Building Muscle

[96BritishGT]

Hey Dr.
Ok heres the sitution. Im 20, I weigh approx. 140-155lbs and am 5'11 1/2" tall. Im pretty active and have a very low body fat %. Im pretty much all muscle, but want to to build more and become bigger by roughly 15-25lbs.
Im already pretty strong for my size from my warehouse job and from being a mechanic before that, lifting stuff all the time during a 9hour shift.

Im very active as it is, I walk everwhere when I have the chance, so I have the cardio from that.I started my routine yesterday. I bought a 910g Equate Whey Protein Drink Mix. It contains Whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, whey protein hydrolysate.

I know you have to cycle the routine for it to work properly and so your body just doesnt become "used to it".

My routine using the powder mix,
Week 1 Loading phase: 20g a day with milk
Week 2-4 Maintenance phase: 10g a day with milk
Week 5-8 "rest phase": no supplement
But still exercising through out each week with a 2day workout,1day rest,3day workout,2day. And just alternating with that routine.Workin on seperate muscle areas by lifting different weights in varied reps/sets, and eating other high protein foods and lots of water.

I want to know if you think this is the best routine or should i switch it up somehow. By adding something else to the mix in any shape and/or form to help me better.

Thanks
-Evan

[Killco]

When you lift do you focus more on number of reps or weight? If you want to build more bulk continue with what you are doing but do less reps with more weight. This is what works for me: I start off with about half of what I know I can do and I continue until I can no longer do it (force yourself to get as many as you can, that's important) Then I work on another set of muscles and do the same thing. Eventually I come back to the muscles I started with and put on as much weight as I can do. Sometimes I can only do 3 reps, but it's not how many you do, it's forcing your body to adapt to the new load it's been handed. The reps that are easy don't build any muscle, it's the ones at the very end when you are grunting and feel like you are going to die that build the bulky muscle that you want. Go back through all the muscle groups and do the same thing. If you do many reps with lower weight you get long, lean muscle like you have now, not the big bulky stuff. Maybe you already know this, just thought I would throw my opinion out there.

[busy_squirrel]

Killco has the right idea, but 50% of max for a set does more than get you warmed up.

Try for 3 sets spaced throughout your workout of 5 reps at 80%. Don't do very many reps for the day at all.

Then, once you've bulked up for the first 6 weeks, then you can maintain. You may not see noticable results until 2-3 weeks in, which is why it'll take 6 weeks to make a decent change.

[Doc]

For every pound of body weight eat 1 - 1.5 grams of protein.

3 sets of low reps using heavy weight.

That's as simple as I can put it.

Drink plenty of water (1 gallon day).

[96BritishGT]

Alright thank you to all 3 of ya, Yeah I was pretty much doing the exact same thing you all said. Just thought Id get a 2nd opinion or 2 cents from you guys and the Doctor.

Yeah I wasnt expecting any big or noticeable gains until about 6weeks, Im going to continue with this routine and add to it as i progress till about the end of August. Thats my short term goal to get/ actually see a larger benefit to what ive been doing prior to August, . Than just take it from there and keep on with the maintenance process.

Thanks again.

Also, what sort of Creatine should I introduce? I know you need both a Whey and a Creatine source, since one digests faster than the other, and because of that one works while your lifting(creatine) and the other works after youve finished(whey), so its kind of a win/ win.
There's some that do nothing and theres some that actually work, I just want to get my moneys worth.

Thanks again

[Doc]

Oh yah,

Increase your total caloric intake as well with pasta, rice, and other complex carbs.

[puredemocracy]

Someone I work with, my foreman, him and his brothers are pretty big, their mom used to have to buy 21.5 gallons of milk for the family a week, and my foreman drank more than half of it.


I've heard if you drink a gallon of milk in an hour, it helps a bit.

[ereeves116]

i just started taking creatine with a friend of mine about two weeks ago.

We started using this between the two of us Xrated® Creatine Supreme Orange {1125 Grams} @ Hi-Health
which lasted about a week taking two servings a day and then following up with protein about 15 minutes later.

then for our second week, we took
Xrated® Creatine Powder {210 Grams} @ Hi-Health
and then made sure to drink juice for awhile later to increase insulin levels and give you a good dose of dextrose.

i've had a lot of people notice i'm getting bigger and so have i. just make sure to drink plenty of water if you're going to go the creatine route

[hyundaiaccent07]

Creatine kills your kidneys if you continually use it for long period of time.

I normally use it for three months (loading + maintenance) and stop for another 3 and repeat the cycle.

I use Cell tech and they work like magic tho a tad bit expensive

[J0eFr0]

Originally Posted by puredemocracy

Someone I work with, my foreman, him and his brothers are pretty big, their mom used to have to buy 21.5 gallons of milk for the family a week, and my foreman drank more than half of it.


I've heard if you drink a gallon of milk in an hour, it helps a bit.

shut up, the body can't take more a gallon of milk in an hour, you'll throw it up.