Not taking in enough calories to gain muscle?
dorienhamm
Posts: 17 Member
I'm 5'8, 158 pounds, and have a slim build. I workout at least 5 days a week and see some toning but no big gains like I'd hope for. I also take a whey protein mixed in with a carbo gainer and I'm still sitting at the same weight. Any tips or meals that could help me pack on extra weight?
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Replies
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You need to create a calorie surplus. My advice, cut back your workouts to 3xfull body. Get online and find a calculator to determine required calories. I would say not more than 2000 as a guess. 3 balanced meals with protein, carbs, veg. Snack with nuts and protein shake. Stick to it for at least 4-6 weeks before you make adjustments0
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Add in about 200 calories per day for 2 weeks and track bodyweight. If you don't see about a .5-1lb gain over that two week period, add another 100-200 calories and repeat.
Track your AVERAGE bodyweight. Take a week of weigh in data, average it, compare week to week average to look for trends.0 -
Add in about 200 calories per day for 2 weeks and track bodyweight. If you don't see about a .5-1lb gain over that two week period, add another 100-200 calories and repeat.
Track your AVERAGE bodyweight. Take a week of weigh in data, average it, compare week to week average to look for trends.
Exactly that. If you want high calorie foods/whole foods buy avocados, nut butters, oatmeal, whole fat milk, steak, wild rice, chickpeas, chicken breasts, whole wheat wraps, bananas, frozen/fresh fruit, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, granola, the list goes on, pick the foods you like and go from there.
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Agree with these bros, good advice, take it!0
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dorienhamm wrote: »I'm 5'8, 158 pounds, and have a slim build. I workout at least 5 days a week and see some toning but no big gains like I'd hope for. I also take a whey protein mixed in with a carbo gainer and I'm still sitting at the same weight. Any tips or meals that could help me pack on extra weight?
First off, 5 meals a day with snacks in between, set your goal on my fitness pal and start figuring out what you need. You've gotta put in the research. Example of a meal, 6 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast cooked in olive oil with 2 cups of cubed boiled, baked, steamed sweet potatoes or yams. Punch that into your my fitness pal calculator 5 times and see where that gets you. Good snacks, avocados, cheese sticks, fruit, peanut butter with celary or banana. Drink some milk, drink your water when your thirsty, it will probably come out to a gallon a day if you add up all the fluids you drink throughout the day. Get a multi vitamin to make up for whatever you're lacking from meals, train like a bodybuilder, lift for the pump, don't lift to push a lot of weight, nobody cares how strong you are, focus on form. Do a bodybuilder routine, such as, leg day, arm day, chest day, back day, shoulder day, rest day or another day for a lacking body part that recovers quickly. If you need two days off then put chest and shoulders together on the same day. Look up bodybuilding videos, look up Arnold Schwarzenegger and the pump, look up mind muscle connection, make sure you eat before and after your workouts, don't be afraid to eat some junk if you have a fast metabolism, but make sure your main mails are good proteinand quality carbs. Protein- eggs in the morning, beef, pork, fish, chicken the rest of the day, carbs- oatmeal in the morning with your eggs then yams and sweet potatoes, brown rice if you must, broccoli is cool as well as asparagus, but yams and sweet potatoes are great. Use your my fitness pal to its full potential and research research research! !! Don't just expect to be spoon fed knowledge. I gave you some freebies, now go grow. Also, get some quality creatine, german creatine if you can get the good kind, 3-5 grams a day unless all you eat is steak, beta alanine is good too, look up dosage.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »I'm 5'8, 158 pounds, and have a slim build. I workout at least 5 days a week and see some toning but no big gains like I'd hope for. I also take a whey protein mixed in with a carbo gainer and I'm still sitting at the same weight. Any tips or meals that could help me pack on extra weight?
