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[Polaroid Doll]

I mentioned earlier that I was just beginning a new experiment, to find a way to increase lean muscle mass without increasing fat mass. I'm about two weeks into it, so I thought I would give some basic data to start with:

Weight: 119.7 (running average)
Measurements:
  Waist = 26.4
  Hips = 35.0

My usual exercise schedule:

Monday-Friday, bicycle to work. 9.0 miles round trip
Monday, lunch walk, 30 mins, 2 miles
Tuesday, lunch jog, 35 mins, 3.75 miles
  Lower-body strength training with ankle weights, Upper-body strength training with dumbbells. Stretches. Total = 20 mins
Wednesday, lunch walk, 30 mins, 2 miles
Thursday, lunch jog, 35 mins, 3.75 miles
  Lower-body strength training with ankle weights, Upper-body strength training with dumbbells. Stretches. Total = 20 mins
Friday, lunch walk, 30 mins, 2 miles
Saturday, jog 30 mins, 3.25 miles,
  Upper-body strength training with dumbbells. Stretches. Total = 15 mins
Sunday, jog 30 mins, 3.25 miles, Lower-body strength training with ankle weights, Stretches. Total = 15 mins

As you can see, I get a lot of lower-body exercise, especially since I commute by bicycle. The upper body probably needs some work, but I'm trying to ease my way into the weight training--it's not something I particularly enjoy doing, and I think I'm more likely to stick with it if I keep the sessions shorter, at least in the beginning.


Pre-Phase 1: Over the past two weeks, I've been doing light/moderate weight training, concentrating on the upper body. I haven't made any changes to my diet yet, but I'll be making some changes starting tomorrow, when I begin "Phase 1".

Phase 1: Continue exercise and strength training schedule, but increase calories to give a net 100-150 calorie excess each day. I've decided to create a calorie excess, since most of the weight training advise I've read suggests going this, usually at a level of +250 calories per day. Since my strength training routine is not as rigorous as a typical routine might be, I've decided to scale back the excess a bit. I expect to gain about a pound during the next month as a result; after taking the body measurements again, I'll re-evaluate to determine what to do next--possibly change the calorie intake, hopefully increase the duration of the strength training sessions.

Phase 2: To be determined, depending on the results of phase 1. I'll add this later.


For those who are interested, I printed a graph of my average daily nutrition; one can see that I love carbs, but I also get a reasonable amount of protein and fat. I also eat a lot of fiber-rich foods as a vegetarian; likely the fiber plays a role in controlling my appetite. To create the calorie excess, I will be adding protein powder and more nuts to my diet, so the grams of both fat and protein will be a bit higher during this experiment than indicated in the graph.

http://s725.photobucket.com/albums/ww260/PolaroidDoll-SLD/?action=view&current=AverageNutrition.jpg

[VeganKitten]

PD, I've always done *some* weight training so I have a good base, but I honest-to-goodness gained at least 3 pounds of muscle since starting "Power of 10" workouts -- which is very low-rep, but very heavy and very slow lifting. And you only work out once  a week!

I got the book from the library, but here it is on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Power-10-Once-Week-Revolution/dp/0060008881

I am going to (this week) start a twice-a-week split routine, but for the past 10 weeks it's just been once a week and I can TOTALLY see and feel the difference. I'll post a picture soon

Way to go on all that biking and running! I've got to get out more.

[goblyn]

I mentioned earlier that I was just beginning a new experiment, to find a way to increase lean muscle mass without increasing fat mass.

I'm sure I'm just not understanding the context here, but doesn't ANY workout routine at all increase lean muscle mass without increasing fat mass?  Isn't that the point?  The only way I could imagine fat mass increaing would be if, in addition to increasing your lean muscle mass you were also downing a huge amount of unhealthy food at the same time(think high school football players eating four or five big macs as part of their "bulking up").

Otherwise any weight you might gain while undergoing a strict workout regime (and assuming you are following healthy eating guidelines) would be muscle mass, correct?

I'm sure you could figure this out with one of those disturbing pinchy tools used to measure body fat. 

Anyways, sounds like a very do-able workout plan (its so nice to be able to get that kind of stuff done with while at work), though aren't you worried about being all sweaty for the rest of the day after jogging?  I'd do more than a lunchtime walk but since I am "professional" I try to limit my activity to things that won't make me sweat buckets since I have no option to shower in between (and also don't really have the option to change my clothes).

[Polaroid Doll]

PD, I've always done *some* weight training so I have a good base, but I honest-to-goodness gained at least 3 pounds of muscle since starting "Power of 10" workouts -- which is very low-rep, but very heavy and very slow lifting. And you only work out once  a week!

