Help with building muscle please

iksnapezczs

Now that I've almost lost the excess weight I'm looking to build my muscle. I'm taking GNC's Amplified wheybolic extreme 60 before, after and at bed time. I have yet to reach my daily goal of 300g protien.

I work full time and have a family. I do 60 minutes of Calisthnics 4-5 times a week. I follow Jillian Michaels philosophy for nutrition and excersize.

I will gladly take any advice to help build muscle. I'm not looking to be a body builder but want to look and feel stronger.

taso42_DELETED

300g of protein, in one day? That seems like overkill. Body builders typically do 1g per lb of body weight. Don't skimp on your carbs after a weight lifting workout either. You need them to replenish your glycogen stores.

NightOwl1

In order to really build muscle, you are going to need to eat above your maintenence calories. Your body can really only be in one of two modes, weight gain or weight loss, and you can't build muscle during weight loss.

I agree that 300g of protein is way excessive. 1 pound per pound of body weight is a good target. Also, doing sets of less reps but higher weight will help will muscle gain.

blueeyeddragon2115

First off. You can KILL your kidney's with too much protein and you can leech calcium from your bones, weaking your bones. When you try to eat that much protein you don't get enough calcium weaking them. So i would reccomend you stop trying to eat that much protein in a day!

Secondly, if you want to build muscle. Lift weights. Simple as that. Get some dumb bells and work out with them. Muscle mass comes from heavier weights, lean muscle comes from many repetitions with lighter weights. Good Luck.

kensky

Hi! I've yet to even do a real intro post but I am also ultimately focused on building muscle. When I have been on top of things in the past, the fitness writer Krista Scott-Dixon has been a real inspiration. She's revamped her website from when I was a gymrat back in the mid-90s. You might want to check it out: http://www.stumptuous.com/

novatri

I'd say aim your protein intake at what you want your ideal body weight to be. Ex. 110 lbs. = 110g protein. The rest is more dependent on exercise. Heavy weights with less repetitions. It would be great if you could include an image as to what your aiming for. I don't want you to end up as She-Hulk if your just wanting a volleyball player body.

iksnapezczs

Wow, thank you all! I thought 300g of protien was a lot. One of my buddies who's in top shape and his wife is a personal trainer recomended that number.

I can do all of my sets with 5 lb hand weights. I tried my husbans 10lb and to my satisfaction could do some excersizes with them.

@Novatri-Ha ha, no I dont want to be a she-hulk. Just the strongest my body can be. With tone and definition. Yes a Volleyball player body sounds very nice.

@kensky-Thanks, I'll be sure to check out the web site. I'm always up for more research.

@blueyedragon21-I didnt know that about the heavy and light weights. I will apply that to my goals

@nightowl1-Shoot. Well I am really just 5lb from my goal weight. I'm happy with my weight so I think I'll go with trying to build muscle.

@taso42-I was just focused on getting that protein. I'll be sure to get some good carbs in.

SHBoss1673

you won't bulk up with 10 lb weights. Women don't produce the level of testosterone and other growth hormones that are required to "bulk up" without doing some SERIOUS failure training (I.E. extremely heavy weight with small amounts of reps, to the point where you can't lift another repetition).

They're right, you can't grow new muscle without being above your maintenance calories. You can make your existing muscles more efficient, but that's it. And they're also right, 300 grams of protein isn't going to help you grow any extra muscles. Once your body uses all the protein it needs to repair and grow muscle, all the extra is used in a similar way to other energy sources (I.E. carbs), and I'm pretty sure you don't need 300 grams considering, I, who DOES do failure training twice a week and AM above maintenance, don't eat 300 grams of protein. You need anywhere from 1.5 grams per KG of body weight to about 1 gram per pound (maximum). Some bodybuilders do more, but they are doing this for a specific reason, and they are doing far more advanced things than 99.5% of the rest of us.

So feel free to eat at or slightly above maintenance calories if you want to put on muscle mass, I would also recommend looking into heavier weights with less reps for putting on weight (even if you don't want to "bulk" up), it takes a long time for women to get bulky, and that's if they are REALLY pushing things to the extreme. Most will just become stronger and have more "cut" muscles.

