I've been doing weight training for 6 months now, my body started adding more mass on my first 3 months and now it seemed that I'm only changing shape but not having additional muscle mass. What should I do?
205826
I'm a 26 year-old asian woman and have been training for a few years now. I'm training to compete in Figure, which is a smaller-bodied (and in heels) version of women's bodybuilding. I train 5 days a week with two rest days. So I'll typically train for 3 days, off 1 day, train 2 days, off 1 day.\n\nSupplements are a huge part of getting the results you want. There are so many supplements out there that do so many things for you, so sometimes it's confusing to decide what's right for you. It's good that you're getting alot of your protein from foods, however, sometimes in order to get the amount of protein that your body truly needs to grow, you'll need to take a ridiculous amount of foods to get it. With that also comes the unnecessary fat, cholesterol, sugars, calories etc. Hence, the term "supplement"...to supplement protein/good fats/amino acids/etc using powders and pills. So what I'm trying to say is that you'll need supplements to get the results you want. Supplements are not drugs. Most supplements occur naturally in your body and in food, but not enough to help you recover after a long weight session. No one should compare supplements to something like steroids. Steroids=bad. Supplements=good (as long as you do your research and know what to take and what not to take for the results you want).\n\nIt's great that you're taking multivitamins. I would also suggest the following to get maximum results:\n\n1. Whey protein (I take Optimum Nutrition whey protein) It has 25g of protein, 120 calories, 1g fat, minimal cholesterol. Your body needs 1 gram protein per lb that you weigh. This will help your body recover the muscles you tear during your workout. \n\n2. L-gluatmine (I take it in powder form). This is a type of amino acid that naturally occurs in your body, however, not enough to help you recover quicky. It helps in growing cells and in nitrogen transport to your muscles. Nitrogen transport = maximum performance at the gym.\n\n3. L-carnitine (I take it in liquid form for faster absorption). This supplement aids in fat metabolism (if you want to lose unwanted fat)\n\n4. Omega 3 fish oils. These occur naturally in food and are "good fats". Helps you in not retaining fat in your body.\n\n5. Endurathon by EAS. It's an energy supplement to aid you in max performance. It gives your cells energy in the form of ATP.\n\nAs far as training, if you want to get big, I'd suggest doing less reps and higher weight. I trained like that a few years ago and it got me huge! (I was also on creatine at that time, but i'm not sure if that's good for women).\n\nI'd also suggest asking around and doing research online. Bodybuilding.com is a great website. Check it out!\n\nGood luck!
123967
TX,\nYou may be the type who has to do a lot of physical exercise to gain.  The gain would be muscle weight and not fat weight.  It sounds like your body does not store fat easily, which is unusual.  But it may be true.  I have seen very thin men gain large amounts of muscle weight when a very thorough exercise regimen has been adopted.  It may surprise you.
184234
if you are already exercising - chnge up your routine and intensify your workouts. Try a stricter diet.
193274
Gaining quality muscle mass encompasses a lot of different factors. Exercise, diet, genetics, ...etc determine the amount and how quickly you can gain muslce mass.\nI hate to disappoint you, but what you are asking is impossible.\nThe good news is you can begin today building a better body and adding quality muscle mass.\nCheck out my site for more info. Good luck!
454186
more weights, less reps- BUT enough to get to muscle fatigue.\nYou don't want to overdo it but you want to use the maximum weight you can handle , doing 10 - 15 reps, and at least three sets, possibly four-  by the end of your last set you want to feel like you literally cannot do any more.\nPyramid sets are also a good way to build muscle-  this is where you would do 5 -7 sets, your middle set is going to be the maximum weight oyu can handle, your first and last set are warm up and cool down sets.  You would obviously use more weight than this , but for an example set 1  - 15 reps- 5 pounds, set 2 10 reps 10 lbs, set 3  - 5 - 10 reps 15 lbs,  set 4 same as set 2 , set 5 same as set 1\n\nyou can also do straight sets 10- 15 reps of the max you can handle you will gradually increase your weight.  Also oyu want to make sure you are weight training 3- 5 times a week and don't work the same muscle group 2 days in a row.\nTo lose the fat, maintain cardiovascular health and make those new muscles really show- include 3- 5 days of good aerobic/ cardiovascular exercise
335957
Just keep it going and do what you are doing. Consider adding in some weights to your routine. Refer to www.bodybuilding.com\n\nYou can search the site for specific areas and do those exercises. It may just be a matter of toning. If you are really worried, get a personal trainer to provide you a program to do either from home or at the gym where you can work this area and tone. After a few months if you don't see significant improvement it may well be that you have to consider more alternatives and possibly surgery.
425188
lotta upper body working out to increase muscle mass may make veins grow to supply the muscle, but i been sticking for 30 years and some folks are just tough.  make sure you know where the best ones are and send them there.
161279
you are building more muscle mass which actually weighs more than fat
144860
You probably gained muscle weight.  Muscle weighs more than fat.  Unless you have been eating more of the wrong foods you probably are slimmer and less flabby.
