How to Gain Weight and Stay Lean

I've been with my trainer for about 5 months and I've made some significant gains. I'm 41, 5'7" and started at 145 pounds with 12% body fat. My trainer is a Muscle Fitness competitor and I'm striving to be cut with abs but proportionately larger in the upper body.

He has me doing cardio and ab work everyday along with weight training a muscle group per day. Now I'm 139 pounds and body fat is 6.4%.
I've been getting stronger all around with weight lifting but I am having problems gaining weight. I want to stay lean - still need to lose a little in the lower ab area to get shredded. But really need more mass in the chest and shoulders.

He will start me on a nutrition plan of about 2750 cals. Per day. But what the heck do you guys eat to stay lean AND gain muscle mass?
I'd like to gain 5 pounds in the right area. Just doesn't seem like there is a lot of variety in food.
I am supplementing with protein powder and BCAA.

 

Protein, protein, protein!

If you want to stay lean and get more muscular you need to eat super clean and load your diet with lean protein. Imbelievemthe general rule is one gram of protein per day for your desired weight.

So, if you want to grow to 180 pounds you need to be taking in a minimum of 180 grams of lean proteins a day.

I've also been trying to add some muscle but my workout to be lean really counters big gains. I just raised my protein intake as mentioned above so we'll see if it works.

 

It was all covered in the first few pages of the "fitness goals thread".


Ab work everyday? Would you bench press everyday?


It's slow and difficult, eat the right mix, do the RIGHT cardio, sleep well, have few negative distractions in your life and you might get to that 7lbs gain, maybe. Or you could do what the pro baseball guys do according to the stories I read this morning.

 

There's no magic elixir - a lot depends on age, metabolism, body type, diet, lifestyle, etc.

I'm about your height - I'm 5'6", and when I started working out in earnest, I was maybe 19 years old. I weighted 157 pounds, I was pretty ripped.

Always had a crazy fast metabolism - even at 44 years old, it's HARD for me to gain weight. Well back in the day, I was so frustrated, that I was tempted to do something drastic (I'm glad I didn't). I met a guy that was using PEDs, he was huge...he knew I wasn't into it, so he recommended that I increase the fat content in my diet (which at the time was relatively low).

Sounds nuts - but I was able to increase my caloric intake yet still stay ripped. Working out 6 days a week, I went up to about 190 lbs. Won a few local / regional shows and I've maintained my shape in my middle age (I'm still around 180 lbs, fairly cut).

This plan might not work for you. You really have to test and try things - document what works and run with it.

5 lbs. isn't a lot, and at 41, I think you should be able to do that pretty easily. If you are working out, you're more than likely to stay lean.

 

So this is what I'm trying to figure out in terms of gaining weight and staying lean which seem like polar opposites. Mathematically, I would simply need to take in more calories than I burn. So we calculated around 2750 calories for me to gain weight.

But of this 2750, I'm trying to figure out the correct ratios of protein, carbs, fat, etc....seems like some of you eat a lot of protein and others fat or carbs....

 

IMHO you are lifting weights way too frequently and you either are or will be overtraining - and then the exact opposite will happen.

Lifting weights twice a week will be more then adequate - focus on compound movements - and most important: change your trainer.

I would highly recommend reading "high intensity training" by Mike Mentzer.

 

What was the body fat measurement method ? At below 7 percent , you should have a good 6 pack no fat abs. Have you tried Dexa body scan ? Gives you a more accurate bf analysis by body part. That cardio everyday maybe stalling your muscle gain and subsequent weight gain. To gain clean mass , you need to lift heavy and eat high protien diet , very little cardio is needed if you watch your diet.