305muscle

2g of protein per pound of bodyweight its the way to build muscle 1g its crap

Shawnalee0703

2g of protein per pound of bodyweight its the way to build muscle 1g its crap

So you are suggesting that I consume 300g of protein a day if I want to build muscle?? That would be WAY too much protein lol That is absolutely ABSURD!
Considering each gram is 4 calories that means I would be eating almost ONLY protein????

I don't think that is accurate.

Shawnalee0703

you won't bulk up with 10 lb weights. Women don't produce the level of testosterone and other growth hormones that are required to "bulk up" without doing some SERIOUS failure training (I.E. extremely heavy weight with small amounts of reps, to the point where you can't lift another repetition).

They're right, you can't grow new muscle without being above your maintenance calories. You can make your existing muscles more efficient, but that's it. And they're also right, 300 grams of protein isn't going to help you grow any extra muscles. Once your body uses all the protein it needs to repair and grow muscle, all the extra is used in a similar way to other energy sources (I.E. carbs), and I'm pretty sure you don't need 300 grams considering, I, who DOES do failure training twice a week and AM above maintenance, don't eat 300 grams of protein. You need anywhere from 1.5 grams per KG of body weight to about 1 gram per pound (maximum). Some bodybuilders do more, but they are doing this for a specific reason, and they are doing far more advanced things than 99.5% of the rest of us.

So feel free to eat at or slightly above maintenance calories if you want to put on muscle mass, I would also recommend looking into heavier weights with less reps for putting on weight (even if you don't want to "bulk" up), it takes a long time for women to get bulky, and that's if they are REALLY pushing things to the extreme. Most will just become stronger and have more "cut" muscles.

Yes, Kilograms! lol NOT POUNDS!

I build muscle quickly , even at 90-115g per day. I do NOT stick to 8lb weights tho, that's for sure! Everyone is different, it is really amazing.

SHBoss1673

2g of protein per pound of bodyweight its the way to build muscle 1g its crap

I rest my case.

SHBoss1673

2g of protein per pound of bodyweight its the way to build muscle 1g its crap

I rest my case.

this.... upon further review, looks snarky and bad. I apologize for that. All I meant was, in terms of one point of view (that of a person prone to body building and muscle size) the tendency is towards higher protein levels. But In general, it's not required for most of us, even those of us who want to build muscle. Unless you are shooting for a specific, "bulking" for very large muscle size, there's no need to go so high with protein intake.

Shawnalee0703

Well put.

2g of protein per pound of bodyweight its the way to build muscle 1g its crap

I rest my case.

this.... upon further review, looks snarky and bad. I apologize for that. All I meant was, in terms of one point of view (that of a person prone to body building and muscle size) the tendency is towards higher protein levels. But In general, it's not required for most of us, even those of us who want to build muscle. Unless you are shooting for a specific, "bulking" for very large muscle size, there's no need to go so high with protein intake.

JaimeNay

A good workout program for women building lean muscle is Chalene Extreme or P90X. They both have proven to add more muscle on women commited to following their plan. I lift 10-15lbs on the workouts, and I'm adding muscle but not bulk. Good luck.

pyro13g

In order to really build muscle, you are going to need to eat above your maintenence calories. Your body can really only be in one of two modes, weight gain or weight loss, and you can't build muscle during weight loss.

I agree that 300g of protein is way excessive. 1 pound per pound of body weight is a good target. Also, doing sets of less reps but higher weight will help will muscle gain.

It's has been proven over and over that you can build muscle while dropping fat and losing weight. 1gr per pound of body weight is still overkill. Muscle is mostly water!

SHBoss1673

In order to really build muscle, you are going to need to eat above your maintenence calories. Your body can really only be in one of two modes, weight gain or weight loss, and you can't build muscle during weight loss.

I agree that 300g of protein is way excessive. 1 pound per pound of body weight is a good target. Also, doing sets of less reps but higher weight will help will muscle gain.

