Zobox
Iron
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Getting a decent physique quickly during teen years
I got a gym membership on my 15th birthday, I was about 6’1” 135 lbs, now I’m 17, turning 18 in April, about 6’2” 180 lb
I’m going to break down what I did into 3 simple sections based off personal experience and the latest science, this is a decently long thread so beware. If you’re a skinny guy and look like I did in the first pic, then follow what I say to a T. If you’re chubby and want to lose weight, then just follow along and pay close attention to the next section.
P.S., I am not some expert with a PHD although usually guys with PHD’s are typically wrong because their knowledge is based off obsolete science, but I’m also not a total idiot who’s spouting bs from my ass because I’ve applied these methods throughout my journey and they’ve clearly worked. This is a basic guide that will carry you throughout pretty much your first few years of training.
DIET/SUPPLEMENTS
People don’t understand that building a physique isn’t just about how well you train, 90% of it comes down to what you put into your body to fuel those gains.
If you’re skinny and want to put on weight:
Caloric surplus. It’s not that hard. It doesn’t have to be an extreme bulk, and I don’t really suggest ever doing a heavy bulk, especially if you care about your facial appearance (which everyone on this site does). I’d recommend 300-500 calorie surplus, enough to put on 1-1.5lbs a week while staying lean. Protein should be 1-1.2 grams per pound of body weight. For example, if you’re 150lbs, eat 150-180 grams of protein a day.
If you’re chubby and want to lose weight:
Calorie deficit. Same concept as gaining weight. If you want to gain weight, you eat more. If you want to lose weight, you eat less. Same numbers too, 300-500 calories below maintenance, protein is still 1-1.2 grams per pound of body weight. If you want to lose weight while putting on muscle mass, then do 300-500 calories under maintenance, but if you hate yourself and just want to be skinny quickly and worry about putting on muscle later, then starvemaxx.
How to find your maintenance calories:
www.calculator.net
This is a calorie calculator, it’s going to ask you some basic questions, just answer them truthfully and don’t put the height you are when you’re wearing your gay ass shoe lifts, put your real height in. It’s going to give you a number, somewhere between 2000-3000, that’s your maintenance (give or take), meaning that’s about the amount of calories you eat in a normal day if you’re maintaining your weight. Once you find that, then add or subtract your 300-500 to gain or lose weight.
Food:
Stop eating like shit. I ate like shit for a while, not only does it inhibit your gains, but it’s bad for your entire body, longevity, and appearance. Eat well rounded meals, make sure to incorporate fruits and vegetables for basic amino acids, and force yourself to enjoy cooking because you’ll be doing it quite often. I’m not trying to make this thread too big so just look up high protein meals on Tiktok or Instagram, but don’t follow the macros off the video, follow the macros off the box of the food you’re making, it’ll be much more accurate because you’ll probably be buying from different brands then the person in the video is.
How to track your calories:
You don’t need to do legit meal preps where you make a weeks worth of food into tiny boxes and microwave it later and it ends up tasting like shit. Eat well rounded meals, take the macros from the meals and write it down on paper or in your notes app, or use an app like Stupid Simple Macros Tracker to track it. Eventually you’ll figure out how to spread them out evenly throughout the day so you’re not jamming 1,500 calories down at the end of the night or meeting your calorie goal by 2:00 in the afternoon and starving the rest of the day.
Supplements:
Key supplements to buy starting out:
-Creatine
-Protein powder
-Water hydration mix
-Fish oil (joint health trust me)
-Ashwaganda (cheap T booster)
These are the basics, if you’re feeling frisky and not scared to touch some light compounds, look into enclomephine. Enclomephine is a decent test booster, relatively harmless unless you’re family has a history of balding, then I’d recommend staying away from it or just buy some Minoxidil, but it’s generally unlikely you’ll go bald from it.
Recovery:
Recovery is absolutely vital in terms of building muscle, you can’t skip this part and expect to make any gains. I’d argue this is just as important as the diet.
Sleep:
8 hours minimum for best results. this is pretty basic, if you have trouble sleeping, try melatonin. If you’re a high stressed individual like me, just get a WholeMelt indica cart (weed), that shit will knock you out in 10 minutes.
Diet/supplements goes hand to hand with recovery, your muscles can’t recover properly if you’re not fueling them properly, which leads to muscle atrophy or plateau, so just listen to the diet section.
Training:
Training isn’t that complicated. First get an understanding of basic muscle anatomy like where muscle are and what movements target them. This is my training split, and before you experienced gymmaxxers come in to shit on me for my routine, I’ve done 3 and 4 and 5 day splits, and they are no where near as effective as this split, so just be open minded.
