Weight Gain

[JLo]

Well, I am finding out that I don't know as much about this sport as I thougth I did........

My goal has always been to lose weight and tone. But now, I have lost enough fat and my muscle definition is there, but everyone is telling me that I am getting too skinny and that I need to quit losing weight.

I am a size 4, 5'5 135lbs. I have lost most of the fat on my body and am getting pretty cut, but with pants on it just looks like I am a stick....you can't see that there is muscle under the pants!

Now, I need to put ON weight but MUSCLE weight - not fat. And, as I am finding out, this is not too easy. I am not "skinny-fat" and it is obvious that I work out when I have on shorts and a tank top. What is it going to take to put on enough muscle to where people can see my quads sticking THROUGH my pants?

I know what it takes to lose weight, but I obviously have much more to learn as far as gaining muscle! Please coach me as what to do to put on lean muscle.

 

[Phemomena]

that's easy

lift heavy weights
eat - lots of clean food...

phem

 

[JLo]

Well, thats what I have been hearing a bit of...but, how much is "lots" and is red meat (steak) considered clean food?

Lift heavy - like 8-10 reps or less?

Cardio? Now I run for 20 minutes and do the stairmaster for 20...

 

[Phemomena]

well... lots is subjective... i take in over 2500 cal a day.. (5'3'', 120ish lbs, 14ish % bf)...

clean food is food w/o sugar, preservatives... basically if don't go in the centre of the grocery store at all except for oats and you're probably eatting pretty clean...

i vary my workouts, but generally keep my heavy sets under 8 reps... this doesn't mean pick up a weight and lift it 8 times and put it down... it means pick up a HEAVY weight, lift it until you cannot lift it anymore (if its 4 reps, so be it) ... and keep challanging yourself.. if you keep doing what you've always done you'll keep getting where you've always got...

cardio - can't say i do much of it now... when i do do it (heehe i said dodo ) i do about 30-35 min generally no more... maybe 2-3 times a week...

 

[JLo]

Thanks for your help! I do cardio 5-6 times a week so I will cut that back to 3-4 days (which is FINE by me) and lift HEAVY weight.... But, you ARE saying that I will get results with only doing 5 reps or so as long as the weight is HEAVY and I can't lift it more than 5 times? Just wanna make sure because I have always thought that just lifting it a couple of times wouldn't do any good. I am doing legs tonight, so based on your advice, I will do heavy squats - even if each set is only 4 or 5 reps....right?

No cardio tonight and a real meal rather than a shake after my work out.

Will this increase in muscle also help keep away the CELLULITE even though I am decreasing my cardio and increasing my calories?

 

[Phemomena]

What you have to do is go to failure with the weight you are working with... don't stop at a certain number... once you can't get anymore reps out stop, if you've done more than 10, increase the weight... if you can't get out 4, drop the weight a bit... aim to keep the reps between 6-8, but don't use it as a end all and be all number...work until you feel the burn and you can't do anymore...

as for the fat... that's pretty much all diet... its hard to say how your body will react... these things take time and fine tuning according to your metabolism and goals... don't expect changes overnight... give a program a minimum of 4-6 weeks (preferably around 6-8) before you start to assess what changes need to be made... the body will need time to adjust...

 

[VooDoo Lady]

Clean Food?

I started my 'clean food' diet TODAY..in addition to this I am taking Hydroxycut 3x a day and drinking more water than should be legal (yes, THAT much).

My food today:
I had an apple for breakfast (I was going to have oatmeal, but never got around to making it)

Mid-morning snack was a low fat yogurt

Lunch was a plain chicken breast and steamed cauliflower.

Afternoon snack will be carrots and an apple.

Dinner will be some sort of chicken and more steamed veggies

How's that? Should I add some sort of protien shake in the mix somewhere??

I am going to alter my workour schedule as follows:

Mon - 45 min cardio, legs
Tues - off
Wed - 45 min cardio, arms
Thurs - 45 min cardio, back
Fri - off - or cardio just for FUN
Sat - 45 min cardio, back
Sun - 45 min cardio, chest

Ok guys, this is the result of what I have learned from being here for the last week.

Comments? Concerns? Suggestions?

Remember my goals are to enhance the looks of my muscles without bulking up tooo much more, as well as reducing overall bodyfat %.

 

[JLo]

Great! Got it! Thanks a lot, Phemomena!

 

[Phemomena]

Voodoo-

in my opinion that's far from enough food unless you're about 75lbs...


here's my diet...

http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=41081


i'm not suggesting that anyone follow my diet, i'm a pig but you need the food to give you energy to lift...

 

[Audacious1]

Now i was told by someone here that in order to have a "clean" diet, i can't include apples b/c of the sugar...but it's natural sugar, not processed sugar. Does that make a difference, should i rule out apples and peaches from my diet like i was told?