Working out

[Nithin]

i've started working out recently. i've become a little stronger but i'm not gaining
any muscle. what can i do?

i was thinking more protein? maybe milk and eggs before I work out? does
that work?

i'm a bit paranoid about supplements so i would like to keep it as natural as possible.

advise.

thanks,
n.

 

[cchen]

Need more info, such as your diet and your workout. How would you have gotten stronger without gaining any muscle?

 

[yobarman]

A.) It takes time
B.) Gaining/losing - weight/muscle = 70% diet (you are what you eat)


So keep at it, increase the weight you lift little by little, and start eating a ton of protien and/or carbs, and keep fat intake down.


I'm kinda pissed i only squated 405 today

 

[Nithin]

cereal in the morn. some sandwich/pasta/salad/mexican stuff in the afternoon. usually has turkey/chicken.
rice + some curry etc. at night. vegetarian half the time at night.

i must have gained a little but its not really noticeable. i notice more definition but not mass. i can do more weight on
the machines than when i started.

 

[cchen]

First, you should be doing free weights. Second, you won't gain any muscle unless you increase your protein intake dramatically. For most people, this can't happen without protein shakes.

 

[NathanBWF]

Eat like a mofo! Your body can't grow if your tank is empty...

 

[Nithin]

any good websites about the free weight exercises and schedules?
i'm a n00b at this.

 

[cchen]

geekfitness, bodybuilding.com, etc. there are TONS of websites, search on google

 

[Nithin]

Originally posted by: NathanBWF
Eat like a mofo! Your body can't grow if your tank is empty...

ya thats another thing. i have this tyre i'm trying to get rid of at the same time.
i was doing a little cardio stuff and then weights.

is that a bad idea?

 

[jEct2]

can of tuna 30 min before working out, obviously drink lots of water
tuna is cheap source of LOTS of protein (canned or not canned)
and without water the protein obviously does nothing

 

[Trogdor91]

Originally posted by: cchen
Need more info, such as your diet and your workout. How would you have gotten stronger without gaining any muscle?

Muscles mass and strength are not directly proportional, though USUALLY they go up together. Look up sarcoplasmic hypertrophy and myofibrillar hypertrophy.

That said OP, you need more protein. Lots of it. Eat lots of meat or you can go buy some whey protein.

Breakfast of cereal isnt gonna cut it. Cereal + Eggs = teh win.

 

[cchen]

Originally posted by: Nithin

Originally posted by: NathanBWF
Eat like a mofo! Your body can't grow if your tank is empty...

ya thats another thing. i have this tyre i'm trying to get rid of at the same time.
i was doing a little cardio stuff and then weights.

is that a bad idea?

for someone just starting out, focus more on one thing. you can't really lose fat and gain strength at the same time unless you are completely dedicated and have a strict, strict diet.

 

[purbeast0]

eat eat EAT! eat as much as you possibly can in a day, but eat stuff that will help - breads, meats, pasta ... not cookies, snacks, sodas, etc.

also take 2-3 protein shakes a day. make sure you take a multivitamin as well, and also get some amino acid to take after your workouts.

speaking of which, I need some amino acids.

EDIT:

and when you first start working out, you get stronger VERY quickly. you will see dramatic increases each time you go to the gym. this happens for probably a few weeks, then starts to even out.

you aren't essentially getting "stronger" in the sense that you are gaining muscle, but you are getting "stronger" in the sense you are getting used to the physical motion of weight lifting, getting the form down, and gettting your body generally adjusted to working out. so once you see your increases in strength start to dramatically stop, don't quit! its normal!

and its not physically possible to gain muscle mass and loose fat at the same time, not at your stage atleast. just work on building muscle first. you will gain fat with muscle. but once you bulk up, then worry about losing the fat, because you'll also lose some muscle when losing fat. i suggest you cut out the cardio completely.

 

[Special K]

Go here:

Wannabebig Forums

Make a post in the bodybuilding section saying youre new to this and would like some advice. There are lots of knowledgable and friendly people there that would be glad to help you. Also check out the diet/nutrition forum, as someone else said as far as gaining muscle goes, your results will primarily depend on your diet.

Also use this website to track your daily cals:

fitday

 

[Nithin]

ok. thanks guys. ill do some research into this.

 

[rh71]

Originally posted by: Special K

Also use this website to track your daily cals:

fitday

awesome :thumbsup:

 

[Accipiter22]

Originally posted by: Nithin
i've started working out recently. i've become a little stronger but i'm not gaining
any muscle. what can i do?

i was thinking more protein? maybe milk and eggs before I work out? does
that work?

i'm a bit paranoid about supplements so i would like to keep it as natural as possible.

advise.

thanks,
n.

www.wannabebigforums.com

www.forcedrep.com

register on those two, ask there...educated people on the topic

 

[redgtxdi]

Keep in mind that if you aren't an *easy* gainer, then you really need to follow the rule of thumb..........

1 to 1.5grams of protein for EVERY pound of body weight. If you don't know how much this is.....just check the nutrition information on stuff you're eatin & do the math........It's A LOT!!!

