Gaining Weight (Muscle)

[Ouchy]

First of all, let me give some information.

 

I've been going to the gym for about two months now, and I have not put on any weight.

I do rowing, which involves both strength and cardio, so I cannot cut out cardio sessions as it is part of my training for rowing.

I am 196 CM (6ft 5in) and weigh about 78KG (171 pounds).

 

We're doing Winter Training for rowing ATM, seeing as rowing is a summer sport. My training schedule at the moment consists of:

 

Monday: Rowing Machine for a minimum of 30 mins / Gym PM

Tuesday: Run 7 or 11 km AM / Gym PM

Wednesday: Rowing Machine for min. 30 mins / Hockey game (for fun, so no benefit)

Thursday: Run 7 or 11 km AM / Gym PM

Friday: Morn off / Gym PM

Sat: Either Gym or a cardio sessions

Sun: Rowing on the water for about 2 hours , then a 40 minute run.

 

So, I have been unable to gain any weight at the moment. I want to gain muscle mass, as I want to get bigger and stronger. Before and after each workout, I have 1 serve of a protein shake which has about 24G protein p/s. I eat healthy, worst thing I have for lunch is a muesli bar.

 

What can I do to gain weight? Should I change my gym program? Eat more? Any help would be really appreciated.

[obfuscator]

Assasin will be able to give good advice (i believe he's a rower himself). If you can post a more detailed work out (the gym one) that would be helpful.

[muggiwhplar]

In a nutshell, find out how many calories you eat on average every day. Eat 500-1000 more calories than that every day. The rule of thumb is also to have 1g of protein for every 1lb you weigh.

[Ouchy]

It's actually quite difficult to work out how many calories I burn, as with rowing it's really hard to find out. I probably need more protein though, I usually would only get around 140g.

 

3 sets of each exercise, at about 8-12 reps each.

 

Leg Press - Doing 160, 180, 200 kg (Total weight)

Bent over Row - 20, 25, 30 kg

Seated Row - 42, 45, 48

Hamstring Curl Machine - ~30-36

Lat Pulldown - 45, 48, 51

 

That's the main program, then I usually do

 

Bicep curls - 12.5 Aiming for about 7 reps each arm

Calve Raises - About 50+ for 10 reps

Shoulder Rotator Cuff - 12/15 kg for 2 sets

And some ab work and probably a few other things that I have forgotten

[FunPhish]

In a nutshell, find out how many calories you eat on average every day. Eat 500-1000 more calories than that every day. The rule of thumb is also to have 1g of protein for every 1lb you weigh.

 

 

Do that ^^

 

There are plenty of supplements out there for weight gaining, though the huge selection can be a bit overwhelming. Look online for some reviews and run on down to your local GMC. If you don't want to take that road, try chicken and rice burritosss! I make my own like 5 times a week, flour tortilla(carbs, calories),white rice cooked with a small amount of butter(carbs like crazy and good calories), and plain grilled chicken breast(great protein, and greast tasting). Add some salsa if you like, believe it or not the stuff is good for you in moderation.

 

If THAT doesn't work then maybe try skipping some rowing practices and chillin' in front of the computer :P

 

Also bro try power lifts, i.e. benches, squats, dead lifts. These lifts will release extra testosterone in your body and work virtually every muscle, they aren't fun but you'll learn to love em'.

[muggiwhplar]

In a nutshell, find out how many calories you eat on average every day. Eat 500-1000 more calories than that every day. The rule of thumb is also to have 1g of protein for every 1lb you weigh.

 

 

Do that ^^

 

There are plenty of supplements out there for weight gaining, though the huge selection can be a bit overwhelming. Look online for some reviews and run on down to your local GMC. If you don't want to take that road, try chicken and rice burritosss! I make my own like 5 times a week, flour tortilla(carbs, calories),white rice cooked with a small amount of butter(carbs like crazy and good calories), and plain grilled chicken breast(great protein, and greast tasting). Add some salsa if you like, believe it or not the stuff is good for you in moderation.

 

If THAT doesn't work then maybe try skipping some rowing practices and chillin' in front of the computer :P

 

Also bro try power lifts, i.e. benches, squats, dead lifts. These lifts will release extra testosterone in your body and work virtually every muscle, they aren't fun but you'll learn to love em'.

 

Weight gainers are really convenient insta-meals... I quit going to GNC after my buddy pointed out that bodybuilding.com sells the same products for nearly half the price :o

 

If you really wanna gain weight, buy a weightgainer and have 2 servings of that every day, plus 4 other small meals... eating every 3 hours or so. Just make sure you're exercising consistently or you'll get fat.

[Ouchy]

Not going to rowing training isn't an option for me. I've got big aspirations for rowing (Rep my country), so I need to go to trainings for it. And my coach is a [bleep] when it comes to not go to trainings as well.