First off, 5 meals a day with snacks in between, set your goal on my fitness pal and start figuring out what you need. You've gotta put in the research. Example of a meal, 6 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast cooked in olive oil with 2 cups of cubed boiled, baked, steamed sweet potatoes or yams. Punch that into your my fitness pal calculator 5 times and see where that gets you. Good snacks, avocados, cheese sticks, fruit, peanut butter with celary or banana. Drink some milk, drink your water when your thirsty, it will probably come out to a gallon a day if you add up all the fluids you drink throughout the day. Get a multi vitamin to make up for whatever you're lacking from meals, train like a bodybuilder, lift for the pump, don't lift to push a lot of weight, nobody cares how strong you are, focus on form. Do a bodybuilder routine, such as, leg day, arm day, chest day, back day, shoulder day, rest day or another day for a lacking body part that recovers quickly. If you need two days off then put chest and shoulders together on the same day. Look up bodybuilding videos, look up Arnold Schwarzenegger and the pump, look up mind muscle connection, make sure you eat before and after your workouts, don't be afraid to eat some junk if you have a fast metabolism, but make sure your main mails are good proteinand quality carbs. Protein- eggs in the morning, beef, pork, fish, chicken the rest of the day, carbs- oatmeal in the morning with your eggs then yams and sweet potatoes, brown rice if you must, broccoli is cool as well
as asparagus, but yams and sweet potatoes are great. Use your my fitness pal to its full potential and research research research! !! Don't just expect to be spoon fed knowledge. I gave you some freebies, now go grow. Also, get some quality creatine, german creatine if you can get the good kind, 3-5 grams a day unless all you eat is steak, beta alanine is good too, look up dosage.
I was trying to be slightly spoon fed lol, not gonna lie. But I do have to put in the work myself. You gave more than enough knowledge and I do appreciate it!0 -
Add in about 200 calories per day for 2 weeks and track bodyweight. If you don't see about a .5-1lb gain over that two week period, add another 100-200 calories and repeat.
Track your AVERAGE bodyweight. Take a week of weigh in data, average it, compare week to week average to look for trends.
Exactly that. If you want high calorie foods/whole foods buy avocados, nut butters, oatmeal, whole fat milk, steak, wild rice, chickpeas, chicken breasts, whole wheat wraps, bananas, frozen/fresh fruit, greek yogurt, cottage cheese, granola, the list goes on, pick the foods you like and go from there.
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You need to create a calorie surplus. My advice, cut back your workouts to 3xfull body. Get online and find a calculator to determine required calories. I would say not more than 2000 as a guess. 3 balanced meals with protein, carbs, veg. Snack with nuts and protein shake. Stick to it for at least 4-6 weeks before you make adjustments
By 3xfull body I assume you mean doing a full body workout 3 days out of the week? Also should I do 2 exercises per body part or is that totally just up to preference?0 -
There are plenty of ways to set up a program.
Check out All-Pros Simple Beginners routine for one example of a good full body routine.
Also Google Lyle McDonald GBR or generic bulking routine0 -
I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.0 -
I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Do what you want, but bodybuilders are pros at putting on lean muscle, so if you want to listen to people who don't know jack about bodybuilding, then do full body workouts and don't focus on the pump. You'll look average in no time. Good luck.0 -
Lol0
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dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Check out the two routines I mentioned in a previous reply.
The biggest issue with body part splits are that you have to train six times per week in order to get a two per week frequency per body part.
Not training each body part two times per week is very likely to be suboptimal since you're not stimulating protein synthesis frequently enough.
This isn't to say that you can't have success on a body part split. You certainly can.
I just think it's not likely to be optimal for most people.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Do what you want, but bodybuilders are pros at putting on lean muscle, so if you want to listen to people who don't know jack about bodybuilding, then do full body workouts and don't focus on the pump. You'll look average in no time. Good luck.
Maybe I can do both? Do splits and focus on the pump one week, full body the next. Switch up routines to keep my body guessing. Either way I'm taking any advice I can get. Thanks.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Do what you want, but bodybuilders are pros at putting on lean muscle, so if you want to listen to people who don't know jack about bodybuilding, then do full body workouts and don't focus on the pump. You'll look average in no time. Good luck.
Maybe I can do both? Do splits and focus on the pump one week, full body the next. Switch up routines to keep my body guessing. Either way I'm taking any advice I can get. Thanks.
No. Pick an established program. Do it. Make progress. You can't progress if you keep switching things.0 -
williams969 wrote:No. Pick an established program. Do it. Make progress. You can't progress if you keep switching things.
