weight gain impossible??

[blue888]

ok i weigh 140 lbs and am 5 ft 11" i have been trying to gain weight for the past 3 months now. ive been working out 4-5 nights a week. 100 pushups every night along with bench press and curls and situps. all with enough weight that i can only do about 6 reps per set. for a total time of about 45 minutes every workout. i do not do any type of cardio workout besides pushups and situps. i also eat 4-5 times a day which i would say would always be over 2000 calories per day. i also drink 3 protein shakes a day along with creatine everyday plus a multivitamin. yet i can not gain weight, i gained 2 lbs within the 1st 2 weeks of trying to gain weight. and have not gained any since if anything ive lost that 2 lbs. i just do not no what to do. anybody have any tips or suggestions to help me put on some mass. thanks in advance

[JSD73]

Yeah, you wanna gain weight, limit all your activities, eat every two hours, get rid of the curls and keep your exercise selection to incline bench or dips, bent over rows, squats, and some type of deadlift three times per week. Rest plenty, rest, eat....grow.

Curls....pfft, that's not going to put weight or size on you, the triceps make up 2/3rd's of your arm...anyways......do what i said above, realize nothing happens overnight and plug away.

[toocoldhere11]

At 6'4", I used to weigh 180 pounds and now weigh 240. I got tired of being so skinny and decided to work hard to gain weight (mostly muscle) and did a lot of research. A website that helped me a lot is abcbodybuilding.com.

I achieved my goals working out 3 to 4 days a week, workouts lasting about an hour. You have to work hard during your exercising and should feel tired by the end of it.

As important as it is to work out, it is probably more important to consume much more calories than you are used to. The key to this is being consistant. COUNT YOUR CALORIES everyday and make sure you are reaching calorie goals for the day. For example, if you are used to eating 2000 calories a day, increase your calore consumption to 2500 to 3000 a day and consistantly do this everyday.

One more important factor is REST. From all of the hard training you do, your body needs its rest. That is when you grow and get bigger. You don't want to overtrain.

I just gave you some of the basics. Keep up the creatine usage and make sure you drink a lot of water throughout the day while on creatine.

I am just an amateur/intermediate when it comes to this stuff so I hope I have helped you atleast a little bit.

GOOD LUCK!

[djblank87]

ok i weigh 140 lbs and am 5 ft 11" i have been trying to gain weight for the past 3 months now. ive been working out 4-5 nights a week. 100 pushups every night along with bench press and curls and situps. all with enough weight that i can only do about 6 reps per set. for a total time of about 45 minutes every workout. i do not do any type of cardio workout besides pushups and situps. i also eat 4-5 times a day which i would say would always be over 2000 calories per day. i also drink 3 protein shakes a day along with creatine everyday plus a multivitamin. yet i can not gain weight, i gained 2 lbs within the 1st 2 weeks of trying to gain weight. and have not gained any since if anything ive lost that 2 lbs. i just do not no what to do. anybody have any tips or suggestions to help me put on some mass. thanks in advance

5'11" 140.........:eek: Man that's skinny. JSD gave you great advice, you need to eat more, ditch the curls, get some deadlifts and squats in there and see where you're at in a few weeks.

[GrayPatriot]

Curls....pfft, that's not going to put weight or size on you, the triceps make up 2/3rd's of your arm...

+1.

I have been working out for over 22yrs and I haven't done a bicep curl in around 3yrs and I haven't done any kind of curl besides a barbell curl or preacher curl in 8yrs.

I am not saying that there isn't a place in body building for curls because with the right genetics they are necessary to get those high peaks and definition, but when I see those scrawny little guys going into the gym and going straight to those concentration curls and then onto cable curls before stopping off at rope curls I can't help but laugh... Especially when they ask me how come they are not putting size on their arms!!!

It is all about those compound lifts: Squat, Deadlift, and Bench. Throw in the military presses and dips and you have most of it covered. Like JSD73 said it is all about the triceps for gaining arm size and that doesn’t mean kick backs rather close bench, skull crushers, and tricep dips.

I think I consume 2,000 calories in every sitting ;-)

Remember Rome was built in a day you will see those gains soon enough.

