Ryan Connell: “How I Gained 31 Pounds of Muscle”

Today’s guest post comes from member Ryan Connell who has put on 31 pounds of lean muscle in six months.  While we experience many successful fat loss stories at P360, we also see a lot of mass gaining in our men.

Here is how Ryan did it.  

I should probably let you guys know I had no intention to gain this much weight. I just love to eat. Literally, I freaking love it.  Call me diabetic, call me a binge eater, whatever, if I don’t eat for 3 hours I am a mess.  When I wake up in the morning I am starving. Every single morning.  No matter how much I eat the night before.  So I’m not sure my eating habits would help others, but here is a play-by-play of my day.

Training: 4 Classes per Week at P360

The majority of my training is done in the gym at Performance360.  I simply follow the board, and on days where we can pick our goal, I typically follow the muscle growth workout.  A lot of squats, deadlifts, presses, kettlebells, etc.  Along with bodyweight movements.  I also run a few times per week on my own but the muscle gaining has been a result of the P360 workouts.

1st Breakfast: Smoothie

• Handful of ice
• two handfuls of cherry berry frozen fruit from trader joe’s
• 2 spoonfuls peanut butter
• 2 scoops vanilla protein
• 3 handfuls broccoli
• 1 handful spinach
• Half a carton of Vanilla coconut milk (.25 gallons i think)

Ride my bike to my office.

2nd Breakfast: Egg Scramble

• 5 eggs with bacon, avocado, veggies and hot sauce
• Or, Cali breakfast burrito from Purple cafe on Cass st.

Late Morning Snack: Nuts & Fruit

• Whatever John Blackburn has in his desk
• Or, Almonds and dried cranberries (1-3 handfuls)

Lunch: CBW Bowl in PB

On most days, I will typically walk to CBW and “make my own” large bowl consisting of the following.

• double order chicken breast
• spinach base (instead of rice)
• double steamed veggies
• 2 bags of chips
• 4 containers of hummus

I go there a lot and this is around 12 dollars for me.

Late Afternoon Snack: Whatever

• Almonds and dried cranberries  again (1-3 handfuls)
• Apple
• Whatever is around the office

Pre-Work Out Meal: 45 minutes before workout

• Banana and peanut butter (good, quickly converted energy)

Post Workout: Smoothie

I will make the same smoothie as in the morning, just this time i will add more fruit for more sugar and add less broccoli. Also, no peanut butter in this one. I just want sugar and protein mostly instead of fat.  I see fat as slowing down the digestion process and i’m trying to get protein to the muscles ASAP.

An Hour Later: Dinner

• 4-5 eggs scrambled with bell peppers, onion, avocado, and naan bread on the side.
• Or, whatever I make for dinner (cooking skills limited to curries, eggs, sauteing veggies and grilling meat.)

I started the gym in mid-June at 165 pounds.

As of 3 weeks ago, I was 196 pounds.

I have felt little to no difference in my everyday way of life. I grew up surfing, playing soccer, competitive swimming and sailing, so my weight was always lower than it should have been. With the weight gain, I have felt little to no difference in my running or swimming. I still run 1-2 times a week, between 6-10 miles each run.  I go to P360 three to four times a week and just follow the board.

In terms of clothes, I have ripped one pair of jeans trying to cross my legs mid conversation while in Matt Eubank’s office when I was chatting with him.  It ripped down the hamstring.  I’ve also ripped a pair of shorts while at the gym.

Anyways, that’s about it. This is just my plan but it’s worked pretty well so far.