OK so a little intro. I train regularly (up to 8 times a week) I am very pleased with my current figure strength etc. I have just come out of a phase of constant strength and cardio training because I got bored of being the size i am which is just over or just under 75kg all of the time. So now i have started muscle mass training higher reps lower weight big volume focus to encourage muscle growth. I'v used scotts calculator to work out how many calories I need and I have the result of 2354 calories a day. Now I haven't been on it for long but whilst on it i'v had to reduce my portions dramaticly in terms of carbs and fats and I am also trying to eat as cleaner fats and carbs as possible which is good. I just feel a little bit empty on that ammount of carbs and fats. The split comes to 222g of protein 200g of carb and 74g of fat. I have only recently made the changeover from strength and endurance to mass and interval training. I imediatly put on a bit of fat BEFORE following scotts diet plan as the cardio was reduced and i was eating too much. The only thing is I must of been eating almost double that ammount of carbs arround the 400g region and staying relatively lean, is it possible that on my new workout routine of hypertrophy I can gain muscle with such a small ammount of calories?? I will try it over the next couple of months and see if it works but any suggestions on calorie intake weather i should keep it at 2300 or if i need to go over a little bit would be really helpful as I'm fairly confused by the new diet being so small, considering I want to get larger! haha!

Hope that's enough information just ask if you need more! thanks in advance to anyone who can help! :)

Firstly, these calories are too low to gain quantifiable muscle...here's my suggestion based on everything you have noted in your posts:

Total calories: 3200

Protein: 316g

Fat: 105g

Carbs: 237g

Now you have these numbers you have to play around with the macros and see how your body responds. Take measurements of everything!

Also don't take the IIFYM approach. You need quality sources of protein, "clean" carbohydrates and plenty of vegetables; preferably green, leafy ones.

THanks a lot for the advice I'll try it out, but will that mean i'll also gain unwanted fat? as I'd like to keep as lean as possible whilst building muscle if at all possible. I don't want to get fat bulking but i do want to increase muscle mass, an increase of almost 900 calories seems a bit drastic! :)

as long as you keep the carbs complex and only eat simple carbs after your work out, and take in good fats, you shouldn't gain fat. Scott has been able to do a lean bulk by keeping protein and fats high and eating the right carbs. Don't eliminate too much cardio, just cut it in half, by not doing any, you remain susceptible to put on some fat.

Yeah thanks i'v been trying this and I have even put the calories up a little bit seems to be going well for me so far, I have a swimathon coming up in march so the cardio is pretty intense atm I'll make sure to keep it up afterward. Anyway i was looking for a little clarity on macros and calories and i'v got that now thanks for the advice hermanites! I'm sure i'll be getting better gains now :D

with regards to clarity in macros and calories, its all about trial and error once you get the initial numbers. Scott showed he changed his numbers because he knows his body. In his meal plan calculations, my carbs come out to almost 100g MORE than I like to consume. So i take those calories and apply it to more fat and protein and keep my carbs to 100g a day. I don't do well on higher carbs and i've learned this from seeing how my body responds to them.

acutually Im gonna have to disagree with you, daniel. the way how Mark had his macros set up is a perfect ratio to gain muscle.

yeah after a few conversations with my instructor i'v got a pretty good idea of where i want to be at, right now i'm on 282 pro 376 carb and 125 fat, sort of bulking but i have a fair ammount of cardio in my routine atm that i can't do anything about, so i'm expecting steady lean gains. Perfect for me tbh carbs are upped due to the cardio cause i can burn in excess of 1k calories sometimes and they need replacing if i'm to put muscle on. Thank for the pointers guys but no need to worry anymore i'll trail this split for a while and then see what happens from that i'll know what changes to make :)

Are you talking about the macronutrient ratio you disagree with or the total number of calories?

Hey man!

I'm a little bit confused what you want to achive. From your posts I guess you have 3-4 swim workouts and 3-4 gym workouts. Correct?

If your strength + cardio/endurance training is swimming and swimming related strength training I understand, but hypertrophy and interval training is not combination where one activity support other one ;) In anyway, you should eat at least 1.000 calories more, like Daniel said 3.200 or more, majority of carbs.

Before going blindness to new diet (anykind it is), define your goals and your needs well, according to your activities.

BR, Gregor

Don't worry man got it sorted now i am over 3200 calories it roughly adds up to 3750, my goal is muscle growth and the interval training is to keep me fit by pushing my lactic threshold up whilst being the least damaging toward muscle growth. You see my usually routine was strength gains NOT GROWTH and cardio endurance, this was during what you could call a cutting phase, but now I want to gain muscle, I was just approached at the wrong time to take part in a charity cardio endurance event during what you could now call my bulking phase. So I need to be in good condition for swimming over the next few weeks whilst trying to gain a bit of muscle. I don't see this as a bad thing as i'm putting on lean muscle with some cardio in my weekly routines. And i only swim twice a week with a running interval immediately after legs day. Seems to be working so far! cheers for the pointers:D

Just that you managed things! :)
I don't know exactly how your workouts looks like, but if you are able to do running interval training immediately after leg workout (strength or hypertrophy), IMHO, you don't do well one or another or both. You need at least 24-48 hours between such traingins.

But since it works for you well and you are satisfied with results, this is most important!

BR, Gregor

hi scott herman my biceps are not growing an inch . what exercise i should do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6sN5XW-QuU

i've been doing my exercise wid full range of motion. but biceps are al the same 15.5 aftr pump. i use no supplements. is it the plateau stage now scott herman

or is it sumthing to do wid my diet. my biceps are not gaining an inch no more

well if your biceps have been getting bigger until now you have probably gained weight so i suggest upping your calories to compensate for that for now, see if u get any improvements :)