Documentary on weight gaiiiiin

[frika]

Hey there folks,

So I'm beginning a documentary I've been planning for about a year now. I'm starting officially on March the 1st (starting recording on camera).

The film is on the subject of weight gain in skinny, hardgaining people and it concerns why the desire exists to gain weight and get large muscles as well as examining the methods used to achieve such goals.

I'm using myself as subject (perfect way to keep motivated) and shooting over the next year, engaging myself in a strict training routine with an even stricter diet in hopes that I will be able to gain weight and muscle.

Now, I would love to be training for strength and whatnot, but for the purpose of the doc the goal is primarily hypertrophy training since it is analyzing the superficial aspect of weight and muscle gain, all that really matters is what is seen.

I guess I'm just writing this to see if anyone has any tips before I begin, or at any time. I'm going to make a blog soon and I'll post the link here if anyone is interested.

Any suggestions on diet, training, whatnot are always appreciated as I'm not a professional at any of this really. It's just all based on research I've done over the past year so like I say, I'm certainly still learning.

wish me luck!

[neil f]

Sounds interesting i will be waiting for the final edit.

[mr popular]

do you have any bodybuilding experience? What is your knowledge of diet right now? What is your knowledge of training?

[anfeyd]

If youve never weight trained, but Starting Strength, do the program and drink a gallon of whole milk daily. Afterwards come back and then well give you more advice.

[frika]

Haha, well I've been heavily weight training for the last year so I am not just starting from nothing.

As for diet I am fairly aware as I have spent a lot of the last year reading about diet and trying different things.

As for bodybuilding... I have a lot of learning to do. The original idea was not to be a bodybuilder for a year but that has obviously changed fairly recently, so any sort of bodybuilding advice would be great.

Oh, a big part of this is that I won't be using steroids of any sort in case people were ready to jump on that one.

[frika]

oh and here's the blog. I literally just started it. I'll put up some current pics and whatnot soon.

stevethebodybuilder.blogspot.com

[mr popular]

What makes you think you are going to have to stop "training for strength" while doing this documentary?

What routine are you planning to do, and what sort of a diet are you planning on eating?

Where are you at right now as far as height, weight, and general lift numbers?

[compleks]

Awesome idea mate.
Make sure you follow this through once you begin. This could be a really good project.

Be sure to have everything well planned and well documented. Not just in terms of training and diet, but also in terms of the final production. I know it's a documentary, but still have a plan in mind.

Set goals throughout the year.

You will still gain significant strength if your bulking.

[frika]

Hey, yeah I of course plan on and assume that I will be gaining strength, I'm just saying I will be focusing more on hypertrophy as opposed to my usual focus of strength gains.

My diet is going to work up to 5000 calories (it's been a fair bit lower lately) and will be composed of egg whites, oats, flax and coconut oil, chicken, beef, shit loads of veg, tons of fruit, whey, quinoa, whole grain bread products, blah blah blah.

my numbers right now are like:

1rm squat - 170
1rm dead - 315
1rm bench - 155

My squat is low as fuck because I'm 6'5 and have super thin legs and basically just don't train it enough. I weigh 175lbs.

I am starting this march 1st and am continuing concrete planning until then.

[mr popular]

At your level do you still feel your technique on those key lifts needs work, or will you be able to jump right into a strength training template with confidence now?

6'5 is pretty god damn tall. Which makes 175lbs sound even more frail.

[frika]

Yes, I do feel comfortable with form and whatnot on the lifts. Because I'm so tall I've had to focus a lot on form especially in things like Squats so that I don't injure myself too horribly. This first year has basically been - injury, learn from it, read more, injury, learn from it, read more. Everything has been great now though so I'm not too concerned about that.

I'm just a little uncertain what kind of a routine to begin with. A lot of places are saying for a hardgainer start out with a 5x5 routine and keep gym days short and only go 3 times a week. I get the risks of overtraining, but I'm just not sure if i should jump right into a bodybuilding routine doing 3 days on 1 off...

suggestions?

