Building Muscle?

CharlieDog

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#1
I think I recall a few of you talked about muscle building awhile ago, but I can't recall who and I my search skills are lacking tonight apparently.

Anyway, I've started working out recently, just because I realized I actually weigh less than I've ever weighed in my entire life, but I'm also in the worst shape I've ever been in. I tracked my caloric intake for about a week and a half just to see my average food intake, and most days I eat about 1400 to 1700 calories a day. I think there was one day where I ate over 2000, but that's definitely not the norm.

Anyway, I've been doing a lot of bodyweight exercises, and sort of made my own plan. Trying to make working out a habit, and work it into my routine.

I'd really like to have bigger muscles, because right now I feel like a stick figure lol. I just feel like I'm probably not eating what I need to be eating to put on the weight to actually build the muscle, so I'm looking at making protein shakes and trying to figure out how to add protein into my diet.

This all seems a bit crazy right now because there are so many differing opinions and experiences out there that it makes my head spin. Beanie had linked me to a website called Nerd Fitness, which I've been loving lol, but the forums there are difficult to navigate and it's a little bit intimidating to join a new forum (for me, anyway, lol) and ask for advice, so I figured I'd ask the great and varied people of Chaz's advice first.

But this is what really sealed it for me as far as wanting to change how I look. She and I look pretty similar as far as how she looked in 2010, which is I think the second picture in the actual article.

I don't really have access to free weights though, so I'm not exactly sure where to go from where I'm at.

So really this is one big long ramble. :p But advice, thoughts, opinions, ect, are always welcome. Just don't be mean, lmao
 

Lyzelle

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#2
I think it really depends the kind of diet you are on. I know a lot of Paleo/Primal women can eat 2000 calories easy, and they gain muscle easy because of what they eat and how they use it. I never believed it until I tried it out myself. Eat whatever I want, build muscle, and I do feel good. Until I eat something like bread or something similar. MarksDailyApple is a great place to get started on that.

I'm all for true healthy eating. I really don't believe in the pills, shakes, or other nonsense. Sort of like the difference between Science Diet and Raw, I guess. ;)
 

CharlieDog

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#3
Rofl @ Sci-die

I do eat fairly healthy. I do also eat carbs, because I absolutely LOVE ME SOME PASTA, rofl. And bread. And the occasional donut.

I've heard a lot about Paleo, but I've also not really taken a whole lot of time to research it, because 1, I'm an incredibly incredibly picky person. It seems like most Paleo foods/recipes all include stuff I will not eat under pain of death. I don't really like milk, (though I have a love affair with cheese) will not eat eggs under any circumstances, lol, and a lot of the veggies I won't eat either, so I was just thinking that if I cut out the stuff that I DO eat that's not Paleo, there's really very little I'd actually ADD to my diet that's Paleo, which leaves me with less than I started with lol.

And I wasn't referring to like slimfast or anything. I'm actively trying to gain weight in muscle mass anyway, not lose any at all.

I'm probably somewhere between 20 to 22% body fat, which isn't bad or good really, it just is, but ideally I'd like to have more muscle and be around 18 to 20%

I will definitely be checking out marksdailyapple though.
 

Lyzelle

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#4
FWIW, I did better without milk, and most people seem to. I don't like eggs either, so I don't eat those. Cheese is pretty blech..unless it's grilled cheese. Lol.

But I do like most meat, veggies typically don't bother me...I just have to mess around with them a bit. I still eat things like potatoes, everything tastes better with butter so that helps. Same with bacon grease. The general idea is to go 80/20, though, so there's plenty of wiggle room. I still have my morning coffee, the occasional splurge on doughnut stix or something. Salad is the best way I can get my veggies in. I'm just not into cooking side items for dinner. Lol.

Other people get more into it, like using Coconut Flour for baking and such. Meh, I'm not that into that. But I do like the results I see with as borderline as I am.

I'm sure there's something around MDA for athletes that can give you some ideas, though. Maybe just more meat/protein is all you need to gain a little more muscle.
 
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#5
can't go wrong with paleo and weight training :)

You don't need access to a lot of weights at first. Start with all body weight. There are a hundred variations of pushups. You might needs something like this http://tmbjh.onhru.servertrust.com/junglegymxt-p/4-jgxt.htm

and get to work :) Lunges, squats, single leg dead lifts, etc. all body weight and can be made very challenging. and when you get good, then buy some weights, a nice kettlebell can be very versatile.

