Gaining weight

[strykn]

Originally Posted by PUPPY

ok time for a month or two of intense milk drinking ..

if you barely drink milk, don't start with 4L a day right away... your stomach wont be too happy

[hal0g0dv2]

Originally Posted by The_Situation

Did all that chocolate fuck up your skin?

surprisingly no, i have pretty nice skin, i have been taking fish oil for years that helps your skin and also i take care of my skin

[PUPPY]

i just drank half of the 2 L carton
holy fml . wanna puke

[sonick]

ROFL fail.

But good on you for the effort.

[PUPPY]

maybe i should've waited more than an hour after dinner LOL .....

[busdriverman]

bro i feel you

i am chinese as well and being skinny was a curse that i had to live with my entire life...until now.

i have been working out very casually from about 2006 to 2009, but then i started getting serious.

after eating like a madman (literally 6-7 times a day) and working out at least 3 times a week (no cardio, all weight training, making sure u push yourself hard), i was able to gain around 15 pounds in the last 3 months (from 145 to almost 160lb).

if i can give you any piece of advice, firstly i must stress your diet. you need to be eating LOTS! and the food should not be junk food either. brown rice and whole wheat grains, lean meats (chicken breast is great), yogurts, cheeses, and LOTS of carbs which you will need for energy during workouts (potatoes, pasta, rice). NUTRITION IS THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN GAINING WEIGHT AS WELL AS LOSING WEIGHT!!

I have also been taking lots of mass gainer (specifically isomass) and it has helped immensely. it is also convenient to take mass gainer because it can act as a meal supplement or as a snack when you have nothing to eat.

find a buddy or buddies to work out with. they will hold you accountable for being at the gym on a regular basis and can also act as motivators and spotters.

DO not do cardio! you will only gain weight by intaking more calories than you are burning!!!

make sure that you are always challenging yourself. if you are lifting 25lbs today, try to do 30lbs next week. if you couldnt do 30lbs, then do a few more reps of 25lbs.

follow these steps that I have outlined for you, and results will come indefinitely.

[tegz]

squats and deadlifts

[jeffh]

the more information you can gather on the subject the more successful you are going to be
research, diet, and hard work
it takes Serious dedication, but goddamn is it worth it
i went from 145-170 in a year and a half. (5'11")
i cant tell you how much my outlook on life has changed for the better
good luck and have fun

[busdriverman]

you cannot be afraid to spend some money on food

trips to the grocery store will be a frequent chore once you get really serious.

like others have said, eat like a madman. try to throw in a protein shake or mass gainer here and there just to increase your calorie intake. i like to pound one right before bed.

when you are working out at the gym, do not be discouraged or embarrassed if you can only lift very light. form is the most important thing when weight training, and if you go to the gym consistently, you will notice gains both aesthetically and with your strength.

nobody said it was easy, and it will take time, money and A LOT of discipline to stay on track.

but hell, if it was just that easy, where is all the fun?

[PJ]

I had this problem too. I would eat and eat and eat, lift, lift, and lift, and I wouldn't gain weight.

After lots of reading and researching, I developed my own little plan.

I knew there was no way for me to gain weight eating regular food and protein. I had to take a gainer. I went and bought the biggest gainer I could find, which was 17 pounds of Mutant Mass from Reflex Nutrition. Took 1-3 shakes a day, upped all my meals, and I generally just tried to eat more solid foods constantly. I personally disagree with some people saying cut out cardio and veggies, because without them, all that mass from the extra food/supplements will be stored as fat in the wrong places, and veggies help your body absorb more protein. That's why you see some skinny people that have a bit of a beer belly.

I went from doing cardio 3-4 times a week to 1-2. Also I shortened my gym sessions from an 60-90 minutes to 30-45 minutes. Lowered my reps, increased weights, increased break times. Keep in mind that you will gain a bit of body fat depending on your diet and workout, but that's inevitable if you're looking to put on size.

[nns]

What sort of eating habits did you have before taking weight gainer?

Weight gainer shakes aren't absolutely necessary. I know, because I used to take it. I stopped like 18 months ago and I still gained weight the old fashioned way: eating more. At least 4 meals a day, with lots of whole foods (chicken, beef, pork), and carbs (pasta, potatoes, vegetables, etc).

BTW, I don't think anybody here said to cut vegetables out.


edit: You burn more calories doing weightlifting than cardio, IIRC.

[Oleophobic]

http://hanhchampion.blogspot.com/201...w-to-diet.html

http://hanhchampion.blogspot.com/201...2006-2010.html

check this guy out. I found out about him from watching ice1cube's videos.

Anyway that pretty much explains the diet portion.

