CoBuilder
New Member
John Herreshoff said:
I'm a former competitive powerlifter. I did some of the local contests at my old college and when I started I was in the third class lightweight division at 140lb. soaking wet with no gear. I was strong as heck in the 1rm lifts for my weight then at 17-19yrs age but didn't gain a single pound. A big part of gaining any lean mass(muscle) is in the diet, especially if you're involved in lots of physical activity and have an ultra fast metabolism. I've been doing some bodybuilding for the past three years or so focusing on the core compounds like squats, deadlifts, weighted dips, bent presses as well as adding some auxiliary isolation work(curls, extensions,and the likes) Couple that with a diet rich in protein, moderate in complex carbs, and plenty of essential fats with a slight(not major) surplus in calories. Give it at least 6 months and you will gain at least ten pounds of pure muscle mass, more if you're a newbie lifter.
The problem with most people with fast metabolisms not gaining weight is that they are not eating enough calories to start with. They thought they were eating a surplus of calories but turns out those twinkies all amounted to only 3000 calories a day. That would seem like a heck lot for the average joe but 3,000 a day really isn't enough for a lot of those lean, fast metabolism, or skinny guys working out. Add a few hundred to those 3,000 per day and it really goes a long way. When I was bulking, I stuffed it around 3800-4200 calories per day , 7 days a week with 5 days of lifting. I don't do that anymore since I've leveled off. Some people need more, some need less.
Strength endurance work like swimming obviously involves you to eat a heck lot more to gain weight. WIth no increase in calorie consumption comes no increase in weight. You didn't lose weight because the calories, along with your energy expenditure activities(swimming, walking up stairs, running, etc.) was enough for you to maintain. Swimming isn't ideal for building muscle but can build some mass in the shoulders/lats/traps area initially, if and only if you were shooting those calories down your stomach. It's all energy balance in the end. The argument of some guys not being able to gain weight doesn't exist , unless we're talking about guys with digestion/metabolism problems.
. When I played 5 times a week in high school, I could eat anything I wanted and I was 121 lbs (and 5'9"). Probably would have been more if i wasn't a goalie and needed to work on the weights a bit more. But as soon as I stopped playing that often, up to 155.
