Optimal physique for looksmaxxing?

[Squilliam]

So I'm pretty skinny and scrawny right now. My BF % isn't bad, but I really question how much I can improve my appearance in general. I have doubts that working out will help a lot. Then again, I shouldn't knock it until I try it.

I've been bouldering 3-4 times a week for the past 3 months, and I plan to start lifting weights too. I wanted to aim for about 2500 calories per day, but it's been a struggle. Does that seem like a good amount?

Scale says about 14-15% BF, but I get that these numbers are not 100% accurate.

Here's a picture of me right now (6'1", ~155lbs, ~14-15% BF):

Any tips or help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ovnidos]

I have doubts that working out will help a lot.

????

Does that seem like a good amount?

seem like a good amount for me, weight yourself daily and aim for a 0.5% to 1.5% of more weight every week.

Pm me and we'll do you a workout plan if you want

 

[Zug]

I can't imagine any more first world problem than a scrawny guy complaining it is too difficult to eat more delicious food. I've read tales from an old time powerlifter trying to move up weight classes that was dipping pizza in olive oil. He forced himself to finish the last slice, but he ended up throwing up afterwards..., so he ordered another pizza. Bottom line is everything is possible if you want it bad enough. Nowdays, there are an insane amounts of nutritious high calorie foods available everywhere at very low prices. It is not difficult at all to eat 2500. It gets a little challenging when people need to go above 4000.

What are your doubts exactly? That the SRA cycle that all living organisms go through doesn't apply to you?

As far as what is optimal, I think generally something like Brad Pitt Fight Club to Ryan Reynolds is most 'general purpose'. I'm not entirely convinced it is actually optimal. Other physiques are far more polarizing, which I would argue is probably a large plus and not a negative at all.

 

[Hedon]

I have doubts that working out will help a lot. Then again, I shouldn't knock it until I try it.

I've been bouldering 3-4 times a week for the past 3 months, and I plan to start lifting weights too. I wanted to aim for about 2500 calories per day, but it's been a struggle. Does that seem like a good amount?

Working out will help you massively in improving your SMV. Check out Good Looking Loser's articles on the ideal physique but in my opinion it's around 180-183 pounds at 10-12% body fat at 6'0'' - 6'1''. Once you get into the habit over a few weeks of hitting weights for a hour 3+ times a week it'll become ingrained into your routine.

Calorie wise 2500 cals might actually be bit low, 2750-2850 cals would probably be more ideal. If your struggling to eat enough there are certain performance enhancers you can use (such as MK-677) which increases Ghrelin hormone (the hormone for hunger). From experience, you would definitely be able to eat enough calories with this.

In the meantime there's quick lookmax's you can do such as buzzed hair or short hair with a fade, more accessories (couple necklaces, ring, bracelet, caps/beanies), sticking to a colour palette of predominantly black/grey with a little white in your style and considering tattoos and piercings. Getting a hoop/stud in one ear and a tattoo sleeve can make huge differences in the way girls perceive you. I went from having a couple smaller tattoos to 2 full sleeves over a couple months and there was a immediate difference in my hit rate with girls and even IOI's.

 

[Squilliam]

seem like a good amount for me, weight yourself daily and aim for a 0.5% to 1.5% of more weight every week.

Pm me and we'll do you a workout plan if you want

I'm gonna PM you later. Thanks for the advice man!

I can't imagine any more first world problem than a scrawny guy complaining it is too difficult to eat more delicious food. I've read tales from an old time powerlifter trying to move up weight classes that was dipping pizza in olive oil. He forced himself to finish the last slice, but he ended up throwing up afterwards..., so he ordered another pizza. Bottom line is everything is possible if you want it bad enough. Nowdays, there are an insane amounts of nutritious high calorie foods available everywhere at very low prices. It is not difficult at all to eat 2500. It gets a little challenging when people need to go above 4000.

Do you know what it's like to force yourself to eat when you don't want to eat? I get that many people want this "problem", but I seriously struggle to eat. I sometimes take Adderall for ADHD and that also suppresses my appetite. My weed use probably also plays a role but that is something that I could monitor more carefully, I'm aware that that's my fault.

The thing is like, okay, it would be easy if I ate lots of processed foods. The problem is maintaining all this while eating healthy. So I think I'm going to take a hybrid approach, where I try to eat healthy, but I can incorporate some elements of a dirty bulk into this.

