help eith macros and a good routine to build muscle mass
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sarahroncone
Posts: 18 Member
hi there.
i am a 24 year old female, 57.5 kilos (126pounds) 167cms tall and looking to make some gains. Roughly 5 kilos of muscle, and im bery dedicated to get my goal.
I am a mother to an 11 month old baby girl, so i have just started to get back into lifiting, but i am lifting to build now. I have never counted calories or Macros, however there is alot of conflicting information on the net which leaves me with all different daily macos/calory intake for the day. i know nothing will be accurate, but i need a base to work off thats roughly close at least.
I currently eat 2100-2200 cals daily. May need more as i am more of an ectomorph in body type, finding it hard to gain muscle and weight but eat alll the timeeee. My fitness Pal works out macros a little off...
I work as an accounts assistant, but train heavy weight, low reps about 4 sets incorpersting drop sets, pyramids, and even super sets for an extra burn about 6 days a week. I train 2 muscle groups per day once per week, hitting my lagging muscle group twice per week aka legs. Thinking maybe i should be hitting all muscle groups at least twice for some quicker progress and gains, but unsure of how i can do this without training over 7 days considering i work full time, have a baby and i study.Any help would be appreciated!
thanks.
i am a 24 year old female, 57.5 kilos (126pounds) 167cms tall and looking to make some gains. Roughly 5 kilos of muscle, and im bery dedicated to get my goal.
I am a mother to an 11 month old baby girl, so i have just started to get back into lifiting, but i am lifting to build now. I have never counted calories or Macros, however there is alot of conflicting information on the net which leaves me with all different daily macos/calory intake for the day. i know nothing will be accurate, but i need a base to work off thats roughly close at least.
I currently eat 2100-2200 cals daily. May need more as i am more of an ectomorph in body type, finding it hard to gain muscle and weight but eat alll the timeeee. My fitness Pal works out macros a little off...
I work as an accounts assistant, but train heavy weight, low reps about 4 sets incorpersting drop sets, pyramids, and even super sets for an extra burn about 6 days a week. I train 2 muscle groups per day once per week, hitting my lagging muscle group twice per week aka legs. Thinking maybe i should be hitting all muscle groups at least twice for some quicker progress and gains, but unsure of how i can do this without training over 7 days considering i work full time, have a baby and i study.Any help would be appreciated!
thanks.
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Replies
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figure out what you're eating regularly- if you're maintaining on 21-2200- and you have consistent data points to prove that- then add 250-300 calories to that.
What you eat- and your macro split is significantly less important than over all calories.
so- perfect macros are nice- and it's more important for weight loss- but it means nothing if you aren't in a surplus.
Calories are king. protein is good- but carbs are better.
Don't worry about that ectomorph stuff- it's pretty much rubbish. You just need to eat more. You'll see a 5-8 pound jump the first week due to glycogen usually- then level off- wait for 3-4 weeks and see if it goes up at all after that first week- if not- add another 100-150 calories.
Wait another 3-4 weeks.
Any changes? IF yes- stay there
Too fast? drop back down
No change- add more food.
I like setting a min and max window- like min 4 months- max 6 months- mostly because around 2.3-3.5 months I'm like I"M DONE I"M OVER THIS I"M FAT I HATE LIFE AND EVERYONE IN IT.... but I can usually push through that plateau JUST to make that min window- then my sweet gains come back- and I can power through another month to like 5-6.
So keep that in mind.
Also - buy stretchy pants.
And don't give up on yourself- it takes a LOT of self confidence to bulk.0 -
Good nutrition advice above definitely determine your true TDEE or calorie maintenance. Your only going to figure that out by doing some testing i recommend what JoRocka suggested, add ~300cals a day run that for 2 weeks and see if the scale goes up. Weigh your self everyday at the same time, cause weight fluctuates alot throughout the day. If the scale isn't moving then u have found your maintenance level.