Thanks for the reference--I could certainly benefit from a bit more background knowledge in this area. Although I have nice 'tone', I've never had much muscle mass. I do try to do slow lifts (2 secs up, 2 secs down) and heavy lifting (at least heavy for me...), but I'm still a bit pathetic in the strength category.

For some reason, I enjoy the more aerobic activities, but I simply don't enjoy lifting weights. It's a chore, but one I hope I can learn to appreciate.

I mentioned earlier that I was just beginning a new experiment, to find a way to increase lean muscle mass without increasing fat mass.

I'm sure I'm just not understanding the context here, but doesn't ANY workout routine at all increase lean muscle mass without increasing fat mass? Isn't that the point? The only way I could imagine fat mass increaing would be if, in addition to increasing your lean muscle mass you were also downing a huge amount of unhealthy food at the same time(think high school football players eating four or five big macs as part of their "bulking up").

Otherwise any weight you might gain while undergoing a strict workout regime (and assuming you are following healthy eating guidelines) would be muscle mass, correct?

I'm sure you could figure this out with one of those disturbing pinchy tools used to measure body fat.

Anyways, sounds like a very do-able workout plan (its so nice to be able to get that kind of stuff done with while at work), though aren't you worried about being all sweaty for the rest of the day after jogging? I'd do more than a lunchtime walk but since I am "professional" I try to limit my activity to things that won't make me sweat buckets since I have no option to shower in between (and also don't really have the option to change my clothes).

I suppose what I meant by that was that the excess calories will go to muscle only, not fat. I'm not certain that his will be the case, but by keeping the excess a bit on the lower side, I'm hoping the body's need to repair and build the muscles will be greater than the desire to increase fat stores. I would say you're correct for the case of a calorie deficit, but I think maintaining a calorie deficit (or even balance) would not be entirely productive for my goal of really increasing muscle mass. I have to do a bit more reading on this subject, and I'll reevaluate my goals and expectations as I learn more.

Hehe, and no, I don't worry about becoming sweaty...remember, women 'glisten with dew', rather than sweat...  :lol: I change into completely separate 'workout clothes', then back into 'work clothes', so as long as I wet-towel the smell areas and re-apply deoderant it shouldn't be an issue. There are two other runners working with me, and it's never been an issue with them, so I assume it'll be okay.

[VeganKitten]

Hee hee, you'll love 'P-10' ... it's "10 seconds up, 10 seconds down". Ooh the burn! But you feel Very Worked Out afterwards.

[Polaroid Doll]

Hee hee, you'll love 'P-10' ... it's "10 seconds up, 10 seconds down". Ooh the burn! But you feel Very Worked Out afterwards.

 :shock: :shock: :shock:

I don't know if 'love' will be the correct word...! It sounds like it has potential to be quite effective, however. I'll try that during my session tomorrow.

[m.c.]

if you can do any strength training exercise slowly and regularly I would recommend push ups. Its the best overall resistance exercise for arms, chest, back, core. Slow push ups suck but they work. And no additional equipment is needed so you can do them anywhere.

[Oslo]

I think pushups and burpees, aka squat thrusts cover everything, and more various routines are good to keep one from going crazy from the burpees.    They are killer resistance training with elevated heart rate for good measure. 

Have you researched Tabata sprints/intervals?

Easier pushups are incline - arms up on a block of some sort, harder ones are decline - feet up on a block of some sort (park bench, etc.)

[Polaroid Doll]

Weight: 119.7 (running average)
Measurements:
  Waist = 26.4
  Hips = 35.0

It's been about four weeks since I've started this, so I thought I would update with my current weight/measurements.

My running average weight has increased slightly to 121.2, making a gain of 1.5 pounds. This is pretty close to what I calculated, based on aiming for a calorie excess of ~ 150 calories per day. I've switched around my diet a bit, adding protein powder to my oatmeal, and increasing both my almond and dark chocolate intake. http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww260/PolaroidDoll-SLD/AverageNutrition-050809.jpg

The excellent news is that my body measurements are moving in a good direction--as measured this morning:
  Waist = 26.25
  Hips = 35.0
And my bicep circumference has increased a whole (drum roll, please....) 0.25".  OK, that may not be a huge increase, but I'm definitely seeing more muscle tone, and I'm pleased with the results so far.

My plan is to continue this with a goal of gaining 5 pounds of lean tissue. I'm curious--to those of you who have been going strength training for a while, do you have any idea regarding what a 'typical' rate of muscle mass increase is? This will obvious vary by sex and training routine, but I'm just looking for a rough estimate here.

