30 years old and hungry for muscle

Brynweb

Hello readers,

As you have seen from the subject, I'm 30 (nearly), but I've never been motivated in the past to build a good physique... until now.

I joined a gym 3 weeks ago and have been weight training 4 days a week and have noticed a slight visible difference already, which I'm obviously happy about. However, I do have a few unanswered questions I hope some readers can give me some feedback to...

I'm 6'5" tall and weigh 210 pounds (15 st.), which may sound heavy, but it's not for my height. I've been skinny all my life until about 2 years ago when my waist started reacting to too many curries and alcohol.

After scanning many websites for advice, I feel incredibly motivated to continue at the gym, but I want to know how long it will take me to get to a stage where I'll stand out from the average Joe. I know it sounds vain, but I think we're all in it to look and feel good.

I'm about to start a course of creatine to help me along my way. My main concern is my age. At 30, have I left it too late to reach my target of being a huge muscle-man? How many years will it take me before people take a second glance at me?

If anyone can offer some advice, I'd be very grateful. Particularly if there's any reader who has had similar feelings to how I feel now and has had results.

Thanks for reading.

Bryn

Anonymous

hello Brynweb

its good to here your getting into training. its never to late.

i,d say at 6ft 5 youd need to get to about 19 stone to stand out from the crowd.

well i no someone about 6ft 2 and he weighs 19 stone, and he is big.certanly gets second looks.

standing out from the crowd is one of the reasons i first started training,

i was 19 almost 20 11 stone at 6ft tall,so very skinny. by the time i was 22 i was 17 stone 7 and i got loads of second glances. so it shows it dont really take that long. and this was natural aswell.

so if you was thinking about doing steroids,you could probably do it much quicker.

firstly if you get the diet spot on, you will make better gains than most,make sure you eating enough to grow. and train with heavy weights.

u probably no all this already..

realisticly 2 - 3 years and you will be where you want to be, (well maybe) when you get there you always want to be abit better

consistency is the key.

by the way do you drink? or smoke?

cheers steve

Brynweb

That's inspiring stuff I can happily wait 2-3 years. I was worried it would be more like 6 or something.

I'm a bit shy when it comes to steroids. They scare me a bit, what with the negative press they get due to side-effects. Also, I'm new to this and want to work my body naturally to see what it can do. I'll probably re-visit my feelings on steroids if I hit some major plateau in the future. We'll see!

At the moment, my diet is much like most people who don't care what they eat :? ...I basically eat what I want, when I want - and after starting training 3 weeks ago, I'm eating more shit 'cos I'm hungier. However, after reading on this site, and getting some advice from Garry, I'm going to change what I eat to be more protein based. Have started cereals for breakfast (rather than fatty fry-ups!). Going to eat plenty of fruit and grilled chicken amongst other things... Probably won't change overnight though!

Right now, I drink at least a bottle of red wine a night, which I know is bad so I have to stop that or cut it down to just 1 glass. As far as smoking goes, I'm giving up on my 30th next month. I smoke about 20 a day at the moment, and admittedly, I'm getting worried because of the length of time I've been a smoker and all those gross anti-smoking artery adverts seem to be working by putting me off the habit!! Actually, when I have a smoke after leaving the gym, it feels dirty and I actually don't enjoy it anyway. I have no worries about stopping smoking, because I WANT to stop. After 3 weeks of working out, I feel more addicted to the gym.

Bryn

PS - This forum is superb. Only found it on Friday and it's given me a wealth of information and support as a newbie. I feel uncomfortable approaching some of the hulks at the gym (they don't look very approachable, even though they probably are!). People here want to be approached and share their knowledge, which is great.

Garry_8472

Firstly I'm sure Steve didn't mean to encourage anyone to risk there health by taking illegal drugs aftrer such a short training period. Personally I think you should have been taining for at least 4 weeks not 3.

Seriously though leave the roids until you feal you have reached the limit of what you can gain naturally, in the long run you will look better for it with better "quality" muscle you will have better definition and not just that bloaty over smooth look.

You have not left it to late I'm 37 and still growing, admittedly the gains are real slow now but still there. I stoped training for 3 years from 98 to 01, my body weight went from 16 to 12 stone (don't ask). I did 1 year natural then started the roids and was up to 18stone last summer. Admittedly muscle memory played a large roll it those gains but it shows what can be done.

Believe me some of the hulks at the gym can be every bit as unfriendly as they look, I reckon there scared that if they help you out you may end up bigger than them. It can be real clicky and competive, not all but some.

I've guided alot of guys through starting training and belive me next summer if you stick to yor training and eating you should be more than happy with peoples response (depends on your potential and motivation)

If you have any probs along the way just ask.

Wallace

i trained from the age of 16-25 i was 10 stone when i started and 16 stone when i finished.
i stopped when my son was born and did'nt train for 5 years i have been back training for a year solid and have got back most of what i had im 31 now and have had no trouble growing
your diet must be good to compensate for the lack of natural testestarone your body produces at our age, protien every 3 hours food ,shakes and amino's
leave the juice untill you have a good base down a year or two
good luck mate!

GTForce

Brynweb,

In many ways it is easier to make progress when you are older. While it is true that testosterone and growth hormone levels decline, lifestyle factors often work in your favour. For example, you are now starting to be concerned about the long-term health effects from smoking. Most 21 year-olds don't give those hazards a second thought. Due to a slowing metabolism, you are forced to watch what you eat in order to avoid getting fat. When you are younger you can get away with a crappy diet because your metabolism is higher. The flip-side of that is that if you are a "hard-gainer" then your 30's will be an age where you will be able to add some quality muscle (due to your slower metabolism). An often over-looked aspect of bodybuilding is rest. Fortunately, in your 30's you are less likely to be out until 3am every Friday and Saturday.

Another factor is this...it is EASIER to stand out from the crowd. When you are 20, most of your mates are in somewhat decent shape. That some group of men in their mid-thirties will be not so fit. If you look as good (or better) than you did at 20, then you will stand out significantly from your peers at 35.