying to cut down you should be eating 2400 cals at your weight.

And Ignore the body-mass index that says your 25lbs overweight. Overweight Is relative. I mean if you're 250 @ 8% body fat, are you overweight?

Congrats on your decision to start bodybuilding. It's a lifelong process, and this is your first step.

Start a journal so we can track your progress and offer advice your your diet and training.

Cheers.


P.S. You're not alone there in Michigan. We've got a few of you guys on the board.

[Herc]

SP has pretty much got all of your q's anwered, so here is just some general advice.

90% of results in bodybuilding come from what you do outside the gym.

Stop concentrating on reducing fat and start thinking increase protein.

Recover. Get quality sleep at night. Now go take a nap.

Cardio is the root of all evils, HOWEVER keeping your heart rate up durring your workouts gets more blood and nutrients to your muscles.

Supplement your diet. A quailty multi vitamin does the body good.
Creatine works. IMO so does glutamine.

TAKE A TRAINING LOG TO THE GYM WITH YOU. Track your weights and progress. Be proud of yourself when you achieve even little goals.

Dedicate yourself to your workouts for at least 2 months without expecting any visible results, then be surprised when your friends start to notice results for you.

That's enough for now.

:thumbup:

[baja_stx]

Herc and SP - Thanks a ton for the helpful responses. I know you guys probably get asked the same questions by newbies over and over... anyways thanks again.


I knew a chick in College who had Alopecia. Consider yourself lucky, I've just started shaving body hair and it's a pain in the ass.

Yeah I know there's worse things. It's not that bad for guys, but I feel sorry for girls that have it because of the loss of hair on the scalp.


just make sure you're eating healthy foods and getting lots of protein

That's what I've been doing and I must say I'm doing VERY good especially considering my old diet. It's hard though... for those of you who don't know Michigan has the highest % in the USA of overweight people. Where I work is no exception... they eat candy bars, chips, and junk food all day long... I'm sticking to my guns though.


90% of results in bodybuilding come from what you do outside the gym.

That's what I've heard. It's hard for me to believe, but I'll take your guys word on it. Everything I read and everyone I talk to says the same thing so it must be true.


Stop concentrating on reducing fat and start thinking increase protein.

I'd guess that I've been consuming between 175-225 g of protein daily. Is that enough? Also, where daily should I draw the line when it comes to g's of fat?

[Behemoth]

Wait wait, you grow hair on your head but not your body? You lucky bastard.