New to the Forum, Few questions

[Goose]

first of all, hey everyone, I'm new here as of today, I'm loving what I see, doesn't look like a bunch of BS for replys, great to see.

First of all - My Body size is pretty slender, with awesome definition, I can't complain about that, but I'm having troubles gaining mass, and I'm wondering if I may have to lay off on some of my physical activities, such as basketball. Is there any other way that I can put on lean mass and still stay as active as I am?

I'm making very good gains in my strength, but not seeing the mass that I think I should be gaining... I'm not looking for a miracle, but all of you know how frustrating it can be. My routine right now consists of 4 days a week in the weightroom, usually lifting between 45-65 minutes, depending on availability of equipment.

As of right now i'm taking Methoxy Pro Whey protein each day after my routine, and another mix right before I crawl into bed. I just ordered a bottle of creatine, also by Cytodyne technologies, and i'm curious if anyone else has tried this product, and what their results were? Also, as with any creatine, what ways have you all found to be most useful for mass gains?

Thanks for all of your time, I hope to add more to this forum in the future.

[seyone]

my first question is how long have you been training? second, do you keep track of how many calories you consume daily?

keeping track of your caloric intake can help you make gains because you can look right in front of you and see what is making you grow and what it will take you to grow more. as far as activities go, the more active you are the harder it will be to gain. so if gaining is of major importance to you try to lay off some of the other things you do that are consuming the calories that your body needs for muscle building. If you are fairly new to training just be patient, it doesn't come over night.

[Goose]

I've been training off and on for about a year and a half now (had to take off for basic training this summer, but pretty steady since then) and I do not keep track of my calories. It would be really hard for me to keep track of what calories I am taking in due to the fact that I am attending college, and consuming the cafeteria food, in which nutrition labels are not provided.

At what point is the amount of calories a person takes in unhealthy? I would like to be able to stay fairly active, and have a good balance of opportunity to gain muscle. I think it would be near impossible for me to completely give up physical activities, but cutting down will definately be a sacrifice I am willing to make.

[gopro]

-Yes, you may need to cut back on other activities if your goal is more mass. Our ability to recover from workouts is quite limited.
-Make sure you are consuming a MINIMUM of 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight everyday, and a MINIMUM of 2 grams of carbs per lb.
-Cytodyne creatine is a great product....load the first week by taking 4 seperate servings each day...morning, before training, after training, and before bed...AFTER the loading period, maintain creatine stores by taking a serving right after training or physical activity.

[Scotty the Body]

For me anyway, I had to stop running to put on some weight.
Like the others said, you need to keep track of your diet, as long as your eating good food, you shouldn't put to much fat on.

Welcome to the site and good luck!!!

[Goose]

thanks a lot guys,

my question to you now is, would limiting my other physical activites to my rest days from weight training help or hurt my mass gaining process?

Example...
say I lift on Monday through Friday, and take the rest of these days slow, activity wise, would it be smart to do my physical activities on the weekend, while my body is resting for another week of training? And would my mass gaining be signifigantly greater than my previous schedule of intertwining my physical activities on my lifting days?

This is assuming that I am consuming the right amount of calories to gain muscle, and that I am applying the correct work out routine for mass building.

thanks again for your time everyone,
It's amazing what a person learns everyday.

[gopro]

If you are going to do other physically draining things, it will be better for you to do them on rest days from training. Still, remember that in order to grow you must RECOVER first...so, do your best not to overdo outside activities. And, after you are done playing whatever sport you engaged in, get in a protein/carb drink, just like after a workout. This will improve recovery.

[Scotty the Body]

I agree with Go, it all depends on what's important to you, if you like the other stuff then keep doing it.
It will slow your gains but as long as your diet is right, you will still gain.

[Goose]

thanks a lot guys,

this information should help me out a lot in the future. I started logging the food that I am taking in, and in a week or so I should be able to see where I'm at, and where I need to be. Although the cafeteria food does not come with nutrition facts, i should be able to get a good estimation.

[kotam]

Others may disagree, but a guideline that I like to follow is to comsume the amount of calories for the weight that I want to be, not what I weigh currently.

In other words, if you want to weigh 200 lbs, you need to eat like a 200lb man. That is an oversimplification, but the fact remains, you have to consume more than your body requires. And the ratios should be in the range of 50-40-10.

A good starting point is to determine what your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is, and what your target BMR would be at the weight you want to be.

To calculate BMR,

A)Divide your weight by 2.2 ( = your weight in kilograms)
Multiply that number by the BMR factor (1 for a man, .9 for a woman)
Multiply that number by 24 (for hours in a day)

B) Add that number to your activity level, which is:
Sedentary = 40-50% of your BMR
Light activity = 55-65% of your BMR
Moderate activity = 65-75% of your BMR
Heavy activity = 75-100% of your BMR
This is your activity level energy requirements.

C) Add the numbers from A and B together.
This is your daily calorie requirement.
You need to eat at least this much to maintain your current body weight.

Let me know if you need help with the math, but it should be pretty straightforward.

Hope this helps