It seems like every other article in the muscle building world is aimed at skinny ectomorphs. How to gain weight, how to eat more, how to become an ex-hardgainer.(I wrote that myself!)
But what about endomorphs? What about the guys who want to build muscle but already have a fair amount of fat? This article is meant to help the endomorph achieve the goal of building muscle while remaining relatively lean.
Before I dive in let it be known that I am aware that perfect ectomorphs, endomorphs and mesomorphs do not exist in nature. We are all combinations of these three somatotypes. With that said, many of you have strong endomorphic tendencies. That is why you are here.
So without further ado, let's get you shedding body fat and packing on muscle mass.
Image courtesy of Govt. of Western Aust. Dept. of Health
What is an Endomorph?
An endomorph is generally considered to be a lifter who can gain both muscle and fat rather easily. They are often called stocky, and it is not uncommon for an endomorph to be short (or shorter) and round.
When undertaking an aggressive bulk, an endomorph usually has an easy time adding strength, but pays the price with an unforgiving scale weight. They often grow frustrated, living with the constant mental battle...should I bulk, should I cut, should I bulk?
Assuming an endomorph has the following goals:
- Lose fat
- Build Muscle
...how then should they proceed? Should an endomorph remain in an endless cycle of bulking and cutting? To answer this question we need to know how much fat the lifter is currently carrying around.
If you feel you are carrying around too much body fat already, or are overweight, then it's best to start with a cut. Peel the extra fat off first, and then move on to a long, clean, smart bulking period.
The worst thing any endomorph can do is enter a lean bulking period obsessed about the amount of fat they currently have. I've seen more than my share of this over the years. The endomorph will never stop talking about their current body fat levels and it almost invariably causes a long term clean bulk to crash and fail.
On the other hand, if you are comfortable with your existing bodyfat levels and are ready to enter a 2-3 year clean bulk stage, skip the next section and move on to the bulking section below.
The Endomorph and Fat Loss - How to Cut
The good news is that you gain muscle and strength easily. This can only help you maintain muscle mass while cutting. The bad news is that you have to cut, or go through a fat loss period. That is rarely ever fun.
To maintain the maximum amount of muscle mass during a cut you want to lose about 1.5 to 2 pounds of fat per week. This is the number we are going to try and dial you into hitting.
Weight loss during the first 2 weeks of a cut is fairly meaningless. During this period you will lose excess water due to a reduction in your carbohydrate intake, a possible reduction to to reduced sodium intake, and a relaxing of your digestive system - or allowing yourself to get cleaned out.
Week 3 will be your baseline week. You want to lose no more than 2 pounds during this week. Use the following chart to make calorie adjustments based on week 3's weight loss.
- Lost 8+ pounds - Increase calorie intake by 500 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Lost 5-7 pounds - Increase calorie intake by 350 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Lost 3-4 pounds - Increase calorie intake by 200 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Lost 1.5 to 2 pounds - Perfect. Don't change anything.
- Lost 0 to 1 pound - Decrease calorie intake by 200 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 1 to 3 pounds - Decrease calorie intake by 350 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 4 pounds or more - Decrease calorie intake by 500 calories and monitor weight loss for 2 weeks before making another adjustment.
I can't state this enough - don't make adjustments based on weight loss during weeks one and two. Crazy things can and will happen. I can often lose 8 to 10 pounds in the first 3 to 4 days of a cut. This isn't fat loss, it's excess water due to eating a cleaner, lower carb diet.
How Much Fat Should You Lose?
Good question.
I do not advocate trying to get shredded. There is no point. You are about to embark on an extended period of muscle building. Spending an extra 8 to 12 weeks trying to get shredded will only be a waste of time.
Lose fat until you arrive at a normal, healthy body weight. When you look in the mirror (with clothes on) and feel satisfied and no longer feel obese, then it's time to build muscle.
This does not mean that you look in the mirror and see a ripped physique. It's hard to look ripped and impressive without a sufficient amount of muscle mass. Remember why this first step was taken - to shed a good portion of your existing body fat. Not all of it, but enough so that you feel human again and have no issues focusing on the muscle building process for several years.
Structuring a Fat Loss Diet
To run a successful cutting diet you have to base your plan off of your eating habits. If you are a big night time eater, then use intermittent fasting, or a similar variation. If you MUST have some ice cream before bed, then save a small percentage of your calories so that you can indulge.