I haven’t been doing this split for very long, but I have gotten unreal progression on all my lifts as well as noticeable size improvements in just a few weeks. If you’re interested in rest days, which I would recommend to new lifters because you’re gonna be sore as fuck after your first few lifts, toss a rest day in after every lower day, just don’t go to the gym the day after training legs.
Why this split is best:
The Upper/Lower split falls into the “high frequency” style of training, meaning you’re training the muscles very frequently while still providing adequate recovery by stimulating the muscles enough to grow, but not too much to the point of atrophy and prolonged recovery. Look up high frequency and mechanical tension studies on pubmed.com (make sure it’s 2024) if you’re interested in the science behind it, or if you’d rather someone just tell you why it’s good search up Jordan Peters on YouTube or @coach_mundy_ on Tiktok, both massive guys to have adopted this training method.
Exercises:
If you’ve never stepped foot into a gym and have no idea what exercises I’m referring to, just look up the exercises on google and go to pictures, find the machine and do it.
How to train:
I cannot stress enough how important intensity is. You can’t walk into a gym and do super light weight with 10 reps in reserve and expect to see progress, you have to push yourself to failure, whereas you cannot complete another full rep. This is VITAL, NOT NEGOTIABLE. It is an absolute must-do for progression. Invest in some decent pre workout, know how much caffeine you can handle, some people are more tolerant than others. Walmart actually sells some decent name brands preworkouts for a good price.
Form:
You have to find a balance between form and intensity. If I’m doing a set of lat pull downs for 8 reps, the first five should be relatively perfect form, then towards the last 2-3 reps, I might swing my body backwards a little to give myself some momentum to squeeze in those last couple reps. It’s okay to break form a slightly, but not to the extreme. Range of motion is also important. You need to be doing full reps, where the muscle is fully stretched and relaxed at the top of the movement, and fully shortened and contracted at the bottom of the movement. As you progress you’ll learn how to maximize it effectively, experience is key to training but obviously that’s not something you’ll have your first day. On your first month or so of training, just focus on getting a feel for the exercises, understand mind to muscle connection, and try to push yourself the best you can. I’d recommend sticking to machines if you’re new so you’ll get an understanding of intensity, then try free weights where form is a little more difficult to maintain.
Consistency:
Discipline > motivation. Don’t go to the gym because you want to, go because you want to reach your goal of having a respectable body that women gawk at. Make it a routine to go. Set a time, stick to it, and execute it. Only pussies are inconsistent.
I got a gym membership on my 15th birthday, I was about 6’1” 135 lbs, now I’m 17, turning 18 in April, about 6’2” 180 lb
I’m going to break down what I did into 3 simple sections based off personal experience and the latest science, this is a decently long thread so beware. If you’re a skinny guy and look like I did in the first pic, then follow what I say to a T. If you’re chubby and want to lose weight, then just follow along and pay close attention to the next section.
P.S., I am not some expert with a PHD although usually guys with PHD’s are typically wrong because their knowledge is based off obsolete science, but I’m also not a total idiot who’s spouting bs from my ass because I’ve applied these methods throughout my journey and they’ve clearly worked. This is a basic guide that will carry you throughout pretty much your first few years of training.
DIET/SUPPLEMENTS
People don’t understand that building a physique isn’t just about how well you train, 90% of it comes down to what you put into your body to fuel those gains.
If you’re skinny and want to put on weight:
Caloric surplus. It’s not that hard. It doesn’t have to be an extreme bulk, and I don’t really suggest ever doing a heavy bulk, especially if you care about your facial appearance (which everyone on this site does). I’d recommend 300-500 calorie surplus, enough to put on 1-1.5lbs a week while staying lean. Protein should be 1-1.2 grams per pound of body weight. For example, if you’re 150lbs, eat 150-180 grams of protein a day.
If you’re chubby and want to lose weight:
Calorie deficit. Same concept as gaining weight. If you want to gain weight, you eat more. If you want to lose weight, you eat less. Same numbers too, 300-500 calories below maintenance, protein is still 1-1.2 grams per pound of body weight. If you want to lose weight while putting on muscle mass, then do 300-500 calories under maintenance, but if you hate yourself and just want to be skinny quickly and worry about putting on muscle later, then starvemaxx.
How to find your maintenance calories:
Calorie Calculator
This calorie calculator estimates the number of calories needed each day to maintain, lose, or gain weight. Learn the kinds of calories and their effects.
www.calculator.net
This is a calorie calculator, it’s going to ask you some basic questions, just answer them truthfully and don’t put the height you are when you’re wearing your gay ass shoe lifts, put your real height in. It’s going to give you a number, somewhere between 2000-3000, that’s your maintenance (give or take), meaning that’s about the amount of calories you eat in a normal day if you’re maintaining your weight. Once you find that, then add or subtract your 300-500 to gain or lose weight.
