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It
started as a challenge to myself. If I took all
the knowledge I had about weight gain and put
it to work all at once, how much weight could
I add to myself in one week? What would my upper
limit be? I had some vacation time coming up where
I could do nothing but eat, sleep and train so
I decided to do it. This is my story...
I knew
from the start that this weight gain certainly
wouldn't be all muscle. In fact, it's impossible
to gain that much weight in muscle in only one
week (unless you're a baby elephant!). I was going
to gain a combination of muscle, water and most
likely some fat as well. That rapid of a weight
gain, however, was going to force a lot of nutrients
into my muscles quickly, resulting in some permanent
muscle gains.
To
start my maximal weight gain adventure, I first
had to set myself up for it by dieting down.
Why diet down to gain weight?
Your
body adapts most rapidly to extreme changes in
environment. I knew I wanted to gain weight quickly,
therefore I had to first subject myself to a restricted-calorie
diet. When I would reverse my goals and begin
to feed myself again, my body would react by rapidly
sucking up every available calorie and holding
onto it.
To
further set myself up, the diet I went on was
a two-week carbohydrate-restricted plan, much
like the Atkins Diet. For two weeks, I ate less
than 30 grams of carbs per day, sticking to meats,
eggs, cheese and vegetables. This cleared out
all the glycogen I had stored in my body as well
as reducing the amount of water I was carrying
(water attaches itself to carbs in your body -
when you clear out the carbs, several pounds or
more of water will be flushed out with it). It
was kind of like squeezing out a sponge - you
can fit more water into a sponge that's been squeezed
totally dry than a sponge that's already moist.
It's
important to note that I didn't restrict my water
intake at all. That will give you exactly the
wrong effect. If you restrict your water intake
while dieting, your body will actually hold onto
more water. If you give your body plenty of water,
it will have no reason to hold onto every drop
you give it and will flush it out regularly.
For
training during this phase, I did three high-intensity
cardio sessions per week for about 20 minutes
each. This cardio was extremely tough and designed
to burn as many calories as possible as quickly
as possible. This would make my body extremely
hungry for nutrients and ready to absorb as much
as possible. I did high-volume, high-rep weight
training (12 to 15 reps per set), 6 sessions per
week with very short rest periods to further set
up this effect.
After 2 weeks of this training and dieting, I
was ready to start my weight gain.
On
Saturday evening, after my final training session
for the week, I weighed in at 192 pounds.
On
Sunday morning, I woke up and immediately took
my first serving of creatine and glutamine. My
focus on this day was to eat as much as possible,
load up on creatine and glutamine and drink as
much water as possible. Both of these supplements
are excellent for forcing water into the muscles.
Taking creatine alone can result in a 5 to 10
pound increase in weight over the loading phase
of 5 days. To further maximize this effect, I
had been off creatine for 3 months prior to this.
I took
4 servings of creatine and glutamine this day,
along with eating as much as I could (for example,
eggs, oatmeal, meats, potatoes, fruits, rice,
etc.) and drinking buckets of water. I would continue
loading creatine for the next 4 days, taking glutamine
only after each workout from then on rather than
with my creatine loading. I would start my weight
training program on Monday. I was going to be
doing a very demanding program, doing 12 total-body
training sessions over the next 6 days.
My
theory with doing multiple total-body training
sessions is this: every single bodypart was going
to get as much breakdown and stimulation as possible
to maximize the amount of nutrients being taken
up over my whole body. I would do more sets for
the larger parts like chest, back and thighs and
fewer sets for the other smaller parts. Every
part would get worked twice a day for six days
straight. This type of training is not appropriate
for a long-term program as it would rapidly lead
to overtraining in a matter of weeks. This was
a one-week shot for me and I was putting everything
into it.
After
taking my creatine, I made breakfast, which consisted
of 10 eggs and a bowl of oatmeal that would feed
a family of 4. For flavor, I mixed in some fruit
yogurt. To gain weight effectively, you really
need to eat big.
I got
to the gym for my first session that day and weighed
myself. I had gained 10 pounds in the first day.
Not a bad start! All that eating, drinking water
and supplementation was paying off. My body was
extremely primed for gaining.
My
training session lasted about 45 minutes, during
which I worked every bodypart. After the workout,
I immediately took a mixture of whey protein (40
grams), creatine (5 grams), glutamine (10 grams)
and Tang (sugary powdered drink mix) as well as
some vitamins and minerals (multi-vitamin, calcium,
magnesium, vitamin C, and an anti-oxidant). It's
critical to provide your body with nutrients and
raw materials to rebuild with as quickly as possible
after training otherwise your body will just be
breaking itself down.
I got
home and set to work making lunch, which consisted
of 2 large chicken breasts and a big bucket of
spaghetti and meat sauce. Several hours later,
I had a couple of cans of tuna, a sandwich and
some ice cream. Please note, these meals are just
samples of what I ate and not specifically what
you should eat.
All during the day and evening, I was constantly
drinking water.
When
I say constantly, I mean I got up every 10 to
15 minutes and drank a full glass of water over
the course of the whole day. I was very well-hydrated,
which is extremely important for weight gain.
If your muscles don't have enough water, they
simply can't grow.
My
evening training session was also a total-body
workout. At this point, my body was so flooded
with carbs and water from having come off a low-carb
diet, everything I did was giving my muscles an
incredible pump. I was focusing on heavy weights
for sets of 6 to 10 reps during my sessions and
stretching out thoroughly after.
After
the workout, I had another supplement and vitamin
mix then went home. I had 4 eggs and a bowl of
cereal for a post-workout meal, then a protein
shake right before bed. I mixed up a protein shake
and set it beside my bed so if, in the middle
of the night, I woke up, I could drink a protein
shake. This would provide extra calories and protein
and reduce the amount of time I went without food
during the night. And believe me, with the amount
of water I was drinking during the day and during
my training, waking up during the night was a
given!
I repeated
this type of schedule over the next days, continuing
with my creatine loading, food loading and water
loading. By the end of the second day, I had gained
15 pounds of bodyweight. By the end of the third
day, I was up 18 pounds.
When
I finished my creatine loading after the fifth
day, I began taking a protein shake first thing
in the morning instead. Taking protein immediately
upon waking is the best way to start the day.
It instantly reverses the catabolic state your
body is in after fasting during sleep.
My training was going well and my body was sucking
up everything I was putting into it.
My
strength gains were rapid and my fat gains were
actually quite minimal. I was in the home stretch
now. On Saturday afternoon, I went over to a friend's
house and had a huge meal of Shepherd's Pie, which
is basically a big pile of ground beef, potatoes
and corn. Great weight gain food.
I went
to the gym that night for my final training session
of my weight gain week and tipped the scales at
217 pounds. In only one week, to give you an idea
of the amazing strength and size gains I got,
I was able to increase the amount of weight I
could bench press for 8 reps by 30 pounds and
I had added a full inch to my arms.
The
best part is, this rapid weight gain was excellent
for stretching the fascia of my muscles, giving
them more room to grow (see link below for more
information on fascia and stretching the fascia
for increased muscle growth), leading to permanent
gains in muscle size and potential muscle size.
Using
all the knowledge and techniques (and appetite)
for weight gain at my disposal, I had gained 25
pounds of bodyweight in only one week!
Fascial Stretching
- How Stretching Can Explode Your Muscle Growth
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