A perfect diet is the one that helps you lose fat. At the end of the day it doesn't matter how you structure your eating, as long as it helps you reach your goals.
Here are some eating tips for men:
- If you are over 40, start with a baseline of 2,200 calories per day.
- If you are in your 20s or 30s and have an average metabolism, start your cutting diet with 2500 to 2600 calories per day.
- If you have an active job and a higher calorie maintenance level you may need to start your cutting diet with 3,000 calories per day.
It's better to start a cutting diet with a higher amount of daily calories, and pull them down as needed, then to start too low.
- Protein Intake - I recommend 200 grams of protein per day, or even a little more if you are eating over 2,500 calories per day and/or have a fair degree of natural muscle mass. An endomorph builds muscle easily, so is more likely to have a solid base of muscle tissue. You want to make sure you do not undereat protein while cutting fat.
- Fat Intake - Many of the endomorphs I know don't react well to higher carbohydrate eating plans. Obviously this is a generalization, and won't be true for everyone. With that said, I think you should make sure that 30% of your daily calories come from fats. If weight loss becomes stubborn, even while dropping calories, it may become necessary to eat more fats while reducing carbohydrate intake.
- Carb Intake - Now that you know how many calories, grams of protein, and amount of fats you are eating each day, you can determine your daily carbohydrate intake using the calories you have left. Simply divide your remaining calories by 4 to determine the number of carbohydrate grams you can eat.
The Endomorph and Cardio
It is imperative that endomorphs remain active outside of the weight room. This doesn't mean you have to live on a treadmill. It simply means you should be performing some consistent form of cardio.
If you decide to grind it out on a treadmill, opt for 3-4 sessions per week of about 20 to 30 minutes each. If you hate the treadmill, do something fun. Go hiking, go bowling, walk the dog, work in the garden. It really doesn't matter. Just make a point to stay active each day for at least 20 to 30 minutes.
You will want to maintain cardio, or this active lifestyle, while building muscle as well.
Endomorphs and Muscle Building
It's time to build muscle. This will be a long term commitment. I recommend 2 to 4 years.
Do not embark on this journey with the word "cut" in your dictionary. You may need to make calorie intake adjustments over the coming years, but we will do everything possible to keep you relatively lean while building as much quality muscle mass as possible.
Understand that muscle building is a long term process. If you only look at changes over the course of 4 to 6 weeks, you are likely to get frustrated. Gaining a 1/4 inch on your legs in 6 weeks doesn't seem like much. If you add up those changes over the course of 3 years, then suddenly you've added 6 inches to your leg size. Impressive!
Before you begin the muscle building process get out a tape measure and document everything:
Take measurements every month. You will also want to weigh yourself every 2 weeks, and keep a log of these weigh-ins. Make sure you write all of this information down so there is no guessing. Real world data will help you make needed adjustments. Guessing is a fool's game.
Endomorphs and Lean Bulking
For an endomorph it is essential that weight gain be viewed over the long haul. Changes in scale weight must be slow, steady and precise. If weight gain is too rapid, it will be mostly fat gain. If weight gain is too slow, you will be stiffling the muscle building process.
You will gain some fat over the course of this bulk. "Some" does not mean you will "get fat." If you gain 20 pounds of muscle over the next 2-3 years, then gaining 5 to 15 pounds of fat will be meaningless. You will look amazing, and will only be a few months of fat loss away from being lean, mean and shredded.
Remember that body composition changes not only with fat gain, but also with muscle gain. You will gain minor amounts of fat over the course of this bulk, but the muscle you will be building will hide that fat gain well.
Muscle Building Expectations and Rate of Weight Gain
The topic of natural muscle building has been studied exhaustively. We know approximately how much muscle mass a natural trainee can expect to build year in and year out - in a perfect world.
Understand that the following guidelines are not presented as limitations. They should be used to help determine a proper rate of weight gain. You can choose to ignore these rates if you'd like, and gain weight more rapidly, but do so knowing that you are likely to add more fat than you'd like.