Food:
Stop eating like shit. I ate like shit for a while, not only does it inhibit your gains, but it’s bad for your entire body, longevity, and appearance. Eat well rounded meals, make sure to incorporate fruits and vegetables for basic amino acids, and force yourself to enjoy cooking because you’ll be doing it quite often. I’m not trying to make this thread too big so just look up high protein meals on Tiktok or Instagram, but don’t follow the macros off the video, follow the macros off the box of the food you’re making, it’ll be much more accurate because you’ll probably be buying from different brands then the person in the video is.
How to track your calories:
You don’t need to do legit meal preps where you make a weeks worth of food into tiny boxes and microwave it later and it ends up tasting like shit. Eat well rounded meals, take the macros from the meals and write it down on paper or in your notes app, or use an app like Stupid Simple Macros Tracker to track it. Eventually you’ll figure out how to spread them out evenly throughout the day so you’re not jamming 1,500 calories down at the end of the night or meeting your calorie goal by 2:00 in the afternoon and starving the rest of the day.
Supplements:
Key supplements to buy starting out:
-Creatine
-Protein powder
-Water hydration mix
-Fish oil (joint health trust me)
-Ashwaganda (cheap T booster)
These are the basics, if you’re feeling frisky and not scared to touch some light compounds, look into enclomephine. Enclomephine is a decent test booster, relatively harmless unless you’re family has a history of balding, then I’d recommend staying away from it or just buy some Minoxidil, but it’s generally unlikely you’ll go bald from it.
Recovery:
Recovery is absolutely vital in terms of building muscle, you can’t skip this part and expect to make any gains. I’d argue this is just as important as the diet.
Sleep:
8 hours minimum for best results. this is pretty basic, if you have trouble sleeping, try melatonin. If you’re a high stressed individual like me, just get a WholeMelt indica cart (weed), that shit will knock you out in 10 minutes.
Diet/supplements goes hand to hand with recovery, your muscles can’t recover properly if you’re not fueling them properly, which leads to muscle atrophy or plateau, so just listen to the diet section.
Training:
Training isn’t that complicated. First get an understanding of basic muscle anatomy like where muscle are and what movements target them. This is my training split, and before you experienced gymmaxxers come in to shit on me for my routine, I’ve done 3 and 4 and 5 day splits, and they are no where near as effective as this split, so just be open minded.
I haven’t been doing this split for very long, but I have gotten unreal progression on all my lifts as well as noticeable size improvements in just a few weeks. If you’re interested in rest days, which I would recommend to new lifters because you’re gonna be sore as fuck after your first few lifts, toss a rest day in after every lower day, just don’t go to the gym the day after training legs.
Why this split is best:
The Upper/Lower split falls into the “high frequency” style of training, meaning you’re training the muscles very frequently while still providing adequate recovery by stimulating the muscles enough to grow, but not too much to the point of atrophy and prolonged recovery. Look up high frequency and mechanical tension studies on pubmed.com (make sure it’s 2024) if you’re interested in the science behind it, or if you’d rather someone just tell you why it’s good search up Jordan Peters on YouTube or @coach_mundy_ on Tiktok, both massive guys to have adopted this training method.
Exercises:
If you’ve never stepped foot into a gym and have no idea what exercises I’m referring to, just look up the exercises on google and go to pictures, find the machine and do it.
How to train:
I cannot stress enough how important intensity is. You can’t walk into a gym and do super light weight with 10 reps in reserve and expect to see progress, you have to push yourself to failure, whereas you cannot complete another full rep. This is VITAL, NOT NEGOTIABLE. It is an absolute must-do for progression. Invest in some decent pre workout, know how much caffeine you can handle, some people are more tolerant than others. Walmart actually sells some decent name brands preworkouts for a good price.
Form:
You have to find a balance between form and intensity. If I’m doing a set of lat pull downs for 8 reps, the first five should be relatively perfect form, then towards the last 2-3 reps, I might swing my body backwards a little to give myself some momentum to squeeze in those last couple reps. It’s okay to break form a slightly, but not to the extreme. Range of motion is also important. You need to be doing full reps, where the muscle is fully stretched and relaxed at the top of the movement, and fully shortened and contracted at the bottom of the movement. As you progress you’ll learn how to maximize it effectively, experience is key to training but obviously that’s not something you’ll have your first day. On your first month or so of training, just focus on getting a feel for the exercises, understand mind to muscle connection, and try to push yourself the best you can. I’d recommend sticking to machines if you’re new so you’ll get an understanding of intensity, then try free weights where form is a little more difficult to maintain.
Consistency:
Discipline > motivation. Don’t go to the gym because you want to, go because you want to reach your goal of having a respectable body that women gawk at. Make it a routine to go. Set a time, stick to it, and execute it. Only pussies are inconsistent.
