How to increase muscle mass without eating more?

On 4/8/2017 at 11:27 PM, Matic Balantic said:

No surplus, no increase in body mass. Regarding having more energy with less food ... maybe you didn't eat right foods. Maybe you can add some calories by drinking some of the calories and eat stuff that is very easy to digest (some simple carbs).

You probably lost some water weightif you decreased carbs intake. May I ask why you did that? Also how old/tall are you?

Thanks mate! I am 64kg /180 cm. Once I was 72 kg when I eat a lot of carbs and train with very high intensity, when I reduce carbs a lot,which i enjoy it, I lose a lot of weight. I wonder if I am just naturally light-weight, and this weight is my healthiest state? 

Thanks guys, all of you are so helpful.

There are few reasons I like eating less:

1. I feel I spent less energy on digestion, so I feel less sleepy and have more energy to work. I feel "lighter"

2. Save some money and time

3. Survive when I eat outside, sometimes lunchset is so small

Just now, Chris Harvey said:

Thanks mate! I am 64kg /180 cm. Once I was 72 kg when I eat a lot of carbs and train with very high intensity, when I reduce carbs a lot,which i enjoy it, I lose a lot of weight. I wonder if I am just naturally light-weight, and this weight is my healthiest state? 

The catch is that your body has a set point where it feels comfortable. That does not mean that this is your ideal weight, only that your body is used to carry that weight so it naturally gravitates towards that weight if you don't pay attention. It takes around 18 months for body to realize it works just as well on your new weight.

About feeling sleepy - that has a lot to do with the foods you eat and so does energy level. You could try to eat more smaller sized meals if you prefer that. Low carb is "in" these days, but for a young adult male who works out regularly and trying to build some muscles avoiding carbs is not optimal in my opinion --> coming from someone who ate "lchf" for almost two years and even tried keto for a while ...

2 hours ago, Everett Carroll said:

Hi Joshua,

Just out of curiosity, do you want to stay the same size for a particular reason or goal?

I am happy with my size and aesthetically I don't want to be huge.  Functionally, I play squash and climb recreationally and can only see it as a detriment if I increase mass too much.  I am also just curious if you can scientifically increase strength without increasing muscle mass and if that would be enough to do the gymnastic moves that we are shooting for with the course.

2 hours ago, Joshua Hibbert said:

I am happy with my size and aesthetically I don't want to be huge.  Functionally, I play squash and climb recreationally and can only see it as a detriment if I increase mass too much.  I am also just curious if you can scientifically increase strength without increasing muscle mass and if that would be enough to do the gymnastic moves that we are shooting for with the course.

You can. 

Strenght has a neurological and a muscular component. 

Being strong or strenght can be defined as:

1. You have good motor control/muscular activation,

2. Good inner- and intra-muscular coordination.

3. Capacity to produce force.

The first and the second lines are highly neurological (software ;D) and can be trained without the addition of muscle units.

The third is a connection of the previous 2 with the understood addition that it is in the end the muscle itself that does the work.

So theoretically, a more muscular you is a stronger you.

There is however the question, if someone specifically has to gain size in order to be able to perform certain movements. It's a question I'm posing occasionally myself also..

it is possible if you are obese.

try to follow my reasoning:

-you tend to build up mass when you eat over your maintenance caloric intake

-when you are obese it is because you are eating much more than you maintenance caloric intake

- when an obese person begin a diet (in order to avoid catabolism) they should gradually decrease the caloric intake

-no matter how much they decrease it, they are still over the maintenance caloric intake

-for this reason the obese situation permits to add muscle mass while losing weight.

21 hours ago, Joshua Hibbert said:

I am happy with my size and aesthetically I don't want to be huge.  Functionally, I play squash and climb recreationally and can only see it as a detriment if I increase mass too much.  I am also just curious if you can scientifically increase strength without increasing muscle mass and if that would be enough to do the gymnastic moves that we are shooting for with the course.

 

The answer to this depends on your current composition (muscle/fat) since GST and climbing performance are both heavily dependant on your strength to weight ratio. As you work through Foundations, your strength to weight ratio will improve. No question. I'm also a climber and mine has. My composition has totally changed for the better. Focusing on GST resulted in an improved body composition which enhanced my climbing performance. My advice is to let the training guide your composition. Do that and you'll see a performance improvement.

For some interesting listening, check out this podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-74-gaining-muscle-losing-fat-in-energy-deficit/id885246231?i=1000362807442&mt=2

hello Everett,

did you have a grade improvement in your climbing performance? can i ask what grade you climbd before and after GST, and how much of the improvement you credit to GST over climbing skill improvement

cheers

Hey John,

For some context, GST makes up 100% of my training, though I do get outside to climb semi-often. I just don't train for climbing or project much right now because I'm amped on my GB Training. 

Before GST I was projecting boulders around the V7-8 grade. I began Foundations right when it was released and, within 18 months, sent my first V10. I continue to improve and feel extra strong, especially when I motivate to hangboard (very rare right now). Last weekend I onsited a V8- at the milks which shocked me since my skin is paper thin right now. Typing, handstands, and winter don't do much for your fingertips. 

The biggest benefit I've noticed is that Foundations, HS, and Stretch make my joints feel amazing and those workouts have given me a more complete feeling of strength and control on the rock. I don't feel at risk for injury and my range of motion is unrestricted. 

cheers Everett, that's vey helpful.

