Kelly,
I’m trying to gain weight after cutting down too far. I’m 5’4″ and around 110 pounds. I’m not clinically underweight, but my shoulders and back are way too bony. I’d like to gain around 5-10 pounds, but I’d want it to be muscle, not fat.
So, a few interrelated questions: How much should I eat so that I can get hypertrophy but not just be packing on weight? What is a good rate of increase (where I know that the gain is healthy)? How much does food quality count? I eat clean most of the time, but since I have a liiittle extra room right now, would eating a few extra Newman O’s derail my muscle goals? How hard do I need to be working out to grow muscle? I lift weights 3x a week, but should I leave the gym wanting to collapse, or just be fatigued? What do you recommend for cardio? I walk around my campus all day and jog to the gym and back (it’s a about a 1/4 mile each way), but other than that I’m not doing much…bad, I know. Do you find adding some cardio helps healthy gains, as long as it’s not creating a deficit?
Thank you!- Mimi
What refreshing question. Isnt it a shame that most of you probably have no idea what the answer to these questions are? Its because every fitness outlet assumes everyone wants to lose weight, which drives me nuts.
Im going to take this question by question so I dont miss anything.
How much should I eat so that I can get hypertrophy but not just be packing on weight?
First off: wow on using the word hypertrophy. You are going to need to eat a little bit more, but its just because you are going to have to work out HARD to gain muscle mass. Eat to support your activity level, which you can figure out here.
What is a good rate of increase (where I know that the gain is healthy)?
Its all going to depend on how hard you go at it. To make sure you are gaining weight, but that it is muscle, you are going to have to keep track of your weight and your body fat. Your body fat should stay the same as your weight goes up. Gaining muscle isnt dangerous to your health like losing weight can be, so there isnt a safe, or healthy time frame. You arent going to gain muscle too fast- its hard to do.
How much does food quality count? I eat clean most of the time, but since I have a liiittle extra room right now, would eating a few extra Newman O’s derail my muscle goals?
This is the fun part. The quality of the food you are consuming is important, but extras aren’t. What I mean is, you have to make sure you are eating all your needs: protein, carbs, veggies and fruits, low fat dairy and healthy fats. Since youare shredding your muscles you are going to need to factor that in when you think about protein- probably about 1 gram per kg of body weight, as opposed to the .8 the average exerciser needs. Beyond that, as long as you aren’t eating too many calories, you can indulge every once in a while. Its different from trying to lose weight, where you have to cut out all the extra crap, but if you hit all your food groups, and still need some calories, eat a cookie. Thats my philosophy on eating in general, though.
How hard do I need to be working out to grow muscle? I lift weights 3x a week, but should I leave the gym wanting to collapse, or just be fatigued?
ok here’s the nitty gritty stuff: heavy weights, lower reps. everyone gains muscle at a different rate, so I cant give you concrete numbers on weight and frequency, but when you are trying to gain muscle mass, you are going to have to lift harder. Instead of the 12-15 reps most people lift with, you are going to have to find a weight that maxes you at 6-8 reps, and actually maxes you to the point of failure (you literally cannot do another rep with good form.) Feeling like you want to collapse depends on your threshold, but in the beginning you are probably going to feel that way. You are probably going to find yourself moving through your routine a lot slower too because you are going to need time to recover between each set. I would recommend working each muscle group every other day, which means full body every other day or split workouts (upper and lower, or however you split them) every day. Thinks how hard body builders have to work out and how often: thats what you want to train like, you are just in the baby stages of it. When you lift for gains, you are going to be lifting heavy weights, so dont combine exercises (like lunges with bicep curls) because to have heavy enough weights to max your arms at 6-8 reps, you are going to need to hold a steady base (feet shoulder width apart, knees bent, or sitting on a bench) to protect yourself. I cant stress that enough- do only isolation exercises- or else you are going to injure yourself
I walk around my campus all day and jog to the gym and back (it’s a about a 1/4 mile each way), but other than that I’m not doing much…bad, I know. Do you find adding some cardio helps healthy gains, as long as it’s not creating a deficit?
Cardio is what is going to keep the fat weight off. Lifting to max yourself isn’t going to get the heart rate up (its till burns calories because the heavier you lift the harder your body works, and it needs more calories to repair itself, which is factored into the equation i linked to) or atleast, not for very long, so cardio will keep you lean, and plus, you still need all the cardio benefits. Luckily, since weight loss isnt an issue, you dont have to do very much- just the baseline for health: 30 minutes of moderate intensity most days of the week (4-6). Everyone needs to do this amount of cardio, just to keep yourself healthy. If it ends up creating a deficit, you need to eat more to counter act it.
Basically, to gain weight with muscle you have to lift heavy weights often, eat more because you are increasing the intensity of your workouts, be sure to get enough protein to repair your muscles, and keep doing cardio, but don’t create a deficit.
Im pretty sure there are going to be some follow up questions for this, so Mimi, and everyone, feel free to ask.