question

temperedironwill
temperedironwill Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
how exactly does one gain, without bulk and yet still maintain firm muscles?

Replies

  • anorexiasurvivor
    anorexiasurvivor Posts: 8
    So I'll be the first to admit I'm not the kind of expert on gaining muscle that I am on losing weight or maintaining a deficit. But I HAVE gotten my BF down to about 19% while still running regularly and not being a weight head.

    For me personally, I like bodyweight exercises. I did and am doing the 100 push ups challenge and dabble with pull ups. I also do squats, lunges, crunches etc and supplement with yoga and pilates. You can find TONS of no-equipment bodyweight exercises online. If you'd like to focus on gym machines, I'd research freeweights and focus on press machines.

    In regards to running- I know that as a distance runner it's hard to cut back mileage- it feels like quitting or slacking and blows. But recently my life had become too busy to devote more than an hour a day to my runs, so it kind of killed off my long runs. This fall I started training a rather intense (for me) 5k program and have seen great results with more intense runs over shorter distances. (Mine is from a book called Brain Training for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald).

    And finally, (something that will also feel counter intuitive), you have to eat at or above maintence and elevate your protein. For this, I suggest working up to a higher calorie count by cycling- 1200 one week, 1300 the next, 1400 the next. Then 1300, 1400, 1500. Then 1400, 1500, 1600 etc until you are eating at maintence. Keep this up for a couple weeks and then cut back a week and measure your BF%

    Anyways, most of this is based on armchair research and experience. Give it a try, keep what works for you and just remember that while your body is awesome and getting it into peak condition is cool and great, it's not worth stressing about too much. Let me know if you have questions or want to bat ideas around.

    For you, as you are trying to gain, cycle around 3,000 one week, 3,200 then next, and 3,400 the next, then back to 3,000. Also make sure to eat elevated levels of protein in order to build muscle and to gain it without gaining bulk; so make about 60% of your diet protein. Exercise with weights, or do body weight exercises between 3-5 times a week, and do cardio around 2-4 times a week. The exercise will help to tone and strengthen your muscles :)

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