Building strength, but gaining weight

F

Fire Girl

0
Hi,

Ok, I have started (about 1.5 months ago) with my new personal traniner/gym. I am trying to build strength.

Now, I know that muscle weighs more than fat. But I have gained a bit of weight...a few pounds. I am not so much concerned with the weight number, but my clothes are fitting differently. He has suggested that I do not eat enough carbs and that my body is holding water. I will add some rice to my lunch to see if that helps.

Has anyone else experienced this? Also, will my body sort of lean out again? It is very frustrating! I know there is some good muscle in there somewhere!

Any comments or advice on this subject is welcome!

Thx!

FG :confused:
 
Has your body fat percentage gone up? Are you losing definition?
I assume all you do is lift. I do 20 minutes of cardio every other day to stay cut.

What is your routine?
How is your diet?
 
I seem to have lost some definition. I don't know if my body fat has gone up... not really any way to check. I lift 3 days a week and cardio 3 days per week. I recently have cut my cardio way back. I was doing 6-7days per week at 40-60 minutes a pop, plus my 3 days of weights. My trainer said this was preventing me from building strength. So, now I am doing 3 sessions a week of cardio, and 3 (1hr) sessions of weights.

My diet is very good... I have gone over that with my trainer. Maybe a little light on carbs... I'm working on that.

Do you think cutting back so much cardio all at once is messing me up? Should I add a bit more back in?

Thx.

FG
 
Sounds like more than enough cardio to me. I never go over 20 minutes. I'm trying to build muscle and stay defined. 20 minutes is easily enough to keep me cut. My only guess is your not eating clean enough. If you are gaining fat it's gotta be your diet. You are burning tons of calories with your routine it sounds like.

Anyone else got any advice?
 
Yeah, I do interval training, pack training (xtrainer w 20lb pack) and straight running. He said that would be plenty of cardio too.

Typical diet day:
530am 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado, 1c decaf tea w skim milk, sweetener
830am oatmeal, fruit
1130 1 can tuna w olive oil (1 tsp), tomato slices, ff yogurt
230 fruit
protein bar after weight training
530 pork chops, salad or chicken fajitas
730 decaf tea w skim milk sweetener

That would be a typical day for me. The odd time I cheat, but very seldom. But I have been eating like that for a long time... the only thing that has recently changed is the cardio. It's very frustrating. I have recently started taking hydroxycut... I will see if they help. Have you ever tried anything like this?

Thanks again, eh?
 
Hell, with that diet you should be cut out of your head pretty soon. If not, i think something might be really wrong.I don't think you're gonna need the hydroxycuts. I've used them before and they never did anything spectacular for me. I don't know what else to tell ya. That's kinda wierd.
And you said your problem is that yo're losing definition? I have no idea how on that diet.
 
Hell, with that diet you should be cut out of your head pretty soon. If not, i think something might be really wrong.I don't think you're gonna need the hydroxycuts. I've used them before and they never did anything spectacular for me. I don't know what else to tell ya. That's kinda wierd.
And you said your problem is that yo're losing definition? I have no idea how on that diet.

I thought my diet was pretty good. Since I recently added the extra protein in my diet, I seem to have added quite a bit of bulk, but not so much definition. Well, I am getting desperate... frustrated is more like it. I will try the hydroxycuts for a few weeks and see if they help. I have been told they work better for arm chair athletes and not active people like myself. Also, it seems like some major changes since I majorly reduced the cardio in my routine. I don't know. Maybe I am changing too many things at once.

Thanks, eh?
 
Sounds like you're increasing your lean mass and body fat. Diet is definitely a factor, but I want to address the training. I would incorporate some oly lifts into your routine. Your strength will shoot way up, and you won't put on quite as much mass as a hypertrophy specific routine will give you.

On your cardio, why don't your try some HIIT? Basically some sprint intervals. Or try Craig Ballyntine's . I have been reading really positive results from people all over the Net who've been on this routine and I highly recommend it. Plus, Craig is one of the most prolific and excellent trainers on the WWW, in my humble opinion.
 
I have definitely increased lean mass.... I haven't checked my bodyfat but I guess I have. What are "oly lifts"? I do want strength but not mass... I always build mass when I lift and I hate that!

I will check out the turbulence training. I have added one day of HIIT in my cardio routine- and a day of pack training (on the x-trainer wearing a 20lb pack).

Thanks JP... you always have something insightful to add!
 
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