Trying to add mass to my frame - struggling!!! page 3

[MouthDR]

I have been toying around with the idea of re-introducing dairy. But in the form of goats milk, not cow. Sure, getting pastured cow's milk would be great but here, around me, as far as I know, it is non-existent. The other issue I have with it is that it is extremely high in estrogen (our milk in NA is unnaturally high in estrogen sulfate) and if I'm adding a considerable amount of fat to my frame, well, uh, that is not the look I'm after. I have read Starting Strength literature and even they admit that GOMAD adds a lot of fat. Not what I'm after.

I'm going to be adding in goats cheese and yogurt and at least (if I can stomach it) a steak a day. I'm going to try this for one month and see how it goes. I'm unfortunately in a major transition period here (with work and residence) and have other priorities beyond my mass gaining, so not sure when I'll be implementing this. But thanks for all your help again.

The squatting I agree with. When I got to 240, I was doing killer squats and my workouts revolved around that and deads. They still do now, but I was definitely killing it then. Will have to get back on track with my training.

Looks like I'll bump up to 4500 cals and see what happens. Then 5000 if THAT fails...

[Zelli88]

I have been toying around with the idea of re-introducing dairy. But in the form of goats milk, not cow. Sure, getting pastured cow's milk would be great but here, around me, as far as I know, it is non-existent. The other issue I have with it is that it is extremely high in estrogen (our milk in NA is unnaturally high in estrogen sulfate) and if I'm adding a considerable amount of fat to my frame, well, uh, that is not the look I'm after. I have read Starting Strength literature and even they admit that GOMAD adds a lot of fat. Not what I'm after.

I'm going to be adding in goats cheese and yogurt and at least (if I can stomach it) a steak a day. I'm going to try this for one month and see how it goes. I'm unfortunately in a major transition period here (with work and residence) and have other priorities beyond my mass gaining, so not sure when I'll be implementing this. But thanks for all your help again.

The squatting I agree with. When I got to 240, I was doing killer squats and my workouts revolved around that and deads. They still do now, but I was definitely killing it then. Will have to get back on track with my training.

Looks like I'll bump up to 4500 cals and see what happens. Then 5000 if THAT fails...

I just added raw goats milk into my diet, and make kefir out of it. Just had my first batch this morning (24 hr ferment). It tasted very sour, but pleasant to me. And, I felt amazing after! Lots of energy and helped my breathing immensely! I'm aiming for raw goat yogurt too, but yogurt is much harder to make than kefir. However, I think kefir is healthier and contains more enzymes and beneficial bacteria, so I may jsut focus on kefir for now. Hopefully it'll help me build muscle and gain weight, too.

[ThePrimalOhioan]

The milk thing... understood that some can't handle ingesting a lot. In fact, the mention of raw milk has spurred myself into action with getting some. Luckily there's a farmer's market (Sprouts) that sells it just down the street! There are certainly other nutrient dense foods that can be used here like eggs, almonds (and other nuts) and many other alternatives (maybe help others can help me out listing more?). This is a fun discussion...

[NowhereMan]

And throw that "____ isn't primal" shit out the window, purposely going out of your way to eat a ton of food and gaining a lot of mass probably isn't primal either - unless you're preparing for famine, or for the harsh winter months, or some shit.

This.

In the words of Dan John:
"First, although there are truly no real 'secrets,' here is the overriding principle: Mass building, like fat loss, has to be done at the exclusion of everything else. A guy with 14 inch arms will ask me about a mass building program, but worry to death about his 'six pack' (meth addicts have six packs, for the record), his cardio, his 'game,' and about five other things. Once you get 16-18 inch arms, I will allow you to worry about all those other things."

[ThePrimalOhioan]

Funny I just read an article yesterday by Marty Gallagher... here's the link... http://www.dragondoor.com/manly_and_...253D40731968-9

[Zelli88]

Funny I just read an article yesterday by Marty Gallagher... here's the link... http://www.dragondoor.com/manly_and_...253D40731968-9

Agreed! 100%! Amazing article! This is what I believe builds muscle..Nutrients! And a healthy body.

[ThePrimalOhioan]

The overview of what everyone has said in this thread goes like this:

#1: Utilize big compound lifts (Squats, Deadlifts, Benchpress, Military Press, Pull-Ups), and any variation NO MACHINES!!!
#2: Rest, and lots of it (for every 1 day of training, I'd say 1-2 days of rest, purely my opinion however)
#3: Eat the most organic, nutrient and calorie dense foods you can find (in my opinion, fancy supplements are worthless, spend your money on good food)
#4: Rinse, Repeat...

As for set/rep scheme, that's always up for debate and honestly you can pick a program and get results... I personally am doing "Never Lay Down To Train" program from "Beyond Bodybuilding" on Mon/Thurs and "The Russian Squat Assault" (same book) on Tues/Fri. 3 days a week of rest, and lots of yummy organic food. Enjoy!!!

[MouthDR]

The overview of what everyone has said in this thread goes like this:

#1: Utilize big compound lifts (Squats, Deadlifts, Benchpress, Military Press, Pull-Ups), and any variation NO MACHINES!!!
#2: Rest, and lots of it (for every 1 day of training, I'd say 1-2 days of rest, purely my opinion however)
#3: Eat the most organic, nutrient and calorie dense foods you can find (in my opinion, fancy supplements are worthless, spend your money on good food)
#4: Rinse, Repeat...

As for set/rep scheme, that's always up for debate and honestly you can pick a program and get results... I personally am doing "Never Lay Down To Train" program from "Beyond Bodybuilding" on Mon/Thurs and "The Russian Squat Assault" (same book) on Tues/Fri. 3 days a week of rest, and lots of yummy organic food. Enjoy!!!

What you listed above is exactly what I am currently doing. I usually either train only on M W F's or I'll just train every other day so some weeks 3 times, some 4 times. All are the basic movements, I have no machines. Only a cage, barbell, dumbbells and a ton of plated weights. I buy virtually all my meat from a pastured farm, and all my fruit and veg from an organic source if possible. I feel great, no question. I just wanted to add more mass, and will continue down my path doing what some here have suggested.

BTW, I have no issues with dairy. I never have. It never bothered me in the least, and I reckon I could easily drink 4 litres a day. But I choose not to. Unless I can get raw whole milk locally, and be sure that the poor cows hadn't been milked 300 out of 365 days of the year, then I would drink it. But that isn't what we drink here in North America. Are milk is unnaturally high in estrogen (as I already mentioned and no one seems to comment on...?) and THAT is not something this man wants in his body. So goats milk seems a viable alternative.

[tfarny]

My opinion is that the evils of pasteurization are greatly overstated, raw does carry a non-negligible risk, and it's easy to get unhomogenized and minimally pasteurized milk. Which is a pretty awesome tool to meet your goals.

[ThePrimalOhioan]

I am then out of options :-)... maybe you did reach your genetic potential as someone stated earlier.

However I was speaking to a friend today who started the 20 rep squat routine last week, and he's up to 196 from 187! 9lbs in a week! He's tall with a thin wiry frame so he's stoked. I thought I might mention that for you or anyone.

http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/About_Raw_Milk.html

Found the above article too, thought it would fit into this discussion also.