 

If your goal is to see your abs (shredded), then you are said to be "cutting" as opposed to bulking. I don't believe you can truly get the best of both worlds here (I.e. low BF to see your/m ore of your abs as well as muscle hypertrophy on other body parts). There is a thing called "recomposition" to lose weight (get to a lower BF/body fat) and make gains on muscle mass but that takes a long time, a long time (there are articles on bodybuilding.com about it). I would suggest that, since you are already at a low BF, you bulk to gain the hypertrophy you want, then do a cut again. As for macronutrient allocation, minimum 1 gram protein per pound of weight is recommended by bodybuilders, the rest of the macronutrients (carb, fat) allocation is up to you. I tend to up my carbs during lift days vs fat for extra energy but you got to watch the fat allocation as well; too low of it (I believe the minimum required daily is 0.4g per pound body weight) and your hormornes (such as testosterone) suffer. I am in a bulking phase for the past 3 months now, been bodybuilding for two years (which is somewhat a newbie-intermediate by my standards, comparing myself to friends in the gym) and have learned/unlearned a lot of stuff along the way, guided by fellow bodybuilders as well as analyzing my gains and cuts. By the way, if you plan for muscle hypertrophy, I' d drop the cardio (overtraining, not giving you muscles enough time to recover and grow). I believe, like another person noted above, you should get a different trainer (unless you haven't been clear on your goals of course to him). You can't cause hypertrophy if your total caloric intake isn't over your TDEE as well; gotta accept the fact that to gain muscle, you gain fat too. Bulk clean is the word during bulking phase to minimize fat gain. Also suggest minimum three day per week workout using a split routine (as opposed to full body routine) and spending 45 minutes tops per gym time (exception of the warm ups); reasons for this includes avoiding overtraining whereby too much time spent working out leads to release of catabolic hormone/s afterwards following the initial release of testosterone (anabolic). General rule of thumb in lifting for hypertrophy also includes use the bigger muscles first (compounds first) then finish off with isolation exercises. Diet is mostly everything (80%) of weight mgmt (loss,maintenance,gain) with 20 % exercise (hence, abs are made in the kitchen, one can't outrun a bad diet). Best of luck, bodybuilding is truly a journey.

 

The BF measurement is just the handheld machine so I'm sure it is inaccurate. I plan to do the water displacement test in the next few months.
Yes perhaps too much cardio. But on regular days I just warm up running half mile before each workout.
I do need to eat more.

 

Rawg, thanks for the great info.
Yes when I started with my trainer a few months ago I wanted to be shredded and so he leaned me out.
I believe as you say I will now try to Bulk and put in clean weight. I will have to increase my caloric intake and lift Heavy. I just didn't want to bulk and lose what abs I started to gain.

I guess it is real difficult to stay lean and gain mass at the same time. If I'm understanding correctly, I have to cycle lean phases and bulking phases in the workout/diet regimen.
Funny as it may sound my goal is to have a Muscle Fitness type body - not a juiced up roids body.

 

Cut or bulk or maintain, depends on your goals. I believe everyone (including me in the past, finally accepted the reality) wants to bulk without losing the six pack. I've never tried to do recomposition because it is supposedly a long process (vs me doing a cut for 12-15 weeks, then bulk for 4-5 months and see great results). But once you get to a low BF that often shows your abs (10-13%) and begin a bulk phase properly, wow, one can really see a great body (hypertrophy) and still look lean (vs bulky look and fat) then it gets progressively easier to "chisel" the body aftwards (a cut phase following bulk). Yes, always lift heavy no matter if its a cut or a bulk (to remind the body you need the muscle so as to minimize loss during a cut, for example).

 

Thanks Rawg, what is your diet during bulking vs cutting phase?
I just bought a 6 meal bag and will try I eat 6 meals a day. But the snacks seem hard to fill

 

It sounds like you got the basic idea. Eat now, cut later. Once you start with all those meals for a while your metabolism will speed up also with the extra muscle you will burn cals quicker, so don't worry too much about cutting right now, it will be easier than you think if you do this step right. I seem to put on better muscle when I have that extra fat and then lean it out, body uses it as fuel.

It has been a while since I was really eating for bulk. But lean meats, lots of whole weat pasta, nuts for your fats will help a lot, tons of eggs. All natural peanut butter and protein shakes are a real easy way to add calories. Try to stick with chicken as it is easier to digest than beef. Six meals a day should be easy to hit the cals your going for.

