Gain upper body muscle mass, but not gain weight?

gothomson
gothomson Posts: 215 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi everyone, the reason for the "?" mark at the end of the title is I have a twofold question 1) can I gain muscle mass without gaining weight? 2) I want to cut my weight (by about one stone (14lb)) and work on my upper body gains - how can I do that?

I have got my lower body (well, Glutes down the way) sorted, so much so that my wife commented "tell you what, I don’t know what you’re doing at the gym, but you have a booty that would make J-Lo jealous" - I'll take that as a complement. Anyways, I can’t seem to get decent definition in my upper body / arms. So what am I doing wrong? I did Strong lifts 5X5 for quite a while; hence the J-Lo comparison I guess :-), but I am not getting what I would like in my arms and chest. Any suggestion about what I could do?

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    edited November 2018
    1) can I gain muscle mass without gaining weight?
    Of course.
    But in a deficit it's very sub-optimal and may be short lived and/or limited. If you are new to training that helps enormously - the more years of serious training you have and the more advanced your physique it becomes dramatically harder. At weight maintenance it's totally normal and expected but (see below) the bigger the deficit the less likely it is to happen to a significant degree.

    2) I want to cut my weight (by about one stone (14lb) and work on my upper body gains - how can I do that?
    Small calorie deficit and change your training to a program that matches your goals. You might gain a little muscle or you might just retain what you have but improve definition. Take measurements and be patient.

  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    So to be clear you ran SL5×5 strictly as written without more stimulas or volume?

    SL5×5 is a strength program, not a hypertrophy program. It isn't written for "decent definition" whatever that is.

    If you didn't get the results you wanted my suggestion is to find a well written hypertrophy program that you respond to better. One that has incorporates more volume snd stimulas of the arms and chest and run it as written for a block and access.
  • JAYxMSxPES
    JAYxMSxPES Posts: 193 Member
    I think your goals might be a little confusing or possibly conflicting. The act of gaining muscle mass (size) will cause some weight gain over time. Now, are you actually talking about gaining muscle mass or increasing muscle definition, as-in what's visible? First thing first, what is it that you actually want?

    If you've never done any strength training before, SL5x5 is a fine program to begin with but understand the purpose of that program. It's meant to build a baseline of strength for a new lifter. If you're previously un-trained, you might gain a little size out of it and depending on how you eat; you might lose some bodyfat and gain some muscle definition. This program is not going to make you look like Chris Hemsworth in the first Thor movie.

    Like Chieflrg said above, if pure hypertrophy / size is your goal then you need a more specific program. Specificity is very important when choosing how you train.

Categories