Mass Effect

Time to Eat...

Now lets switch our attention slightly.

Some of you may be thinking "why would somebody want to gain weight when I cant get rid of it" - "they can have some of mine!!".

Well this can be a goal for a lot of people out there.

So why might you want to gain weight?
People may gain weight for health issues, may be due to an eating disorder or just because they have lost to much weight and it is effecting their health.
The other reason and the one we are going to look into, is to build mass to eventually build muscle.

How to gain the weight.
Training:-
Weight train four to six times a week.

Focus on exercises that engage lots of muscles at once, rather than specific muscle groups. This can include squats, dead-lifts, presses, rows and pull-ups.

• Aim to work out your entire body each session. You can also alternate sessions that focus on your upper body or lower body.

Do less with more. Push yourself to lift heavier weights with less reps.

• Stay between 10 and 20 reps per muscle group. Staying closer to 12 reps of the heavies is preferable. Your sets should last between 40 and 70 seconds.
• Your work-outs do not have to last longer than 45 minutes altogether.

Stretch before you lift. Your body builds muscle by tearing apart and then knitting together hearty tissues within your body. Stretching helps will aid your body's recovery between work-outs and help you avoid injury.

Cut back on the cardio. Cardio is great for increasing stamina and burning fat but unless executed right, not so great for putting on lean muscle mass.

• Try to run, walk, or bicycle for no more than 1 hour a week.
• Interval training will increase muscle mass while shedding fat. Sprint for 1 minute, and slow down to a comfortable pace for several minutes. Sprint for another minute, and then slow down again. Continue for 30 minutes, 3 times a week.

Eating:-

Try to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day. Getting plenty of protein, carbohydrates and nutrients into your body is essential, giving your body material to build muscle and your metabolism the boost it needs to burn off fat.

Stay healthy. Focus on foods packed with vitamins, minerals, nutrients and calories. These can include turkey sandwiches on whole grain bread with mayonnaise and tomato, protein shakes and fruit smoothies.

• Supplement your meals with yogurt, fruit, nuts and healthy fats.
• Increase the amount of protein you eat everyday. Some protein rich foods include lean chicken and fish, beans and nuts.
• Foods high in carbohydrates and unhealthy fats, such as cake or potato chips, will help you gain weight, but they won't increase your lean muscle mass.

Eat protein-filled snacks before or after a work out, such as protein bars or shakes, yogurts, or fish.

Aim for up to 500 extra calories per day to start, and reduce the number if you gain weight too quickly or find you are gaining fat instead of muscle.

Also, Drink plenty of water and get at least 7 hours sleep per night.

Sam.
FitandFull.
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