If i want to build muscle should i eat over my cals?

babystepsforward
babystepsforward Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If i'm doing cardio (walking, running and dance mainly) and a bit of strengh training (mainly mild e.g yoga, pilates etc,, should i alwys match my cal intake? I want to gain weight to get a healthy bmi but also gain muscle, if i'm only eating my bmr some days will i see no muscle gain?

Replies

  • ermand
    ermand Posts: 54 Member
    If you are new to weight training you will gain SOME muscle regardless. But it wont last long, if you want mass you must eat lots and lots of food. Fish, chicken etc
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    If i'm doing cardio (walking, running and dance mainly) and a bit of strengh training (mainly mild e.g yoga, pilates etc,, should i alwys match my cal intake? I want to gain weight to get a healthy bmi but also gain muscle, if i'm only eating my bmr some days will i see no muscle gain?

    You won't gain muscle doing what you said. You won't even gain weight, much less muscle.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    You need to be in a caloric surplus on average, the amount you eat on one particular day is less important.

    That said, you aren't going to build much muscle without resistance training.
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
    Ah, this is interesting. I want to tone, and build some muscle. (not large and bulky) but muscle none the less.
    Maybe I don't eat enough in the day?
  • mgobluetx12
    mgobluetx12 Posts: 1,326 Member
    In order to gain muscle, you've got to eat at a surplus and lift seriously heavy weights. What you're doing isn't going to cut it, unfortunately.
  • neurochamp
    neurochamp Posts: 261 Member
    Agree with the above posters -

    (1) you will not gain weight if you are only eating at BMR (this is the minimum needed to support the function of your lungs, heart, brain, muscles, etc. AT REST...not if you are doing any kind of moving around - including sitting upright in a chair and walking to the bathroom), you need to eat at TDEE to maintain weight and above TDEE to gain weight; and...

    (2) you need to do resistance training - not endurance training - to "build muscle". Of course, endurance training DOES strengthen your muscles, but it strengthens the smaller slow-twitch muscle fibers, NOT the larger fast-twitch fibers that give you clearer muscle definition (compare the body types of marathoners vs. sprinters to see the difference in muscle type).
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    You won't gain appreciable muscle doing cardio. If you want to gain muscle you need to lift weights with progressive overload, eat a t a calorie surplus, and make sure that you get enough protein.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Ah, this is interesting. I want to tone, and build some muscle. (not large and bulky) but muscle none the less.
    Maybe I don't eat enough in the day?

    As a woman without benefit of testosterone is is highly unlikely you would get "bulky". Getting bulky or growing muscles larger (hypertrophy) is not easy and for a woman pretty much impossible. Without steriods that is.

    OP, as others have said, calorie surplus and resistance training is the way.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    You won't gain appreciable muscle doing cardio. If you want to gain muscle you need to lift weights with progressive overload, eat a t a calorie surplus, and make sure that you get enough protein.

    ^^this
  • chimp517
    chimp517 Posts: 185 Member
    Ah, this is interesting. I want to tone, and build some muscle. (not large and bulky) but muscle none the less.
    Maybe I don't eat enough in the day?

    As a woman without benefit of testosterone is is highly unlikely you would get "bulky". Getting bulky or growing muscles larger (hypertrophy) is not easy and for a woman pretty much impossible. Without steriods that is.

    OP, as others have said, calorie surplus and resistance training is the way.

    that

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