On 4/13/2017 at 0:27 PM, Everett Carroll said:

The answer to this depends on your current composition (muscle/fat) since GST and climbing performance are both heavily dependant on your strength to weight ratio. As you work through Foundations, your strength to weight ratio will improve. No question. I'm also a climber and mine has. My composition has totally changed for the better. Focusing on GST resulted in an improved body composition which enhanced my climbing performance. My advice is to let the training guide your composition. Do that and you'll see a performance improvement.

For some interesting listening, check out this podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-74-gaining-muscle-losing-fat-in-energy-deficit/id885246231?i=1000362807442&mt=2

Pretty interesting, basically says you can lose fat and increase muscle at a 40% calorie deficit if you get enough protein (2.4g/kg). 

On ‎13‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 5:27 PM, Everett Carroll said:

The answer to this depends on your current composition (muscle/fat) since GST and climbing performance are both heavily dependant on your strength to weight ratio. As you work through Foundations, your strength to weight ratio will improve. No question. I'm also a climber and mine has. My composition has totally changed for the better. Focusing on GST resulted in an improved body composition which enhanced my climbing performance. My advice is to let the training guide your composition. Do that and you'll see a performance improvement.

For some interesting listening, check out this podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-74-gaining-muscle-losing-fat-in-energy-deficit/id885246231?i=1000362807442&mt=2

Thanks Everett,  it was interesting to listen to, you can still gain strength while in a caloric deficit.  I can't remember if anything was mentioned about the weight change in the athletes and any changes in mass of muscles.  I have only been climbing a few months and find it's a fun way to track my strength gains through GB.  I have seen the physique of climbers who are incredibly strong  but very lean.  I was wondering if there would be any difference in there training regime to achieve that or specifically train the neurological component that Jan mentions below.

On ‎12‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 10:05 PM, Jan Hrvatin said:

You can. 

Strenght has a neurological and a muscular component. 

Being strong or strenght can be defined as:

1. You have good motor control/muscular activation,

2. Good inner- and intra-muscular coordination.

3. Capacity to produce force.

The first and the second lines are highly neurological (software ;D) and can be trained without the addition of muscle units.

The third is a connection of the previous 2 with the understood addition that it is in the end the muscle itself that does the work.

So theoretically, a more muscular you is a stronger you.

There is however the question, if someone specifically has to gain size in order to be able to perform certain movements. It's a question I'm posing occasionally myself also..

21 hours ago, Joshua Hibbert said:

I have seen the physique of climbers who are incredibly strong  but very lean.  I was wondering if there would be any difference in there training regime to achieve that or specifically train the neurological component that Jan mentions below.

 

Jan has some great points. Optimal body composition for athletes varies widely and finding yours is going to take some experimentation. I don't think we'll be able to completely answer this for you on the forums. "Optimal" composition is an especially difficult one when it comes to climbing because there is such a wide variety of route types and styles of climbs. Just out of curiosity, what type of climbing are you most focused on (boulder, sport, or traditional)?

Delete

On 20/04/2017 at 6:11 PM, Everett Carroll said:

Jan has some great points. Optimal body composition for athletes varies widely and finding yours is going to take some experimentation. I don't think we'll be able to completely answer this for you on the forums. "Optimal" composition is an especially difficult one when it comes to climbing because there is such a wide variety of route types and styles of climbs. Just out of curiosity, what type of climbing are you most focused on (boulder, sport, or traditional)?

Thanks for the answers Everett, I am mainly focusing on bouldering at the moment but I think I will try a little sport climbing down the line.  I am very new at the moment so can only handle on climbing session a week as my forearms are in bits for a few days after.  GB is my priority but am trying to build up finger strength at the same time. 

No problem Joshua. If you keep on training GST and climbing, your body composition will begin to improve and adapt towards those activities. Thrive is also a great nutrition resource for changing your composition and mastering the best basic nutritional habits. Also, be sure you're sensitive to your finger tendons since you are new to climbing; take the slow, steady, GB approach to adaptation. I have always done that and credit my injury free tendons to Coaches training philosophies. 

On April 10, 2017 at 3:46 PM, Alessandro Mainente said:

Thre are some many advice on the web that people do not know where to look, so read here what I can tell you as a nutritionist and also bodybuilding trainer:

-in order to increase muscle mass, you need to eat more than your normal caloric maintenance intake. period.

-generally, the body tends to increase easily the muscle mass when you are about at the 11-12% of body fat. period

-the only people who can build mass while losing weight are obese people. the reason it is that fat people eat a lot more than their maintenance caloric intake so, no matter the deficit, at the beginning they are still in the condition of more intake (reduce too much the intake can produce catabolism) and also more than 11-12% of body fat.

-the ideal condition to build up muscle mass it is to eat the correct amount of protein but also the carbs. the amount of tRNA traduction linked to tiny and tick protein filaments in muscles are connected to the amount of water and glucose stores. so the first goal to increase and maintain muscles it is to teach the body to restore and improve the amount of glucose store (I mean to glycogen store of course)

-people who tend to add muscle mass while staying relatively lean about 8-9%....well steroids talk for them.

 

@Alessandro Mainente I would like to assure you that with GST I've added muscle mass with a body fat that is in the 7%-9% range (I now weigh 157 lbs, up from about 145 lbs prior to GST training). Nothing in my diet has changed dramatically during this intervening period.