I want to gain muscle and loose body fat
kazane1
Posts: 264 Member
Hi all I really want to loose body fat to get the shredded look and at the same time I want to gain muscle mass I'm currently 126lb and I'm 5ft5inxhes in height. I go to the gym 5days a week for about 1hour-1hour and a half a day, and I'm eating about 2,645 calories a day with the protein ranging between 130-180g a day. And I go for an hour walk in the mornings and an hour walk in the evenings.But I'm just not feeling the gains or feeling like I'm bulking that much at all and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Any advice would be highly appreciated and if you have any questions for me please ask. I see it's a very tight community here on MFP so I'm finally reaching out for some help on here. Thank you all.
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Replies
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The fact that you are in the gym 1- 1.5 hour each day means nothing - what do you do there ? your program needs to be based on compound lifts - squat ,bench & OH press, row, dead lifts. do a full body program 3X a week - Strong lifts - Starting Strength -coach Dan John Gaining Mass -pick one and stick with it. Don't worry about being shredded now -at 126 Lbs you have no muscle - you need to lift & eat. your protein intake is probably OK for now - more would be OK - also potatoes & rice - milk eggs. peanut butter sandwiches. don't forget your veggies. Eastcoast Jim6
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First of all, you can't lose bodyfat and gain muscle at the same time. You either lose both or gain both.
If you are not gaining weight it ALWAYS come down to inadequate caloric intake.
ALWAYS.
You're very active so make sure you are getting adequate calories to gain. Figure your sedentary calories + exercise calories + 500 more calories.
Why are you walking for 2 hours or more a day if you are trying to gain weight? Stop walking!
Rest when not exercising. Don't do cardio or walking. Get 8 hours of sleep at least.
You are also working out too much at 5 days a week.
Do you look fat? At 126 lbs. and 5'5" you would seem to be pretty light in weight.
You want to gain some good solid bodyweight.
I wouldn't be concerned with getting "shredded".
Look up bodybuilders from the 1940s and early 1950s like Steve Reeves or Clancy Ross.
I agree with ecjim about the type of workout you should be doing.
Steve Reeves
Clancy Ross
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Thanks for the help, I currently follow a plan that's: legs on Monday chest on Tuesday back on Wednesday then rest on Thursday then shoulders Friday then arms on Saturday and rest on Sunday and I do all difffrrent types of lifts and things like that. And I'm not fat I just want to try to aim for a ripped six pack really as I'm also not ripped. So really I should be eating more and gaining weight and then lifting heavy to put on muscle once I have more weight in me?
I'll look into those lifting programmes later today as well thank you. And I got two big dogs that need walking in the morning and the evening so I gotta take them out for an hour or so everyday for there benifit.
Thanks for the response people.1 -
you want to gain loose body fat?! interesting.... :laugh:9
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Thanks for the help, I currently follow a plan that's: legs on Monday chest on Tuesday back on Wednesday then rest on Thursday then shoulders Friday then arms on Saturday and rest on Sunday and I do all difffrrent types of lifts and things like that. And I'm not fat I just want to try to aim for a ripped six pack really as I'm also not ripped. So really I should be eating more and gaining weight and then lifting heavy to put on muscle once I have more weight in me?
I'll look into those lifting programmes later today as well thank you. And I got two big dogs that need walking in the morning and the evening so I gotta take them out for an hour or so everyday for there benifit.
Thanks for the response people.
No... You should be lifting heavy (following a progressive lifting program) whilst eating at a surplus to gain muscle weight. Once you've gained some weight, which will be both fat and muscle, you do a cut to lose fat and reveal the muscles...6 -
First of all, you can't lose bodyfat and gain muscle at the same time. You either lose both or gain both.
If you are not gaining weight it ALWAYS come down to inadequate caloric intake.
ALWAYS.
You're very active so make sure you are getting adequate calories to gain. Figure your sedentary calories + exercise calories + 500 more calories.
Why are you walking for 2 hours or more a day if you are trying to gain weight? Stop walking!
Rest when not exercising. Don't do cardio or walking. Get 8 hours of sleep at least.
You are also working out too much at 5 days a week.
Do you look fat? At 126 lbs. and 5'5" you would seem to be pretty light in weight.
You want to gain some good solid bodyweight.
[snip]
First of all, you can.. it's called a recomp.
