Building Muscle: Getting SO Frustrated!

[Jayar]

Hi all,

 

Okay so I'm pretty workout savvy. I have always been more or less athletic, and I understand the concepts of nutrition and working out. I have a unique problem though that is frustrating me.

 

Some background: I got into a car accident a couple years ago now. Wow, I guess over two years ago... After the accident I was hospitalized and (being the type that has to work HARD to not gain weight, including low carb eating) you can imagine how much I gained in the hospital. They pretty well ran sugar water into me, and given that my "meals" were more than 3/4 carbohydrates including the CRAPPIEST dessert foods that I do NOT ordinarily eat, and I went from 120 to about 160 pounds before leaving the hospital. Yeah, of course they don't notice anything is wrong. Idiots. Anyway, once I got home, I couldn't exercise at all (left leg had been crushed between the dash and console) so I went up to about 215 pounds. Fast-forward, took me a significant amount of time of diet and S-L-O-W exercise to get back to 120, which is where I am now.

 

My issue is that I look REALLY different now at 120 than I did at 120 before. I am not overweight (actually at 5'6" I am borderline underweight) but I am still DEFINITELY overfat. I need to gain about 15lbs. of muscle to be at an ideal BF%. My problem is I have cycled back and forth trying to gain muscle while cutting fat, and it isn't working. It's been 6 months and I am STILL at the same BF% I just go up and down in weight depending on whether I am "bulking" or "cutting". I am pretty familiar with these concepts as they relate to bodybuilding (bodybuilders being the masters of accomplishing what I am trying to accomplish on a much smaller scale) so if anyone thinks they can assist with what I am doing wrong, or why I seem to be stuck with this inability to regain muscle, please help.

 

Thanks in advance!

[hvzgg]

are you a male or female? i'm guessing female from the height/weight.

 

also i'm not quite sure i understand your goals.

 

regardless, based on the thread title, i'll give you all you need to know.

 

*resistance train 3x+ a week with compound movements (squat, deadlift, bench)

*at least 2500 calories/day (most from protein and carbs.)

*1.5g protein per pound body weight

*8 hours sleep

*water

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Are you going more for hypertrophy or for strength gains? I really can't see anything you're doing wrong from what I'm reading if you're going with the standard approaches to bulking and cutting. How many calories are you taking in daily during your bulking phase and how many grams of protein? How many calories are you taking in during your cutting phase and how many grams of protein? What's your maintenance calorie level?

 

One possibility is that your CNS may not have caught up with you yet. If you are trying to build strength, heavy lifts put quite a strain on the CNS - even submaximal lifts with the objective of aesthetic hypertrophy add strain to some degree. Since your CNS has been at a much higher operational level before, I imagine it will take a little time to build back up so that it can adequately trigger your muscles for growth at the level you were once use to.

[BellaDonna]

I strongly suggest the "Body For Life" program link removed Another very good read about the fundamental concepts of nutrition as it relates to muscle is Tom Venuto's e-book "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle" link removed

[just M.E.]

I also like the Body for Life concepts, although I have never folowed it religiously. Solid nutrition and exercise though.

[cavaliere]

This could be related to several things. Obviously, you're working out a lot, so that's not the issue....but what kinds of workouts are you doing? For the purposes of weight loss, you can do the same things over and over again and get results as long as you keep burning calories and eat right. But when it comes to building muscle, the workouts can't always consist of the same exercises, or else you'll initially see results, then plateau and not really get any further. Even changing the order in which you do your regular exercises helps out, since your muscles aren't accustomed to it. New movements are key to new development.

 

But that said, gaining muscle and trimming those last annoying bits of body fat can be a really slow process, depending on your diet, your metabolism, your workout schedule, how much rest you're getting, etc. It's taken me a year and a half of working out with weights 3x a week plus cardio 5x a week to start seeing serious results. Supplements can also help out. Protein shakes are classics and tons of people use them to no avail, but taken immediately after workouts, they do wonders in helping you recover quickly and maybe sneaking in one more trip to the gym a week, which can make a huge difference. There are also other things, like fat burners and creatine, but those are kind of iffy and aren't always all that safe.

 

You probably already know this, but the traditional philosophies hold true: lots of cardio and portion control to burn fat, proper eating and weightlifting to build muscle, plus plenty of water and rest to bring everything all together. Hehe, and for that extra bit of motivation, the Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding movie "Pumping Iron" is still hilarious after all these years!

[BellaDonna]

I also like the Body for Life concepts, although I have never folowed it religiously. Solid nutrition and exercise though.

 

I lot 30 pounds of fat on that program back in 2003. It put me in the BEST shape of my life. I'm trying to get back to that again, after having a child. It is a tough program for me to follow right now because it requires a lot of time and planning. But it really delivers the results- and pretty fast.

[Jayar]

Thanks for the suggestions so far... Here's some more info:

 

My metabolism is WAY slow. Way. I cannot even explain how slow it is since my accident. You know that 1,200 calories per day they recommend for a DIETING woman? I gain weight on that. Even if it's 1,200 calories of low carb with moderate fat. I don't overdo the fat, but neither do I go out of my way to eat fake junk that's low fat. I eat whole, natural foods. Vegetables and some lean meats. Mostly fish. I love fish and have been eating a lot of it now that I am on the west coast. I rarely eat beef, and prefer to substitute bison for beef since it's better for you and I personally like the taste. I eat SOME fruits as well but I cannot overdo fruits. I will gain weight from eating fruits, and I will gain weight QUICKLY if I eat any sort of bread, cereal, or pasta. Even whole grains. Being in the hospital wrecked havoc on my metabolism, ironically enough.

