My first fitness goal is accomplished. #2 here I come!
 

For the last couple of months I have been trying to put on weight. Not fat, but muscle.

In April/May I weighed 122 lbs.

This tuesday I got my body fat results and I'm 9.2% body fat. On tuesday I weighed 129 lbs.

My first goal was 130 lbs. This morning I weighed in 130lbs. No, i am not constipated, this was after going to the bathroom twice and after a workout. So I didn't cheat.

My goal is 140lbs while maintaining body fat at about 10%. My ultimate goal is 150lbs but I want to see how I look like at 140lbs and see from there. I want muscle but I don't want too much. If 140lbs still looks like I need more muscle then I'll bump it up to 150lbs.

My goal is mostly performance and stamina. I'm hoping that before college starts back up to be 135lbs. And by the end of the year 140 or a little more.

I'm 5' 7" if anybody is interested.

I'm 5'11" and my weight fluctuates a lot. I'm about 125 right now, but within a 1 month period, it can fluctuate between 120 and 140. I always have below 5% body fat or so. I can never maintain a constant weight. Damn metabolism is too fast.

I need to start running again. I used to be able to run a 5 minute mile when I was like 16-17. It's been years since I've really exerted myself(21 now).

I tried getting up to 150 when I was 15. Just could no do it. Even with the help of 2 racks of ribs, a 48 oz steak, 1/2 pound of bacon, two pints of Ben and Jerrys, three cheeseburgers burgers(each using about 1/2 pound of meat and half a stick of butter, served rare), and 2 bags of Lays potato chips all in the space of 3 hours, I still couldn't do it.

The most I've ever weighed is 140, and my body fluctuates to that fairly often. What's so ****ed up is that it's not fat weight that's gained... I need some fat on me. I'm always cold because I don't have enough of it.

My typical caloric intake is around 3,500 a day or so. If I drop below 3,000, I rapidly start losing weight. It sucks, because it's expensive. There's no way to get that amount of calories in a healthy manner without paying a lot of money. Bad calories from damned near poisonous crap is cheap.

Maybe I'll bag a deer next hunting season. That would be awesome.

I'm sorry, you're just not my type...:eek:

Wow... that's quiet the metabolism you have there. I'm 5'10" and when I moved to Salt Lake I weighed 200lbs. My wife and I started dieting and exercising, mainly because we want to live past 65, and it feels nice to lose weight.

I weighed 173lbs around 6 months later. I have since put on about 10 lbs again, but that happens in the winter time.

I usually eat around 1500 calories per day and I still can gain weight if i eat the wrong foods.

Not that this had anything to do with anything, but I just thought I'd share.

Calories don't matter to me. I can eat 1000 or 5000 calories a day. I'll still weigh the same. The only thing that changes my weight is my muscles.

Are we likening our highly efficient bodies to our highly efficient bodies?! :p

no speak english?!

bodies to cars, i meant to say. in response to toecutters inability to get less mpgs when he eats.

My weight is 150-155. I can't gain anything no matter what I eat.

I am cycling across iowa in two weeks. I wonder if that will have any affect on my weight (I am skinny and don't need to lose any weight).

my weight cycles between 160 and 180 all depending on if im lifting or surfing a lot. just like you guys, its completely independant of food intake, strictly muscle mass. last time i check my body fat % it was just south of 5%

That's good to know. But are you ripped(muscles) or are you skinny?? Because you said your body fat is less than 5%

Just wait until youse guys hit 40. This discussion will be quite different.:D

I just spiked to my highschool weight of 181lbs 6' tall I was holding at 160-165lbs - now have way too much fat but everyone says I look great - my 32" waist shorts don't fit - I think it is the hair cut. This much weight and my knees start hurting when I walk.
To gain weight you need to workout and rest a lot - if you stay active you will not gain - too much aerobic and you will not gain.

Yeah that's true. I missed 1 day of gym because I went to hangout and I was able to do 20lbs more because my body got more rest. I started my revised workout yesterday so I work out now twice less and twice harder. Also give my muscles 48-72 hours to recover.

In 2 weeks I hope to add 5lbs more to every machine I do.

Well I'm 50, still eating like a horse, and waiting for any signs of the massive weight gain that all of my friends first started predicting would occur when I hit 30. I'm 6' and weigh 180 lbs when I have been trail running, but not weight training, and weigh 195 lbs after I have been hitting the weight machines regularly for awhile. I can still wear the clothes I have left over from my college days.

what is your weight training like?

What planet are you creatures from? I gain weight just from looking at pictures of food. I'm 6'2" 250 pounds 30% fat. My weight fluctuates about 2 pounds up and down. My body fat might be 28% one day and 32% the next. I don't mind the weight, but I'd love to get my body fat down to at least 15%.

