WHY CARBS FOR MUSCLE GAIN?

divie

Hi,protien is needed for muscle growth but why so much carb.Ive been watching body spectaculer on health channel on sky,all them guys ignore carb and just stick to protien.I suppose it depends on your goals as i know carb helps mass.But im 6ft2 11 stone exactly which i know is under wieght but im not to bothered about gaining mass i just want to improve my muscle size,look lean healthy with muscles.I mean on body spectaculer theese guys are 6ft 15-16 stone whos aims are to become 11-12 stone which is what i wiegh now.I dont know if i need to gain wieght as im the perfect wieght to start with according to this program.I mean should i just keep my protien high and work the wieghts, but this doesnt seem right as i seem to skinny to be the right wieght and everyone on this site keeps on about gaining wieght and mass which was my original aim but since watching this it has altered my aim and i dont know what to do.I basicly want a body like BRADD PITTon the film SNATCH, because i feel its a realisic goal to acheve in 4 months when i go on holiday.If i get thier i will then try to gain mass but one step at a time.What do you think i should be doing regarding diet to get a body like bradds considering my hiieght and wieght?do you think my aims and target times are realistc?

CHEERS AND ALL THE BEST

Benji

Not trying to piss on your fire or anything, but I think your goal is a bit unrealistic. Gaining muscle is a slow process unfortuanally.

About the carbs, the guys on that programme are trying to loose weight right? So there diet is going to be alot different.

Why so much carbs? Protein are the building blocks of muscle, ok, but you've got no builders, thats what the carbs do think of it like that. Your body naturally needs a certain amount of carbs per day to keep running if you take this too low then your body will start using protein for energy.

You say you want to add muscle yeah? Then gaining weight is inevitable, if it was that easy then I would be BIG now the amount I've been eating, but even though i've added 1 1/2 stone since I started, I can't really notice much difference

Stick with the bulking mate, that body like brad pitt's will come quicker that way!

Hope that helped,

zx9rjas

As benji said, if you want to look like brad pitt you will have to do this in stages (as brad probably did himself). You need to concentrate on add some mass with a high carb-high protein diet. The carb intake adds the calories needed to gain weight and also letts the protein build and repair muscle tissue. If you dont get the carbs your body will begin to use protein as a fuel, very bad. After you have added some muscle mass you will then need to reduce your calorie/carb intake to "cut up", the muscle you have gained will help you to achieve this.

I know what you mean about his physique in SNATCH but even his training was based around the same system, bulking then cutting. If you must, aim to add as much mass as you can for 2 months with a high carb/high protein diet and good heavy 6-8 rep sets. Then for 2 months add a little running to your training and SLIGHTLY reduce your carb intake by about 60 grams daily. Dont reduce it too much as you will be buring calories with the cardio and you dont want to burn off the muscle.

After you holiday, get back in the gym and like benji said concentrate on adding some size for a good 6 months and then strip it back. You will have to get used to losing your abs and looking puffy for a while, but the end results are worth it.

J

GTForce

Divie,

While I do believe it is a good idea to have role models, realize that you need to "play the hand God dealt you". Brad Pitt genetics are one-in-a-million. Try focusing on becoming the best YOU can be. Personally, I find Brad Pitt too skinny...I prefer Slyvester Stallone circa "Rambo".

zx9rjas has given you some great advice.

You need to develop the mentality of an athlete. Focus on training like an athlete, eating like an athlete and set goals like an athlete. Concentrate on developing proper form, increasing your strength and adding bodyweight. Once you have a base, then you can start making refinements to suit your desires.

I am not directly aiming this at you Divie, but I see way too many guys biting off more than they can chew. Let Brad Pitt do his thing...you do yours. Within the next 4 months see if you can get to the point where you can bench your bodyweight for at least 5 reps and squat your bodyweight for at least 12 reps. See if you are able to perform dips and chin-ups for reps etc...

