This might be a long post. To start off i’m 16 and have only been going to the gym for about 5 months. I’ve always wanted to be big since I was about 8 but never had the courage to go to a gym until this January. I learned a lot about bodybuilding last year and made great gains since I started at the gym. I’m now seriously thinking about doing a Teen Physique competition in August 2017(next year).Here are some pictures of me now (raw photos)
You don’t list your height or weight. Those are important indicators of how much you need to fill in. Next year, fine. You can probably compete in a year of hard training to get bigger. It’s your first show anyways, and you NEVER learn all there is to know about your body in 1 show…or 6…or 8.
Loosen up your diet. That’s not a great diet to gain on.
Don’t eat shit. Don’t eat fast food and pizza. But loosen up the diet–lean cuts of steak, lean hamburger, potatoes, carrots, etc. Red meat is good for you. Olive oil on salads, coconut oil. Avocado. Fruit even. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, a small amount of milk is helpful as well. You don’t need to go crazy with the milk thing, but it is helpful to fill in gaps in calorie intake (drink it with your meals instead of water if you are behind on calories for the day). Salmon is killer.
You need to train your back and your legs. The pecs will come, the legs–even though you’re looking to compete in physique–and especially the back thickness will make a huge difference to judges. Those are always two of the biggest differentiators between close matching competitors. They can also bring up a competitor who has other lagging groups (especially back in physique category).
Don’t “bulk”. Gain muscle. Eat to gain, but put high quality fuel in your body.
You need to gain probably 30 lbs or more, but they need to be good quality pounds not shit. I am a fan of diving in for at least the first experience, just to get a sense of what is involved, what you are likely to forget, what your most difficult points will be. This forms the first real information you’ll have that’s not ‘muscle mag’ or ‘bro knowledge’ about your body. It doesn’t mean that info will be correct, it means it is your starting point. If you never get off the bench it doesn’t matter how much you read about stuff. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the biggest on stage, what matters is the difference in weight between NOW and then. Don’t half ass the eating or the training.
2 Likes
Right, great advice. I’m 6’1 at 173lbs btw.
17 isnt a late start… Too be honest the kid if hes 17 is a genetic freak along with possibly taking some good “supplements”
So i would NOT worry about…looks like you have made some good gain yourself in a short time. Good job
That chances of actually dropping dead is over blown by the media…BUT there are risk !. I honestly think that at your age you shouldn’t ever consider it at this stage in your life. Just keep doing what your doing if you are enjoying it.
I gotta say, 5 months is seriously nothing. I’m sure most experienced folks on here would agree with me when I say it takes a least 5 years (MINIMUM IMO) to build a champion calivber physique.
No one expects teens to seriously step up with a build that would win an open class,… BUT, I will admit that I see younger and younger kids starting on the sauce, and there’s not much you can do other than enter tested shows, or see how well you own body responds to training and solid nutrition once you actually have some time under your belt. PLanning to step onstage a year after you first started training, and then thinking you’re behind the others,… well, you didn’t start late in terms of your own development, BUT you most certainly did start later than the majority of competitors you’re likely going to find onstage next Spring.
My advice is to do one thing at a time. Keep busting your ass, and assess where you’re at in another 5 months. Be honest with yourself about weak points, how well your own physique might look next to others (everyone looks great alone in photos), and whether you honestly and truly would be better off holding off on donning the speedo just yet.
S
1 Like
I did a lot of research about steroids for months just to know what it is and what it does to your body. I’ve slowly peeled back the layers of false information and have a pretty decent understanding of what steroids truly do (I still have a lot to learn though). I just say [quote=“jacobcker, post:1, topic:219846”]
I wouldn’t want to die at 20
[/quote]
just so I don’t cause a stir in the forum. I do appreciate the comments though.
I know, I’ve done plenty of research. If I would compete it would be in the teen division which only goes up to 17yrs at my show, most of the teens there have been training for 1.5-3 years. I’m working on nutrition right now because I need to consume more calories. I do meal prep for Lunch and basically eat super clean until I need to fill in any calorie gaps. Thanks for the advice.
This is a good plan, but I would prep maybe once for the week–tupperware and freeze or refrigerate. That way you can just eat when it’s time and not prep every couple days.
Of course, if you have a lot of extra time or you just enjoy cooking that’s cool too. Lots of people do, but I am personally not like that. I find the busier I am the more important it is to prep for a week–or at least M-F work/school days–in advance. Cook in batches, saves time.
You said you have been eating 3500 calories/day. My next bit of practical advice is this:
-
- Log your food intake and times that you eat. Minimum log calories and protein for sure to make sure you’re getting enough. You don’t know how much to increase your food or what foods you are short on if you don’t know what EACH day is looking like
Second this keeps you from getting stuck in the “I can’t grow but I eat a TON!” mindset. If you’re eating, you’ll know exactly what and how much…and if any days of the week were subpar. Some slight variation in calories is normal of course, but if you’re going from say 3500 to 2500 because you got busy and forgot to eat or prep meals this will tell you so you can fix it faster and waste less time.
-
Don’t jack your calories up by 1000 a day all at once–that’s a fast road to fat gain. Do it in small but measurable stages: extra 300-500 for a week, see if the scale moves. If not, add another 200-300 and check in another week, etc.
-
Wait until the scale stops moving for a whole week or 2 to add calories. Then repeat the above steps.
You as a naturally skinny guy have to worry less about getting fat, but it is still possible. Don’t become worried about losing your abs, because that will short-circuit any chance of piling on muscle and the truth is you have to lose fat to get contest ready anyways. But the flipside is, don’t openly invite extra fat gain by making a habit of eating crap or jumping 1000+ calories from your present level all at once. You want quality gains, not a dirty bulk. Also, eating more crap makes your tastebuds start to crave that crap–and that is a recipe for disaster later in life.
Just remember–super clean doesn’t mean “chicken and rice” for every meal. You need the vitamins and fats in different food sources, so healthy variety is key.
If you’re like some people (including me) who don’t mind eating the same thing every day, just make a list of meals where every meal is different and eat that every day. Still allows easy shopping list because you know what you’re getting, but your nutrition is more well rounded. Example:
meal 1–4 eggs, 1/2 avocado, 2 slices toast
meal 2–6 oz chicken breast and rice with coconut oil
meal 3–8 oz steak and potatoes and carrots
meal 4–salmon and salad with olive oil for dressing
meal 5–protein shake with milk and peanut butter…etc.
Bud just for clarification
Didnt proof read had to add the NOT
Shoot you didnt cause a stir on here…you want too see a stir you should have seen this site when a certain"Professor" was on here posting. LOL
Actually , i applaud your choice not to “supplement” most guys your age jump on without the foresight. They jump on without weighing the pros and cons.
2 Likes
Not what you want to hear but IMO not a great choice for a 16yo -if you put all the that time and dedication needed to place in a show into team sports or your studies etc you could achieve great things at the high school level and on into college.
By all means keep lifting hard btw but try out a bunch of different athletic pursuits
1 Like