Focusing on too much?

[LameSaint]

Hi folks. I've been doing some weight-lifting for a month now, trying to gain some mass (I'm 6 foot, 154lb), and I'm starting to see some results though not very much and the effect usually wears off the next day (IE I look a little ripped after the workout but the next day I can't really see a difference).

I'm eating lots of whole carbs and proteins (incl. both weight-gainer, creatine and protein shakes), and I realize that a month of working out isn't going to change a whole lot, but I've heard that the first month is the month you'll gain the most? Can someone clarify this "myth"?

Last of all, I workout Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I work the entire body everytime, including a lot of upper-body and an equal amount of leg-work. Since I'm not seeing any visible results, should I be focusing on upper-body for now? Would that make a difference? At the moment I don't really care about the legs, I'd rather focus on the upper body because that'd give me more motivation to continue weight-lifting.

 

[evolution]

Your legs are half of your body. You can only gain so much weight if you neglect your legs. Neglecting your legs will end up giving an off balanced physique and you'll look silly anytime you're not wearing pants. You'll basically end up looking like a light bulb.

Yes there is a thing called "newbie gains." However, 30 days is just a drop in the bucket. I think too many new trainees have misconceptions about what type of results that they will have in a short amount of time. To make real and noticeable results, you're going to need to spend a lot more time than a month in the weight room.

At 6' and 154 lbs, you need to really step up your eating. It's not the amount of time you spend in the weightroom that has an impact on hypertrophy. It's the amount of kcals you consume in conjunction with weight lifting that will give you the results you want. You need realistic goals. You need to spend two weeks consistently counting calories to see how much you're actually eating. Go google "calculating basal metabolic rate" and calculate your caloric needs. You also need to look at your training protocol and see if it's practical. If you're spending more time curling and doing extensions than squats, rowing, and pressing then you need to redo your set up.

Seriously, don't make judgments until 6 months down the road. And the re-assess in another 6 months after that.