How do I get a body like this?

[Rex]

Oh wow, this thread exploded overnight. As I said earlier, I started weightlifting not too long ago, but I'll try and explain myself.

-Bulking and cutting is important. In order to gain muscle mass, you need a caloric surplus. And of course, with a caloric surplus you're going to build muscle along with putting on some fat. If you aren't eating enough, your body's going to eventually burn the protein for energy rather than letting the protein go towards muscle building. So, you actually don't even want to do cardio on your off days, because that's when a lot of your muscle building occurs. Again, you need a constant caloric surplus.

That's what I've read before, that I need to eat much more than usual so I can get more calories than I burn a day. But now I'm being told that's not a good idea because it just stacks fat on top of the muscle and gives the illusion that it's a muscle gain.

Should I just eat as much as possible and avoid fatty foods? Like eat a lot but eat healthy?

So, after a few months of gaining just pure mass, you cut the fat. Your muscles are usually covered by some fat, so you have to shed it for your muscles to be visible. I'm not going to be a huge help on the cardio front. It's actually pretty hard work, gaining muscles, and that's why you ignore people whose excuse for not going to the gym is, "Oh, I don't want to get too bulky too fast".

To gain muscle and mass should I be aiming at 3 sets of 10 reps? Some sources say to use heavy weights where 10 reps will not be possible during the second or third set.

-A spot for squats is not necessary, you just have to be careful. Is there a power rack at your gym? Those are safe enough because you can set pins to drop the weight on if you can't make it back up. You can also do bench press in those, if you just move a bench in. You just have to make sure you start with low weights to make sure your form is absolutely correct.

AVOID THE SMITH MACHINE LIKE THE PLAGUE. If your gym doesn't have a power rack, I might go as far as suggesting finding a new gym.

Unfortunately my gym doesn't have a rack for regular benches or squats. They have the smith machine which most people use for squats and some use it for benching. I use it for squats but I do bench presses on a bench with dumb bells.

I don't really have the money to put down on a down payment for a new membership