I know alot of people think the ectomorph/hard gainer is a myth but not exactly.. there is some science behind whats happening. NEAT(non-excercise activity thermogenesis) is messing with you. Not to get to deep into it..but what's happening is all our body's react differently to adding a calorie surplus, some bodies will actually start burning more calories when a surplus is added, your NEAT will actually increase with overfeeding. Crazy part is studies have shown that NEAT can vary drastically from one person to the next..thus u have the mythical hardgainer..I keep eating and just cant gain any wait!! So 3 different body types A/B/C adding a 500cal surplus will deal with it differently. So the best way is to just monitor the scale and track trends on a weekly basis and readjust as u go. Looking at your picture it looks like your in great shape and already pretty lean so I'm going to go ahead and guess ur body is a furnace at this point.
As for actually gaining muscle mass low reps aren't ideal, in a nutshell I would keep your reps to 8-10 minimum/ 4 sets, increase time under tension ie (incorporate 4 second negatives) your sets should last a minimum of 40 seconds if your just speeding thru your sets in under 10seconds ur not maximizing growth. Focus on contracting the muscle your working and squeezing it like it owes you money thru the entire range. In order to create growth u need to give your muscles a reason to grow..caloric surplus and maximum hypertrophy. Stuff like drop sets on your last set are a great addition. 6 days a week might be a lil much be careful not to over train, listen to your body. I would take one of the days out and make it a mobility or yoga day to tune things up.
With the way your body is looking I think ur at an ideal place to hit your goals. Good luck!!0 -
Thanks so much to the both of you for your advice. Its very to the point and helpful. You both definitely know your stuff. So if you think im currently over training abit, would you recomened i remain hitting my muscles groups once per week? i find i have a pretty good recovery, even though i hurt for max two days after, third day my body feels ready to go again, which led me to think i could be hittinf my muscles twice per week. I do as follows:
Monday- back & biceps.
Tuesday - legs and abs.
Wednesday- chest & triceps
thursday- shoulders & abs. - (Shoulders are currently dominating all other muscles)
Friday - is usually off or a minor cardio session just to maintain my fitness as lifting has taking its toll on mine.
Saturday- Heavy legs again.
sunday off.
I focus alot on my eccentric, trying to keep it to a 4second count and 2 concentric. I squeeze through concentric and ensure im getting full range of motion. I have been incorperating afee super sets lately to shock my muscles abit more, so i will go back to drop sets for a bit as i have had a break. I think i will adjust my reps from 8-10 Rather then max out at 8.
Thank you again guys! Your both an incredible help!0 -
figure out what you're eating regularly- if you're maintaining on 21-2200- and you have consistent data points to prove that- then add 250-300 calories to that.
What you eat- and your macro split is significantly less important than over all calories.
so- perfect macros are nice- and it's more important for weight loss- but it means nothing if you aren't in a surplus.
Calories are king. protein is good- but carbs are better.
Don't worry about that ectomorph stuff- it's pretty much rubbish. You just need to eat more. You'll see a 5-8 pound jump the first week due to glycogen usually- then level off- wait for 3-4 weeks and see if it goes up at all after that first week- if not- add another 100-150 calories.
Wait another 3-4 weeks.
Any changes? IF yes- stay there
Too fast? drop back down
No change- add more food.
I like setting a min and max window- like min 4 months- max 6 months- mostly because around 2.3-3.5 months I'm like I"M DONE I"M OVER THIS I"M FAT I HATE LIFE AND EVERYONE IN IT.... but I can usually push through that plateau JUST to make that min window- then my sweet gains come back- and I can power through another month to like 5-6.
So keep that in mind.
Also - buy stretchy pants.
And don't give up on yourself- it takes a LOT of self confidence to bulk.
cosigned....
(yes, I stole that from you)0 -
sarahroncone wrote: »Thanks so much to the both of you for your advice. Its very to the point and helpful. You both definitely know your stuff. So if you think im currently over training abit, would you recomened i remain hitting my muscles groups once per week? i find i have a pretty good recovery, even though i hurt for max two days after, third day my body feels ready to go again, which led me to think i could be hittinf my muscles twice per week. I do as follows:
Monday- back & biceps.
Tuesday - legs and abs.
Wednesday- chest & triceps
thursday- shoulders & abs. - (Shoulders are currently dominating all other muscles)
Friday - is usually off or a minor cardio session just to maintain my fitness as lifting has taking its toll on mine.
Saturday- Heavy legs again.
sunday off.
