I need advice for muscle building...

NagromXIV

Okay, so I just recently lost about 50lbs, but now I'm rly skinny at 158lbs being 6 foot tall. During the whole time I was losing weight I was also lifting and working on core; to no prevail which I know was due to a calorie deficit of 1000 or lower a day. Now I eat 2000 or around 200 less a day to little to no results on arms or abdomen... I eat plenty of protein and I am in football 3 hours once a week and soon to be 3 hours 5 days a week. I lift EVERY day with a bowflex set to 130 at 100 reps (it's like a lap pull down) and I lift weights in general at 15lbs per arm. For core I cycle through my own hand picked ab workouts ranging from Sit-ups to piking. 50-60 at a time for each exercise except pike; I do 20 of those at a time. I also fit in a few holds where I maintain a sit-up with my head to my knees. So with all this, how come I'm not seeing much result or none. I'm also out of nowhere getting slightly hungrier slightly faster. I eat tons of protein or try to, and eat little to no carbs/sugars. My workouts add up to about an hour everyday. Advice would be amazing lol.

Lofteren

You need to start a real weight lifting program that is based around heavy squats, front squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, barbell rows and pull ups.Lift 3-4 days a week. Eat a lot of GOOD food (2000 cals a day isn't a lot). Gradually increase the weights and focus on getting stronger. The muscle will come.

NagromXIV

Thx, football requires us to use their weight liftting rooms for an hour and has all of the equipment and exercises mentioned. How many cals should I be consuming if Im 6 foot at 158lbs?

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NagromXIV

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

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PikaKnight

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

NagromXIV

I honestly think my appetite may have increased a bit already, over these past three days Ive developed a more efficient way to do lifting and situps etc. Apparently flexing the muscles while doing it works them harder. I also increased weights on everything. Now I get hungry after 2 hours opposed to the usual 3-4 hours

NagromXIV

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

PikaKnight

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

Another idea is to also focus a bit more on calorie dense foods if you are worried about quantity. Make sure you aren't doing diet type foods (low fat, low calorie, etc), maybe increasing your meat intake if you eat meat, look into adding stuff like olive oil, avocado oil, breads, oatmeals, ice cream, etc.

PikaKnight

There is a really great group on MFP run by Sidesteel and Sarauk2sf called Eat Train Progress -
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/10118-eat-train-progress

Maybe head on over and check out their links/stickies. They have a lot of info and studies especially in regards to strength training, protein intake, etc.

NagromXIV

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

Another idea is to also focus a bit more on calorie dense foods if you are worried about quantity. Make sure you aren't doing diet type foods (low fat, low calorie, etc), maybe increasing your meat intake if you eat meat, look into adding stuff like olive oil, avocado oil, breads, oatmeals, ice cream, etc.

That hasn't occured to me... I used to only ever eat light/low cal foods because I was losing weight. Im still eating like that tho, it would be kind of cool to eat normal food again lol, might do that

Sam_I_Am77

What Lostren said above.

Basically for you maintenance calories is approximately 2300 calories with 3 days of strength training (Starting Strength schedule). I would suggest starting at 2800 calories (2300 * 1.20 (+20%) rounded to 2800). You can add 20% as you go along, you'll kind of need to judge for yourself based on strength gains and change in body composition.

NagromXIV

What Lostren said above.

Basically for you maintenance calories is approximately 2300 calories with 3 days of strength training (Starting Strength schedule). I would suggest starting at 2800 calories (2300 * 1.20 (+20%) rounded to 2800). You can add 20% as you go along, you'll kind of need to judge for yourself based on strength gains and change in body composition.

Thx all this info is beyond useful

Sam_I_Am77

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

Another idea is to also focus a bit more on calorie dense foods if you are worried about quantity. Make sure you aren't doing diet type foods (low fat, low calorie, etc), maybe increasing your meat intake if you eat meat, look into adding stuff like olive oil, avocado oil, breads, oatmeals, ice cream, etc.

