So I've been lurking for a long, long time. I feel like I know a lot of the posters here, but I've never actually posted myself. I've been lifting weights for the past number of years, but due to bad dieting (lack of calories), and various range of movement related injuries, I've never really been able to bulk up. So I've finally changed things around, and any advice on my current regiment would be very welcome! Please stick with this post, it will appear to be long, but I want to include all the info people would normally ask.

Quick about me: I'm 27, 6'2, 198lbs. I'd classify myself as an ectomorph. I don't put on muscle easily. When I was 19, I ran for about a year without lifting weights, I dropped to about 165 and burned off virtually all my muscle. It's been extremely difficult since then to put the muscle back on.

The past three months I've definitely experienced muscle growth and strength gains - but nothing I'm OVERLY thrilled about. My weight has remained exactly the same (I started at about 198), but my body fat has dropped by about 3% from 19%. My lats, traps, quads, and glutes have shown the most development. Strength gains have been OK - biggest gains have been in deadlifts (sumo and SL) and pullups.

Ok, so I decided last night the reason I'm not developing more muscle is because my diet was limited to about 2,800 calories of CLEAN foods. I've decided to stack up to about 3,500-3,800. Here's what I ate yesterday, my diet is virtually the same every single day. I don't eat products with refined sugars. I upped the calories by adding one extra serving of chicken/beef/whatever and some good carbs.

7:00am CARDIO w/ 35g PWO Whey.

8:00-8:30am
1 Link Chicken Sausage
1 Tbsp Olive oil
11 Egg whites
1 Egg, whole
1 Banana

10:00am
1 Greensplus Energy Bar (http://greensplus.com/index.php/cPath/34_43)
1 Grapefruit

11:30am
8oz Chicken breast
1 Cup Rice, brown, long-grain, cooked

2:00pm
6oz Chicken Breast
1 Medium Sweet Potato

4:30pm
8oz Chicken Breast
1 Banana

6:00pm
35g Natural Whey Protein supplement (Fructose sweetened) (pre workout)

(Lift Weights Here)

7:00pm
35g Natural Whey Protein supplement (Fructose sweetened) (post workout)

7:30pm
2 Cups Pasta with tomato sauce, meatless (NOT NORMAL)
1 Cup Shrimp, cooked, NS as to cooking method

8:30-9:30pm
1 Patty Lean Ground beef
1 Slice Cheese, NFS (NOT NORMAL - I avoid cheese)
1 Peach, raw
1 Cup Cherries, sweet, raw (Queen Anne, Bing)

10:30-11:00: BED

Cals: 3782
Fats: 78g (20%)
Carbs: 376g (38%)
Protein: 373g (42%)

Workout Schedule: M/T/TH/F - All done with warmup, 3 sets each, 10-8-6 rep.

Monday: Flat Bench / DB Flies / Shoulder Press / Reverse Flies / Dips
Tuesday: Squat / Leg Press / Calves / Hamstring Curls / DB Shrug / Abs
Thursday: Pullups / Barbell Row / DB Pullovers / DB Row / Hammer Curls
Friday: Deadlift (Sumo) / Upright Row / SLDL / Skull Crushers / Abs

Cardio (none before - decided to add it in with the increased diet): 7AM M/W/F Fasted - 25min Elliptical HR ~ 150.

Does the increase of 800 calories appear to be too much? Does my diet seem appropriate? Should I space out my meals more? Am I doing too many exercises? I spend roughly 45-60min at the gym. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks for sticking with my post.

-Ryan

it looks like a pretty good regiment. keep at it. if you gain more than 3lbs a month, youre probably gaining fat, but you're definitely gaining muscle with intense training.

What if my weight continues to stay exactly the same - but I get stronger. Is it really possible to gain virtually the same amount of muscle and lose the same amount of fat at once? ... I always thought that something of this nature was impossible.