[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]COMEONDIESEL wrote:
Apologies if this should be asked in a PM, but with all the arguments across this board recently concerning bulking and limits to gaining muscle naturally, I’m curious to know your opinion on the whole thing. What’s your general advice for a beginner ectomorph (1-2 years lifting experience) looking to get bigger? How much scale weight a week/month we talking? Just how soft would you recommend going?[/quote]
While I would never suggest anything to limit gaining as much quality size as you can, the human body, with all of its individual variables can only create new muscle tissue as a limited rate. When you’re younger, and especially if your naturally thin or ectomorphic, you can put on a decent amount of fat with the muscle and still maintain a fairly lean appearance. Of course when we’re discussing ‘leanness’, everyone has their own definitions, whether they’re an average gym rat, or planning to one day step onstage.
Yates maintained that even with the genetically gifted, doing everything ‘correctly’, their body can only put on a couple of lbs of quality muscle each month at best. There are however some benefits of getting a bit ‘soft’ at times. Added weight can support joints, allow you to train a bit heavier (this is debatable, but I’ll throw it in), and will certainly assure you that you’re eating enough calories each day (of course quality nutrients can be in question).
On the downside, there have been plenty of studies showing that at higher levels of bodyfat, your body responds less favorably to insulin, and may not be in an optimal hormonal situation to continue packing on muscle.
In my personal opinion, I’ve always said that as long as I can see my abs when I flex 'em, then I know I can be contest ready in 16 weeks. That also leaves me lean enough that even though I easily fill out an XL shirt I’m not embarrassed to take it off at the beach. Over the years I’ve competed, each off season has seen me in a similar weight range, yet appearing leaner and leaner each year. So while my offseason weight, and maybe even my contest weight may appear the same, the amount of muscle relative to adipose tissue keeps improving.
To recommend a few general guideline, I’d suggest this:
-Don’t get so soft that you’re constantly feeling the need to explain what you’re doing. Sure, it’s great to look at the big picture, but you have to walk around every day in your body, and no one wants to feel like they look horrible
-Don’t eat tons of crap foods thinking it’s gonna help you. Sure, some people believe that you need to ‘dirty bulk’ if your metabolism is really fast, but I think those instances are really few and far between. Some people just need to learn to eat for progress better.
-Remember that your goal, if we’re talking bodybuilding here and not simply sports performance, is to look good! If you’re getting so far away from that, you need to reassess your approach.
Some one posted on another thread his plan to gain .5 lbs per week. Now obviously scale fluctuations can be all over the place. What I do with my clients, as well as myself, is chart daily weights, and take note of the lowest #s each week. All the higher readings may simply be water, glycogen, fiber… so go by the lowest.
If indeed you’re packing on .5 - 1 lb a week, that’s plenty! Sure it may not be 100% muscle, but you won’t be able to tell until a few months have passed. At that point… BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF! This is where many people do themselves the disservice of looking for anything to support the fact that they put on too much fat with their muscle gain.
S[/quote]
What a great post. Best of luck with the recovery Stu, I’m sure you’ll be back at it as fast as intelligently possible. Thanks for all you do here.
