What helped you gain muscle and what prevented you from gaining muscle?
ShinySkyShaymin1994
Posts: 105 Member
I was wondering since I have a problem gaining muscle what routines helped you gain muscle and if you had problems gaining muscle in the past what prevented them? I have been trying to figure out what was preventing my muscle growth even though I exercise almost every day and have a protein shake right after to gain muscle someone told me to up my protein to my current weight which is 193 while I am currently eating around 160g a day and break down the muscle groups over a period of 4-7 days so one day I do bicep exercises with 15 reps light weight 12 reps medium weight 6-8 heavy weight then back to 12 medium weight the next quads and hamsprings the next abs etc I am in the process of figuring out my muscle fibers once I bounce back up from being sick since muscle fiber might be a reason I learned. So let me know any info you think might be helpful I have no medical conditions except for Autism Spectrum Disorder and eczema and Asthma
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Replies
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Being on a progressive resistance program while eating at a slight calorie surplus (rich in protein and carbohydrates) helped me grow muscles.
Progressive resistance = the weights get heavier, I get stronger to cope with them, then they get heavier again.
Calorie surplus = I'd be getting fat if I wasn't lifting. (Still grew a belly though.)
I'd recommend looking into Stronglifts 5x5 as it's free and effective.3 -
Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.1 -
I do Stronglifts, whole body compound lifts three days a week, and seem to gain muscle just fine. I don't gain strength very fast and I think that is because I'm eating in a deficit. I used to have problems gaining muscle because I did lots of reps of low weight isolation exercises with no set program. Once I started Stronglifts and lifting as heavy as I could with good form everything changed.1
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Eating in a surplus and not eating in a surplus. Your lifting should be the secondary concern. As long as you're lifting progressively you will be stimulating your muscles for a growth response.2
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doing the wrong exercises and doing the right ones0
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Build muscle=calorie surplus, protein, compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift), 3x8 set/rep for squats and bench (really built strength and muscle for me), following an established program
Preventing muscle growth=too much cardio, not eating enough, not following a program0 -
Eating in a surplus and not eating in a surplus. Your lifting should be the secondary concern. As long as you're lifting progressively you will be stimulating your muscles for a growth response.
I am 6 foot 2 also trying to eat more to gain a little bit of extra fat that I lost too much of and I am 193 with loose skin possibly 10 pounds minimum and I am trying to get 3360 calories while working and moving around a lot at work and then working out. I was maintaining my weight at 3000 so I bumped up a few hundred calories1 -
What helped me:
-Eating in surplus
-Flexible eating
-Following a program
-Patience
What didn't help:
-Not eating in surplus
-Too much cardio
-Eating "clean" all the time
-Doing random stuff in the gym
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You can only eat in surplus for so long because you gain fat and it coats the muscle. Once you get too fat, then you have to find your basal rate and subract 250 calories from it too lose some of the fat. Easy to get a beer belly and get stronger lol1
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What helped me:
-Eating in surplus
-Flexible eating
-Following a program
-Patience
What didn't help:
-Not eating in surplus
-Too much cardio
-Eating "clean" all the time
-Doing random stuff in the gym
What do you mean by eating clean all the time? And do I want to eat more then I should? That's what eating in surplus is right?0 -
Muscle gain is the wrong focus because there's no exact way to measure it.
On the other hand, lean body mass (LBM) which includes muscle, bone and other body tissue exclusive of body fat (BF) AND strength can be measured w/reasonable accuracy; strength more so than LBM & BF.
So, using these terms and based on my experience, you can gain strength, increase your LBM% and your reduce BF% by: 1) engaging in a progressive linear compound lifting program, such as Starting Strength or Stronglifts, 2) by eating at a 10-20% calorie deficit relative to your maintenance TDEE and) by eating a high protein/carb diet of about 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% fat.
Doing this over the past 8 months I lost 36# from 196 to 160#, increased my LBM% from 75 to 88%, decreased my BF% from 25 to 12% and increased my 1RM strength by over 20% in the DL 275 to 330, SQT 195 to 250, BP 170 to 210 and OHP 105 to 125.
BTW, I did this at 66 years of age and have NEVER looked and felt better in my life. I even have a six pack now that I never knew even existed b4.
OP: What this specifically means for you initially is STOP doing low/hi rep/wt isolated arm/leg workouts. All you need to do is do progressively HEAVIER compound lifts - - the DL, SQT, BP and OHP - - in low rep/sets typically 3x5, 4x6 or 5x5.
Accessory work is NOT necessary. The only accessory lifting I ever did were Rows and Farmers Walks but I have since dropped them because they didn't help that much and just made me feel more fatigued.
All I do now in addition to the 4 compound lifts are body weight pushups, pullups, dips, GHRs and sissy squats.
If it worked for this old man, there's no reason it can't work for you. All it requires is time, dedication and determination.
Good luck!2 -
ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »What helped me:
-Eating in surplus
-Flexible eating
-Following a program
-Patience
What didn't help:
-Not eating in surplus
-Too much cardio
-Eating "clean" all the time
-Doing random stuff in the gym
What do you mean by eating clean all the time? And do I want to eat more then I should? That's what eating in surplus is right?
