So folks, In your opinion, which is more harder for a 33 year old guy to pull off?

1. Loosing 30 lbs of Fat?
OR
2. Gaining 10 lbs of muscle?

In 4 to 5 months!

I would think that would depend on how much fat a guy has on his body in the first place.  As an ecto I'm not sure I have 30 lb of fat:  I could diet and cardio til the cows come home and I'd never lose 30 lb of fat.  And again, the muscle gains probably depend a lot on your body type (ecto, meso, endo) as well.  So if you had an "it depends," choice I'd pick that.  Otherwise I'll do the unpatriotic thing and not vote. ;)

Oh Cohmmmmmm onnnnnnnn J!!!!!!!!
How can you not vote ???

Really depends on how fat you are and how much muscle you are already carrying around.

Okay, I voted!  Happy now?  ;)
All I could go by is me at 33.  Then, as now, I didn't have 30 lb of fat to lose, so I picked the fat loss as being harder.  But my vote would have been more informed had I know the particular 33 yr old being discussed.  A picture would have been goden!

depends on how long you have already been training.

if your a beginner, putting on 10 lb's of muscle should be cake

if your more advanced, muscle comes a lot slower, fat loss would be easier.

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Cool.... i will upload a pic tomorrow and as far as the numbers go, Im:

5 11"
198 lbs
and as per the electronic /fat measuring weight scale, Im @ 27% body fat. So if I do the math correctly, I currently have 58 lbs of fat and the rest is bones and muscle.

30 lbs of fat is alot.  I would say the 10 lbs is easier for anyone except for the extremes.

Depends on the different people. Some people might be easy to lose that amount of fat, but hard to gain that muscle.


I'm going to say getting muscle is easier, losing that much fat would be difficult.

Red PittBull's Log.

I voted losing 30lbs of fat.

I gained 10lbs of muscle easy, although I'm not 33, it's hard as hell for me to lose fat without muscle too.

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

I would say it depends on: the body composition (your level of training obviously), the body type (ecto,meso,endo).

5'8.1"
Age = 20 
started in February 16th 2007: 58kg (127.6lbs)
current : around 79-80kg (173.8lb-176lb)

Stingray


Cool.... i will upload a pic tomorrow and as far as the numbers go, Im:

5 11"
198 lbs
and as per the electronic /fat measuring weight scale, Im @ 27% body fat. So if I do the math correctly, I currently have 58 lbs of fat and the rest is bones and muscle.

Does not sound right, I bet you when you post the picture people are going to tell you that you are a lot lower BF than that.

30# would be harder, depending on bodytype and how much one is already carrying. If the person is 5'4 @ 245# then 30# could go missing rather easy, if the person is more average then 30# could be a bit more difficult.

Three week keto test run
Started July 19
It will work, or I'm done dieting.

Losing 30lbs of fat only requires eating below your caloric maintenance levels and maybe doing moderate daily exercise..

Gaining 10lbs of muscles requires eating above your caloric maintenance levels and busting your a$$  consistenly day after day..

30lbs of fat can be safely lost in 20 or so weeks.

In reality, most people training are lucky to gain an extra 5lbs of muscle within a year, much less 10lbs..

The only exception would be if the person already has a low BF%.. then dropping 30lbs might not even be possible..

Or...

If the trainee has very good genetics and does everything the right way.. then 10lbs of muscle mass could be possible within a shorter period.. but it certainly isn't going to be easy... For anyone
 
I'm starting to think a lot of people on this board have a huge misconception on how hard it is to actually gain a solid 10lbs of lean muscle mass.. 

 

There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the most important thing

 

Yes, I'd say that it's much easier to lose fat then gain muscle.  I've done both.

This is especially true when you already have gained muscle, and you want to cut the extra fat off.  I spent 3+ years bulking (and gaining a lot of fat).  Within months, I shredded off 40 lbs., and I was pretty damn lean.  All I had to do was start taking this MMA class, which I really enjoy.  Actually building the muscle involved lots of time of heavy squatting, deadlifting, pushing, pulling, and never skipping any training sessions. 

So I'm gonna go with the gaining 10lbs. of muscle being harder to pull off.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

Stingray,
   Throw us a bone, brother!  ;)  Do you have the picture?  If you can't do that can you give us some measurements?  Thanks!

JMBS


Stingray,
   Throw us a bone, brother!  ;)  Do you have the picture?  If you can't do that can you give us some measurements?  Thanks!