 

I eat 6 times a day. My protein allocation is around 180-190 grams, the rest (carb, fat) fall into place but I try to maintain a daily fat allocation around 65-70 grams. Protein sources: Whey & casein (I use casein mainly at night since it is a slow release protein source), chicken breasts in various styles, sometimes tuna, egg whites, steak (usually sirloin), pulled beef (Costco, such as Jack Daniels brand), salmon (Costco, sashimi style), beef jerky, protein bar. Fat sources: usually nuts (almond, occasionally a trail mix, emerald brand almonds 100 cal packs at. Walmart), avocado oil or olive oil, peanut butter. Carb sources: lots of wheat bread (also adds some protein), granola bars, oatmeal, potatoes are usually stocked at home. Try to avoid simple carbs, and I try to avoid or greatly limit carbs at night. BTW, I bulk to reach a certain appearance (chest, arms, legs for example) and not to reach a certain weight or number (the mirror is my guide in terms of when to cut or bulk). Also, I believe there are two important anabolic windows in a day; upon waking up and post work out. So eat away during those times

 

Is the Costco Salmon good sashimi style?!? We usually have some around, I'll stock up on fish and chicken there and freeze it. I usually go to the local fish place for raw, but I just assumed the stuff at Costco wasn't fresh enough. But that sounds awesome if it is good!

 

We've used Costco steelhead and Atlantic salmon for ceviche and sashimi with no problems; my brother in California got us started on it and we (wife and I and even my 6 y/o daughter, lol) loved it. But if you can get it at a local fish market I think that would be better. I live in Las Vegas, NV now so I don't believe I can get it any better than Costco. When I'm lucky browsing Costco, I may buy a halibut (expensive) for ceviche. Btw, Costco sells bulk boiled eggs too and that is a quick, on the go, source of fat and protein

 

The local place I go is like 2x or more expensive, but it is good. You can't beat the price on the steelhead at Costco, always keep some of that around. I'll have to see if I can talk the wife into giving it a shot raw. Hadn't seen the hard boiled eggs there either, I'll have to track them down. Thanks! I do get a lot of the same stuff there too. Canned tuna, jerky (I get the Turkey), nuts, nutrition bars etc are really good too to take into the office if you don't spend a lot of time at home. Hummus is also a good transportable source of protein that is pretty easy to digest.

 

The first thing you need to realize is that it takes years, not weeks, not months, to achieve an optimal frame you can maintain for any length of time. Sure, you can 'bulk up' eating a bunch of calories and take supplements by the truckload, lose 15# by starving yourself and a buttload of 'cardio', or 'shred up' by supplementation and diuretics, bodybuilders live like this...bulk up, then dump the water weight a week before competition. Dumb.

The key is to learn what foods work, eliminate the bad ones (all grains, most dairy, sugars), vary the intensity of your workouts, and be patient. Lift heavy a few times a week, some crosstraining, long walks, and do not get hurt!

It took me 7 yrs to go from 164 @ 16%bf to 188 @ 4.3%bf. 13 yrs later, (at age 45) I'm 180# @ 4.5% bf.

-Billy

 

Genetics and testosterone level play a huge role in this too.

Give a group of people the identical meals and training for months, and I'm sure you'll agree that there's a bell curve of their responses in terms of adding strength and muscle.

At the gym stick with basic exercise and up the weights.

And give it time. What takes one person 3 months may take another person 12.

 

Ok I just started a written meal plan ... I will post it shortly. This is going to be difficult. Eating 6 times a day alone is difficult let alone the type of food I am supposed to be restricted to.
Exercise is not nearly as difficult as the commitment to eat well allllll day.

 

Roids, baby! Roids!

 

Yup - works every time

 

Trust me thought about this haha but no way I'm risking that

 

That eat 6 times a day thing is crazy!~ I used to do that back in the 90's..(wow, am I really that old?)
Anyway, a few things I've learned being in the health & fitness biz for 18yrs:
- You have to let you digestive system rest. It rests, other organs (pancreas, liver, Kidneys don't get over-taxed)
- You have to IF: Intermittent Fast once in a while, like 18 hrs or so. promotes Apoptosis, Ketosis, to name 2.
- You have to vary the intensity of workouts. You don't always lift 80-90% of max to put on bulk.
- Rest & Regeneration are just as important as the workout.

Ponder those. There's more, but I have to go eat dinner! ;-)

-Billy

 

So here is a snapshot of my meal plan... Thoughts ?