My first bulk two years ago, I tried to keep my diet as unprocessed as possible (whatever that means right).. but no sweets, no goodies etc. I found it was just so hard for me to keep up with my surplus that way, I would get full too fast, be too bloated and just not be able to eat that much - I was miserable. Since adding in treats I can easily hit my surplus and not feel too stuffed, and it is much more fun that way
You need to eat more than your TDEE (or total daily energy expenditure) at least 200-250 over per day. If you find you aren't gaining at 3360 or what have you, every few weeks keep bumping it up until you are. Be consistent. That is another one I should have added.0 -
Don't ever stop lifting. In time you will get stronger of you are contanty pushing yourself and slowly increasing your weight. Just keep killing it man if your in the gym you're already one step closer. With time you will get that mind muscle connection and learn how to get stronger until then man just keep at it I promos you if you are consistent you will get strong.1
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berrios96sean wrote: »Don't ever stop lifting. In time you will get stronger of you are contanty pushing yourself and slowly increasing your weight. Just keep killing it man if your in the gym you're already one step closer. With time you will get that mind muscle connection and learn how to get stronger until then man just keep at it I promos you if you are consistent you will get strong.
I never plan to I want to at some point try to go onto the show American Ninja Warrior! I saw that show last week for the first time and I am like If I can do that it'll make me so proud of myself and I love a crowd! So I am using that as motivation0 -
Does high intensity work outs work for you I started doing a 7 minute ab work out with high intensity I am currently training myself to flex my abs I am really new high intensity and explanations would also help to really learn exactly what to do,2
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TresaAswegan wrote: »Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.
This. And for a more detailed discussion, read this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p10 -
CafeRacer808 wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.
This. And for a more detailed discussion, read this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1
Why is he saying to eat candy bagels pizza ice cream etc with healthy food? Why do I want to put that in my body to gain muscle? that would add fat those food you should only have on a cheat meal0 -
Main things that helped me:
* Dialing in my surplus to meet my goals.
* starting a program and sticking to it.
* Getting with a group of people who put in work!
* Squat, Cleans and Deadlift
* Focusing on Mobility
Main things that hurt me:
* Eating too much protein and not enough carbs and fats
* Not cooking my meals in advance
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ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.
This. And for a more detailed discussion, read this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1
Why is he saying to eat candy bagels pizza ice cream etc with healthy food? Why do I want to put that in my body to gain muscle? that would add fat those food you should only have on a cheat meal
I don't speak for @psuLemon. You'll have to ask him that question.
But speaking for myself, I don't view individual foods as healthy or unhealthy - I view overall diets as healthy or unhealthy. If you're eating a nutritionally balanced diet, you're consuming enough protein for your muscle building goals and you're still not eating at a surplus, there's nothing wrong with incorporating pizza, ice cream, bagels and chocolate into your diet. Obviously, eating only pizza, ice cream, bagels, and chocolate would be unhealthy, but nobody's advocating that.
So I guess my question to you is: what harm will any of those foods do if they're part of a nutritionally balanced diet?1 -
ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.
This. And for a more detailed discussion, read this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1
Why is he saying to eat candy bagels pizza ice cream etc with healthy food? Why do I want to put that in my body to gain muscle? that would add fat those food you should only have on a cheat meal
I'll post my reply here that I posted in the other thread:ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »Why is it that you should eat pizza begals Candy etc? those are really unhealthy it's quality of quanity eating Pizza begals candy and more???? there must be a healthier list then adding those. Don't add an unhealthy list with a healthy list
Because you are failing to recognize that specific foods do not make things unhealthy. There really are not bad foods, only bad diets. Those foods don't mean I am advocating for a diet full of them, but if you need to incorporate them into your diet occasionally to consistently hit your surplus, than it's a good thing. I can't tell you how many people fail to gain weight or sustain gained weight because they share your feelings and label foods as good or bad.
All of those things you have listed have nutritional value. They all can serve a purpose. Suggesting otherwise is short sighted in context and dosage. If you want, you can feel free to look at my diary and tell me how I will be unhealthy. I am a 34 yr old 5'11" male, 175 lbs at 16% body fat (and still losing). I lost 50 lbs so far and all metabolic markers are coming back in a great range. I incorporate most of what you said into my diet. Often, I use gummy bears as a preworkout (combined with a protein shake) as glucose stimulates insulin which prevents protein degradation. In incorporate protein as it stimulates protein synthesis. I eat a diet varied in fruits, some veggies, lean proteins and try to incorporate seafood 3-5x a week and other MUFA almost daily. I eat 1g of protein per lb (more than what is needed, but it's keeps me satiated).
The point is, I can hit my nutrient goals on a cut. The likelihood of not hitting them on a bulk or while gaining weight is low. And as it's been said before, once you hit your nutritional goals, you don't get extra points for eating more good food.