If you have yet to experience "beginner gains", then the following muscle building expectations are reasonable:
- Year 1 - 12 to 16 pounds of muscle
- Year 2 - 6 to 8 pounds of muscle
- Year 3 - 3 to 4 pounds of muscle
- Year 4 - 2 to 3 pounds of muscle
- Year 5 - 1 to 2 pounds of muscle
Think of natural muscle building as being like a glass of water. We each have limitations as to how much muscle we can build naturally. These limitations are physiological in nature. It doesn't matter what these limitations look like. That topic is for another article.
For the sake of discussion view the amount of muscle you can build as a tall glass of water. The more you drink from it now, the less you will have to drink from later. We tend to gain muscle rapidly right out of the gate, and see a constant decrease in this rate of building.
This topic isn't really debatable. Ask any natural bodybuilder and they will tell you that they rate of muscle building decreases noticeably year in and year out. After 5 years they are squeezing out ounces of gains each year, not pounds.
Again, the point in bringing this up isn't to discourage you, but rather to help you build an eating plan that will take this decreasing muscle building rate into consideration so you don't get fat. This article isn't about limitations, but rather assisting you to reach your goal of building muscle while minimizing fat gains.
So, assuming you haven't build any substantial amount of muscle mass, use the following weight gaining guidelines. They will help you minimize (not negate) fat gains while you build muscle:
- Year 1 - Gain 1.5 to 2 pounds per month
- Year 2 - Gain 1 pound per month
- Year 3 - Gain 0.5 to 0.75 pounds per month
- Year 4 - Gain 0.25 to 0.5 pounds per month
- Year 5 - Gain no more than a 0.25 pound per month
If you've already experienced beginner gains, say at least a 10 pound increase in muscle mass, then it's best to skip to year 2 and limit weight gain to one pound per month.
Building an Endomorph Eating Plan
Building a bulking plan really isn't all that different than building a cutting plan. You will start with a certain daily calorie target, and make adjustments based on what the scale is doing.
Here are some suggested daily calorie starting points:
- Over 40 - 2500 calories per day
- 30-39 years old - 2750 calories per day
- 25-29 years old - 3000 calories per day
- 20-24 years old - 3250 calories per day
Activity level will also play a role in how many calories you need per day. Understand that the above numbers are merely starting points. Adjustments will have to be made. Don't fear them. They are part of the process. It doesn't matter where you start because it won't take long to zero in your bulking diet.
Macronutrients can be adjusted as needed. Use the following guidelines to get started:
- Protein - 180 to 250 grams per day. The more calories you eat per day, the more protein you should eat. This will help balance your eating.
- Fats - 20 to 35% of your daily calories. If you find it harder to eat enough food, then a higher fat diet is the way to go. Fats contain 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for carbs and protein.
- Carbs - After allotting your daily proteins and fats, fill in the rest of your daily eating plan with healthy carb sources including fruits, veggies and quality grains.
We will ignore the weight gain over the course of the first 2 weeks of bulking. You will be eating more carbohydrates and generally more sodium. This will cause you to take in some extra water. This is NOT rapid fat gain, so do not panic.
Monitor your weight gain starting on week 3. See what is happening during the 4 week period from week 3 to week 6. Use the following chart to make calorie adjustments based on weight changes during weeks 3 through 6.
- Gained 8+ pounds - Decrease calorie intake by 500 calories and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 5-7 pounds - Decrease calorie intake by 350 calories and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 3-4 pounds - Decrease calorie intake by 200 calories and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 1-2 pounds - Stay the course and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Gained 0 pounds - Increase calorie intake by 200 calories and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
- Lost 1-2+ pounds - Increase calorie intake by 350 calories and monitor weight gain for the next 4 weeks before making another adjustment.
Cheat Meals and "Junk Food"
It's ok to save 10-20% of your weekly calories for what might be considered junk calories, or junk food. Eating clean 100% of the time isn't always possible, or reasonable.
I suggest allotting yourself a couple meals per week. By doing so you can attend a movie or family gathering and enjoy life without having to drag your "meal containers" with you. That gets old, and fast.
Endomorph Bodybuilding - How to Workout
You've probably heard someone say: diet is 90% of the muscle building process. I disagree. Here's why:
A perfect bulk without progressive overload is merely an intelligently designed fat gaining program.
Period. End of sentence.
Far too many bulks fail because a lifter is not focused on progressive overload. They might "work hard" in the gym, but working hard is not the same as working smart.
