Are you a Hard Gainer?

Dear Fitness Coach, 

I have a weight problem, but it’s not what you think: I need to gain weight. I am a 22-year-old guy weighing in at 155 and I am 6 feet tall. I know enough to realize supersizing every meal at McDonald’s is not the way to go. I want to put on muscle, not just fat. What is the best/quickest way to do this?

Lean ’n’ Lanky

Dear Lanky,

 When 66% of the population is overweight or obese, one might think that being too thin is not an issue. But it can be just as challenging to gain weight as it is to lose it. The key is gaining lean muscle, not fat. At your height a healthy weight is 190 pounds. It will take you approximately 4 months to put on 40 pounds, and 20 of those should be in muscle mass.

 The healthy and safe way to put on the most muscle in the shortest period of time is to hit the weights hard and start protein-loading. You should be consuming from 1.5 to 2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. That means your daily consumption of protein should be around 250 grams. If you are eating the recommended 5-to-6 meals a day, that is about 42 grams of protein at every meal. Good protein sources are lean meats and fish, Greek yogurt, and whey isolate (protein shakes).

 The easiest way to pump up the daily protein intake would be to have at least two whey-based shakes a day. The best times to consume these are first thing in the morning and right after your work out. Another way of increasing your caloric intake is with nuts and dried fruit, which are high in calories and nuts contain healthy fat. You can add peanut butter to your shakes and snack on almonds or friut and nut trail mix throughout the day.

 Your time in the gym should be spent on weight lifting: low reps and high weights. The weights should be heavy enough so that you are unable to do more than 8 reps at a time. Cardio should be kept to a minimum: no more than 20 minutes 3 times a week.

Got a question for the fitness coach? E-mail her at eross@goldsgym.net.

Estee Murray Ross is a Chelmsford resident. She is a AFAA certified Personal Trainer and AFAA/ACE certified Group Fitness Instructor and is CPR/AED certified through Red Cross. Drawing from her 20 plus years of cardiovascular and strength training experience, she is expert at evaluating and assessing nutrition and exercise routines and making the necessary changes in order to maximize efficiency and expedite weight loss. She currently works at Gold's Gym in Tewksbury.