Gaining weight, but staying in shape?

someguy1984

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Something just occurred to me...If you gain weight, but continue to do HIIT cardio and lift weights, how would you get out of shape? I was always under the impression that the heavier you got, the worse shape you would be in? If you continue to run, or do whatever you do, you should get better at these things as you eat over maintenance, correct?

Or, is their some side effect? (lost endurance or something)
 

warsteiner

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I would say that the bigger you get the less stamina/endurance you would get; how many 240lb marathon runners do you see :p

Chances are there would come a point where you're weight would start to affect the cardio and then it's a choice of less intensity on the cardio or lower your weight slightly depending on your goals.
 

someguy1984

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I agree, but i want to be 5'7 about 160. It seems like a perfect height/weight.

Although, i don't know if i should eat over calorie maintenance. I just started eating 2500 calories a day. I was eating 1800 a day and losing one pound a week. To me, it just seems weird to eat a bunch of food and hope you get bigger and fat...

Maybe it's better to keep eating 2400 calories a day and gain weight very slowly...This way i'm giving my muscles enough nutrients, but gaining slow and staying in aerobic shape with plenty of protein.
 
jjohn

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In shape doesn't mean healthy. A 250 lbs 8%bf guy is in shape. Not necessarily healthy. Tax your CNS, and eat like a mad man has consequences on your liver, etc..

A balance is best. A "Mens health" look is what I mean. Moderate weights, moderate cardio, eat moderately good foods, and having fun really is a healthy lifestyle. I'm a "all or nothing" mentality, so I can't just do that.. Some can. Good for them!

BUT I agree that it looks cool, I want to be huge and lean too, and it's 10000000000 times better than being a sedentary person whose goal is to be the best at a Xbox game..
 

t-bone2

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I agree, but i want to be 5'7 about 160. It seems like a perfect height/weight.

Although, i don't know if i should eat over calorie maintenance.
The only way that you are going to get from 148 lbs to 160 lbs is to eat above maintenance. An excess of calories is required. Your goal is to build additional Lean Body Mass (muscle) while adding the minimal amount of Body Fat. You can begin with some baseline macronutrient protocols, but what is optimal for your personal physiology will most likely be found through trial and error.
 
OCCFan023

OCCFan023

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I agree, but i want to be 5'7 about 160. It seems like a perfect height/weight.

Although, i don't know if i should eat over calorie maintenance. I just started eating 2500 calories a day. I was eating 1800 a day and losing one pound a week. To me, it just seems weird to eat a bunch of food and hope you get bigger and fat...

Maybe it's better to keep eating 2400 calories a day and gain weight very slowly...This way i'm giving my muscles enough nutrients, but gaining slow and staying in aerobic shape with plenty of protein.

From the sounds of this post you have what many do, a fear that by adding in additional calories you will eventually gain back all the fat you had worked so hard to shred and then be back at square one but only this time with a bit more muscle.

However you have the right idea here. A lot of the time people label gaining lean body mass as an all out bulk (aka eat what ever the hell you want and disregard cardio ~ and a very select, typically mesos can do this and get away with it). For myself and what I think of as the majority of us on here, we want to be in shape (muscular build, noticeable you workout, and athletically fit). For the later description your plan of incorporating a caloric excess with diligent cardio (HIIT is my personal favorite) is a recipe for long term success and the body you want.

However with all this in mind you have to accept the fact that to put on 12 lbs of solid mass you will have to eat above maintenance calories and thus put yourself in position to add a little bit of fat (unless your an all out meso). Don't be afraid of a little fat gain man, its about keeping the ration of LBM vs fat in the green and to your liking (If your gaining a little bit to much fat cut your calories back, and if you don't see much of anything add in some more calories or cut back just a bit on the cardio). Just be careful with HIIT sessions and intense training, you must be careful to not over train.
 
CopyCat

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As far as gaining muscle and running goes etc remember the more muscle you have the more oxygen that is needed to fuel that muscle.
 
Superdoad

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I think its really important to keep moving around with cardio and sports so your body is used to it being bigger. I think when you bulk up and only do weight training(no sport specific work) you those some of that mind muscle connection you have with your body.
 
CopyCat

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Which means, less endurance?
It can. Since your muscles use and require more oxygen it becomes easier to become winded and have decreased endurance. This isn't a guarantee though. It is possible to put on good muscle size, pounds and keep endurance and your runs etc. up. You just need to train for it.
 

someguy1984

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It can. Since your muscles use and require more oxygen it becomes easier to become winded and have decreased endurance. This isn't a guarantee though. It is possible to put on good muscle size, pounds and keep endurance and your runs etc. up. You just need to train for it.
That's my plan. I'm trying to gain weight, but continue doing the things i want to be good at. This way, i hopefully gain weight, but continue to increase the exercises i'm doing...It makes sense to me, but maybe not?

I gained almost 2lbs this week, so i think i'm on track. I lift 3 days a week, heavy weights and i do cardio/abs on off days. Generally, i just do a 1.5 miles run in 10mins. So, i set the treadmill to about 8.5 speed and run until 1.5 miles After that, i just do abs for about 15-20mins...Maybe less, this is a random time estimate.
 
CopyCat

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You should be good to go then. I can run just as good at 193# as I could at 160# when all I did was calisthenics, core, running. Even as I age as well. However, I run, swim, bike, climb etc a lot as well lift.
 

someguy1984

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You should be good to go then. I can run just as good at 193# as I could at 160# when all I did was calisthenics, core, running. Even as I age as well. However, I run, swim, bike, climb etc a lot as well lift.
Alight, cool.

I've heard speculation that you can gain muscle, without gaining weight and eating over maintenance. Is this true?

Apparently, if you eat 1g per lb of body weight and a normal diet, you can gain muscle. But, to gain weight/muscle/fat, you have to eat over maintenance. Eating a normal diet will take longer, but you can actually build muscle while eating a normal diet. Anyone heard of this?

In some cases it seems better, so you won't have to cut...
 
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