Muscle growth diet?

crimsonfire

Hi, I've been working out pretty regularly over the last few months and have seen some definite improvements albeit quite sporadic ones.

I have done a lot of research and I'd like to think I'm quite savvy at this point but the one thing that completely baffles me is diet. I'm trying to gain muscle but not lose any weight and its tough to find the balance. I don't have a set diet but try to watch my intake of bad fats and carbs, snack on some oily fish rather than sweets or crisps, try to eat whole foods whenever possible etc etc you know the basic stuff. I kind of make it up as I go along though and it's all stuff cobbled together from magazines and various websites. I also take whey protein supplement after a workout and also in the morning on rest days.

Can anyone point me in the direction of website or give me an example of a plan that works for them? There's so much crap out there that it's hard to sift through it all. A definitive no nonsense guide to eating for muscle growth and strength that doesn't mean a massive shopping list every week would be grand.

squod

You should probably post up your current routine and diet. Quite a few fans of Mark Rippletoes Starting Strenght here. Is that something you're following?

cc87

http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/this-is-why-you-are-skinny/

crimsonfire

Well I have no diet to speak of really save for the aul food pyramid and sticking to whole foods. I do stray once in a while with the odd Subway or bottle of coke but generally I eat healthy. My routine is a full body one every 2-3 days. I'm also an incredibly hard gainer. I need to eat like a pig for two weeks straight to gain a stone.

Unless otherwise stated I do 3 sets of 10 reps on everything. I also try and increase the weight next time if I'm able to easily complete the 2nd set. The weights below are as of the weights I lifted today.

20-30 minutes of cardio (cross trainer/rowing machine and treadmill)

Shoulder press 67.5kg

Reverse fly 35kg

Seated row 67.5kg

Lat pull down 60kg

Bench press 50kg (Generally manage 10,9,7 or so as I try and increase this by about 5kg every week, not every week though)

Tricep dip 75kg

Bicep curl 30kg

Ab crunches 3x12 Not sure of the exact name of this one but its the one where you rest your elbows on armrests and raise your legs in front of you

squod

There's no leg work in there OP. Add squats and deads to your routine anyway I'd say. Check out the fitness logs aswell, you'll see peoples improvements they've made by doing the basic compound lifts like.

Mellor

crimsonfire wrote: »

Well I have no diet to speak of really save for the aul food pyramid and sticking to whole foods. I do stray once in a while with the odd Subway or bottle of coke but generally I eat healthy..

Post people who say "I eat healthy", don't!!

Post what you ate on your last training day, or a typical day

Shoulder press 67.5kg

Bench press 50kg (Generally manage 10,9,7 or so as I try and increase this by about 5kg every week, not every week [/QUOTE]
a bit strange that your shoulder press is so much higher than bench

Are these both with a barbell/freeweights

pwd

Eat lots. Eat lots of protein.
Base training around squats, deadlifts, bench press in particular, and other compound exercises. Use free weights.
Don't hurt yourself. Be careful of your form, especially with deadlifts and squats. Do supplemental exercises, such as rotator cuff exercises. Don't neglect opposite muscles, so you don't develop an imbalance.
Don't do much cardio if you just want to build muscle.
Get lots of sleep.

Eating like a pig for two weeks and gaining a stone doesn't mean you are a hardgainer. it means you are getting fat.

Brian?

Agree with whats been said.

Eat anything that is made of or by this

Will Heffernan

pwd wrote: »

Eat lots. Eat lots of protein.
Base training around squats, deadlifts, bench press in particular, and other compound exercises. Use free weights.
Don't hurt yourself. Be careful of your form, especially with deadlifts and squats. Do supplemental exercises, such as rotator cuff exercises. Don't neglect opposite muscles, so you don't develop an imbalance.
Don't do much cardio if you just want to build muscle.
Get lots of sleep.

Eating like a pig for two weeks and gaining a stone doesn't mean you are a hardgainer. it means you are getting fat.

This is good...but I'd take it a little further.

Base your training around squatting and deadlifting variations as well as horizontal pressing and pulling and vertical pressing and pulling...so benching, rows as well as pull ups and presses and all the variations of these.

Make sure you are consuming a good 'base' diet...as in getting AT LEAST enough protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats as well as vitamins and minerals...then get a bit more ...you need a calorific surplus to increase your muscle mass....no matter what any super skinny bicep curling personal trainer tells you.

You should ideally weigh yourself and get your fats done...because if you are not getting either heavier or fatter then you are not eating enough...simple as that.

