How to put on muscle mass and weight when low carbing?

[Mezzy954]

Ive been training for a more than a year now but have not made any significant gains. Quite frustrating now dont know what to do :-(


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[dawnmc]

I'm the opposite, I can't lose weight even when walking and lifting weights, for 2 years now (low carb too). Think it might be harder when you are diabetic. I've even had my thyroid checked.
If anyone has any ideas - gratefully received.

 

[mrman]

When doing regular exercise you need to eat enough carbs and find a total calorific total to suit your body age/height, current weight and level of activity. eat enough to fuel your body, but not overeat to store it. Not eating enough will cause your body to store fuel (fat), exercise will just exaggerate it. By having enough to eat and doing weights your muscle mass will increase your insulin sensitivity whilst also burning the fat. Doing this will reduce weight gradually (not a quick fix) and be more likely rio keep the weight off.


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[sw11bloke]

Mezzy
I see your HBA1C is 6 so that means you rarely run high. If you were running high, Id say that was the reason youre not putting on weight.
To build muscle, you need to be eating protein. Carbs are more for energy. Are you drinking a good protein shake? Basically you should be consuming 2 grams or protein for every killogram of your body weight per day if you want to build muscle. You need to divide that into 6 portions a day. Brocolli, sweet potatoe, green beans, beans, cabbage are all great.
I always had issues with weight. Soon as I made sure that my Bloods did not go over 11, I gained 6 killos within 4 months. The minute your bloods go over 11, you start peeing more - basically peeing out all the proteins etc that your putting in. If youre peeing too much....you wont put on weight. If youre not, then youre not eating enough protein.
You should also research your workout. If you doing cardio or high rep, that may be another reason. Low rep high weight with a decent recovery time will help put on muscle. 3 x good sessions a week are good enough.
Hope that helps

 

[Mezzy954]

Thanks a lot guys I think I do need to up my protein! I was considering some creatine too, do you have any suggestions for creatine?

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[SamJB]

Hi mezzi, I've played rugby for 20 years. I'm a type 1 low carber too. I agree with sw11bloke, try to have 2g of protein for every kg of bodyweight. To put weight on, you need to eat more, try increasing your calories by 200 per day. A protein shake is perfect for this. I don't need carbs for exercise, I usually do high intensity stuff that makes my levels go up.

Get yourself a good hypertrophy routine, I superset 2 exercises in reps of 10, aiming for failure on the 10th rep.

I found creatine made me hypo as it increases muscle cell absorption, so I avoid it.

 

[Thommothebear]

I agree that you need to ensure you are getting enough protein, you also need to make sure you are eating enough calories, as its hard to build muscle while on a calorie deficit. Finally in order to build muscle you need to be lifting heavy and keep the muscles stressed otherwise you will just be toning rather than building muscle. Try the stronglifts weight training program (its free, google it), seems to be working for me so far after just a couple of weeks, just be prepared to keep buying more weights if you train at home, the program involves increasing your lifts by 5lb a day three days a week!


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[claire7419]

This a great post! Very informative and helpful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys.

 

[Signs]

Try the programme below where weight lifted is increased each week - you will not gain muscle without increasing the weight you lift.
It's based on 7 days with 2 consecutive rest days. I try to do Mon - Fri with weekends off but whatever works for you. If you miss a day just do that day on next visit.

Upper body
Barbell bench Press
BB bent over rows
BB seated bench press
BB shrugs
BB close press
BB bicpep curl

Lower body
BB squats
Hamstring curls (machine)
Leg press (machine)
Seated calf raises (machine)
Crunches
Back extensions


Day 1 upper body
Day 2 lower body
Day 3 aerobics (kettle bell is good or interval on bike, trainer, whatever)
Day 4 upper body
Day 5 lower body
Days 6 & 7 rest days.


Week 1. 2x sets of 12 -15 reps to fail (60 secs rest between sets)
Week 2. Increase weight -- 3x sets of 8 - 10 reps to fail (90 secs)
Week 3. Increase weight -- 4x sets of 6 reps to fail (90 secs)
Week 4. Increase weight -- 5x sets of 4 reps to fail (120 secs)
Week 5. Increase weight -- 6x sets of 3 reps to fail (2 - 3 mins, or as long as you need)
Week 6. Deloader week - Decrease weight but more than week 1 --- 1x set fo 15 reps ALMOST failing on 15.
(You'll feel guilty in week 6 like you're not doing anything. Exremely important to do week 6 properly)

... and repeat !!
In 3 months, you will gain. This is progressive and by increasing weights every week you build and repair more muscle fibre each time.

Be honest with yourself and push to the limit.

What weight to lift?
Difficult initially, for that reason I suggest when you start do week 1 twice. First week will really be spent working what weight to lift. First off "guesstimate" what you think you can manage and hopefully fail between 12 and 15. Adjust accordingly. Each week try adding 5kg. You'll soon work out what kind of progress you're making and how much to add.
Week 7 when you will obviously be starting with more weight than in week 1.

Form.
Proper form is vital. Look for videos on youtube or even better get someone (properly trained) at gym to show you.

This is quite intensive and bloody hard work, especially weeks 4 & 5. In saying that I had a heart attack in July (not connected to weight training!) so lost a lot of fitness sitting around doing nothing for a long time but I've started back on this programme last week. I've tried lots of routines and this is the one that I have results from every time.

Bear in mind that a lot of gains will come from what you do in the kitchen. If you're low carbing then keep doing so but remember you need carbs for enrgy. Eat plenty of protein. You'll find lots of theories when to take protein, personally I take it when I can.

Hope this helps. Post back and let us know how it goes.

 

[Wurst]

I'm in the same predicament , I'm continually loosing weight. I now weigh in at 85 kg (sorry lived on the continent too long and have gone all metric) which makes me on the skinny side being 6ft 5in tall. I've added more protein to my diet , protein shakes, whole roasted chickens, protein bread etc etc but the weight loss is still ongoing. I cycle to work daily so am wondering if this contributing , but don't want to give up cycling as it contributes to excellent BS control. I've been doing weights and rowing for around 3 months now with no increase in muscle mass.

Before I became a diabetic I used to be able to bulk up with pasta , but that is no longer an option.

 

[Thommothebear]

To put muscle mass on you have to lift heavy in order to stress the muscles, allow adequate recovery time between sessions, eat plenty of protein, and make sure you eat enough to support the new growth.

Suggest you take a look at stronglifts.com a very simple free strength building plan that explains the process in plain language.

 

[Mezzy954]

Thanks guys that was all awesome! Will take a look at the website

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