I reference this website often. They give workouts and have a video library and modifications you can use if you don't have a certain piece of equipment. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time.

http://monkeybargym.com/
 

stardogs

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#6
I read stories like the one on that link, get all inspired, and then go "but I loooove my carbs" and "why does it require a diet overhaul to get fit?" and there goes my motivation. I'm hoping you get some good practical suggestions that I can steal. ;)
 

Beanie

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#7
Right away I was going to link you to Nerd Fitness until I kept reading LOL. I've signed up for the forums but I haven't posted yet... everybody there is SUPER nice but it is kinda still intimidating LOL. I also ditto Marks Daily Apple, there's lots of good info there.

I did a major overhaul on my diet. Some people do better doing small changes at a time, I just... did pretty much the whole go at once. If you don't think you can do it all in a clean sweep, just set one goal and go with it for a few weeks, then set another goal and change that. But for me, it was easier to just say "no more of this" and make the change right then and there.
I don't technically eat paleo or primal, though I do try to stick to the overall principles, and often when I'm thinking about what foods to eat, I'll google "is such-and-such paleo?" My eating philosophy is very Keep It Simple, Stupid. If I buy a can of tomato puree, I want the ingredients to read "tomatoes" and that's it. Also, minimally processed - the fewer steps it had to go through to get to me, the better.

As an example, my mom (who I've been trying to get to eat better; she is a serial "LOW FAT" or "LOW SUGAR" eater which just means MORE CHEMICALS) asked me last night, "So what kind of healthy foods should I buy at the grocery store?"
"Um... meat. Vegetables. Fruit. Nuts if you want. Cheese if you want, full fat only. ...that's pretty much it. It's pretty easy."
I shop the outer ring of stores these days. I wander up and down aisles every now and then and there's nothing there that fits into my new diet, so usually I don't even bother. I do sometimes stop and pick up peanut butter (though peanuts aren't paleo; I buy the stuff that is INGREDIENTS: PEANUTS and that's it, so it does fall into my philosophy) but otherwise, man, I just don't go through the packaged foods much.
I DO eat eggs, but I don't drink milk either, never have. I do eat quite a bit of cheese. I don't have any digestive problems with dairy, so I've left it in. Cream cheese is in a lot of paleo recipes, but it's also mega processed, so I'm not sure if I really want to eat cream cheese or not. For now it's not in my diet. I'm not huge on veggies either, so it does create a bit of a problem, but I've found I'm slowly coming around to adding in a few, and mostly just figuring out how to cook with stuff I never would have eaten before.

I do eat a lot of the same stuff every day. Chicken stirfry with broccoli is sort of my go-to. I don't like beef so that kind of limits me. I do like getting ground pork and making meatballs though.

I would honestly strongly encourage ditching the pasta. I'm not really a low carber, though eating naturally has by consequence lowered my carbs quite a bit. I'm not totally grain free, but I don't eat much. (I do occasionally still eat some fresh made pizza.) I think you will see some major changes in your overall health if you got rid of grains. I won't lie and tell you I don't miss it, I do. There are recipes for paleo breads that satisfy the craving, though.


Here's my Pinterest board, from one picky eater to another. It might inspire you:
http://pinterest.com/sheltiechick/clean-foods/

Also... I know a lot of people aren't big fans of "paleo" treats, but... well, I am. It's not like I go eating a cookie or three every day (I used to!) but about once a week or every other week, I will bake up a batch of some kind of treat. Some of these are also the faux breads. I'm hoarding a lot of these for the holidays... =P
http://pinterest.com/sheltiechick/clean-desserts/


As far as protein shakes go, I just bought protein powder last night. I have been tracking my meals and I am consistently under where I would like to be as far as protein goes, and I feel like I'm really cheating my body by not giving it enough protein. So I bought some very simple whey protein last night, incredibly low carb (less than 1g per serving for the vanilla, 2g per serving for the chocolate, and 1 serving is all I will need.) There are recipes on that dessert board where you can add protein to give it a boost. I'm planning on a protein shake after my workouts to help feed my muscles... I do cook dinner right after a workout (or breakfast if it's Saturday) but sometimes it takes a while, and I really need to fuel my muscles with protein pretty quickly afterward. We'll see how it works. =P I think with your calorie content you are probably okay to add in the protein shakes, some people are close with their calories and really can't spare the extra cals. Just keep tracking as you add it in and make sure you're not going too far.


