15 Pounds in 2 Months

"Mr. Chan, I have a question. I lift weights, bench about 250 and my strength is increasing, but I'm only 145 lbs. I would like to gain mass, but I only seem to get stronger and not much bigger. I would like to be 160 lbs. Is there any way I can do this before the end of the summer? Or even quicker? I would also like to increase my bench by 50 lbs too. If you have any advice for me let me know."

-Johann


My Answer: A 15 pound weight gain in 2 months is a tall order. It's hard to say what it is that you're doing wrong, because I have no idea what the hell you're doing with regards to training and eating. But let me see if I can do a little psychic training and give you some advice based on little to no information on your background.

For one thing, if you are getting stronger but not bigger, then it usually means 3 things:

1) You're not eating enough calories, protein or fat. Eat, eat, eat! Five meals a day: one hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausage, lunch, dinner and two snacks of fruit in between those meals. If you have my books, then re-read the chapters on diet. You should know that a high calorie diet of equal amounts of protein, fat and carbs will get you big. If you want some quick mass, then for now don't worry about eating clean. If you're just guessing that you're eating enough calories and equal ratios of macronutrients, then quit guessing and go to Fitday.com and log your diet.

2) You're not training with enough volume. In other words, you're training with some heavy weight and low reps and getting strong, but you're not training with moderate weights and higher reps (8-15) to get the volume you need for maximum muscle size. Your reps and weights should be varied throughout the week. Review Neo-Classical Bodybuilding on how to vary your sets and reps for maximal size.

3) You're not training your legs hard enough. Neo-Classical Bodybuilding utilizes both ultra high reps and heavy low reps for leg training. Train your legs hard in a variety of reps, and you will gain quite a bit of weight. Alternate 20 rep squats with 6x6 deadlifts, and you will gain some muscle mass.