To build muscle you need to train a certain way. You don't just hit the gym to burn calories.
Progressive overload is the cornerstone of the muscle building process. It doesn't matter what style of training you are using; if you're not trying to challenge yourself using more resistance, your body will quickly adapt. When it adapts you are no longer encouraging it to build muscle. At that point your bulk becomes a fat building diet.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. Drop sets, supersets, rest-pause training is very taxing. Why can't you just focus on that, and not progressive overload? The answer is simple.
Let's look at drop sets. If you use a certain drop set pattern over the course of the next month, it will definitely be challenging. At some point though, you will need to add weight. If you do not, your body adapts and will no longer make gains.
My advice is to focus on maximizing every set. If you push every set for as many reps as possible, and add weight when you can, you will be maximizing progressive overload. This relentless pursuit of strength within hypertrophy ranges (muscle building rep ranges) will help you turn your bulk into a muscle building program.
Here are several popular workout programs from M&S that are perfect choices for long term clean bulks:
60 Comments
I never leave comments. But this is what I needed to read. Thank you. I have been keto and working out to a beginning training three days a week to PP&L and been very low on calories and carbs. I lost over 100 pounds but can't get the last off and see more muscle. Thank you again.
Very nice
Very well laid out and informative article, made something that seems overwhelming into a straight forward and relatively simple process that any easy gainer can follow if willing to put in the work. This article was perfectly aimed at my body type and was virtually spot on in terms of numbers/percentages from my personal experiences.
Anthony, that is AWESOME!
I found this article very comprehensive.
I'm female and understand very clearly how to apply this to myself. Thanks a lot.
Stella,
We love to hear this! Thank you for the feedback.
Hi, is any article/workout plan and diet for females who are Endomorphs, please?
Thanks
I read your whole article many times coz i am also an Endomorph.
I just wanna know what supplement will help me in my muscle building routine
TRY CREATINE,BUT TRY TO GET IT FROM A REPUTABLE SOURCE AND COMPANY AND SPEND SOME EXTRA MONEY FOR QUALITY CREATINE
Where's the diet advice for women? Scrolled down after the men's portion and nothing..
Hi ...I would like to understand if it's better doing only cardio for cutting body fat and only When I will get my right weight or doing both bulk and cardio ? Thank you !!!!
You'd be better off weight training and adding cardio along with a caloric deficit if you plan to lose weight. The are tons of plans out there to guide you in the right direction. Just lift heavy, eat clean, do cardio. You will get lean. Or you can eat big to bulk and worry about cutting later. Unless you're on gear you won't be doing both.
Thank you Matt ! I was thinking to do cardio 3/4 times a week and cutting in diet as in the article.
Later when I'll get to my desidere weight I'll start bulking taking care of the diet ( avoiding to put on too much fat).
In life I work as metalworker so it happens 3or 4 times a week I lift metal sheets (30/40 kg) many times during the day and I used to train at night with weights with the results to get to overtraining.
I'd like to avoid this again.
So basically on the training overload just max out till you cant lift no more on each set?
Great article. You really know your stuff. As a six foot tall 46 year old endomorph I found myself at 280 last year and was depressed. I have a very hard time getting fat off and then keeping it at bay. If I even LOOK at at donut, I gain two pounds. It's brutal. I'm 234 right now and plan to shred for another six months before bulking. Your article has filled in some gaps in my plan, like eating more healthy fats up to 30% of dietary calories and dropping carbs lower. Right now I go low carb and low fat but I end up getting too hungry by the end of the week and have not known how to fix that. I think adding some avocado, walnuts and almonds daily will help me keep a better balance and keep that fat off for good. Thanks for putting in the time to create an in depth article, it was appreciated.
This is excellent information, but please tell me the differences for 40+ year old women...or a comparable article, please!
Coming from an Endomorph.. I really appreciate the information in this article. Thanks /
This is the article I need. Thank you.
i want burn fat and buid muscle at the same time and my body tipe is some endromorph wich one workout and diet plan is prefect for me plz
my typical work out is 3 times a week cardio & 2 times a week weights . mainting good diet fruits yogurts eggs fish vetables fruites . is this good ?
Who is the guy in the picture with the wooden boxes? Anyone have any clues?