[Highwaylaw]

Lots of good advice above. Take a day and READ what you eat. Look at the labels , figure your calorie intake and protein intake. The rule of thumb for muscle growth is a gram of protien for every pound of weight...so you need to be taking in 140 grams of protein a day. You will need to up your calorie intake to offset the extra work you are doing, or you will be LOSING weight. Break your meals down to 6x a day. If you have a tough time getting those extra 2 meals in, drink shakes. Boost and other such meal supplement/replacement shakes are available everywhere.
I'm also a 'hardgainer' and found a shake of milk,yogurt,and a bit of ice cream a few hours after dinner helped really up the calorie needs in a tasty way. I also found dropping the regime on the weekend helped my metabolism remain confused enough to maintain gains. I ate 'normally' for those 2 days, and did not workout.
Be patient, this takes time. Over a 6 month period put on 18 lbs. Everyone is different. You may gain faster or slower. Rest in between is crucial. I was doing Monday Wednesday Friday lifts.

[ateamer]

Squats and a gallon of milk a day are what you need. You should also eat until you are stuffed every time you get hungry. Don't worry too much about what you are eating - at this point, you need the calories.

[NORCOCOP]

It is all about the long haul. It takes years to put on real size that looks good. It took me 3 or 4 years to put on 60 pounds of muscle. I have spent the past 5-6 refining that weight into denser cleaner muscle. For now just eat everything you can manage that is relatively healthy. I lived off of potatoes, yams, rice, chicken, and tuna for a couple years. I have had periods where I take off for awhile and I lose my gains incredibly quickly.

I then have to double down suck it up and hit the weights with a vengence. Luckily I use the time off to let my joints re couperate and I can now get back my size and strength really quickly. I can always get right back to where I have already been in a few months.

Creating new size, muscle, and strength is a game of millimeters, months, years, and ounces. Not days, pounds, or weeks. Good luck and try a little of what everyone has recomended, they all had to start at the begining too and there is no reason to reinvent the wheel...

[blue888]

Squats and a gallon of milk a day are what you need. You should also eat until you are stuffed every time you get hungry. Don't worry too much about what you are eating - at this point, you need the calories.

ok i have all the bars but i do not have a squat rack. is there a possible way to do them without the rack.

[ateamer]

Rigging up a rack would be the first thing that comes to mind, but if that is out, maybe deadlifts done with the starting position being butt as low as possible; you can also do Zercher squats (bar held in the crook of your arms).

[Buck Nasty]

A lot of good advice. Only thing I would add is eat on a clock. If I don't pay attention to the clock and eat every two-three hours, before I know it time goes by and it becomes four or five hours.

I would also suggest drinking more calories. Milk can be very helpful.

I personally wouldn't recommend back squats without a rack. Maybe front squats or overhead squats. The deadlift is also a very good lift that doesn't require any safety equipment.

[The Pike]

+1.

I have been working out for over 22yrs and I haven't done a bicep curl in around 3yrs and I haven't done any kind of curl besides a barbell curl or preacher curl in 8yrs.

I am not saying that there isn't a place in body building for curls because with the right genetics they are necessary to get those high peaks and definition, but when I see those scrawny little guys going into the gym and going straight to those concentration curls and then onto cable curls before stopping off at rope curls I can't help but laugh... Especially when they ask me how come they are not putting size on their arms!!!




I think I read somewhere that curling in the squat rack is twice as effective as curling anywhere else.:D

[Lawless One]

To give you a bit of hope when I started my Police college classes I stood (and still stand) at 5'7" and at the time I weighed in at 115lbs. Every giant, square jawed, hercules who joined the class looked at me and shook their heads. It took about two years, not just a few months, but two full years for me to pack on 50 pounds of muscle and I now float around 160-165 lbs with almost no body fat.

So eat eat eat (healthy), drink your protein shakes, and keep plugging away at it.

Also the issue with doing pushups to gain weight is that it won't. Your muscles gain mass in two ways, there's sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, and miofibular hypertrophy. When you train endurance by doing pushups, or doing a lot of lighter weights at high rep, you're working your slow twitch muscle fibers and burning away the liquid sarcoplasm that's in your muscles. Your body will respond to this by filling your muscles with more liquid, which means you'll look puffed up, but it's all just water and you will urinate it out if you take a week or two off.