On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent. It all comes down to what you choose, do whatever you want. Just know this. If you're doing full body workouts then you need to spend enough time in the gym to achieve hypertrophy in each muscle group, sounds like a lot of work in one day. Also, the key to the split is destroying the one muscle group to the point where it needs time to repair and thus GROW! honestly, call jay cutler, ronnie coleman, phil heath, ask them, and don't anybody say " but steroids" I don't give a damn, regardless of steroids, if the whole body wo 3x a week was best for muscle growth don't you think the PROS would use it? Food for thought man. Also, when I say you need to focus on the pump I don't mean never increase your weight, you should increase weight on each set while maintaining proper form and contraction of the muscle, when form fades so do the results. I can preach this til I'm blue in the face and it all comes down to what you choose to believe. LOOK AT THE PROS, don't listen to me or anyone else who is not a PRO, I am an amateur and I bet everyone else commenting is in the same boat or not even close. So, learn from the pros, eat more and grow. Also, do not do the same thing every week, your body will adapt and quit responding. Now go watch the pros.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Do what you want, but bodybuilders are pros at putting on lean muscle, so if you want to listen to people who don't know jack about bodybuilding, then do full body workouts and don't focus on the pump. You'll look average in no time. Good luck.
The OP is not a body builder by any means, nor does he have the skill or knowledge to jump into such a routine to benefit; hell more than likely, the OP would get hurt from inadequate form. What you are suggesting is the equivalent of telling a noob to just go run a marathon.
Full body routines, if done correctly, will provide the OP with a solid foundation to go to splits.0 -
On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent....
BroScience 101. "Muscle confusion" is a myth. Happy to post research that supports this if you really need me to. Muscles DO adapt to workouts BUT the only "confusion" needed is progressive overload. Posting nonsense about *kitten* like this is what confuses people who are new to lifting weights.
Eat good food. Lift heavy. Repeat.0 -
Have to agree, full body for a newbie is best. Especially since he needs to spend time perfecting the basic compound exercises, squat, deadlift etc. Google Scooby's workshop and go through his guide.0
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@SideSteel already covered it but you need to get into a calorie surplus, make sure you are hitting micros and macros, and get on a structured program like strong lifts, all pro beginner, etc.
oh and ignore everything the other guy said ….0 -
joncooper1980 wrote: »On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent....
BroScience 101. "Muscle confusion" is a myth. Happy to post research that supports this if you really need me to. Muscles DO adapt to workouts BUT the only "confusion" needed is progressive overload. Posting nonsense about *kitten* like this is what confuses people who are new to lifting weights.
Eat good food. Lift heavy. Repeat.Have to agree, full body for a newbie is best. Especially since he needs to spend time perfecting the basic compound exercises, squat, deadlift etc. Google Scooby's workshop and go through his guide.
I believe I have a pretty good form in majority of my workouts, so I've been told. I've seen some guys do squats and they're barley bending their knees at all. I go just about *kitten* to floor, chest out and back slightly arched. Deadlifts I don't do. I've heard you can do them with your knees bent or straight legged. Never felt like I did them right so I just avoid them.0 -
williams969 wrote:
No. Pick an established program. Do it. Make progress. You can't progress if you keep switching things.
On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent. It all comes down to what you choose, do whatever you want. Just know this. If you're doing full body workouts then you need to spend enough time in the gym to achieve hypertrophy in each muscle group, sounds like a lot of work in one day. Also, the key to the split is destroying the one muscle group to the point where it needs time to repair and thus GROW! honestly, call jay cutler, ronnie coleman, phil heath, ask them, and don't anybody say " but steroids" I don't give a damn, regardless of steroids, if the whole body wo 3x a week was best for muscle growth don't you think the PROS would use it? Food for thought man. Also, when I say you need to focus on the pump I don't mean never increase your weight, you should increase weight on each set while maintaining proper form and contraction of the muscle, when form fades so do the results. I can preach this til I'm blue in the face and it all comes down to what you choose to believe. LOOK AT THE PROS, don't listen to me or anyone else who is not a PRO, I am an amateur and I bet everyone else commenting is in the same boat or not even close. So, learn from the pros, eat more and grow. Also, do not do the same thing every week, your body will adapt and quit responding. Now go watch the pros.
Yeah. I used the my fitness pal and set my goal weight as 185. It said I would need to take in 3,420 calories a day to reach my goal. So I just I bumped it up and googled a 4,000 calorie meal plan and decided to do that. Along with this advice and the meal plan hopefully I'll start to see some gains.0 -
Lots of good tips. Biggest hurdle for me is getting the cals in. How do people eat so much lol. No I'm not gonna eat junk food.0
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denlawson1 wrote: »Lots of good tips. Biggest hurdle for me is getting the cals in. How do people eat so much lol. No I'm not gonna eat junk food.
