How to Build a Cover Model Physique?

170 don’ look impressive unless your’e super short, and ridiculously lean. And 152 at 9% not looking scrawny? You need to change your perceptions if you want any chance of having a competitive physique man.

[quote]Soloist wrote:

[quote]jskrabac wrote:
just for reference, you can look at my pics from this summer to see me at 5’10", 170 and 9% body fat…and I am a scrawny little bitch with no right to be a cover model until I put on about 30 lbs LBM. I’m pretty sure a few posters around here way back when nicknamed me Zach Efron. I think you are gravely mistaken in how you are visualizing what 170, 8% even looks like at your height. [/quote]

Thanks for the reply, your progress pretty interesting to follow - having initially been overweight, have you found that you’ve gained more fat than you would like since starting to bulk up? And how much has your strength increased since your lean photo?
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No, I didn’t feel like I gained more fat than I wanted or expected when I decided to bulk again. That’s because I learned how to make better dietary choices while cutting. I also wasn’t naive enough to believe that I’d be able to keep visible abs when I got back up to 190 the second time around. My strength increased steadily while cutting and continued to progress during my bulk. Anyone who lets themselves get weaker while cutting is probably doing it wrong (with the exception of the elite lifters who have such high numbers to begin with anything other than continuous max strength training will result in drops on their lifts). And for reference, during my bulk, I was eating around 3300 Cal/day; although, I focused more on what I was eating than how much and I made sure I ate as much as I could in the two hours post workout.

The truth is, you have to decide where you’d like to start, because at the end of the day results will only come if your heart is 100% in what you’re doing. If you are sick of the extra fat hanging around like a spare tire like I was, by all means, go cut. If you are sick of how small your arms look, spend some time growing. 5 years down the road it really won’t matter where you started, because you’ll learn from your success and failures along the way. Bottom line, figure out what nags you the most right now and attack it. That’s where you’ll have the best chance of staying motivated.

Seems to me if you are going to sleep (bed) in calorie deficit then you will add very little lean mass (muscle) as it is while sleeping that most growth occurs

[quote]Soloist wrote:

I’ve already started to eat more in an effort to bulk up and I’ve found that I’m pushing myself a lot more in each workout, almost to ‘justify’ eating more food. [/quote]

Soloist—I was going to respond earlier but you got some really good advice from Lonnie and others. This quote right here is an EXCELLENT way to look at your diet. On one hand, if you don’t eat enough you will never gain the muscle you want and need. But on the other hand, this sort of perspective is extremely helpful from a health standpoint as well as staying lean.

Also, you’d be surprised how much you can eat safely while really pushing yourself in the gym. :slight_smile: You really just have to focus and remember that all-out fat loss is extremely quick compared to muscle gaining. Really, you can knock off most any fat you gained in about 2 months of strong fat loss training and dieting. Maaaaaaybe 3 months but you really shouldn’t need that much unless you just forget how to eat healthy and go crazy lol.

For the record, to illustrate my waist-line comment earlier–I weigh 235 right about now with a 33" waist at about 6 foot. I’m wearing 33" waist jeans right now, and I am not as lean as I could be by a long margin. Now granted the jeans are riding lower than my belly button, but I would not be at all surprised if I have a waist that’s 32" when I cut down the rest of the fat. Although to be perfectly honest I think I’m going to go back up in weight now and try to hit 255 and keep it there for a bit.

So, it’s possible to do what you want to do. But yes, I did have to let my waist expand slightly while gaining. I never got out of hand although I certainly did not have a 6 pack.

And yes, it really is as simple as eating more than maintenance and lifting compound lifts 4 times a week. It just takes time. You will want to finish off your workouts with isolation exercises I’m sure, as many of us do, but the “bulk” of your training should be compound lifts.

Lots of time with consistent effort. The real “secret” lies in your ability to deal with life’s curveballs and set-backs while not giving up or putting your goals on hold. There’s never a “perfect” moment in life where everything magically goes great with all the free time you want to train. You have to diligently MAKE time for it. Contributor Dave Tate has a laundry list of injuries to work around, owns a business and works around the clock, had serious family problems, and surgeries and still managed to attain his goals because he was diligent in working at them and not allowing life to make him set them aside (he’s ~ 270 lbs).

That’s the best advice I can give. Use the inevitable setbacks as challenges to beat and overcome rather than insurmountable obstacles. That’s the real secret to success because the people who get there are the hard-workers.

[quote]chriscecc914 wrote:
two years with a whole lot of steroids is possible. If your natural you can expect to gain around 5lbs a year which would equate to around 8 years of training and proper diet to gain 44lbs of lean muscle mass.[/quote]

you’re an idiot

your long term goals are definitely possible OP.

People at the same height will look different at the same exact weight/BF%. People have different sized frames thus they COULD look very different with the same stats.

You’re going to need to have your diet dialed 100% and you’re training is also going to need to be dialed in. If you put in the work you could reach your goals.

