Can't seem to bulk up, what am I doing wrong? Unique situation...

[PhillyHash]

Forgive the long post, but I want to be thorough.

I should mention I have a spinal cord injury, but I do walk with a cane. This is the main reason why it is difficult for me to put on muscle mass, as not all my muscles have all their corresponding nerves intervating them. So certain sections of my body are out of balance namely my chest and triceps and overall the right side is weaker than the left so my mass on that side is noticeably less. I've had this injury for almost 12 years now and have been working out all 12 years post.

With that said my goal is bulking up my entire body as much as physically possible given the limitations of my injury. I would say whatever advice you guys give me you should assume everything else is fair game as far as the types of workouts, supplements, nutrition and anything else you may suggest. Cardio is the only thing that is a bit difficult as I can't run, but I do use the stair climber, but given how thin I am it isn't much of an issue other than the belly us sci guys have to deal with, but again not that big of a deal.

My height 6 ft
Current weight 150lbs goal weight 165-170lbs (which I've been at in 2006 post injury)
Approximate daily caloric intake 2500
My main protein comes from chicken breast and fish and I've been supplementing whey at times with meals so I'm getting 35-40grams of protein each meal every 2 and half to 3 hours.


Suppliments: I'd pot links, but they won't let me as this is my first post
Dymatize Elite Whey
Creatine Magnapower (magnesium creatine chelate) have only been taking this 9 days
Scivation xtend (just started taking this today)
Multivitamin: Optimen

I work my a*s off 5 days a week and have honestly probably been overworking, combining 2 workouts (legs/chest, back/arms, shoulders/legs) each day 4 days a week so I can hit my weaker muscles like chest and legs twice in 5 days, and 1 day in the pool while resting saturdays and sundays.

So my typical day is about 2 and a half hours in the gym. It consists of mostly drop sets and super sets and alternating every few weeks from higher rep lower weight to focus on endurance and then lower rep higher weight to focus on bulking.

I've been hitting it about this hard for a good 6 weeks and haven't been able to put on a single pound. So my question is what do I need to adjust in order to start building muscle and bulking up and am I eating enough calories?

A separate question on calories. As I suspect I believe I will be advised to up my caloric intake due to how many calories I'm burning in the gym because of how long I'm working out. I am taking in my weight in protein everyday, and as for my carbs they all come from complex carbs like pasta and multigrain bread and my fats are mostly from fish and nuts, so when you say up the calorie intake and the goal is to build muscle, doesn't muscle building result from only protein, which I am getting plenty of? If I am to up my calorie intake what should those extra calories be comprised of (more protein than the 150 grams I'm already taking)? Or do I need more carbs so my body isn't burning my protein for fuel? Or is more fat necessary for whatever purpose?

Also if I insist on being in the gym for 2 and a half hours 5 days a week (I plan on alternating this intensity of combining 2 workouts into 1 day for 1 or 2 weeks then going to a single workout the next week or 2 down to an 1 and a half hours) should I be ingesting some carbs whether simple or possibly complex along with some whey midway throughout the workout along with my bcaa's so that my body doesn't catabolize muscle for fuel?


Is the scivation xtend really necessary? I took 3 scoops to sip throughout my workout today and have spiked a fever. I'm getting plenty of bcaa's in my protein (I know its more effective when in free form) as well as in my multi's.

Thanks in advance, look forward to your feedback!

[rand18m]

You only need adequate protein intake and you are getting that: hypertrophy is supported by a caloric surplus not just adequate protein intake. Increase your calories by ~200 and monitor after a couple of weeks. Good luck and keep up the good work!

[WonderPug]

^^^ This x2 plus:

My main protein comes from chicken breast and fish and I've been supplementing whey at times with meals so I'm getting 35-40grams of protein each meal every 2 and half to 3 hours.


Suppliments: I'd pot links, but they won't let me as this is my first post
Dymatize Elite Whey
Creatine Magnapower (magnesium creatine chelate) have only been taking this 9 days
Scivation xtend (just started taking this today)
Multivitamin: Optimen

My suggestion: drop the absurd meal frequency and the silly supplements.