OP, while you can do a recomp, you are going to gain tons of muscle and get ripped very quickly by doing so (good recomps can take years, especially if you don't already have a solid muscle base). If you are looking for speed, bulking/cutting seems to be the better strategy. The bigger key is following structured lift program, like one of these programs and eating in a surplus for 3-6 months.
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Intensity in your lifts is key. Give your muscles a reason to get bigger and stronger. High weight, low reps (less than 12 per set) and work your sets to failure. Also you can do a burnout set on the the last set of each muscle group.
Focus on building muscle. Even if you don't lose body fat, your BF% will decrease as you gain muscle. Higher weight + same body fat mass = lower BF%.3 -
Intensity in your lifts is key. Give your muscles a reason to get bigger and stronger. High weight, low reps (less than 12 per set) and work your sets to failure. Also you can do a burnout set on the the last set of each muscle group.
Focus on building muscle. Even if you don't lose body fat, your BF% will decrease as you gain muscle. Higher weight + same body fat mass = lower BF%.
Burn out sets have their place, but that place is not on every set. A person should work a variety of rep ranges to ensure you are activity type I and II muscle fibers. This way you get the benefits of both and based on total volume, you will still get a hypertrophy effect.1 -
The fact that you are in the gym 1- 1.5 hour each day means nothing - what do you do there ? your program needs to be based on compound lifts - squat ,bench & OH press, row, dead lifts. do a full body program 3X a week - Strong lifts - Starting Strength -coach Dan John Gaining Mass -pick one and stick with it. Don't worry about being shredded now -at 126 Lbs you have no muscle - you need to lift & eat. your protein intake is probably OK for now - more would be OK - also potatoes & rice - milk eggs. peanut butter sandwiches. don't forget your veggies. Eastcoast Jim
Less protein would be fine too. 0.8 grams per lb of lean mass is more than enough, which would probably be in the 90-gram range for the OP, especially in a caloric surplus. protein is more important to retain muscle in a deficit than it is to build muscle in a surplus.
My suggestion would be to do less cardio, if a lot of your gym time is spent doing cardio, and to find a good lifting porgram that has progression built in.
OP, what program do you follow know?
What is your cardio/Lifting split? (in time or days)2 -
I used Stronglifts, eventually progressing to Wendler 5/3/1 for strength training. I was coming from an endurance sports background so I was already lean (BMI 18.75, 7.5% body fat). I've eaten high protein and sufficient calories to gain half a pound per week, which has minimized my fat gain and maximized muscle gain since I don't feel the need to rush.
I'm almost at my goal BMI of 22.2 with single-digit body fat (haven't done composition testing lately to bullseye the number). Once that's done I'm either going to eat at maintenance and continue to lift heavy to continue slow recomposition, or I might choose to gain up to 23 or 23.5 BMI depending on how I look and feel at 22.2.
Once you get your weightlifting routine and protein needs dialed in it's not so hard. Don't worry so very much about doing excess cardio - that's a bit of broscience. I couldn't gain weight while doing it but I maintained successfully during the final months of training for an Ironman triathlon by eating monstrous amounts of food and high protein ratio. Heavy lifting was definitely on hold for a while though.4 -
Intensity in your lifts is key. Give your muscles a reason to get bigger and stronger. High weight, low reps (less than 12 per set) and work your sets to failure. Also you can do a burnout set on the the last set of each muscle group.
Focus on building muscle. Even if you don't lose body fat, your BF% will decrease as you gain muscle. Higher weight + same body fat mass = lower BF%.
Not sure I agree with most of this... I like to go less than 8 reps for strength, but for building size, working the 8-15 rep range is ideal, not necessarily under 12, but if you want to increase strength too I would agree. But the OP does not need to go to failure, especially on every set!2 -
Check out some www.Bodybuilding.com -- nope not saying that in 6 weeks you will be muscular and have a 10% body fat but they do serve as a guide on how some of the best of the profession do it... https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethin-12-week-daily-trainer.html
My opinion is that you are putting way too much workout time in for your goals - your burn on just walking alone is probably about 250-300 calories then you add 1.5 hrs of weight training that is another 200-300 or so - so you are looking at about anywhere between 450-600 calories burn -- @126 lbs n 5'5 with an assumption you are about 30, your TDEE (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) is about 1767 at sedentary -- you are consuming 2,645 (daily intake) - 1767 (TDEE) - 500 (avg exercise) = you are only surplussing just about an average of 370 a day - no gains to be had there!!!
