I need help

[Jessehodgkins@hotmail.com]

no matter what I do or take i can gain muscle mass. any suggestion or advice would help me pleased!!!!!!! I work out for about an hour every other day. Run a couple miles on the other day. If just started taking creatine and a high calorie protien. please help!!!!!!!

[OptikaNET]

Without giving any diet info or details of your workout its hard to give a definitive answer but I'll give it a go:

It's your diet!!! Muscles are made in the kitchen. You need to increase your protein intake to about 2-3g of Protein per Kg of lean muscle mass every day. In addition to that you need to keep your calories high. No "Nutriceuticals" are going to help you - most of them are just an exercise in parting fools from their money anyway (with the exception of Whey Protein and Creatine, which really do help!!!).

Drink two to three protein shakes every day, eat lots of chicken, lean meat, fish, nuts, soya, beans etc. Get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Eat complex cars (eg Sweet Potatoes instead of Normal Potatoes). Eat whole grain foods (wholemeal breads, pastas, brown rice etc) and try to eat every three hours or so, even if just a snack.

Do a google search for a calculator to give you your Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and calculate your needed calorie intake (BMI - there's lots of websites that can help you with this). Then add 500 KCal to this total and try to eat this every day.

Deviation will probably suggest you GOMAD (Gallon Of Milk A Day) but I can't say I really recommend this.

Most of all, keep training and train smart. You say you are doing an hour every other day - that's on the upper end of what's recommended. It's fine, but you might find that you can hone it down to 45 minutes and make sure you are getting enough rest between workouts because it's the rest time the muscles use to grow, not the time when they are being stressed in the gym. If you do a full body workout each time then try doing bodypart-splits instead as that will work each muscle group hard but then give it a full week to recover (well - in theory! In practice they will also be worked during the the days you are working similar muscle groups - eg Triceps will be worked during Chest Exercises, Biceps during Back Exercises etc, but don't worry about that...).

Every other day sounds like you're working three-four days a week. That's optimal, but the way in which you're working might not be. It's possible you might be overtraining in which case you're not giving the muscles what they need to grow.

It's hard to say for sure without more information.

Kind Regards
Dave

[Jessehodgkins@hotmail.com]

thanks a lot i'll will definatly give it a try. i appiciate the advice.

[amcredle]

http://skinnybulkup.com/six-novice-m...g-muscle-mass/

[Deviation]

For BMR calc -> http://digitaldeviation.com/calc/

Two simple tips:
1) Eat more. Calories need to be at a surplus. MyFitnessPal is a great way to track this.
2) Use a proven routine.

Creatine is good for helping recovery, but that doesn't truly add mass.

Deviation will probably suggest you GOMAD (Gallon Of Milk A Day) but I can't say I really recommend this.

GOMAD is a really easy way to bulk. It's stupid proof.

[OptikaNET]

It may be stupid proof but it's really unhealthy. Too much cholesterol, too much saturated fat and Casein is a slow-digesting, reduced bio-availability protein (compared to lactalbumin (whey), ovalbumin (egg) etc). We stop making the enzyme "Rennin" in infancy, so much of the goodness of milk passes right through our guts without being absorbed anyway, and that's without even considering Lactose-Intolerance (which is extemely common and can range from anything from stomach-cramps to full blown nausea and vomiting).

There are many articles online saying it's a bad idea. Here's an example:
http://jcdfitness.com/2010/04/gomad-...-for-everyone/

Kind Regards
Dave

[Deviation]

Come on Dave. Surely you know better with regards to dietary fats & cholesterol and their impact on blood levels in healthy adults. You don't have to use whole milk either. Cut to 2%. This ISN'T a long term solution either. Long term is lifting heavy and eating more.

And there is nothing bad about casein being slow digesting. Don't forget milk also contains whey. I didn't say this would be the only food source.

Some people are lactose intolerant. And for them, drinking a glass of milk, let alone a gallon, would probably generate enough methane to power a city. For the rest, there's no issue drinking milk. If you're lactose intolerant obviously you wouldn't do this to bulk.

Don't like milk? Some have done a GOYAD, gallon of yogurt a day, with similar results. You get some added bonuses with this too. Lots of good bacteria & cultures, different flavors, etc..

In the end, the person doing this needs to actually read about it. Learn. Grow.