Gaining Muscle AND Fat

All:

I’ve been doing a program based on Scrawny to Brawny (as best I can at home w/out a gym membership) for a few months now. I’m nealy 10 pounds over where I was when I started eating and lifting bigger.

While I can see in my shoulders and arms that some of it is muscle, some of it is also fat. The gut that I lost last year is starting to return and the pants I bought last year when I weight 15 pounds less fit tighter.

So what should I do?

  1. Reduce eating

  2. Drink 2 protein/carb shakes before and after workouts instead of 3 shakes before DURING and after (at 25gm protein and 50gm carbs each, 150gm carbs within 90 minutes seems like a LOT to me.)

  3. Ride my bike more for more cardio to burn excess carbs & fat.

  4. Lower the weights a little and do more reps.

  5. Don’t change anything and don’t worry about fat until I’m happy with the muscle mass, then work on losing the fat.

To gain muscle you have to gain fat also, stop worrying about your clothes not fitting. Buy new clothes to fit you. Keep eating and getting bigger or you will never get to the weight your want.

buy stretchy pants.

Lee Priest approved ones.

if its really bothering you that much maybe add in some sprints 1-2 times a week. but fat gain comes with gaining muscle

I was always worried I wasn’t getting bigger.I went out and bought XL shirts and kept going till i fit them.

Oh, unless your doing a crap load of bike work I’d switch to running or swimming…swimming will wipe you out for cardio

[quote]Ghost22 wrote:
buy stretchy pants.

Lee Priest approved ones.[/quote]

lmfao

I’m in almost an identical boat. I’ve put on ten pounds, added some muscle but also added a bit to my waist line. It’s good to see these replies. I’ll keep eating a lot and lifting hard but I think I might add in some sprints as suggested above. Thanks!

[quote]redsox348984 wrote:
if its really bothering you that much maybe add in some sprints 1-2 times a week. but fat gain comes with gaining muscle[/quote]
Berardi recommends that but he just emphasizes that it’s good for the heart. Will it also help minimize fat gain?

One of the best advice that I’ve seen on this site. I started doing this but with lagre shirts rather than XL shirts. If you wear something that’s much bigger than your size than you’ll want to do everything you can to fit into those clothes. And once you do fit into those clothes, buy bigger sizes :wink:

first off 10lbs in a couple months sounds like reasonable gains… if you find yourself gaining much more then 1lb a week and its obviously not all muscle then I would start to evalute how much your eating. First thing I would look at is the quality of your food, then quantity.

Also remember if your a skinny guy a little bit of fat will have a bigger effect on you then a bigger guy. However as you build bigger muscles the fat will be less aparent AND EASIER TO LOSE. Keep getting bigger and stronger and worry about the fat later.

Thanks for the replies.

I’ll start biking to work a couple of times a week again on days I’m not lifting. Hopefully that will burn off some excess carbs without undermining muscle growth.

My objective is not to be one of those huge guys in Powerful Images, but instead to have well-developed musculature but still on the slim side. So having a gut is not conducive to this.

I’m thinking that one I think my arms, back, shoulders & chest are big enough, then I’ll adjust my diet & up the cardio to try to take off the fat & not too much muscle.

[quote]JNeves wrote:
first off 10lbs in a couple months sounds like reasonable gains… if you find yourself gaining much more then 1lb a week and its obviously not all muscle then I would start to evalute how much your eating. First thing I would look at is the quality of your food, then quantity.

Also remember if your a skinny guy a little bit of fat will have a bigger effect on you then a bigger guy. However as you build bigger muscles the fat will be less aparent AND EASIER TO LOSE. Keep getting bigger and stronger and worry about the fat later.[/quote]

By your estimates it’s possible to put on 52 lbs of muscle a year then? You may want to rethink that.

It is impossible to put on weight and have it be all muscle. At best with the best genetics you’ll put it on at a 1:1 ratio. The OP had a “gut” once, so it’s possible he’s an FFB and will put it on at around a 4:1 ratio (fat to muscle). So if he’s put on 10lbs, it’s likely that it’s less than 3 lbs of muscle and about 7 lbs of fat, if not more. You need to play the cards you’re dealt.

To the OP - After another 6 months and at least another 30 lbs, start cutting that fat. It will come off easier than you think and hoepfully you won’t lose any of you hard earned gains.

[quote]eengrms76 wrote:
JNeves wrote:
first off 10lbs in a couple months sounds like reasonable gains… if you find yourself gaining much more then 1lb a week and its obviously not all muscle then I would start to evalute how much your eating. First thing I would look at is the quality of your food, then quantity.

Also remember if your a skinny guy a little bit of fat will have a bigger effect on you then a bigger guy. However as you build bigger muscles the fat will be less aparent AND EASIER TO LOSE. Keep getting bigger and stronger and worry about the fat later.

