How to GAIN weight? (Seriously)

[LondonBroil]

Saw the post about losing 5 pounds and it got me to thinking. I'm very thin for my 6'5" height at around 140 pounds. What is the healthiest way to gain weight without gaining it all in one place (like a gut)? I wouldn't mind putting on 40 or 50 pounds. Also looking to increase muscle tone.

I'd say I'm an unathletic person and I eat normally but I must have really high metabolism. I won't really eat a breakfast but I'll eat lunch around 1:00, dinner around 7:00, then another meal around midnight.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[ricdaman]

Work out. Muscle weight is better than fat. But if you insist on becomming fat, then force yourself to eat more and don't do any excersise. Oh yeah, and according to Dr. Atkin... eat lots of bread.

[Alobar]

You cant choose where you store fat. Its genetically predetermed, and in your case (adult male) the bluk of it will likely be stored around your mid section, however you are what I would call "grossly skinny", so you will just sort of "fill out" first.

If you are looking to put on muscle mass, then obviously you need to start lifting weights. If you want to gain weight, you simply need to eat more calories than you burn plus what your body sheds off.

Just eat more, and lift. Find a gym that offers a personal trainer, and utilize that until you have a good idea of what exersices work what muslces, and how you should go about your workout. Or you can read some books on the subject, there are many good ones.

[LondonBroil]

I definitely don't want to become fat, just not ridiculously thin.

[J.R.]

Remember, perhaps the most important thing to mass/strength training, assuming you are natural (no juice) and are training properly (i.e. form and intensity), is adequate rest/not overtraining. Eat protein rich foods, do basic core lifts, and only do a limited number of sets (if only one each exercise), take daySS off between lifting, get sleep, and keep hydrated.

[AngryCola]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm very thin for my 6'5" height at around 140 pounds.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's bordering on dangerously skinny. I've had a problem keeping weight on since I was a teenager. I thought my 6'0" 150 pounds was bad, so I know you must not be feeling too hot. Follow the advice others have recommended in this thread. I did similar things and am now up to 165.

[Alobar]

heh, has anyone seen "the machinist" now that guy was [censored] skinny. and thats one dedicated actor too.

[spamuell]

I have the same problem.

I'm about 6"1 and I weigh like 117lb, or I did last week, I think I've put on a little since.

You're eating three meals a day which is good, I've started doing that now and it's helping. Maybe lift weights or do situps? I don't know but I'll be watching this thread for replies.

[bigredlemon]

[ QUOTE ]
You cant choose where you store fat.

[/ QUOTE ]
you can

[ QUOTE ]

Its genetically predetermed, and in your case (adult male) the bluk of it will likely be stored around your mid section, however you are what I would call "grossly skinny", so you will just sort of "fill out" first.


[/ QUOTE ]
genetically influenced yes, but not set in stone
[ QUOTE ]

If you are looking to put on muscle mass, then obviously you need to start lifting weights. If you want to gain weight, you simply need to eat more calories than you burn plus what your body sheds off.


[/ QUOTE ]
definetly
eat big
sleep big
lift big
-----
get big
[ QUOTE ]

Just eat more, and lift. Find a gym that offers a personal trainer, and utilize that until you have a good idea of what exersices work what muslces, and how you should go about your workout. Or you can read some books on the subject, there are many good ones.

[/ QUOTE ]

[Michael Davis]

Hey JR (or Alobar),

I guess I'm hijacking this thread but it's sort of relevant.

I just started lifting in January and gained 30 pounds the first six months. But it seems I have reached my apex and I just can't add any more weight to my lifts or my body. I gather that some of this is because I was grossly underweight to begin with, but I am getting frustrated at not getting over the hump.

I have heard that if I dropped down in weight, my body would readjust to those weights, so that going up again would cause hypertrophy? What do you think of this?

What is the best way to get over a plateau? Thanks for any input.

-Michael

[J.R.]

you can

I'm not trying to doubt, but how? I haven't heard much about this and am interested.

[J.R.]

Shock your body with a new routine (new exercises, new rotation, super sets, low reps, high reps, negatives, take a week off, etc). That's the idea behind a weight drop/rep up type of move. Its like anything else, you will respond more rapidly at first (30 lbs in 6 months is a lot), and then your body becomes accustomed to things and begins to plateau/reposnd more slowly. I'm a hawk on it but if you're natural, its fairly common to see overtraining begin to creep into things as you plateau and overdo things trying to flight through the plateau. Make sure not to do too much.

