# 1 month 5 days progress, What would you do in my position?



## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

Well basically on the 12/12/2009 i decided to change my approach totally for a while to see how my gains would be

I changed my diet to a stable 2600 ed, 200g p, 100g f and the rest carbs

I changed my routine to a 5 day split ( I wanted to see the effect it would have on me, i am normally a follower of the main compound movements 3 times a week) and in another 5 weeks i plan to try 'brawn' style training to compare

now heres the tricky part! my weight has changed about 200g! ( it fluctuates daily but nothing substantial) so i feel thats crap for over a months lean bulk. But on the other hand i feel 'harder' and my lifts are improving

so would you up the food or keep it the same? I really wanted to lean bulk as much as possible so i wouldnt have to do a propper cut. Ill try and up some pics so you can play spot the differnce! lol (i cant :whistling: )


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## big (Sep 14, 2004)

Ok, so you've done a month of 2600 cals and have stayed the same weight... you've just found your maintenance level of calories. If you want to gain weight, you'll need to increase the calories, probably by 300 to start with, which will allow for a slow and steady gain of decent muscle.

I would also suggest that 200g protein is very low, so I would get the extra calories purely from protein.


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

TBH your concern about a daily weight change equates to a decent PI55, you will easily pee in excess of 200g if you are drinking plenty of fluids, TBH I don't see where you are coming from with this.

You say you feel harder and your lifts are improving which would suggest more muscle fibre, therefore an increase in overall weight accompanied by slightly more water retention as is the bodys way during muscle repair and building.


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## SK-XO (Aug 6, 2009)

I don't get it either, my weight isn't increasing yet im looking bigger (more muscular), and im getting a lot stronger ? maybe losing fat, but I don't think so lol.


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

SK-XO said:


> I don't get it either, my weight isn't increasing yet im looking bigger (more muscular), and im getting a lot stronger ? maybe losing fat, but I don't think so lol.


 So your burning unwanted fats and building muscle, only reason you can look better/more muscular.


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## SK-XO (Aug 6, 2009)

Robbieben said:


> So your burning unwanted fats and building muscle, only reason you can look better/more muscular.


I don't feel any less fat tho, but I feel and look huge, nice cuts and definition coming on, but my gut still stays the same, see the brief outline of the abs but nothing special lmao. Im def adding muscle mass. But don't know why im not adding weight :S?


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

lol thats what i mean, i seem to be gaining strength ( = muscle mass) but my weight isnt changing! so unless in burning fat/gaining muscle at the same time i dunno whats going on!

so im thinking do i stay as i am, or incease calories to see weight gain, or will this increase in calories likely result in a excess fat and the same amount of muscle

lol same as SK-XO! i have so much to learn lol

and big thanks for your input, i only weigh 71kg btw so doesnt 200g seem enough for me?

im thinking to either keep everything as it is for another month or bump it up to 2900 a day and see what happens!


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

im the same SK-XO feel the same fat levels (sometimes even feel fatter!) but stronger etc! at the same weight. Like its hollow muscle im building! lol


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

SK-XO said:


> I don't feel any less fat tho, but I feel and look huge, nice cuts and definition coming on, but my gut still stays the same, see the brief outline of the abs but nothing special lmao. Im def adding muscle mass. But don't know why im not adding weight :S?


Possibly just burning off some subcutaneous fats, these tend to be removed layer by layer across the whole body, like an onion's layers when peeled, if you have more in a certain area(gut and chest with most men) these area's are the last to lose it.

Visceral fats surrounding organs are sometimes the hardest to lose and weigh more than subcutaneous fats, however with heavy lifting it is possible to lose more visceral fat than subcutaneous fats due to the extreme nature of heavy weight training.


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

kaos_nw said:


> lol thats what i mean, i seem to be gaining strength ( = muscle mass) but my weight isnt changing! so unless in burning fat/gaining muscle at the same time i dunno whats going on!
> 
> so im thinking do i stay as i am, or incease calories to see weight gain, or will this increase in calories likely result in a excess fat and the same amount of muscle
> 
> ...


 IMO you won't make any major gains on 2600 to 2900 calories a day if your lifting heavy and doing some cardio, you'll need in the region of 3600 cals a day.


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## SK-XO (Aug 6, 2009)

Robbieben said:


> Possibly just burning off some subcutaneous fats, these tend to be removed layer by layer across the whole body, like an onion's layers when peeled, if you have more in a certain area(gut and chest with most men) these area's are the last to lose it.
> 
> Visceral fats surrounding organs are sometimes the hardest to lose and weigh more than subcutaneous fats, however with heavy lifting it is possible to lose more visceral fat than subcutaneous fats due to the extreme nature of heavy weight training.


Good post mate, reps.

I noticed this, a lot more definition in my muscle, more cuts etc. My diet is very clean at most times, I eat a lot of fish, chicken, steak etc.

And I take training very seriously, I don't drink or anything like that either.


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

Robbieben said:


> IMO you won't make any major gains on 2600 to 2900 calories a day if your lifting heavy and doing some cardio, you'll need in the region of 3600 cals a day.


cheers mate, but would you say its better to up them in stages e.g. 300 cals every 3 days or so instead of just bumping them up by 1000? also i know you cant get a accurate figure but what would you say is a good amount to see the scales go up a week/month? i was aiming for 2lb a month, but was told even this would be mostly fat!!!


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

kaos_nw said:


> cheers mate, but would you say its better to up them in stages e.g. 300 cals every 3 days or so instead of just bumping them up by 1000? also i know you cant get a accurate figure but what would you say is a good amount to see the scales go up a week/month? i was aiming for 2lb a month, but was told even this would be mostly fat!!!


TBH I'd up your cal's straight away and see how you improve, I'd expect to see an increase in lifts over a month and a slight increase in body weight to go with it, don't worry too much about overall body weight as it will come as your lifts increase and your muscle builds. 

Bodybuilding is a very slow process for a long period of time for quality gains


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## kaos_nw (Jul 9, 2008)

cheers mate, so i got 3 choices really,

stay as i am for the time being

bump it up by about 300cals for a month or so

or bump it iup by 1000 or so and see what happens!

by the way im currently improving on all my lifts as well!


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## Robbieben (Jan 1, 2010)

TBH I'd suggest bumping up by around a 1000, you aren't getting anywhere near enough at the minute for good quality sustained growth.


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