Lean muscle gain

[muscles please]

Hi, I would really appreciate any advice you girls can give me. I have been lifting weights for approx 5 years and have made some gains in this time but a great physique still alludes me. I have quite alot of muscle mass in my lower body but I find it difficult to gain mass on my upper body primarily my shoulders. I am 5ft 6in and 109 lbs, so I am pretty slim with a bodyfat percentage of 14 holding all my bodyfat in my thighs.

I eat really well using whey protein and weight gainer in addtion to my meals, I eat 7 times a day. I eat approximately 2000 kcals a day in the ratios 40% protein, 40% carbs and 20% protein. My workout schedule is as follows:

Mon chest & triceps & abs then 20 mins CV
Tues yoga
Wed back & biceps then 20 mins CV
Thurs rest
Fri shoulders & abs then 20 mins CV
sat legs & abs
sun rest

I do all my workouts in an hour or under.

Really my question is am I eating enough? I feel I eat all day. But I recently logged on to Fitday and entered in my stats and what activities I do in a day, (I walk a fair bit to the station and the office) and it says I should eat 2262 kcals a day. I find that eating 2000 is alot. Also I find when I eat more carbs I add fat, so I don't want to add fat especially as I am going on holiday on the 1st May. But I would really like to add some weight to my shoulders and back as they are a bit bony. Help what should I do, should I add more calories..

Thanks for reading this post and would welcome any feedback

Muscles please

[adrenalin18stud]

well also since your a woman you won't gain that much muscle on your shoulders, having most of your muscle on your legs is quite normal also since its the strongest muscle group. you could also try cutting back on your leg work or concentrate more on upper body excercises.

[bufchk]

That used to be a big deal to me so I did back off of heavy leg workouts, they were good don't get me wrong but not as intense and I focused on upper heavy! I would change my ration a little and make more from protein(good quality of course) It's taken me almost 4 yrs for my upper body to get bigger and now it's caught up with my legs. I'm 5'2" and weight 139. It takes time effort(balls to the wall) and great nutrition!! Gook luck

[leolady]

I too had this same problem, but have started using Tes Booster from Pureform Labs, as recommended by Kelly Ryan in last months column on BB.com, and in a week I have seen some terrific muscle gains, as well as a decrease on lower body fat. I would reccomend this product to women who are trying to add some muscles as it does not have the same side effects as other pro hormones.

[missmuscle]

I had a problem that was similar and the only thing that worked was eating more quality calories in the form of protein and carbs and also lifting heavier- 6-12 rep range MAX- I usually do 12-10-6 rep scheme and this has seemed to help a lot

[muscles please]

Thanks for all your replies. In answer to a couple of replies regarding dropping some of the leg training is that only do 1 leg training session a week and my other three are for my upper body. I lift heavy and certainly do go for intensity so much so that I quite often feel a little sick in that I give it all I got.

The question nobody has answered as yet is should I increase my calories or will this just make me fat?

Also I am very interested in trying the the Tes booster from Pureform Labs as recommended by Kelly Ryan especially since leolady said she was already seeing results in her first week of taking it.

My question is this: how do I get hold of the stuff, as its not featured as for sale on the website and I live in London so would need to get mailorder. This also means it will cost alot more as they tend to put alot extra on for shipping costs. Anyway if you could let me know that would be great.

Looking forward to hearing your replies

Have a good day

[leolady]

hi there, I think your diet looks ok as I started at about the same stats as you however I am 5'4. I initially got down to 120pds using diet and thermogenics, then starte witht he weights and now am at 125. In regards to losing the last bit of fat, try the Tes Booster, and increase your cardio to either 2, 30 minute sessions a day 4 days a week, or mix it up with 20-30 a few days and 60 on otheres. Currently I follow this schedule since I started the Tes Booster and I have seen a dramatic reduction in lower body fat and lean muscle gains. Just as a side note, Istarted this stuff because I was on high does estrogen birth control pills for a few years and no matter how much exercise I did my lower body fat would not budge.

Mon- biceps, 60 in cardio
Tues-off
Weds-tri's, back-20 min cardio am, 30 min pm
Thurs-mini leg workout, 20 min am cardio
Fri-stretching video 40 min
Sat-shoulders, chest-60 min cardio
Sun-legs

You can contact Pure Form at 888 363-9817, hope this helps ...good luck.

[muscles please]

Hi there leolady, thanks for the reply.

Just tried to contact Pure Form on the number that you gave me but it doesn't work from the UK. Any ideas what the number would be dialling from London.

Thanks so much
Muscles please

[leolady]

no I only have that number, but you can try emailing them at
info@pureformlabs.com . You can also email Kelly Ryan at
Kellyryan98@aol.com, and ask her if she has a phone number for overseas. She has been very helpful to me and usually gets back to you within 1-2 days.

[leolady]

also..their website is at http://www.pureformlabs.com/

[muscles please]

Thanks for the web addresses I have emailed them both, so I'll let you know how I get on.

Regards muscles please

[kbfunTH]

I would be more inclined to increase my calories in the form of protein intake rather than carbs. Consider dropping your 40% carbs to around 25-30%. UP the protein respectively. Your calories can roughly stay where they are.

If you want to add more muscle in your shoulder area, add another day of shoulder training to your workout. Using your workout schedule, I would add them in on Monday as well. I would avoid training to failure and work somewhere around 5x5, on the first exercise and maybe 3x6-8 on the second at at least 75% of my 1RM. As far as exercises, I like the barbell side press (dumbbells will work also), power clean, seated on the floor alternating dumbbell shoulder presses (see-saw fasion).

[lean and lovely]

One of the best exercises for building your shoulders is the shoulder press. In conjunction with laterals and rear delt exercises, the press should be in your mainstay on shoulder day. As for presses, go for 4 sets, 12-10-8-6, and have a good partner on hand for those last few forced reps.

If you really want to build your shoulders, shoulder day shouldn't be fun or easy and you should walk out of the gym burning.

Good luck!