I Want To Gain Weight

I know that for many of you, it is a huge stretch to imagine that someone wants to gain weight, when as a nation all you seem to hear about is losing weight. However, there are some that need to gain weight for various reasons ranging from health to vanity. Strange...I know, but in all seriousness it is also a reality.

If you fall into this category here are a few tips that you should follow so that you do it in a way that is healthy and that you are gaining muscle and not fat.

Increase your protein intake.

Muscles are developed through how your body metabolizes proteins. Therefore, eat more high protein foods to increase your muscle development.

Increase your weight or resistance during your workout.

During your exercise routine, increase the amount of weight that you normally use by 5 to 10 pounds in everything that you do. When you do this, decrease your repetitions.

Decrease your cardiovascular routine.

Continuous cardio work outs can still be done on a treadmill or elliptical machine, but less than before. For example, if you were previously doing 45 minutes drop it to 30 minutes and then add the 15 minutes to the rest of your exercise program.

These are just a few ideas on how you can gain weight in a manner which is healthy. Also remember, that muscle weighs more than fat. This means that as you are gaining muscle, you will gain weight. Please remember that just you want to lose weight slowly, you also want to gain weight slowly. Do not try to do it too fast. The purpose is to increase muscle not fat.

Don't Forget About Calisthenics

Calisthenics are something that are often times forgotten about by the average person that exercises, especially at the gym. They can prove to be the true tell sign of someone that has endurance.

Often times you will hear of the military, governmental training or the police academy wanting to know how well you can perform based on calisthenics more so than how much weight you can bench press.

Calisthenics, includes exercises that are your own body weight, without the use of machines, bar bells, dumb bells, or cables. Some basic examples are pull ups, dips, push ups, chin ups etc. Do not be the least bit mis lead by the fact that you are using your own weight. I can't tell you how many times I have seen people that can put tons of weight on a bench press and can't do five pull ups.

I don't know the reason behind it, but I can tell you that if your want to build your strength and the endurance of your muscle then include calisthenics into your routine. They work the muscle in a different manner than using weights.

This is not to say that you should do only calisthenics, because I also know people that can do a lot of calisthenics and can't lift even the lightest weight. So just mix it and get the benefits of both weights and calisthenics in your routine.

All I Want to Do Is Lose The Fat

I fully understand that there are a lot of that simply don't care about muscle and just want to lose the fat. I don't fault you, if you don't want muscle. I will however tell you that building muscle is the fastest way to lose fat. I will also tell you that unless you want a lot of sagging skin afterwards, you will want to do some weight training. Dr. Bob Greene wrote a very informative book Total Body Makeover

You need to make some sort of cardiovascular exercise your best friend. I don't care if it is a machine, a class, a track, around the block, but whatever it is needs to elevate your heart rate for at least 30-40 minutes straight. This is not play time, you are trying to keep your heart rate up for some time. I do not pretend to know what your particular heart rate is for you. When I do cardio, I do it for 45 minutes. They say you should be able to talk, not carry on a full conversation. You should be breathing hard, not like your going to hyperventilate. Listen to some music and I promise it will take your mind off the time. I personally recommend a cardio machine, but it is up to you. You can also use your towel to cover up the time.

Then do about 20-30 minutes of weight training after your cardio workout. It is imperative that you watch your food intake and that you exercise 4 preferably 5 days a week. If you are just starting you won't be able to do the 30-40 minutes right away so start with less and then increase as you improve.