[judgesmails]

sup bro made a post about his trip to the gym. He provides great advice and insight and maybe someday you can be like him.

[Michael Davis]

Thanks much.

If I take some time off, how long should it be?

-Michael

[Justin A]

[ QUOTE ]
You're eating three meals a day which is good, I've started doing that now and it's helping.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're going to gain more weight if you eat like six smaller meals every day. If you bring protein bars and whole wheat type snacks with you througout the day and continually eat you'll gain a lot more weight.

As others have said, get in the gym and lift some weights. Don't worry about stuff like Creatine or other supplements, a healthy diet and workout is plenty. Go to the bookstore and look in the sports section for nutritional and workout guides to get you started.

Justin A

[SmileyEH]

Eat until you are full, then eat some more. Lift 4 times a week, and try protein supplements.

I gained 15 lbs and a LOT of strength in about 6 months. (I'm 5'11" and about 170lbs now).

-SmileyEH

[lu_hawk]

If you're going to be lifting and trying to gain weight then you need to be eating 5 or 6 times a day. A good breakfast right after you wake up is especially important because you haven't eaten all night and your muscles nutrients.

[Diplomat]

That is thin. Wow. I hope you do not get seriously ill (even as little as the flu) anytime in the near future. Illness is downright deadly if you are at the very bottom of the bodyfat levels.

I'm not thin (was 194 lbs, 6'2), but I've been training for strength and agility since early September. I've added about 12 lbs since then, mostly because of increased muscle and eating. Seriously, to gain weight through healthy foods, you are going to have to eat a ton, and probably supplement your protein intake. You cannot add muscle simply by going to the gym; you really have to eat to match the workout.

-Diplomat

[rtrombone]

Others have already answered your question: lift weights and eat a lot. And get enough rest. But I want to emphasize that of the three, the most difficult and most important is the EATING (seriously).

It's not hard to learn how to lift properly. There are plenty of books on the subject. Good form means doing your reps slowly, making your muscles work as hard as possible. People will give you all kinds of advice on how often to lift, what muscle groups to work together, how many rest days you should take, etc. etc. In the end, it doesn't matter that much what your exact routine is as long as your form is good and you're dedicated.

The hard part is eating enough. Basically, you have to STUFF yourself at every opportunity. I wouldn't recommend gorging on junk food, but it won't hurt you too much. The more calories the better. When I was at my peak I weighed 170 (I'm 5'11") and I would eat three Jumbo Jacks in one sitting like it was nothing.

Almost everyone I know who is naturally skinny who tries to get bigger has no problem when it comes to workouts. It's easy to set aside several hours a week for lifting. In fact, most probably go overboard in this regard. Where they fall short is in the eating department. It's a 24/7 endeavor, and it really becomes a chore.

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
You cant choose where you store fat.

[/ QUOTE ]
you can

[ QUOTE ]


I'm sorry, but you are sooooo wrong on this one. You prolly believe you can spot reduce too. heh, its people with this belief that lets stupid ab machine products make millions of dollars

[Alobar]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey JR (or Alobar),

I guess I'm hijacking this thread but it's sort of relevant.

I just started lifting in January and gained 30 pounds the first six months. But it seems I have reached my apex and I just can't add any more weight to my lifts or my body. I gather that some of this is because I was grossly underweight to begin with, but I am getting frustrated at not getting over the hump.

I have heard that if I dropped down in weight, my body would readjust to those weights, so that going up again would cause hypertrophy? What do you think of this?

What is the best way to get over a plateau? Thanks for any input.

-Michael

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, a 30 pound gain is VERY impressive (assuming that most of it is muscle)

Anyway, you need to vary your ruitine frequently. Change the exersises you do for each muscle. You also need to start a periodization program. Basically its like a step program. you get to a level like where you are at now, then you significantly lower the weight/intenisty and work your way back up. 8-12 weeks for one cycle is about optimal. But even your cycles should be kind of stepped. I suggest you check out some literature on the subject and for a good workout program. Also, you should be taking some suppliments, and consuming a higher percentage of protien. Your protien intake should be spead out throughout the day, as your body cant "absorb" more than about 35g at once. Canned tuna is AMAZING for this.

