Struggling to reach target for muscle gain

MassBuilderPro · February 2014

Try not to worry so much about eating "clean". focus on eating foods you enjoy and that are Natural.. from the land. Eggs Milk Fruits Veggies Grains Legumes Meats, anything really as long as its not processed or junk food.

HMVOL7409 · February 2014

So is it ok to eat more 'crappy' deemed food (ie muffins, etc) as long as you get the calories and protein in? (without going overboard on the fats/sugars to avoid atherosclerosis/diabetes)

I believe that if you do go the 'eat anything' route whilst bulking you're going to gain more fat than if you ate 'cleaner'.

No. The amount of ones surplus will determine how much fat they will gain; not the quality of calories.

Do you have access to a barbell? You may want to change up your routine if you do. You're not going to see a lot of muscle gains with 13.5 kg. You need to be in a progressive loading program, and consider hypertrophy, to gain lean mass.

Protein powder is great to add calories and protein.

Muscle is very hard to gain under the best of circumstances. Really think about your workout first, then tweak your diet. All the protein in the world isn't going to add mass if you don't work the muscle.

Good question here; you can eat all you want but what is your lifting program like?

goredguar · February 2014

Do you have access to a barbell? You may want to change up your routine if you do. You're not going to see a lot of muscle gains with 13.5 kg. You need to be in a progressive loading program, and consider hypertrophy, to gain lean mass.

Protein powder is great to add calories and protein.

Muscle is very hard to gain under the best of circumstances. Really think about your workout first, then tweak your diet. All the protein in the world isn't going to add mass if you don't work the muscle.

I have virtually no muscle on me due to my past ED (apart from my legs due to running), and my arm muscles are killing me right now - I will try to up the weight again soon though! I have 20kg max on my dumbbells available right now.

Peanut Butter....eat it.

Allergic to nuts.

Good question here; you can eat all you want but what is your lifting program like?

I'm using a book (not sure how 'good' it's deemed, but it has helpful step-by-step walkthroughs for each exercise) called "The Body Sculpting Bible for Women" by J Villepigue and H Rivera.

The workouts change every 2 weeks, with 3 different workouts a week. For example, this week it's telling me to do:

(Keeping in mind this is their beginner end routine, designed for someone who only has access to dumbbells, there's some more 'aggressive / advanced' ones there too, plus routines using gym equipment I don't have)

Reps is 12-15 with lighter weights for first couple of weeks until muscles used to movements, then 10-12, then 6-8 once base strength/movement better. 3 sets per exercise, and they're grouped into compound exercises, so I do 1 set and move onto the next exercise immediately in that pair, then rest for 1 min, repeat that pair, rest again, repeat, rest and move onto the next pair (so each day has 4 pairs of compound exercises).

Day 01
Dumbbell one-arm row
Pushup
Dumbbell shoulder press
Standing calf raise (one leg)
Dumbbell curl
Overhead Dumbbell Extension
Stiff-legged deadlift

Rest (I do cardio on 3 of my rest days, apart from 1 rest day where I do no exercise)

Day 03
Dumbbell Squat
Dumbbell Lunge
Ballet Squat
Stiff-Legged Deadlift
Standing Calf Raise (one leg)
Upright Row
Standing calf raise (two legs)
Triceps kickback

Rest

Day 04
Two-arm row
Flat Dumbbell fly
Bent over lateral-raise on incline bench
Standing calf raise (two legs)
Hammer curl
Lying dumbbell extension
Ballet Squat
Dumbbell Lunge

Rest
Rest

Also, on cardio days it asks me to do 2-4 out of these:
Lying Leg Raise
Crunch
Curl and Crunch
Bicycle
Knee-In
V-Up

Any good or should I invest in another book?

SleeplessinBerlin · February 2014

almond butter? sunflower seed butter?

rocketfish74 · February 2014

There's a difference between sculpting and gaining mass/weight. Sculpting is about gaining muscle definition and toning up. You won't gain much mass doing light weight, high reps which is what your current routine is. Read what I posted earlier. It works.

Alternatively, eat more simple carbs. It's easily digestible and you burn through it quickly to get hungry again. Whatever you're regular meals are now, just add a slice of bread or pastry per meal. A slice of bread is 66 calories. 3 a day = 198 calories x 7 days = 1386 calories a week = 5544 calories a month = .72 kg weight gained per month.

In theory, in 6 months you'll add 4.32 kg just by eating 3 extra bread slices a day.

SouthernMommy11 · February 2014

There are alternatives to peanut butter! Sunflower, almond, etc. Eggs are great too! If you are looking for a muscle supplement I'm talking to my trainer in the morning about the best ones so feel free to message me and add me and I can tell you what they say!

rocketfish74 · February 2014

Not everything you listed are compound exercises. Some of them are pointless, excessive or similar to existing exercises on same days. I'd get rid of some of them. See the ones with XX. It's up to you if you want to do cardio on rest days. However if you're sore then it's best to rest. Without rest you will not see any gains. Soreness = muscle fiber damage which requires rest and food to repair. If you don't get enough food and rest, you may experience muscle loss instead of gains. Over training is also a leading cause of injury.

Here's my recommendation. Remember to keep proper form to avoid injury.

Day 01
Dumbbell one-arm row
Pushup
Dumbbell shoulder press
Standing calf raise (one leg)
XX Dumbbell curl
XX Overhead Dumbbell Extension
Stiff-legged deadlift <-- switch to regular deadlift, works more muscle groups and less chance of lower back injury

Rest

Day 03
Dumbbell Squat <-- do this or ballet squat, not both
XX Dumbbell Lunge <-- deadlifts work similar muscle groups
Ballet Squat <-- do this or dumbbell squat, not both
Stiff-Legged Deadlift <-- switch to regular deadlift, works more muscle groups and less chance of lower back injury
Standing Calf Raise (one leg)
Upright Row
XX Standing calf raise (two legs)
XX Triceps kickback

Rest

Day 04
XX Two-arm row
Flat Dumbbell fly
Bent over lateral-raise on incline bench <--do this instead of two arm row
Standing calf raise (two legs)
Hammer curl <-- combine with overhead press
XX Lying dumbbell extension
Ballet Squat <-- do this or dumbbell lunge, not both
Dumbbell Lunge <-- do this or ballet squat, not both

Rest
Rest

Kestrelwings · February 2014

Are you allergic to coconut as well? If not, coconut oil may help. Other options include adding cheese & butter to meals, for example having your carbs as mashed potato - made with butter, full fat milk and cheese - instead of rice or pasta.

JoRocka · February 2014

how much are you lifting?

if you are running three times a week you are going to have a hard time adding muscle..

Remember there is no "crap food" there is just food that your body uses for energy. If you are having a hard time getting to your target then add in some ice cream …230 calories per serving ….

this.

eat whatever you can- drink your calories. whatever it takes.

No food is off limits- hit your protein- hit your carbs (milk is genius for this) and go to town.

mikeabboud · February 2014

V-Up

Any good or should I invest in another book?

try this one http://www.weightrainer.net/training/beginners.html
its actual good for any lifter first time or advanced. Check out the articles its all for natural weightlifters and why the full body is the way to go for us.

Struggling to reach target for muscle gain

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