# Lift Weights, But No Weight Gain



## soma (Nov 10, 2003)

For a month now, I've been working out for a little over an hour every other day. I haven't skipped a workout yet, but I haven't gained a pound. 

At this point, I feel like I must be doing something wrong. Any advice?


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

You should probably talk about your diet. That's probably more important than lifting.


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## soma (Nov 10, 2003)

I eat a lot of normal foods. Sandwiches, chips, rice, junk food, etc. I read somewhere that the average person has enough protein in his/her diet to accumulate muscle without the use of protein pills...


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Increase your caloric intake.


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

soma said:


> I eat a lot of normal foods. Sandwiches, chips, rice, junk food, etc. I read somewhere that the average person has enough protein in his/her diet to accumulate muscle without the use of protein pills...


Well that obviously isn't true in your case since you seem to be a hard gainer. They have those weight gain powder stuff at GNC, perhaps you should try taking some of that.


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## countrybumpkin (Dec 31, 2004)

I've tried creatine , it helps. Other than that all I can say is keep at it , it does take some time and keep upping the weight your lifting.


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## ABetterTomorrow (May 17, 2005)

All good advice thus far.

Perhaps the average person has enough protein to gain muscle (I debate this.), but in your case you arent eating enough calories in order for your muscles to have protein to use. Its being burned off with your fats and carbs. 

If you dont want to get protein supplements. Then try eating an extra sandwich or two on top of your normal meals.

Go into more details about your diet and workout routine and maybe we could point out other possible problems.


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## Ghost (Nov 17, 2003)

soma said:


> For a month now, I've been working out for a little over an hour every other day. I haven't skipped a workout yet, but I haven't gained a pound.
> 
> At this point, I feel like I must be doing something wrong. Any advice?


Eat more meat - you need more protein.
If you weigh 160 pounds your protein gram intake should be 160G or even more to build muscle.

Take a look at http://www.bodybuilding.com .


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## R4ph4el (Sep 20, 2005)

u should take at least 1,5 gram protein per pound in bodyweight....otherwise u won't gain much, and u'll have to calculate your Base Resting Metabolism + Activity and make sure your calorie-intake is above that


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## Stirner (May 16, 2006)

To be a partypooper, i have to mention that modern science says that 1,5-1,8 pr.KG.bodyweight is sufficient for hypertrophy. 

I can find some references i requested, but believe me, it is correct...!

--> To the original post. Eat more food!... If you want to you can post your training routine and get some feedback.


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## RacerX (Jun 12, 2006)

It's definitely your diet. Post up exactly what you eat and I'll tell you what you need to be doing.

As a basic guideline, to gain muscle weight, times your bodyweight in lbs by 17 and add 500 to get your calorie amount. A good macronutrient ratio is 40% protein, 40% carbohydrate, 20% fats. It's widely debated how much protein one needs but since you're doing a bodybuilding routine you need alot more than your average sedentary person. Remember your breaking down the muscle tissue each weights session so your protein requirements for repairing and rebuilding new tissue are far greater. Also remember take either a fast acting carbohydrate source+ WPI drink post workout, or a BCAA+WPI cocktail sipped over the course of your workout.


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## Steve1987 (Jul 19, 2006)

Combine most of the replys in this thread and you get the answer.

[in no particular order]

1; increase caloric intake
2; heavy weights low rep
3; at least 1.5 gram of protein per lb of youre bodyweight
4; add more weight, it can be 5lbs per week, it doesn't matter. do it at a comfortable rate.[emphasis added]

good luck man you can do it easily. :b


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## Stirner (May 16, 2006)

Can any of the ppl recommending a high protein intake back it up by some references?


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## jerzeyb (Nov 19, 2005)

i would suggest a few things starting with your diet. stay away from junk food, refined carbs(white bread, etc.) and sugar. eat more chicken(skinless breast preferably), fish, brown rice, whole grains(breads, pastas etc.), fresh fruits/vegetables and limit red meet to maybe a couple times per week. when using oils, i would suggest olive, or sesame. as for calories, a fairly common guideline to SUSTAIN a weight is to eat 10 times the number of calories as your body weight(in lbs). now, with that said, if you weigh 170lbs and you eat about 1700 calories/day you are most likely not going to put on weight. if you are working out you will need to eat more calories to not only sustain your weight and fuel your workouts, but to help nourish your muscles-to help them grow, as well. your body cannot produce something(muscle) from nothing(lack of calories). 