When figuring out what suppliments to take, talk to someone knowledgeable at your gym, not the idiot who works at GNC. GNC used to be respectable, but now they will just peddle whatever fad crap sells the best, and could care less weather or not its good for you. Also, stay away from creatine.

[Ogre]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm about 6"1 and I weigh like 117lb

[/ QUOTE ]

Im 6'2" 130 and I always thought I was the skinniest kid ever.

[spamuell]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm about 6"1 and I weigh like 117lb

[/ QUOTE ]

Im 6'2" 130 and I always thought I was the skinniest kid ever.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're 6"2? Aren't you like 15?

I'm only 18, I'm sort of hoping that I'll naturally begin to put on some muscle just by getting older.

[Ogre]

[ QUOTE ]
You're 6"2? Aren't you like 15?

[/ QUOTE ]
yeah, I'm cool


I eat anything I want with no regard for fat content.(Quarts of Haggen Daz ice cream (4x you saturated fat for the day i think), junk food, fast food ext. My body refuses to get fat and I like it. I guess I poop alot but I'm not sure.

[LondonBroil]

Thanks for all the replies. I told me g/f that I was looking to join a gym tonight and she told me she wanted to start going to.

One thing I noticed a few people say was to make sure I get enough sleep. What effect does not getting enough sleep cause when your trying to gain weight by eating and lifting? I probably get around 6.5 to 7 hours a night and 8 to 9 on weekends so that is never a problem.

This also stuck out to me..
[ QUOTE ]
That is thin. Wow. I hope you do not get seriously ill (even as little as the flu) anytime in the near future. Illness is downright deadly if you are at the very bottom of the bodyfat levels.

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would low bodyfat be worse when you get sick? I doubt I'll have that problem since I'm almost like Bruce Willis in the movie Unbreakable. Never had any broken bones and I've only gotten sick one time in the last 15 years.

[Glenn]

www.skinnyguy.net (http://www.skinnyguy.net) has a great program for really skinny people to gain. No BS, tons of info. A lot of people will tell you this and that but really for your body type you need to work out and eat a lot differently than a normal person to gain. The website is a little cheesy but the program materials are great, and once you sign up you get access to the forums which is the 2+2 of skinny guys trying to gain weight. And no, I don't get any money for this /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[Alobar]

Most people don't realize/understand that working out actually doesnt make you bigger/faster/stronger. What makes you bigger/faster/stronger is rest. When you workout, you tear your muscles and pruduce lactic acid and lots of other stuff. It is when you REST that your body rebuilds your muscles and thus you get biger/faster/stronger. If you worked out all the time but never slept, you would actually get weaker. This condition is called "over training" and is actually quiet common, and the biggest reason lots of people don't make the fitness gaines they want to when they strive for peak performance.

For someone who just wants to lift and gain some weight tho, I wouldnt worry about weahter or not you are getting enough sleep. Just make sure you dont overwork your muscles in the gym. never work the same muscle group on back to back days. Make sure and take at least one day off a week. Never do two incredibly hard days in a row.

[slickpoppa]

london, when you do lift weights, make sure you concentrate on compound muscle excercises--that means excercises that work several muscles at a time. You should be concentrating on the so called big 3 workouts: squats, deadlifts, and benchpresses.

I recommend that you only workout three times a week and use each of the big 3 exercises as your main exercise for the day, supplemented with two analagous exercises and one auxiliary exercise. For example one day you would do 3 sets of bench presses, 3 sets of incline bench presses, 3 sets of dumbell flyes, and 3 sets of a triceps exercise. On your dead lift day you would do other "pulling" exercises, and on your squat day you would do other leg exercises. The key idea is that you want to work one muscle group very hard for a day, but then give that group a full week to recover. You must also be very dilligent with your leg workouts. The easiest place to gain weight is in your legs because your leg muscles are by far the biggest in you body.