Working out will help you massively in improving your SMV. Check out Good Looking Loser's articles on the ideal physique but in my opinion it's around 180-183 pounds at 10-12% body fat at 6'0'' - 6'1''. Once you get into the habit over a few weeks of hitting weights for a hour 3+ times a week it'll become ingrained into your routine.

I'll check them out, thanks. Yeah, my plan was to gain muscle and then cut to ~8-10% BF. The thing is, for rock climbing, I don't want to get too big. I want to be muscular but lean.

Calorie wise 2500 cals might actually be bit low, 2750-2850 cals would probably be more ideal. If your struggling to eat enough there are certain performance enhancers you can use (such as MK-677) which increases Ghrelin hormone (the hormone for hunger). From experience, you would definitely be able to eat enough calories with this.

Yeah, 2700 was about what the app I was using recommended, I think I'll stick with that for a week or two and monitor my weight.

In the meantime there's quick lookmax's you can do such as buzzed hair or short hair with a fade, more accessories (couple necklaces, ring, bracelet, caps/beanies), sticking to a colour palette of predominantly black/grey with a little white in your style and considering tattoos and piercings. Getting a hoop/stud in one ear and a tattoo sleeve can make huge differences in the way girls perceive you. I went from having a couple smaller tattoos to 2 full sleeves over a couple months and there was a immediate difference in my hit rate with girls and even IOI's.

Gonna get a new haircut soon, that's a good point. Still trying to figure out what looks good on me. I'm gonna seek more advice and then eventually come to a consensus.

As for style I've changed that a lot already, you can look at my profile picture for an example. I already have necklaces and a watch, I guess I could get some rings.

I'm not really sure how I feel about piercings and tattoos. Piercings, maybe, but I don't think it fits my style. Tattoos I'm definitely not interested in getting a full sleeve. With tattoos, I'd only be interested in getting a few smaller ones. It seems excessive to do something permanent like that for this, I would need to want the tattoos otherwise.

Thank you everybody for your advice.

 

[nipple-flip]

if you're getting all your nutritional needs met (plug your food into cronometer.com to check your macro and micronutrients and make sure you're getting enough of everything), a little bit of dirty food to get up to your calorie goals is perfectly fine. if you're really afraid of processed/dirty food, nuts and seeds will get you to your calorie requirements insanely fast while being easy to eat and doing a ton of work nutritionally. add chia and flax seeds to your smoothies for an extra 1-200 calories that you won't notice, snack on some almonds, put peanut butter on your bread, etc. and i promise you'll get to 3k calories EASILY if you want.

 

[Squilliam]

if you're getting all your nutritional needs met (plug your food into cronometer.com to check your macro and micronutrients and make sure you're getting enough of everything), a little bit of dirty food to get up to your calorie goals is perfectly fine. if you're really afraid of processed/dirty food, nuts and seeds will get you to your calorie requirements insanely fast while being easy to eat and doing a ton of work nutritionally. add chia and flax seeds to your smoothies for an extra 1-200 calories that you won't notice, snack on some almonds, put peanut butter on your bread, etc. and i promise you'll get to 3k calories EASILY if you want.

Cronometer is a lot better than the other app I was using, I just made an account. I'll use this instead, thanks!

Yup, that's my exact plan. I'm going to try to eat healthy but I'll throw in some dirty food. I started today with an 1100 calorie taco bell meal, lol. Then later I'll go ahead and eat some leftover chicken drumsticks I made the other night, those are pretty healthy. Then I'll just need snacks. Guess I should buy a blender to make smoothies? Lmao.

Thanks for all the tips, I really appreciate it.

 

[ovnidos]

I'll throw in some dirty food. I started today with an 1100 calorie taco bell meal, lol

Nah nah you don't want to go that way, don't start a dirty bulk please, you'll and up strong&fat. And girls don't care at all how much you can lift, they just care about these abs lmao.

I already posted it, but look at this pic at the end of my dirty bulk :

 

[Squilliam]

Nah nah you don't want to go that way, don't start a dirty bulk please, you'll and up strong&fat. And girls don't care at all how much you can lift, they just care about these abs lmao.

I mean, I'm gonna eat healthy food as well. The fast food is just for a few extra calories.

As for what you wrote in your PM, I don't think I need to ignore medical articles completely. Pancake said that it is possible to workout in only 30 minutes, with high intensity workouts. I think for now I will try this method on my own, and if I don't get any results, then I will reconsider the things you've said about working out for longer.

