trying to GAIN weight

[mark414]

hello, first post here

i am a young dude who has always been real skinny ever since i hit my growth spurt in high school

currently i am 6'3" 167 pounds (was just at the doc's last week)

i lift at least 3 times a week, take in a lot of calories and a lot of protein and still cant seem to manage to gain any weight

i've gained strength and a little bit of muscle mass but i dont know where all this food that im eating is going

any tips/advice/anything?

i don't want to be huge or some big musclehead, i'd just like to have some meat to me and a little more strength...i'm just sick of being skinny...:(

[CitySky]

1. patience.

It sounds to me like you're doing everything right - lifting weights, eating a lot of calories and protein. I'd say keep lifting, short sets, increasing the amount of weight you lift as you are able. (Note: I'm not a professional at this -- if anyone with actual credentials posts something different, feel free to discard my advice!)

My 24-yr-old boyfriend is in a similar boat. I just laugh -- between eating my cooking and the inevitable slow down in his metabolism that will happen when he hits 26 or 27, he's not going to have to worry about this for long! Pictures of my brother-in-law over the last 20 years will confirm this phenomenon.... from bean pole to bean pot... the dear man is married to my sister, who cooks even better than I do. ;)

Enjoy your health and ability to exercise!

[flvegan]

2. You're a hardgainer, so to speak.

Let's look at your diet first. Typical day of eating for you would be...?

[mark414]

3. well

in the morning i'll typically eat a bowl of oatmeal or cheerios...something like that, with some yogurt or peanut butter toast on the side, maybe a banana, and a protein shake

then a snack a couple hours later, piece of fruit or something

then for lunch some sort of sandwich, turkey or tuna, with some fruit or vegetables, and some chips or pretzels

another snack a couple hours later, granola bar or another piece of fruit or some vegetables

then for dinner usually some chicken or beef, some rice, a salad with lots of vegetables

then another protein shake an hour or two before i go to bed

i'd say i'm pretty true to that at least 4 or 5 days a week

i also make sure that i almost always get 1 gram of protein for every 1 lb. of weight that i have (which i have read in many places is key)

[flvegan]

4. Healthy eating, though that's increasing your metabolism

I wouldn't change it, though. You need more, though, obviously if you aren't gaining. I'd add another meal in there, and maybe another shake. The 1g protein/lb of bodyweight is what the going ideal is for your average gym rat/bodybuilder. You need more. However, I'm not going to suggest an amount as long-term overuse of whey/egg protein shakes (my assumption) can damage the internals. It's tough digesting that stuff. From what I've read about real hardgainers, 1.8g/lb bodyweight is suggested.

Okay, now let's talk about your gym routine...

[Poiuyt]

5. Long term use of protein shakes?

Fivegan, I hadn't heard anything about long term use of protein shakes being bad for you. I did some research and found a site (looks to have been sponsored by Met-rx). They point out studies that show excessive amounts of PROTEIN may be bad, but they do not differentiate between protein from normal diet and protein from whey shakes. They also point out that the studies were done with rats and that there has been no evidence that it's bad for humans. They do advise caution.

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/RebekahGray.htm

Mark, I think you should be looking for a good post workout shake. This is when your body needs nutrition to start repairing your muscles. You want to get something in you as soon as possible (15 min). I have 8oz protein shake and 8 oz of grape juice. This gives me a ratio of 2:1 fast acting carbs to protein. Note that I don't take this every day, just after I lift or have a long, hard cardio session.

[flvegan]

6. I should have been more specific, I apologize.

The long term use of high protein shakes isn't the problem. It's the excessive (word I should have used) use of them by bodybuilders, giving them an excessive amount of protein each day, damaging kidneys, etc. Example...an 225 pound pro-wrestler might take in 175 g of protein to maintain his weight, and take in 300g to increase in size. The only way to cram that much protein into one's body is by gorging on whey supplements (shakes) at 35-40g a shot. Of course, the kidneys can't take that sort of abuse for long.

My original point was that if someone is taking in 150-200g of protein, with 120g of that coming from shakes, damage could be done over the long haul. I say this only from what I have read/was taught, and would welcome any PhD to provide studies that refute that.

[mark414]

7. just got done working out...

my roommate has a bowflex in the basement so i mostly use that, and also throw in a little bit with some bar/dumbbells

i work out almost always 3 times a week (usually tuesdays and thursdays and then sometime over the weekend) though sometimes my schedule allows for more or less (but i never do more than 4 sessions a week)

i mostly focus on my major muscle groups (doing about 1 or 2, sometimes 3 different exercises per individual muscle/group), as i read that's the best thing for beginners to do

i do about 2 or maybe 3 sets for each different exercise, with a slight increase in weight during the 2nd or 3rd sets (and the weight i lift is enough so that the absolute most i can do for any set is around 15, but usually i focus on 12, at least for my first set)

as far as the protein goes, i just have a big jar of that whey protein from GNC (GNC brand) and never drink more than 2 a day

i'm pretty confident in my gym routine i think it's just the eating that's getting to me (or rather...not getting to me)

is it best to take in a lot of protein everyday? only on workout days? only on non-workout days?

i'm so confused!

p.s. thanks for all the help

[seemunkee]

8. Fewer reps more sets

If you do more than 5 reps your going to stimulate sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, large muscles with relatively little strength. By upping the weight and doing doing fewer reps you'll stimulate myofibrillar hypertrophy, dense strong muscles. Find out what your maximum 1 rep weight is for an exercise and then work out at 80% of that. At 15 reps your getting into cardio country. Heavy squats and lots of milk will pack on some pounds pretty quickly, but be prepared to put on some fat along with the muscle.

[MemphisTiger]

10. You need to write down exactly what you are eating

write it down and calculate the protein, carbs and fat you take in. To get big you have to eat big. Check out other bodybuilding sites for a good plan. Your diet is 80% of your results. If your diet sucks, so will your resluts.

[IronLionZion]

9. Check out this website

http://www.fastmusclegain.com/

I've followed advice from Anthony Ellis' other website: http://www.fatlosstips.com/ and it's working pretty well for me. I seem to be the opposite of you - I can gain weight easily whether it's fat or muscle but it takes a lot of work for me to lose weight.

A lot of the advice is free, but you can pay for extra stuff if you want. I recommend signing up for the email list.

cheers
ILZ