Even if you don't take my word for it, that is fine (I am not a PhD so I am not offended), but you may be interested in the below. Dr. Layne Norton has a degree in nutritional sciences, holds (or used to hold) records in powerlifting and bodybuilding, and actively does research in the field.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503952/bro-do-you-even-eat-clean/p15 -
ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »I was wondering since I have a problem gaining muscle what routines helped you gain muscle and if you had problems gaining muscle in the past what prevented them? I have been trying to figure out what was preventing my muscle growth even though I exercise almost every day and have a protein shake right after to gain muscle someone told me to up my protein to my current weight which is 193 while I am currently eating around 160g a day and break down the muscle groups over a period of 4-7 days so one day I do bicep exercises with 15 reps light weight 12 reps medium weight 6-8 heavy weight then back to 12 medium weight the next quads and hamsprings the next abs etc I am in the process of figuring out my muscle fibers once I bounce back up from being sick since muscle fiber might be a reason I learned. So let me know any info you think might be helpful I have no medical conditions except for Autism Spectrum Disorder and eczema and Asthma
Inadequate programming on your exercise part is going to be your largest issue. Do you squat, OHP, Bench, or even deadlift? Or are you focusing on isometric moves (machines). Are you using a barbell, dumbbells, or just machines? What is your progression scheme?
People fail at this people their nutrition, calories and programming are not in line with their goals.3 -
What helped you gain muscle:
Lifting heavy things and putting them down again. Sensible programming and appropriate volume helps.
What prevented you from gaining muscle:
Getting injured.
Lack of time/other priorities.
Getting old.
Minimal impact either way:
Cardio
Calorie balance.
Macros.0 -
What helped you gain muscle:
Eating in a surplus
What prevented you from gaining muscle:
Not eating enough
Minimal impact either way:
Macros1 -
deputy_randolph wrote: »Build muscle=calorie surplus, protein, compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift), 3x8 set/rep for squats and bench (really built strength and muscle for me), following an established program
Preventing muscle growth=too much cardio, not eating enough, not following a program
Can running 24 km /15 miles: i.e. 10km +7 km+7km , 3 day a week affect the muscle gain? Have been doing strong lift 3 times a week.
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Jim Wendler helped me!
Not personally, which a shame, but 5/3/1 with boring but big.2 -
deputy_randolph wrote: »Build muscle=calorie surplus, protein, compound lifts (squat, bench, deadlift), 3x8 set/rep for squats and bench (really built strength and muscle for me), following an established program
Preventing muscle growth=too much cardio, not eating enough, not following a program
Can running 24 km /15 miles: i.e. 10km +7 km+7km , 3 day a week affect the muscle gain? Have been doing strong lift 3 times a week.
Potentially. It depends on your ability to get adequate nutrition and recovery. A lot of the endurance athletes I know, taper down on endurance while bulking.1 -
Another vote for StrongLifts. Free app, tells you exactly how much to lift, and you increase by a small amount every time, thereby getting stronger every time.0
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Former endurance athlete here, currently bulking. I didn't start gaining weight until I significantly cut back on cardio and really focussed on strength training. I was running at minimum 10 km 43-45 minutes, depending on hilliness, 4 times per week, cross training cardio 2 days, throwing in strength training 3 times per week, but not a consistent program, just messing around, more to compliment my running.
Now I do strength 4 days a week, 2 upper focus, 2 lower focus, structured program, 3-4 cardio per week (HIIT cycling, octane, 5 mile slow run), eat approximately 3100 calories per day. I'm 5'6 and have gone form 110 lbs to 120 lbs over 7 months, 2 month maintenance break in the middle. Slow, but it's progress. Consistency with my strength workouts and eating at surplus has been the key.
When doing more cardio I didn't have the energy to put into the strength workouts that I needed. Strength always takes priority now, if theres energy left cardio happens, or on rest days from strength when i have the energy and need to do something. Peanut butter, dense bread, and higher fat dairy have all been a big help for me on the diet side of things.1 -
CafeRacer808 wrote: »ShinySkyShaymin1994 wrote: »CafeRacer808 wrote: »TresaAswegan wrote: »Finding an established and progressive lifting program and eating in a caloric surplus. And patience. Muscle growth is very slow.
Making up your own program is usually not ideal unless you are very experienced.
This. And for a more detailed discussion, read this thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10326769/are-you-a-hard-gainer-please-read/p1
Why is he saying to eat candy bagels pizza ice cream etc with healthy food? Why do I want to put that in my body to gain muscle? that would add fat those food you should only have on a cheat meal
I don't speak for @psuLemon. You'll have to ask him that question.
But speaking for myself, I don't view individual foods as healthy or unhealthy - I view overall diets as healthy or unhealthy. If you're eating a nutritionally balanced diet, you're consuming enough protein for your muscle building goals and you're still not eating at a surplus, there's nothing wrong with incorporating pizza, ice cream, bagels and chocolate into your diet. Obviously, eating only pizza, ice cream, bagels, and chocolate would be unhealthy, but nobody's advocating that.
So I guess my question to you is: what harm will any of those foods do if they're part of a nutritionally balanced diet?
I don't think someone would have as good as results as they could by putting that stuff into their diets frequently0
This discussion has been closed.
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