Brendog

Hi, I'm 6 foot tall and weigh 75kg - 80kg

I have been going to the gym twice a week for 2 months. I made up a workout routine that my trainer said would build up muscle. All I'm noticed in difference is that my arms are more toned. I haven't built up any muscle at all.

Routine

warm-up
10 mins on treadmill at speed 9/10

3 rounds of 15
- lifting 200 pounds with my legs
- 15kg barbell in each hand
- 20kg on chest
- 5kg on shoulders

3 rounds of 50 sit-ups




I'm just wondering if I should be taking some sort of supplement. My friend has been working out a 2 months longer than me while drinking protein shakes and is now built like a brick ****house!!!

squod

Brendog wrote: »

I'm just wondering if I should be taking some sort of supplement.

Waste of money at the minute for you I reckon.

cc87 wrote: »

http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/this-is-why-you-are-skinny/

What he said.

TommyKnocker

Brendog wrote: »

Hi, I'm 6 foot tall and weigh 75kg - 80kg

I have been going to the gym twice a week for 2 months. I made up a workout routine that my trainer said would build up muscle. All I'm noticed in difference is that my arms are more toned. I haven't built up any muscle at all.

Routine

warm-up
10 mins on treadmill at speed 9/10

3 rounds of 15
- lifting 200 pounds with my legs
- 15kg barbell in each hand
- 20kg on chest
- 5kg on shoulders

3 rounds of 50 sit-ups




I'm just wondering if I should be taking some sort of supplement. My friend has been working out a 2 months longer than me while drinking protein shakes and is now built like a brick ****house!!!

I'd also be willing to bet that your friend is using a much different routine than the one you outlined above.

Honestly OP, with that routine, all the protein in the country will not help you build muscle.

Google Starting Strength or Strong Lifts 5x5 and see what yo think of them.

If you are going to give one of them a shot, get one of the instructors in the gym to show you the correct technique for the different lifts. Or book a session with a reputable PT and get them to show you the correct lifting technique.


Best Regards,

M

crimsonfire

Mellor wrote: »

Post people who say "I eat healthy", don't!!

Post what you ate on your last training day, or a typical day

Shoulder press 67.5kg

Bench press 50kg (Generally manage 10,9,7 or so as I try and increase this by about 5kg every week, not every week

a bit strange that your shoulder press is so much higher than bench

Are these both with a barbell/freeweights[/QUOTE]

Normally I'd have porridge (proper porridge not the sweetened crap) with full fat milk for breakfast, a slice or two of wholemeal toast (can't stand white bread fortunately) and a cup of tea. For lunch it varies wildly as we get provided lunch in work and it can be fish pie one day, steak another and perhaps a crappy sambo another day.

I can't afford to be too picky in work because I work in a fairly fast paced job (so it's a case of eat whatevers going or starve) in a certain new sports stadium (let you guess which one) and it's too awkward to bring in my own lunch as I'd have to walk a mile to my locker to get it.

For dinner I try right the wrongs from lunch with either chicken or steak. I buy it in bulk and freeze it. I'd have potato or rice normally and some veg if I can be bothered heh.

The shoulder press is a machine and the bench press is the one that works your two arms independently. I know! Machines are generally considered a cardinal sin when trying to build muscle but I don't feel quite ready for free weights until I know exactly what I'm doing. I'll book a review with one of the trainers at my gym (it's free as far as I know) and get them to show me exactly what to do.

briankeating wrote: »

Agree with whats been said.

Eat anything that is made of or by this

Haha done and done.

squod

Good luck with the new routine.

crimsonfire

Oh and I've started doing sort of "test" squats at home to get a feel for the form and technique employed. I'm basically squatting with a 5 pound weight in each hand and my arms down by my sides. Does this sound like a decent way to practice them? Purely from a form point of view?

squod

There's litterally all kinds of benefits to doing squats. I'd wait and get to the gym whenever and try squat with an empty bar. Ask an instructor as soon as you can for advise/feedback.
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Quadriceps/BBFullSquat.html

Starting strength,
http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/The_Starting_Strength_Novice/Beginner_Programs

Mellor

crimsonfire wrote: »

The shoulder press is a machine and the bench press is the one that works your two arms independently. I know! Machines are generally considered a cardinal sin when trying to build muscle but I don't feel quite ready for free weights until I know exactly what I'm doing. I'll book a review with one of the trainers at my gym (it's free as far as I know) and get them to show me exactly what to do.

Figured it was a machine, they aren't a real measure of what you can lift. For example, on the shoulder press, you can put you hands out further to lift more, as the weight is levered.
I was the same at the start. The sooner you use free weights the better