As you gain more weight your body becomes more efficient at producing heat and therefore burns less calories to keep you warm - 2/3 of your calories goes to producing heat normally - more if you are thin and tall. As you get older people physically slow down and gain weight because they continue to eat the same amount of food but don't exert themselves as much - no running up stairs or walking fast so they gain weight. (generally speaking) People are also driving more and walking less - how many times do you see people trying to park as close to the door at the store as possible. There is also how efficiently your body precesses food - how quickly you pass what you eat and that varies widely between different people.

Running through the Nautilus machines and the bench and leg presses at the "Y". I have the weight stacks maxxed out on some of the Nautilus machines. I maintain my upper body strength because it is useful at work where I sometimes have to climb up above the ceiling to make repairs (its like a combination of tree-climbing and spelunking) and the trail running maintains my lower body strength and the uneven terrain recovery reflexes it builds "fall-proofs" me. Also I figure that keeping in tip-top shape improves my marketability as an employee.

I have some bad news. I lost 4 pounds in 3 days. But the good/weird news is my muscles are getting stronger. The machines I'm using for my upper body are proving to be very hard. The machines for my lower body keep getting easier to the point that I have to keep adding weights or it bounces like a rubberband.

On one machine I started at 40lbs but now I'm at 70lbs in one week. My legs are getting strong fast but my upper body is taking such a long time.

Any ideas why I'm losing weight?

More/stronger muscles= the need for more fuel to power the muscles= weight loss which may mean the need for even more food?

so am I losing fat or muscles?

if your measurements are reducing and you are getting stronger then you are loosing fat - you can loose fat internally and not show it on the outside. If you workout too much you can loose muscle . . . doubling big muscles will show a bigger change than doubling small muscles. That's why it is important to rest a lot to rebuild muscle - otherwise you are over training. Eat meat and vegetable protiens - string beans are good. Keep hydrated really well too or you can get some serious kidney problems.

My muscles get plenty of rest. I always drink water when I work out. In fact I only drink water outside the gym and inside. I haven't touched a soda in years. I basically drink anything clear. water, vodka, and etc.

I gained 5 pounds in 2 days. Weird body. I'm now 131.xx

Leg machines are getting easier and I keep adding weights.

I'm 44, 5'8 140lb. back when i was 18, 125lb, i could leg press 500lb 5 or 6 times. Now i'm to worn out to work out:( I could clean&jerk 225lb:) Arm curl 135, back againt the wall.

legs can hold 15lbs of muscle each and you wouldnt be able to see the difference(but you can feel and untilize it). well if your around 6ft atleast

Attachment 15

Talk is cheep - this was me about 1995-96 when I was cut and had long hair. No gym time only a little biking and swiming.

damn, that's muscle.

Sweet hair, man.

It's been a month now. There is almost no improvement on the arms. I'm still on the same weights when I started on July 5th.

The legs of course keep improving.
I don't know the name of the machines but this is what I went from in 5-6 weeks on the leg machines.

July 5th NOW
50 lbs 65 lbs
70 lbs 80 lbs
50 lbs 55 lbs
40 lbs 45 lbs
40lbs 80 lbs (no this is not a typo)

Any ideas to improve my upper body strength?

try to use a weight that gets your muscles exhosted in about 15 reps were you can't lift any more then drop a few pounds and keep doing a few more reps until muscle failure again. Muscle grows when demand exceeds capacity - get a good pump - lots of blood flow and focus on a smaller muscle group during each workout. Lift quickly and lower slowly - next you need energy drinks to provide enough energy to be able to work your muscles long enough to give them a good workout. Don't forget some recovery time to let them grow and heal while working on other muscle groups.

I'll be moving to free weights for the upper body since machines aren't helping me.

The legs are still improving on the machines. I'm starting to see some muscle definition in the legs. I'm still 130 lbs. So that probably means that my body fat lowered since I keep growing muscle and not weight.

about ten years ago I work my bicepts really well with 35lbs each but couldn't lift 5 lbs out to the sides with my shoulders - was really funny working with my girlfriends trainer in NY one day . . . couldn't lift my arms to the side. I find the machines too restrictive in motion for my long flexable arms and prefer free weights.

yea. A guy that is a regular there helps me out. When I started out working out at the gym in the beginning of July he came up to me and told me I was working out all wrong and wasn't going to build any muscle. He told me how to work out. This night I came up to him and told him nothing is improving on my upper body. He told me to go to the free weights area and showed me what to do there.

Also I have weak wrists so that's a huge negative for me. He showed me an exercise that I could do at home or at the gym that make my forearms stronger and my wrists too. Or if it doesn't work just tape up my wrists to make them stiff.

The legs will stay on the machines but my upper body will be done in the free weights area. I don't have anymore weight goals. I just want to be healthier, stronger and look buff.