Gaining Muscle Weight?

[BadMotherVaulter]

You can get bars at just about any grocery store. Wal-Mart usually has pretty good prices, sometimes you can find them for cheap at discount places like Big Lots, but the selection can be super hit and miss.

awesome... cheap is good.

[master]

Okay and where might i find these protein bars?

I know right now, i'd gauge i'm definately under 8% body fat... and the muscle i'm working on building is just core muscle, abs, pecs, etc. and i really am working on my legs (i lost a LOT of leg muscle after my ACL replacement) so i'm doing high reps, no weight.

on a sidenote to you personally... i read almost everything you post for two reasons.... one, you know your stuff.... and two, your avatar makes me smile every time. hayward field is my mecca lol. I WILL vault there someday.

As Becca says, most large grocery stores will have them. Be aware they sometimes keep them in two sections; a general foods area and if they have a nutrition or natural foods area, there also. I have also found them at Grocery Outlet (formerly Canned Food Warehouse and probably only a local store) where they sell merchandise that they buy as overstock or packaging problems stuff. If I find a kind I like there, I always eat part of one there before I buy a large quantity of them just to be sure they are good enough for me. At any rate, I stock up on them when any store have a good sale.

I feel like I could use more strength in areas. Unfortunately I don't have what it takes to make myself follow a rigid workout schedule. Instead I do what I can when I can. I try to keep my core in good shape and my arms and shoulders and chest. I don't do any leg work except for the running I do for warm ups and then jumping. A young guy like you though should be doing much more than me but keep the workouts focused on core, what will create speed on the runway, leg swing and inversion strength and pull and push. If you are working out and providing your body with the right nutriants I would expect you could put on 10-15 pounds of muscle and be improving your ability to vault.

I really enjoy jumping at Hayward. It was the place of my first USATF masters meet, the 2003 national championships. The avatar is my age group outdoor WR of 4.00m in 2007 at the Hayward Classic, one of the premiere masters meets in the country. I live in Corvallis and am able to go to most of the All-Comers meets at Hayward during the summer. Sometimes we have also been able to just practice there. It is quite a place!

- master

[BadMotherVaulter]

good idea on tasting them at the store... i've heard a few of them are pretty terrible.

i'll let ya'll know if i come up with anything.

[vault3rb0y]

supplement if necessary, but there are vitamins and other stuff in regular meals you dont always get from bars or powders. Its also been shown pyschologically helpful when you have a real meal that tastes good as opposed to bars, with the same nutritional value, but dont taste as good. Your body prepares itself to digest and use good tasting food better than it does for supplements. At least thats one thing i learned in physchology class, so take it with a grain of salt!

[master]

I don't buy any nutrition bar that doesn't taste very good to me, and I only use them as a nutrition supplement or a replacement to fatty, sugary snacks.

- master

[rainbowgirl28]

supplement if necessary, but there are vitamins and other stuff in regular meals you dont always get from bars or powders. Its also been shown pyschologically helpful when you have a real meal that tastes good as opposed to bars, with the same nutritional value, but dont taste as good. Your body prepares itself to digest and use good tasting food better than it does for supplements. At least thats one thing i learned in physchology class, so take it with a grain of salt!

I don't think he's going to be replacing anything with the bars, just using them to supplement his current diet.

[BadMotherVaulter]

supplement if necessary, but there are vitamins and other stuff in regular meals you dont always get from bars or powders. Its also been shown pyschologically helpful when you have a real meal that tastes good as opposed to bars, with the same nutritional value, but dont taste as good. Your body prepares itself to digest and use good tasting food better than it does for supplements. At least thats one thing i learned in physchology class, so take it with a grain of salt!

I don't think he's going to be replacing anything with the bars, just using them to supplement his current diet.

exactly...

but thats a cool theory about the tasty meal vaulterboy.

I'm heading to walmart tonight to see if i can find something good.

and this weekend i'm doing the pole vault camp at Vault High in Ft Wayne, Indiana

[marshall]

i would feel stupid asking you for a picture but how are you built? like what does your frame look like.


i think you're real light. i'm kinda heavy by pole vault standards though so take my word with a grain of salt. i have some extra football weight that i need to lose but i think the extra muscle definately helps at the top of the vault.

no matter what people say about chest and its insignificance in pole vault, i think its really helpful when you have a strong upper body. in addition to being helpful in the push off, it makes controlling the pole easier and sometimes you can make up for a bad takeoff with pure strength.

i imagine bubka was a beast. what did he weigh in his prime?

[vault3rb0y]

Its all about balance. The pecks actually become an extremely important muscle to build in order to power your swing correctly. But if you dont have core strength and leg strength, dont bother lifting your upper body because you will suck at vaulting anyway lol .

[jumpbackin]

A shake made with a quality protein (hint; Biotest Grow), frozen fruit, yogurt, almond butter or peanut butter and milk is way more healthy and natural than any of those bars. I don't care how "natural" or organic the bar is. I carry bars with me just for situations where I'm out longer than expected and need to eat something. They're for emergencies.


Also, I don't know what kind of shape your knee is in, but if you want to get some leg strength training in, you can push your car up and down the street. I like your idea about the bags of concrete mix at work. That's good 'ol fashion strongman stuff.

[BadMotherVaulter]

thanks everyone...

as for how i'm built... well i'm 5'10" and really lanky, basically. my waist measurement is actually 27 so i'm a skinny dude.

I got some of those protein bars, but i'm also really changing my diet now that i'm working out.

[vault3rb0y]

I think most male athletes waist size depends more on their anatomy than fat is does their fat content. Im about 5% body fat but my waist has only gone from 27 to 30 in the past 3 years, although i have gained about 30 Ibs.