Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I've adopted Paleo in hopes of gaining some muscle mass and strength at the gym. I do a crossfit workout 4-5 times a week, usually at 6:30am. In most cases I don't eat beforehand. Will that help or hinder my goal of gaining lean muscle mass?

I've seen some other posts about just doing what feels best for you to perform but I'd really like to pack on some muscle. I've had trouble doing it in the past and was told "you can't outperform your diet.".

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

flag	asked May 8 2012 at 9:24 Sean 131●2●5

gaining some muscle mass? Don't do crossfit. Crossfit is good for out of shape people who wanna generally move more, get more fit, etc. But if you're decently in shape and want to add muscle mass to your body, you are wasting time and energy doing crossfit. Stop crossfit and lift weights in a traditional 5x5 or Rippetoe manner. Initially on a linear progression of adding weight to the bar each time. Eat a bit more food than you usually do and you will gain muscle mass. Keep an eye in the mirror every few days to monitor any bodyfat gain from possibly eating too much food. – ben61820 May 8 2012 at 12:20

Adam Adkins · Answer 1 · 2012-05-08 12:34:21Z UTC

I am a big believer in keeping things simple. If you want to gain muscle you need to eat a little more and lift something heavy. If you want to lean out you need to eat a little less and lift something heavy. That's it.

Depending on your crossfit programming you will likely need to add a strength component to the WOD and limit the "metcon" to something below 12 minutes. There are several affiliate that program this style of crossfit effectively - most notably crossfitfootball.

As far as training fasted - particularly that early in the morning - that is an individualized thing and you may want to experiment. However, I have found that most people work best on an empty stomach that early in the morning.

Eat Meat, eggs and Veggies throughout the day and consider adding grass-fed or raw milk PWO if you can't stomach food.

Good luck.

Bill1102inf · Answer 2 · 2012-05-08 14:06:36Z UTC

Lifting weights in a fasted state while your body has more epi and nor epi in your system and is not busy dealing with the food you ate, provides superior results. Think of it this way, would you rather have to run for your life or to protect your family while fed, or unfed?? Personally I would rather be unfed.

Pre-workout food/meal for muscle gain

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