Amount of muscle one can gain in a year.

A

Amadeus

Cathlete
Maribeth, are you out there? (Have fun on that cruise, btw!)

How many pounds of muscle can a female body put on in one year? (Also I'm betting there is no accurate way to confirm your "scale findings" is there?)

I read in M&F Her's (Lovena Stamatiou-Tuley, p. 120 paragraph 4) how in one body builder's opinion, "You'll be lucky to put on 3 pounds of quality muscle a year". That just sounds like SO much work for so little muscle. (I'm lookin' for 10 pounds.)

Now, I am well versed in benefits of metabolically active tissue vs. fat, but gosh it's hard to get excited about this.

Oh no, I think we're back to my lack of "myofibrils" again aren't we?

Anyone?

Julie
 
I recall recently reading somewhere (not very GOOD recall, mind you) that a women can put on 5 pounds of muscle a year.
 
I read that article too Julie and remember saying "That's it??" Three pounds sounded like so little to me. I'm also trying to gain as much muscle as possible. Just curious, what workouts are you doing?

Courtney
 
Hey Julie,

You know what Maribeth's gonna say to this one: take what those fitness models/competitors say with a grain of salt.

I think overall it's a great article, but I don't think anyone can make generalizations like this.

Your fellow ecto,

Angela
 
You would think there would be more actual studies on this one. You know, take each body type...meso, ecto and endo....make em strength train real hard for a year and then measure total muscle gain. You never really see studies like that. All you see is " all three groups experienced a decrease in overall body fat and an increase in lean body mass". DUH!!!

I would LOVE to know the answer to this, but am very cautious as who to believe. I have heard anywhere from 3-15 pounds a year. This is why I want to get my body fat measured hydrostatically. I will be able to see my lean body weight and be sure of how much it has gone up since starting with Cathe. I eat pretty good so I know that there is not a lack of energy there. I think it will honestly reflect what the weight work has done for me. Maybe you should do this as well Julie. Might help motivate you a bit!!

Janice
 
I read the article and I think that maybe she gained only a few pounds in ten years because she was already muscular and she didn't have much more to develop. Does that make sense?
 
Maybe if someone is already very muscular, they don't gain any more weight in muscle, but there continue to be internal changes to the muscle. Like maybe the fibers get denser or change in someway, without it affecting the weight much?
 
That would make sense. I think we have some type of genetic limit as to how much we can put on (myofibrils again). But, hey, maybe my goal isn't SO far-fetched after all, awesome.

Janice, have to agree with you. There's a "thing" called Body Gem at the club I go to. I guess it can measure your lean body mass BUT it's a tad pricey and they try to pressure you into personal training sessions, so I don't know. But I do know that Maribeth OWNS one of these things. So it must be good.

Julie
 
Now Janice, you just want us ALL to do this underwater weighing thing so we can all evaluate our bod's fat content after working out to Cathe for a period of time, right???................wow, that's actually a great idea when I think about it. Would be interesting wouldn't it??? I'm going to call Monday and ask what the cost is for underwater weighing in Lacrosse, if I can even find it.

Just a note... had my cholesterol checked the other day and the lady looked at the machine and it said "LOW". She informed me that if the cholesterol level is below 150, the machine says this. She said "I won't give you the standard speech on exercise and diet, NEXT".

By the way Janice, any thoughts as to what you predict your reading will be for the underwater weighing. It sounds like you must have quite a bit of muscle to be doing such heavy lifting and not even "feeling" it. I'm really interested to know when you have it done.

Briee
 
Briee..

Hello!! Actually, I am expecting a twenty something measurement. Will be thrilled if it is less than, absolutely devastated if it is more than. I currently weigh approx. 140 lbs so I am hoping my lean weight is atleast 105?? Back when I tested at 12% BF I only weighed 100 pounds, so for sure my lean mass is greater now, even though my BF may be higher.

I get really awful readings on my BF scale as well as with my calipers (Yeah, I have it all!:) But, I was reading somewhere that if you are very muscular the readings can be off. So I decided to do the H2O. Do try to get it done..atleast you know it will be accurate. AND, if the hydrostatic weighing is off at all it will be off only making your BF higher. Did that make sense?? Meaning, you will not get a too low of a reading. If I get a 22% reading I will know that if anything I am leaner, not fatter. This is because of the possibility of me not letting all the air out of my lungs when I get underwater, therefore the machine weighing less lean weight, see??

Oh, I don't know. If my husband was not doing it as well I probably would be too chicken!!LOL!! Call and see if you can get it. I wish I had done it before starting Cathe so I could really see the results!!:)

Janice
 
OK, I have some news...

I have been really tearing it up at the library with the fitness books. I check out a bunch, scan em for the important stuff, and bring them back.

Well, this week I checked out a book called "Ultimate Sports Nutrition" by Ellen Coleman and Suzanne Nelson Steen, both RD's. Well, on page 120, in reference to gaining muscle, the authors write.." You can generally gain 1/2 to 1 pound of muscle EACH WEEK. Since 1 pound of muscle contains 3500 calories, you must increase your calorie intake by about 500 calories per day to gain 1 pound in a week. You also have to add in the calorie cost of weight training (about 200 calories per hour workout). These calories are above and beyone the amount you normally require to maintain your body weight.

