Weight lifting and gaining weight!!???

It is almost impossible to gain muscle while reducing fat. The only way this is actually possible is if you took steroids or prohormones.

You should have two phases, a bulking phase, and a cutting phase. You gain muslce, while putting on some fat during bulking. You then lose some muscle, and alot of fat during the cutting phase.

Any cardio....ANY cardio will hinder you ability to gain weight.

I know this is 6 years old, but I really don't enjoy reading so much poorly defined information. So I want to give some pointers to other people that come by this post.

There is no such thing as a bulk/cut phase. What I mean by this is, yes you will pack on a lot of mass, but you will look bloated and never reach where you want to be. You loose too much muscle when cutting. It only works when you juice... testosterone etc.

Go hybrid lean muscle gaining in stead. By this I mean, work out with i.e Elliot Hulse's program and follow dietary plans. By doing incorporated cardio (preferably H.I.I.T) and progressively gaining weight at a steady pace you can stay lean all year around while putting on muscles. You just have to fast a day or two a week, and know how to utilise your body to its fullest. How? By learning about insulin spikes, testosterone, anabolic, catabolic and all the mechanics that your body has in order to gain or loose muscles. Once you know the science behind it you can start to figure out the rest on your own.

Also, people who say you hinder weight gain with cardio are wrong. You just can't run 40 minutes+. By doing a quick 5-10 min HIIT cardio run then you'll yield 10% more results when it comes to lifting as your body transfers more oxygen in the blood.

Now, to the main thing. People don't realise you have to EAT to gain weight. And by eating I don't mean... ye I ate 5 times a day. I mean 5 BIG meals minimum. As you grow bigger you need more. Vincent Del Monte has a great pdf book that explains everything in a simple manner, and gives you the calculations to figure out how much to eat at any stage of your workout. Give it a read if you are serious about gaining weights.

Keep a food diary. Keep a workout diary. Measure your body parts and keep it in a diary.

How can you know you have or have not progressed, if you haven't bothered to take the few minutes at the end of the weak to measure?

So thats it folks! I'm by no means an expert, and have only pieced together information over time.

Check out channels like Elliot Hulse, Omarlsuf, hodgemuscletwins etc on youtube for some good tips and talks :)

Good luck!

Paul, I use to be 135 lbs and now I am 185 lbs. I did the same thing you did when I first started. I wasn't gaining anything for the first few weeks, but it worked out for me after a month. You are doing everything right, don't try to speed up the process because it will only frustrates you. Instead, be consistence, get enough sleep (good sleep 7-8 hours a day) so your muscle can relax. Make you have enough fluid (water is OK, no need for the special drink, since you are already taking protein drink). Do a little warm before you hit the weights. Then increase the weight after two weeks, only to the level that you are comfortable with. Try not to over do it, like I say, be consistence and pace yourself because you don't want to tear up any of your muscles. Otherwise, your body will look funny. Have fun with lifting weights because it will benefit you in the long run.

This is definitely a tough question. I'm in exactly the same boat as you! A lot of people believe you are either muscular or really fit, but you can't be both. And it seems to stand to reason. To be fit you need to devote a lot of time to cardio work. And this burns up a lot of calories. To be muscular (and gain weight) you need to devote a lot of time to weights and adding more calories/protein to your diet. The 2 goals seem mutually exclusive.

It comes down to how much time you have to train, and how you spend that time when training. I run to the gym (a good couple of miles) 2-4 times a week. But in the gym I do nothing but weights, I avoid the cardio. Additionally I'll do a longer run (somewhere between 5-8 miles) at some point in the week. I think this is a good balance. I am definitely gaining weight and muscle mass but my fitness has not been compromised. It will take longer to gain mass if you keep up with the CV work, but you will still gain it slowly!

Building muscle is a great healthy way to gain weight; try this out for building muscle.

Eat regularly, if possible every three hours, when your body realises that it's getting a regular supply of food it increases it's metabolism, burning calories quicker and is much less likely to store calories as fat. When eating try to eat a lot of high protein foods and don't go too hard on the carbs. Try go easy on trans and saturated fats although you are allowed the odd treat. Drink lots of water! At least one gallon per day. Tea, coffee and fizzy drinks are O.K but they don' count towards your overall water intake. Vegetables are also very important they contain vital vitamins and antioxidants so include plenty of these in your diet.

As for exercise I do some light weight training four days a week and cardiovascular (I use a rowing machine) two days a week with one days rest. There is a common belief that doing cardiovascular exercise on an empty stomach helps burn calories. This is absolute rubbish do not do it. Weight training is a good idea as muscle tissue burns a lot of energy, even while you sleep. You don't have to become Mr/Mrs universe but any fat tissue which you can convert to muscle tissue will not only make you look better but increase your metabolism. Getting plenty of sleep is also important when trying to build muscle.

Good Luck

If you are attempting to put on muscle then do not do 30 minute runs. Look at the body mass of a marathon runner and compare it to the body of a sprinter. Check out the difference in the muscle mass.

Do a short warm up run, 3-5 minutes, then do sprints, say 90% of max for 15 seconds, then jog at a much slower pace for 45 seconds to recover, repeat 5-8 times.

Depending on your level of fitness you can increase/decrease the sprint times/distances, number of sprints, etc.

30 minutes of running twice a week is too much if you're trying to gain weight.

Remember this important rule about gaining and losing weight. The only way to add weight is to take in more calories than you burn. The only to lose weight is to take in fewer calories than you burn.

A lot of people, myself included, swear by what's known as the ABCDE program: Anabolic Burst Cycle of Diet and Exercise. In the program, you over eat for two weeks, then under eat for two weeks. Then you repeat the cycle. By the time of your second under-eating/burn calories cycle, you'll be amazed at how much lean muscle you've added. Try the link below to learn more

Also, keep in mind that to add muscle, you need to increase your caloric intake.

60 minutes of cardio training a week will not affect your body building. Unless you're a hard-gainer, which very few people are. Then I'd cut it to 40 minutes, or even half an hour. Still, some cardio is necessary, just to keep you in shape.

Just remember to run slowly (fast running burns carbs instead of fat) and not on a completely empty stomach. Eat something light 1-2 hours before the run. Running fast on an empty stomach will burn protein, if carbs are not available.

Running is a great way to improve overall fitness and good cardio fitness which is essential to gaining healthy weight. Don't forget that when you run you are building muscle in your legs and abdominal area.

Not at all, you need your cardio to work to enable you to train.

I previously weight lifted for 10yrs in my 20`s. I was in the construction industry at the same time, so the combination was an advantage and boy could i eat. The information on nutrition was not as available as now. Read up on the beast foods to intake, milk shakes etc. Do however keep away from steroids. I was never massive but was strong, mates would come to the gym after 10 week periods and looked really bulked, but hey it must have been steroids, they now have deficiencies. Eat well and train hard as your body allows, do it all under supervision, you may not look bulky according to your body make up, but you will feel good for it.