Gaining Muscle

kcnjason

I have been involved with the gym for a few months now and I am trying to put on muscle and slowly a little weight but not too much. I weigh 109 and I'm 5'5. The calories counter says I should be getting about 2,020 calories per day to gain .5# per week to slowly get to the ideal weight for myself. With those calories, I put I go to the gym 1 hr 3 days per week but I weight train so my body probably needs more to build muscle so it doesn't eat itself, am I wrong? I just don't want to blow over the amt of calories I should be eating but I need someone who knows more about this situation.....gaining weight, adding muscle but at a slow pace...slow pace for gaining weight:)

iWaffle

Your body needs the amino acids found in protein to properly build muscle so make sure you're getting adequate protein in your diet spread throughout the day. Most would agree on 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight per day is optimal but if that's too difficult to to at least get 1 gram per lb of lean body mass. (Your weight - weight of body fat). If you're a beginner you can put on muscle easier so you shouldn't need to add too many calories to your diet if that's the case. I've gotten really serious about lifting the last few months and I'm seeing some nice improvements despite cutting down on weight.

For me it helps to not think of it as adding muscle so much as just trying to get stronger so don't go to the gym to just try to "tone". Get in there and see what you're capable of and ask your body to give it all. You might want to read through something like New Rules of Lifting for Women. I hear that's a good book to get started with and it has exercise and nutrition plans. That will probably tell you more than I know about lifting.