[srx600]

I always train balls to the wall and eat super clean. I have found that after 2 years of lifting I can only gain .25lbs of pure lean mass per week. (12 lbs per year) I slow bulk all year than cut for a couple weeks. Is this below average because I hear people adding like 2lbs a week. Any more than 0.25lbs is all fat. I stay lean this way until I get inpatient and try to go 1/2 lbs a week and start getting fat. The only time I was able to get more then .25lbs was as a newb. and when I did an X Factor cycle. I was able to gain .5lbs a week clean. Just checking where I stand amongst everyone else. I am 5"11" 190lbs btw.

[pmiller383]

Muscle growth is not linear, I know sometimes I will gain a few pound without changing my diet or training and other times I will feel like I am just gaining fat with no muscle. Your bodies natural hormone fluctuations will greatly effect how quickly you gain muscle. You may want to look into a different dietary approach as well, although your calories may be sufficient for making gains your macronutrient ratios may be out of whack. I am personally thinking about taking a metabolic typing test to see what foods my body supposedly will work best with. My suggestion is to do the exact opposite of what you are doing now training wise and see if you gain more, you just got to play around and find what works best for you in terms of gaining. Finally don't be afraid to put on a little fat, it can always be dieted off easily as long as you don't get out of control.

[suncloud]

balls to the wall is a good approach, but the gym is only 10% of your growth. you're eating, but are you taking enough EFA's, cholesterol, protein. does your post workout shake have carbs in it? are you doing compound movements, or mainly isolation? do you have a lot of stress in your life, do you sleep enough? post your workouts in addition to not only what you eat, but when you eat. i did a quick link for hardgainers - take a look and see if it helps - if not, look into DC training - the people he trains are massive.

Gaining mass in a nutshell (a big nutshell)

also, the DC approach says you can eat carbs/protein or fats/protein, but never mix carbs/fat in one meal. throughout the day, lower your carb intake, so your last two meals is protein/fats only with trace carbs coming from veggies.

i've never heard of 2 lbs a week naturally. i'm not saying it can't be done, but i've never heard of it. that's 100 lbs a year - impossible unless there's a lot of fat.

[SteelEntity]

1/4 lbs/week is pretty good bro, I would not complain, at that rate you will get large very fast. I would keep doing what your doing cause I can't put on .25lbs when im natural... you are natural right? lol

[srx600]

I train and eat pretty much by the book. Always mixing up the training and eating clean with all the good stuff (lean beef, eggs, whole grains, veggies, etc.) I am all natural. My supps are Cre mono, BA, vitamins, ala, and protein. Planning on a hyperdrol x2/ mass fx max cycle soon...still natural but I'll be shooting for .5lbs a week then.

[t-bone2]

Originally Posted by suncloud

you can eat carbs/protein or fats/protein, but never mix carbs/fat in one meal.

Why not?

[suncloud]

its the DC approach - started by dante of dogcrapp weight training - he trains some of the biggest guys out there. his theory is that carbs speed fat into your fat cells, since your body will turn to the carbs for energy first. the later in the day it is, you need less and less carbs for energy, as you're getting ready for sleep. therefore, this is HIS recommended time to get in your healthy fats for the day (monounsaturated). keep in mind that you need monounsaturated fats, and a lot of people, even those that don't do DC training get their omega 3 (fish/flax oil) supply as capsules right before bed, because it makes sense to do so.

its not how i bulk - but i can't break 12% body fat if i tried. in fact, i did try once. it was scottish food 5x a day (mcdonalds) and i could always get my bicep vein to show on arm day. course, i couldn't gain muscle worth a damn.

dante trains big guys though, and they never seem to get really chubby, just more muscular. this is his approach, and it works very well from what i've seen. a lot of his theories (rest pause, static hold, switch workouts that you're not able to go up in weight) are solid, and i've put them to good use. his diet, in my opinion, doesn't apply to hardgainers, as we need to eat something all the time.

[nevaTOObig]

Originally Posted by suncloud

his theory is that carbs speed fat into your fat cells, since your body will turn to the carbs for energy first. the later in the day it is, you need less and less carbs for energy.

right on there my man, the carb cut off is an excellent way to stay alot leaner, ive been doing dc training since the start of the year and found his diet recommendations are pretty good.

its also good for the palumbo diet too but thats a different story entirely.

[suncloud]

how have your gains been so far nevatoobig? i'm considering doing it, but i'm scared of only 4 days in the gym.

[t-bone2]

Originally Posted by suncloud

its the DC approach - started by dante of dogcrapp weight training - he trains some of the biggest guys out there. his theory is that carbs speed fat into your fat cells, since your body will turn to the carbs for energy first. the later in the day it is, you need less and less carbs for energy, as you're getting ready for sleep. therefore, this is HIS recommended time to get in your healthy fats for the day (monounsaturated). keep in mind that you need monounsaturated fats, and a lot of people, even those that don't do DC training get their omega 3 (fish/flax oil) supply as capsules right before bed, because it makes sense to do so.

its not how i bulk - but i can't break 12% body fat if i tried. in fact, i did try once. it was scottish food 5x a day (mcdonalds) and i could always get my bicep vein to show on arm day. course, i couldn't gain muscle worth a damn.

dante trains big guys though, and they never seem to get really chubby, just more muscular. this is his approach, and it works very well from what i've seen. a lot of his theories (rest pause, static hold, switch workouts that you're not able to go up in weight) are solid, and i've put them to good use. his diet, in my opinion, doesn't apply to hardgainers, as we need to eat something all the time.

And it's mostly BS.

1. Carbs don't speed fatty acids into fat cells; reesetrification of plasma free fatty acids will happen if they are not oxidized. The raising of insulin levels will cause nutrients to be shuttled throughout the body. Like carbohydrates, protein will also raise levels of insulin. So separating CHO from PRO doesn't make a huge difference. Of paramount importance is to get sufficient protein, essential fatty acids and the correct number of calories for your goal(s), not partitioning nutrients during ingestion.

2. Why does it make the most sense to get essential fatty acids right before bed? A better approach would be to take them continuously through the day so you are ensuring EFA plasma levels remain near levels of saturation.

[suncloud]

if you have to pick one time to do something, the most obvious choice would be before a workout or before bed. if you can take something more often, go for it. i take it before bed, because thats when the body grows.

omega 3's have been shown to be required for brain cells
they have also been shown to reduce cancer in a small study in canada.

i'm not saying don't take them whenever you can, simply that it makes more sense to take them at night if you're only taking it once a day.

[jakellpet]

Originally Posted by srx600

I train and eat pretty much by the book. Always mixing up the training and eating clean with all the good stuff (lean beef, eggs, whole grains, veggies, etc.) I am all natural. My supps are Cre mono, BA, vitamins, ala, and protein. Planning on a hyperdrol x2/ mass fx max cycle soon...still natural but I'll be shooting for .5lbs a week then.

Try dirtying up your diet a little. I still steer away from sugars and fatty meat cuts, but have added in more dairy, cheese, cream into my diet.

Have put on some fat, but a hell of a lot more muscle as well (changing training helped as well)

I train early AM, and still taper my carbs even on a bulk, as my body type dictates.

Thought of using something like Anabolic Pump?