Skinny Guy Trying To Gain Size

[amsgator]

Hey guys (and gals),

I'm pretty new on the scene. I recently finished my application process, including testing and physical exams, and now all I have left to do it wait til December to see if I got into the January Academy.

I am currently 5'10" and 155 pounds. During the agility test I did great on everything except the 160 pound dummy pull, which took me longer than desired.

I'm trying to bulk up (not so big that I become slow and non-agile, but some nice muscle so I don't disappear when I turn sideways) for the academy should I get in, I don't see why I wouldn't I got a 99% on the exam and did pretty well overall in the agility test. But my concern comes here. I've been trying to work out lately and haven't really gotten anywhere. So I looked on the internet and am probably going to start supplementing with some weight gainers (notaly Cytosport Cytogainer) because I appear to be a "hard gainer."

Workout rules and regimins are completely different for us unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how you look at it) skinny people. Does anyone have any tips for me? I have about 3.5 months to prepare for this, how much do you think I will be able to accomplish if I stay consistent and don't give up?

My biggest problem is I like to run, which will just keep me thin and lean, so I am probably going to keep my cardio down to once or twice a week and workout 3-5 times a week. Any and all help is appreciated! Thanks ahead of time and sorry if this explanation was long and drawn out!

[amsgator]

nevermind! i just noticed the thread 3 rows down. the title threw me off so i didnt catch it at first. if anyone wants to reply to me specifically, great, otherwise im jumping over to "doesn't get asked much"

[RemyG]

Take a mass/weight gainer shake, along with some supplementation of whey protein shakes.

Lift heavy (3setsx8reps each), and by the 5th rep on the 3rd set you should be begging to the gym gods you don't drop the weight.

Seriously, the only way to get bigger is to lift heavier/more, and eat more (but reasonably healthy).

If you have any specific questions on anything, feel free to pm me.

[pafindr]

Usually to gain weight you may want to do high weight with low reps.
Ex. In the first set lift enough weight so you can only do 10 reps. Then dropping down a little weight on the second set and lifting until you can't any more. Then do the same on the third rep.

Oh and plenty of proteins to help you build muscle. And have a spotter

[RoadDog1905]

As mentioned, you want to do the recommended workouts. They will help.

More important is keeping your caloric in-take up. For your weight, I would recommend about 2,000 calories with atleast 200g of protein a day. If you are going to keep running a lot, you may need to go as hgh as 2,500 calories. Eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, nuts, meats (especially lean meats) are great. Keep the calories up, but aim for healthy foods.

[RoadDog1905]

Oh yeah...

...guess I could have edited this in, but too late now...

...Creatine. It is probably the most used weightlifting supplement (outside protein) out there and has been extensively studied. It will help you recover more quickly and also give muscle mass. I'd recommend doing a month of lifting and then adding creatine if you want.

The one thing you MUST do if taking creatine is stay hydrated. Stay very hydrated. It can cause liver damage if you don't stay properly hydrated.

Also, if you want to go that way, the powdered forms are generally much cheaper.

[RemyG]

Oh yeah...

...guess I could have edited this in, but too late now...

...Creatine. It is probably the most used weightlifting supplement (outside protein) out there and has been extensively studied. It will help you recover more quickly and also give muscle mass. I'd recommend doing a month of lifting and then adding creatine if you want.

The one thing you MUST do if taking creatine is stay hydrated. Stay very hydrated. It can cause liver damage if you don't stay properly hydrated.

Also, if you want to go that way, the powdered forms are generally much cheaper.

I have not read any studies that link creatine to liver damage within regular dosages (5-15g/day). It is true that you should stay hydrated.

Creatine monohydrate is the powder you would be looking for if you are interested in it. Avoid the hype and just buy that. You can get quite a bit for cheap. GNC even overcharges, but you can get bulk creatine monohydrate 1lb (3 months and 10 days worth, or 100 servings @ 5g each) for 6-10 dollars depending on which location you go.

[Switchback]

I'm a fan of the creatine syrum. There is no loading, you take it right before you work out (droplets under the tongue), and it has a more efficient delivery than creatine monohydrate (equating to less ingestion needed, minimal side-effects (like cramping and dehydration).

[RoadDog1905]

I have not read any studies that link creatine to liver damage within regular dosages (5-15g/day). It is true that you should stay hydrated.

Creatine monohydrate is the powder you would be looking for if you are interested in it. Avoid the hype and just buy that. You can get quite a bit for cheap. GNC even overcharges, but you can get bulk creatine monohydrate 1lb (3 months and 10 days worth, or 100 servings @ 5g each) for 6-10 dollars depending on which location you go.