That hasn't occured to me... I used to only ever eat light/low cal foods because I was losing weight. Im still eating like that tho, it would be kind of cool to eat normal food again lol, might do that

Yeah, try and focus on calorie dense foods as much as possible. Stay away from light / low call foods as they're typically junk. You would probably benefit from eating as much as 1.40 times your body weight in protein (1.40grams of protein per lbs of body weight). Keep your fat around 25% to 30% of your daily calories, fat is important for various body and hormone functions. Now you have your protein and fat, fill-in the rest with carbs.

Carbs
Apples, strawberries, blueberries, bananas (lot of sugar, good for training days)
Red Potatoes, sweet potatoes
Brown Rice
Black Beans

Lean Protein
Salmon, tuna, hadock
Eye of Round steak
chicken breasts
cottage cheese
whey protein (try to eat most of it from food though)

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PikaKnight

his maintenance is higher due to football as well. I'd put it closer to 2800

I put his stats in iifym.com (w/ 5 days exercise) and for an aggressive bulk he should be more 2900-3000.

But this is if he's doing TDEE (which would include exercise calories).

OP, when you did your stats on MFP, did you choose to gain? Did it give you a net calorie goal?

Sam_I_Am77

his maintenance is higher due to football as well. I'd put it closer to 2800

He's not going to be doing any major training during football, 1 to 2 days tops. Football isn't a factor in the off-season, the calculation was based on 3-days a week of strength training. Also, I suggested starting at 2800 and building by 20% from there. Going from what's he's eating now to 3200 calories would be a difficult transition and may not have a good impact on his body composition. His initial gains from training will be neuro-muscular in-nature anyway.

@ OP: Since you're training to be an athlete, please make sure you're doing some kind of plyometric jumps with Starting Strength (assuming that's what you choose). This will help with speed and power development. Do 15 to 20 before you start lifting.

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caesar164

You look a lot younger then 22? Is that your real age? You are very active, so your defenitely not eating enough at the moment; I would aim for about 4000 calories to see any actual results. Focus more on strength training and compound lifts.

NagromXIV

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

Another idea is to also focus a bit more on calorie dense foods if you are worried about quantity. Make sure you aren't doing diet type foods (low fat, low calorie, etc), maybe increasing your meat intake if you eat meat, look into adding stuff like olive oil, avocado oil, breads, oatmeals, ice cream, etc.

That hasn't occured to me... I used to only ever eat light/low cal foods because I was losing weight. Im still eating like that tho, it would be kind of cool to eat normal food again lol, might do that

Yeah, try and focus on calorie dense foods as much as possible. Stay away from light / low call foods as they're typically junk. You would probably benefit from eating as much as 1.40 times your body weight in protein (1.40grams of protein per lbs of body weight). Keep your fat around 25% to 30% of your daily calories, fat is important for various body and hormone functions. Now you have your protein and fat, fill-in the rest with carbs.

Carbs
Apples, strawberries, blueberries, bananas (lot of sugar, good for training days)
Red Potatoes, sweet potatoes
Brown Rice
Black Beans

Lean Protein
Salmon, tuna, hadock
Eye of Round steak
chicken breasts
cottage cheese
whey protein (try to eat most of it from food though)

This is excellent, Ive heard some of this stuff before, but youve added some more to my knowledge, thx. I guess Ill stray from low cal varients of food, and thx for the list man. One last concern: at 158 that would mean I should eat 221g of protein a day? Thats 442% DV thats immense, never came any where near to that; what would be some protein rich food, since I cant just eat nuts of protein bars all day?

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NagromXIV

That would be a huge difference I would have to get used to that lol

Do it slowly if you need to. Maybe add 150-250 cals every other week or every month until you reach that calorie goal.

Yeah I was gonna say xD

Another idea is to also focus a bit more on calorie dense foods if you are worried about quantity. Make sure you aren't doing diet type foods (low fat, low calorie, etc), maybe increasing your meat intake if you eat meat, look into adding stuff like olive oil, avocado oil, breads, oatmeals, ice cream, etc.

