This whole post is really asking for advice. Sure, you can't tell me what I want and only I can. However, maybe some advice can place me on the right track. First I'll start off that I'm a 19 year old male. I'll tell you my story.Recently I went back to the gym, after a 6 month break due to schooling and my old gym shutting down. Over these 6 months I gained 10 lbs but I dont even know if thats true because I also got taller (also sat on my ass). I went from 5'11" 195 lbs to 6'1" 205 lbs. I was 14.5% body fat which my trainer told me was lean but my abs wouldnt show til 10%. However, I don't know my body fat % atm. I can see my top 4 abs but my lower 2 abs are not visible. Anyways, they asked me what I wanted to do and I really didn't know. My old trainer basically pushed me in the direction I thought I wanted to go and I didn't learn much. The main problem is I look at myself and don't see what I want to see. I feel unhealthy whenever I look in the mirror. This could either be that I still think im fat or that im kinda pale. No matter how much ppl tell me I'm not fat anymore it just doesn't go through my head(the damage that being 5'6" and weighing 220lbs can do to you) and at one point people accused me of being annorexic. Kind of hard to do when you eat 6 meals a day but I exercised a lot.I believe I got a little sidetracked but theres some history behind this (over 2 yrs). First off, I don't know my body type. I always thought I was an endomorph but i heard endomorphs have a really hard time losing weight unless they weight train. I lost 10 lbs a month by just running 20min a day and trying to eat right until I hit 170 lbs. At that time I wanted to gain weight because of all the accusations of me being annorexic. I gained 25 (over 4 months of sitting on my ass and just eating junk food) lbs to 195 and i was 18% body fat when i hit the gym for the first time. In the course of a month i went to 14.5% body fat which my trainer said was pretty insane because most people can only do about 1 1/2 to 2%. The only way I gain weight is if I just sit on my ass and i gain it back at a very slow rate but like i said i dont even know if im gaining because i got taller. Maybe someone can clear up what body type I am with that information?My main goal in working out is toning, I don't want HUGE muscles which I feel are starting to come. I don't feel I'm losing any of my fat but just gaining more and more muscle. Since I don't feel secure about what my body type is, I don't know what kinda program to do. Atm, i run a 3 day program, Chest+tris, Legs+shoulders, Back and bis. Sometimes I go to the gym 4-5 days a week. I lift 80% my full capacity which is for building muscle. I know 60% is for toning. The thing that scares me about going on the 60% fig is that if im an endomorph, wont that make it so I don't get anything accomplished? Or am i just gettin fed with misinformation. So.. to sum it all up. I want to lose 15-20 lbs and tone. Safe to lose that much weight? or not? To do this, should i continue the program im working now?Another concern of mine is that I don't care to be pale anymore. Yes, I know the sun is dangerous, but I just don't wanna be this pale anymore. Is there any "safe" way to build up a nice tan. I went to sixflags recently, palest one there and I was in the sun the most. I was the one who didn't get burned at all and i was only wearing 15 SPF and the other ppl wore 30SPF or more. I heard its safe to tan if you don't burn. Myth? I've seen websites saying that all the skin cancer today is because it was not uncommon for ppl to go out and burn like whoa so that it would fade into a tan. My father is very dark and in his college days he was darker then most mulattos(sp?). He started out as a white boy like me with Irish and Polish ancestry. Is there any safe way to get me a year round tan is really what im asking?The sunissue revolves from a comment made that im letting myself go regarding me skintone and a much less important thing about my hair.Thanks to everyone who reads this giant post.
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Not sure what I want or need
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Taison! for the help!Firstly, whatever body type you are, it doesn't matter. You are you, you're unique and the training for you will be different from others. The body type thing is just an index where they can categories people easier by putting them into groups. Look at me, doctors said I was an endomorph yet if I do too much training I can fuck up my body by burning too much fat and going into Kerotis (sp?).Now, what group would I be in? Don't care.The program you are working at now I believe is fine, but instead of taking those heavier weights stick to the smaller ones so that you won't pump up muscles, as that seems what you don't want. Also, you'll need to rest a bit, taking a 4-5 days program isn't good for your body and it's a waste of time as it only increases the risk for injury, like skiing, it's dangerous but by not skiing everyday you reduce the chance that you'll get injured.Tanning? I think it's not that good. Ok, I'm of Japanese ancestry and I seem to get tanned quite easily if I keep myself in the sun. I recommend instead of sunbathing, spend time in the sun a bit everyday, take a walk, walk the dog, piknic, cycle, run,swimming, ???, etc? It seems you spend too much time infront of the computer when you could stay in the sun for a bit. If you spend like 30% of your day outside the house in the sun everyday, you'll probably get a bit darker by next month but don't overdo it. If it gets too hot, stay in the shadows (damn I like that sentence) and wear a sunblock of 30 SPF.I hope I was able to help -Taison! out