FYI yes you can develop the muscle while loosing the fat - by following a high lean protein, low complex carb, healthy fat diet - and following a high weight, low rep routine - compound lift most pref.5 -
@erickirb Mike Mentzer was a big proponent of high intensity, low volume (compared to other bodybuilders). He suggested a range of 6-9 reps per set for maximum gains and used many techniques to work each set to positive failure and beyond (burn out sets, forced positives, rest-pause, negative sets, etc.)
I'm not saying this method is "the best", but it is a great method for people like me who's time in the gym is limited. I have found the greatest success working every set to failure. Most guys I know looking for size gains stay at 8-12 reps/set and most focusing on strength stay at 5 or less reps/set. These ranges are also consistent with almost everything legitimate I have read.1 -
Intensity in your lifts is key. Give your muscles a reason to get bigger and stronger. High weight, low reps (less than 12 per set) and work your sets to failure. Also you can do a burnout set on the the last set of each muscle group.
Focus on building muscle. Even if you don't lose body fat, your BF% will decrease as you gain muscle. Higher weight + same body fat mass = lower BF%.
Burn out sets have their place, but that place is not on every set. A person should work a variety of rep ranges to ensure you are activity type I and II muscle fibers. This way you get the benefits of both and based on total volume, you will still get a hypertrophy effect.
I wasn't proposing a burn out set on every set. The method I was suggesting was to work every set to positive failure, then do a burn out set on the last set of each muscle group. This is similar to one of Mike Mentzer's methods.
Personally, I follow a program in a 8-12 rep range for 10 weeks, then switch to a 5-7 rep range for 10 weeks. Repeat. Works size and strength alternately. I have seen the greatest gains since I started using this method.
I would not include rep ranges over 12 unless I was trying to gain endurance.0 -
When volume is equated for
Rep range Really doesn’t matter for
Hypertrophy 5,8,10,12,15 reps
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As simple as one, two, three.
1. Make sure you understand the calorie counting system to begin with when using myfitnesspal. You have to account for all your physical activity and come up with the maintenance calories in your case, or ever so slightly below that. You can let mpf to do it for you, or you can find your calorie needs through a third party calculator. Watch your body going through a change.
2. Follow a sound lifting program. Don't wander around the gym not really knowing what you doing. Understand the principle of progressive overload.
3. Get sufficient rest, good sleep, hydrate yourself.
Stay consistent with these steps. Consistency is the key8 -
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brendanwhite84 wrote: »
Especially for beginners. Run a program developed by a reputable coach, and run it AS WRITTEN (i.e. no tweaks/customization) for at least 12 consecutive weeks before switching routines.1 -
livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Thanks for the help, I currently follow a plan that's: legs on Monday chest on Tuesday back on Wednesday then rest on Thursday then shoulders Friday then arms on Saturday and rest on Sunday and I do all difffrrent types of lifts and things like that. And I'm not fat I just want to try to aim for a ripped six pack really as I'm also not ripped. So really I should be eating more and gaining weight and then lifting heavy to put on muscle once I have more weight in me?
I'll look into those lifting programmes later today as well thank you. And I got two big dogs that need walking in the morning and the evening so I gotta take them out for an hour or so everyday for there benifit.
Thanks for the response people.
No... You should be lifting heavy (following a progressive lifting program) whilst eating at a surplus to gain muscle weight. Once you've gained some weight, which will be both fat and muscle, you do a cut to lose fat and reveal the muscles...
Ahh okay then I'm going to look into a bulking programme and switch things up a bit then, thanks for the advice.0 -
The fact that you are in the gym 1- 1.5 hour each day means nothing - what do you do there ? your program needs to be based on compound lifts - squat ,bench & OH press, row, dead lifts. do a full body program 3X a week - Strong lifts - Starting Strength -coach Dan John Gaining Mass -pick one and stick with it. Don't worry about being shredded now -at 126 Lbs you have no muscle - you need to lift & eat. your protein intake is probably OK for now - more would be OK - also potatoes & rice - milk eggs. peanut butter sandwiches. don't forget your veggies. Eastcoast Jim
Less protein would be fine too. 0.8 grams per lb of lean mass is more than enough, which would probably be in the 90-gram range for the OP, especially in a caloric surplus. protein is more important to retain muscle in a deficit than it is to build muscle in a surplus.
