Advice for my nephew:

[spatts]

Tonight, my 15 year old nephew told me he's been lifting weights, and his goal is to get "cut up." He has weights at home and his mom tells me he's been working out EVERY night for hours...AFTER hours of baseball practice. Now, he's probably got enough testosterone floating around his body to handle alot of work without overtraining, not to mention he's been playing sports year round since he was a tot. We're not talking about a "beginner" here when it comes to conditioning.

He mentioned wanting a 6 pack, and I told him that was mostly about diet. We all have 6 packs...even our grandma has a 6 pack...there's just more on top of some 6 packs than others.

He also asked about creatine, and I think that's a great idea for him.

He also mentioned working out every day this summer (with weights).

Now, I went into the whole spiel about how creatine works, and that muscles grow while you're recovering (not in the gym), that working a muscle again before it's healed is counter productive, etc.

...but let's face it. There might never come a day when my family understands the caliber of people I train with, write diets for, write training splits for, advise on a daily basis. My nephew will probably never believe that I know the exact diet and training principals of pro BBers, PLers, fitness/figure competitors, etc...and have even trained with many.

So, in lieu of my credibility, I was hoping some of you could pass on your training advice to my nephew, and I will copy this thread to him. Perhaps if he sees these principals are common knowledge among those "in-the-know" he will be less inclined to think "more is better." I love him dearly, and he's one hell of a ball player. I don't want him to hurt himself because he wants to look hot at the pool. He can get the look he wants and still excel in the gym and on the field, but he has to go about it a different way.

Thank in advance.

 

[jeremys]

well the plus here is that i'm his same age, and i'm sure we have the same issues, etc, so he could maybe relate to me and my training?

i dont know what to say besides agree with what you said

 

[spatts]

Jeremy, you are a perfect example. Would you mind telling him about your size and strength gains and your training split?

My nephew also said "I don't want to be strong I want to be cut." I tried to explain to him that strength LEADS to size.

Any details you can offer would be great. Also, if you have an experience with working around school sports with your training, and supplements you've tired, that would be great.

 

[jeremys]

ok, here's what i can come up with for now;

i started as a pretty fat kid. i did high reps with low weight and ran a lot while dropping my food intake drastically. i lost weight, but my bodyfat only decreased slightly. then i discovered this board and read a lot about the new ideas of training and diet and people were debunking old myths. i was a bit skeptical because i had been hearing the myths from everybody for quite a while.

reluctantly, i started eating more (healthy and wholesome) foods, and cut my cardio down to just a couple times per week. my lifting changed from light weight/high reps to a basic strength routine. if i recall, it was a 3x8 or something similar. my body took off. i gained muscle and lost fat. my total weight stayed about the same but my body composition was much better.

i stayed consistent with my training. it was year-round, until football/wrestling started. i already had decent size and all the cardio while eating whatever i wanted actually helped me get cut.
strength training = muscle. muscle+good diet+a little cardio=ripped

i know that around here, almost nobody takes lifting seriously and it really hurts them. again, strength gains are key, and also practicing your sport. little fluff routines like that in 'flex' magazine could be fun and full of promise, but they really will get you little in the way of results

as far as supplements go, real good food was the greatest thing i used. i did use creatine once and just started eating a shitload of food and just blew up and bodyfat only raised slightly. again, later, during the wrestling season, i lost a bit of fat and a little muscle, but i was ripped without really trying

anything else i should touch on?

 

[spatts]

That's exactly what I'm looking for, Jeremys. Thanks.

 

[BigBadBootyDaddy29]

He sounds like most 15 yr olds......The enthusiasm is good too......I agree with heverything you said too Spatts.....Recovery, sleep, eating, they all play as big a role in gaining muscle as training does.....At 15, your body is like a natural anabolic steroid factory, and if the kid isn't hard gainer, he will grow even if he grossly overtrains, but his gains can be better and come faster if he listens to you.......I was an athlete my whole life and started lifting seriously in 8th grade, I had good advice, I went to high school at a football factory, the head coach's son was a strength coach at a Division 1 college, we were taught to do things right from day one.......my advice to him would be to plan a program, and not mindlessly burn his body out in the gym everyday......I would recommend a lot of olympic lifting and pure strength training, with higher rep bodybuilding stuff for visual effect as assistance......and he needs to know that nutrition and sleep are an equal part of the process......I know you told him all this, but I am just adding in, hopefully you can get it to sink in for him......whats his height and weight by the way??

 

[gettinlarger]

I'm young, and fairly new to this ...

Tell him that he should keep his workouts good and intense. He can't just go in, do bench press and curls, and leave like he owned the place. He should build some muscle with a nice training program, maybe DC or 5x5, or maybe you can help him with what you are familiar with, spatts. Maybe a WSB variation or something. Strength will lead to size. Muscular growth will lead to the fact that he can shed fat more quickly.

He wants to get "cut," right? He needs to eat. It is misleading. Many people think that in order to lose weight, they have to stop eating completely. He will deplete himself of nutrients, and wind up losing muscle first. Get him on a good diet.

Tell him that it's not going to be easy. Well, it can be easy, if he is serious about it. This stuff takes lots of hard work and dedication. Discipline.

Good luck spatts.

 

[AnimalMass1]

My nephew also said "I don't want to be strong I want to be cut."

Somebody needs to bitch slap the kid quick. His aunt benches 300lbs and could kick his ass! Send him to us (DG21, KG18, AnimalMass, and Genemachine) for a night - we'll kick his scrawny ass all night long, and then he'll know why it's cool to be strong.

Also, send him pictures of our girls. They are all supermodel hot (you know Spatts, you've met em) - and not a one of us has a 6 pack.

AnimalMass

 

[spatts]

Dammit, AM, you're ruining my thread.

...but you're SO right.

 

[The Red Dragon]

That's hilarious Animal true though A strong guy can kick a scrawny cut guys ass.

I'm 17, pretty close to his age.

I don't have a lot of experience but I've read through a lot of scientific studies, articles and forum posts regarding building.

IE

Working out for too much and too long = cortisol release, after 45min-1hour the amount of catabolic hormone matches the amount of anabolic hormones circulating in the blood stream causing a loss of muscle mass.

Compound movements, lower reps and heavier weights (85%-90% one rep max range) stimulates the release of testosterone where 8-10 reps with 1 minute intervals release growth hormone. You should get into the endocrinology with him . Growth hormone and testosterone augment fat metabolism (Helping him getting cut). Overtraining will reduce testosterone levels dramatically and raise cortisol levels in the blood.

Dieting, very important, you can tell him that I didn't eat very much before I started building and how I bloated up quickly
(I ate 2 meals a day - very slow metabolism)...so eating less is actually bad for ya. I have always regreted my past eating habits since I'll have to work very hard to negate it's effect.

Sleep, in March I had insomnia problems, I was still lifting and I actually lost mass. In April I was healthier, got more sleep and such and my weight went up 8 lbs at least. Sleep also affected the amount I can lift and my stamina during every workout.

Consistancy and dedication, without those I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be making any progress at all. Lifting is very demanding work, and will only benefit you if you are consistant. Plus more muscular gains = more motivation

And its easier to get cut while you have more muscle mass. It's better looking huge and cut than puny and cut . Also more muscle mass = faster metabolism = more fat utilization.

Hmm perhaps showing him pictures of those who have trained with you/peopel you have aided .