Gain muscle without gaining fat ?

pashllen

I am 5'8 and weigh 117, I'm probably at my lowest level of fitness right now lol. I want to gain muscle tone and get fit, but without gaining fat ? What would be best for that? i.e. Yoga, Pilates, cardio, weights... Anyone have tips?

Thanks ~~

BhangraPrince

Weights

Spliner1969

Start with body weight training. Push Ups, Sit Ups, Pull Ups, Body weight Squats/lunges, Planks. Increase your calories say 5% over maintenance to be cautious and I'd likely make it all protein for the increase up to 1g/lb of your lean mass (there are calculators out there that can help you calculate that). If you don't know your lean mass then figure 1g/lb of protein per pound of your ultimate target weight. The point is that you're always going to gain a little fat, but you can minimize it by watching what you increase your calories with. Once you've mastered the body weight exercises, move on to free weights. Might take months. I wouldn't rush it.

Here's the deal though, at 5'8" tall you should probably be eating to gain weight anyway. If it were me I'd use the calculator over on iifym.com, figure out how long each day you are going to work out, and how many days a week, then plug that into their iifym calculator. Probably around 1750-1900 calories a day, and likely 120-150g of protein a day to gain more muscle.

The added protein will make you feel good, and the carbs (around 200g a day) will give you energy (that's based on plugging in no exercise on their calculator with your stats). Try protein isolate shakes, they'll give you more protein and won't fill you up as much if you're not used to eating a ton of meat.

pashllen

Spliner1969 wrote: »

Start with body weight training. Push Ups, Sit Ups, Pull Ups, Body weight Squats/lunges, Planks. Increase your calories say 5% over maintenance to be cautious and I'd likely make it all protein for the increase up to 1g/lb of your lean mass (there are calculators out there that can help you calculate that). If you don't know your lean mass then figure 1g/lb of protein per pound of your ultimate target weight. The point is that you're always going to gain a little fat, but you can minimize it by watching what you increase your calories with. Once you've mastered the body weight exercises, move on to free weights. Might take months. I wouldn't rush it.

Here's the deal though, at 5'8" tall you should probably be eating to gain weight anyway. If it were me I'd use the calculator over on iifym.com, figure out how long each day you are going to work out, and how many days a week, then plug that into their iifym calculator. Probably around 1750-1900 calories a day, and likely 120-150g of protein a day to gain more muscle.

The added protein will make you feel good, and the carbs (around 200g a day) will give you energy (that's based on plugging in no exercise on their calculator with your stats). Try protein isolate shakes, they'll give you more protein and won't fill you up as much if you're not used to eating a ton of meat.

Thanks for the reply !! I was thinking body weight exercises also, so it's good to have some confirmation. The dietary advice is also very helpful and I'll definitely be trying it out

Thanks again ~~

RebeccaNaegle

I am gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously. I eat 1.2 grams of protein per lb of body weight, 1 carb. per pound and .25 grams fat per pound. It is doing the trick for me! (Obviously I lift heavy, but that seems like an obvious requirement to gaining muscle).

SilverAway

If you want a real answer you should invest a bit either in getting involved with a fitness expert or researching the internet for free fitness advise from those who are pros.
Too many people on these forums will give you their experiences, actually in some cases not their experiences but from what they remember they read which could be all twisted by the time it gets to you.
You can gamble and take free advise or go with the pros, do it right the first time and get it done and out of the way. You don't want to spend your time doing things half right based on good intentions with regard to information people send you, take my advise and stay off the forums for this type of advise.

flippy1234

Weights and protein.

jemhh

SilverAway wrote: »

If you want a real answer you should invest a bit either in getting involved with a fitness expert or researching the internet for free fitness advise from those who are pros.
Too many people on these forums will give you their experiences, actually in some cases not their experiences but from what they remember they read which could be all twisted by the time it gets to you.
You can gamble and take free advise or go with the pros, do it right the first time and get it done and out of the way. You don't want to spend your time doing things half right based on good intentions with regard to information people send you, take my advise and stay off the forums for this type of advise.

So basically come to the forums but don't read or write anything lest you absorb or disseminate any type of information whatsoever.