FORUMS > Gaining Weight Forum Rules

So, I am currently 140 lbs, would like to get bigger/ fit and toned I've started working out and building muscle however i'm wondering if I should gain the weight before I start lifting etc. otherwise I'm afraid all the work i've done will just be burned away by the new muscle and in the end, getting me no where?

another question

I've gained upper body strength in the form of muscle etc. I can tell i've gained it in areas like pecs, arms, etc, however it seems like my neck is still skinny haha! is there any work out to bulk up in the neck area???

Hey Derek.. Don`t know if it helps but my neighbour(5ft 7in, 30in waist, 41in chest and 22in arms) is a body builder and he does a strict diet(not sure what it is). But anyway, I am an overweight guy(more than a few pounds) and he said that having extra weight will help out with gaining muscle mass because your body and muscles will use the fat as a fuel. He has a home gym in his garage and it has pretty much everything that a gym that you would go to has and I have been over there working out with him every couple days and I have noticed that my fat has gone down considerably over the past few months and I have gained a fair bit of muscle mass. And as far as having mass around the neck area it will come overtime(so I hear).

Hope this helps you...

Jamie

There are some machines you can use to work your neck muscles, but I've only seen them in one gym and that was for football. Otherwise there are harness's to work your neck... but I've never used one, it looks to painful.

I would try to gain weight while working out. Eat, limit your cardio, eat, oh and Eat. So work on packing on some muscle mass, just be aware that some fat may come along with it. as opposed to slacking off on the weights, and eating a lot.
On weights focus on more multi-joint exercises, like squats, deadlift as opposed to single joint like tricep extensions or leg curls.
When you do multi-joint exercises, more muscle groups are used per exercise, stimulating growth throughout the entire body -- including your arms -- due to the release of anabolic (muscle-building) testosterone and growth hormone. plus you get in and out of the gym faster, meaning you're spending less time burning energy.

more examples are barbell rows, overhead (shoulder) presses, pulldowns, dips, lunges, pushups, and dumbbell rows

Bro you definitely want to gain the weight as muscle, another words at the same time. Here is why if you go and put on a bunch or weight before you start lifting the weight you put on will be fat. Contrary to the popular belief you will not suddenly turn that fat into muscle. You have to have a calorie excess to add muscle most efficiently. If you have a calorie excess you are not going to burn any of the fat, while you are adding muscle. Then what happens is finally start lifting and putting on muscle, but all that fat is still there, and it covers up the muscle giving you a big bulky look not a nice cut look. Then at some point you have to go into a cutting phase to lose all that fat that you gained. Invariably when this happens you lose some of the muscle that you put on. In order to lose fat you have to have a calorie deficit. This means you end up with 4 months of strict dieting, lots of cardio, and you lose some of the muscle you just worked so hard to put on. This is not good.

The much better way is put the weight on as muscle and not fat in the first place. This means lots of protein. Protein is harder for the body to convert and store as body fat then either carbs or fat, it has a higher metabolic cost of digestion, and will definitely help you put on lean muscle. I recommend lots of lean meat, and a couple protein shakes each day. You need some protein first thing in the morning when you get up, immediately after working out, and some before bed for best results in putting on muscle. You certainly need some at other times of day too with meals, but these three times are critical if you are to get the best results in gaining muscle. You might try Optimum Nutrition's Pro Complex, it tastes great, dissolves well with a shaker and works well. If you are still having a hard time adding muscle then jump up to something like Muscle Milk.

I hope this all makes sense to you. If you have questions let me know. Best of luck to you man.

I take a teaspoon of L-glutamine mixed with a scoop of protein powder upon arising.

Some gyms have machines to work your neck muscles. If you're not sure if your gym has one ask the front desk or owner of the gym. Also doing shrugs with a barbell can help develop the trapezius muscles that will not only indirectly and directly work some of your neck muscles but they will also help create the illusion of a less longer neck, hence, a neck that doesn't look so long and skinny.

You can't build a house without the materials. Gain before you work out, but make sure it's all quality material, no shotty craftmenship now!

Building the traps can give a much bigger appearance to the neck as well. A variety of shrugs work well for this. Dumbbell shrugs for instance, but very the position of them, in front, to the side and behind, it will help develop the traps, which in turn will help the neck appear larger.

Don't get fat first. Simply add 300 to 500 calories more to your diet at a week's time and see how you do. If you're not gaining good quality weight as you're lifting go a bit higher.

Read up on what's recommended for weight lifters to eat.

caperguy1980 saidHey Derek.. Don`t know if it helps but my neighbour(5ft 7in, 30in waist, 41in chest and 22in arms) is a body builder and he does a strict diet(not sure what it is). But anyway, I am an overweight guy(more than a few pounds) and he said that having extra weight will help out with gaining muscle mass because your body and muscles will use the fat as a fuel. He has a home gym in his garage and it has pretty much everything that a gym that you would go to has and I have been over there working out with him every couple days and I have noticed that my fat has gone down considerably over the past few months and I have gained a fair bit of muscle mass. And as far as having mass around the neck area it will come overtime(so I hear).

Hope this helps you...

Jamie

Jamie,
Sorry to contradict you, but your friend is incorrect. Weight training is an anaerobic exercise, relying on glycolysis for the primary source of ATP production. The initial substrate in the glycolytic pathway is glucose (a sugar) and unlike the aerobic production of ATP via oxidative phosphorylation, lipids (fats) and amino acids (proteins) cannot be substituted for glucose in this pathway. For this reason, fat stores cannot be utilized as energy for weight lifting. If you gain weight as fat before beginning to lift you will have twice as much work to do as when you started, because in addition to building muscle by weight training you will also need to burn the fat through aerobic training.

I'm definitely going to have to agree with majority of people... You do not want to gain the weight prior to lifting. You will want to consume more calories once you start lifting heavy, though. I am in the process of gaining, and on a great workout program. I am mostly using BSN True Mass to help me add some extra calories to my diet, but it has also helped that I spread my calories out throughout the day.