The second type, miofibular, means you've actually shredded the type 2A and Type 2B fast twitch muscle fibers in your muscles and your body needs to repair them ASAP, which makes them grow. You do this by doing high weight training. This type is more permanent, but you won't see nearly as much muscle mass gained. It's more of a slow gain, but the muscle you're getting weighs more.

So it's up to you how you want to do it, but the best advice I can give is to just keep at it.

[AJG8]

You're an ectomorph. Don't sweat the diet in regards to it being healthy...just make sure it's high in calories...and make sure you're pushing the workouts pretty hard...(I'd say 6-8 reps of as much as you can for each exercise...and about 4 exercises per muscle group). I was in the same situation. I'm 5'7" and was 130 a year before...now I'm 160 lbs with 8% body fat. I'd say take in about 4000 calories a day (including the shakes).

So....

1. Eat eat eat...it's the most important part. Don't worry about how "healthy it is. You need the fat in order for your muscles to grow. 75% of attaining your goal is what and how much you eat. Motivate yourself as if though eating is itself, a workout.

2. Push those weights hard. 6-8 reps max weight for each exercise ; 4 exercises per muscle group.

3. Keep taking those vitamins.

4. My secret weapon...M-Drol. PM me with any questions.

5. Take advantage of your time off and rest as much as you can.

[ofcbaum]

All the advice you have been given has been great. I agree with most of it. I would definitely spend the extra money and purchase a decent squat rack or power rack that you can squat and bench in. If not, go to the local gym and lift there. For someone having difficulty gaining weight, squatting with heavy weights will increase muscle on your whole frame due to the number of muscles used during the exercise. A close second is deadlifting. Focus on heavy squats, deadlifts, bench presses and military presses ONLY! Anything else is useless (ie curls or pushups). Curls and pushup have their place in fitness but not in your case. You should lift three days (4 max) a week with each day being centered around one of the above lifts. For example, Squat day can be shared with military presses. Deadlifts should be shared with heavy bent over barbell rows and benches can be shared with other upper body work. Keep it simple and heavy and workout hard. Workout with a partner to push you. Be sure to learn the proper form with the above lifts before doing them.
Even more important, you need to EAT EAT EAT. I know a lot of skinny guys dont have big appetites, but you need to almost overeat to be able to pack in maximum amount of calories. What helped me was following the three "P's" which is Peanut Butter, Pizza and Pasta. Eat these foods and more and wash them down with whole milk. You may not turn into a massive powerlifter but guaranteed you will gain something. Also, what is your age? Although I wasn't as skinny as you, I had trouble putting on solid weight. I dedicated myself to eating and lifting heavy and now I am 29 years old and 6'3 260 lbs with minimal body fat. I love to powerlift and move heavy weights. I look at pictures of myself when I was 19 or 20 years old and I look like a strong wind would have blown me over. So you can put on weight if your willing to put forth the effort.

[ZachE84]

It's all about your diet. From your information, you need to definitely bulk up.

[JSD73]

Uhh, the BMI is not a valid measurement of a person's height to weight ratio. It is outdated and does not take into account the amount of lean muscle someone is carrying. At 5'11 and 140lbs, I'd classify one as a stick.

[ZachE84]

Uhh, the BMI is not a valid measurement of a person's height to weight ratio. It is outdated and does not take into account the amount of lean muscle someone is carrying. At 5'11 and 140lbs, I'd classify one as a stick.

I definitely agree. Weight + BF measurements are the only thing to go by IMO.

[Chadwick]

Look into Cytogainer which can be bought from bodybuilding.com and other sites.

It actually tastes good and I put on alot of weight while on it and working out everyday.

[ZachE84]

Not anything personal against you, but weight gainers are horrible. Stick with real food, but feel free to add some 100% whey protein as a supplement.

[GrayPatriot]

Not anything personal against you, but weight gainers are horrible. Stick with real food, but feel free to add some 100% whey protein as a supplement.

+1

[WillBrink]

Uhh, the BMI is not a valid measurement of a person's height to weight ratio. It is outdated and does not take into account the amount of lean muscle someone is carrying. At 5'11 and 140lbs, I'd classify one as a stick.