Best of luck

divie

Thanks for your replies everyone,i understand what GTforce and every body is saying,but when i gave bradd pitt's name it was just an example of the sort of physique im trying to build.The reason bradd pitt is because i personaly dont think he's massive or his body in snatch is perfect but i feel it is a more realistic aim than arnld scwzneiger or rambo.Like i said im only 11 stone and at 6ft2 its skinny,it would take me about 2 years to get to such a pysique as bradd but at least ive got an aim which i feel is the right way to start.Surly everybody has got to have a vision it helps get me motivated to go and lift wieghts.I know it sounds as if i want a quick miracle but my feet are on the ground and as someone who is never going to touch steroids etc i know my body will not get massive.But im getting stronger, i started of lifting rougthly 6 weeks ago 20kg now im lifting around 28kg,i know most of you lift a lot more than that but like GTForce said youve got to make the best of what god dealt you. It would be interesting to hear what realistic aims everyone else would have if they were my size and just starting, as i feel this is the biggest part to play in body building.You probably have a vision of my build,like i said im 6ft2 11stone exactly,i have an average frame,i havnt got much fat at all on my body(apart from my gut, recently due to carbs).Its an awkward question but what would you experts expect i could achieve?are my aims that far out coz by the sounds of what everyone is saying they are.Also someting thats been racking my brain for years,what wieght should i be looking to get to to look like my friend bradd pitt?.At a guess i would say 13-14 stone bearing in mind im taller than bradd pitt, i spec hes only 12 stone but hes shorter.This will keep somebody busy if thier going to reply honestly,but if im going about every thing wrong id sooner know.
Cheers for reading this, and as always any help and advice is strongly apriciated. :?:

divie

Thanks for your replies everyone,i understand what GTforce and every body is saying,but when i gave bradd pitt's name it was just an example of the sort of physique im trying to build.The reason bradd pitt is because i personaly dont think he's massive or his body in snatch is perfect but i feel it is a more realistic aim than arnld scwzneiger or rambo.Like i said im only 11 stone and at 6ft2 its skinny,it would take me about 2 years to get to such a pysique as bradd but at least ive got an aim which i feel is the right way to start.Surly everybody has got to have a vision it helps get me motivated to go and lift wieghts.I know it sounds as if i want a quick miracle but my feet are on the ground and as someone who is never going to touch steroids etc i know my body will not get massive.But im getting stronger, i started of lifting rougthly 6 weeks ago 20kg now im lifting around 28kg,i know most of you lift a lot more than that but like GTForce said youve got to make the best of what god dealt you. It would be interesting to hear what realistic aims everyone else would have if they were my size and just starting, as i feel this is the biggest part to play in body building.You probably have a vision of my build,like i said im 6ft2 11stone exactly,i have an average frame,i havnt got much fat at all on my body(apart from my gut, recently due to carbs).Its an awkward question but what would you experts expect i could achieve?are my aims that far out coz by the sounds of what everyone is saying they are.Also someting thats been racking my brain for years,what wieght should i be looking to get to to look like my friend bradd pitt?.At a guess i would say 13-14 stone bearing in mind im taller than bradd pitt, i spec hes only 12 stone but hes shorter.This will keep somebody busy if thier going to reply honestly,but if im going about every thing wrong id sooner know.
Cheers for reading this, and as always any help and advice is strongly apriciated. :?:

zx9rjas

It sounds like you do realise what can be accomplished in a certain amount of time. As you get into your training and get stronger you will find that your goals will change. With regards to as alot of people on the forum know I started at 7.5 stone @ 5ft 11 (weight problems, read my previous posts), I was really skinny and started to just add some size, after about 6 months this changed as I bought my first "Muscle and Fitness" magazine. I began learning as much as I could about nutrition and training, along with my biology A level. I wanted to be big but not olympia size and now I'm going for it.
What you expect to achieve and your goals are whatever you want them to be, even if they seem unattainable. Its just the amount of time it will take to reach that goal. No one can tell you that your goals are impossible as if I had believed that I wouldn't be where I am today, not only in bodybuilding but life in general.
Not sure about how much you would need to weigh as everyone holds weight differently. Get your final goal of what you want to achieve in your head and then think of stepping stones to get there, such as benching your own bodyweight, then benching it for 10 reps, gaining a stone, then getting to 200lb, squatting 200lb, then 300lb. Go for it until you are satisfied that you dont want to progress anymore, mind you will find this won't happen as I said your mindset will alter. When you start you goals are usually very linear, i.e want to be a certain weight/build, as you grow you will become a picky perfectionist and think that delt needs slight growth and my calves need slight growth to match my quads.

J