Wirejock: shouldn't be too hard. muscles have good memory. i took a year off.. took less then a month to get my strength back.. and burning off fat goes faster every time you diet down. what use to take 9 weeks of dieting.. now only takes 4 for me.

it does take alot of dedication but not much time. 4 days a week = what 4 hours max. besides sticking to a diet which is a full time job. if you want your strength back cut out simple sugars.. stick with complex, low-glycemic carbs (brown rice, red potatoes, etc.) and high protien.. at least 1gram of protien per pound of lean body mass per day.

 

I've had trouble putting on weight...I've been stuffing myself for the past 2 months now, and I can eat twice as much as I used to be able to. 2 months ago, I weighed 137 and could bench 215. Now, I weigh around 147 and can put up 235, and last time I measured (electronically), I was at 4.5% body fat. The reason I can't gain weight? My dad...he's 5'7'' and weighs 99 pounds, so I definitely don't have the genetics. I guess you gotta do the best you can with what you have...

Edit: by the way, I'm 5'9 and would like to weigh around 165

 

Jay Li: Hardgainer.com was built for people like you that have trouble putting on size. trust me i've been there. i was stuck at 5'10 130lbs forever. tried weight gainer 5000 "beefcake!" and all other kinds of high cal stuff.. but that doesn't do crap for ya, if anything make ya fat.

try what i said earlier with at least 1gram of protien per pound of lean body mass a day. and go high carb.. all clean carbs, no sugars(unless your trying to get fat). use HITT style training. read up on http://hit.dozer.com and just look around the net. tons of bodybuilding sites. sounds like strength wise your doing pretty damn good for your weight. consider yourself lucky.. i have to do some hardcore dieting for 6 to 12 weeks to get to 4.5% bodyfat.

 

Jay, how often do you run in a week? and how many miles? It will be hard for you to stock up if you burn lots calories from running. Please don't get confused that you shouldn't be doing any cardiovascular workout but not a lot unless you want to stay lean and cut up all year around.

 

true cardio will cut your gains.. i save it for when i'm trying to get lean.

 

Jay: consider it a blessing your predisposed to a lean body. Some of us have to constantly watch the diet just to maintain. If you can bench over 200, your no sloutch.