[mr popular]

As far as bodybuilding goes, it is largely a personal matter, but there are a few key principles you should be aware of, the main ones being....

The difference in training between a muscle group that gets bigger, and a muscle group that ONLY gets stronger, is going to be mostly diet. There is a place for smaller "pumping" exercises, but in the grand scheme of things you create a demand for your muscles to get larger by forcing them to become stronger, and then supplying that demand with enough nutrients.
I will say, though, that when trying to gain muscle, MOST people do best forcing strength gains in the 6-10 rep range... whereas a focus purely on strength gains might linger in the 1-5 rep range. But this is a very individual thing.

What you want to figure out for yourself is, what are the key exercises for your muscle groups that (a) hit that muscle group directly and effectively, (b) don't cause injury, and (c) allow for rapid strength gains. My advice is to pick at least one for each main muscle group, and organize a program around that.

To illustrate my point...
If you like back squats for your thighs, and you take your back squat now from lets say 225 for 12, and a year and a half from now you are doing 405 for 12 with 50lbs more bodyweight.. those are going to be some impressive thighs my friend. Regardless of whether or not you chose to do leg extensions and hack squats and blah blah blah..

For a more detailed explanation of that general philosophy, check out this article:
http://www.higher-faster-sports.com/trainingphilosophy.html

Diet is another very personal matter when it comes to building muscle. I've found that for most people, however, a high-protein diet works best... fats should typically be in moderate amounts, and carbohydrates have the highest probability of needing personal attention. Some people pound down cake and cookies all day long and gain well, others don't consume more than 30g of carbohydrates in a single day.... you just need to find out what works for you, but everyone should be consuming a post-workout drink that has protein and carbohydrates in it. (For me I would emphasize getting at least 70 grams of protein in this post-workout shake, and consuming no fat whatsoever until an hour or two after your workout)

Protein grams is something a lot of bodybuilders prefer to keep track of. Some people on this board don't believe a higher protein intake is necessary for muscle growth, because apparently there have been "studies" that concluded excessively high amounts of protein in the diets of mostly sedentary people produced toxic levels of urea in the body.
Though to my knowledge there has never been a study done on the effect this has on actual bodybuilding people... who, obviously, don't suffer any apparent problems from eating this way.
The only caution I would give would be to drink at least 1 gallon of water a day to stay on the safe side with your kidneys when it comes to a very high protein intake. It's probably not necessary for everyone, but drinking that much water is good for you anyway.
I personally recommend a minimum of 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight daily when looking to gain muscle at an optimal rate. But like I said, people will disagree with me on that, so you have to figure it out for yourself.

Well I had more to say but I'll end this unnecessarily long post here for right now.... haha

[anfeyd]

Frika, buy the book I suggested. Do the program, drink a gallon of whole milk daily.

[mr popular]

I'm not sure how it is where you live, anfeyd. But here, milk is more expensive than gasoline. If I tried to drink a gallon a day, I'd run out of money for my steaks pretty quickly. haha

[compleks]

I just googled the conversion for 1 gallon into litres.

That's alot of milk (would only cost about $3-4 a day though)

[anfeyd]

I'm not sure how it is where you live, anfeyd. But here, milk is more expensive than gasoline. If I tried to drink a gallon a day, I'd run out of money for my steaks pretty quickly. haha

If youre drinking a gallon of milk per day I doubt you need steaks.

Besides once you exhaust the linear progress you will be broke and then can rely on a more wholesome diet.

[mr popular]

Of course we all know the real way to get big is to eat 15lbs of soy every day, all washed down with lactaid.

[[RozoN]]

Sounds awesome dude :)

[Rahf]

If youre drinking a gallon of milk per day I doubt you need steaks.

Besides once you exhaust the linear progress you will be broke and then can rely on a more wholesome diet.

