Performance vs. Weight Gain

[abury805]

It seems like everybody is frantic about finding the easiest way to gain lean muscle mass. Over ten years of rock climbing has taught me that muscles don't necessarily equate to strength. Of course muscle tissue is what makes you strong but the more you weigh the more difficult it is to compensate for that mass (strength to wight ratio) in terms of functionality. This is extremely apparent in activities like climbing which depend on an individuals strength to weight ratio but this balance comes into play in every physical activity. This is why bulking up with supplements like creatine, which pump you up with water, can weigh you down, making you slow and killing stamina. I've recently began daily crossfit routines but need to find the right balance of foods to eat, before and after crossfit as well as when I'm resting, to help me gain functional, lean muscle mass. My common sense tells me to eat natural foods like meat and veggies plus a bunch of milk. I don't need to be bigger, I just want better performance. Can anyone give me a tip or two? I'd really appreciate it (my body would too).

[abury805]

and I try to snack on nuts and other unprocessed foods. Any other snack ideas?

[king henry viii]

and I try to snack on nuts and other unprocessed foods. Any other snack ideas?

stew smith actually made a nutritional foodplan that I have in an MS word document. I don't remember where I found it, probably his website. if you can't find it, i could email it to you.

[MeatHead08]

There really isnt a way to gain "lean" muscle... how lean you are is all about bodyfat ratios. Now if you mean training for strength rather than hypertrophy (muscle size) then that is something different. To alter bodyfat, you need to tweak your diet and is one of the hardest things for people to learn how to do, because it takes patience and dedication to figure out how your body reacts to certain diets.

Now training for strength is a little easier. When people think of lifting weights, they automatically think bodybuilding, but thats an ignorant assumption. There are many different ways to weight train to reach different goals. If your goal is strength, then you want to lift heavy with low reps and move the weight as fast as possible (although it wont move that fast). If you want to build size (hypertrophy), then you want to lift a weight you can do 10-12 reps of with slow, controlled movements. Also, just because you lift weights does not mean you are going to gain weight. Weight gain is directly related to diet... it is simple thermodynamics: eat more than you burn off = weight gain; eat less than you burn off = weight loss.

Obviously, diet also has huge impact on the outcome of these training modalities. Regardless of your goals, you need to eat lot to recover and repair your muscles. You need not only a lot of protein, but carbs and fats as well. There is a huge myth that all you need is protein to get big or strong but that is false. Carbs are what your muscles run off of and you need to eat them all day to keep your glycogen stores in your muscles full. So that when you go to exert yourself, wether it is on the track, in the pool, or in the weight room, you can put the most out. It is very important to take in high GI carbs both before and after your workouts. Before makes sure that you have enough energy to get a good workout and after helps to replenish the glycogen stores, aid in recovery and spike insulin. Fats are just as important. Remember that not all fats are bad... only saturated fats. Fats from natural sources like milk, eggs, nuts, and olive oil are really good for you and they help to keep testosterone levels high in the body. Last but not least, you need a lot of protein. Protein is what muscle is made of and they need a lot of it to repair broken down tissue.

Once you get your diet under control and understand how your body works and how it reacts, then you can really make some great steps towards your goals. And like I said, its one of the hardest things to do. Sorry if this seems like a ramble and I hope this helps.

[abury805]

Great help thanks. I'm slowly getting the hang of controlling my diet and the more I workout the more apparent diet's importance becomes. In terms of protein, I heard a minimum of 1g protein per 1kg of body mass is about enough. I weigh about 170, so this recommendation would advise me to take in at least 80g of protein a day. Any truth to this?
I've learned about different types of protein and have gotten in the hang of getting whey before and after a workout, usually through a couple egg whites. In general, I'm trying to get all my goods from 'natural' foods like milk, meat, and veggies.

[MeatHead08]

You should aim for around 1g for every pound of bodyweight. A good way to break down your diet per day is to split your calories into macronutrient components, as in carbs/protein/fat. A pretty standard split is 40/30/30% of daily calories. If your training is more cardio oriented (like most people on this site) you will want to increase the carb percentage.

Now the amount of calories you take in per day is dependent on if you want to gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same. First, you must find your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate (how many calories it takes on average to keep your bodyweight the same). Really, the only way to do that is to eat a certain amount for about two weeks and see how your weight changes. Adjust your daily calorie intake until you find what it takes to not change weight. Once you figure that out, then you go from there. It takes 3500 surplus calories to gain 1lb, so if you add 500 cals per day to your BMR, then you will gain 1lb a week. The same goes for losing a lb a week.

Now, for what you eat. Throughout the day, your carbs should be coming from low GI (glycemic index) carbs such as wheat, brown rice, vegetables, etc. This will keep your blood sugar at a constant level and will keep insulin from spiking. Pre and Post workout are an exception to this. After your workout, your blood sugar is low so you need a quick absorbing carb source to get into your blood and to then replenish your glycogen stores. This will also help to spike your insulin back up to its normal level. My favorite post workout carb is Dextrose or Maltodextrin. I mix that in with my whey protein for my post workout shake. Protein can come from any source such as chicken, beef, eggs, milk, tuna, whey powder, nuts, etc. I like to start my day with a less lean source like ground beef or whole eggs so I can get some good fat with it. Then throughout the day, eat lean meat so it will digest a little faster, and end the day with a higher fat source like a milk/whey shake so that the protein will digest slowly throughout the night. You can also add olive oil to the shake to slow the absorbtion. Also, dont be afraid to take protein shakes away from your workout times. It is just food, only in a liquid form.

[bud/s junkie2]

ok, im not new to dieting because ive always been trying to gain weight and so far ive been unsuccessful...i no that, simply put, if you burn more than you take in youll lose weight and vice versa, ok, well heres my dilemma, im extremely active, but no it seems no matter how tired i make myself or how many calories i burn, i just seem to get full immediatly, its hard to eat lots and lots to compensate for what i burn. any advise on how to stretch a stomach?

[king henry viii]

ok, im not new to dieting because ive always been trying to gain weight and so far ive been unsuccessful...i no that, simply put, if you burn more than you take in youll lose weight and vice versa, ok, well heres my dilemma, im extremely active, but no it seems no matter how tired i make myself or how many calories i burn, i just seem to get full immediatly, its hard to eat lots and lots to compensate for what i burn. any advise on how to stretch a stomach?

i've heard of this product. not sure if it works. this is the best advice I have for you to be able to eat more lol. It's called Controlled Labs Black Hole.


you should be eating like every 3-4 hours. at least 500 calories per meal, quality calories.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/clabs/black.html

[bois]

Junkie2 you just need to eat more. You can build a tolerance to eating alot just like you can with anything else.
Eat frequently, every few hours, even if you're not hungry. Eat as much as you can in 15 minutes (you body wont tell you you're full within that time, so you wont feel full).
Stop drinking water. Replace it with gatorade and other drinks with calories.

If all else fails, add a gallon of 2% milk a day to your regular diet. This is a sure-fire way to put on weight. Mix some protein with the milk too for even more calories.

[MeatHead08]

Stop drinking water.

I agree with everything you said except this. Water is just as important as food is... especially when you are working out a lot. True, water will fill you up and doesnt have calories, but it keeps your body hydrated and running at its optimum. Drinking sports drinks like gatorade might contain a lot of water, but its not the same. You need to get atleast 72 ounces per day and more if you are working out in extreme heat or cold. Plus, you need to make sure to drink a lot of water pre, during and post exercise to maximize performance and to not get dehydrated.