Good target weight?

[steveT95]

Officially, I'm bulking. But I'm not very strict with it, but I am getting there.

 

I want to get big, broad shoulders, good chest. So I can look like a manly man

 

I'm an ectomorph, but definitely have some mesomorph traits.

 

Before training I was 9 st 3 (I was ill at the time) I am now 11st 4 or 72 kg.

My height is 5' 11''

 

I am mainly muscle but a do I have a small amount of lard around the stomach. I isn't a six pack, but can look toned although I can pinch a fair bit of skin.

 

What's a good weight to aim to reach before I work to maintain my weight rather than gain? So then I can focus on toning rather than getting big.

[Copelandsanity]

For that look, it's important to 1) focus on the upper chest area more than the mid, 2) do laterals to bring the shoulders outward, 3) increase back width by working the lats, 4) make sure you do enough rows to maintain good posture (I recommend doing twice as many reps than your chest exercises).

 

I recommend the following exercises:

 

Incline dumbbell bench press

Side laterals, if your shoulder can handle them (I also like head-supported rear delt raises)

Lat pulldown (or hammer grip chins, if you can handle them)

Bent over rows (one-arm is safer)

 

It's hard to make any recommendations without knowing your frame size, bodyfat % and exactly how big you want to look like. If you're small to medium-framed, I recommend aiming for 160 lbs. at 10% BF as an initial goal. So you may need to get to 166 before you cut.