Hmmm...I'm going to have to look around for this one. I know I was reading one before (I want to say it was a study out of the University of Kansas, but not certain) a while back that linked it to liver. Perhaps it was kidneys...but it damaged something if you didn't stay hydrated with it.

[ferriscj24]

1) Hard work...Lift Weights.
2) Protein. (For muscle repair)
3) Hard work...Life Weights.

Any questions?

[1depd]

I'll second what most people said: hard work, lots of food, and protein. I would suggest more than 2000 calories. When I was young and a hard gainer 2000 calories is what I normally took in just to stay alive. If I wanted to think about increasing size I had to eat 3000-4000 calories per day. Now that I'm a bit older and my metabolism has slowed slightly I have to eat between 2000-3000 calories to get bigger. I am too cheap to eat that much food so I stay a bit smaller than I would like.

[RemyG]

I'm a fan of the creatine syrum. There is no loading, you take it right before you work out (droplets under the tongue), and it has a more efficient delivery than creatine monohydrate (equating to less ingestion needed, minimal side-effects (like cramping and dehydration).

Switch, I did read up about creatine serum after we had that talk last year. Odds are 90+% of that creatine in the liquid suspension has converted to creatinine, which is useless to muscle development. That's probably why there were minimal side-effects.

Have you (switch) tried 3-5g/day of creatine monohydrate? Noone i've talked to after trying that has experienced any adverse effects provided they increased their water intake. Gains were also manageable, with slow weight increases on all workouts.

[FRPerformance]

I have a few officers on some Tren stacks, so far the average gain is 15-20lbs...pm me for more info...

[elbacanazo920]

I'm a workout Addict. My best advice would be Heavy Weight Training and also Intake a lot of calories. Stick to foods that are high in protien. Like nuts, Peanut butter, Fish, and also Protien Shakes are great and quick source of protien when you need it quickly. Try to consume a least. 120g of potien A day. I know it sounds hard but, just one Can of tuna fish in water has about 30 Grams of protien.

[Kyle G]

copied from an old thread

This is an old post, but I was in a similar circumstance so I will help the best I can. I started training hard when I was about 19. I was about 6' 145-150lbs. Now I am 23 and 6' 195lbs solid. There are hundreds of supplements out there but all you really need is food, a multi vitamin, food, some whey protein, and food. You need to eat clean 3000+ calories a day. And take in at least 1.5 grams of protein per lb of body weight, most of which should come from whole food. You should eat like 5 meals a day. If you can't do that because of work... ect, supplement with meal replacement bars as needed. Eat lots of fish; chicken breast; oats; rice; cottage cheese; un-cooked or slightly cooked vegetables.

Workout program: Mainly compound lifts... don't go to the gym and do isolation curls and fly’s. You need squats, bench press, dead lifts, dips, pull ups, and heavy weight. I do a 4 day spilt:

Day 1 (push)

Dips (weighted, once they get easy) 3x 12

Bench Press 3x 4-8

Military Press 3x 4-8

Close Grip Bench 3x 4-8

Squat 3x 4-8

Calf raises 3x 4-8



Day 2 (pull)

Pull-up 3x 4-8

Lat-Pulldown 3x 4-8

DB Shrug 3x 4-8

DB Curl 3x 4-8

Stiff Leg Dead lift 3x 4-8



Day 3 (push)

Incline DB Press 3x 4-8

DB Shoulder Press 3x 4-8

Skull Crusher 3x 4-8

Hack Squat 3x 4-8

Calf raise3x 4-8



Day 4 (pull)

Chin-up 3x max

Dead lift (full or Romanian) 3x 4-8

Row (t-bar or db) 3x 4-8

Barbell Shrug 3x 4-8

Barbell Curl 3x 4-8

Goodmorning 3x 4-8



Rules:

1. Choose weight that will allow at least 4 reps but not more than 8

2. If you can get 8 reps then increase the weight

3. Rest 2 minutes between sets

4. Follow the routine for 4- 8 weeks then de-load 1 week

5. De-load week consists of 2 sets of 10 reps per exercise at a lighter weight

6. MAKE A LOG TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS!!!!

7. CARDIO!!! very important!!!: you have 2 options, either 15 - 20 minutes low intensity after your workout -OR- HIT (High Intensity Training) on off days, do sprints, like 8, 40 seconds sprints while slowly jogging or walking for about a 1-1.5 minutes in between. Either one or the other, not both; I personally like the HIT much much better.

You do this 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off... or if you do the hit cardio it would be 2 days in the gym, 1 day cardio, 2 days in the gym, 1 day cardio, 1 day off.


If you follow this like I say I guarantee results. I was a real hard gainer, but this stuff really worked wonders for me. If you or anyone else has any questions or needs explanation on the lifts please let me know.