It started as a challenge for me. If I took all the knowledge I had about weight gain and put it into practice at once, how much weight could I add to myself in a week? What would my upper limit be? A vacation time was approaching where I could do nothing but eat, sleep, and train, so I decided to do it. This is my story …
I knew all along that this weight gain certainly wouldn’t be all muscle. In fact, it’s impossible to gain that much muscle weight in just one week (unless you’re a baby elephant!). I was going to gain a combination of muscle, water, and probably some fat as well. However, that rapid weight gain was going to force a lot of nutrients into my muscles quickly, resulting in some permanent muscle gains.
To start my maximum weight gain adventure, I first had to prepare for it by dieting. Why diet to gain weight? Your body adapts more quickly to extreme changes in the environment. I knew I wanted to gain weight quickly, so I had to go on a calorie restricted diet first. When I reversed my goals and started feeding again, my body reacted by rapidly absorbing all available calories and maintaining them.
To further prepare me, the diet I followed was a two-week carbohydrate restriction plan, much like the Atkins Diet. For two weeks, I ate less than 30 grams of carbohydrates per day, sticking with meats, eggs, cheese, and vegetables. This removed all the glycogen that I had stored in my body and reduced the amount of water I was carrying (water sticks to carbohydrates in your body; when you remove carbohydrates, several pounds or more of water will be removed). with that). It was like squeezing a sponge: you can put more water into a completely dry wrung out sponge than in a sponge that is already damp.
It is important to note that I did not 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 retain more water. If you give your body a lot of water, it will have no reason to hold back every drop you give it and will rinse it off regularly.
To train during this phase, I did three high intensity cardio sessions per week for about 20 minutes each. This cardiovascular exercise was extremely tough and is designed to burn as many calories as possible as quickly as possible. This would make my body very hungry for nutrients and ready to absorb as much of it as possible. I did a high volume, high rep weight training (12-15 reps per set), 6 sessions per week with very short rest periods to further configure this effect.
After 2 weeks of this training and diet, I was ready to start gaining weight. On Saturday night, after my last training session of the week, I weighed 192 pounds.
Sunday morning I woke up and immediately had 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 supplements are great for forcing water into your muscles. Taking creatine alone can result in a 5 to 10 pound weight gain during the 5 day loading phase. To further maximize this effect, I had been creatine-free for 3 months prior to this.
I had 4 servings of creatine and glutamine this day, in addition to eating all I could (eg eggs, oatmeal, meats, potatoes, fruits, rice, etc.) and drinking buckets of water. I would continue to load creatine for the next 4 days, taking glutamine only after every workout thereafter instead of my creatine load. I would start my weight training program on Monday. I was going to be doing a very demanding program, doing 12 full-body training sessions over the next 6 days.
My theory in doing multiple whole-body training sessions is this: every part of the body was going to receive as much degradation and stimulation as possible to maximize the amount of nutrients that are absorbed throughout the body. I would do more sets for the larger parts like the chest, back, and thighs and fewer sets for the other smaller parts. Each piece was worked twice a day for six days in a row. This type of training is not appropriate for a long-term program, as it would quickly lead to overtraining in a matter of weeks. This was a one-week opportunity 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 hit the gym for my first session that day and weighed myself. I had gained 10 pounds the first day. It wasn’t a bad start! All that food, drinking water, and supplements was paying off. My body was extremely prepared to win.
My training session lasted about 45 minutes, during which I worked every part of the body. After training, I immediately had a mix of whey protein (40 grams), creatine (5 grams), glutamine (10 grams), and Tang (powdered sugary drink mix), as well as some vitamins and minerals (multivitamins, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and antioxidant). It is essential to provide your body with nutrients and raw materials to rebuild itself as quickly as possible after training, otherwise your body will simply break down.
I got home and got down to business preparing lunch, which consisted of 2 large chicken breasts and a large bucket of spaghetti and gravy. Several hours later, I had a couple of cans of tuna, a sandwich, and an ice cream. Please note that these foods are only samples of what I ate and not specifically what to eat.
Throughout the day and night, he drank water constantly. When I say constantly, I mean I got up every 10 to 15 minutes and drank a glass of water throughout the day. He was very well hydrated, which is extremely important for gaining weight. If your muscles don’t have enough water, they just can’t grow.
My night training session was also a full body workout. At this point my body was so awash in carbs and water from coming off a low carb diet, all I did was give my muscles an incredible pump. I was concentrating on heavy weights for sets of 6-10 reps during my sessions and fully stretching afterward.
After training, I took another supplement and a vitamin mix and 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 a protein shake and put it next to my bed so that if, in the middle of the night, I woke up, I could have a protein shake. This would provide additional calories and protein and reduce the amount of time that you go without eating overnight. And trust me, with the amount of water I drank during the day and during my training, waking up at night was a given!
I repeated this type of program for the next few days, continuing to load creatine, load food, and load water. By the end of the second day, he had gained 15 pounds of body weight. By the end of the third day, he had gained 18 pounds.
When I finished my creatine load after the fifth day, I started having a protein shake first thing in the morning. Taking protein immediately upon waking is the best way to start the day. Instantly reverses the catabolic state your body is in after fasting during sleep.
My training was going well and my body absorbed everything I put into it. My strength gains were rapid and my fat gains were actually quite minimal. Now he was in the final stretch. On Saturday afternoon, I went to a friend’s house and had a big meal of Shepherd’s Pie, which is basically a big pile of ground beef, potatoes, and corn. Great food to gain weight.
I hit the gym that night for my last workout of my weight gain week and tipped the scales at 217 pounds. In just one week, to give you an idea of the incredible strength and size gains I’ve made, I was able to increase the amount of weight I could bench press for 8 reps by 30 pounds and had added a full inch to my arms.
The best part is that this rapid weight gain was great for stretching the fascia of my muscles, giving them more room to grow, leading to permanent gains in muscle size and potential muscle size.
Using all the knowledge and techniques (and appetite) for gaining weight at my disposal, I had gained 25 pounds of body weight in just one week!
