Workout plan

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ptj2kct8p5
ptj2kct8p5 Posts: 1 Member
I’ve been working out for a while now and I’m not really seeing any progress. I’m working out at home because I’m not confident enough to go to the gym yet. I’m trying to build muscles and just wanted to know if any of you got any tips on how to make my workout plan and meal plan or just any kind of advice that could help me reach my goals. thank you. :)

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  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,187 Member
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    Are you also trying to lose weight, or just gain muscle? How long have you been working at it?

    The basics for muscle gain are a good progressive program faithfully performed, good overall nutrition (especially but not exclusively enough protein) . . . and a boatload of patience. Muscle gain is very worthwhile, but also very gradual.

    It can be a little faster for someone who's got good genetic potential, who is new to strength training, who is relatively more male, who is relatively young (but adult), and who is eating in a calorie surplus (i.e., gaining weight). I see that your profile says you're female, but I don't know about any of those other factors.

    A quite good rate of muscle mass gain for a woman under ideal circumstances might be around a pound a month. That would be for someone young, getting good nutrition, gaining weight, following a good program, new to training, etc. (For a man, it might be twice that rate.) If trying to lose weight (or if coming up short of ideal on any of the other factors), it may still be able to happen, but it would be slower. Trying to do it while also trying to lose weight rapidly would be even slower, in all likelihood, if it can happen at all. (Strength training is still worthwhile anyway, to retain as much pre-existing muscle as possible while losing fat.)

    There are strength training plans other MFP-ers have found effective here:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    For nutrition, you probably want (ballpark rule of thumb) about 1g per day per pound of lean body mass, which for most women is going to be roughly close to 0.8g per day per pound of healthy goal weight. Fats around 0.35g-0.45g would be good. Add plenty of varied, colorful fruits and veggies for micros and fiber.

    If you want to be more precise about protein, consider this:
    https://examine.com/nutrition/protein-intake-calculator/
    https://examine.com/guides/protein-intake/

    If you're trying to lose fat weight, don't cut calories too low. Fast loss is not favorable. Slow loss is more compatible with muscle gain than fast loss, maintenance calories more favorable than any loss, gain more favorable than maintenance. Where you should land depends on your current health and goals.

    Then . . . patience and persistence is it, I'm afraid.
  • gpanda103
    gpanda103 Posts: 189 Member
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    Depending on the set up you have, I’d look into a gym. Unless you smell terrible or you’re about to suffocate during a bench press, nobody pays you any mind. As for putting on muscle.. that can rely on many factors. What is your split like? How much protein do you eat? How much do you sleep? How is your lifting form? There’s a lot of small things that go into it which can add up to a lot
  • Xellercin
    Xellercin Posts: 924 Member
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    What's "awhile," how are you measuring success, what are you trying to accomplish.

    I've exercised for years and it's never made me thinner or bigger, but it does make me stronger, more flexible, have better posture, less pain, more energetic, happier, make my skin nicer, make climbing flights of stairs easier, etc, etc. I'm getting AMAZING results.

    But I'm doing gentle exercise that isn't specifically designed to burn a lot of calories or build substantial muscle mass.

    "Exercise" isn't a specific thing. So we need to know what you are doing and what your goals are before we can give you meaningful advice.