in addition i agree with the person who suggested adding more weight and doing less reps. light weight, and numerous reps, will help tone the muscle you have, and help with cardio, but it takes higher weight to build muscle. when you are stressing the muscle it forces it to grow. if you are not completely burnt out after 3 sets of 8-10 reps, you should be using more weight. start by adding weight slowly so you do not hurt yourself. too much too fast, can seriously harm you.

another suggestion is the type of workouts you are performing. you say that you are working out every other day...does that mean you are hitting all muscle groups on each day? if so, you may want to rethink this. what i would suggest for better muscle growth is to do 3 serious, hard workouts a week, and each workout should be dedicated to certain muscle groups. for example...monday could be shoulders and back, wednesday could be arms and chest, and fridays could be legs and abs. when you are working out, you are actually tearing your muscle tissue, when it rests it will slowly re-build itself and add more mass. not only does your muscles need to be told grow(through lifting, hardwork, etc.) they need the rest to accomplish this.

also, stretching. stretching out your muscles should be done EVERY SINGLE DAY! not only does it help keep them loose, it helps blood flow and stimulation. you should dedicate at least 15 minutes before and after every workout to stretching. on your 'off' days, i would suggest a good 15-20 minutes dedicated to all of your muscle groups. 

finally and most importantly......WATER! drink plenty of water throw out the 8-10 glasses a day rule....go for more. i would say a gallon/day at least. our bodies are mostly made up of water. dehydrating yourself can be very harmful. water helps the body flush out toxins, and allows our bodies to perform properly. stay away from caffeine, as it is a diuretic, and can dehydrate you. 

i am not saying that what i have suggested here is the only way to add muscle mass....it is just one way i personally have seen results. i don't need anyone telling me i am wrong, or their way is better...i am just offering some ideas that i have seen work on many occasions.


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## RMJS (Jun 9, 2005)

On top of all of the things mentioned above me, you could also try creatine. It has helped me tremendously in gaining weight. Although, I was more than pushing my limits when I began using it.


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## jerzeyb (Nov 19, 2005)

RMJS said:


> On top of all of the things mentioned above me, you could also try creatine. It has helped me tremendously in gaining weight. Although, I was more than pushing my limits when I began using it.


i have also seen people have great results with creatine....i have never tried it myself. i will leave that recommendation to those who have experience with it.


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## instil (Aug 19, 2005)

1)more calories per day
2)protein powder shakes
3) creatine...if it doesnt bother your stomach.


this was my problem too (when i actually still went to the gym). I got stronger and stronger, and could see more muscle...but no weight gain. i dont eat that much though, and cant eat that much...its just not my thing.
So i took creatine in the morning, and after the gym at like 7pm, and usually drank one protein shake,sometimes two, a day. I still only gained like 10 pounds but i got solid. At that point, the weight was just a number..i didnt care.


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## R4ph4el (Sep 20, 2005)

instil said:


> 1)more calories per day
> 2)protein powder shakes
> 3) creatine...if it doesnt bother your stomach.
> 
> ...


You may have lost fat and gained muscle...they say u can only do one of both at a time, but that's only with experienced lifters, under one year you're still a beginner.


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## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

Creatine isn't a weight gaining supplement. What it does is provide the phosphate to ADP to create ATP. The idea is that it allows your muscles to contract and train to their full potential. In a sense think of it as "muscle fuel" improving your workouts can lead to gains in muscle mass.


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## moejo (Aug 29, 2005)

What are you doing in your workout, I don't think I saw that posted here. 

Use free weights only, stay with compound movements. Squats, Deadlifts, Bench press, Shoulder press, Bent over rows, Lat pulldowns. Plenty of water, 5 to 6 meals/day, Protein shakes, Optimum Nutrition is one of the best.


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## RMJS (Jun 9, 2005)

On creatine: I've been using it for a couple months, it's going great.

However, I'm beginning to fear that my body is developing a resistance to it. If this is true, it will begin losing it's effectiveness in super charging my muscles which enablese to work-out longer. This means that I will eventually lose the muscle mass which the extra training enabled by creatine has produced.

Is it possible to build up a resistance to creatine?


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## brock (Jan 4, 2004)

Sounds like you're a hardgainer and you cannot train like Arnold if ya want to grow. Goto hardgainer.com and sign up for their forum. 

All the info you are looking for can be found there. I would also recommend purchasing the book "Brawn", which can be found at the site.


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## likewater (Aug 3, 2006)

RMJS. you know you have to cycle creatine right? 8 weeks on, 1 week off seems to be standard

soma, odds are you aren't eating enough. you can have a horrible workout schedule, like lifting every day for example, but if you eat enough you will gain. eat big, get a new routine, and hit those weights hard.


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## RMJS (Jun 9, 2005)

likewater said:


> RMJS. you know you have to cycle creatine right? 8 weeks on, 1 week off seems to be standard.