I have a question: I plan to end my diet on September 1st and follow the advice outlined in this guide: start eating my maintenance calories, ignore the weight gain for 2 weeks, and then after 4 weeks adjust as needed. However, as an Endomorph, I was planning on being cautious with how many extra carbs. Right now I'm losing weight on 100g carbs a day, and was going to switch to 125g, but is that enough to see an increase in water retention? And if it's not, then if I continue to increase my carbs to figure out what my max is, is it possible I'll start seeing water retention later on and mistake it for fat gain, because it didn't happen earlier?
Should I instead start with a higher amount of carbs, which will guarantee the water retention happens early on, and then adjust as required as the guide suggests?
Thanks!
I'm an A+ student of nutrition at Florida State University, and a future registered dietician/ personal trainer. I read this entire article and some of it is incorrect--particularly the section discussing carb intake, protein intake, and fat intake. First, I have NEVER heard any professional recommend 200g of protein a day for a 2,500+ kcal diet; this is far too much. This is about 50 grams away from max amount of protein the liver can process a day; under most circumstances one does not need so much protein. Please learn how to calculate your protein requirements correctly based your on LEAN body mass, not total mass. Second, fat intake should indeed be higher with endomorphs, but is not always necessarily "20-30%"--this would make protein too high for some people. Third and last, carb intake should be low, but it's not a number set in stone. A good STARTING macro nutrient ratio for endomorphs is 40% fat, 35% protein, and 25% carbs. Tweak this ratio accordingly. Knowing your lean body mass, age, metabolism characteristics, activity level, sex, and age allow one to more accurately determine how the ratio should be structured. Do more research before you assume ALL the information in this article is correct.
TO THE AUTHOR: I'm not strictly a power lifter, however I do lift hard, run, swim, bike, kayak, free-run, play sports, and do yoga. I am VERY active and require many calories being a 228 lb. endomorph with 9% body fat. If I were to eat as many grams of protein as you suggested here, I would not only get fat, but my sweat and breath would smell rancid. Maybe what you wrote here works for you, but remember every individual is unique. I would never recommend what makes me successful to someone else, instead, I'd share where I started, and how I found out what my requirements are so that others may do the same. Nonetheless, I do appreciate most of the information in this article, but I think some of it needs a fact check.
For people who need help understanding how many calories they require, 'diet calculators' can be found everywhere on the internet. Before taking classes, I used freedieting.com, which is very good. There are many calculators on that site including but not limited to requirements for pregnancy, muscle gain, and macro nutrient calculators. I hope this helps people who are confused.
To Ms. Emery Harbison:
I read your comment and decided to use the macro nutrient calculator on the site you suggested.
It is strange, but when I select a 2500 calorie diet (the same described by the author), and select low cab (as was indicated by the author of the article), the calculator on the website you referred to suggests that I eat 250g of protein each day, in contrast to the 200g the author suggest. That means the website you suggested suggests eating the amount of protein you claim to be the "max amount of protein the liver can process a day"
I wonder if you maybe you should have done your homework on the site you shilled before you blasted this author.
You're totally right Bro! @Emery...#BURN #LOL #researchmakesthedreamwork
Soo true - I thought the critique was too cruel as well. But can someone tell me why Endos need to eat more fat???
Hi Emery you have captured my attention. How can I contact you to learn more from you?
My email is amandataouk@hotmail.com
Please contact me
Amanda xx
What a brilliant article, many thanks to the writer for taking the time and effort to help us endomorphs out. Controlling the diet is the hardest part without a doub but perseverence is the only option available.
thanks for this article, i might need to ask sth of you? i am a 24 170 kg guy. i always played sports am very agile and people might think am just saying so but i am. i always trained but i never got past the 135 kg, i gain weight when i inhale pasta :D, i needs a workout+diet plan..
would be of any help
Hi Steve , i go to the gym at night , after workout can i eat carb ?
I am trying to build muscle and strength, however I like to run. I run around 18 miles a week, and perform other cardio sessions trying to cut fat with my workouts. Will running/cardio have any adverse effects on this process?
