I’ve currently done two weeks of Layne Norton’s PHAT routine. My goals is to gain muscle mass. What should I be doing? I’ve thought of doing stronglifts, but I’m not sure if it’s a good starting point. I’m very lean and a woman so muscle mass won’t be easy to attain, however I am willing to follow the right nutrition and training program to get there. If anyone here can help with training, I would be really grateful!
Another female here and I need to stop you right there saying things like muscle mass won’t be easy to attain. lol Your muscles won’t be as large as a mans and we carry more body fat but if you’re training hard, it will be a non-issue. Don’t sell yourself short.
Can you do pull ups and chin ups and speed squats and bench? At first glance, it seems alright but the more that I look at it, it doesn’t really seem geared to a beginner. Having said that, really, anything that you do at this point should be putting muscle on you.
If you can post more info about what your goals are and what you specifically are doing now to get there, it would be more helpful. I know that you want to gain mass but personal stats are a good place to start.
Before I know anything more I am going to share with you my observation about people that are just beginning to lift weights if that’s okay. They will find a program, do it for a few weeks and then think they need to change something to get better results or they second guess what program they’re doing and wonder if there’s something better for them. Whatever you decide to do, be consistent and give it your all and you will see results. It’s not hard and when you start to see quads and hams and bicep peaks and find out you have triceps, it’s addictive. 
Yep, big x2 to everything Jackie said.
You’ve only been at it for two weeks. Follow through with the plan, any plan for 12-16 weeks without interruption and then look back at how far you’ve gone (though, pay attention all along the way and make smaller adjustments as needed).
Nutrition-wise, check out the seven steps for designing a great all-around diet here:
That would be a good start.
[quote]Jackie_Jacked wrote:
Another female here and I need to stop you right there saying things like muscle mass won’t be easy to attain. lol Your muscles won’t be as large as a mans and we carry more body fat but if you’re training hard, it will be a non-issue. Don’t sell yourself short.
Can you do pull ups and chin ups and speed squats and bench? At first glance, it seems alright but the more that I look at it, it doesn’t really seem geared to a beginner. Having said that, really, anything that you do at this point should be putting muscle on you.
If you can post more info about what your goals are and what you specifically are doing now to get there, it would be more helpful. I know that you want to gain mass but personal stats are a good place to start.
Before I know anything more I am going to share with you my observation about people that are just beginning to lift weights if that’s okay. They will find a program, do it for a few weeks and then think they need to change something to get better results or they second guess what program they’re doing and wonder if there’s something better for them. Whatever you decide to do, be consistent and give it your all and you will see results. It’s not hard and when you start to see quads and hams and bicep peaks and find out you have triceps, it’s addictive.
[/quote]
I attached the most recent picture I’ve taken. As you can see I have a lot of work to do. I’m the one on the right.
My nutrition:
Morning:
Dymatize fusion 7 one scoop:
190 calories
6g fat
6g carbs
Snack:
Quest bar
200 calories
6g fat
8g carbs
Lunch: ( pre-workout )
La tortilla factory low carb burrito wrap
chunk light tuna in water
tablespoon of hummus
tablespoon chopped sweet onion
Small avocado slice
250 calories
6g fat
7g carbs
Dinner: ( post workout )
1 small bowl of smashed sweet potaoes
7 ounces of lean meat
3 ounces of broccoli/cauliflower
500 calories
11g fat
40g carbs
Snack:
15 almonds
120 calories
10g fat
2g carbs
Before bed:
Same as breakfast
This is a typical day for me.
Is my nutrition off point?
Any insight would be helpful.
As far as training, I’ll different programs everyday. I don’t stick to a particular program. I pick a lot of workout programs from muscleandstrength.com
Right now I’m doing this one : 4 Day Power Muscle Burn Workout Split | Muscle & Strength
What are your opinions on the type of training done in this program? Effective for muscle gains?
And yes, I am very guilty of switching programs. I stuck to one program for 3 months and really didn’t see much change. Jamie Eason’s muscle building program over at bodybuilding.com
I’ve been working out for about 7 months now and all I’ve really done is lean out like nobody’s business.
[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Yep, big x2 to everything Jackie said.
You’ve only been at it for two weeks. Follow through with the plan, any plan for 12-16 weeks without interruption and then look back at how far you’ve gone (though, pay attention all along the way and make smaller adjustments as needed).
Nutrition-wise, check out the seven steps for designing a great all-around diet here:
That would be a good start.[/quote]
That’s a great article. Thanks for sharing! It feels like I’m undereating after reading that.
Look around TNATION for articles about the T-Vixen stuff from the past. Picking and choosing a different program everyday will get you almost nowhere, you need some kind of long term strategy and programming to see results like you want.
Nutrition looks okay, you may want to look around here for more information about that. If you’re interested in an effective diet program I’d look in to the Velocity Diet or the INDIGO Project, both will lead to impressive results in about a month of hard work. Dump wheat products and eat more rice and sweet potatoes as a main carb source, and look at Metabolic Drive in the store as a protein source, and FINiBARs for a snack. both are high in quality with no garbage filler.