That hasn't occured to me... I used to only ever eat light/low cal foods because I was losing weight. Im still eating like that tho, it would be kind of cool to eat normal food again lol, might do that

Yeah, try and focus on calorie dense foods as much as possible. Stay away from light / low call foods as they're typically junk. You would probably benefit from eating as much as 1.40 times your body weight in protein (1.40grams of protein per lbs of body weight). Keep your fat around 25% to 30% of your daily calories, fat is important for various body and hormone functions. Now you have your protein and fat, fill-in the rest with carbs.

Carbs
Apples, strawberries, blueberries, bananas (lot of sugar, good for training days)
Red Potatoes, sweet potatoes
Brown Rice
Black Beans

Lean Protein
Salmon, tuna, hadock
Eye of Round steak
chicken breasts
cottage cheese
whey protein (try to eat most of it from food though)

This is excellent, Ive heard some of this stuff before, but youve added some more to my knowledge, thx. I guess Ill stray from low cal varients of food, and thx for the list man. One last concern: at 158 that would mean I should eat 221g of protein a day? Thats 442% DV thats immense, never came any where near to that; what would be some protein rich food, since I cant just eat nuts of protein bars all day?

What's your bodyfat percentage? protein can be calculated by (total weight - fat weight)*1.3grams per lbm. in short, you're probably good eating around 150-180 grams of protein a day. higher protein is more important when you're cutting and trying to maintain the most amount of lean body mass possible

This calculator (https://www.exercise.com/tools/body-fat-percentage-calculator) said I was at 13% body fat

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Sam_I_Am77

Nuts aren't bad if you need to add some dietary fat and protein bars are okay in the absence of no better option. If you have to choose between a Taco Bell CrunchWrap and a protein bar, you're probably better off with the protein bar. LOL

PikaKnight

Nuts aren't bad if you need to add some dietary fat and protein bars are okay in the absence of no better option. If you have to choose between a Taco Bell CrunchWrap and a protein bar, you're probably better off with the protein bar. LOL

Depending on his calories available and the macro percentages...he could quite possibly fit in that Taco Bell Crunch Wrap.

Not sure what's with the either/or situation. There isn't bad food.

Sam_I_Am77

There isn't bad food.

I'm not sure what you mean by that, there is definitely "bad" food or at the very least "less desirable" food that an athlete should be consuming. There's a big difference between your every day Joe that's just exercising and an athlete that has to be at their best on the practice and game field. However, in the absence of nothing something is better than nothing.

PikaKnight

There isn't bad food.

I'm not sure what you mean by that, there is definitely "bad" food or at the very least "less desirable" food that an athlete should be consuming. There's a big difference between your every day Joe that's just exercising and an athlete that has to be at their best on the practice and game field. However, in the absence of nothing something is better than nothing.

No. There are foods that may be more calorie dense or nutritionally dense, but the idea that any food is "bad" or "evil" is not true.

But not going to start in on a debate on the OP's thread and it's a subject that's been delved into a lot.

OP, here are some links if you'd like more info, tips, advice, and such

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1214490-the-wisdom-of-trogalicious?page=1#posts-19000763

http://body-improvements.com/2013/05/24/undiet-your-diet/

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1105036-article-on-flexible-dieting-by-armi-legge?page=1#posts-17068746

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/ihad/view/the-myth-of-good-and-bad-foods-by-eric-helms-588801

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Sam_I_Am77

I never said evil. LOL. There are definitely better foods if you want to be at your best. Do you honestly think something like Taco Bell is better than or equal to a better carb / protein combination? In the absence of nothing, something is better than nothing; but if you have a choice it should be rather obvious how one should eat. Since we're throwing around links, I'm 3/4ths of the way done with a Masters of Science in Health Promotion & Exercise Science with a focus on Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention. I've read more research and written more papers than I care to on the subject of improving athletic performance.

NagromXIV

his maintenance is higher due to football as well. I'd put it closer to 2800

I put his stats in iifym.com (w/ 5 days exercise) and for an aggressive bulk he should be more 2900-3000.

But this is if he's doing TDEE (which would include exercise calories).

OP, when you did your stats on MFP, did you choose to gain? Did it give you a net calorie goal?

No I dont think I did, Ik ive lost four pounds since the last time ive gotten on