People eat big because they don't put false limitations on what foods are good or bad, but rather look at a diet in it's total context. So eating 10% of your calories from less nutritious sources to reach your goal of a calorie surplus is key. Hell, if I can address all my nutrient goals during a cut, why would I not incorporate foods I enjoy more during a bulk? I surely don't get extra credit for getting more nutrients than my body needs.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »williams969 wrote:
No. Pick an established program. Do it. Make progress. You can't progress if you keep switching things.
On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent. It all comes down to what you choose, do whatever you want. Just know this. If you're doing full body workouts then you need to spend enough time in the gym to achieve hypertrophy in each muscle group, sounds like a lot of work in one day. Also, the key to the split is destroying the one muscle group to the point where it needs time to repair and thus GROW! honestly, call jay cutler, ronnie coleman, phil heath, ask them, and don't anybody say " but steroids" I don't give a damn, regardless of steroids, if the whole body wo 3x a week was best for muscle growth don't you think the PROS would use it? Food for thought man. Also, when I say you need to focus on the pump I don't mean never increase your weight, you should increase weight on each set while maintaining proper form and contraction of the muscle, when form fades so do the results. I can preach this til I'm blue in the face and it all comes down to what you choose to believe. LOOK AT THE PROS, don't listen to me or anyone else who is not a PRO, I am an amateur and I bet everyone else commenting is in the same boat or not even close. So, learn from the pros, eat more and grow. Also, do not do the same thing every week, your body will adapt and quit responding. Now go watch the pros.
Yeah. I used the my fitness pal and set my goal weight as 185. It said I would need to take in 3,420 calories a day to reach my goal. So I just I bumped it up and googled a 4,000 calorie meal plan and decided to do that. Along with this advice and the meal plan hopefully I'll start to see some gains.
If your goal is 3400 calories, you should start there. Adding an additional 600 calories is going to start to put you into a dirty bulk range, which means more fat.
Also, I would recommend working on your form for DL. It is a very very beneficial move and address more body parts than almost any other lift.0 -
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dorienhamm wrote: »I probably would not suggest A body part split like someone previously suggested.
I would also not exclusively focus on "the pump". You will absolutely want to be getting stronger on your program.
Adding weight to the bar is A very good method of progressive tension overload.
What would you suggest instead of a body part split? Also I wasn't too familiar with the term "progressive tension overload" but I just searched it and that's some good advice. Im for sure gonna start adding that into my workout. Thanks for that, it's appreciated!
Do what you want, but bodybuilders are pros at putting on lean muscle, so if you want to listen to people who don't know jack about bodybuilding, then do full body workouts and don't focus on the pump. You'll look average in no time. Good luck.
Check out Jim Wendler and his 5/3/1 program. It's a compound lift program (I think of that as full body, though maybe the poster I quoted means something else)... with great results. It's just one option - I really like it - but it's quite a flexible program.
I also would say listen to SideSteel. He's been here a while and knows what he's talking about.0 -
dorienhamm wrote: »williams969 wrote:
No. Pick an established program. Do it. Make progress. You can't progress if you keep switching things.
On the contrary, muscle confusion is excellent. It all comes down to what you choose, do whatever you want. Just know this. If you're doing full body workouts then you need to spend enough time in the gym to achieve hypertrophy in each muscle group, sounds like a lot of work in one day. Also, the key to the split is destroying the one muscle group to the point where it needs time to repair and thus GROW! honestly, call jay cutler, ronnie coleman, phil heath, ask them, and don't anybody say " but steroids" I don't give a damn, regardless of steroids, if the whole body wo 3x a week was best for muscle growth don't you think the PROS would use it? Food for thought man. Also, when I say you need to focus on the pump I don't mean never increase your weight, you should increase weight on each set while maintaining proper form and contraction of the muscle, when form fades so do the results. I can preach this til I'm blue in the face and it all comes down to what you choose to believe. LOOK AT THE PROS, don't listen to me or anyone else who is not a PRO, I am an amateur and I bet everyone else commenting is in the same boat or not even close. So, learn from the pros, eat more and grow. Also, do not do the same thing every week, your body will adapt and quit responding. Now go watch the pros.
Yeah. I used the my fitness pal and set my goal weight as 185. It said I would need to take in 3,420 calories a day to reach my goal. So I just I bumped it up and googled a 4,000 calorie meal plan and decided to do that. Along with this advice and the meal plan hopefully I'll start to see some gains.
LOL going with the broscience plan, I see...
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