Gaining Weight

[boduke26]

hello all! i am a criminal justice student currently, and looking to go into law enforcement in the next year or two. i have never been a big guy. it is very very hard for me to gain weight. i am about 140 and 5'8. what can i do to pack on some quality pounds and boost my strength. i am on a regular workout routine where i lift to failure. any suggestions? thank you for any input.

[boduke26]

sorry guys i just saw the "skinny" thread, that may answer most of my questions... except im not 15 :D. i apologize for repeating a topic. thanks.

[lax854]

EAT EAT EAT EAT. im in the same boat as you. But im alil different. Im 5'7 and 160. I look like i weight 175 though. I want to still gain more weight. Every 2 hours eat. Not crap food, but you know steak chicken tuna etc. I also recommend ISOPURE MASS. Great supplement. Ive been taking it for 2 weeks and put on about 4 or 5 lbs. Supplements arent for everyone, but i dont really see too much stuff in there that would really harm you. But consult your doctor if you weiry. good luck man!

[Whtwolf14]

Eat good food, and never train to the point of failure, you risk injury. It's never a good idea to do that from speaking with fitness guru's as your form starts to get sloppy. But then again everyone is different. I never train to failure and I'm making great gains in my strength and conditioning. Good luck.....

[lax854]

Eat good food, and never train to the point of failure, you risk injury. It's never a good idea to do that from speaking with fitness guru's as your form starts to get sloppy. But then again everyone is different. I never train to failure and I'm making great gains in my strength and conditioning. Good luck.....

ehhh i wouldnt say the wolf. Ive been a trainer for 3 years and ive learned to work till failure and my bosses who have 20 plus years experience tell me to go to failure. I agreee though it does increase risk for injury! its not wrong to go to failure or not to go to failure. I like it, i think it works and gets the best results. Really depends on what youre looking to achieve. By failure though, i mean all QUALITY reps. When you start cheating, thats when you really could hurt yourself.

[boduke26]

i always heard that when u want to gain weight, that you should increase weight lifted and decrease reps. i usually do 3 sets... first two are 8 reps to failure and the last usually works out to being only 5 reps. good or bad training method?? by the way i am 21, 140lbs 5'8... i think someone private messaged me wondering, but i am still new and couldnt figure the private messaging out :rolleyes: . thanks guys!

[mxwelch]

Just wait. When you hit around 30 you won't have any trouble gaining weight. Trust me on this.

[lax854]

i always heard that when u want to gain weight, that you should increase weight lifted and decrease reps. i usually do 3 sets... first two are 8 reps to failure and the last usually works out to being only 5 reps. good or bad training method?? by the way i am 21, 140lbs 5'8... i think someone private messaged me wondering, but i am still new and couldnt figure the private messaging out :rolleyes: . thanks guys!

yeah man thats my routine. I actually do 10 reps then 8 reps then 4-6 reps all to failure. I also liek drop setting the weight as well. Works really well for me. Gaining weight has to do with working out but more with your diet. 3500 calories extra equals 1 pound of weight. The trick is to add on muscle and that takes time. Sometimes years. its okay to add some fat but you want to watch it.

[boduke26]

i am just worried if i dont gain more weight and strength i that i wont make it in the academy/force. i am strong for my weight, but still... i only weigh 140:mad: . to be an effective officer, i feel i need to really boost my body physically. i have about two years before i get on with a department (i am finishing up college now), i hope i can get some serious gains before then. anyone else have this same problem going into a department/academy, or shared same fear?? thanks for all the input guys, it is greatly appreciated!

[Roger Dat]

Go to a local gym that has physical trainers, When I joined Golds Gym I got 2 free sessions. I told them specifically what I wanted to do and they tailored a program to my needs.

[lax854]

Go to a local gym that has physical trainers, When I joined Golds Gym I got 2 free sessions. I told them specifically what I wanted to do and they tailored a program to my needs.

ehhh....listen..im a trainer...or was a trainer for 3 years. All we want to do is sell you a package. Im not kidding, my job was to sell sessions. Dont get me wrong, i got the results you wanted, but i was told by my bosses to just get the sales. If youre not willing to buy a package, its not really worth going to a trainer because they will just be interested in that. Listen...pm me your routine with all your info (weight height etc). Ill take a look at it and give you the best advice I can. Youll gain weight man, you just need to be motivated to do it. Im in the gym 5 days a week, christmas,thanksgiving, whatever, if im supposed to work out I do.

