Smaller Thoughts

iambal:beevee:iambal:

EEEK!
no no no nooooo!
if you have any doubt, look back to this time last year when I posted my before and after pics.

Actually, this is true. If you want to add muscle, you do need to eat sufficient protein and calories. The only reason I’m not saying ‘add’ is that it depends on what your intake is in the first place. Seeing the new musculature is another story. If you want to have defined muscles, you also need to have lower body fat. I’ve seen very skinny people with defined muscles, but they’re not necessarily strong — it’s just that whatever muscles they have are visible because there’s no fat to cover them over.
But when guys are trying to get “big,” they usually do need to increase their caloric intake, especially of protein, because they are trying to literally add mass to their bodies.

but I don’t agree that you have to add massive calories to see definition or even add muscle. I think it is irresponsible to throw that out there as is. I lessened my calories and built muscles I had never seen on myself in the course of a year.
also, someone I know VERY well (cough) and is “big” by anyone’s definition, recently went on a very strict diet and upped his regular workouts and cut lots of fat and built a lot more muscle. and he absolutely did not increase his caloric intake- he lessened it.

BAL - you need to remember that “get muscular” is not necissarily the same thing as “lose weight”. For those of us (me definitely included) that are genetically predisposed to be stocky, yes, cutting some calories along with lifting is generally the answer.
But many people, believe it or not, have a lot of trouble putting on weight/muscle. For those people (and potentially this question asker), adding calories and protein is absolutely critical. My old roommate had to almost double is daily calorie intake to over 3000 once he started lifting in order to build muscle.
Some people have all the luck, heh.

EEEK!

no no no nooooo!

if you have any doubt, look back to this time last year when I posted my before and after pics.

Actually, this is true. If you want to add muscle, you do need to eat sufficient protein and calories. The only reason I’m not saying ‘add’ is that it depends on what your intake is in the first place. Seeing the new musculature is another story. If you want to have defined muscles, you also need to have lower body fat. I’ve seen very skinny people with defined muscles, but they’re not necessarily strong — it’s just that whatever muscles they have are visible because there’s no fat to cover them over.

But when guys are trying to get “big,” they usually do need to increase their caloric intake, especially of protein, because they are trying to literally add mass to their bodies.

but I don’t agree that you have to add massive calories to see definition or even add muscle. I think it is irresponsible to throw that out there as is. I lessened my calories and built muscles I had never seen on myself in the course of a year.

also, someone I know VERY well (cough) and is “big” by anyone’s definition, recently went on a very strict diet and upped his regular workouts and cut lots of fat and built a lot more muscle. and he absolutely did not increase his caloric intake- he lessened it.

BAL - you need to remember that “get muscular” is not necissarily the same thing as “lose weight”. For those of us (me definitely included) that are genetically predisposed to be stocky, yes, cutting some calories along with lifting is generally the answer.

But many people, believe it or not, have a lot of trouble putting on weight/muscle. For those people (and potentially this question asker), adding calories and protein is absolutely critical. My old roommate had to almost double is daily calorie intake to over 3000 once he started lifting in order to build muscle.

Some people have all the luck, heh.

Source: iambal