 

I think I will start doing benches, deadlifts and squats. So thanks for that. I just bought a protein shake so I don't think my parents will want me buying any more until I finish my current one.

[Grogthurk]

You need to eat a lot. If you're doing that much lifting and your weight isn't changing, it means you're not eating enough. Essentially, you're burning the same amount of calories you bring in.

 

Carbs and protein. Lean meat.

[jjrox32]

Supplements aren't necessary, unless you are eating as much as you possibly can and are still burning too many calories to gain weight.

 

Also definitely replace leg press with squats or deadlifts and the hamstring machine with something like glute-ham raises.

[Estonian dude]

HINT: squats will ruin your knees if you gain any height and are that tall. BTW, I have almost exact measurements (add 1 cm and 2 kg's), but I don't think I can do that much stuff. BTW, how much pull-ups (I don't know what they are called, you hang on a bar and then pull your chin over it with hands) can you do in a row? Just wondering...

 

EDIT: Taking a day or 2 of exercise off a week can also help gain weight. That immensely.

[jjrox32]

Squats don't ruin your knees unless you do them wrong.

[Jeffwilson99]

What's with all the running? I thought you'd get enough cardio from the rowing alone?

 

I had a friend last year who couldn't put on weight because he didn't eat enough, plus he overtrained.

 

Now I'm not sure what it's like for rowing, but for rugby friends that I have don't worry too much about fitness in the off season while trying to put on weight, they only worry about putting on weight. Then they try and get, say 5 or 6kgs above their target before before pre-season, then worry about getting their fitness sorted.

[Ouchy]

We won nationals this year, and our coaches want us to do it again next year at the top level, as our school hasn't won it for 29 years now. So they want us to get really fit early on so we start the season in a good position, which is why we do so much running.

 

Rowing is completely different to rugby. You stop regularly in rugby, where as with rowing you don't really stop at all. If you were to do one of our races, you'd understand why we need to be as fit as we are. That idea of getting 5/6 kg above pre season wouldn't work in rowing.

 

 

And one question I need to ask, won't eating 500 more calories make me fat? I want to gain muscle, not fat...

[Estonian dude]

You can't get any muscles either without calories. Muscles take a whole lot more calories to form aswell.

[Ouchy]

Oh ok, thanks for clearing that.

[Jeffwilson99]

Just curious, what kind of pace/distance do you achieve on the rowing machine? I've done a bit at the gym as a warm up mostly.

[Ouchy]

Just curious, what kind of pace/distance do you achieve on the rowing machine? I've done a bit at the gym as a warm up mostly.

 

At the moment we have been doing two 15 minutes, but now we have stepped it up to two 20 minutes and a 40 minute on the respective days. Depending on how I feel, I usually get around 1:50 (that being time taken to row 500 metres, which is the standard way of measuring speed in rowing) to about 1:55+ on bad days.

Other who are bigger than me can get much lower than that (1:45).

[Jeffwilson99]

Oh yeah that's pretty good. Usually I go for 2.00/500m for twenty minutes, and get to 5km. Then again, I do it as a warm up, not as a full training session. Hopefully I'll keep trying to bring that time down and increase my 20 min distance.

[Ouchy]

Oh yeah that's pretty good. Usually I go for 2.00/500m for twenty minutes, and get to 5km. Then again, I do it as a warm up, not as a full training session. Hopefully I'll keep trying to bring that time down and increase my 20 min distance.

 

That's actually fairly decent, for some of us that even row at the moment that would be a good time.

[Jeffwilson99]

Hmm may not be same machines? Not sure what brand they are, but I have it on the highest resistance setting. Would be pretty tough going for two 20 minute sessions.

[Ouchy]

We use Concept 2 rowing machines, which is pretty much the standard used world wide. No one really bothers with other brands unless they get them dirt cheap.

[Myweponsg00d]

I still need some clarification about your gym routine. To me it looks like you are saying that you do a full body routine 4 times per week. If this is the case you are lifting far too often. For muscle growth you should look to hit each body part no more than 2 times per week. Some people actually grow the best when hitting each group only once per week or once every 5 days.

 

Also you should add a few key exercises. Bench press, squat, and deadlift should be a part of your program for sure. These exercises are slightly more dangerous and so you should be sure to use proper form and not go crazy. I recommend using dumbbells for the bench to help avoid shoulder impingement. Also, are your lifts progressing? A key part to muscle growth is continuing to lif heavier and heavier.

 

As far as nutrition is concerned, be sure that you are getting 1-1.5g of protein per pound of lean body mass. Fat is also important. Fat will help regulate your hormones and lead to muscle gain. The common figure is around .4g of fat per pound of body weight. Eating fat had nothing to do with gaining fat FYI. The rest of your calories should come from carbs. As someone already mentioned, you should be eating a surplus of 500 calories if you'd like to gain a pound per week.

 

If you have any further questions let me know. The first step I would take if I were you is to start counting your calories and reexamine your lifting program