Gaining lean muscle mass

[00757286]

Hi I'm 19 years old and I weigh about 122 pounds. I'm 5"1.5 and I'm not sure bout my body fat. I really want to gain lean muscle mass and get that fitness model look. Ive been working out for 2 years now. I go to gym 5x a week. I do this :
Sunday- legs abs and shoulders
Monday- spin class(1hour)
Tuesday- chest tricep and stair master(20 min)
Wednesday-off
Thursday- spin class (1 hour)
Friday - back bicep abs and stair master (20 min)
I eat about 1300 calories a day and I was wondering how many carbs am I supposed to be eating I really wanna lose fat and gain lean muscle mass. What am I supposed to be eating and what am I doing wrong?

[JCall1985]

Everyone on here will tell you to look into the book called "New Rules of Lifting for Women". I just got the book myself, but have not read much of it (5 people in the house one of which is a 15 month old sassy girl makes it kinda hard to find time to sit down and read). But I have the same goals, lose body fat and gain muscle. I was eating around 1300-1400 calories as well, running 12-15 miles a week and lifting 3 days a week at the gym for 1-1.5 hours each time, hitting all the muscles. I asked this same questions about getting leaner. Everyone that has replied back to me said I was not eating nearly enough calories for my activity level. When I calculated them the other day, they were around 1900-2000 per day. Your younger than I am, but a little shorter. So your's will still be maybe a little higher than mine since you're younger. But I've also been told to not do TOO much cardio because if you have too much of a calorie deficite, it will burn the fat, but you will not have enough calories (or energy for the muscles) to support their growth from your lifting...and in the end won't really get anywhere but where you are right now. So cardio is good, but like everything, in moderation. Too much will wreck havock on your goal of building muscle...but if you enjoy the cardio (like I enjoy running), then keep it in your workouts to some extent. Also, you will find that a lot of people on this forum will tell you that you need to lift "heavy" weights. I have recently started doing just that and I am finding now that even though I still have in my opinion A LOT of body fat to lose, I can see my ab definition more now than I could 2 weeks ago. The picture on my profile is about 2 weeks old when I had just started lifting heavy and was still only at around 1300 calories. I can feel all of the cuts in my abs now (just can't see them all yet under the layer of fatty tissue) but they are harder and more defined now than ever before, my legs have tightened up A LOT more than what they were before as well. I am still in the learning process of all this myself as well, but I would recommend getting the book I mentioned above. It will help you learn about heavy lifting, what types of exercise to do, and also give you the mathematical equations to figure out the caloric needs and macronutrient (fats, carbs, and protein) your body needs given your specific level of activity. Also, make sure you're taking in adequate protien (which is 1g/pound of body weight that is recommended by anyone that lifts). I just two days ago upped my calories to around 1800-1900 per day, so this is an experiment for me as well and we will see where I end up in a few weeks. Hope my little bit of information I'm able to give helps out. Good luck!!

[oregonchick76]

Hi I'm 19 years old and I weigh about 122 pounds. I'm 5"1.5 and I'm not sure bout my body fat. I really want to gain lean muscle mass and get that fitness model look. Ive been working out for 2 years now. I go to gym 5x a week. I do this :
Sunday- legs abs and shoulders
Monday- spin class(1hour)
Tuesday- chest tricep and stair master(20 min)
Wednesday-off
Thursday- spin class (1 hour)
Friday - back bicep abs and stair master (20 min)
I eat about 1300 calories a day and I was wondering how many carbs am I supposed to be eating I really wanna lose fat and gain lean muscle mass. What am I supposed to be eating and what am I doing wrong?

Lift heavy, full body, 3 x per week
Focus on compound lifts - squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin ups, lat pull downs.
Skip cardio or keep it to a minimum - 20 min of HIIT twice a week is perfectly adequate
Eat above maintenance - for you, about 1800-2200 calories per day.
Eat 1g of protein per lb of body weight.

You WILL NOT gain muscle on 1300 calories per day.

[00757286]

Can anyone else help me please I need more advice
Thanks

[nicolemc]

Lift heavy, full body, 3 x per week
Focus on compound lifts - squat, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, chin ups, lat pull downs.
Skip cardio or keep it to a minimum - 20 min of HIIT twice a week is perfectly adequate
Eat above maintenance - for you, about 1800-2200 calories per day.
Eat 1g of protein per lb of body weight.

You WILL NOT gain muscle on 1300 calories per day.

^^^ This. In order to lose fat and gain lean muscle you need to lift heavy, ideally doing compound full body exercises.

New Rules of Lifting (original or for women) is a great book. Starting strength is also a really great beginner routine because it focuses on the core lifts and doesn't throw a potentially over-whelming amount of new exercises at you.

Your routine, as is, is rather scattered, doesn't include any core lifts or full body exercises, and VERY cardio heavy. Also important, lift heavy. If they are in your hands....put down the barbie weights. Never look at them again. Forget they are even in the gym.

Food is really important. You need to be hitting your macros (check out the sticky in the nutrition thread), making sure you are getting enough calories, fats, and protein every day.

PS. Don't forget to read the stickies in the training and nutritional section. They are gold-mines of valuable information

[oregonchick76]

Can anyone else help me please I need more advice
Thanks

What are you looking for in terms of advice?

[00757286]

Ok so what should I change in my workout schedule? Since you said ITs scattered and doesn't include full body exersises? And also should I cut down my cardio and if so by how much?