Wanting to put mass back on

[reicherts78]

42 years old and a few years back started as a UPS driver. Went from 200lbs to 185 and lost some muscle. I still lift once a week full body in my nice home gym. As I get older it's harder to put the weight on, and combined with my active job where I'm walking 13 or so miles a day and lifting all day, its difficult to bring enough food. Not to mention we go go go and the time window to eat is pretty small and eating too much slows me down and makes me sluggish all day.

Just want to hear from others who have active jobs if they were able to put weight back on. I used to have everything down but it's been a few years now so I'm not as knowledgeable as I used to be.

One concern is injury. I'm afraid of overtraining with how much I work (which is also 6 days a week 10-11 hour days since the pandemic) so rest is hard to come by. I lift on my one day off so I basically never have a true rest day.

Any tips for how I can effectively put mass back on?

[blue9steel]

Calorie dense foods are your friend. A can of planters mixed nuts is cheap, portable, not very filling and has something like 1800 calories.

[reicherts78]

Calorie dense foods are your friend. A can of planters mixed nuts is cheap, portable, not very filling and has something like 1800 calories.

I actually do bring nuts, and bars, and a couple pbj sandwiches along with fairlife 30g protein shakes. It just isn't enough. If I stop and have a large meal it will literally slow me down for the day, way down and I'll be less focused and sharp which is really important in my job. I just don't think it's enough. I even have a glob of coconut oil in my coffee before work , 3 eggs, sausage patty. Then I gorge on whatever the wife makes when I come. I can't get above 185 no matter what I do.

[blue9steel]

Ok, some questions then:

1) How many calories do you eat per day?
2) What's your average change in weight over the last couple of weeks?
3) What does a full day of eating look like?

[reicherts78]

Ok, some questions then:

1) How many calories do you eat per day?
2) What's your average change in weight over the last couple of weeks?
3) What does a full day of eating look like?

I stopped counting a couple years ago but I do an estimation and it's at least 3300 calories a day. Problem is that's about what I burn from working each day. Weight has been consistent for months if not the last couple years. I can't push myself in the gym as much because I have spinal degenerative issues. I can't afford to injure myself or I can't work.

[Garage Rat]

Your issue is opposite of most older guys in they can weight easy and not necessarily muscle.
IMO you need to get in at least three days of training quick and intense with compound movements less than an hour in the gym,increase your food intake/calories as mentioned above.
Make protein intake a priority up to one gram per pound of bodyweight.
Protein drinks and protein bars are better than no protein if your on the go but real food is best if you can.
Make your training sessions more intense to stimulate muscle growth.
Rest is important also.
Get a good eight hours sleep if you can and don't do much other than what you have to on non training days.

[reicherts78]

Your issue is opposite of most older guys in they can weight easy and not necessarily muscle.
IMO you need to get in at least three days of training quick and intense with compound movements less than an hour in the gym,increase your food intake/calories as mentioned above.
Make protein intake a priority up to one gram per pound of bodyweight.
Protein drinks and protein bars are better than no protein if your on the go but real food is best if you can.
Make your training sessions more intense to stimulate muscle growth.
Rest is important also.
Get a good eight hours sleep if you can and don't do much other than what you have to on non training days.

You are right. It's easy to put weight on if I want. But it's not the weight I want. I've gone through periods where I eat what I can from fast food or chipotle or whatever while on route, but then I gain fat and look like ****, plus it slows me down, so I stopped doing that. So I'm trying to stay in a 33 inch waist and just get some of the broadness back in my chest and shoulders that I've lost.

I think I'll start a 45 minute session before work on Wednesdays just to see what happens. Then I'll be lifting 2 days a week. It's all the standard lifts, bench, deadlift, squat, rows, etc. Some accessory stuff like face pulls and stuff. I have a nice setup with everything I need. You are right my intensity should probably be stepped up. I do rest a lot now between sets and do not push progressive overload. I'll start timing my rests though and get that intensity up. I just hope it doesn't burn too many calories though and just put me at an overtraining risk. Thanks for the input.

[Garage Rat]

Keep the protein intake up.
Also I've found creatine and leucine helpful supplements.

[AndyLausmax]

Try chugging on protein shakes or mass gainers between meals to ramp up your caloric intake. Liquid meals should help offset the small window you have for eating whilst on the job.

[xTeTe]

Your issue is opposite of most older guys in they can weight easy and not necessarily muscle.
IMO you need to get in at least three days of training quick and intense with compound movements less than an hour in the gym,increase your food intake/calories as mentioned above.
Make protein intake a priority up to one gram per pound of bodyweight.
Protein drinks and protein bars are better than no protein if your on the go but real food is best if you can.
Make your training sessions more intense to stimulate muscle growth.
Rest is important also.
Get a good eight hours sleep if you can and don't do much other than what you have to on non training days.

I agree with this. Up the training to three times a week. That's still not over training. Especially if you give yourself a day of rest in between workouts.