I focus alot on my eccentric, trying to keep it to a 4second count and 2 concentric. I squeeze through concentric and ensure im getting full range of motion. I have been incorperating afee super sets lately to shock my muscles abit more, so i will go back to drop sets for a bit as i have had a break. I think i will adjust my reps from 8-10 Rather then max out at 8.
Thank you again guys! Your both an incredible help!
is this a homemade routine or a structured program?0 -
Homemade. i haven't really had anybody to give me guidance. I have been reasearching on the net and trialing and erroring to find what works best for me so far...0 -
I wouldn't say that's over training necessarily.So if you think im currently over training abit, would you recomened i remain hitting my muscles groups once per week? i find i have a pretty good recovery, even though i hurt for max two days after, third day my body feels ready to go again, which led me to think i could be hittinf my muscles twice per week. I do as follows:
As long as you are getting adequate rest. Lots of BBers lift 5-6 days a week.
I used to train 4-6 days- depending on dance and work schedule- I shifted to a more power focused program so it's only 3- but I did that and bulked just fine.
Really there is no RIGHT answer- if you feel recovered- you're getting adequate rest- on your down days- and plenty of sleep and calories you should be fine.
You have to work REALLY REALLY hard to be over training- most people never hit that in standard workouts.
I'd say you're fine- just keep eating.
I aint mad atchu.cosigned....
(yes, I stole that from you)
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sarahroncone wrote: »
Homemade. i haven't really had anybody to give me guidance. I have been reasearching on the net and trialing and erroring to find what works best for me so far...
how long have you been lifting for?
you could look into new rules of lifting for woman, starting strength,or pick one from this site https://www.muscleandstrength.com which is where I got my current one...0 -
roughly lifting heavy for a few months since having my baby. I had some injuries post baby, so i had to be very careful for a while after.
i Will check it out thanks!
And thank you! i will keep going with my current routine for 5 or so weeks and up my calories as you said to see where that gets me before i change it up. I'm thinking its probably not eating enough too. I dont feel over trained, so i will continue on and keep lifting heavy!0 -
As the others said just listen to your body if it wants to go..go for it. Based on your routine..if anything I would only double up on your weak point body parts, during the week and i would get an active rest day mid week (ie. mobility/stretching/yoga light/ cardio for example). Rep tempo looks good.. if u wanna try a tweak, I would try an explosive 1sec concentric, no rest on top, straight into your 4sec eccentric, max squeeze..explode. (this will recruit maximum muscle fibers)
The only other bit of advice, if u r indeed going hard on your workouts is get some BCAA for recovery during and after workouts and just overall work on keeping your cortisol levels low... good amount of sleep, I usually fit in some some vitamin C and Red Siberian ginseng in the morning and pre-workout as well.. both great cortisol blocker. Looks like your on your way to Gainz city!!0 -
Thank you! I feel so much more postive about my routine and potential gains now! I have just purchased a yummy grape flavoured BCAA's and they have already proven effective in terms of feeling more energised during the training etc (i notice the difference anyway).
My main problem at this stage is not getting enough sleep! My baby daughter is teething and going through some sleep regression, so she has been waking throughout the night and early morning, when she used to be out from 7pm until 7am! So its taking its toll on my body atm.0 -
And i know it will take months. if it were quicker i would assume it would be alot of fat rather than muscle. Even though some fat gain is to be expected, too much isn't my aim.0
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Good lord u again...Thought u learned last time, if I quote a study.. it's because there is one. Here's yet another study please read it this time. It shows the the variance between the amount of calories burned via NEAT from one person to the next is different:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9880251
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11310775
Now let me break down the concept so u understand why some people are in fact more of a hard gainer then others...
NEAT as I'm sure u know is defined by calories burnt thru the day as a result of things u do over the course of the day besides working out, from walking to figgiting, getting dressed etc. For many people NEAT increases with overeating. So when u consume more calories to create a surplus, NEAT upregulates and your body naturally burns more calories. So the more calories u consume the more calories your body naturally burns.
Studies as listed above show that the variance between the amount of calories burned via NEAT from one person to another is quite different.