[MCSD]

Trade lives with me. I need to LOSE wieght. I would LOVE to not be able to gain and lose it really easily.

[PMDL]

i am just worried if i dont gain more weight and strength i that i wont make it in the academy/force. i am strong for my weight, but still... i only weigh 140:mad: . to be an effective officer, i feel i need to really boost my body physically. i have about two years before i get on with a department (i am finishing up college now), i hope i can get some serious gains before then. anyone else have this same problem going into a department/academy, or shared same fear?? thanks for all the input guys, it is greatly appreciated!

1. Eat. Lots. Shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight, more if possible, and upwards of 20-25 calories per lb. At 140, that'd be at least 140g of protein and 2800-3500 calories a day. Fats and calorie-dense foods are your friend. Keep it decent if possible, but if the McDonald's extra value menu or Pizza Hut comes calling, don't say no.

2. Lift heavy and add weight to the bar. Ideal rep range here is 4-6 and 8-10 reps. Use the big compound exercises: squats, deadlifts, rows, bench press, overhead press, pullups, and dips. Try to work a squat/deadlift, a press, and a pull/row at least twice a week each, and add weight to the bar whenever possible.

3. Training to failure is up to you. Getting within a rep or two pretty much has the same effect as going to failure. What needs to be avoided is going "past" failure, with assisted reps and things like that. That's the stuff that boosts recovery time without really helping you grow.

4. Eat.

5. Eat again.

[lax854]

1. Eat. Lots. Shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight, more if possible, and upwards of 20-25 calories per lb. At 140, that'd be at least 140g of protein and 2800-3500 calories a day. Fats and calorie-dense foods are your friend. Keep it decent if possible, but if the McDonald's extra value menu or Pizza Hut comes calling, don't say no.

2. Lift heavy and add weight to the bar. Ideal rep range here is 4-6 and 8-10 reps. Use the big compound exercises: squats, deadlifts, rows, bench press, overhead press, pullups, and dips. Try to work a squat/deadlift, a press, and a pull/row at least twice a week each, and add weight to the bar whenever possible.

3. Training to failure is up to you. Getting within a rep or two pretty much has the same effect as going to failure. What needs to be avoided is going "past" failure, with assisted reps and things like that. That's the stuff that boosts recovery time without really helping you grow.

4. Eat.

5. Eat again.

Yeah they got it pretty much down. I would watch though with the Mcdonalds man. Honestly, im not against it, but its really not good for you to begin with. Eatting is the key. I mean every 2 hours, this means smaller meals, but more frequent. I dont mean u eat a slice of bread and thats a meal. I mean. like steak and potato would be a meal. Never stuff yourself! AND NEVER SKIP A MEAL! This is the key. Heres the problem with gaining weight. No matter what you do youre going to add fat. I dont care what anyone tells you, you can only gain around 5 lbs of lean muscle a year. That actually looks good on a person.

There is no quick healthy solution. Dont let anyone tell you there is. The quick solution is steroids and you dont want to start messing with that. Ill tell you plenty of sick stories of people i know who took them. Just lift hard, get stronger, and eat. Dont worry about what the scale saids. It may take a year or 2 but i promise results if you follow this.

[PMDL]

I dont care what anyone tells you, you can only gain around 5 lbs of lean muscle a year.

Reference? Because it's highly dependent on how trained the person is. A 140 lb guy with little to no training under his belt isn't gonna be restricted to 5 lbs of muscle in a year.

I force-fed myself through a 2-year plateau in weight gain, going from 165 to 195 in 8 weeks. It wasn't all muscle, no, but of the 30 lbs, over half of it was LBM. And this was after 4-5 years of training hard, but with an admittedly poor diet.

There is no quick healthy solution. Dont let anyone tell you there is. The quick solution is steroids and you dont want to start messing with that. Ill tell you plenty of sick stories of people i know who took them. Just lift hard, get stronger, and eat. Dont worry about what the scale saids. It may take a year or 2 but i promise results if you follow this.

Considering that this is a law-enforcement forum, no one should be considering steroids anyway. Though I will note that's simply from a standpoint of legality; used properly, steroids are no more of a health risk than any naturally-available supplement.