I reckon one gallon of milk is abit over the top mate. It bears with it some potential cancer risks and also that massive amount of calcium won't really benefit. Better to just up the volume on meals.

[Rahf]

Protein grams is something a lot of bodybuilders prefer to keep track of. Some people on this board don't believe a higher protein intake is necessary for muscle growth, because apparently there have been "studies" that concluded excessively high amounts of protein in the diets of mostly sedentary people produced toxic levels of urea in the body.
Though to my knowledge there has never been a study done on the effect this has on actual bodybuilding people... who, obviously, don't suffer any apparent problems from eating this way.
The only caution I would give would be to drink at least 1 gallon of water a day to stay on the safe side with your kidneys when it comes to a very high protein intake. It's probably not necessary for everyone, but drinking that much water is good for you anyway.
I personally recommend a minimum of 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight daily when looking to gain muscle at an optimal rate. But like I said, people will disagree with me on that, so you have to figure it out for yourself.

Well I had more to say but I'll end this unnecessarily long post here for right now.... haha

Comparing steroid enhanced bodybuilders with normal everyday men when it comes to protein needs holds no realistic arguments. Bodybuilders on drugs have a synthetically upregulated protein synthesis which means they can utilize more of the protein they get in.

Excessively high amounts of protein in sedentary people? I beg to differ:

Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2006 Dec;31(6):647-54. Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to metabolic advantage. Phillips SM. (http://article.pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ppv/RPViewDoc?_handler_=HandleInitialGet&journal=apnm&volume=31&calyLang=eng&articleFile=h06-035.pdf)

That study is from one of the leading experts in the field and shows that your recommendation of 1.5g per pound of bodyweight is far above the mark recommended here. Recommendations from other experts:

http://i11.tinypic.com/34qwj61.jpg

If youre drinking a gallon of milk per day I doubt you need steaks.

Besides once you exhaust the linear progress you will be broke and then can rely on a more wholesome diet.

I reckon one gallon of milk is abit over the top mate. It bears with it some potential cancer risks and also that massive amount of calcium won't really benefit. Better to just up the volume on meals. Milk is a good source though, but a liter per day is enough.

[anfeyd]

Rahf, youre not going to get cancer from drinking that quantity of milk for 3-6 months. The massive amount of calcium won't hurt either.

I'm basically restating this from Rippetoe: People on the program who drink milk get stronger and bigger.

He's humble enough to say he doesn't know why exactly but I trust he knows his routine best.

[mr popular]

I never said anything about steroids. If someone were taking anabolic steroids, they should up the protein to 2g per pound of bodyweight rather than 1.5 in my opinion.
That was interesting study, but it was not a study done on bodybuilders. The name of the game here is protein synthesis, and there is a huge difference between the "requirements" of your typical athlete (the minimum amount they need to avoid deficiency...), and the amount someone looking to build muscle mass as quickly as possible should be consuming (An optimal amount, bordering on excessive to meet the demands in full)

[Rahf]

I never said anything about steroids. If someone were taking anabolic steroids, they should up the protein to 2g per pound of bodyweight rather than 1.5 in my opinion.
That was interesting study, but it was not a study done on bodybuilders. The name of the game here is protein synthesis, and there is a huge difference between the "requirements" of your typical athlete (the minimum amount they need to avoid deficiency...), and the amount someone looking to build muscle mass as quickly as possible should be consuming (An optimal amount, bordering on excessive to meet the demands in full)

It is likely fair to say that where an optimal dietary protein intake for athletes is concerned no greater dichotomy of opinion exists than between those who establish recommendations and the athletes themselves, particularly strength and/or power-training athletes.

The body does not crave more protein than is needed to satiate nitrogen balance which according to this study lies around 1,5g/kg of bodyweight. This number has been reached through extensive studying by leading experts in the field of sports science. It is a recommendation, if you want to go higher then fine, do so. But this number is a more safe bet than yours since you have most likely taken it from recommendations from bodybuilders. If you haven't then cite your source.

