I commented on a video on youtube for Scott's and he told me to post my macros here. I currently weigh 178 and I am 5'10. I am trying to gain about 15-20lbs of muscle for my Football Season starting in January. I work out my Lower half on Mondays my Upper half on Wednedays and Cardio or a slplit upper and lower on Friday. Each day I go to the gym I also end the session with some Olympic ring playing to work my arm stabilizers but mostly for fun. Here are my current macros I strive for on a daily basis:

I total about 2700kcals minimum. I also have a 30g Protein powder shake before and after my work outs for a total of 60g. I am on a Fixed income so I have to conserve as much powder as I can.

Theodore,

The first thing that stands out to me is you are too low on your protein. For growth, you need at least 1.2g to 1.5g of protein per pound of lean body mass. I don't know what your body fat level is at 178 pounds but if we assume the average of 15% that means your lean body mass is 178Lbs x .85 = 151 Lbs. 151Lbs x 1.2 = 182g of protein minimum and 226g (x1.5) at a maximum. You also need to know your BMR (which you can get from the Meal Plan tab on SHF.com) and add about 250-500 calories more per day to make lean gains. The ratios of P,C,F can be better calculated once you have that info.

John

alright so you want to gain weight... does it matter if some of it is fat? or are you like me and a "hard gainer" so anything you gain is muscle? if so... PEANUT BUTTER + NAAN BREAD, you can get 1kg of natural peanut butter pretty cheap and you can get naan bread pretty cheap as well, each naan is about 200kcals 40g of carbs and the peanutbutter per 3 spoons is about 600kcals and 25 or so G of protein, 800kcals from a little snack thats hard to eat because of how dry it is and it works out cheaper than powder and healthier than alot of powders, if you want cheap powder head over to bodybuilding warehouse you can get 2kg of hemp protein for £29... thats 2 shakes a day for a month 15g of good natural protein per serving and it wont leave you bloated etc, im 213lbs, last week 210, couple weeks before 207.... muscle memory mostly, no fat gains or water retention, going to keep at the peanut butter and naan bread till about 225 then im going to drop bodyfat and water retention, do it anyway bud, otherwise you're going to be waiting a long time to put on 20lbs of lean muscle... im talking years, you want to do it by january, you could probably gain 10lbs of muscle/fat by then by having 1-2 servings of this ontop of your normal stuff.

i was forever gaining and dropping weight for MMA so if you need any further tips or anything throw me an inbox, these guys generally want lean gains all day and are willing to take years to do it, i like the slightly riskier approach for the success in sport, (dont do sport anymore so i train like them)

Hey @Dashric, glad to see you made it over here!

I agree with @jmboiardi that your protein is way too low and I don't see why you need your carbs that high. I would go closer to 220-250 protein and keep the carbs around 250. You could even bump the fat as high as 100-110grams.

I am concerned about your workout. It doesnt really seem structured if you are serious about gaining muscle for football.

Can you list your workout routine for each day?

For example:

Monday

1. Barbell Bench Press (4 sets: 10 reps)
2. etc...

That would be very helpful!

Great advice on the food @Wilkonson207, but I wouldn't recommend gaining that much fat! lol.. But I am all about lean gains

Thanks for responding. I said my protein is 165+ because that's what I eat minimum. Yesterday, monday night My Food Logger calculated 195 grams of Protein.

As for "Leg Day" I stretch each of the leg muscles a bit with lunges front and side, squats. Mainly just to wake things up because of sitting in the car after the commute home. Anyways. I warm up with some low low weight squats, then move to the regular squats

Squats ( 3 sets: 10 reps ) trying to maintain form and control each time. by the end of the 3rd set I have to really push out the last 2 or 3
Calf press (moderate weight 3 sets: 15 reps)

Weighted front alternating lunges (2 sets: 15 reps)

(water break for minute and half or so)
I do a couple, jet packs is what I call them. ( you hang from your elbows and raise your legs for abs works)
I do these until near failure, stand on the pegs for 45s then do another set to failure.
After this I hit up the Lower back machine thing, lock legs in place and use lower back to pull upper body from a hanging position, I usually have a 25lb and a 10lb with me and hold each until I can't anymore then switch down and just do one continuous set.