Compose a proper diet and consume foods when you're hungry. To learn how, read the stickies at the top of the nutrition forum.

So my typical day is about 2 and a half hours in the gym. It consists of mostly drop sets and super sets and alternating every few weeks from higher rep lower weight to focus on endurance and then lower rep higher weight to focus on bulking.

Drop that workout and get a proper lifting routine such as Starting Strength.

[MikeDavidL]

If you're really looking to build muscle, and are not particularly interested in cardiac health, you can get rid of the cardio completely. Focusing on muscle fatigue and hypertrophy from weight training alone will really help boost your gains.

I'm not overly experienced with spinal injuries, so I can't really offer much advice here. All I can say is try to push yourself as far as you can go, reasonably. Don't overdo it if your going to end up aggravating something or causing further injury, you'll only set yourself back and hinder your progress. But if you know where your limits are, then try to push them. This is where your growth will happen.

Nutrition is the other side of the coin. In your situation I'd be basing your diet solely on results. You mentioned that you've been 6 weeks without seeing any weight gain. If this is the case (you guessed it) you need to up your calories. Firstly, 1g of Protein per pound of lean body mass is an excellent place to start. Also, try to at least get 0.4g of Fat per pound of lean body mass. The rest of your calories can come from carbs. Carbs are the easiest source of fuel for your muscles to use, try to get a significant portion of them before and after your workout, to keep your muscles full. Protein is what your body uses to repair and grow your muscles, so if your carb intake is right, your body won't need to partition your protein for energy use.

Also, Scivation Xtend has a few helpful ingredients, but mostly it's just a well marketed product. If you can afford it, it may be of some use, but otherwise not completely necessary.

[PhillyHash]

If you're really looking to build muscle, and are not particularly interested in cardiac health, you can get rid of the cardio completely. Focusing on muscle fatigue and hypertrophy from weight training alone will really help boost your gains.

I'm not overly experienced with spinal injuries, so I can't really offer much advice here. All I can say is try to push yourself as far as you can go, reasonably. Don't overdo it if your going to end up aggravating something or causing further injury, you'll only set yourself back and hinder your progress. But if you know where your limits are, then try to push them. This is where your growth will happen.

Nutrition is the other side of the coin. In your situation I'd be basing your diet solely on results. You mentioned that you've been 6 weeks without seeing any weight gain. If this is the case (you guessed it) you need to up your calories. Firstly, 1g of Protein per pound of lean body mass is an excellent place to start. Also, try to at least get 0.4g of Fat per pound of lean body mass. The rest of your calories can come from carbs. Carbs are the easiest source of fuel for your muscles to use, try to get a significant portion of them before and after your workout, to keep your muscles full. Protein is what your body uses to repair and grow your muscles, so if your carb intake is right, your body won't need to partition your protein for energy use.

Also, Scivation Xtend has a few helpful ingredients, but mostly it's just a well marketed product. If you can afford it, it may be of some use, but otherwise not completely necessary.

Would you say since my protein intake at 1g per lb is good, upping my carbs is the main thing I need to do as I will admit I've only been getting about 200grams per day? So it seems my body has been burning protein/muscle for the extra fuel it needs. Should I shoot to at least double that with mostly complex carbs and maybe some rolled oats mixed in with my whey midway through my workout routine?

[Shlokda]

You're training too much. You say you're hitting muscles twice a week? Especially LEgs, which is a no-no. Heavy weight training , 2x per week for each muscle group is too ambitious, especially for only 2500 calories, and someone who I assume is not on anabolic steroids or some form of hormones.

I know several Natural Pro bodybuilders, that when scaling back their frequency of training to 3-4 times a week tops, saw great results , due to not over taxing your muscles/CNS, and giving yourself plenty of rest to grow and rebuild. The guys you hear about that train everything 2x a week, or do absurd volume like that are typically non-natties, and/or are consuming an ungodly amount of cals.