 

When I am watching my caloric intake, I stick to about 1,000 calories per day. This is LARGELY achieved through eating vegetables. So I eat a lot of low-calorie volume food. I understand that for most people 1,000 calories is low, but even that is SLOW weight loss for me at this point. Nevertheless I can function well on it, am not weak, hungry, or tired, and I can jog/hike/skate with the best of them.

 

When I am "bulking", thereforeee eating more calories, I don't keep track but easily down about 4,000 calories per day. But I have to be VERY careful when I do this because it has to be veggies and lean meats. Throw in even a stupid hamburger bun and I'll gain weight. I know that there must be a calorie and protein surplus to gain muscle, so I have been paying attention to that.

 

I also realize when "bulking" you will gain a few pounds. I do allow myself to do that and don't fear it. But then when I try and LOSE the fat during a cutting cycle then re-calculate BF% there is no change even over the longterm.

 

BTW, I am female and only trying to get back to my pre-accident BF%, not bulk to bodybuilding levels. I have just found that the theories of bodybuilding worked well thus far for me. Oh also I take CLA with any protein meals which helped TREMENDOUSLY after my accident but seemed to have plateaued now. I cannot take protein shakes or bars. They are entirely too high-calorie, and even the low carb ones are too high carb for me. I do not handle any artificial things well since they bombarded me with IV and crap food in the hospital. I never used to be sensitive to them before.

 

The only supplement I HAVE taken (during cutting phases) is Fenphredra which works well but unfortunately it's really harsh on my system to take it with such little food. It does my head in.

 

Incidentally, before anyone suggests eating more to build my metabolism, I can't. I need to build the muscle. My muscle is so shot that there is NOTHING eating can do at this point to speed up my metabolism.

[BellaDonna]

When I am watching my caloric intake, I stick to about 1,000 calories per day. This is LARGELY achieved through eating vegetables. So I eat a lot of low-calorie volume food. I understand that for most people 1,000 calories is low, but even that is SLOW weight loss for me at this point. Nevertheless I can function well on it, am not weak, hungry, or tired, and I can jog/hike/skate with the best of them.

 

Oh my goodness! That is your answer right there ^. There's no way you'll build muscle with such a low calorie intake. Your metabolism is probably slow because your body thinks it's in starvation mode.

 

Try this calculator to see how many calories you should be getting and where they should be coming from.

 

link removed

 

A calorie deficit is a must for losing fat- however if you are not getting enough calories it can also make you hold on to fat. You need to eat more.

[Jayar]

Oh my goodness! That is your answer right there ^. There's no way you'll build muscle with such a low calorie intake. Your metabolism is probably slow because your body thinks it's in starvation mode.

 

Try this calculator to see how many calories you should be getting and where they should be coming from.

 

link removed

 

A calorie deficit is a must for losing fat- however if you are not getting enough calories it can also make you hold on to fat. You need to eat more.

 

I eat more during the bulking phase. Much more. 4x as much, as I mentioned. Unfortunately eating more than 1,000 calories per day regularly, even during attempted cutting phase prevents weight loss in me. This is largely the reason I want to gain muscle, as I want to get back to my ability to have a normal healthy diet. At this point I am simply unable.

 

If I eat more than about 900 to 1,000 calories per day, I creep up in weight at the rate of about 8 pounds a month. That is EXTREMELY fast.

 

For example: If I decide I am in a bulking phase, I eat a lot of just about the healthiest foods on earth, and gain a good 15lbs or so. At this point my jeans are starting to feel tight and I figure okay it's time to cut fat, and there SHOULD be a net muscle gain. Repeat the cycle a few times and my muscle mass should increase. In theory. My problem is that after the cutting phase I am back where I started, neither more muscle nor more fat.

[CaptainNapalm]

Try not to focus so much on the "bulking" and "cutting" as if your goal is to gain muscle you need to eat a rich high protein diet. In addition, it is very important that you execute some strengthening exercises. If you don't belong to a gym buy yourself some dumbbells, (5lb to 15lb or as you think suitable) and start doing some muscle building exercises. Normally I would suggest compound movements but because you're a female do isolation exercises and try to train each muscle group 2-3 times per week. You don't need to lift very heavy weights and you don't need to overtrain but I think 3-4 half hour sessions of strength training will give you good results. Make sure you are eating enough protein and eat healthy and you should do well.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

If you aren't getting enough protein, you'll not get enough muscle, since you require protein to build muscle.

 

Try switching to the more 'pure' protein like chicken breasts and eggwhites. You can't be on a low protein diet and get muscle, so if you are eating mostly vegetables that is the wrong diet to gain muscle.

 

You also need to recognize that if you gain muscle, you are also going to gain weight. So perhaps your problem is you are trying to go too low on body fat percentage trying to maintain a certain weight on the scale, and your metabolism is whacked because of that.

 

You body can go into some strange conservation metabolisms if it thinks you are starving, so your body may have been in the starvation mode for too long now. In the starving mode, the body does instantly store fat to try to protect itself, so you obviously have messed up your metabolism by going too low in calories and protein for too long.

 

My suggestion would be to up the protein and not worry about your weight so much and monitor more whether you are healthy and your body muscle/fat percentage is correct. If it is, then you don't need to worry about what the scale says.

[cavaliere]

Swimming is also a terrific all-around exercise that gets better results than jogging or biking. It won't build up lots of muscle per se, but it's great for losing body fat and getting lean. It's no wonder swimmers usually have such great bodies!