I have decided to put on some bulk. I'm rather skinny and no matter how much I eat, I can't seem to put on weight and bulk. No 'meat' to turn into muscles Any suggestions? (I eat more than my big sized friends sometimes)
You're lucky! In a way, haha, cause I'm like the opposite and I have to watch what I eat! Work out if you have time? If you've got fast metabolism then eating lots of food wont just do xD
I think I've a high metabolism rate. I've recently started to work out. But according to my (limited) understanding, I need some 'meat' to be converted into muscles? So if I have little flesh = less muscles can be developed?
Protein and carbs all the way. The protein will build muscle and the carbs will add general mass. Foods such as red meat, chicken and fish combined with a workout using some weights will build muscle on top of the added weight from the carbs. If you want to conistently build muscle you need to push yourself constantly, best way to do this is to eat alot of protein to help your muscles to recover (thats when they will grow).
You. Are. So. Damn. Lucky. Everything I eat puts a few pounds on, like...EVERYTHING. And excersize doesnt even work for me. :O
3 Pilars for building muscle 1) Diet: go to a nutricionist.. explain you like to gain some muscle.. You MUST eat carbs and proteins and a small amount of good fats 2) Excercise.. Always push further..remember "no pain no gain" 3) Good Sleep to recover after hardwork train.. Remeber to not work your muscles without a minimum amount of 24hs.. I mean if you work chest muscles on mondays wait minimum until wednesday to work them again (muscles needs to rest) Hope it helps, I can give you some more details if u are interested
Eating more at once does not mean you'll gain weight... (not good weight!) Eating high protein and carbs (body can only handle so much at once.. the rest is wasted!) every few hours, then doing weights (you SHOULD hurt the next day.. this means the muscle is "torn" and it will rebuild, but with more!). I know how you feeel.. I find it hard. As I've goten older though, i have started putting on bad weight.. I'm still a skinny little runt, but my flat belly is gone.. now I got something to work into muscle (I've got the protein shakes/bars as well).. As for what food to eat, depends on the time of day etc. Pasta is very good for carbs, which means energy... Eat that some nights if you work out in morning... You'll have more energy. For snacks, a small tin of tuna = perfect amount of protein.. Or some hard boiled eggs... Protein bars/shakes... When I'm serious about building muscle I'll stick to that... As for building muslce, it wont happen overnight. You won't notice ANY changes (except feeling better and being able to workout longer) for at least 3 months. Also, you have to stick to a routine.. Find a mass gaining training guide, and follow it...
Hmmm what kind of pasta? Like the spagetthi with tomato or cheesy pasta? Protein bars/shakes will work, how does milk after workouts fare? Is there anything I should do in preparation for a workout? For example, it's Monday night now, I'm planning to hit the gym on Thursday afternoon. Anything I should do on Wednesday/Thursday?
...There are different "protein" shakes for before workout, after working etc. Some don't use milk. Milk does usually make them taste a ahole lot better.. But most people I know that workout on a regular basis just use water + powder.
Pay very much attention to your diet.. As said before..You must eat carbs + protein before and after training. Before training for example you can have some chicken/beaf/fish + Rice or Pasta.. Post work out Id reccomend Maltodextrin + Whey protein + Milk Seriously, I reccommend you go to the doctor / nutricionist before starting a diet
I grew up a scrawny kid that got beat up a lot. I hit a height of 6'2" at 145 lbs. I turned that around and between eating and lifting and got to a muscular 210. It's a whole new world. You get noticed by a lot more people being well-built. And I've always been good-looking but I started to attract even more women. I never saw a nutritionist. I didn't get a personal trainer. I read a few magazines and figured the shit out on my own. It's not rocket science. I'll be happy to share what I know with you. #1 - You can put on weight. The trick is eating smaller meals more often. It overwhelms a fast metabolism. It's hard to do this at first, it won't seem natural. But what you need to do is instead of eating when you're hungry, eat when you're not full. Whether you're at school or work or wherever, carry snacks around with you and eat something as soon as you're aware that you're not full anymore. You'll find yourself eating more and more frequently, maybe even every two hours. And that's great because you'll be supplying your body with a steady supply of muscle fuel. Don't overload at any one meal EXCEPT the last meal of the day. Your body will accomplish a lot of rest and repair at night and it needs a lot of energy to accomplish its goals. #2 - You don't have to eat a 100% nutso super-diet. Assuming that you aren't going to try out for WWE anytime soon, take it easy on yourself. Yes, preparing yourself good food is essential. You want to do protein bars (Detour, U-turn, some of the Myoplex bars). protein shakes (I did powdered egg protein because I have a whey allergy), chicken breasts, broccoli, rice, egg whites (they really aren't that bad after the first couple of days), and so on BUT there's no reason why you can't also eat pizza, burgers, and other goodies also - just moderate them. There's nothing wrong with preparing all your food and doing 100% healthy, but it takes a lot of time and can be a drag and it wears a lot of people down mentally. You still get a lot of protein and carbs even from the bad stuff and it will help you put on weight, just don't OVERdo it and you'll be fine. #3 - Discipline is key. More important than what you're eating or where you're lifting is how much you mean it. It's tough to make yourself healthy food every day. It's tough to lift weights four times a week until you can't move. Where your mind is when it gets tough means everything. When you don't feel like lifting weights, you have to go lift weights. When it feels like you're not making fast enough progress, you have to go back and hit it harder. If you give up, the best fitness equipment in the world can't help you. #4 - It's easier to lift at home. I don't know what your situation is, but I bought a home gym (bench/pulldown/leg extension/dumbbells) so that I left myself no excuse whatsoever for not lifting. If I chose not to lift, the only reason would be that I was a lazy ass & I couldn't lie to convince myself otherwise. I recommend the same to you. If you MUST go to a gym, go there, lift, and leave. Don't get caught up in the social scene there and become one of the people who lifts for five minutes and chats for 1 1/2 hours. #5 - I do two days on, two days off. This would be my week starting with Sunday: Sunday: Chest and triceps Monday: Upper back and biceps Tuesday: Cardio Wednesday: Cardio Thursday: Shoulders and calves Friday:Lower back, thighs, forearms Saturday: Cardio And so on. For small muscle groups, do two exercises. For large muscle groups, do three exercises. Cardio on the days off helps burn off any pizza or burger excess and keeps your metabolism running right. It takes a while, even if you're doing it right. It doesn't happen overnight. But eventually it WILL happen. You'll start to see those gains in strength and size. I won't go into my workout details here, but I'll give you some last advice: If a certain exercise feels completely unnatural to you, don't do it. Not everyone's body is made to do every exercise. Don't read every single weight lifting magazine that comes out. They'll always be writing about something new and making you think you have to switch what you're doing. You don't. Still, do your research and learn some good exercises - just keep it simple. Start reading about Ironmind and Randall Strossen, that's some really powerful and inspirational stuff. And good luck to you!
If you are eating 4 big meals a day and still not gaining weight..try eating 6 to 8 meals spread out...if you wake up to pee make sure to eat some food then too
I'm the same. I use to have a decent, healthy weight but now I'm under-weight. No matter how much I eat, I'm not gaining. I should take some of you guys' advice.
You don't /have/ to put on more weight if that's how your genetics are. But you can build muscle via strength training, eating more proteins and carbs, etc.