2500 seems a tad low to me, go up in small increments and hold there for about 2 weeks, see if you go up.

You mention Cardio is tough due to your injury, which is totally fine because contrary to most people's beliefs, cardio is not neccessary, especially if you're bringing it in the gym with compound lifts like Squats/Deads/Bench, etc. , and your nutrition is solid **** (this is king). You don't really want much cardio anyways if you're concerned mainly with putting on weight.

[WonderPug]

You're training too much. You say you're hitting muscles twice a week? Especially LEgs, which is a no-no. Heavy weight training , 2x per week for each muscle group is too ambitious, especially for only 2500 calories, and someone who I assume is not on anabolic steroids or some form of hormones.

Actually, the exact opposite is true. You need to train each body part at least twice if not three times per week.

[jammin111]

Check out JasonDB's 5x5 Novice workout routine dude. I'd say you are spending too much time in the gym. I am similar in height and weight to you and bulking on 3500 to 4000 calories and progressing well. Goodluck!

[philipdrak3]

hmmm. if ur a hardgainer u eat but u just cant do it ur gna have to start eatin some tasty junk food. like buffalo chicken wings or pizza etc. i was 120pounds at 5'11 n i just couldnt gain. so i started eating junk n now i m 170 n 14% body fat. by eat junk i don mean all ur meals to be junk, keep it healthy. but if u keep it too healthy ur jus gna get ripped at the same weight and u might drop a couple pounds but u wont bulk. good luck bro

[WonderPug]

hmmm. if ur a hardgainer u eat but u just cant do it ur gna have to start eatin some tasty junk food. like buffalo chicken wings or pizza etc. i was 120pounds at 5'11 n i just couldnt gain. so i started eating junk n now i m 170 n 14% body fat. by eat junk i don mean all ur meals to be junk, keep it healthy. but if u keep it too healthy ur jus gna get ripped at the same weight and u might drop a couple pounds but u wont bulk. good luck bro

In the future, please refrain from posting while intoxicated.

[PhillyHash]

Do you guys think I should stick to 1 muscle group per week, so chest day, back day, leg day, arm day pool on the 5th day and rest on the 3rd and 6th day so 2, 1 off, 2, pool, 1 off. Then i would only be in there for about 1 and a half hours per day. Or is hitting just chest and legs twice per week (my 2 weakest groups) for 1 week then just doing them once the next week is ok?

[WonderPug]

Do you guys think I should stick to 1 muscle group per week...

That's a good way to spin you wheels.

[AdamWW]

Do you guys think I should stick to 1 muscle group per week, so chest day, back day, leg day, arm day pool on the 5th day and rest on the 3rd and 6th day so 2, 1 off, 2, pool, 1 off. Then i would only be in there for about 1 and a half hours per day. Or is hitting just chest and legs twice per week (my 2 weakest groups) for 1 week then just doing them once the next week is ok?

As Pug already said, hit each bodypart 2-3 times per week. Three is better, but you can work up to it if needed.

One good option when switching is an Upper/Lower where you put a single-day break in the middle (wednesday) and then off on the weekends.

Alternatively, you can do 3 days per week.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Do you guys think I should stick to 1 muscle group per week, so chest day, back day, leg day, arm day pool on the 5th day and rest on the 3rd and 6th day so 2, 1 off, 2, pool, 1 off. Then i would only be in there for about 1 and a half hours per day. Or is hitting just chest and legs twice per week (my 2 weakest groups) for 1 week then just doing them once the next week is ok?

Before we move onto cardio after solving the workout plan, what are your new macro goals for weight gain?

[PhillyHash]

So I want to make sure I have this right. The idea when bulking is to firstly take in at least your weight in protein which I am doing. Then about .4 grams of fat per pound which I am also doing. Where theres been a significant deficit has been my carbs which I've only been taking in about 200 grams a day. I will at least double that and shoot for 400-500 grams per day spread out through 5 meals and a shake or two.

