How to Focus on Mucle Gains?

[Ever84]

I have decided that I would take the next 6-8 weeks a try to add some lean muscle mass onto my frame before I do a serious cut in Jan. I've NEVER attempted at just focusing on muscle gains before. (I realize that I could stand to lose 5-7 % body fat but the leaner I was getting with a trainer the more I noticed how little muscle I had) How much cardio should someone do when just trying to gain muscle? The last 2 weeks I did 2 20 min and 1 45 min steady state session. I can actually "feel" by butt lifting and coming out since I cut back my cardio and upped the calories. I'm not trying to bulk necessarily, but I want to add 5 lbs of muscle unto my fram by Jan 2009. Any suggestion on diet and training are WELCOME.

[freebirdmac]

I'm getting ready to go back into "bulk" mode for 4 months. Based on what I did a year ago, I got my cals up to where I was slowly gaining scale weight with even slower gains in my waist measurement. At that time this stuff was all new to me and I lifted 3x a week and did no cardio. This go around I'll be lifting 4x a week. If I do any cardio it'll just be 15 minutes a shot only for cardio benefits. I find it easier to keep focused on muscle gains if I don't worry about cardio.

I don't know that you can gain 5 pounds of muscle by Jan. I think I'd be happy with a pound a month :) But you have nothing to lose. I still have about 6-8 pounds of body fat on my skinny little body but like you I know I need more muscle. And this is the way to do it. If you can "bulk" for longer that would be great.

[kimm4]

I have decided that I would take the next 6-8 weeks a try to add some lean muscle mass onto my frame before I do a serious cut in Jan. I've NEVER attempted at just focusing on muscle gains before. (I realize that I could stand to lose 5-7 % body fat but the leaner I was getting with a trainer the more I noticed how little muscle I had) How much cardio should someone do when just trying to gain muscle? The last 2 weeks I did 2 20 min and 1 45 min steady state session. I can actually "feel" by butt lifting and coming out since I cut back my cardio and upped the calories. I'm not trying to bulk necessarily, but I want to add 5 lbs of muscle unto my fram by Jan 2009. Any suggestion on diet and training are WELCOME.

You are not going to be able to add 5lbs of muscle by Jan 09...impossible so get that thought out of your head. It takes a long time to add muscle so you need to be more patient. You've only been doing this since 07 and you've made great progress...so be happy about that!

How long have you been following the plan your on now? You can add a few calories above maintenance, but I wouldn't go too crazy. Keep you food clean and lift your ass off!! I know many girls here claim to train heavy...but I gotta be honest I don't think most girls really know what heavy is or really push themselves as hard as they think they do.

Here's a program that might work well for you. This program helped me make some great gains in my strength and size...you need to push yourself beyond the barrier and I think this will really help!

Max OT program:

www.ast-ss.com/max-ot/max-ot_intro.asp - 41k

[nicoledominique]

lift your ass off!! I know many girls here claim to train heavy...but I gotta be honest I don't think most girls really know what heavy is or really push themselves as hard as they think they do.

Wooooooh! Yes, completely agree with this here...lifting heavy is so important in gaining muscle. Sure, if you're a beginner you will see some obvious gains by just lifting moderate weights...but as soon as the "newbie" effects wear off, you will have to push yourself very hard to see further changes. Don't stick with any one training routine/split for too long. Keep your body guessing by switching up your exercises every couple of weeks and your split every few months.

Gaining muscle takes a lot of work and a lot of time, so don't expect to see overnight results - good luck!

[kimm4]

Wooooooh! Yes, completely agree with this here...lifting heavy is so important in gaining muscle. Sure, if you're a beginner you will see some obvious gains by just lifting moderate weights...but as soon as the "newbie" effects wear off, you will have to push yourself very hard to see further changes. Don't stick with any one training routine/split for too long. Keep your body guessing by switching up your exercises every couple of weeks and your split every few months.

Gaining muscle takes a lot of work and a lot of time, so don't expect to see overnight results - good luck!

x2!! Absolutely keep that body guessing!! I normally do split workouts (but if you check out my journal) you will see that my body splits, exercises, reps, weights are all over the place. Training for me changes daily and it's all about which hat I choose to wear that day. Variety is what's kept me in the game for so long...otherwise progress will stall and you'll get bored!!

I might grab some weights and shoot for 6 - 10 reps...then pick up another set and shoot 1 - 3...this is what heavy training is all about!!

[Hardness23]

I've gone back to lifting 5X a week for less than an hour and have noticed I put on the most muscle the fastest when I do this, vs. lifting 3X a week for longer periods. I feel one muscle group a day with heavy sets and enough sets to hit the muscle completely is much better then trying to fit in a couple groups per day. Keep in mind to try to keep every workout under an hour, otherwise catabolizing hormones may set in and prevent good muscle growth. You can try 5X a week with 20 min of cardio only after the workout to somewhat maintain leanness, but I would bring a protein shake with you and drink it right after cardio. It's important when bulking to eat soon before and after your workouts and provide your body with proper nutrients.