If anybody tells you to the contrary, they're full of sh*t!!!

Don't obsess about how heavy, how many exercises, how many muscles, etc.etc.

Simply try to keep your workouts........upper body one day, lower the next and get at least one day's rest in between. No more than 10 reps on whatever you're doing and make that 10th rep really tough.

If you want to focus on one part of your upper body more than another, make it lower body one day, then "push" upper the next, followed by "pull" upper the lower. (Push = chest, shoulders, triceps................Pull = back, biceps, traps, rear deltoids)

Keep to compound movements. You don't need triceps kickbacks. You need two-handed triceps extensions ***OR*** pull-downs. That's it!! You don't need 3 different exercises for triceps. Same for chest. Keep it to maybe 3 sets of incline & 3 sets of flat bench. That's it. You honestly don't even need "flies" at this point. You want mass, not shape. So remember.......COMPOUND movements!!

In all of this, you're going to get a little fat. That's just the name of the game. You can shed it later, but gain first. No more than 2lbs per week initially, then no more than 1 after that. After you've put on about an extra 10% of your body's weight, take a look at yourself in the mirror. If it took you less than 90 days, you'll probably look too fat. If it took you 90-120 days, you'll probably look just right. You'll have also gained strength too.

Once you get to that point, post back & you can go for definition & troubleshooting. I'd be glad to help with that as well.

Lastly.........NO EGO!!!!! I can't express it enough. NO EGO or it's all bullsh*t! EGO kills weightlifting/bodybuilding. Real weightlifters & bodybuilders don't need EGO!!

Squatting 405 (good day/bad day/whatever) is just that. Squatting 405. If I break a guy's legs who squats 405, the next day, he ain't squattin' sh*t!! Remember that!

 

[SagaLore]

Do some aerobics for about 15 minutes prior to weight lifting - got to get your blood flowing.

Short intense workouts - more weight, less reps. Make sure you work all the muscle fibers using various angles. Take two days of rest after each workout.

Don't take a protein supplement - but taking an amino acid complex pill every day will help. Make sure you drink plenty of water.

Too bad I don't practice what I preach.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: jEct2
can of tuna 30 min before working out, obviously drink lots of water
tuna is cheap source of LOTS of protein (canned or not canned)
and without water the protein obviously does nothing

It takes 2 hours for meat to be digested, so I fail to see how this will help. Not only will his muscles be competing with the digestive system, but overeating tuna is a bad idea because of mercury.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Special K
Go here:

Wannabebig Forums

Alternatively, there is http://www.geekfitness.com which a lot of ATOT members participate on.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: SagaLore
Do some aerobics for about 15 minutes prior to weight lifting - got to get your blood flowing.

Short intense workouts - more weight, less reps. Make sure you work all the muscle fibers using various angles. Take two days of rest after each workout.

Don't take a protein supplement - but taking an amino acid complex pill every day will help. Make sure you drink plenty of water.

Too bad I don't practice what I preach.

You don't need to warm up with cardio for 15 minutes before lifting. If you must do it, do it for no more than 5. Personally I find that warming up with lighter weights on the lifts I am about to do works better.

Short intense workouts, heavy weight - agreed, but work each muscle group 1 or no more than 2x per week

There is nothing wrong with protein supps. Proteins are made from amino acids, there is no point in taking amino acids.

Definitely drink plenty of water.

Heck, just go to WBB, everything you need is there.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Special K
There is nothing wrong with protein supps. Proteins are made from amino acids, there is no point in taking amino acids.

He said that he has a hard time with gaining, and it might be because he doesn't fully utilize the proteins he does get in his diet. I'm the same way. I found out years ago that my body has a hard time coping with excessive proteins* but I absorb free amino acids easily - which has the advantage of being readily available soon after they are dissolved.

*Protein digestion has the disadvantage of resulting in ammonia production which the liver has to cope with.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: SagaLore

Originally posted by: Special K
There is nothing wrong with protein supps. Proteins are made from amino acids, there is no point in taking amino acids.

He said that he has a hard time with gaining, and it might be because he doesn't fully utilize the proteins he does get in his diet. I'm the same way. I found out years ago that my body has a hard time coping with excessive proteins* but I absorb free amino acids easily - which has the advantage of being readily available soon after they are dissolved.

*Protein digestion has the disadvantage of resulting in ammonia production which the liver has to cope with.

Ah, I didn't realize that. However in the OP's case I'm almost positive it's because he simply isn't eating enough. Based on that sample day's diet he posted, I'm nearly sure of it. There is probably barely 2000 cals in there, if that.

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Special K
Ah, I didn't realize that. However in the OP's case I'm almost positive it's because he simply isn't eating enough. Based on that sample day's diet he posted, I'm nearly sure of it. There is probably barely 2000 cals in there, if that.

Would you agree that besides increased protein, he should also be increasing his complex carbs and good fats? I recall an article mentioning that the #1 reason why people don't gain very fast is because the muscles are slow to recover - which has to do with glycogen replenishment and not so much with aminos.

So basically if he just eats more complete meals, he doesn't necessarily need a bunch of shakes and bars.