Sorry about that bro.... I got pulled into 3 back to back meetings this morning so didnt get a chance to post....
So here is the big reveal :)

 

Don't hold back boys.... critique away :P

Im @ 197.5 as of yesterday morning.... my goal is to hit 175 by December. folks have started taking bets in Vegas already :P

For me its easier to gain 30 lbs of fat than it is to loose 10 lbs of muscle.

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

Wetdawg


For me its easier to gain 30 lbs of fat than it is to loose 10 lbs of muscle.

You and me both WetDawg.... you and me both..... haha

Stingray,
   Do you lift?  If not I think the 10 lb of muscle would not take too long.  IMO, I would train to add muscle mass and then let the increased metabolism from the muscle work for you.  In other words bulk then cut if you have the time.  Is something happening in Dec. you want to look slimmer for?  You look like you should lose weight, but 30 lb off of you is significant.  Might be a lot more work than 30 lb off someone obese.  You may have the type of body and (lack of) training that would allow you to gain muscle and lose fat relatively easily, at least for a period of time.  Just my 2 cents!  Good luck!  :)

JMBS


Stingray,
   Do you lift?  If not I think the 10 lb of muscle would not take too long.  IMO, I would train to add muscle mass and then let the increased metabolism from the muscle work for you.  In other words bulk then cut if you have the time.  Is something happening in Dec. you want to look slimmer for?  You look like you should lose weight, but 30 lb off of you is significant.  Might be a lot more work than 30 lb off someone obese.  You may have the type of body and (lack of) training that would allow you to gain muscle and lose fat relatively easily, at least for a period of time.  Just my 2 cents!  Good luck!  :)

Thanks for the feedback J.... I used to lift in college... that was many many moons ago... Im in my 30s now, so Im sure my body will take lifting as a beginners body would. Am I right? Or does muscle memory last a decade?

My best buddy is getting married in January, and I want "one" special bridesmaid to notice me

   First thing I had to do was get the fat=weight thought out of my head. Weight is what I wanted to keep, fat is what I wanted to loose. When i started a couple of years ago, I dropped 40 pounds. The last year and a half I have stayed within the 280lb range. But, I have lost 8 pant sizes doing it. I was in a 3x shirt, now into XL. Try doing both at the same time....Drop fat, gain Muscle. Get your diet clean, hit the weights, and do some cardio. Things will happen fast once you get going. Just stick with it! Push yourself to get through the Gym door, the rest is easy. Good Luck!

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

Stingray,
   What Wetdawg said!
   Only thing I would add is that's a very special goal you have and very important!  Reality is that you have less than five months.  Diet, weights, and cardio simultaneously may get you the closest to your goal by Dec.  Remember to take it a step at a time, a day at a time.  Remember that even small victories leave you better than you were before, even if the goal seems out of reach.  Setbacks are normal and to be expected.  Don't let them discourage you.  I would recommend you keep us informed:  It keeps you honest, and it lets us motivate you and give you a kick in the pants when necessary.  Now let's get started!  ;) 

even small victories leave you better than you were before

Ill remember that J... Ill definitely remember that... :)


And WetDawg.... I wish I look like you when I hit my 40's.... What a way to rock the 40s man ... :)

Thanks Stingray! I'm in my all or nothing mode til 50! LOL

Team Keine Ausreden = No Excuses
mein scheinehund ist daheim
48 yrs young
6'5" 270 Lbs

I can tell just by looking at you that if you just start lifting on a good routine and start eating right, your body will recompose (gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously) very quickly.

"True genius, in many fields of human endeavor, is often revealed in elegant simplicity."

- A smart man

Journal: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?t=117358

For me as a real endomorph, I'd think it's the losing 30lbs of fat. I have a hard time losing fat without muscle. Gaining muscle isn't really that hard for me, at least.

Age: 18
Supplements: Whey Protein
Sport: Long Distance Running (5-10k++)
Does Yoga!

I agree with Brihead. Start a good routine, maybe even slap on some HITT, and you'll gain muscle and lose fat.

Red PittBull's Log.

You do look like your body is in the perfect position to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time!  Weight progam, HIIT, and good eating, and you'll be on FYE YUH!  ;)

I have looked into HITT as well... but from what I read you have to be in some sort of aerobic shape to pull it off.  Or is it OK for newbies as well?
As you right now, I am breaking up Cardio and Weights.  Ive started to run in the mornings, and do weights in the evening. Would you guys recommend a split or a full body work out?

These days I have all the time in the world in the evenings, so gym 5 day a week is not going to be taxing on my schedule.