So some people don't upregulate at all thus the online formulas get them pretty close but not quite there. So when they eat more they don't burn more calories. But for others, eating more calories causes the body to burn additional calories. Thus bro science tossed around..just eat more is actually true. You just need to monitor your weight eat more until the scale starts tipping and you find "YOUR" maintenance level.
Put into an example back to persons A/B/C lets say they have a maintenance level of 2000 cals x/day. They start a 500 cal surplus so total of 2500. This is what can happen and cause some to scream HARD GAINER doing everything right can't gain wait!!
Person A may burn no additional cals in that case they ate an extra 500 cals and have a full 500 cal surplus. Totaling 2500
Person B may burn an additional 100cals via NEAT in that case they ate an extra 400 cals and have a full 400 cal surplus. Totaling 2400
Person C may burn an additional 300cals via NEAT in that case they ate an extra 200 cals and have a full 400 cal surplus. Totaling 2200
So 3 people same maintenance but obviously person C will have a harder time gaining weight. Person A is predisposed to being fat like person C is predisposed to being skinny. Person C's body is just very efficient at burning calories via NEAT.
Thus for some people that an additional 250 cals is right, while for others it wont even make a dent. They might need 500-1000 for the same weight gain to occur..that's why back to bro science..just eat more and monitor ur weight is actually pretty on point. If we were all equal those awesome online calculators would be working for everybody and we wouldn't be on forums wondering wtf is going on..and telling people to just eat more. So I do agree with u in terms that, Yes it all takes time and patience.
Now I really don't approve of alot of the petty crap I see in the forums where everybody is just busting out technicalities and trying to disprove each other its like one big pissing fight. If u want to have a constructive conversation I'm all ears otherwise contact me directly and lets not clog up the OP thread with more BS..
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sarahroncone wrote: »And i know it will take months. if it were quicker i would assume it would be alot of fat rather than muscle. Even though some fat gain is to be expected, too much isn't my aim.
it will take a few weeks for any gain to show as you play with the numbers,but once you get them right you should start seeing nice gains each week.
The tricky part will be when you get about four months in and start feeling bloated/fat that is they psychological part of bulking that sucks….
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Yeah, i think thats going to be the challenge for me mentally! i love the leaner waist look, as i am used to it, but definitely need about 5kgs before i am happy with my over all size. And unfortunately that wont come without a little extra padding haha. Just have to push through. Lucky summer is over for me, so should be heading into cooler months were i wont be hopping into a bbikini and the extra kilos will keep me nice and warm0
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sarahroncone wrote: »Yeah, i think thats going to be the challenge for me mentally! i love the leaner waist look, as i am used to it, but definitely need about 5kgs before i am happy with my over all size. And unfortunately that wont come without a little extra padding haha. Just have to push through. Lucky summer is over for me, so should be heading into cooler months were i wont be hopping into a bbikini and the extra kilos will keep me nice and warm
yes…bulk winter..cut spring/summer…
makes the most sense 0 -
MrM27
Posts: 13,162
gio14
Posts: 41
what do you mean bygood lord you again
can ya- go ahead and break that down for me- Because- I'm not catching it.
exactly why no one bulks in the summer- they hate the idea of looking pudgy.Just have to push through. Lucky summer is over for me, so should be heading into cooler months were i wont be hopping into a bbikini and the extra kilos will keep me nice and warm
you may actually really like the way you look- I've seen a number of women bulk- and realize they are quiet happy. Herm- I should start putting together some before and after's damnit. I know I've changed in the last two years. Might be useful- you can wander into the women bulking forum if you like- we are always taking new members.
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Now I really don't approve of alot of the petty crap I see in the forums where everybody is just busting out technicalities and trying to disprove each other its like one big pissing fight. If u want to have a constructive conversation I'm all ears otherwise contact me directly and lets not clog up the OP thread with more BS..
the reality is there is no exact way to calculate the EXACT amount of calories any one thing is attributed to- which is why trial and error is required and why general trend lines are important- rather than day to day.
It has nothing to do with the shape of your body. Or your blood type- or anything else.
Slapping labels and blaming or point at certain potential loosely woven together studies doesn't help anyone.
Reality- calories are a best guest scenario- only trial and error and proper data points and feed back gives you the information you need- and yes it varies from person to person. This isn't rocket science.0 -
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