For example, if you require 2,500 calories per day and want to gain weight, you need an additional 500 calories per day to gain 1 pound of muscle per week. Add in your 200 cals per session of weight training (three times per week) for a total of 600 cals per week. When you figure in the extra calories for muscle gain and increased training, you require an additional 4,100 calories per week, or about 585 extra calories per day. This RAISES your calorie requirment to 3,085 calories per day".

Interesting, huh?? This just drives the idea home to me that alot of us are not gaining the amount of muscle we want because our calories are WAY too low!!! You HAVE to be in an anabolic state to gain muscle. Most women are so busy watching what they eat and calories that this will never happen!!! I think this is why the BODY RX program excels. There really is no limit on food ( to me, you could never eat all that they instruct you to eat) but they do cut out the junk. The focus is on PROGRESSIVE weight training designed to increase lean muscle. With many of Cathe's weight tapes, the pace is so quick and the weights are so low that I beleive the workout ends up being no more that a "toning" tape for those of us who have been training regularly. Also, that fast pace allows for a higher calorie burn. Calories that many of us are not likely replacing.

I think if your #1 goal is gaining muscle, you should quit worrying about your diet. I mean, protein and fat limits yes, but eat ALOT. And if you choose to stay with Cathe tapes, make sure one workout a week or so is A LA Body Rx in order to MAKE SURE you are exposing your muscles to a weight load that they have not experienced before. Also, keep your calories even higher if you think you are going to stay with Cathe endurance-type tapes and cardio tapes. I mean, this article did not even speak of the calories you would add if you were doing cardiovascular training. Think of what your calorie requirements are then!!!

Starting tommorrow I am going to start taking Creatine. I have heard almost nothing but wonderful information on it. I am not going to load it because it is best to be modest with the dosages to avoid diarhea and bloating. But supposedly if you do not overdose the side effects are minimal to nonexistant...other than the good ones that is!!!

I am taking this supplement to perform better, but wouldn't mind ending up looking like Rachel Mclish or even Cathe for that matter. I am not afraid of muscle, even if it ends up making me look more manly. To me, the more the better.

Just some info for you Julie, as I know you are always on the quest for more LBM!!!

Janice
 
Hi, Janice! Thank you for the information. I can see we share the same goal: getting as muscular as possible! You say we who have that goal don't have to worry about calorie counting. My question is...If I have to lose some fat, will that fat go away in the process of getting muscular, or should I concentrate on reducing the fat before or after gaining the muscle? Is it possible to lose fat while eating that much (while gaining muscle)?

I'm thinking of doing body RX too.

ALso, I wanted to comment that in the article (The Cutting Crew, from Muscle and Fitness Hers, november issue) the calculations they give for calorie intake, I found it too low.
Sometimes that kind of confusing information or misinformation makes me wonder if they don't want us to know their "secrets".
 
ALL RIGHT, JANICE!!!!!!!!!! Bring on the food!!!

I know in Cathe's "adding muscle" advice she always says to add calories, too.

Thanks for the great references. I will definitley check those out at the library.;-)

MORE FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT!!!!!!!

Of course it needs to be "clean food".:9

Julie
 
Training like a guy??

Hi Janice--

You are asking quite a few questions that I have been very curious about for quite a while as well..

I am like you.. looking to gain some serious muscle, but just haven't been able to accomplish that goal to my satisfaction.

If you look at male bodybuilders, quite often you see them eating thousands and thousands of calories a day, but mostly in protein.. They do very little cardio, and lift extremely heavy.
Does that mean women should eat and train like that for major muscle?? I know it isn't a healthy way of living, but... maybe for short term it would be o.k.??

I will be curious to hear how the creatine supplements work out for you.. I know that many people swear by it. Will you keep me posted??

Take care,
Lynn
 
RE: Training like a guy??

Mariela,

As I said, if your diet remains the same and you have added lean body mass you will be burning more calories at rest. It has been my personal experience that you CAN lose fat while gaining muscle but the process will be very slow. Since starting with Cathe tapes I have gained 3 lbs, but lost body fat. However I have been at it for over a year and the changes have been slow coming. BUT, I can eat more now and stay leaner. That is the plus for the added LBM!! Eventually, if I can add quite a bit of muscle, maybe I can get lean without even trying!!

I really think you need to seperate your goals. Either gain muscle or lose fat. OR do both but expect it to take a VERY long time, especially if you expect to make significant gains in muscle.

Lynn..yeah, I think there is something to be said for "eating like a guy". However, I know alot of beefy bo-hunks that take that way too far. I think you just need to recognize that it takes MORE calories than you are used to to stay anabolic!! With all the dieting that goes on within this forum, I don't think that many of us do that even if we recognize it. I do think it is better to "bulk up" and then "lean down". But bulking up requires not so many calories as it seems.

I will let everyone know how creatine works for me and will share any more info I can glean from my library trips!!!

Janice
 
Since this is the "Ask Cathe" forum, it would probably be best to pose a direct question to Maribeth in the "Open Discussion" forum.

Just a gentle suggestion. :)

Just Do It! :)
 
Hi Janice,
I found that info very interesting, pleaase keep us informed on the Creatine, that might be something I would like to try!
 
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