can you put on mass with just weights without increasing calories.

[Carpe Diem P.T]

if you just start out, what exactly is happening to make the fibres bigger. i know they are broken down and healed, but then what. It seems like u can put on size initially without adding calories. why is this?

Oh heres a pic of my wife and her sister in my animal gear down in my gym - http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs909.snc4/72243_463724117712_691572712_5547021_5240017_n.jpg

[pushin weight]

Where do you think that the increased mass would come from otherwise?You could go to the gym and get toned and get a pump but actual growth has to come from the nutrition you give your body.For this to work you must take in more than you burn through exercise and normal activities.

[Mauricio]

actually the amount of calories required to gain 1lb of muscle is very small, about 600 calories. now most bodybuilders might gain 1lb of solid muscle every 2 weeks (this is being generous) so divide 600 calories by 14, you end up with 43 extra calories a day above your maintenance levels in order to gain muscle mass. don't be fooled into thinking you have to force feed excess amounts of calories to stimulate growth, muscle synthesis only occurs when the body has the need to produce more muscle tissue beyond just repairing it, and the only way to do that is to continually lift heavier weights.

[pushin weight]

actually the amount of calories required to gain 1lb of muscle is very small, about 600 calories. now most bodybuilders might gain 1lb of solid muscle every 2 weeks (this is being generous) so divide 600 calories by 14, you end up with 43 extra calories a day above your maintenance levels in order to gain muscle mass. don't be fooled into thinking you have to force feed excess amounts of calories to stimulate growth, muscle synthesis only occurs when the body has the need to produce more muscle tissue beyond just repairing it, and the only way to do that is to continually lift heavier weights.

Im a little suprised by this post.Are you suggesting that eating an extra 43 calories a day,while following an serious lifting routine will promote muscle growth and if so why does everything we research and read from every corner of this industry tell us otherwise?If im misunderstanding im sorry in advance for debating your post.

[Mauricio]

eating an extra 43 calories a day,while following an serious lifting routine will promote muscle growth
yeah you read it wrong, i said you need 43 calories a day (usually) to synthesize the amount of muscle that you're supposed to be gaining after proper stimulation of your nervous-muscular system. can you link me one study that says you're supposed to mindlessly force-feed yourself to gain muscle mass? beyond eating to cover your maintenance level, what's the purpose of eating extra? your body either excretes or stores extra calories, it usually never just turns them into muscle unless there's a demand for that to happen and the rate in which it can build muscles is very, very slow.

[pushin weight]

I certainly dont condone force feeding yourself excess calories that arent beneficial to your growth,but i didnt start to see any real results until i significantly increased my calories from 2500(average for me)to about 3500 a day,sometimes more.Of course the majority of them have to be clean but based on what your stating i should have only increased my intake from 2500 to 2543 and that increase would cover my caloric needs for growth?Again...just debating with ya here....no disrespect or animosity intended.

[Mauricio]

not at all brother, i'm here to discuss issues that matter to us and i love having different guys with different opinions share their knowledge and personal experiences. the problem comes here though, what if you actually needed more than 3500 calories to begin with and you were just undereating most of the time, and maybe still are. what i'm trying to say is if you already know how many calories you need to consume on a daily basis you don't need to add 250+ calories to it in order to gain muscle mass. yeah i know adding such a small amount of calories a day sounds crazy but in the long run i always go for what's most efficient, either knowing how many calories i should be eating or just blindly hoping to gain muscle by overeating.

[Maccabee]

Your muscles become thicker...more dense. You could way the same your whole life, but your physique can change if you train right, eat well, and recover.

[pushin weight]

not at all brother, i'm here to discuss issues that matter to us and i love having different guys with different opinions share their knowledge and personal experiences. the problem comes here though, what if you actually needed more than 3500 calories to begin with and you were just undereating most of the time, and maybe still are. what i'm trying to say is if you already know how many calories you need to consume on a daily basis you don't need to add 250+ calories to it in order to gain muscle mass. yeah i know adding such a small amount of calories a day sounds crazy but in the long run i always go for what's most efficient, either knowing how many calories i should be eating or just blindly hoping to gain muscle by overeating.

Ok,i think i see where your coming from here,after i factor what my caloric intake should be based on my weight and training,then it only takes 43 additional calories from there to promote the growth.That makes more sense and i aploligize for misinterpreting your previous posts.

[shizz702]

When just starting out, due to being a novice and having not tapped into any genetic potential one makes rapid strength gains initially. Due to those rapid strength gains some mass gain is inevitable. But we all know it quickly plateaus and will especially without adequate food intake.

[Brick By Brick]

I am by no means a nutritionist or anything like that, just to preface everything else I intend to say. IMHO and years of experience, it's pretty hard to add decent size without eating more than 43 calories a day. It's easier (for people in general) to lose fat than build muscle. You can do a clean bulk without adding a lot of fat, but I'd recommend more caloric intake than that if you want to build size. Eat more and lift heavy things. When you look fatter than you want to, cut weight. Just my two cents.

[Mauricio]

i totally agree with your statement bro, it's all about knowing how many calories you're supposed to be eating and then adding a moderate amount. if you over shoot it and gain a little bit of fat then it's totally fine, and since you'll be gaining weight every month you'll be adding extra calories as well.