Meh. I've recently stopped creatine. The results were fantastic but I just got tired of the swollen prostate; it made it hard to urinate one too many times (not to mention, expel certain other fluids). The extra 10lbs isn't worth all of that, in my opinion.

As far as "shrinkage" and some other undesirable ideas I've seen people on this board discussing: None of that happened to me.

I suppose I'm going 100% natural, as some might say.


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## RacerX (Jun 12, 2006)

I wouldn't get excited over any immediate weight gain from creatine-it is sarcoplasmal hypertrophy(an increase in intramuscular fluid, not an increase in muscle cell size). Take it post-workout too if you aren't already doing so, ATP is a precursor to the synthesis of amino acids(it is necessary in the first place to shuttle nutrients into cells.) It can also enhance protein synthesis via mTOR pathways. mTOR stands for Mammalian Target of Rapamycin, which is an energy sensor in the body. It is activated when ATP levels are high and enhances protein synthesis. When ATP levels are low it blunts protein synthesis.

Creatine is a naturally occuring compound, don't let anyone tell you it is a steroid.


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## likewater (Aug 3, 2006)

damn man, you know your stuff. I hate the creatine bloat because it gives me false hope that I'm filling out for a few weeks .. ahh who am I kidding, I love it, it makes me feel huge lol


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## sprinter (Nov 22, 2003)

I used creatine for a couple months earlier this year and the same the year before during which I gained a fair amount of muscle. I did the loading phase etc. each time. But I didn't seem to lose any of the weight gain after I stopped the creatine and didn't notice any side effects from it whatsoever. I don't know if it actually did anything or not, I can't really attribute the muscle gains to it for sure. 

I also increased my calories and protein during the time to about 500 calories a day more than normal for me. I also followed a unique training routine so I don't know whether to give any credit to the creatine or not. 

I think soma may be over-training at least I know I wouldn't gain working out 1 hour every other day especially if training the major muscles more then once per week.


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## billy (Feb 15, 2006)

Your workouts have to scream intensity. When you workout you've got to be in the zone if you're gonna gain crisp, quality muscle. Every rep must count. 
And remember the forced reps are the ones that put on mass. When your body starts aching from all that weight that's when you've got to keep going on.


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## Beggiatoa (Dec 25, 2004)

you could be losing fat while gaining muscle. Your net gain would appear to be zero but something must be happening there. Also, you need to consume at least 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight to maximize gain.
good luck


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## instil (Aug 19, 2005)

R4ph4el said:


> You may have lost fat and gained muscle...they say u can only do one of both at a time, but that's only with experienced lifters, under one year you're still a beginner.


meaning I lost the fat weight, but gained the muscle weight, so remained at the same spot? Thats good logic, BUT.....not in my case. I didnt have any fat to lose, I was already skinny when i started going to the gym. 
Now, at first I was thinking 'hey i need to strt lifting and put on some weight' and like i said earlier, i did gain about 10 lbs. But the fact that i was getting stronger and bigger mass-wise made me realize that the _number_ of pounds I weighed, didnt matter, what I really wanted was to add some bulk to my frame, and did.


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## R4ph4el (Sep 20, 2005)

It seems like some people here think of Creatine as a drug? It's something you find in meat too...it's no drug 
What it does is absorbing more water into your muscles, making them look bigger.
But they also are fuel to the muscles, making you recover faster, increasing your capacity.

Some complained about having a bloated stomach with creatine...well you can buy micronized creatine now. Same price, same quality, no bloating.


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## instil (Aug 19, 2005)

R4ph4el said:


> It seems like some people here think of Creatine as a drug? It's something you find in meat too...it's no drug
> What it does is absorbing more water into your muscles, making them look bigger.
> But they also are fuel to the muscles, making you recover faster, increasing your capacity.
> 
> Some complained about having a bloated stomach with creatine...well you can buy micronized creatine now. Same price, same quality, no bloating.


i was going to mention the anti-creatine sentiment but didnt because i dont know enough in case i had to defend it. I knew the things you mentioned above, but thats about it.

Definately get the micronized....it found it way better as far as having a stomach ache after drinking it. I used to feel like I drank sand swirled up in a glass of water/juice, then it all settled in a pile in my stomach. When i got the micronized, i didnt get that feeling.
Also, unless you prefer it with juice already, i personally found it easier to take when i got the fruit punch kind that just mixes into water like kool-aid, rather than the plain stuff. I didnt like that because i was too used to drinking whatever i mixed the plain into, without creatine. So when i added it, i really noticed these granuals floating in my apple juice or gatorade.


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