[Oslo]

Hey PD,
that's great! 

from what I understand, 1/2 -1 pound a week
but it seems with massive protein/calorie increase, and no aerobic activity much more -- but good only for record breaking, not sustainable -
you probably have seen this:
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/

It seems like dropping the jogs for now would lead to more muscle gain, esp. since you have the bike rides commutes. 
From the cardio/resistance training balance, it looks more like a fat loss recipe than muscle gain.  But you are gaining - and it does seem to be muscle not fat!   (*vegan increasing protein tip: nutritional yeast!   1T. has 4g protein - and yummy addition to savory things, unlike protein powder.) 

How tall are you?   

So ~2470 was your maintaining av. caloric intake before you started?   And do I understand correctly that when you were sneakily losing weight, it was only a little less (still over 2000?)    

[m.c.]

PD I don't have a scientific answer for you but..... I weigh 126.5 now and a year ago before strength training I weighed 120/121 thereabouts. I am still wearing most of the same clothes as I did a year ago. I say most because two things have changed, my waist is smaller but my butt is bigger. ( It is one giant muscle after all!) So I seem to have lost and gained in the expected places. Oh! I almost forgot. Some shirts are too tight at the sleeves because of bigger biceps and tricepts. Not huge mind you but there is no turkey wobble when I wave.

So about 4 pounds. I'm 5'5 and 41.

[Polaroid Doll]

Oslo:

My daily metabolic requirement (not counting additional activities like walking, biking or jogging) is calculated as being just over 2000 per day, according to Fitday. The reason I was consuming so many calories already before this most recent increase was to compensate for the activities (I've kicked these up this spring--I was active but much less so in previous years), since I really didn't want the number on the scale to go down anymore. I know that sounds kinda odd, but I didn't want to set a new (probably unattainable over the long run) standard that I would have to maintain. I want to keep 120 as the lowest weight I'll strive for. I should steal some of my husband's yeast to experiment with...I wonder how that would taste in my oatmeal (which already has cinnamon, protein powder, and wheat germ)? It could be interesting...

You're right that I would probably gain muscle faster by cutting back on the aerobic activity, but I'm really trying to get my endurance up. I love skate-skiing, but we've got only a very short season; although in the past I've relied on a few weeks of classic-skiing to get back in shape, it doesn't seem we have that luxury now that suitable snow base lasts only 6-7 weeks. So it's a trade-off: I'll gain muscle less quickly right now, but I'll be ready to skate-ski as soon as we have a base this next winter. 

m.c.:

Thanks for the estimate. I think I'm patient enough to wait a year... and certainly I won't mind a bit of body-rearrangement, since I've always been a column-bordering-on-apple shape.

[Oslo]

I'm sure you are going to feel great with ~ five more pounds (of muscle).     

Were you tracking on fitday when you were losing weight?  What was your average caloric intake then?

*Oh I don't think your cinnamon oatmeal is where you want to try nutritional yeast!  It's very much like a sharp cheese, so you might try it with oatmeal without PP and cinnamon --- along the cheese grits line.  if cheese and cinnamon sounds good to you, well then... !    And you know nutritional yeast is NOT baker's yeast, right?  : )
on the savory side, an Oslo family favorite: macaroni and chreese, as we call it (not sure why we call it that) :   ~1/2c nutritional yeast mixed with a small amount of hot water to creamy consistency, pinch salt, (suggested additions: pinch mustard powder, pepper)  - let sit for a few minutes (while pasta is cooking).  Add chreese to pasta, toss to coat.    Also makes a great savory spread.

[Polaroid Doll]

Oslo:

It looks like I was averaging 2200 per day back then, and I was walking 30-60 minutes per day (no running or other high intensity workouts. And only very sporadic weight training).

I'm familiar with nutritional yeast, but you can obviously tell I've never tasted it... My husband makes a 'shake' using it, combining it with cocoa powder and sugar, so I always assumed it was compatible with sweet tasting foods. Maybe I'll have to take a little taste of it separately before adding it to anything. I'm sure I can slip it into some recipes without it altering the flavor too much. (The macaroni idea is a good one.  )

[Oslo]

Hero!    (glad you are the pro at losing weight - I get the crown for vegetarian chefery.)   
For the last year I've swung between ~1500 calorie stretches, tracking, losing ~pound+ week as advertised, and weeks at an unknown much higher, not tracking (away from computer and scale for a week or more, travelling etc.), eating restaurant food, maintaining or gaining, never losing.   Haven't done any tracking while at higher caloric intake / maintaining.    Ultimately I'd rather not track at all - and think I AM working towards that - but in the meantime I am inspired to try a tracking-at-higher-calorie-count and hopefully lose a real (easy to keep off) ounce? 15grams? a day.  I don't know my maintainance intake from experience because it's always been when I am off the record, but the computations show it similar to yours.    Ack, irrationally scared!