Female Gaining 10-15lbs Muscle

[azzistrength99]

SO, latest goal has been to put on 10lbs of muscle and drop 3% body fat. I am trying to gage a specific timeline for this goal. I gain muscle mass fairly easily. Does anyone have suggestions for an apropriate timeline to accomplish the gain?

Also, do any of you have any suggestions on how to gain this muscle? As for now, I am planning on upping lift to heavy weight heavy reps and working to failure everytime. I am also increasing protein intake to 130 grams/day. This is the equivalent of body weight in grams. Are there any ideas on lifting or eating that can drive progress?

[Boopster]

SO, latest goal has been to put on 10lbs of muscle and drop 3% body fat. I am trying to gage a specific timeline for this goal. I gain muscle mass fairly easily. Does anyone have suggestions for an apropriate timeline to accomplish the gain?

Also, do any of you have any suggestions on how to gain this muscle? As for now, I am planning on upping lift to heavy weight heavy reps and working to failure everytime. I am also increasing protein intake to 130 grams/day. This is the equivalent of body weight in grams. Are there any ideas on lifting or eating that can drive progress?

#1 You gotta eat, check out the sticky in the diet and nutrition section
#2 What is the timeline?
#3 You gotta eat
#4 Be pateint, it won't happen overnight
#5 You gotta eat


Speaking from experience and putting on approx. 10 pounds of muscle myself, it took me 8 months, hardcore training and an enormous amount of discipline. I also had some other health issues, but it all worked out in the end. Good luck

[Boss Man]

If you want to get more solid mass for contests, you could try looking at something I wrote recently in the diet section on site, called "Test Your Growth", for ideas and thoughts.

Though you don't have to. I never force, persuade, or coerse people to go there, it's entirely your choice .

[DianaB]

How old are you?
What"s your weight/height/wrist measurement?
What is your training like right now?
Generally do you have a meso or endo body type?
Eat, eat eat and eat bison, it's amazing.
Failure is not a good option, better to train 4 week cycles, working up to a max week and then backing off. Over taxing the muscles on a regular basis can be very catabolic.

[azzistrength99]

How old are you?
What"s your weight/height/wrist measurement?
What is your training like right now?
Generally do you have a meso or endo body type?
Eat, eat eat and eat bison, it's amazing.
Failure is not a good option, better to train 4 week cycles, working up to a max week and then backing off. Over taxing the muscles on a regular basis can be very catabolic.

Okay so I weigh 129lbs, I am 5'5", wrist 6", I am 19.5 years old.
I have been doing a lot of triathlong training over the past few months for a tri I did in November. SO, training is lots of cardio and light lifting 3x a week.
I typically put on muscle very easily and am very strong.
I have the luxury of own timeline.
body is definitely meso.


Thanks everyone so mch for the suggestions, and keep them coming!
I'll keep everyone posted on progress.

[Packard]

You will have a hard time adding muscle mass if you continue with the triathlon training. You will have to cut back a bit on that during the period while you are trying to pack on muscle.

Also the extra muscle mass will adversely affect your triathlon performance. So keep that in mind when you design your program.

[Boopster]

How old are you?
What"s your weight/height/wrist measurement?
What is your training like right now?
Generally do you have a meso or endo body type?
Eat, eat eat and eat bison, it's amazing.
Failure is not a good option, better to train 4 week cycles, working up to a max week and then backing off. Over taxing the muscles on a regular basis can be very catabolic.

Okay so I weigh 129lbs, I am 5'5", wrist 6", I am 19.5 years old.
I have been doing a lot of triathlong training over the past few months for a tri I did in November. SO, training is lots of cardio and light lifting 3x a week.
I typically put on muscle very easily and am very strong.
I have the luxury of own timeline.
body is definitely meso.


Thanks everyone so mch for the suggestions, and keep them coming!
I'll keep everyone posted on progress.

Speaking only from experience, I did a tri a couple years ago. I trained for 6 months before the race. body was definately conditioned differently than when I competed in figure. It was extremely hard for me to gain weight and I actually had to quit all cardio for 4 months in order for me to gain the muscle I needed. I hated that, but it did work. I have a very fast metabolism, so I was burning off everything I was trying to out on. Putting on muscle for an endurance athelete, in opinion is very hard because your body is so used to that type of training. WHen you do figure, you gotta eat, train 5-6 days a week , definately take days off for your body to re-coop, and get plenty of sleep. It is a very disciplined sport. You have to increase your weight-lifting to build mass and cut down on your cardio. JMO of course an only speaking from experience. And Packard is right on the money as far as when you resume your endurance. I could hardly run a mile after gaining approximately 10 pounds, lugging around that extra muscle was a bit##. Hire a trainer if you can to get you started in the right direction. It's worth every penny. Good luck and keep us posted!