 

[ovnidos]

high intensity workouts

Ok but please have some insane intensity lol, and focus on pushing movement a lot because you're already working all pulling muscles at climbing

 

[Squilliam]

high intensity workouts

Ok but please have some insane intensity lol, and focus on pushing movement a lot because you're already working all pulling muscles at climbing

This was what Pancake suggested, I figured I could just do this after all my climbing sessions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i45MQ0B0SEA

 

[Jacobpalmer123]

I only do High intensity workouts when I do sprints or MMA sparring. I don't know the effectiveness for working out, but I think its good to try as many things as possible and then make your decision as to what you enjoy the most. For time efficiency its quite good. For overloading muscles and strength it could be good I don't know much about it tbh. Give it a good 6 months and then update us every couple weeks or so if you notice any changes.

I'm very interested to see your after results in 6 months to a year. Best of luck

 

[pancakemouse]

For High Intensity Training it's very important that you are training to "true failure". That means you have to complete the rep if someone has a gun to your head and will also kill your entire family.

It's very difficult to find the mental fortitude to train this way as a beginner. I'm 12+ years into lifting and I'm still not great at it. So I would definitely see if you can lift with someone more experienced a few times and really have them push you into failure.

Another reason is that during failure, at least for me, you will be YELLING and GRUNTING. Sometimes I yell so loud a bunch of people look at me, then I literally say out loud "yep, that's what momentary muscle failure sounds like".

 

[Svadhishthana]

The thing is, for rock climbing, I don't want to get too big. I want to be muscular but lean.

You have been bouldering for 3 months, and are lifting for the first time, and you are concerned about being too heavy? I wouldn't worry about it. You're far more likely to see your performance suffer due to putting on fat while you bulk. Muscle takes a long time to put on, and if you think you are getting too heavy, you can simply adjust your program.

If you care about performance, you should fingerboard, deadlift heavy, and Climb More. If you really care, look into Kris Hampton or Steve Bechtel for training plans.

I would second the vote to focus on pressing during your lifts. Otherwise you'll end up with climber's hunch.

 

[Squilliam]

The thing is, for rock climbing, I don't want to get too big. I want to be muscular but lean.

You have been bouldering for 3 months, and are lifting for the first time, and you are concerned about being too heavy? I wouldn't worry about it. You're far more likely to see your performance suffer due to putting on fat while you bulk. Muscle takes a long time to put on, and if you think you are getting too heavy, you can simply adjust your program.

If you care about performance, you should fingerboard, deadlift heavy, and Climb More. If you really care, look into Kris Hampton or Steve Bechtel for training plans.

I would second the vote to focus on pressing during your lifts. Otherwise you'll end up with climber's hunch.

No, it's not a concern for me right now. I'm aware that I have a ways to go before that is a legitimate concern. I am just trying to think ahead, because this is a long term endeavor.

My plan was actually to do a 30 minute dumbbell full body workout after my climbing sessions, do you think I should restrict it purely to push exercises?

Also, regarding hangboards, I've heard that's not a good idea until you've been climbing for at least a year, due to the potential for injury.

 

[Svadhishthana]

For your dumbbell program, maybe skip the pulls if you are really fatigued. Play around with it. But you probably won't overdo your pulls just because you'll already be fatigued. I would say just follow your dumbbell program as written, and drop the pulls if you are constantly tired in your last, or if they don't seem to be doing much. But really focus on the presses - lock them out at the top each time and open up the shoulder to maintain that mobility at end range.

Hangboarding in your first year is fine, as long as you aren't a dumbass. Problem is, most beginners are dumbasses. I can PM you if you want more details - otherwise this post will go on forever.

 

[Balanzing]

Don't force feed, you're used to eating a set amount of food, so just take it slow, you can gain a lot of muscle in your first year, but you need to be consistent at it, progressive overload is key, and same thing applies to food consumption, just make small increments, if you just make a huge jump with calories, all you're gonna do is gain fat, you can't magically make muscles appear just by force feeding, unless you use steroids, muscle takes time to build, and you don't need that much food for that, just increase slowly, and be patient(easier said than done), beating your PR's would probably help keep you motivated, you need to try and see how you feel about it, the important thing is that you enjoy the activity you choose to do, free weights, machines, bodyweight, all work out, so find the one you enjoy as that will help you stick to it, and the gains will naturally come with consistency.