For reference my avatar pic is me. 5’11" 212lbs and I have no clue what BF% i have (dont care what the number is) If I was going to be on a cover (which im not) I would definitely need to cut down some BF and get an even tan lol. I think id look cover ready-ish @200-205 (assuming no muscle loss)

so for you at 5’9" I’d say you should be up around 185-190 @ single digits to look impressive (but like i said everyone carries their weight differently)

Good luck OP

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]chriscecc914 wrote:
two years with a whole lot of steroids is possible. If your natural you can expect to gain around 5lbs a year which would equate to around 8 years of training and proper diet to gain 44lbs of lean muscle mass.[/quote]

you’re an idiot[/quote]

x1000

I gained 50lbs in 2 years by working hard and eating. And never broke 15% bf

Well, I’m hooked. It’s been 2 weeks of eating lots (but cleanly) and lifting with a purpose. My 1RM squat used to be 110kg (242). And this evening I knocked out a 1RM of 130kg (286). That’s a 44lb (18%) increase in 2 weeks! My bench is up too. My deadlift hasn’t increased much though - my grip seems to be a weakness rather than my back strength. Would you advise chalk/ straps or something else for that?

I don’t know what I weigh - I’m using the mirror to keep a check on things rather than the scales at the moment. I didn’t have that much definition to begin with, and its gone down a bit from there, but surprisingly I’m not really too concerned about the fat gain. The increase in strength more than makes up for it as far as I’m concerned.

I think my initial reservation about gaining fat were based on previous experience of weight gain. Whenever I’ve put weight on before, its been because I haven’t trained and I’ve eaten junk food. So I’ve always ended up a bit ‘mis-shapen’. However, having added muscle underneath the fat I don’t look mis-shapen, just a bit bigger.

I’ve decided to set some potentially ambitious targets for short/medium-term strength:
Bench - 300
Squat - 425
Deadlift - 425

My focus has actually shifted quite a bit from building a ‘cover model’ physique and I’m now more concerned with getting stronger (though I’d still like to look good in the process). Having never lifted weights on a calorie surplus before, I’m massively enjoying the experience. I’m staying away from junk food as much as possible though, mainly eating meat, veg, fruit, brown bread, rice, milk and protein shakes.

pic of me, 160

pic of friend, 180-200

face

What you look like now?

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Photoshop

lighting

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That helps.

Most of those MH cover models are under 6’ and well under 200#.

They are lean, have the right face and body proportions and also have the advantages Ct Rockula listed above.

[quote]Big Banana wrote:

[quote]Ct. Rockula wrote:
Photoshop

lighting

[/quote]

That helps.

Most of those MH cover models are under 6’ and well under 200#.

They are lean, have the right face and body proportions and also have the advantages Ct Rockula listed above.
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I think people really underestimate how much muscle a lot of these cover models are carrying.
Sure some of them have under developed legs and the lighting, posing and that helps, but if you really want to look like one of these guys when your just walking around I reckon 200 pounds is about right for someone just shy of 6 foot.

I know that some people look bigger at a lighter weight but I get the impression that a lot of guys who dont look like they lift think the just need to gain 10 pounds of muscle or loose 10 pounds of fat and they’ll be there.
The reality is that although those models aren’t quite bodybuilder big a lot of them are not far off being able to do well in natural bb competitions.

beginners usually underestimate how much weight the will need to gain to look the way they want.
When I started lifting I wanted to gain 20 pounds so I would weigh about 175. I’m 5’11" and I now weigh 207 and I think if I was leaner at this bodyweight I would have that cover model kind of build (size wise I mean).

Also as far as your riding goes it all depends on whether you are competetive or not. If not then you will likely continue to improve your cycling (although slower) as you gain weight. You gain weight slowly and as long as you keep riding then your body will adapt. A friend of mine takes his riding pretty serious and is over 200’ he is also taller though. Like someone else said if you want to do both you can but it will hamper your progress in both activities than if you focussed on one.

The specifications you have mentioned say that you are in a perfect proportion if you are having a single digit BF. To reach the MH cover, you need to train yourself in a scientific way. It is about weighing the gaining and losing of muscle mass to get the shoulders you desire. To reach the desired stage, you need to follow a healthy plan so that when you go off the track, you don’t face difficulty in surfacing back to normal.

[quote]Neiloscar wrote:
The specifications you have mentioned say that you are in a perfect proportion if you are having a single digit BF. To reach the MH cover, you need to train yourself in a scientific way. It is about weighing the gaining and losing of muscle mass to get the shoulders you desire. To reach the desired stage, you need to follow a healthy plan so that when you go off the track, you don’t face difficulty in surfacing back to normal.
[/quote]

Grave digger.

[quote]nighthawkz wrote:

[quote]Neiloscar wrote:
The specifications you have mentioned say that you are in a perfect proportion if you are having a single digit BF. To reach the MH cover, you need to train yourself in a scientific way. It is about weighing the gaining and losing of muscle mass to get the shoulders you desire. To reach the desired stage, you need to follow a healthy plan so that when you go off the track, you don’t face difficulty in surfacing back to normal.
[/quote]

Grave digger.
[/quote]

This parrot is deceased.

[quote]dagill2 wrote:
This parrot is deceased.
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