The other key element is of course food. You must eat A LOT if you want to gain a lot of muscle mass. But since you are so skinny to begin with, it is possible that you will see very quick improvements to begin with if you work out and eat earnestly. The best way to get a lot of calories is to eat many small meals rather than trying to stuff yourself at once. You should also look into weight gain and protein shakes since you probably do not have the biggest stomach capacity. Your goal should be to consume at least 100 grams of protein per day. The easiest way to meet this requirement is through drinking three protein shakes a day. You can buy bulk amounts of protein powder pretty cheaply oon the internet. Of course, getting all of your calories and protein through food is ideal, but shakes are a lot less time consuming and easier on the stomach.

remember, its a pretty simple forumala. lifting a lot of weight + calories and protein = weight gain. Don't worry about getting fat because from your height and weight it sounds like your body fat is extremely low.

[bigredlemon]

[ QUOTE ]
you can

I'm not trying to doubt, but how? I haven't heard much about this and am interested.

[/ QUOTE ]Simple. Get your testosterone levels up. Eat more saturated fat. Take some zinc/magnesium supplements. (up to a point anyway.) Steriods/prohormones would do it too if you know what you are doing.

[bigredlemon]

[ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry, but you are sooooo wrong on this one. You prolly believe you can spot reduce too. heh, its people with this belief that lets stupid ab machine products make millions of dollars

[/ QUOTE ]
Is that the reason men and women have the same bodyfat distribution? Oh wait.... they don't /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[david050173]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry, but you are sooooo wrong on this one. You prolly believe you can spot reduce too. heh, its people with this belief that lets stupid ab machine products make millions of dollars

[/ QUOTE ]
Is that the reason men and women have the same bodyfat distribution? Oh wait.... they don't /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Male-female spot fat distribution has to do with hormones and has nothing to do with spot reduction so I am not sure what your point is. Spot reduction is a myth (well with the exception of liposuction). Toning might make an error look better but it will not reduce the fat in that specific area.

[bigredlemon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

I'm sorry, but you are sooooo wrong on this one. You prolly believe you can spot reduce too. heh, its people with this belief that lets stupid ab machine products make millions of dollars

[/ QUOTE ]
Is that the reason men and women have the same bodyfat distribution? Oh wait.... they don't /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Male-female spot fat distribution has to do with hormones and has nothing to do with spot reduction so I am not sure what your point is. Spot reduction is a myth (well with the exception of liposuction). Toning might make an error look better but it will not reduce the fat in that specific area.

[/ QUOTE ]I never said anything about spot reduction. I said the body's fat distribution can be changed by altering hormones.

Any normal male will shed fat in the stomach/thigh area more so than any other body part by increasing free blood testosterone.

As for spot reduction... there's evidence to suggest that thermogenic gels have some noticable effect, with quite a bit of scientific evidence to support its mode of activation.

Doing a hundred situps won't make your abs any leaner if that's what you mean... but saying one can't change their body's fat distribution is overstating it.

[nothumb]

Hey LB,

Stop crapping for a few weeks, should do the trick.

NT

[J.R.]

Take some zinc/magnesium supplements

like ZMA? Victor Conte's best selling supplement?



A study claiming that ZMA increases anabolic hormones and strength in athletes was conducted by L. R. Brilla, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, V. Conte, and BALCO Laboratories, Burlingame, CA.

While their results show statistically significant differences between the ZMA and placebo groups following 8 weeks of intensive training (higher testosterone levels and greater increases in strength) -- the study was significantly flawed.

The beginning levels of zinc and magnesium in these athletes' blood were already low. (Average serum zinc was 0.82 mcg/ml; deficiency threshold is 0.7 mcg/ml. Average serum magnesium was 19.6 mcg/dl; deficiency threshold is 16 mcg/dl.)

Increased exercise raises the body's need for zinc in a variety of ways. The fact that levels of zinc and magnesium dropped in the control groups' blood (to 0.8 mcg/ml of zinc and 18.0 mcg/dl of magnesium) shows that the increased exercise had this expected effect.

So both groups needed more of these essential minerals, probably even before the intensive training, but only one group got it.

What happened here can be understood if one thinks about the normal diet eaten by "members of the University football team" (the study's subjects). Their diet is probably low in zinc, magnesium and B6, if not actually deficient -- which is probably true for most unsupplemented people in the US. High protein intake (undoubtedly consumed by these football players) increases the need for B6, and zinc is particularly important for protein (muscle) synthesis.

link (http://www.supplementquality.com/z_askexpert/ZMA.html)

I have heard it helps you sleep, and is something that essentially target minerals naturally depleted, boosting testosterone levels. But testerone levels effect where you store fat?