All my lifts are going up well and I’m making good progress so this is not another post about that, but I have a question in regards to eating…
Why can I only gain weight eating 4200+ calories a day whilst much bigger people like the kid linked in this thread earlier ( One Armed Row and Bench Critique - Beginners - Forums - T Nation ) gain weight on much less? What’s causing this large difference? I’ve seen many people much larger than me being able to gain on much less.
Obviously I can’t be completely sure I’m hitting that many but I’ve been using MyFitnessPal and comparing it to others who eat 3500 cals etc and I’m definitely consuming more.
The reason I ask is that eating this many calories often leaves me feeling sick/bloated for large parts of the day no matter how much I space it out, and makes it harder to play sports like Soccer. So whilst my lifts are improving (2.5kg every week on Bench/Row/OHP and 5kg every week on Squats/Deadlifts) it’s causing me to feel full and sick.
(Edit)
Just posting current stats for future reference:
Height: 6ft
Weight: 79kg
[quote]Flight1 wrote:
Why can I only gain weight eating 4200+ calories a day whilst much bigger people like the kid linked in this thread earlier ( One Armed Row and Bench Critique - Beginners - Forums - T Nation ) gain weight on much less? What’s causing this large difference? I’ve seen many people much larger than me being able to gain on much less.
…makes it harder to play sports like Soccer…[/quote]
Part of the answer is that you’re burning more energy than other people. Some of that being because of activity, some of it because of whatever else. Everyone burns energy differently.
The other major part is you might not be digesting the food you eat very well, given that it’s leaving you bloated. The food you eat needs to be broken down to be able to be absorbed by the bloodstream. If that process isn’t working well, you might take in 4000 calories, but only absorb 2000 of them, with the rest going to waste.
With solid foods, take some extra effort to spend more time chewing them. With dairy, make sure you’re not getting symptoms of lactose intolerance; if you are, Lactaid is a product that may help. Everyone’s threshold there is different. I can drink whole milk just fine, but if I also mix in powdered milk and whey protein, my body starts to have trouble with it.
Also, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.
But ultimately, if it takes you 4200+ calories to accomplish what you want to accomplish, then that’s what you do.
Part of the answer is that you’re burning more energy than other people. Some of that being because of activity, some of it because of whatever else. Everyone burns energy differently.
The other major part is you might not be digesting the food you eat very well, given that it’s leaving you bloated. The food you eat needs to be broken down to be able to be absorbed by the bloodstream. If that process isn’t working well, you might take in 4000 calories, but only absorb 2000 of them, with the rest going to waste.
With solid foods, take some extra effort to spend more time chewing them. With dairy, make sure you’re not getting symptoms of lactose intolerance; if you are, Lactaid is a product that may help. Everyone’s threshold there is different. I can drink whole milk just fine, but if I also mix in powdered milk and whey protein, my body starts to have trouble with it.
Also, make sure you’re drinking plenty of water.
But ultimately, if it takes you 4200+ calories to accomplish what you want to accomplish, then that’s what you do.[/quote]
Ah, that makes sense. I do eat really fast so I’ll take my time and hopefully that help. Thanks
A young guy playing sports tends to burn a lot of calories. Lorez basically answered your question, but I would add that while feeling bloated isn’t good, if you are making progress keep it up. You can adjust calories down if you start to get noticeably fat, but it’s important to eat enough to fuel performance.
Yeah the bloated feeling has generally gone, lifts are improving.
Has anyone got any tips for improving my grip? My Squat is nearly catching my deadlift and it’s pretty much only because I’m finding it difficult to grip and hold on to the bar. Anything I can add to my routine so this stops being a weakness anymore.
Has anyone got any tips for improving my grip? My Squat is nearly catching my deadlift and it’s pretty much only because I’m finding it difficult to grip and hold on to the bar. Anything I can add to my routine so this stops being a weakness anymore.[/quote]
In this order: (1) Chalk; (2) Farmer’s Walks; (3) Krock Rows; (4) Plate Pinches.
I like Farmer’s walks at the end (any day upper or lower). Pick up the heaviest dumbells you can carry and walk around the gym as long as you can hold them. Next time carry more weight. I like to rest for a minute or so and do this three or four times. There is no magic number, just pick up heavy dumbbells and start walking.
Krock Rows are a one-set, high rep dumbbell row. Google this for the protocol. You can do this either for your main row movement or at the end of your back work out.
Plate pinches you can do whenever, probably at the end, 3 to 5 sets as long as you can hold the plate each set. Not my favorite, but some people really like them.
Just realised today is exactly 2 years since my first post. Definitely not been the best progress but come a long way. Only had access to equipment needed for all the main lifts 7 months ago though.Taking the untrained strength standards from my starting weight (123 lbs) my lifts would’ve been:
While waiting for your grip strength to catch up, I’d get some straps for deadlifts. Don’t want to lose out on training heavy just because your grip isn’t playing nice.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
While waiting for your grip strength to catch up, I’d get some straps for deadlifts. Don’t want to lose out on training heavy just because your grip isn’t playing nice.[/quote]
x2
I usually start out overhand grip, when that starts to give out I go to an alternating grip, then when my grip is shot I’ll throw on straps. It depends on your goals, but I deadlift to strengthen my posterior chain, mainly the lower body. I don’t want my grip to be the limiting factor when I’m not necessarily training grip strength.
T3hPwnisher has good reasons to use straps and his lifts are through the roof. I am still going to exercise my right to disagree with his advise for the OP. Grip should not be a limiting factor with a 1.3XBW deadlift. Suck it up and do the farmers walks and get some chalk.
I absolutely agree with you. He should definitely train his grip, and those are some viable movements (I prefer static movements versus moving for grip myself). I am advocating more for the sake of bridging the gap until the grip catches up.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Grip should ALWAYS be trained.
[/quote]
I’ve heard many times that a good grip is he sign of a real strong man. I’m not saying I agree 100%, but it’s definitely up there.[/quote]
If you ask any wrestler this, he’d have to agree. The ability to hold a grip in a certain position without being over powered makes it a very powerful tool on the mat.