I am trying to gain about 5-10 pounds of lean muscle mass and maybe some more definition while putting in 15-18 hours of training. I am a very healthy eater and plan is to add more quality calories to my diet. My question is in order to gain muscle and definition do I need to add a weight lifting routine or can it be done by swimming, biking and running only?
While you can build definition by running biking and swimming, it will be near impossible to put on lean muscle. If you want to get lean muscle, make sure your macronutrient breakdown is at a good ratio, and that you are eating enough calories (More than you are burning). Make sure you are doing a good weight lifting regime (3x a week fullbody or a 4x week split) that was designed by a professional. Good luck, and don’t get rid of all those slow twitch oxidative fibers (red).
I’m sure someone will chime in that they gained lean muscle mass by SBR, but FWIW I was 6’1" 150 in my early racing days. Injured all the time, caught every bug that came through town yadayada. Got on a 3x a week full body ~ 45 circuit and gained 20 lbs. in about 2 years, but also increased my calories by about 800 a day, most of it in powder form. At 170 I was much healthier in terms of both no bugs and injuries…then I promptly blew out my knee!
I have always been very lean. When i was younger i started lifting a lot and made some mild improvement. I always considered myself a ‘hard-gainer’.
A few years back I got very ill and lost a lost of weight in a short period of time. To get my strength back I cut out all of my aerobic activity. I started lifting like a mad man. I gained 35 lbs of lean muscle in 5 months.
I now am at my perfect weight, so i supplement my SBR with some lifting to maintain.
I agree with weight training. You gotta tear the muscle fibers and repair them to make them grow. Nutrition and rest are going to be essential. It’s going be a few months before you can effectively gain 5 - 10 lbs. of lean mass if you’re training at those volumes. Might not be the best time to try this during high-volume race season. Do power training in the gym on low volume training days… rest a day then do sprints… Sprinting produces power and power-work produces muscle… and why not get faster while you’re at it… it’s all good.
Cherri
Why? Asthetics? Do you think it’s going to make you faster?
yes, I am hoping it will make me produce more power, be less injury prone, hold up better towards end of the run, be less cold all the time and yes, a little bit so friends don’t always ask me if i’ve been sick or why so thin. I am a sub 10 hour IM but I think can benefit from a little weight gain.
For those who are proponents to a weight routine would 2x 45 minutes per week on top of my 15-18 hour s/b/r be enough?
If you even want to bother (not sure why, other than to impress the ladies. Or gents. Not that there’s…)
But - if were going to do so, I’d recommend doing it during the offseason, rather than now.
You would be attempting to do 2 things at cross-purposes if you went for that in season.
I agree with weight training. You gotta tear the muscle fibers and repair them to make them grow. Nutrition and rest are going to be essential. It’s going be a few months before you can effectively gain 5 - 10 lbs. of lean mass if you’re training at those volumes. Might not be the best time to try this during high-volume race season. Do power training in the gym on low volume training days… rest a day then do sprints… Sprinting produces power and power-work produces muscle… and why not get faster while you’re at it… it’s all good.
Cherri
Sorry but muscle building isn’t tearing muscle fibers, its creating more crossbridges between actin and myosin filaments. When you tear fibers that is called an injury, and is pretty painful.
Would a routine of 2x45 minute full body lift with increased high calorie intake be enough to gain lean muscle mass while maintaining 15-18 hours of s/b/r per week?
OP, there’s way too many variables of the unknown for anyone to give you a precise answer. For starters, your sex, age, body type, metabolism, and genes are going to be the dominant factors in your development. Young men in their mid to late teens are generally the best respondents to strength training yielding the quickest results. Are you an ecto, meso or endomorph? Your genes are ultimately the single largest factor in your physical development.
I’d suggest reading Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe, it’s a great place to start. You’re on the right track with full body workouts though. Compound exercises like the squat, bench, deadlift, press and power clean will not only build strength/lean muscle, but strengthen the secondary supporting musculature groups, connective tissues, balance and coordination. They make your body work as one cohesive unit. Being stronger makes you faster and less prone to injuries.
My first year of intensive lifting in my early 30’s netted me about 8 lbs of lean muscle and I’m an ecto/hard gainer with average genes. This was before I started doing tri’s. The guy claiming a gain of 35 lbs of lean muscle in 5 months must have genes derived from Zeus himself. Do not expect anything like that. The average guy in decent health can gain about 10 lbs in a year of intense weight training. If you’re doing tri’s or tri training, though, your gains will not be as good as a dedicated bodybuilder. Keep in mind, even 5 lbs of lean muscle is nothing to sneeze at. Gaining 5 lbs with BF in the 6-8% range will yield noticeable results comestically and performance wise. Expect to gain some “extra” pounds though, this is normal during a loading period where you’re taking in more calories than normal. Also, be prepared to eat, eat, eat - somewhere in the realm of 2-5K of calories a day and 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Check out the workout programs section on bodybuilding.com, lots of good info there, some are specific to endurance sports. I wouldn’t lift more than twice a week with 15-18 hrs of s/b/r. Your body needs time to recover, which is important during any type of training.
Best of luck.