How do I get a physique like this?

@cici1234 This physique basically doesn’t even lift and just hardly eats. Looks like a pro soccer player upper body wise. Could look like this by doing a lot of cardio and even a slight full body circuit twice a week.
 
@ferazhin Yeah i'm very similar to the pics. Had a very hard time keeping/putting on weight all my life. And also don't consistently work out.
 
@cici1234 Build some muscle then cut, cutting is what will let your muscle show up.

Note: you’ll be absolutely starving all the time, and all your thoughts will revolve around food. Your energy will also be low 🥲
 
@cici1234 This video shows a great ab exercise. The guy talking is a professor in sports physiology. You need to have a bit of muscle and low body fat to show abs. This exercise will help grow the muscle.

The professor, Dr. Mike Israetel, makes the great point (in another video I think, can't remember which) that if you want to grow your abs, you should treat them like every other muscle: Use an exercise that gives enough resistance against the muscle that you can only do 6 to 20 repetitions in a set. You may also find this video by the same professor helpful.

I've been doing the modified candlestick over the last couple of months, and I've seen significant results. I did planks for years with no results, so the fact that I'm finally getting results says something.

(Then again, part of me seeing sudden results is due to me finally starting to use creatine monohydrate after fifteen years of avoiding it. Don't be afraid of creatine. It just helps your muscles retain water. It won't make you bloated all over, just in the muscles. Because it makes your muscles bigger, it will help your abs be more visible. Also it'll help your muscles perform better, which will help you do the ab exercise, which will help your abs grow.)

Good job on the protein and calories. On protein, be sure to divide up your protein evenly through, say, four meals. Here's a video from the professor explaining why.

You seem to already know about bulking based on your calories, but just in case I'll say you should bulk and then cut for quickest results, i.e. eat more calories then you need for a while to grow ab muscle and then eat less calories than you need to lose the fat and make your abs visible.

Here's a video (same professor) on calculating your bulking calories, which just says to multiply your weight by 16.5 to get your recommended daily calories. To do the math for you: you should be having 2178 calories a day. You're close but could be eating more. Here's a video on maintaining muscle while you cut, i.e. lose weight. The optimal time to cut is a more complicated question than I'm equipped to answer, but you'll be able to flex and touch your abs and feel the divisions in your abs through the chub at some point.

Finally, be aware that not everyone can get eight or six pack abs. Your genetics determine what your abs look like when they grow. Some people could have a ton of ab muscle and 1% body fat and still have a five pack.

There are some more advanced tips, like how to set up progression through a mesocycle and how and when to use intensity techniques, e.g. myoreps and drop sets, but the above should be more than enough to get you started.
 
@s33k1ng Yeah the two sets a week is just to start. Each week add sets or repetitions in a set or improve your form for it to be harder. Starting with just two sets in a week is so you don’t miss out on the super easy beginner gains. You can start harder and you’ll get more immediate results, but starting light gives you better long term results. For even more information, I’ve been reading the professor’s book on hypertrophy.

To seem less like I’m shilling for the professor’s company, here are some other worthy books:

The Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy, by Dr. Brad Schoenfeld

The Art and Science of Lifting by Greg Nuckols and Omar Isuf.

The Muscle and Strength Pyramids, by Dr. Eric Helms, Andrea Valdez, and Andy Morgan.

If I seem obsessed, it’s because I am. I went for years with conflicting gym bro advice, and I’ve seen huge improvement after finding and following the science.
 
@cici1234 This is coming from the perspective of somebody that used to be 6'2 at 140lbs. I'm currently at 6'2 and fluctuate around 180lbs - 190lbs, and I personally like where I'm at and plan to maintain it as best as possible.

I usually just eat at maintenance, which for me is around 2500 calories a day. I also try to eat a high protein diet of about .7g - 1g protein per lb of body weight. If you're struggling to eat at 2000 calories, I recommend adding protein shakes to the diet since you can easily make shakes around 600-700 calories. I will also say that consistent eating will make it easier over time.

My personal goals are strength goals (how many reps, or being able to perform a more complicated version of the exercise). I am pretty much strictly body weight exercise now, and I like to keep the routines simple since I have a busy schedule. The ones I mostly do are squats, pushups, pullups, dead hangs, and planks. This is what personally works for me.

Just general advice for this, but I think strength goals are more important than physique goals. The strength goals are easier to quantify, and in my opinion, they will make you feel much better about yourself. Physique goals, especially ones that you base off of social media, will make you miserable and are much harder to objectively quantify. Body dysmorphia is a very real thing and can seriously warp how you perceive yourself, and people are a lot more susceptible to it than they like to think. Lots of these kinds of influencers are disingenuous and probably use photo shopping, very specific lighting, and are most likely flexing there muscles to get the physiques that they're posting online. Stay positive, and be proud of any improvements you make.
 
@cici1234 what do you look like now? are you leaner or as lean or fatter than the pics that you want to be? if you need to lose body fat then you could add intermittent fasting to your routine. but it could make it harder to hit your calorie goal if you’re already struggling. also you could just do a bulk and then cut later. also, if you have the time, i gained more muscle from doing push pull legs than full body 3x a week.
 
Back
Top