5 Tips for Gaining Strength while Staying Lean!
I have decided to put a blog post together with some of my tips for those who are wanting to get stronger without getting bulkier. I have been working on gaining strength without gaining weight for the past year or so. Here is my transformation from January of last year to this year. Hope you enjoy the read and can incorporate some of these tips into your life depending on your fitness goals!
1.Prioritize Protein
I usually aim to eat around 25-30g of protein at each meal. I eat 3 meals a day, with an occasional whey protein shake after an intense lifting and running workout. In general, I eat around 100-120g of protein a day. This is around .7-.8g per pound of body weight for reference. Some of my favorite sources of protein that I eat on a daily basis include:
eggs
peanut butter
beef
beans
almonds
walnuts
pumpkin/chia seeds
Greek yogurt
mozzarella cheese sticks
whey protein powder
Here is the link to the protein powder I use. It is an organic chocolate grass fed whey. Available on Amazon. Watch the price for sales! Last time it was on sale for $29 a canister, so I bought two!
2.Do Strength Exercises First
I go to the gym 3x a week and my current workout split is deadlifts and pull day/ bench press and push day/ squats and leg day. For the exercises that I want to gain strength in, I put them at the beginning of my workout routine and stay in the 2-6 rep range. As the weeks go by, and the lifting feels easier, I add more weight, but still stay in the same rep range. This is called progressive overload.
3.Incorporate Cardio
I focus on my heavy lifting first, but that does not mean that I abandon cardio. My favorite form of cardio is running which I do 2x a week and run 2 miles as fast as I can. Some other forms of cardio I will do are the stair master and fast walking on an incline. The main thing I am trying to achieve when I do cardio is an intense workout for my heart. I recommend wearing a fitness watch that is capable of monitoring your heart rate, so you know if you are in the zone you want. Here is a calculator that is useful for determining heart rate zone levels. To find maximum heart rate subtract your age from 220. When I do cardio, I am going for hard, fast, and intense to get my heart rate up to a zone 4!
4.Eat in a Calorie Deficit
The calories tracker I use is My Fitness Pal which pairs with my Fitbit that tracks daily steps. Calories can be deceiving and unless you track often and measure everything out, it is difficult to know exactly what you are consuming. If you want to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. While this might sound difficult to some, if you are prioritizing eating clean, whole foods you will probably be eating more food than the conventional processed food American diet. Whole foods along with adequate protein intake will make you feel fuller and more satiated. I am never in a huge calorie deficit, anywhere from 100-500 calories a day depending on how much I walk at work.
TDEE is another useful piece of information to have which takes into consideration your basal metabolic rate (BMR) or how many calories you burn at rest doing no activities, the thermogenic effect of food (TEF-protein burns more calories when digesting), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) or the calories burned doing daily movement such as walking at work, cleaning up the house, etc., and thermic effect of activity (TEA) or the time dedicated to doing workouts in the gym such as lifting weights, running, etc.
I recommend getting both apps I mentioned above if you are serious about wanting to lose weight and keep it off!
5.Allow Time for Recovery
Lastly, do not overwork your muscles! I lift heavy 3 times a week, and the rest of the time is dedicated to getting daily movement in, stretching, and yoga. Working out an already sore muscle is not going to give you any benefit. Take time for yourself to rest, recover, and relax.
Reaching your health and fitness goals is possible! It just takes consistency and hard work!