Probably the most In depth, no Bullshit, easy to read article ive ever read... thanks alot steve!
just as an afterthought what is your opinion on milk? i drink about a litre a day with breakfast and post workout.... wondering if i should ditch milk for proper whey and caesin supplements or drinking stupid amounts like im doing is hurting my gains?
hi steve im a endormorph i currently weigh 240 pounds and im 6ft 6inch im carrying a little fat on my belly and face not sure on my body fat with my measurements would you recommend cutting or is it possible to build a bit more muscle while dropping a stone or two of fat
Hi Steve,
I'm 14 and I am trying to bulk for football. I am 5 11 and 161 lbs two weeks into this program and also your other article How To Gain Weight Fast: The Ultimate Guide For Skinny Guys. I do the workout written in that article. I have gained about 4 pounds in two weeks but I'm not that concerned as you stated. I do lots of cardio mostly because I am a endomorph. Should I be eating more than 3200 calories per day? My goal weight is to be atleast 170 in about 5 months when football season starts. I have been working my butt off these past two weeks.
John, at 5'11 161 your my friend are an ectomoprh. Howver if you are looking for some good gains in strength and some solid muscle size look at Max-OT, which stands for max overload training, its easy to find plans on google. alot of people including myself have had solid gains off of this principal. Just remember you have to eat big to get big, also check out IIFYM.com to find your macro nutrition, i.e caloric intake and the breakdown of percent for proteins, fat, and carbs to achieve your fitness goals. hope this helps
Hi Steve, very informative article and much needed advice for all us Endomorphs. My question is, what are the best times to consume carbs? Would they be throughout the day using slow digesting or would you leave then until pre and post workout much like carb backloading?
Thanks
Hi! Steve.
Its Bukhari, i have lose much weight from last year. I currently Weigh 80kg (which was 115kg on Feb 2013), 6 feet 1inches in height. All thanks to you. Now all I wanted to build lean muscles, would you advise me that how often should I exercise and which type of supplement should I use to achieve fast results...
Hi Steve,
Great article man! Just one question, how long do you cut or bulk?
Hi Steve,
Great article. What suggestions would you have for endomorph women? Thinking about taking one of the workouts provided and putting it to use, as women cannot genetically gain and bulk like men, without certain supplementation.
Just to clarify, the macronutrients above indicate the following caloric values for Endomorph cutting diet, correct?
Protein at 200grams=800 calories
Fat at 2500 daily caloric intake=750 calories (30%)
Carbs at 25% of remaining calories=387.5 calories (96.88grams)
For a total of 1937.5 calories
Where do the remaining calories 562.5 calories come from using the 2500 calories per day model? I may be over thinking this. I appreciate all of this information because it helps to clarify the the bulk vs cutting phases for endomorphic somatotypes like myself. Cheers!
That's your beer portion. Guinness works best. Cheers!
I am 46 years old. I would say as a young man I leaned more toward ectomorphic.
I am 6' 3", 250 lbs, large frame. When I look in the mirror I resemble an endomorph.
However, most of my height is in my torso. I have thick thighs and upper arms but long lean lower arms
and long but large calves at 18.5". I've been down to 205 lbs which most charts say is my ideal weight but I felt weak. I know I have a lousy diet but I can change that. I'm thinking 225 lbs would be optimal. Does that sound right?
Steve
Absolutely fantastic article! Provides tons of information.
hats off..i m fan of ths man..
sir can i get more of ur articles...plzzzz
I'm 6 foot 1" and 16 stone my body fat percentage is 29% what is the best routine workout(s) for me?
Hey Steve, your articals are amazing! Unfortunatly i dont quite have a routine set in place for myself, i tend to hit the weights for a few weeks-feel good but then i lose motivation and dont know why!? Im 6"2 and weigh 15 stone 2. I have a belly on me and fat hips which i cant lose! Any advise would be really appreciated! :)
Would your Bulldozer 4-day split work for the cut and the bulk?
I am a 37 year old 208 lb woman with 41%bf. I have a lot of mass and a very large body frame/bone structure.I' want my bf down to 16% My bf was calculated on a store bought scale.I went from 188 to 208 yet went down 2 full sizes. I want to get my bf down and show off the mass covered up by the extra fat..What should my daily calorie level be?
Thanks for the article. Definitely something I am going to try.
Just one question though. I'm 32, 6'1, 275lbs, during the cutting phase, what sort of weight training routine/split would be best to use. Is it ok to use one of the 4 routines you posted under the Bulking section, or is there a routine that is better suited?