Hey everyone,

I do boxing here in london and want to make some decent strength & muscle gains.

I weighed in at 85kg last summer at 6ft 5" and looked like the typical skinny fat build. So in an attempt to bulk I did a weight training program called Starting Strength. The program involves compound lifts (Squats, Bench, Deadlifts e.t.c) and its recommended that you drink a gallon of milk a day (Thats right! 8 pints a whole gallon )

My results?

I went up from 85kg to 98kg and got a hell of a lot stronger. However I got pretty fat looking and my fitness slowed down.

So then I started to cut. Did this by following a High fat, Low carb diet(atkins diet)and training intense 2 to 3 hour boxing sessions.

I lost 12kg and got down to 86kg.

I now have a bit of bicep and tricep definition that I did not have before.

By going to thailand to do Muay Thai I will be able to get down from 86kg to 81kg no problem whatsoever. Thats only 5kg of fat to loose.

Loosing fat is the easy part. Gaining muscle is a slow and hard process.

I'm pretty frustrated that I struggle to gain muscle. When I eat a lot, I gain little muscle and get fat.

I know Muay thai will get me ripped. And looking small,lean, fast and cut.

But will it actually help me gain size and muscle mass in addition to strength training?

The way I see gaining muscle is a balance of cardio, weight training and a clean diet.

Dirty bulking and no cardio doesnt work for me. Thats why Im gonna eat clean and mix it up.

Is it really possible for me to gain a decent amount of muscle mass at your camp in just 3 months?

Has anyone managed this in the past?

thanks

The only way you can gain muscle mass is to consume more calories than you use in a day, along with applying resistance to the muscle. (Training 6-10 reps to failure is best in my opinion!)

I would recommend firstly figuring out your maintenance calories. I would then start by adding 200 calories to that figure. If after a week you haven't gained any weight add another 200 cals to your diet. Continue this process until you find you are gaining muscle mass without too much fat. As you gain more muscle mass you will have to increase your diet accordingly.

It sounds like your body type is ectomorphic.

I would recommend a diet of 1.5g protein per pound of body weight. 20% of your calories should come from healthy fats. The remaining should come from low g.i carbs except after a workout where you should consume a mixture of 25% fast digesting protein and 75% Simple sugars (Vitargo is the best).

To be honest, I wouldn't bother aiming to gain muscle mass in Thailand. You will be doing 2x3 hr high intensity cardio training sessions a day. After 45 mins of exercise the body will turn to the glycogen in your muscles for energy. Therefore you will probably lose muscle mass if anything.

The only way you are going to gain muscle whilst training there is by using anabolic steroids and i really wouldn't recommend that!

An ephedrine based fat burner may help in preventing muscle loss. These also have some side effects but personally i love them.

Hope this helps!

Country: UK

Thanks, tis very helpful.

So you reckon I should concentrate on getting ripped so my fitness levels improve, that way I will become much better boxer when I come back to London.

Then back here I can gradually increase my calorie intake gradually while working out and monitoring fat gains?

Looks about right.

Its better to get ripped and then bulk gradually?