Hi guys,
I am new to this forum and new(ish) to the training scene and I have some questions that I hope you can answer for me.
I'll give a fair bit of info first and if anyone wants to skip they can go straight to my questions! I know it's long but I figured it's best to get it all out in advance so as to get the best advice back.
INFO:
I am 5' 8" and 35 yrs old (thankfully I look 27 and act 23)
I have trained over the years on and off like a lot of guys. I know the basics, always practice good form (no ego here) and did the typical beginners workout of 3 sets of 10. I also know that film stars that bulk up for a film are on gear, so I don't expect the impossible just 'cause Charlie Sheen took just 3 months to look like Rambo.
About 10 years ago I used over the counter supplements such as Cell Tech (tasted vile), Hydroxycut (and it was awesome - not like the watered down version they sell now) and Nortesten (before it got banned - and boy did it give me a kick!)
Though just 5' 8", I have a 17" neck and naturally occurring extremely well developed quads for some reason - which also left a physiotherapist dumbfounded (which was nice, I guess). When my friend and I started the gym as noobs, there was a leg press machine where you sat practically upside down and I was able to press the full 100kg for 3 x10 reps. My mate, at 6' 7", had to start at 65kg.
I am the kind of guy who puts muscle on quickly - went from 13" biceps to 15" in 12 weeks on just Cell Tech and protein shakes - but am also prone to put fat on just as fast. Just a couple pints of beer a week and I get a D shaped gut.
I am overweight. I weigh 15st 7 (217 lbs) and according to a chart, my BMI is 33 and though that officially makes me really obese, I am not. I am just fat. This is the same chart that says I should be around 10 st 10 (150 lbs) yet I'll only ever reach that if I go anorexic. My lightest ever - 11 st 5 (159 lbs) - was when I had next to no fat and circa 12 st (172 lbs) is when I seem right. So I am about 3 st (42 lbs) overweight.
I am not looking for quick fixes and have always been prepared to put in time and effort. I am also not averse to gear and realise most great physiques use it.
So, that's me, my physiology and my history.
Questions:
1) How should I approach calorie intake? I need more than usual in order to put on mass but I also need to eat less in order to shift my excess fat.
2) My ideal is to look like (yeah, I know, you've been told this a gazillion times) Ryan Reynolds in Blade and Hugh Jackman in Wolverine. here are some quick pics (the ones you've seen a gazillion times, lol):
So with this in mind, will the basics suffice: 3 days a week of bicep curl, hammer curl, tricep extensions, pull up bar, chest & leg press (smith machines), pec flys, shoulder raises, lat pull down, bent over rows?
3) What supplements do you recommend? Hydroxycut is watered down and Nortesten is off the shelves.
According to the official line, Ryan Reynolds put in 22 lbs of muscle and whittled down to just 3% body fat on just L-Glutamine, CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), Whey Protein, multivitamins and creatine.
Is this the place to start for me too? Or was his body down to his unofficial 6 month intake of Sustanol stacked with Winstrol?
4) I love my carbs. Is there a diet plan that is good for mass gain, fat loss and still be high on carbs?
5) Despite being fat, should I be aiming for 1g of protein per lb of body weight? And are these grams to be in shakes or include all protein including what's in my food?
Thx in advance.
I am new to this forum and new(ish) to the training scene and I have some questions that I hope you can answer for me.
I'll give a fair bit of info first and if anyone wants to skip they can go straight to my questions! I know it's long but I figured it's best to get it all out in advance so as to get the best advice back.
INFO:
I am 5' 8" and 35 yrs old (thankfully I look 27 and act 23)

I have trained over the years on and off like a lot of guys. I know the basics, always practice good form (no ego here) and did the typical beginners workout of 3 sets of 10. I also know that film stars that bulk up for a film are on gear, so I don't expect the impossible just 'cause Charlie Sheen took just 3 months to look like Rambo.
About 10 years ago I used over the counter supplements such as Cell Tech (tasted vile), Hydroxycut (and it was awesome - not like the watered down version they sell now) and Nortesten (before it got banned - and boy did it give me a kick!)
Though just 5' 8", I have a 17" neck and naturally occurring extremely well developed quads for some reason - which also left a physiotherapist dumbfounded (which was nice, I guess). When my friend and I started the gym as noobs, there was a leg press machine where you sat practically upside down and I was able to press the full 100kg for 3 x10 reps. My mate, at 6' 7", had to start at 65kg.
I am the kind of guy who puts muscle on quickly - went from 13" biceps to 15" in 12 weeks on just Cell Tech and protein shakes - but am also prone to put fat on just as fast. Just a couple pints of beer a week and I get a D shaped gut.
I am overweight. I weigh 15st 7 (217 lbs) and according to a chart, my BMI is 33 and though that officially makes me really obese, I am not. I am just fat. This is the same chart that says I should be around 10 st 10 (150 lbs) yet I'll only ever reach that if I go anorexic. My lightest ever - 11 st 5 (159 lbs) - was when I had next to no fat and circa 12 st (172 lbs) is when I seem right. So I am about 3 st (42 lbs) overweight.
I am not looking for quick fixes and have always been prepared to put in time and effort. I am also not averse to gear and realise most great physiques use it.
So, that's me, my physiology and my history.
Questions:
1) How should I approach calorie intake? I need more than usual in order to put on mass but I also need to eat less in order to shift my excess fat.
2) My ideal is to look like (yeah, I know, you've been told this a gazillion times) Ryan Reynolds in Blade and Hugh Jackman in Wolverine. here are some quick pics (the ones you've seen a gazillion times, lol):






So with this in mind, will the basics suffice: 3 days a week of bicep curl, hammer curl, tricep extensions, pull up bar, chest & leg press (smith machines), pec flys, shoulder raises, lat pull down, bent over rows?
3) What supplements do you recommend? Hydroxycut is watered down and Nortesten is off the shelves.
According to the official line, Ryan Reynolds put in 22 lbs of muscle and whittled down to just 3% body fat on just L-Glutamine, CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), Whey Protein, multivitamins and creatine.
Is this the place to start for me too? Or was his body down to his unofficial 6 month intake of Sustanol stacked with Winstrol?
4) I love my carbs. Is there a diet plan that is good for mass gain, fat loss and still be high on carbs?
5) Despite being fat, should I be aiming for 1g of protein per lb of body weight? And are these grams to be in shakes or include all protein including what's in my food?
Thx in advance.