I am wanting to start working out. I have so many friends that tell me, you have broad shoulders and back, if you worked out, you would be pretty big.
I am about 10-15 pounds overweight. I have friends who are built, but they say take weight gainer and workout. How can weight gainer work if I need to lose 10 pounds? What is the first thing I need to do? Exercise, anything you can tell me. By the way, if you look at the profile, it is my wife's,not mine. I am using her name on here.

well, what are your current stats..i.e age wwight, diet any type of exercise you do, or equipment you have access to. This will help guide you.

i don't really consider myself "really muscular" but maybe bigger than average... anyways, it would be great if you made a separate account for yourself so you can have your own journal, info, and so we won't confuse you for your wife hehe...

anyways, as for the weightgainer... i would lay off of them... they are usually packed with sugar (loads and loads of carbs), lots of the weight gained would be fat... check out bodybuilding.com and the forums there too... lots of useful info

it would be helpful if you posted your stats and maybe a picture (if you're shy, you can post a headless one haha)... and also mention your goals

you might want to pm trainerdan (imo he's huge!) goodluck!

Ok, I have my own username and am not using my wifes. I weigh about 172, and am 5'11". I don't know the first thing about what to do to begin. I want to be about 200 pounds but all muscle. I do have a little bit of a paunch to my stomach. Do I need to diet or will working out take care of it since it's not alot.

I don't think you need to diet in the traditional sense of "losing fat" kind of way. However, if you REALLY want to add muscle then yes you probably need to change your diet. Because trying to gain muscle requires a "diet" just as strict as one when trying to lose fat....just a different one. At 5'11 172 I would personally try and bulk for a little bit, then do a cutting program like CKD to help remove any remaining leftover fat. But that is JMO. But if you are really unhappy with the current amout of fat you have, go ahead and check out the CKD forum on this site. Some useful information over there that may help you reach your goals.

what do you mean exactly when you say "try and bulk for a little bit"

you can't really put on muscle the way that you want to and lose fat at the same time. Pretty much you can do one or the other. most folks will say to eat alot (but clean) and work out hard and gain the weight - most will be muscle but some will be fat - and then diet down or "cut" to lose the fat while maintaining the muscle. So bulk now - get up to 200 or even more, and then diet down to the leanness that you want. Just don't expect to put on almost 30 pounds of muscle over night - that's a long term goal.

It's true. I always use a silly analogy when people ask me about bulking up ...

"Michaelangelo didn't carve David from a pebble. He used a big boulder."

In your case, I would say to start weight training (beginner's article is at top of this forum in the EXERCISE LINKS topic) ... get used to the moves ... after about 2 weeks, see how your body is adapting (feel of muscles, metabolism, etc) ...

Then, I would say start to get your calories to a level where they would encourage muscle growth (a.k.a. ANABOLISM).

Then the magic starts.

mmmmmfooood. i'm doing a low carb bulk.

i personally prefer to be leaner when i bulk because it's pretty hard on the head otherwise and there's less to lose/you see the muscle more.

But 8000 cals per day for 8 weeks is sooooo fun!

lmao is that your bulking cals? i'm at 2600-2800

ps - i posted some arm shots for you. play where's waldo with my triceps.

yeah, I usually go around 6000 ... but when I just come off a heavy cut, I go crazy right after it for 8 weeks and do 8000 cals with a mad strength/dinosaur training phase ... then I drop to 6000 for a bit ... then start to transition for whatever goal I am looking for.

nice!! i love telling people i could put back 3000 cals daily if i wanted to...

nice!! i love telling people i could put back 3000 cals daily if i wanted to...

I am getting fatter just reading all these cals !!

Off topic, but Lift ... I love your quote. It's so true. I remember saying before I would stop once I hit 225 ... I've seen 250 already ... got myself set to see 260 at 10% as my next long term goal ...