If you're naturally skinny (ecto) and have trouble gaining weight, then following hanh's plan should be perfect. Damn you ectos....I've spoken to hanh and he never had to cut...because he ate clean and most importantly, he is an ecto with a fast metabolism. Seems like the OP was in the same boat as hanh before he started...


also, if his progress pictures aren't motivation iono what is

[xzman]

i can relate with this all too well. in my younger days - fresh outta high school - i weighed 119 pounds at 5'10". what worked for me was intense heavy weight training and like other have posted here, ate alot. i also probably overloaded on protein powders, carb drinks, amino acids and all that stuff. never under-estimate the value of supplements. anyways it took some time but 3 years later i weighed in at a solid 185. through constant dedication and training i reached a peak of 220 but i found my agility in other sports was lacking so i came back down to the 190 mark. i sit around 175-180 for the most part these days and am quite content. train hard, take your supplements, get rest, and above all be dedicated. be consistent with your training and you'll see the results. don't get discouraged by other guys who are bigger or stronger - train for your own goals

[jdc430]

Originally Posted by tegz

squats and deadlifts

Push-ups and pull-ups

[PUPPY]

130 lbs .. oh yeeeeeeee
i love milk and squats/deadlifts now

[Okami]

wow 4L a day is amazing. i went on a milk phase where i was drinking 1L glass bottles everyday.. but after drinking a liter my stomach gets gassy so i only drink .5L a day max :/ im in puppy's situation.. 5'9 115lb

[PUPPY]

good luck to you okami
drank 8L of milk and did the exercises everyone here recommended . this is some legit shit.. i've gained around 5 lbs this week !
going to try and keep this up until i reach my weight goal

[nns]

You drank 8 liters since you started, or 8 liters everyday? If it's every day...lol.

When you're working out, make sure you have good form (read the links over and over to get it embedded in your brain). If you maxed out at 135 lbs last time, add 5-10 lbs next time. Eventually, you'll plateau, but since you're so fresh right now, you have a lot of potential to rise quickly. It's a real morale booster when you add weight every time you go workout.

I don't know if this goes without saying or not, but i'll say it any way. Back when I was super noob, I used to think it was only necessary to eat a lot on days I worked out. Stupid, but no one told me different until I read otherwise. So eat consistently, every day, workout or not.

[PUPPY]

8L for the week, not every day..

[Noizz]

Originally Posted by nns

edit: You burn more calories doing weightlifting than cardio, IIRC.

While the argument here is that your muscles will burn more calories than normal while they repair themselves after your workout; in addition adding more muscle mass overall will also burn even more calories, it has been grossly blown out of proportions.

Everyone's heard of the 30-50 cal per lb of muscle. Lets say an average person is 160lb person @ 15% body fat = 136lb of muscle. 136lb * 50 cal = 6,800 calories required just for upkeep on muscles alone. At 30 cal = 4,080 cal are required per day. Add in calories required for exercising, brain function, walking, sleeping, etc. and this "fact" is quickly disproved. The more realistic number is around 16 cal per lb of lean mass.

Cardio will burn more calories than weightlifting. Don't forgot your muscles require upkeep whether you're doing cardio or weightlifting.

Originally Posted by clintonpoon88

DO not do cardio! you will only gain weight by intaking more calories than you are burning!!!

IMO, don't think of cardio as detrimental to your gains. Cardio will help you lose the fat and define those muscles you've been working so hard to get. A stronger CV system will increase blood flow to your muscles which you will benefit during your workout. Cardio also increases appetite, making you eat more.

Also, no amount of additional muscle will help improve overall stamina, prevent heart diesease, etc.

Originally Posted by Impulse_x

I went from doing cardio 3-4 times a week to 1-2.

Bingo. To lower the calories burnt while doing cardio but keep the intensity needed to create a strong CV, use high intensity interval training (HIIT). If you're worried about wasting calories, don't run for 40 minutes at a steady pace. Do intervals of light jogging and sprinting. Keep it under 20 minutes and you burn less than 250 cal (depending on body weight), but make sure you get the heart rate up.

Like the fuel system in your car, no matter how big the engine gets, if your pump is working beyond it's capacity then you're limiting your power. And if your injectors are clogged, it's GG. Everything needs to be balanced. That's just my opinion though, I'm sure everyone has different goals but I'm a firm believer of cardio + lifting.

Keep the reps low and lift heavy using compound exercises. If you have a hard time gaining, focus more on weight and form.

[Lolkai]

i can't pass 2L/day haha
but i have noticed that i've gained a couple of pounds!
i'm 5'11" @ 155lb atm and still packing.

[AccordCouped]

this helped me alot.. after every meal i'd drink a protein shake..

[Prolowtone]

I need to get back on the protein shakes, I use to drink them alot. I am 5'8" and 2 weeks ago i was 150, Still trying to figure how the hell i did it but i am down to 132. I felt like crap but i dont think i was that sick...

[AccordCouped]

Do not recommend doing cardio while bulking. Why? you need excess calories to put on size and by doing cardio you are just burning the calories off. Sure you may improve your cardiovascular system and what not but if you're main focus is trying to put on weight then I suggest dont do it. You can do all the cardio you want when you cut. Trust me

Also, don't think because you're doing cardio,you're going to burn fat and put on muscle at the same time. It doesnt work that way, in order to put on mass you need an excess of calories and to burn fat you need a deficit. They dont go hand in hand, thats why everyone either bulks then does a cut, or cut then bulk. Depends where your body is at

[tegz]

Should drink protein shake after every single work out.. preferably within an hour. Your body's nutrient intake increases after an exercise so you can absorb all those good amino acids rather than peeing them out asaply.