Quote:Are you finding it tough to add muscle mass and gain weight? I'm still struggling to get myself to wat the calories I need. It takes a lot of eggs, chicken, ground turkey, veggies, sweet potatoes, and protein powder to hit 3000+ calories. I'm eating in the area of 2500 most days (that I calculate) and I still stay the same or drop a little. Time to ramp it up some more. I do eat a few tablespoons of all natural peanut butter as a snack a lot and recently started drinking chocolate milk (mostly before/after my workout) to add calories. I eat enough eggs and ground turkey for a family of 4 I think.
Nearly identical to me. I have been eating 3k+ calories on average per day for the last few months and have added about 5 pounds. I am over 180. I was hoping for 200 but realize that is going to be tough. I am going four meals a day with two snacks. I eat peanut butter and either plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese before bed.
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Why?
I used to be like that i.e. have trouble adding weight via muscle mass when I was younger.
When I was in my late teens early 20's, I worked out a ton, ate a ton, but no matter what, couldn't get my weight above 160-165-ish.
It stayed that way for pretty much my entire 20's.
Then when I hit 30, all of a sudden, the weight went up to 180. Though, that was it - I couldn't get the weight above that no matter what I ate/ worked out/ etc -
Now, I sit at 195, but don't want to add any more weight. lol. I'm not really gaining any more, but don't want to either.
My goal even way back then was to be a rock solid 200 lbs. Well, I just about reached my goal from back then, except for the rock solid part. haha. I'm not in "bad" shape mind you, I'm 6 foot and change so, its a nice proportion.....but at my age now, its harder to attain the muscle tone that I used to have.
I was flat out spoiled body-wise as a youth. Now, I'm not used to having to work at it.
I was always in good shape as a teen and in my early 20's. In my mid 20's after finishing college I got a desk job, got married, had kids and stopped going to the gym. I got up to about 230. I lost over 50 pounds three years ago. It was from a combination of eating right and exercising.
Now, I go to the gym at least three times as week and run on the weekends. I am pretty strict with what I eat but I do eat alot. I am comfortable being at 180. I know that likely in order to hit 200 I would have to either cut back on some cardio or start being less strict with what I eat. I don't really have interest in either.
Quote:I was always in good shape as a teen and in my early 20's. In my mid 20's after finishing college I got a desk job, got married, had kids and stopped going to the gym. I got up to about 230. I lost over 50 pounds three years ago. It was from a combination of eating right and exercising.
Now, I go to the gym at least three times as week and run on the weekends. I am pretty strict with what I eat but I do eat alot. I am comfortable being at 180. I know that likely in order to hit 200 I would have to either cut back on some cardio or start being less strict with what I eat. I don't really have interest in either.
Do you still play sports? I still find that more enjoyable for exercise purposes than going to the boring gym.
I'm just more paranoid of getting injured now. (even though I never really have sustained a bad injury) just the thought of getting hurt and expensive hospital bills and lengthy rehab / possible missing work time etc etc.
Quote:I used to be like that i.e. have trouble adding weight via muscle mass when I was younger.
When I was in my late teens early 20's, I worked out a ton, ate a ton, but no matter what, couldn't get my weight above 160-165-ish.
It stayed that way for pretty much my entire 20's.
Then when I hit 30, all of a sudden, the weight went up to 180. Though, that was it - I couldn't get the weight above that no matter what I ate/ worked out/ etc -
I think this is a common story for many guys. Kind-of a standard metabolism timeline for a common body type.
I couldn't add any mass/weight until I was 28. Up to that point I'd get stronger and leaner but never broke 163 pounds. That number was like a brick wall.
I stopped thinking about it for a while and when I started training for a 2 week surf trip about 3 months before leaving for Central America (age 28) - everything changed.
I gained about 12 pounds of mass - got stronger AND leaner just doing 4 days a week in the gym and eating a lot of lean protein. Now I'm between 183 - 190 and have to pay attention to my weight the other way around. If I eat carelessly now I'd weigh 200 and need larger pants. Two to three easy going days per week in the gym keeps the beer gut off and the muscle tone acceptable for me nowadays.
Quote:Do you still play sports? I still find that more enjoyable for exercise purposes than going to the boring gym.
I'm just more paranoid of getting injured now. (even though I never really have sustained a bad injury) just the thought of getting hurt and expensive hospital bills and lengthy rehab / possible missing work time etc etc.
I play basketball. I also go biking and swimming alot. One of the benefits of living in Florida is you can do alot of outside activities year-round.
Quote:I play basketball. I also go biking and swimming alot. One of the benefits of living in Florida is you can do alot of outside activities year-round.
yeah....thats one thing that sucks about winters up here.... :angry: you sometimes can't.
Quote:yeah....thats one thing that sucks about winters up here.... :angry: you sometimes can't.
It's actually more beneficial if you do find something to do outside since your body will work even harder to maintain your temperature. Granted, it's tough to find a bunch of guys that want to shoot hoops when it's 25 degrees out and snowing, but even moderate cardio can have big benefits in those conditions. Just make sure you watch out for the snowplows.
Quote:It's actually more beneficial if you do find something to do outside since your body will work even harder to maintain your temperature. Granted, it's tough to find a bunch of guys that want to shoot hoops when it's 25 degrees out and snowing, but even moderate cardio can have big benefits in those conditions. Just make sure you watch out for the snowplows.
lol.....i remember playing tackle football in the street during some of those winter snowy days.....and we would do this at the first sign of accumulation,... :woot:
Quote:Yeah, it's very difficult for me too. I eat a lot of peanut butter now and have started eating a little less healthy. I know it's not the best way to add more weight but, oh well. Once I add enough mass I can clean up the diet so.
I know how that goes. This week I've fallen off on my diet and working out. A combo of short nights of sleep and being out of town for work has lead to eating poorly and only one night in the gym this week. I've went ahead and written it in as an off week and the real work will begin Monday. I used to beat myself up for weeks like this but I don't do that anymore. I've realized I've got the willpower now to not let it last too long and to correct myself when I need to.
I work out every now and then.
I've had to find something to do now that video games bore me and the Jaguars suck.