My suggestion would be to do less cardio, if a lot of your gym time is spent doing cardio, and to find a good lifting porgram that has progression built in.
OP, what program do you follow know?
What is your cardio/Lifting split? (in time or days)
I currently am doing legs/abs Monday, chest Tuesday, back/abs Wednesday, Thursday rest, Friday shoulders/abs and then Saturday arms and Sunday rest. and I do an hour walk every morning and evening along with a stretching session to loosen up the body every morning the takes 20minutes. But people here have been saying I should switch that and do a progressive lifting programme instead so I think I'm going to look into that "dan john- gaining mass" and try to follow his routine.
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always_smilin_D wrote: »Check out some www.Bodybuilding.com -- nope not saying that in 6 weeks you will be muscular and have a 10% body fat but they do serve as a guide on how some of the best of the profession do it... https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethin-12-week-daily-trainer.html
My opinion is that you are putting way too much workout time in for your goals - your burn on just walking alone is probably about 250-300 calories then you add 1.5 hrs of weight training that is another 200-300 or so - so you are looking at about anywhere between 450-600 calories burn -- @126 lbs n 5'5 with an assumption you are about 30, your TDEE (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) is about 1767 at sedentary -- you are consuming 2,645 (daily intake) - 1767 (TDEE) - 500 (avg exercise) = you are only surplussing just about an average of 370 a day - no gains to be had there!!!
FYI yes you can develop the muscle while loosing the fat - by following a high lean protein, low complex carb, healthy fat diet - and following a high weight, low rep routine - compound lift most pref.
Thank you for your help and for breaking this down for me, so considering the exercise I do in the morning and the evening and my lifting programme I follow how many calories do you think I should be consuming because at the moment I aim for "2,645" as you've pointed out already, and yeah I'm 27 so pretty much 30 lol. I consume 2,645 a day on average and I don't account for the exercise I do daily either so what would be a good number for me to aim for.
I'm quite new to doing all this but I'm enjoying learning about it all. thank you.
0 -
As simple as one, two, three.
1. Make sure you understand the calorie counting system to begin with when using myfitnesspal. You have to account for all your physical activity and come up with the maintenance calories in your case, or ever so slightly below that. You can let mpf to do it for you, or you can find your calorie needs through a third party calculator. Watch your body going through a change.
2. Follow a sound lifting program. Don't wander around the gym not really knowing what you doing. Understand the principle of progressive overload.
3. Get sufficient rest, good sleep, hydrate yourself.
Stay consistent with these steps. Consistency is the key
Thank you for the help, and when I'm calculating things through MFP should my weekly goal be to gain weight then ? because at the moment I have it set to "maintain weight" and I haven't been able to look into inputting exercises into the app yet I didn't know I could do this, I saw that you can link a stepping app with it but It never seemed to work for me. ill look back into inputting exercise into my profile too though, thanks for the advice.0 -
brendanwhite84 wrote: »
I have a plan and I stick to it and I get it done every day, I'm just not noticing the gainzz as most people do I think it must come down to my eating after these comments.0 -
what should my carb / protein / fat percentages be for gains too ?0
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always_smilin_D wrote: »Check out some www.Bodybuilding.com -- nope not saying that in 6 weeks you will be muscular and have a 10% body fat but they do serve as a guide on how some of the best of the profession do it... https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethin-12-week-daily-trainer.html
My opinion is that you are putting way too much workout time in for your goals - your burn on just walking alone is probably about 250-300 calories then you add 1.5 hrs of weight training that is another 200-300 or so - so you are looking at about anywhere between 450-600 calories burn -- @126 lbs n 5'5 with an assumption you are about 30, your TDEE (http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/ ) is about 1767 at sedentary -- you are consuming 2,645 (daily intake) - 1767 (TDEE) - 500 (avg exercise) = you are only surplussing just about an average of 370 a day - no gains to be had there!!!
FYI yes you can develop the muscle while loosing the fat - by following a high lean protein, low complex carb, healthy fat diet - and following a high weight, low rep routine - compound lift most pref.
