Building muscle

truthseeker · Post by **truthseeker** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:40 pm

I have reach goal as far as loosing weight. I am looking pretty toned but I think legs need muscle. They are a little too lean for liking. I think I will feel and look more balanced if I added more muscle to legs. To add muscle I know I am going to have to alter diet. I've been doing a lot of fruits and veggies and lean meats. But to build muscle what type of diet is going to give me the best results?? Are there any supplements you can suggest as well?? Right now I do the stairmaster (revolving steps), squats, lunges and the leg press. To add muscle do I need to keep increasing weights? I learned how to take the weight off but I'm clueless about building muscle. lol. Please help.

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Thu Jan 10, 2008 10:14 pm

- diet will be the same but with more cal's and you cana dd in some extra bread, rice and pasta...these will be added in the 2 meals following your training or 3hrs after training whichever comes first as well breakfast to keep fat storage at bay...don't increase all at once though...you should probably even maintain your new staus for 4 - 6 weeks before doing anything else
- no supp's needed
- leave the stairmaster alone as well as leg press...stick with squats, deadlifts, lunges, sprints and bleacher runs if you one around
- rule number one for muscle growth - progression...this means increasing your wts everytime you can which for legs should be everytime
- maybe check out Chad Waterbury's Perfect 10 program and use for legs as well as your normal program which should probably be one of his too (Waterbury Method maybe)

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:18 pm

You could add a Glutamine to your supp arsenal for recovery, sleep and immune function, but you don't need anything else, and you only need that if you want to, it isn't one of those must have supps..

Maybe a Protein shake after workouts, but those are it if at all. Food should be your main priority for now.

Screw stairmaster as well, if you're wanting Leg bulk, cardio would be better on something like an Exercise bike, if you do any Cardio, to workout Cardiovascularly without any loadbearing of the upper body on the Legs. Keeps them less fatigued.

truthseeker · Post by **truthseeker** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:55 pm

Thank you both for the replies. One more thing. I had been working legs 2x's a week. Would working them more than that be overtraining??

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 9:55 pm

normally it probably but the perfect 10 program allows you to alter wt, exercises etc...if you're not gonna do this or a full body plan than 2/week is all you can probably do

SarahPT · Post by **SarahPT** » Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:57 pm

Yup, just eat more food. One mistake a lot of people make when trying to build muscle is limiting carbs. The body needs carbs to build those muscles. And yes, keep increasing the weight you lift. Also add stiff leg deadlifts to your routine to more directly target your hamstrings. Just make sure when you increase the weight you are lfiting that you are still using proper form. It's challenging!