Gaining mass/getting stronger

I’m wanting to gain some weight, around 15-20 lbs and i’m not sure what route to take. I’m not very strong, I weight 140 lbs, squat 235 and bench 185 and I can’t decide whether I should try to get stronger then go on a mass trying cycle or the other way around. If anybody has any opinions i would love to here them. Thanks.

Read on this homepage massive eating you
can find it under f ask questions

It sounds to me like you want to get stronger and put on a few lbs of quality LBM, so I would lean towards some type of 5x5 training routine. This will make it so that your workouts are intense, but you won’t be burning as many calories as you would training for size, so as long as your diet is dialed in, you shouldn’t have a problem putting on some weight. I wouldn’t be surprised if you gained some size too training this way!

Look at the archived articles and see what type of routine interests you - the 5x5 is merely a suggestion.

-Hogan-

Fat! & Food

  1. How long have you been training?
  2. How old are you?
  3. What’s your diet like?

To Ike.
I’ve been training for about 2 years, and i’m 19 years old. I eat around 3,500 calories a day and at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. I’m not very strong as I said, do i need to get stronger to be able to gain more weight?

You’re lifts are descent considering you weigh 140 lb. Go to the Lair Of The Ice Dog Forum and do a search for OVT, Optimized Volume Training. You should be able to get stronger AND gain muscle with this program. Maybe try icreasing your calories to 4000 and the protein to 1.5 g/lb of bodyweight. Just keep eating until you start putting on weight. And then there’s always Mag-10 for that little extra kick.

Bling, Bling, Binford: 'Sup, bruh! You’ve come to the right place. I agree that your lifts (i.e. bench and squat) are nothing to be ashamed of. And you’ve only been grinding for a couple years, my man, so stick with it.

There’s no reason that you can’t gain substantial strength and size simultaneously. Your diet is going to be key, and you need to read Massive Eating I and II to get the best nutritional regime for packing it on. Make sure you’re implementing sound during and post-workout nutrition as well. Ya gotta eat, bruh, and eat hella huge. This is coming from a one-time Scrawny Bastard, Bin.

As for training, I think that something like 5x5 would be an excellent choice. You don’t necessarily have to go this exact route, though. The fact that you’re training with heavy weights is what’s going to be critical. I would probably not suggest going above 8 reps and go as low as about 4. As for sets, you’re going to have to work with this, but 8-10 sets for chest, back and quads should bode well. While about 6 sets should suffice for biceps, triceps, shoulders, hammies, calves and abs.

Bottom line, though, Binford, is to train hella heavy and hella hard every time you hit the gym. Always strive to lift heavier weights for more reps. Don’t sacrifice execution, though. Sorry to make this post so long, but this is definitely a realistic goal, bro.

If anything, size and strength goes hand in hand. I’ve found that to be very true for me.
Lately, I’ve had this explosion in strength and along with that, the gains in LBM.


So, yes, train heavy. Ya gotta eat also. You say you eat 3500 calories a day with 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. You may find that you will have to increase the amount of calories you consume. Make sure you begin to log your daily intake. As well as activities. Since you will have to make doubly sure that you don’t go into a caloric deficit and sabotage your efforts.
Remember: recovery is also important when the goal is stength/LBM gains. Quality of training/nutrition also.
John Berardi’s “Massive Eating” is a excellent place to begin. While I like the idea of 5x5, also, read up on Dave Tate’s training articles in T-Mag as well. I have to say, that it’s due to Dave Tate and Westside that provided me with a solid base of strength.