Progress Report, Gained 10 pounds in Two Months

To jog your memory, I'm a thin guy trying to gain weight, preferably muscle mass. I'm 5'8'. I'm 24. I've weighed 135-140 most of my life. My short term goal is 150. In the long term, I think 165-175 would look fairly large on my frame. I've been following most of the principles on this board for almost 3 months.

Below are my two body compositions so far. I have a hard time believing I actually went down in LBM. All my weights have went up and I look more muscular. I have noticed an increase in fat in my belly. The instructor who took the measurements said the test varies and I've probably gained some muscle mass as well so not to worry about it. The first test was taken by someone else and seemed a little low at the time to me. It seemed like in this last test the guy pinched more skin. The test is caliper measurement at three points and says it has +-3% error. What do you guys think? Is it really possible that I've gained no muscle?

2-13-03 Total Weight: 137.5 Fat %: 8.4 LBM: 125.9

4-9-03 Total Weight: 146.0 Fat %: 14.3 LBM: 125.2

I eat like crazy. I've easily added another full meal a day to my eating. I eat about 3 large meals a day. Snacks inbetween. Not a lot of fat. I take protein supplement at least once a day for 30g extra protein. I should focus even more on protein intake I suppose.

My lifting routine is below. I do this Monday and Friday and sometimes Wednesdays:

Bench: 150x8,145x7,140x7 Seated Hamstrings: 70,75,80x10 Squat: 155x8, 135x10x2 (just below parallel) Standing Calf Raises: 10 plates x12x2,9 plates x12 Crunch machine: 100x12x2, 110x8 Front Lat Pulldown (reverse grip): 70x10,75x8,75x8 Shoulder shrug: 60x10x2

Sometimes I mix in other exercises like behind the shoulder press, elevated bench, forearm work, etc.. If I'm pressed for time I skip the small stuff and I just do bench, squats, pulls, and calves.

Thanks for all your feedback guys.

8.4% fat is pretty darn lean for someone who just started exercising. I'd be willing to bet they messed up your first reading. I agree with you that it sounds too low. If you take that first reading and say it was probably more like 11% BF, which is more believable, then your LBM is 122.4lbs. Compare that to your new LBM of 125.2lbs and you can see a 2.8lb muscle increase. The same stats would show a 5.7lb increase in fat. Assuming those figures were correct, and I am only assuming, then I would say you should keep up the same routine but maybe lower your total daily calorie intake slightly, not much. Otherwise it sounds like you are doing great!

I think that's reasonable. I'm going to assume along those lines as well. I don't see how I could be gaining fat and no muscle. I work pretty hard. Anyway only time will tell. If I get up to 155, I'll take a couple weeks off the heavy eating and do cardio to cut some fat back. This is only 2-3 months in. This is something I'll do indefinitely.