An optimal amount is the exact amount needed for maximum muscle growth and not a gram more. It's not an amount that involves protein oxidization.

[anfeyd]

I never said anything about steroids. If someone were taking anabolic steroids, they should up the protein to 2g per pound of bodyweight rather than 1.5 in my opinion.
That was interesting study, but it was not a study done on bodybuilders. The name of the game here is protein synthesis, and there is a huge difference between the "requirements" of your typical athlete (the minimum amount they need to avoid deficiency...), and the amount someone looking to build muscle mass as quickly as possible should be consuming (An optimal amount, bordering on excessive to meet the demands in full)

I believe that anabolic steroids in regards to muscle gains depends more on an overall caloric excess.

[mr popular]

anabolic steroids mostly just upregulate protein synthesis...

Rahf: I understand that my views contradict the scientific evidence that is out right now. Yet these things provide results for me and others, so I still put my faith in them. It's that simple.

I will say, though, that science has definitely guided the way I train more than anything else.

[Rahf]

anabolic steroids mostly just upregulate protein synthesis...

Rahf: I understand that my views contradict the scientific evidence that is out right now. Yet these things provide results for me and others, so I still put my faith in them. It's that simple.

I will say, though, that science has definitely guided the way I train more than anything else.

If it works, it works. If a person feels more comfortable eating 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight then fine. But if those amounts effectively hinder other intakes such as fat or carbs (starting to sound like a broken record with my nagging about carbs), then I personally feel that corrections are a must. What I dislike seeing are the words "optimal" together with certain key phrases like "protein" etc.

There should be no room for misinterpretation, at the same time one should not limit a person lacking knowledge to only one thing.

[mr popular]

Hm I just realized the OP hasn't said anything at all lately. I wonder if he gave up on us. haha!

[frika]

Haha nono, just been busy for the past couple days. I see your bickering~

I'm just finishing the proposal, budget and all the preliminaries. Maybe I'll post it all on here when I'm done...

All I know is that I'm fucking pumped. It's going to be a really intense year.

[Trixter]

Your shitter will become your second closest friend. :smile:

[compleks]

I forgot about this.

Progress update???

[DarkXacreD]

Does anyone else find it weird that he can deadlift 315 lbs and squat only 170 lbs?

[Lobo]

Sounds interesting i will be waiting for the final edit.
No you won't. You'll have forgotten all about it.

"Oh boy, only three more months till frika's documentary get's released!" - Neil, 9 months from now

[mr popular]

Wow totally forgot about this thread.

You know what else I forgot about...?

Rahf's monthly updates. What happened to those? I really enjoyed reading them!

And wasn't Zeff supposed to be doing updates too!? haha

You lazy bastards.

[compleks]

Update***

I am currently eating an apple.

[compleks]

Update***

Eating another apple.

[mr popular]

Update: broke my collar bone and was out from lifting for quite a while, but I've started again, haha. :smile:

I'm sorry to hear that!

[breykdown]

Does anyone else find it weird that he can deadlift 315 lbs and squat only 170 lbs?

last week i deadlifted 300 with extra gas in the tank, but my highest squat is only 185

[frika]

Hi all,

I've been BUSYYYYYYYYY with the business end of the doc. Looks like I might be getting free personal training for the year at a gym here in Toronto. Awesome.

Also, I moved the start date ahead to just last weekend. Not that I havent been training since last posted, just moved the official start of the year ahead as it marks the bodybuilding competition I'm going to enter next year. It's through the IDFA and therefore is drug free. Hoorah.

Doing a lot of unilateral training right now to work out some imbalances so as to not die. then getting back to going heavy soon enough.

From now on check stevethebodybuilding.blogspot.com if you'd like updates¬

Oh yeah, and my squat definately needs some work. Back is definately the strongest part of my body. I have massively long super thin legs... but I'm working on it!

-ST