Thank you for your help and for breaking this down for me, so considering the exercise I do in the morning and the evening and my lifting programme I follow how many calories do you think I should be consuming because at the moment I aim for "2,645" as you've pointed out already, and yeah I'm 27 so pretty much 30 lol. I consume 2,645 a day on average and I don't account for the exercise I do daily either so what would be a good number for me to aim for.
I'm quite new to doing all this but I'm enjoying learning about it all. thank you.
The best predictor of kcal needs, better than indirect calorimetry or any math equation, is trial and error. If you've been consuming 2,645 kcal per day on average with your current activity, and your weight is stable, that says you should probably be aiming for more like 3,145 kcal per day with your current activity to gain weight at ~1 lb per week. If you're following a good lifting program like the ones suggested in this thread, you may need to steadily increase your calories over the course of a few months to keep up with the muscle you gain. Some people see their metabolism skyrocket with weight training, and some don't. Follow your progress- the trends you see over 3-4 weeks are much more reliable than individual days and weeks, so make changes based on that.
Good luck to you, and congrats on taking the first steps towards better fitness!0 -
what should my carb / protein / fat percentages be for gains too ?
I don't target a percentage for protein; I do 1 g protein per lb of body weight every day, and my target gain is .5 lb per week (overall - obviously no guarantees it's all muscle).
I don't focus very much on fat specifically but it wavers a bit between 20-30% of my macros. I know some lifters emphasize fat intake over carbs but I also do a decent amount of cardio as well so I don't sweat carbs at all, and frankly I think carbs are a bit demonized in general.0 -
You're very active so make sure you are getting adequate calories to gain. Figure your sedentary calories + exercise calories + 500 more calories.
How do i calculate how many calories i burn while exercising?
My Daily calorie maintenace is about, 1,792-2,176 but when i inputted my details on an online calculator it came up with "2,300" i currently take in around 2,645 a day and that's not accounting for my exercsing.
i do an hour walk in the moring and hour walk in the evening and roughly one and a half hour in the gym every evening following a steady lifting programme and I'm not noticing many gains at all.
I think after reading a lot of helpful comments on here I really need to be eating more but it's just I thought I was eating more eating at 2,645. what % should my carb/fat/protein be at aswell?
Thanks!
0 -
brendanwhite84 wrote: »
I have a plan and I stick to it and I get it done every day, I'm just not noticing the gainzz as most people do I think it must come down to my eating after these comments.
I see your plan only hits each muscle group once a week. I would try something like Strong Lifts or PHUL to hit each muscle group more often.
Who developed your current program?
as for macros, you can start with 45% carbs, 30% fat 25% protein, and adjust from there. your protein goal should be 0.8-1 gram per lb of lean mass, or if you don't know your BF% go with.8grams per lb of body weight0 -
You're very active so make sure you are getting adequate calories to gain. Figure your sedentary calories + exercise calories + 500 more calories.
How do i calculate how many calories i burn while exercising?
My Daily calorie maintenace is about, 1,792-2,176 but when i inputted my details on an online calculator it came up with "2,300" i currently take in around 2,645 a day and that's not accounting for my exercsing.
i do an hour walk in the moring and hour walk in the evening and roughly one and a half hour in the gym every evening following a steady lifting programme and I'm not noticing many gains at all.
I think after reading a lot of helpful comments on here I really need to be eating more but it's just I thought I was eating more eating at 2,645. what % should my carb/fat/protein be at aswell?
Thanks!
This might be a bit too abstract (or too broad) but it looks like the Compendium of Physical Activities lists the MET values for weightlifting:
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise
As far as cardio goes, MFP tracks that well, although I use a heart rate monitor with some Garmin gear to fine-tune what I've burned.0 -
brendanwhite84 wrote: »
I have a plan and I stick to it and I get it done every day, I'm just not noticing the gainzz as most people do I think it must come down to my eating after these comments.
I see your plan only hits each muscle group once a week. I would try something like Strong Lifts or PHUL to hit each muscle group more often.
Who developed your current program?
as for macros, you can start with 45% carbs, 30% fat 25% protein, and adjust from there. your protein goal should be 0.8-1 gram per lb of lean mass, or if you don't know your BF% go with.8grams per lb of body weight
This is what I was going to write as well. Not that I did link a list to a bunch of the listing programs above. Pick one of them (probably in the beginner section)0
This discussion has been closed.
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