That's what I got. My goal is body fat percentage too. 14-20% is athletic for women, I'd really like to be around 16% I think. We'll just see how I'm looking and feeling when I get there. If you do have a scale, I recommend breaking up with it permanently now. I probably weigh 145 or so right now, but I'm honestly the thinnest I've ever been in my adult life, including when I was 135, so... yeah. Body fat percentage is the way to go for goals IMO.

You can totally do it.


Edit: I also wanted to share... I tried low carb a while back, like many people on this forum were doing. It sucked and I hated it, so I scrapped that idea and instead of worrying about counting carbs, I just started worrying about the quality of the food I was eating. My biggest example is the banana. A banana is about 50-odd carbs. When I was low carb, this was far too many, and I couldn't eat a banana. You get that? I couldn't eat a BANANA. This didn't make sense to me. It's a BANANA.
EAT THE BANANA.
 
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#8
That's some excellent advice right there Beanie

Keep it simple. Though I'm not a huge fan of protein shakes, again, keep it simple, toss in some raw eggs, great easily digestible protein with some other full fat and fruit products and you have a great shake. Most protien powders out there are full of **** I don't want in my body, but there are some good ones
 

Lyzelle

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#9
Edit: I also wanted to share... I tried low carb a while back, like many people on this forum were doing. It sucked and I hated it, so I scrapped that idea and instead of worrying about counting carbs, I just started worrying about the quality of the food I was eating. My biggest example is the banana. A banana is about 50-odd carbs. When I was low carb, this was far too many, and I couldn't eat a banana. You get that? I couldn't eat a BANANA. This didn't make sense to me. It's a BANANA.
EAT THE BANANA.
:rofl1: I'm allergic to bananas. I'm not missing anything. Probably had something to do with the high sugar in fruits, though.

Fantastic post, though. Absolutely brilliant.
 
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#10
But this is what really sealed it for me as far as wanting to change how I look. She and I look pretty similar as far as how she looked in 2010, which is I think the second picture in the actual article.
All the info you need is in the blog that you linked. :) Honestly, if you can join a Crossfit gym, do it. I have gone through work out phases, going to regular gyms, doing P90X at home, but nothing stuck for long periods of time. I joined a Crossfit gym in May, and I can see myself doing it forever, lol. It's totally different than regular gyms, there's a sense of community, and there is always coaching available, which is crucial when learning proper weightlifting technique.

Going Paleo is also not really a big deal. I'm not super strict (I love ice cream, lol), but I'd say I eat Paleo 90% of the time. There are a lot of great resources out there for recipes and such.

Some people are lucky and gain muscle a lot easier than others. Strength gains are the slowest for me, compared to others at my gym, but I totally kick ass at body weight stuff, like pullups, and the muscle and definition are growing a bit everyday. :)
 

Red.Apricot

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#11
I've put on 3lbs of muscle this summer (which isn't that much, but I can see it, and other people have commented that my shirts fit differently) just by doing push-ups, squats, leg-lifts and eating more protein.

I like to stand in the shower for a couple of minutes in the morning; now the rule is I have to be doing leg lifts or squats, lol. I do push-ups before bed and in the morning. Not tons, but even a few is better than zero.
 
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#12
As an example, my mom (who I've been trying to get to eat better; she is a serial "LOW FAT" or "LOW SUGAR" eater which just means MORE CHEMICALS) asked me last night, "So what kind of healthy foods should I buy at the grocery store?"
"Um... meat. Vegetables. Fruit. Nuts if you want. Cheese if you want, full fat only. ...that's pretty much it. It's pretty easy."
I shop the outer ring of stores these days.
Yes! It's hilarious how easy grocery shopping is now. Meat? Check. Veggies & fruit? Check. Nuts? Check. I used to hate grocery shopping, now I love it.

I also hear you on the low carb thing. I am a fruit fiend. Carbs are important, especially to maintain energy levels for intense workouts. A lot of paleo people are big fans of sweet potatoes.....I like them in recipes, but they gross me out on their own. If you can eat them though, they are a great carb source.
 

Kilter

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#13
Ditto on the keeping it simple thing. Do the outside ring of the grocery stores. If you can find a better meat source, go with it too.

I started getting meat at a butcher shop, that doesn't add chemicals and you know they know where the meat comes from (you park on one side, on the other side there is a loading zone with cattle chutes). Sounds strange, but it looks and tastes like real meat. I can't stomach even looking at the meat in the grocery store a lot of times, can suck it up if it's frozen and we have to get it.

