Weight training - cant add muscle
 

I started weight traning about the same time i started atkins. Although i have lost alot of fat, i cannot seem to add any muscle, although i am on an intense weight training program, 5 days a week. My trainer told me that although protein is the building blocks for muscle, your muscles need to have carbs stored in order to break down and rebuild.. Ive researched this alot, and all literature i have read on building muscle talks about the importance of carbs in the muscle building process.

can anyone post some input on this?

I'm lazy as hell, but!!
 

Over 10 years ago, I saw a body building competition where one of the competitors was on a high fat / protein LC diet. I couldn't believe that someone could look that good on this type of diet.

How many carbs are you taking? What phase are you on? Remember that you are to begin adding carbohydrates.

I'm a little confused. Go to your local GNC and all the "muscle building" products (shakes, etc.) are all high protein to build muscle, not carbs.

Also, I believe that your body can't actually "store"carbs. The carbs turn into other substances in the body. The carbs not used aren't "stored", at least that is how I understand it.

I am no expert by far, but it sounds like either a misunderstanding or the trainer's got a misguided idea somewhere.

Are you getting enough carbs in your diet? Your intake during induction is 20g a day and then goes up during OWL. Also, do you have a good protein/fat ratio? I know you need to focus on your fat intake to facilitate weight loss, but you still need to get the right amount of protein, too.

If you follow the plan exactly, you should be okay, but you might also want to check with your physician to make sure you don't have some other underlying problem if it persists.

Good luck! :wave:

Post this on the Body For Life (BFL) forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable people there who know how to build muscle on a low carb diet.

I agree... post in Body for Life or General Exercise. As far as I know, carbs ARE important to muscle building, but mainly because eating them gives you more energy for workouts. It is also recommended that you eat carbs immediately after workout to restore muscle glycogen. Some people (TKD- Targeted Ketogenic Diet) actually create an insulin spike right after lifting in order to do this. One of our forum exercise gurus Natrushka eats Smarties! Anyway, there's a lot of stuff in the exercise sections about this kind of thing so look around. If you research CKD as well (Cyclic Ketogenic Diet) you will learn about the importance of glycogen in muscle repair.

It is also possible (with five days a week of training) that you're not giving your muscles time to recuperate. Most people recommend at least a day of rest between lifting. Do you alternate upper and lower body workouts?

Just my input! Try a search on glycogen perhaps. :)

On the BFL forum Trainer Dan said one should have some protein within 1/2 hour of training. I suggest you go over there and check some things out. I'm trying this but it's too soon to tell because I just really started getting into my weight work.

yossi,
I added weight training into my life about three months after starting the LC woe and this is what I have observed. While you are trying to lose fat you will not generally be able to build much muscle but you should be able to maintain what you have. Once you have reached your goal %BF you can then modify your diet to give your body the added fuel it needs to build muscle. The added fuel should be more protein, and a moderate amount of carbs. I personally don’t think the body needs carbs to build muscle but you may need them to give you the added energy to push heaver weights or do more reps. Also, when you eat the added protein and carbs is important. Most body builders will consume protein immediately before and after a heavy workout and may include extra carbs with these protein meals to keep the body from using the protein as fuel instead of using it to build muscle. Another time when you should consume extra protein is just before bedtime and even in the middle of the night if you wake up. The reason for the nighttime protein meals is that this is when most of your muscle building takes place and if there is not enough protein building blocks in your system your body will go into a catabolic state(consumes muscle) instead of a anabolic(muscle building) state. These nighttime snacks should be pure protein as added carbs could be stored as fat. My routine is to make a 20gram whey protein shake with 10grams of carbs 30min before my weight training and another 20gram whey protein shake with 4grams of carbs immediately after my workout. Just before bed I consume a 30gram shake that has both whey and casein milk protein. Casein takes longer for the body to digest so it works kind of like a time release protein. Another supplement that helps with muscle building is L-Glutamine which should be taken after your workout and before bed. I hope this helps.

Of COURSE they have a product to sell....

http://www.ast-ss.com/research/crib...ext.asp?rrID=85

but this might be info similar to what your trainer was saying.

Part of this is hormonal. Women don't put on muscle the way men do - testosterone disadvantage. Genetically, some women are predisposed to put on more muscle than others. Some things you can change, some things not. I have a friend who gets winded crossing the street, and struggles carrying a hardcover book, but in a bikini, she looks like nothing but sinew (she has almost zero body fat).

I did several months of personal training with lots of weights, and I don't think I put on more than two pounds of muscle the whole time. One thing to think about is that under whatever fat we have, almost everyone has a six-pack (even if it's a mini six pack). It's just a matter of getting rid of the fat that is over it. (I for one have never seen my six pack, but I can feel it, especially when I do lots of crunches. Ever notice how your calves look so muscular? Not usually much fat hanging around down there!

Oh, and I just overheard some body builders at lunch talking about how they go down to almost zero carbs for the last few weeks before a competition.

Overtraining, lack of sleep, and not enough calories are the primary reasons muscle can not grow. All muscle rebuilding occurs during sleep, if you are still restricting the number of calories you won't add muscle, and if you are continually tearing the muscle down and not giving it several days to recover it will not grow. I seem to add muscle much quicker working on a 2/1 1/2 schedule. Example M and F same muscles. W opposing muscles. Reverse it the next week.

Pump Up Those Muscles!
 

I was involved in a national power gymnastics program at Penn State. Was not the most talented but perservered. I got a chance to work out with some amazing atheletes. Also saw genetics at play with muscle size and strength. Some guys had big muscles but were not a strong as small muscled guys.

I never could build big muscles - at one time could bench 210 lbs and weighed 134lbs.

I know the basics are that you must lift heavy weight with low reps to bulk up muscles aside from the food requirements. Just keep in mind not everyone can develop big muscles at least in my experience. :wave:

Yeah, and remember that Gary is a man! (I weigh about what Gary did when he bench pressed 210...let's just say I won't be attempting this at the gym today!)