I have noticed that in pretty much all gyms across the country there are guys (and a few girls) who are in the weights sections of the gym four or five times a week giving it there all, pushing and lifting as much weight as they can, but they don’t seem to bulk up. This may apply to you reading this, you have a good weights programme to follow working every muscle in the body over the week, but no matter how heavy or how long you are in the gym you can’t put on a pound.
Well here is the answer, you need to EAT MORE!
If your weight is maintaining the amount of food you are eating currently is enough to support the amount of muscle you currently have. There is no extra food to build any new muscle because energy in = energy out. What you need is energy in > energy out, this way your body has extra calories to build new muscle fibres, which your muscles are asking for from lifting the weights.
The key is to keep eating till you get to your desired weight. A lot of people will worry that they will put of excess fat whilst eating extra. To avoid putting on extra fat you have to increase the amount of food very gradually. To do this try the following (this is to be used in combination with a comprehensive weight training programme incorporating cardio too) eat breakfast lunch and dinner as you normally would, along with that you are going to have two Bulk Up meals one between breakfast and lunch and the other between lunch and dinner.
For your bulk up meals I suggest cereals, rice, pasta, along with a source of protein such as chicken or protein shake. You will also need a pair of food scales to do this. You will need to weigh out your Bulk Up meals each day, and then the secret to putting on muscle and not too much fat is to ADD 1GRAM EACH DAY TO YOUR BULK UP MEALS. This may seem insignificant, but over ten days you will have added 10 grams to you Bulk Up meals and slowly but surely you muscles will gradually grow, and your strength should increase too.
The healthier you eat while doing this the less fat you will put on, stay away from junk food altogether, and keep alcohol to a minimum (save drinking for nights out). Avoid processed food and stick to the low fat options.
When doing this you should aim to gain 2lb of body weight each week, if you are gaining more than this cut down on the amount you eat as you will probably put on some fat. If you aren’t gaining 2lb a week increase the amount you are eating until you are.
Try to eat your breakfast, lunch and dinner meals as you normally would and don’t worry too much about what you eat, just make sure it is healthy.
Just keep adding 1gram a day until you get to the weight you want, as for rest days (days when you don’t do any exercise) if you a doing this and gaining easily then just have one Bulk Up meal, if you are struggling to put on weight while doing this carry on as normal having two Bulk Up meals on your rest days, see chart below for explanation.
Gaining Easy
Monday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Tuesday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Wednesday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Thursday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Friday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Saturday, 1 Bulk Up meal, add nothing to it
Sunday, 1 Bulk Up meal, add nothing to it
Struggling to gain
Monday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Tuesday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Wednesday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Thursday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Friday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add 1 gram to them
Saturday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add nothing to it
Sunday, 2 Bulk Up meals, add nothing to it
When you are doing this you may not feel like eating much because you are full up all the time, but as long as you are gaining 2lb a week and still training hard stick with it, you’ll get used to it after a while and won’t even think about it. Just make sure you stick with this programme and your weights programme for at least a month to notice some difference.
To book a session or for comments and questions call or e-mail me:
E-mail: pete@petegriggs.com. Phone: 07947 049889
Please Read Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the authors and theirs alone. Information in the articles is not to be taken as medical advice, please consult you doctor before undertaking any type of exercise programme especially if you have any medical conditions.