Trouble Gaining Advice Needed

[kyoshok3]

Hi Guys,

I am new here to the forums.

Here are my stats.

Age:19

Height: 5'7''

Weight:142 pounds

Supplements: Whey, CLA, Multivitamin, BSN Creatine (once a week)

I have been working out off and on for about 3 years. As of late I have been working out really hard with weights and cardio combined 7 days a week for the past two months, and have noticed no major changes at all, which is extremely frustrating. My diet is clean with 6-7 meal/snacks per day with calorie cycling on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

When I first started working out and had no knowledge about nutrition, I would eat white rice, In-n-out, fried foods, chips, etc... I noticed much better results eating these foods than what I am eating now.

I have not been able to gain any muscle. I dont take pictures of myself, but instead every two months I visit my brother in college and he checks to see changes. I basically look the same eating clean food.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Grahamefc]

There's a number of reasons why you might not be gaining weight. You could be overtraining. You could be doing too much cardio. You may not be getting enough calories or protein. It may even be that your losing bodyfat and gaining muscle, which would make it seem like your not gaining weight.

If your training is sound, add 500 more clean calories a week to your daily intake (taking flaxseed in the morning is a good way to do this, its full of good calories) until the scales start moving in the right direction. Cutting out some of the cardio that you're doing may help aswell.

Gaining weight isn't rocket science. Lots of protein + calorie surplus + proper weight training = weight gain. It may not be as fast as you'd like it to be, but try adding the 500 cals a week and take it from there.

If you stick to your training and nutrional regime religiously, your gains will come.

[halftrees]

Originally Posted by Grahamefc

There's a number of reasons why you might not be gaining weight. You could be overtraining. You could be doing too much cardio. You may not be getting enough calories or protein. It may even be that your losing bodyfat and gaining muscle, which would make it seem like your not gaining weight.

If your training is sound, add 500 more clean calories a week to your daily intake (taking flaxseed in the morning is a good way to do this, its full of good calories) until the scales start moving in the right direction. Cutting out some of the cardio that you're doing may help aswell.

Gaining weight isn't rocket science. Lots of protein + calorie surplus + proper weight training = weight gain. It may not be as fast as you'd like it to be, but try adding the 500 cals a week and take it from there.

If you stick to your training and nutrional regime religiously, your gains will come.

Very sound advice.

Also... I've always thought the mirror is a better device to measure gains than the scale. Ask yourself "Do I look better?"

[jtbike2000]

I think the exact opposite: the scale is much better. You will look the same in the mirror as long as you are ~3-5 % bf within what you were before while that will translate into a huge difference on the scale.

[kyoshok3]

Thanks for the comments guys!

I will try eating more. I have a pretty fast metabolism, so after a large meal I am in the Restroom an hour later.

What really gets me, is my Dad. He is 46, and does not spend a single minute exercising and he has a visible 4 pack. I asked him for nutritional advice, but it wasn't so great..........Pasta, Chinese Food, and Meat.

[AndrewSherman]

Are you lifting around 80-90 percent of your maxes on your major lifts? also perform 5 sets of 5 on your major lifts (Bench, Incline, Squat, Deadlift, Decline). Maintain 8 hours of sleep at least every night. Train your muscles until failure on training days and allow two days of rest between working each body part. Ex. Monday- chest, biceps Tuesday- legs Wednesday- shoulders, triceps Thursday- back Friday- chest, biceps Saturday-Legs
Sunday- OFF.......Repeat routine the next day. Your chest workout will also help target your triceps(bench, incline, decline). slow your reps down when lifting. Eat lots of carbs before your workout(try pure Karbolyn for supps) and lots of protein after (pro complex gainer) and some chicken breasts. switch your routine up every 5 weeks to shock your muscles being that your muscles will adapt. increase weight every week on your lifts( have a spotter assist you in the reps you are to fatigued to perform. Generally when trying to build muscle mass if one can perform 5 sets of 5 on a major lift all on his own without missing a rep he isn't lifting heavy enough. Try negatives (letting the bar down slowly and having a spotter assist you in the "up" phase. Take longer rests between your sets to ensure rep quality on each set. If you are indeed a hardgainer then upping your calories would aid you in putting on weight. If your overtraining(not resting your muscles enough) take a couple days off and start fresh. (you might notice some immediate strength gains from this). Don't neglect Legs!! A large majority of LBM (lean body mass) will come from your legs. Squat heavy and get down low. Also don't let the scale be your only judge of muscle gain... Use your mirrors and measuring tape to assess muscle gain. That should help some