By your estimates it’s possible to put on 52 lbs of muscle a year then? You may want to rethink that.

It is impossible to put on weight and have it be all muscle. At best with the best genetics you’ll put it on at a 1:1 ratio. The OP had a “gut” once, so it’s possible he’s an FFB and will put it on at around a 4:1 ratio (fat to muscle). So if he’s put on 10lbs, it’s likely that it’s less than 3 lbs of muscle and about 7 lbs of fat, if not more. You need to play the cards you’re dealt.

To the OP - After another 6 months and at least another 30 lbs, start cutting that fat. It will come off easier than you think and hoepfully you won’t lose any of you hard earned gains.[/quote]

To restate my point:

If your gaining much more then a 1 lb a week and its obviously more muscle then fat slow down!

I’m not saying he can gain 1lb of muscle a week, but if your training hard and gaining around 1lb a week your not packing on a huge excess of fat.

If your willing to accept some fat along with the muscle your life will be much easier and results much faster.

[quote]JNeves wrote:
If your gaining much more then a 1 lb a week and its obviously more muscle then fat slow down![/quote]

I think you mean more fat than muscle.

[quote]I’m not saying he can gain 1lb of muscle a week, but if your training hard and gaining around 1lb a week your not packing on a huge excess of fat.

If your willing to accept some fat along with the muscle your life will be much easier and results much faster.[/quote]

Depends on what you define as excess. For the OP 1 lb of weight could mean as little as 0.2 lbs of muscle and 0.8 lbs of fat gain. That may seem excessive to some. Also- some people have a hard time accepting the fact that you have to add fat in order to add muscle. If the OP is an FFB, a much slower cleaner bulk is the right thing to do. Faster isn’t always better or easier.

Overall I agree with you, but your responses were just a little too cookie cutter for me. I’ve been noticing that a lot lately on this board.

I don’t know what an FFB is. But I will say that what attracted me to Scrawny to Brawny was that - at least in my 20s - I was a scrawny hardgainer who once worked out with freeweights for at least six months but gained no more than 5 pounds or so.

But I’m 44 mow, I know that from age 35 on I WILL put on fat in the gut if I eat a lot and don’t exercise enough. So that’s what I’m watching out for.

[quote]daniel d wrote:
One of the best advice that I’ve seen on this site. I started doing this but with lagre shirts rather than XL shirts. If you wear something that’s much bigger than your size than you’ll want to do everything you can to fit into those clothes. And once you do fit into those clothes, buy bigger sizes ;)[/quote]

ah so I’m not the only one.

I dont see why people stress over this crap all the time,if you like the reflection in the mirror screw the scale.Personally I can still add 3lbs or drop 4-5lbs a week at 220lbs.I dont see the problem everyone has with being bigger then most.

I don’t know what an FFB is. But I will say that what attracted me to Scrawny to Brawny was that - at least in my 20s - I was a scrawny hardgainer who once worked out with freeweights for at least six months but gained no more than 5 pounds or so.

But I’m 44 mow, I know that from age 35 on I WILL put on fat in the gut if I eat a lot and don’t exercise enough. So that’s what I’m watching out for.

ffb=former fat boy

OK, I looked up FFB, and I don’t think that’s me. I was a skinny guy most of my life, but once into my 30s, I started putting on some midsection fat and became what I believe is referred to here as skinny/fat. My lifetime max weight is about 200 pounds, but at 6’ I don’t think that quite qualifies as fat.

I started 2005 at about 193 (I know that because I programmed that figure into a heart rate monitor I bought in January 2005). That spring I started eating less, riding my bike more, and in the summer started to pushups several times a week. By September my stomach was flat and I weighed in at under 165.

In January 2006 I started lifting with dumbells. In March I started eating more good food & less junk. In May I weighed about 170 and started drinking post-workout protein drinks. At the end of June I purchased some free weights and a week ago I started taking fish oil & creatine.

I’m now 180 pounds. My arms & shoulders are larger than they’ve ever been and very firm. My stomach has a thinkening soft layer, but I’m guessing with my history that if I can get to 210 pounds or so and then cut the calories and increase the cardio, I’ll be able to shed the excess fat relatively easily and be a lean, muscular athletic 200 pounds. Is that realistic?

[quote]dancar wrote:
I’m now 180 pounds. My arms & shoulders are larger than they’ve ever been and very firm. My stomach has a thinkening soft layer, but I’m guessing with my history that if I can get to 210 pounds or so and then cut the calories and increase the cardio, I’ll be able to shed the excess fat relatively easily and be a lean, muscular athletic 200 pounds. Is that realistic?[/quote]

Sure, anything is possible. Just don’t expect it to happen overnight and without a lot of hard work. Keep a positive attitude about it and you’ll get where you want to be. I would consider maybe bulking to 220 or so before cutting, as long as you’re keeping the fat gain in check.