Gaining Weight and Muscle

[WRAdvisor]

Hey guys, I'm just looking for opinions on how to gain weight and muscle. Here is a breakdown: I'm 26 years old, 5'10'' and range from 135-140lbs. I've always been a "small frame" kind of guy and I think that's due in large from my family. Both mom and dad are thin and I got some skinny genes. I'm not complaining, but I have the HARDEST time putting on weight/muscle. I eat like a horse, but have a very high metabolism. I've also never lifted weight seriously and I would even know where to begin as far as a routine. Here are my questions:

1) How can I get bigger, both through working out and eating (what exercises and foods/portions)

2) Are there any supplements (not steroids, etc.) that can help this?


Thanks everyone!

 

[bbaquiran]

How to train What to eat

 

[ConcernedParent]

Eat a lot, lift a lot.

Seriously, nothing more needs to be said than that.

Eating: You might think you eat like a horse but count calories and you'll soon see... Up your intake of protein to help in muscle recovery- eat a few cans of tuna a week, drink a protein shake everyday.

Lifting: Google "Starting Strength"...... or basically common sense says, work out all muscle groups until your really ******* sore the next day, recover (few days) and do it again. Bench press (chest+tri's), squats (legs), curls (biceps), rows (back), flies (shoulder)... **** like that.

 

[elegantgentleman]

LOTS of protein (in your diet and supplement with powder) and hit the weights hard.

You'll gain with that. You'll probably never be as big as some of the guys in your gym since you have a small frame, but you'll make appreciable gains.

 

[hendrix]

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

I eat like a horse, but have a very high metabolism
No. If you ate as much as an obese person does, you would be obese very quickly. If your energy intake is higher than energy output, you gain weight. Your metabolic efficiency is the efficiency with which energy is consumed by your body. Obese people actually have less efficient (read:faster) metabolism than healthy weight range.

Point:
Monitor how many calories you eat in a week or so. If you're not putting on or losing weight, that's your maintenence diet.

then add 500 calories of food a day to gain weight.

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

I've also never lifted weight seriously and I would even know where to begin as far as a routine.

Starting Strength or Stronglifts 5x5. look them up.

squats, deadlifts and presses are what's gonna help.

 

[closetmess]

Lift. Eat. Repeat.

A good benchmark for protein intake is grams per pound of goal weight per day.

i.e. 180 lbs sound good? eat 180g of protein per day. thats a big chicken breast or a protein shake every 3 hours, 6 times a day. go get 'em tiger.

 

[Superfluous Man]

Originally Posted by WRAdvisor

I eat like a horse, but have a very high metabolism.!
I used to say this too. You don't eat nearly enough, trust me. If you go to www.70sbig.com and read up on how to eat, buy the Starting Strength book and DVD and drink a gallon of milk a day I promise you will gain weight and muscle. Keep it simple and you'll do fine.

 

[LexSenthur]

Originally Posted by Superfluous Man

I used to say this too. You don't eat nearly enough, trust me. If you go to www.70sbig.com and read up on how to eat, buy the Starting Strength book and DVD and drink a gallon of milk a day I promise you will gain weight and muscle. Keep it simple and you'll do fine.

This. I used to believe that I was a hard gainer, then I started tracking my intake and realized I was barely netting 400 calories a day even after I started eating 3 square meals.

One of the biggest changes I made, probably something that'll help you since you're not used to eating enough, if having protein shakes with milk WITH meals. That'll keep you from getting full on a few hundred calories of just fat and protein and then not being hungry for hours.

 

[Sunnydale]

What helped me gain muscle weight was lifting a couple times a week, eating a low carb/ paleo diet along with taking the supplements fish oil and vitamin D3. Article on how to take D3 correctly. http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/20...n-d-right.html & a good low carb information sight I learned from: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/

 

[jimbo123]

Don't forget the importance of rest.

I found this link (http://www.24hrgym.co.uk/faq/howmuchmuscle.php) which says that the maximum amount of muscle a person can grow in a year is 12 lbs.

 

[jimbo123]

Originally Posted by byesadness

Anybody who can give advice how to lose weight.. ? I want to lose at least 20 lbs in two months. is that safe? I used to weigh 120lbs but now I am at around 140. I want to lose that extra 20 lbs. I've tried almost everything and I am near to giving up

I know a guy who tried to lose weight and he started going to the gym. He became thinner but his weight was more or less the same. The point of that is he gained lean mass and cut out the fat. Muscle weighs more than fat. He weighed the same but you couldn't pinch as much fat of his body.

You should try circuit training. No need to even go to the gym, all you might need is a chinup bar and chairs to do dips. Practice squats, pushups, dips and chinups.

The idea with circuits is you work out the whole body going from one exercise to the next. When one circuit is complete take about 30-60 seconds rest and repeat. It gets the body into fat burning mode. The beauty is, the workout can last 10-15 minutes including warm-up and cool-down.

I like doing this and I also do long cardio sessions. I'm a bit of a fitness freak.

 

[Lagrangian]

Actually, muscle tissue weighs exactly the same as adipose tissue, you can try it, get a pound of both - they weigh the same amount.

Muscle tissue is denser than adipose (fat) tissue.

 

[Runningman411]

Originally Posted by TrH

Actually, muscle tissue weighs exactly the same as adipose tissue, you can try it, get a pound of both - they weigh the same amount.

Muscle tissue is denser than adipose (fat) tissue.

I'm pretty sure the poster meant muscle tissue is denser, thus an equal volume of muscle weighs more than fat. But, I'm sure he didn't think to provide a full, detailed explanation so as to conform to internet posting standards.

 

[chermy23]

Lift heavy, eat 1g of protien per lb of weight you want , take a multi, try creatine.

 

[doctorbob]

I trained for years with no gains, never really able to pack on the pounds I wanted -- just looked toned. It was hard to eat the 160 or so grams of protein a day. A few months ago I started having 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones, with 25-30 grams of protein per meal (sometimes including a whey protein shake). I then started getting the protein I needed. I lost 2 inches in my waist and gained 3 inches in my shoulders (muscle). My arms are too big now for some of my shirts. All I changed was my diet -- did the same work out. Good luck.