Gaining Lean Body Mass

Today’s top story is all about gaining weight—not just putting on the pounds, but increasing your lean muscle.

I can relate to everyone out there who feels uncomfortable being underweight or who has a really hard time gaining weight. In high school, I was the smallest guy in my class. I felt very uncomfortable; I used to do ridiculous things, like wearing sweatshirts during the summer. I would act out sometimes. The bottom line is, during that period of high school, over about a two to three year span, I gained about thirty pounds of lean body mass. I did it through proper exercise and nutrition, and I’m going to share those principles with you right now.

When I talk about gaining weight, I mean building muscle. And, when it comes to building muscle, I want you to concentrate on increasing your lean protein intake. That involves trying to take in one to two servings of protein during each meal. I want you to hit one gram of protein per pound of body weight.

Next is lifting heavy. A lot of people think they are lifting heavy enough to gain muscle, but it’s simply not the case. I want you to hit between 8 and 12 repetitions for each set for each exercise. If you get to twelve, and you can do three, four, or five more, you’re not training heavy enough. You need to go to failure. This is a great time to hire a personal trainer or to find a workout partner to spot you through those reps you normally cannot do on your own.

If the goal is to increase lean body mass, you need to incorporate a workout drink. That means drinking a shake high in protein and carbohydrates before and after each workout.

Last, but not least, it’s sleep. Your body needs the time to rebuild, repair, and regenerate. You need a minimum of eight hours of sleep to allow your body to recover.

Those are the principles that allowed me to put on about thirty pounds of muscle over a two to three year span. They have helped thousands of my clients and they can help you too.

All you have to do is make it happen!

In-home Exercise of the Week
The Squat
Level: Beginner
Equipment needed: None
Primary muscles used: quad, glutes

This is the most effective in-home exercise of the week. Not only is the squat a great exercise for gaining weight, but I believe it’s the single best exercise for the body. A lot of people think that, when they are doing the squat, their feet should be shoulder-width apart, but that’s not correct. They should be a bit wider than shoulder-width apart. Your arms should be crossed, with your hands resting on the opposite shoulders. Your head should be rigid, with your eyes looking straight ahead. The range of motion is a follows: you’re going to come all the way down, and stop right before your pelvis starts to tuck. Once your pelvis tucks, the pressure goes onto your lower back. So, stop the squat right before your pelvis starts to tuck. Then come up, and stop right before you lock out your knees.

If your goal is to gain lean muscle, then, men, you should perform 8 to 12 repetitions. Ladies, you should perform between 15 and 20 repetitions for each set. While performing the squat, you should inhale on the way down, and exhale on the way up. In addition, you should move a bit slower on the way down and a bit faster on the way up.

The squat is the most effective in-home exercise of the week.

Product Review of the Week
The Vew-Do Balance Board

Okay, here is the product review of the week; it’s the Vew-Do Balance Board (vewdo.com). Your body wants to be in a natural form as much as possible during exercise. That’s one of the reasons why functional training has become so popular. The Vew-Do Balance Board is the best balance board on the market. You can do a lot of different exercises on this device. One of the best things about this balance board is that, once you have mastered one level, you can go to the next to make it a little more challenging. You can try different “rocks” for progressive skill levels. I’ve been using the Vew-Do Balance Board with clients and with my own training.

That’s the product of the week.

Most Outrageous Product of the Week
The Sauna Pro 3000

This product claims that you can eat whatever kind of fattening, non-nutritious food you want. You don’t need to exercise. All of that is for losers. All you have to do is to plug in the Sauna Pro 3000, wrap it around your middle, and, in no time, you will have six-pack abs!

They say it’s a quality product. It’s better than “as seen on TV.” It’s better than “as seen on TV.”

Outrageous? You decide.

Quick and Healthy Recipe of the Week
The Gobble and Greens Plate
Ground turkey patty and green beans with chopped garlic

This week’s quick and healthy recipe of the week is called the Gobble and the Greens. It’s just some lean turkey breast made into little burgers. Instead of bread crumbs, you can use some Bob’s Rolled Oats. We topped it with some low-sugar barbecue sauce, and there are some green beans on the side. All we used is a little chopped garlic. Made it happen.

That’s the Gobble and the Green.

Factor Mail

When you post questions, please make them short and sweet, and don’t forget to include your name and your hometown.

It’s time for your questions. Lisa Wilson, an Atlanta recording artist, joined me from San Francisco. I asked her what she had for us.

She said, “Hi. Coming from the Golden Gate city, I have a question from Kelly. She is looking for sugar substitutes, and she wants to know your suggestions or should she continue to use regular sugar.”

Thanks, Lisa. Kelly, that’s a great question. Sugar is not the worst thing to consume, especially following directly after exercising, but I’m going to recommend trying to eliminate it as much as possible.

Lisa, let me ask you, what do you use to substitute for sugar?

She replied by saying, “I usually use Stevia or Splenda.”

What a coincidence—those are the two that I recommend, Stevia and Splenda. There’s another product that I have under review right now. It’s called V Sweet.

Kelly, I hope that answers your question.

Remember, if you keep doing the same things, you’re going to have the same results.

Until the next time, make it happen!

If you enjoyed this blog, and if you have questions or comments, please send them to corey@thefitnessfactor.com or post them right here.

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