Some people can do a major life change, some can't. I know I do best on a limited diet because it's easier in my head to say 'no, just having shakes and then dinner today' but those are sadly out of budget (for the good, healthy, low sugar shakes and supplements - $300 a month but it worked!).

My other half is stubbern, if I do a healthy low carb meal, he's going to add a side of bread and butter to it. Or worse, make himself a mayo/cheese sandwich instead. So I do minor changes for the household, like not buying much junk, doing boneless 'wings' instead of real ones (chicken breast cut into strips/chunks and baked then tossed in sauce) and so on.
 
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#14
Simple stuff -- because it can be overwhelming ;)

Rule of thumb from bodybuilding: at least 1/2 gram of quality protein per pound of bodyweight per day. 1 gram is better. Different bodies use different proteins so find what works for you. You'll know. You'll feel it.

And lots of work, low, slow reps, weights as heavy as you can handle (without hurting yourself) for sets of 3-8 reps. If you can do more than 8 reps, add weight, or if you can't add more weight, concentrate on slower reps, especially the negative part of the movement.

And STRETCH between exercises. That will make a huge difference, not only in your flexibility, but in your results. You'll actually make better gains.

Above all, keep track of what you're doing, and track your results. Make changes as you go. There is no universal answer; your body is going to respond individually. I always get better results when I add some form of dancing discipline, often incorporating dancing movements with weights.

Lower body, particularly legs, usually takes more work. I worked mine three days on a full, heavy duty workout, with light workouts (like running up and down the bleachers at the football field) on the off days.
 

CharlieDog

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#15
So far body weight is all I've been doing. I work out with squats, lunges, pullups pushups and dips in one day, plus planks, and then run a bit the next day. I'm not a runner, I don't want to be a runner, but I'd like to have the added benefit of being ABLE to run that running is the only thing that will give you that. So I guess I'm a reluctant runner. I play ZOMBIES a lot lol, to get me through it.

I'm following a fifty pullups plan thing as well, and considering joining a rock climbing gym because that is way more fun to me than going to a gym and lifting weights right now, especially as I'd be going alone, and it seems to be mostly HUGE dudes that are in the free weights section, lol

I've been consistently getting around 70 to 80g of protein a day, except on days where I don't really eat much of anything. My problem ends up being lack of appetite vs bad food. I don't typically eat junk because I can't really afford it first, and second my husband works out a lot, so we tend to have stuff like tuna, peanut butter, bananas on hand all the time. I'm not a fan of his protein shakes though, they're kind of gross :p

I'd like to get a barbell and some free weights, I've been searching craigslist but so far no luck on that. I've also considered using a sandbag/building one really.

I'd like more dense muscle vs lean muscle, and so far I think every thing has told me to get free weights and do 80% of what my max weight is for 3 to 6 reps a set. Also, eat more protein, lol.

Thanks guys! This is all very new to me, especially monitoring my diet. I typically have always eaten what I wanted to eat, because I don't get fat. I only know how much I weigh because DH jiu jitsu dojo/gym has a scale there. I really don't care WHAT I weigh, I just want to feel better, be stronger and look better. I'm a stick, lol, and I'm tired of being a stick :p


I love bread too :( I think that's the sticking point for me as far as Paleo, because I love sandwiches, hamburgers, tuna on crackers, tuna-mac, ect, and those are all grains. :p
 

Beanie

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#16
You're about where I am with protein... I want to be close to 100g per day at least. I bought BodyTech from Vitamin Shoppe, and I was REALLY surprised... I just mixed it with water, and the chocolate is actually good. It's 100 calories, 24g protein. It does have sucralose in it (boo!) but it's the very last ingredient in the otherwise pretty short and good ingredient list - also it was the best deal. So... for now I think this is my solution.
I had the same problem, I feel like I eat plenty, I'm really not hungry often - but I'm still low on protein, and sometimes even lower than I'd like to be on calories. Some people have suggested just eating anyway even if I'm not hungry, but I still have some, uhhh... food issues left over from my childhood that lead to an overeating problem which lead to me becoming a chunk, so honestly the idea of eating just to eat when I'm not hungry just isn't something I can do. So now I can just drink a shake after my workout to refuel my muscles, add in extra protein and a small bump to my calories too, and I don't have to worry about feeling like I have to eat when I'm not hungry just because.

The Jay Robb stuff is supposed to be a good protein powder, the egg protein is even better as far as ingredients go IMO. Optimum Nutrition is another good brand. I just bought the BodyTech stuff because it's BOGO 50% off right now and outside of the sucralose it's what I was looking for.

