Gaining Mass

[daeinwolf]

In the calorie department, I consume healthy carbs and proteins. I eat about 60-80 grams of protein in a day. I hate junk food and I do not drink soft drinks. I am working out pretty much everyday(different muscles). Oh and yeah, I am a bean pole...very high metabolism.

 

Thanks for the tips Thuggish. Here's hoping.

 

I have heard good things about the supplement Celltech. Has anyone tried this?

 

Sastimos---Joshua

[MMouse]

Here is what you do. First of all, figure out how many calories a day your body uses. Keep in mind that it will ony be an estimate and that it will change day tp day.

 

Now add 500 calories to that. Not gaining? Add 500 more and so on. Doing martial arts, you are going to burn alot and 3000 doesn't seem like much,especially when you are active and probably have a fast metabolism.

[Tibby]

I have you disagree with Thuggish, for mass, Squat is the best for the legs. If you are worried about hurting your knees in the Squat, then you REALLY need to stop the Bench Press, because the Bench Press causes more strain on your shoulders then the Squat does to your knees. Just play around with both Squat and leg press, see which one you like best.

 

Celltech is a rip off. It isn’t that the stuff doesn’t work, it is that Celltech is basic Creatine. They over charge for something you naturally produce! They charge you some extra cash for the “Muscletech” logo. I’m not a fan of Creatine, but you are welcome to try it if you want, and there are plenty of brands that work just as good that are WAY cheaper.

[Neil]

The old timers used to drink loads of milk and squats loads to get real big. I am still bulking up, as I will start boxing next Thursday I want to continue to eat loads of carbs, modertae ptoein, moderate fats so I can compete in the heavyweight division, which I am not sure of the minimum weight when it comes to amateur boxing for a 15 year old

[Thuggish]

the benchpress puts strain on the shoulders, but not the joints; at least not enough to be concerned. the squat however CAN put enough pressure on the joints to cause a problem at some point. since both exercises give the same result (when donr correclty of course) and the leg press is safer both with the knees and the lower back, why not choose the safe one?

 

as for protein intake, if you want to gain a lot of muslce weight, people recommend you eat as much as 1 gram of protein per pound that you weigh, mayb e even more. if youre 145, you shouldnt settle for less than 90, bare minimum.

 

also, up the calories, healithily, but dont be afraid to do cardio, that wont interfere with actual mass building muscle wise.

 

one more thing, make sure your routine makes sense. dont work the same muscle two days in a row (such as workout your chest one day then triceps the very next- since tris are used in the bench press.) at a beginning level you can get away with working the entire body in one day, but oyu might want to split it into two days. if your body can take it, youll want to work each muscle every other day. most really skinny guys can.

[Tibby]

The shoulder is one massive joint ,and much easier to injury then the knees. The Knees make contact, the Femur bone of the thigh and the Tibia of the shin meet under the Patella. The Humerus doesn’t touch the Scapulae, unlike the knee joint, it does not have the extra support of the bone. The joint is entirely supported by the muscles that move it. The Bench Press is much more dangerous then the squat. If he is going to do leg presses for fear of hurting his knees, then he should use a machine press for fear of hurting his shoulders.

 

On top of that, the Leg press only recruit the muscles of the Quadriceps, with a little bit on the muscles of the lower body. The Squat encompasses most of the muscles in your body, Sure, it works some more then others, but the great majority of your muscles are worked in a squat. It is a must-do for mass gaining.

[Thuggish]

sigh... what? the squat and the leg press both build the quads, and to a lesser extent the glutes. the squat does NOT work your entire body. sure, it puts more strain on your lower back, if you consider that working it (its not, its just dangerous.) but in no way will a squat build your arms, or your upper body. maybe, MAYBE it will work your calves a bit more than the leg press. it doesnt even build your hamstrings. youre right, it is a must have for building mass, because the quads are important- but the leg press will get you the exact same results with less damage to other parts of your body. and yes, the shoulder is a smaller joint, but the benchpress does not put any partiluarly hard strain the joint at all- perhaps you are dropping the bar too low? the only joing to be worried about with that exercise is your wrists, which if alined properly (like you were punching) isnt a problem either. the knees, however, especially for some people, are very easy to do long term damage to becuase theyre used so much. running, walking, and now squatting with large amounts of weights? ask any body builder, theyll tell you. few people in their 40's complain about their shoulders because they used to lift weights, and when they do, its becuase they did something really stupid. what they often complain about is first, their lower back, and second, their knees. thats what the squat put a LOT of straing on. why do that to yourself when you have a PERFECTLY IDENTICAL and safer alternative exercise?

[Tibby]

The squat does work pretty much ever muscle in your body, all your lower body and some of your upper. It does focus in the quads, but it uses that Gluts, inner thigh, Soleus, calf, Hamstrings, lower back, traps, abs and obliques. It works some muscle isometricly, yes, but it works all those muscles. These two exercises are not “PERFECTLY IDENTICAL” because if they were, they would call it a machine squat! See if you can do the same weight on the leg press as you can do on the free weight squat. You can’t, because the leg press and Squat work the leg muscles differently. Machines are known for isolating muscle more, because they don’t use the stabilizer muscles as much. You need to use free weights to gain mass better, machines to get better tone and shape.

 

Squats are only dangerous for those who do “something really stupid” like use improper form or to much weight. Ask any body builder, and many of them will say to do squats. Squats are only dangerous to those “Muscle and Fiction” readers who don’t know who to do them properly or let their egos get in the way of there 1RM!

[Thuggish]

i hate repeating myself so this is my last try then i give up on you. the leg press machine can get you exactly the same results as a squat. the squat can be done without ever injuring yourself if you do it right. however, it will still produce long term wear and tear on your knees. this is a fact. most other exercises, including the benchpress, will not produce the wear and tear like the squat does. sure you can injur yourself if you do too much too soon, but if you dont, youre fine. the sqat- its just plain bad for your knees. any strain on the lower back, any at all, is a bad thing. ask doctors who know about bones, they will all tell you. one other thing as well, it puts a lot of pressure on your neck and/or spine, condensing it. this is also not good for you in the long term. bottom line, theyre risky, and with an exercise that produces IDENTICAL RESULTS- if you like that better- they really shouldnt be done. especially, especially if youre a skinny dude. knees are too valuable.

[Cyph]

It could have alot to do with your workout. Seems like your over-training.

 

I very much agree. Rest is when your muscles grow. More rest = bigger, faster and stronger!