It's has been proven over and over that you can build muscle while dropping fat and losing weight. 1gr per pound of body weight is still overkill. Muscle is mostly water!

this has never been proven to my knowledge. Please post your research if you have found this to be true.

pyro13g

In order to really build muscle, you are going to need to eat above your maintenence calories. Your body can really only be in one of two modes, weight gain or weight loss, and you can't build muscle during weight loss.

I agree that 300g of protein is way excessive. 1 pound per pound of body weight is a good target. Also, doing sets of less reps but higher weight will help will muscle gain.

It's has been proven over and over that you can build muscle while dropping fat and losing weight. 1gr per pound of body weight is still overkill. Muscle is mostly water!

this has never been proven to my knowledge. Please post your research if you have found this to be true.

You kidding, right. For gods sake google it. I've done it myself time and time again along with thousands of Beachbody participants, thousands of Bowflex participants, thousands of Nautilus participants, thousands of body builders, and on and on and on and on.

Funny how at a 700 calorie per day deficit I dropped 17 pounds and added 6.7 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks!

http://drdarden.com/
http://drdarden.com/readTopic.do?id=415445

SHBoss1673

In order to really build muscle, you are going to need to eat above your maintenence calories. Your body can really only be in one of two modes, weight gain or weight loss, and you can't build muscle during weight loss.

I agree that 300g of protein is way excessive. 1 pound per pound of body weight is a good target. Also, doing sets of less reps but higher weight will help will muscle gain.

It's has been proven over and over that you can build muscle while dropping fat and losing weight. 1gr per pound of body weight is still overkill. Muscle is mostly water!

this has never been proven to my knowledge. Please post your research if you have found this to be true.

You kidding, right. For gods sake google it. I've done it myself time and time again along with thousands of Beachbody participants, thousands of Bowflex participants, thousands of Nautilus participants, thousands of body builders, and on and on and on and on.

Funny how at a 700 calorie per day deficit I dropped 17 pounds and added 6.7 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks!

http://drdarden.com/
http://drdarden.com/readTopic.do?id=415445

What is this? This isn't research, this is a bunch of guys claiming something on a website. This is no proof, nor is it research. Look, you can drop body fat while keeping existing muscle, but you can't be in a caloric deficit and build muscle mass. You can activate existing muscle that has been dormant, and there's quite a bit of it in most people, which adds weight because active muscle requires more glycogen stores, which is based in water solution, which means weight gain without fat gain, but that's not muscle.

Look, I've done the research, I know the facts on this. The body in general can live in only two states, catabolic and anabolic. There's no third, catabolic + anabolic state that would need to exist in order to allow significant muscle mass increases. When a person is in a catabolic state, the body inhibits hormone production of the human growth related hormones (I.E. Testosterone, Growth Hormone, and Insulin-like growth factors), these are the hormones that trigger muscle mass increase. Yes, the body will repair the microtears in muscle even in a catabolic state, but above and beyond that, the body doesn't do any muscle building.

What (I suspect) the men on that site experienced is a slightly catabolic state where high intensity workouts created an environment where fat burning is prolific, and muscles were activated wholesale. Which can account for not only looking bigger and more "ripped", but dropping fat and making gains in strength. This does NOT mean that anyone gained any muscle mass (fyi, water is included in LM). And yes, for a muscle to go from every day use, to 100% efficiency (or close to 100%) where the body will stimulate actual muscle growth can be between 6 and 12 weeks, so 8 weeks is perfectly normal.

There's a great book published by the foremost authority on strength training (National Strength and Conditioning Association) called simply "Strength Training" It's a wonderful book, and relatively easy for most people to grasp, with a light section at the beginning on muscle function, muscle metabolism, and human anatomy with regards to the skeletal-muscular system. I recommend anyone who is wondering read this book, it's a must read for those who wish to know more about strength and resistance training.

SHBoss1673

incidentally I did google it, just because I thought that would be interesting.

so I googled

"lose weight while building muscle mass"

wanna know the first link?

http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=70

awesome.

1FITmamaofTWINS

get into the gym... you need to lift weights jullian micheals dvds wont help you with muscle building.... and you dont need to consume more than 150grams of protein per day to gain muscle