Is the idea of getting an appropriate amount of carbs so that my body always uses them for fuel, thus leaving my protein available for muscle growth and not catabolizing muscle for fuel as well?

[rand18m]

So I want to make sure I have this right. The idea when bulking is to firstly take in at least your weight in protein which I am doing. Then about .4 grams of fat per pound which I am also doing. Where theres been a significant deficit has been my carbs which I've only been taking in about 200 grams a day. I will at least double that and shoot for 400-500 grams per day spread out through 5 meals and a shake or two.

Is the idea of getting an appropriate amount of carbs so that my body always uses them for fuel, thus leaving my protein available for muscle growth and not catabolizing muscle for fuel as well?

You are wanting to add mass, you should be in a caloric surplus as stated above. As far as protein 1g/lb is nothing more than a simple way of keeping track to insure sufficiency, you will reach sufficiency with less as in .8/lb. So if you have problem eating 1g then you can be short and have more of whatever you need to fill your caloric needs.

You can hit muscle groups more than once a week. Now this is somewhat dependent on your intensity and ability to recover. In other words if you are extremely sore you wouldn't hit that same muscle group again if you were extremely sore, but based on your description/experience you shouldn't be seeing that so try and hit each group twice a week. (I've tried lifting far too often to complete failure and I personally think that is a failure)

You still have to determine your proper caloric intake, do that and keep lifting, you'll find the right mix!!

[PhillyHash]

You are wanting to add mass, you should be in a caloric surplus as stated above. As far as protein 1g/lb is nothing more than a simple way of keeping track to insure sufficiency, you will reach sufficiency with less as in .8/lb. So if you have problem eating 1g then you can be short and have more of whatever you need to fill your caloric needs.

You can hit muscle groups more than once a week. Now this is somewhat dependent on your intensity and ability to recover. In other words if you are extremely sore you wouldn't hit that same muscle group again if you were extremely sore, but based on your description/experience you shouldn't be seeing that so try and hit each group twice a week. (I've tried lifting far too often to complete failure and I personally think that is a failure)

You still have to determine your proper caloric intake, do that and keep lifting, you'll find the right mix!!

Is it ok to supplement meals with lower amounts of protein with whey protein, into my milk for example to shoot for 30-40g's per meal?

[rand18m]

Is it ok to supplement meals with lower amounts of protein with whey protein, into my milk for example to shoot for 30-40g's per meal?

If it's convenient, then fine! Just insure you get adequate micro/macro nutrients throughout the day as consistently has possible.

[PhillyHash]

Is the idea of getting an appropriate amount of carbs so that my body always uses them for fuel, thus leaving my protein available for muscle growth and not catabolizing muscle for fuel as well?[/QUOTE]

Can someone answer this specifically, thanks!

I've only been taking in 200g's per day I plan on at least doubling that if thats what you all think seems to be the main deficit in my diet.

[PhillyHash]

Is the idea of getting an appropriate amount of carbs so that my body always uses them for fuel, thus leaving my protein available for muscle growth and not catabolizing muscle for fuel as well?

Can someone answer this specifically, thanks!

I've only been taking in 200g's per day I plan on at least doubling that if thats what you all think seems to be the main deficit in my diet.[/QUOTE]

^^^^Anyone?

[PhillyHash]

Can someone answer this specifically, thanks!

I've only been taking in 200g's per day I plan on at least doubling that if thats what you all think seems to be the main deficit in my diet.

^^^^Anyone?[/QUOTE]

^^^^Can someone please weigh in here, thanks.

[MikeDavidL]

Basically, yes that is correct. Carbs are the easiest source of energy for your body to use for fuel. So after you have hit your protein and fat targets, just fill the rest of your calories up with carbs. This will help keep your muscles full (glycogen) and blood sugar levels constant so your body can use the protein for repair and growth rather than energy.

Your body is quite an amazing piece of machinery however, if you were to eat all of your calories from protein, your body would still manage to get its energy from the protein and also partition some of it out for repair and growth. It's just a lot easier on your system to divide it correctly between carbs and protein.