I'm a tad under 5'7" and have not been 140lbs since 6th grade I think. 5'11" and 140? A stiff wind could carry you away. What ever makes one happy, but that would be way too skinny for my liking at my hight, much less 5'11." :D:eek::D

[JSD73]

For those who really want to gain weight, of course you have to eat, upwards of 6 to 8 meals per day, especially ifyou have a high metabolism, but you'll have to lay off the extra curricular activities as well and focus solely on building muscle. Along with those meals you should pound down a protein shake with each one.

If you look up Dante aka Doggcrapp on some bb'ing websites, not only does he have great training ideas, but his ideas on packing on the pounds are nice too....his clients and physique speak for themselves.

[Chadwick]

Not anything personal against you, but weight gainers are horrible. Stick with real food, but feel free to add some 100% whey protein as a supplement.

Weight Gainers aren't that bad for you, most of it is made up by lean proteins and lean fats. It's only bad for you if you don't do any cardio while your on it which can store up lots of bad fat just any other food can do.

People think weight gainers are bad because they take it think they are going to get huge arms and get buff sitting on the couch then surprised that some of it went to the tummy area.

It's definitely not a miracle product but if you use correctly it can be just as healthy as any diet.

[GrayPatriot]

For those who really want to gain weight, of course you have to eat, upwards of 6 to 8 meals per day, especially ifyou have a high metabolism, but you'll have to lay off the extra curricular activities as well and focus solely on building muscle. Along with those meals you should pound down a protein shake with each one.

If you look up Dante aka Doggcrapp on some bb'ing websites, not only does he have great training ideas, but his ideas on packing on the pounds are nice too....his clients and physique speak for themselves.

A friend of mine who has decent amature BB experience tried to recruit me into DC workout but I went in another direction... Some interesting concepts though.

[JSD73]

It's a good changeup from volume oriented routines and spurs new growth.

[kmagnuss]

When I start to stall on my Bill Starr 5x5 I'll give it a try. Thanks for the post.

[OperatorEX]

EAT EAT EAT. It's physically impossible not to gain weight if you eat enough.

And if you want to put on bulk

SQUAT and DEADLIFT. Stimulating those big muscles makes the whole body happy.

[AJG8]

ask greg valentino. he's a pro at it.

[JSD73]

SEO's have nothing to do with weight gain, just screwing up a perfectly good musculature.

[Adam354]

EAT EAT EAT. It's physically impossible not to gain weight if you eat enough.

And if you want to put on bulk

SQUAT and DEADLIFT. Stimulating those big muscles makes the whole body happy.

X2

[sir]

I cant do squats or deadlifts for the next few weeks cause I just had a minor back strain, would leg press/curl, and leg extension do the trick? What else would you recommed for me in this situation?

[Adam354]

If your back is hurt, you might be stuck with plank type exercises and bird dogs until you are able to do at least romanian deadlifts, and body weight squats, but leg press is better than nothing. The best line I've heard about why I should do compound movements as opposed to isolations is a metaphor involving training each finger of the hand individually, and then expect them to function together with a coordinated movement pattern when catching a baseball. If you just want to raise your heart beat and gain some muscle in your legs, then yes leg extension and curls would suffice, but if you want to increase general athleticism, you have to train movements not body parts. Just make sure to keep an unrounded tight back with a natural lumbar curve, and keep your chest up, and maybe try increasing hip and hamstring flexibility to take some strain off your back. I'm not a physical therapist though.

[sir]

I can still do deadlifts and squats but I choose not to for now to avoid potential problems later on. I run about 1.5 mi on the treadmill everytime im in the gym (4days a week). My main goal is to do a 1.5 in less than ten min im at about 10:40ish now. But also i want to gain weight (yeah I know I should stay away from cardio) at the same time. Its been going very well so far. I started about two months ago and and ready packed on 6lbs :rolleyes: a fair amount taking in the fact that I run. I also drink about 60g of whey protein + protein i get from meats and such. SO I guess Ill just stick to the regular workouts consentrating on each muscle group for now.

[Adam354]

We will see how long you can gain weight while doing 4 high intensity runs a week. :D Keep me updated! Sounds like you're kicking butt so far.

[sir]

ha ha i dont just wanna bulk up and be slow as a snail :D

[gstanfield]

You just need to get pregnant, have a baby and then stay home. It helped my wife put on about 40lbs:eek:

Now, if she happens to read this I'm gonna go to my grave saying "but honey, I like you this size" but it won't matter cause I'll still be going to my grave.:(

George