I know there's a good place online to buy protein powder for cheaper than Vitamin Shoppe... I just can't remember where now. I liked being able to go to the store and talk to people though. I might order online in the future now that I'm not so terrified of protein powder, haha, who knows.

I'm assuming you know all about these:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/workouts/
There's TONS more on YouTube if you look around too. Body weight exercises are amazing. If you want to lift heavy weights this won't help you, but to get over the gym shock, you might check for a gym that has the Les Mills brand and hit some BodyPump classes. BodyPump is lighter weights/TONS of reps, so not the heavy weights/low reps. But it will teach you form which you can then take down to the free weights and maybe you won't feel so awkward. You might also find a buddy in the classes who would be willing to hit the free weights with you; having a friend always makes it less intimidating! Also, I know some guys who lift crazy heavy weights downstairs and still enjoy BodyPump too, they don't believe it has to be one or the other. So might just be a good way to get introduced to it? Some people are not gym rats though and I understand that. You definitely DON'T need a gym to get stronger, fitter, and get some badass muscles.


I seriously want to start doing CrossFit stuff!! Because I am a special brand of crazy and so are CrossFitters and I kinda think we are totally a match LOL. There's a CrossFit gym here, but I don't know if I can afford it. I only belong to my gym right now because it's free through my work... =/ but yeah... I look at CrossFit workouts and instead of being scared I'm all "I WANT TO DO THAT." Special brand of crazy...
 

CharlieDog

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#17
All the crossfit gyms here aren't accepting new members. I mean, you can take classes, but for me that's not cost effective, and you can get put on a waiting list, but right now most of the waiting lists are 6 months to a year long.

I've actually taken the bodyweight routine from Nerd Fitness and just adapted it to what I want to be doing. I really really really HATE squats and lunges, but so far it's one of the few things that I've found that work your legs out and well, so I think I'm stuck with them :p I don't think jump rope gives you the same effect.

I could TRY to force myself to eat, but I've done that in the past and usually if I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry and any attempts at forcing myself make me want to throw up.

I think I should be hitting about 100 to 110g's of protein a day, and I'm just sitting here trying to figure that part out lol. DH buys EAS or something like that chocolate whey protein powder, so when he gets that again I'll have to figure something. I guess if I just drink that in some water or soy milk it won't be so bad. I'm not a huge fan of his strawberry banana shakes.

I've considered trying to add peanut butter to it, with like banana or apple, that doesn't sound so bad, and then I'd at least be getting SOME protein after a work out. I usually am ravenous after a good work out, so that's when I tend to eat and eat a lot. But once again, I usually have pasta with chicken, or something like that.

The rock climbing gym has like, 45 pound dumbbells, and I probably couldn't even do that for 3 reps, but I'll try next time I'm there just to see. The other issue with that is unless I have a membership, I'm going to the gym to climb, not lift weights, and I probably wouldn't go there to just lift weights and then leave, I'd want to climb, which I'd probably suck at after doing anything with the dumbbells. :p

On the OTHER hand, this could be the incentive DH nees to actually go buy some dumbbells. :p
 

AllieMackie

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#18
CrossFit's pretty awesome, but oh man, it becomes a LIFESTYLE. My cousin and her hubby have been super-involved for over two years. They did the CrossFit Games as Team Cayman, they're ripped to the nines and go every single day. My cousin even started CrossFit Kids to include their daughter. :p
 

Beanie

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#19
I'm a PB addict... it's kind of a problem. I eat about 2 tbsp a day, usually with my apple for lunch. I will neither confirm nor deny that sometimes I just eat a spoonful. And I'm planning on doing banana-PB-and protein powder shakes.
I went to the store and they only had creamy natural PB, they were ALL OUT of the natural chunky PB. And I was like this.



It's only a minor problem. =|



LOL but yeah, mixing protein powder with just water or some milk is just fine!
 
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#20
I really really really HATE squats and lunges, but so far it's one of the few things that I've found that work your legs out and well, so I think I'm stuck with them :p I don't think jump rope gives you the same effect.
Learn to love squats! Even better, do them while holding something heavy, and make sure you're going ass to grass! :D

I am totally sucked in to the Crossfit cult now. I try to get to the gym 5 days a week, or at least 4, and when I finish a workout I immediately start looking forward to going back the next day.

Beanie, if you can swing the expense at all, go check it out!!!
 

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