[Boopster]

Speaking only from experience, I did a tri a couple years ago. I trained for 6 months before the race. body was definately conditioned differently than when I competed in figure. It was extremely hard for me to gain weight and I actually had to quit all cardio for 4 months in order for me to gain the muscle I needed. I hated that, but it did work. I have a very fast metabolism, so I was burning off everything I was trying to out on. Putting on muscle for an endurance athelete, in opinion is very hard because your body is so used to that type of training. WHen you do figure, you gotta eat, train 5-6 days a week , definately take days off for your body to re-coop, and get plenty of sleep. It is a very disciplined sport. You have to increase your weight-lifting to build mass and cut down on your cardio. JMO of course an only speaking from experience. Hire a trainer if you can to get you started in the right direction. It's worth every penny. Good luck and keep us posted!

<---- Will trade metabolism.

Sorry...not for trade;) Cute post though Hope it stays that way!

[azzistrength99]

Thanks again. I am going to take a serious break from the tri training and focus on this instead. Do any of you have suggestions on how much I should be eating a day? I range at about 3000 calories for triathlon training, eating every 2 hours at least. I too have a very quick metabolism. All of these meals are nothing but lean protein, whole grains and veggies, with some fruits. I can't imagine eating more! But i will if thats what needs to happen. Let me know about the diet contingencies.
I am doing research on own, I just love to hear other peoples suggestions and try them out. So HIT me with your ideas! You all have been great so far! I have pics of myself from last week, when I take new ones I'll post them so we can judge progress and adjust.
Boopster, keep your ideas coming. Sounds like you can really help me out.

[DianaB]

Are you training for a specific goal, like a physique competition, or for pure strength?
If you search "Attack the Fat" and article by Rachel Cosgrove, this program might be very useful for you. The author's goal was to add muscle after triathlon training, which as you know can be pretty catabolic.

[SarahPT]

You may not need to actually eat more, if you're doing significantly less cardio. I would recommend sticking with your current calorie range. If you're not seeing growth, then you'll know you need to add more. Also, remember to continually increase the weight you are lifting, while maintaining proper form. Don't just keep using the same weight time after time. Good luck!!

[azzistrength99]

I am training for personal strength as well as the aspiration of getting into fitness modeling. I am proud to announce I have gained .6lbs (haha) in 5 days. I would love to conquer the 1lb mark by the end of this week. I have only been able to increase calories by 500, while maintaining 3x a week cardio, and daily lifting.
Should I up cals a 500 more? That would bring me to a total of 1000 surplus calories. I had someone tell me I should, Any opinions?
Also, if I am lifting hard daily and eating clean, I should be able to avoid gaining fat right?
You guys are great, keep it cming!

[swanso5]

well you have 2 options really

1 - keep trying to increrase cal's where there will come a point where you simply can;t eat anymore

or

2 - as boopster suggested dropping or limiting cardio so you have a cal surplus at your current cal intake

[Boopster]

I am training for personal strength as well as the aspiration of getting into fitness modeling. I am proud to announce I have gained .6lbs (haha) in 5 days. I would love to conquer the 1lb mark by the end of this week. I have only been able to increase calories by 500, while maintaining 3x a week cardio, and daily lifting.
Should I up cals a 500 more? That would bring me to a total of 1000 surplus calories. I had someone tell me I should, Any opinions?
Also, if I am lifting hard daily and eating clean, I should be able to avoid gaining fat right?

Yes...diet has just as much to do with adding muscle as a well balanced weight routine. And Sarah's advice abount increasing weights is very important for growth. trainer would always tell me if your not sore the next day...you didn't give it all you could. Form is #1, make sure you are using correct form on each and every rep you complete. Crappy form will lead to crappy results. If you're not seeing results, yes...add more protein. At the cusp of training I was eating so much food, I could hardly finish what was on plate. Lunch I would have 6 ounces of chicken, tuna, fish, ot turkey, 1 cup sweet potato, and 1 1/2 cups green veggie. Dinner was the same cept for no potato. And I wasn't do any cardio, which totally sucked, but it worked and I gained! Good Luck

[azzistrength99]

well you have 2 options really

1 - keep trying to increrase cal's where there will come a point where you simply can;t eat anymore

or

2 - as boopster suggested dropping or limiting cardio so you have a cal surplus at your current cal intake

I am limiting cardio to twice a week, and keeping cals at the 500 increase. official weigh in is coming up, so hopefully I'll have gained some weight!

I have been reading a ton lately on the proper workouts. It seems lots of people think that women training for fitness modeling need to focus on all-over body workouts 4-5 times weekly instead of body part isolation. This goes against all workout training I have been taught thus far! Do any of you have an opinion on whether or not htis is something I should be doing?