444651
Remember that muscle ways 3 times more than fat. So if you want to gain wait, you should go to the gym. As not only will you gain the wait, you will also be stronger and stay fit.
81815
I think your fat measurements may be incorrect. If they were correct, you have managed to gain 22.8 lbs of fat and 7.2 lbs of muscle. You're eating too much. Even excess protein will be turned to fat. \n\nFirst get rid of the extr fat - reduce carb and fat intake and do cardio. When yo're back to where you were, you can go on a high protein diet. During this phase do very little cardio and concentrate on weight training. 1gm of protein per lb of body weight is more than sufficient for muscular growth.
327945
It takes heavy weight to develop bulk. light weights with more repetitions will tone and slenderize
113307
You might be doing a little too much. Especially if you are talking about gaining muscle mass. Gaining muscle mass is a combination of exercise, nutrition, and recovery. If any one of those is out of whack you won't experience the best possible gains. In some cases you won't see any.\n\nMy advice would be:\n\n1. Cut you workouts down to three full body workouts a week. Either Mon,Wed,Fri or Tues,Thurs,Sat. This schedule will allow your muscles to recover and grow. Remember to increase the weight on all your lifts by 10% every two weeks. Try this for about six months. \n\n2. Get a gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight or your lean body mass. Try to get it from lean sources. Eat about six small meals per day.\n\n3. Try creatine and HMB.\n\n4. Drink plenty of water. If you divide your bodyweight in pounds by two that is the number of ounces of water you need to drink in a day.\n\n5. Remember to stretch.\n\n6. Do at least a half hour of cardio three times a week. For some fun cardio take up a martial art like Karate or Tae Kwon Do.\n\n7. Take a good multivitamin.\n\n8. Find out what your body type is. Are you a mesomorph, endomorph, or ectomorph? Are you a combination of any of these. These bodytypes determine how you should workout. Look them up on www.bodybuilding.com for a full explanation.\n\n9. Get as much quality sleep as you can. Eight hours a night is good. You grow while you are sleeping.\n\nHere's a sample three day workout:\n\nWORK OUT PROGRAM \n3 X WEEK\n\n\nLEGS\nSquat 3x8\nStraight Leg Deadlift 3x10\nStanding Calf Raise 3x10-15\n\nCHEST\nBench Press 3x8-10\nFlyes 3x8-10\n\nBACK\nPulldown 3x10-15\nBent Over Rows 3x6-10\nDeadlifts 3x10-12\n\nSHOULDERS\n\nMilitary Press 3x8-10\nUpright Rows 3x10-15\n\nBICEPS\n\nStanding Barbell Curls 3x10-12\n\nTRICEPS \nLying Tricep Extensions 3x10-15\n\nSTOMACH\n\nCrunches 3x50\n\n\nMon., Wed., Fri. or Tues., Thurs., Sat.\n\nEvery two weeks increase the weight on each exercise by 10%. If you can’t don’t worry about it. Keep trying until you can.\n\nAfter a while you can move back up into heavier workouts. Hope this helps! I used this answer once before to help somebody else!\n\nSource(s):\nBodybuilding 101 by Robert Wolff\nSuper Squats by Randall Strossen\nStretching by Bob Anderson\nThe Education of a Bodybuilder by Arnold Schwarzenegger\nArnold Schwarzenegger's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding
655185
It is a fact that most of your body structure is based from your Genes. I'm 36 and have a hard time managing my weight. But this should not keep you from trying. Try changing your exercise program by doing different exercises or stepping up past your current level. Working more muscles burns more fat. I get good results from doing this and it really helps me. Don't confuse your weight gain with building muscle. It adds weight too. Try doing body measurements with a measuring tape or calipers available at most sporting good stores. This will help you see your results and track your true progression. And if this helps I do recall China saying in her book how she was overweight when she was younger, now look at her. Been in Playboy, TV etc. etc. But the one thing she didn't do was give up.
52377
I usually plateau after 3 to 4 weeks. To get around it, you need to change your routine around. I schedule 4 weeks at high reps (8-12), then 4 weeks at low reps (4-6), take a week off to fully recover, then change the exercises around and start over.\n\nAlso, your diet can contribute to you plateau. If you are too restrictive on calories, it can cause muscle loss. It sounds strange, but if you add a little more, it may help you lose more fat. Adding more calories will help you add more lean muscles, which will increase your metabolism, which will help burn more fat. Make sure they are healthy calories.
405092
You're gaining muscle.  You should have taken all of your body measurements before you started exercising/eating right so that you could now compare your current measurements to see where the fat is going away.  That way you'll know you're making progress and won't feel bad when the scale goes up.
401891
If you aren't already, start weight training.  You should also supplement with protein, creatine, BCAAs, and L-glutamine. Eat plenty of complex carbs (veggies, oatmeal, whole-wheat). \n\nReduce your cardio if you're having trouble holding on to muscle mass.\n\nFeel free to contact me if you have more questions.