Bill

I think you are right. The exercise program on TV that talks about muscle confusion I think is on to something. I do swim a lot. I used to run a lot, until some injury problems. Running definitely kept my weight down. I won't be doing anything until I recover from a hernia surgery. It's hurting a lot right now.

Bill

I need carbs for riding. I always eat a combo of carbs and protein before a swim, and generally a cycling, work out. I forgot to include the protein energy bar that I ate the morning of the century.

nooooob

I am responding to this without reading past page 1 so I have no idea if someone mentioned this

though this usually pertains to running, there is a concept called high intensity interval training (hiit). the theory goes that it burns WAY more calories and fat than a sustained medium intensity cardio workout. for example, 20 minutes of HIIT will result in faster weight loss than an hour of straight cardio while maintaining a heart rate. this happens not only because you temporarily elevate your heart rate to extremely high levels DURING the exercise, but also AFTER the exercise you are now building more muscle. and bigger muscles will naturally burn more fat just because they are bigger (like a big v8 burns more gas idling than a 4 cylinder would)

so doing things like wind sprints, running steps and whatnot helps with running. this may very well be true with riding up hills, or doing similar tactics on a bike. but I wouldn't know, I just started riding a week ago

cg1985

I am trying to gain weight personally.

I started doing kung fu a while ago. Drank two protein shakes a day and gained about 5 to 7 lbs. I still do Kung fu, but now I cycle, and I stopped making the protein shakes, and I lost 7 lbs. :-(

Why am I doomed to be 123.4 lbs?!

nooooob

eat more

if you think you already eat a lot, eat even more.... you are not gaining weight because you're just not consuming enough calories to outpace your metabolism. don't just eat junk. start with the protein shakes again. eat lotta chicken, egg whites (or just the entire egg if you like yolks like me).

I used to weigh 165 (at 6'3") and I was struggling to gain as well. I ate my way up to 195 in 2 years and remained in good shape.

you could also try creatine to help build muscle. though it doesn't actually help gain mass directly like some claim (you will gain water weight during the time you use it) it helps you work out more efficiently, which in turn helps build more muscle in the end.

cg1985

I've tried this method. Eating the amount to outpace my metabolism would be financial ynot-feasible. I'm pretty much doomed until my metabolism slows down.

nooooob

eggs and peanut butter sandwiches..... eggs are like $1-2 a dozen, eat at least 4 a day.... buy cheap peanut butter and cheap bread and just eat lotsa sammiches. This is what I did to gain weight on a college budget

-Devil-

you can also use spagetti and sauce .. not real expensive but can load up on a lot of it each day ...

nooooob

also one of 3 things I ate for dinner every night in college

3 basic carb dishes, pasta, potatoes or rice

3 basic meats.... steaks, ground beef, or chicken. I got the cheapest meats possible. I would get big bags of 10 chicken breasts for something like $6. I would get more chicken than anything else just because of the cost. But I'd make spaghetti with chicken and sauce, or ground beef sauce a lot. with the rice or potatoes, I'd just cook it along side a plain steak or plain chicken boob

joe_5700

I used to have the exact same problem. You can either wait until you pass 35 or you can do some moderate weight training. Start with push ups. See what your max is and do about reps of about 75% of your max in sets of 4 or 5. Get a set of dumbells. Buy the kind that you can add to, and not the fixed weighted ones. Find out what weight you can do military presses (straight in the air) that you can do 20-25 each side. Alternate doing curls each side 10 times for sets of 4 or 5. Coupled with pushups and your protein shakes you will gain some muscle weight and no longer be 123.4 lbs. and not have to pay gym fees.

Pat

Some years ago, I went on a road tour out west. In 2 weeks, I lost 10 lbs. I just did the cycling. I was careful to limit my fat intake. And the exercise did the rest.

But many people on the same tour gained weight. No matter how much you exercise, uncontrolled consumption can trump exercise. Many of the weight gainers went into town after getting in for the day and ate a 4th meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided). They would go and find the biggest hamburger with cheese in town topped with fries and a sundae.

Most people increase food consumption when they are exercising vigorously. It is very hard to limit consumption especially in a social setting that emphasizes consumption.

cg1985

Well, I don't have too much interest in muscle mass. I do a lot of hard strength training in Kung Fu. It's mostly consuming enough calories to gain the weight. Which is hard.