Lean Body Builders Wanted...

damonmath

So after several days of research and thinking about what Bluk30 said I can actually gain some muscle mass if I do less of a workout each day, continue eating the same calories I'm eating today, and actually rest on Tuesdays and Thursdays...

So eating more burns more fat and working out less often builds more muscle (given heavy weights and recovery time)...

Ok, I'm getting more attuned...

The question is: Should I gain weight or just be content? On one hand looking bigger in some areas would be awesome, but at the risk of adding more weight to my knees during footbag sessions.... IDK???

cacrat

Eating more won't always burn fat and working out less won't always build more muscle. It'll be HOW you use those tools. At a minimum 2x/week workout will be necessary even with heavy weights (85-90% one rep max). Working out less than that, like all the BBing mags say the big boys do, won't provide the stimulation the muscles need to grow. The pros also take plenty of drugs we do not, so working out like them isn't going to help us any.

Overall, if your goals are geared towards footbag, then keep your physique as it is. Building too much, like you said, may put too much fat on, thus hurting your joints. Also, in order to gain those pounds you'll have to work the really heavy weights in the gym, also putting a strain on tendons and ligaments.

bmontgomery87

Nothing wrong with switching things up.
Don't settle tho, if you wanna grow, keep working on growing.

I will say that a lot of beginners feel the need to train constantly and really go overboard.
I used to lift about 5 days a week. I've scaled back to 3 and I feel like I'm growing just as well.

How long have you been lifting and what is your current split?

bmontgomery87

cool i'm trying to build muscle now. doing HST.

I did a similar routine for a while and liked it. I did a few more sets of the compound stuff though.
Didn't get great results but my diet was way off then.

damonmath

I work Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps MWF and Back and Biceps TH. I do cardio 6 days a week, with Saturday being a double hour session and usually about an 1800 calorie burn. My workouts do not repeat during the week... So I only do flat bench once, decline once, etc... That way Wednesday is not depleting Monday, but rather working other areas neglected on Monday...

I rarely get sore for very long, but I also eat extremely well and take plenty of protein and supplements for recovery like Xtend. I feel great and have plenty of power. I just don't want to bulk up too big and not be able to play footbag as well... I'm killing it right now and will probably stay at this weight for a while.