After these I go to an actual leg press machine and push out 2 sets 10 reps on 270lbs (I can't walk momentarily after this machine)

getting the feeling in my legs I do a set til fail on as much weight as I can on both the Hamstring and Quad isolation machines.

ARM day, is very regimented for me.

Seated arnold press (3 sets 12 reps) 1-1-3 tempo.
inclined fly same weights (3 sets 12 reps) 1-1-3 tempo
Alternating Bicep curls (3 sets 12 reps) 1-1-3 tempo

assume same set/rep/tempo for the next bunch

Declined Fly

Flat chest press

overhead barbell press (military press?)

(water break)

chin up - pull ups about 5 on each hand position. Sometimes curling my legs up for fun.

Bench pressing 80% weight 2 sets 10 reps don't remember tempo

long 2 minute rest.

1 set reps to fail of each of these as much weight as I can on machines

chest fly seated vertically

Reverse fly (delts)

Chest press machine

Bicep curl

tricep press

Shoulder press (military press)

Both Days leg or Arm I end with a little Olympic ring work because I need to have a bit of fun and inverting myself and working on some body weight rows or shrugs

I did the calculation on this website for my BMR and 2550.68 is the in Motion number. my Food log (calorie counter) has me set at 2750 right now and I usually go over it a bit close to 2800. I am trying to gain so I am okay with being over especially when I have it set to Light activity and gain .5lbs per week.

I don't know much how to increase my protein considering I have a heavy meat restrictive diet (autism and fixed income), I haven't been able to eat poultry, fish or eggs in 25 years.

Thanks for listening I know I barfed a lot of information up.

p.s. this isn't for High school, college, or Pro football. This is for Semi-pro/amatuer football, as some would call city league. Id on't need to be in tip top pristine shape but the extra strength and padding will help me be able to take a hit from some of these 250+lb D-Linemen

DO NOT set a weight goal. It is nearly impossible for a natty to gain 15 to 20 lbs of muscle by January. John and Scott are spot on with the macros you SHOULD be using. Id change that routine up a bit. check out this article that was just published on here to give you some better ideas. http://scotthermanfitness.com/articles_viewer.php?rID=74

15-20lbs of muscle is impossible yes but if your coach has told you you need that weight, dude you got to eat and sacrifice your tone if you want to play, as for your workout... seems abit here there and everywhere to me but what i can see is a whole lot of working being done but nothing to help you grow muscle, i have no idea how far into your flys you go or anything, and be triggering your chest with an incline fly to begin with a working set is just silly, you're going to drain the muscle before its even gotten warmed up and that fascia is going to get tighter and quite honestly annoyed at how you're working out, you cannot gain muscle unless you learn that all workouts are pointless unless you can stretch your fascia each time... its all i hear from younger guys "im getting stronger but im not getting bigger" well son thats because your neurological system is developing but your muscles dont care because they dont NEED or can get bigger, why? because they have no room to get bigger... its like trying to fill a brick with water and expecting it to expand, the brick gets heavier because the pores fill out but it wont get larger, you need to do stretching movements once you have a chest full of blood and then you can consider doing flys.

well then.. this is disheartening to hear. I cannot afford to eat the macros you guy put out. I am down to rice, beans and water and what ever meat I can sponge off my friends even my protein powder got too expensive and I was buying the $18 body fortress already. I really do appreciate all the help, but I dont' know how to do ANY of this you all are talking about. I do not know ANYONE in real life to help me with working out, i've tried to ask but they keep saying you are doing the right exercise you just need more protein some people say 3g/lb some say .8g/lb others are like really anything helps. and I am like I am only getting about 173 a day with SO many carbs.. if I brought up the grams i'd be laughed out of every gym on the planet.

Its only Semi-pro football so hopefully my coach was just joking and exxagerating with me about getting up to 190 from 175. I am sorry to leave you all like this but Apparently I chose the wrong time in my financial life to pursue this. I will save this forum thread and come back to it when I can afford to eat properly again. Good luck and have fun.

Jake,

What's up? Where have ya been? You haven't posted for a while until now.....

John

been getting my priorities straight, started at an actual gym rather than training in the back garden, needed to relocate homes to remedy some stress and well since then ive done a 210kg rack pull i now bench 140kg's for reps and have gained around 7lbs, so the time off has helped, god knows what i'll get upto training in an actual gym :)