Weight Gain Tips (5)

At around February of this year I hit a new low of 140lbs.  I am 5-9.  I hadn't been that light since I got into a car accident and was in bed rest for 2 weeks.  A lot of cry me a river stuff happened and I was making excuses for letting myself become such a weakling.  So I decided to get serious and hit the gym.  To also make it a good hobby and to relieve some anger.  Its September now and I fluctuate around 160-163.  I found this sight around March, and took in some great info.  I am bigger and stronger than I have ever been.  I still feel that I have a ways to go, but I am happy with my progression.  I just have to say that working out is a real healthy and positive hobby.  I actually don't drink as much now because I won't be able to work out to my best the day after.

I work until about 7 and I want to spend time with my son so I only spend 30 minutes in the gym.  I go 5 days a week and work real hard real fast.  Just wanted to add that to anyone that says they don't have time, cuz you can always make time. 

I also changed my diet and eat 5 or 6 small meals that are healthy. I started off taking whey protein because it was on sale at gnc.  then I saw some changes so I stuck to it.  I also take multi vitamins and just started with creatine a month ago.  I noticed a small difference.  However my crap got soft and it took me about 10 days to get used to it. 

I also want to say that I was the typical guy in the gym that worked out regularly but did the same stuff all the time until I finally decided to grow some balls.  I now push myself each and everytime I hit the gym.

Tips

If you want to get big, you gotta be serious about it.  Don't mess around and slack off.  Thats the biggest tip.  Go in there and go to work.  Come on, a few seconds for each rep. 

Ed. Notes: A great point made by Ryu on using "no time" as an excuse. EVERYONE has the time. More info on Whey Protein, Multi-Vitamins and Creatine.

I have had difficulty gaining weight my whole life. Back in high school I was 5'10" and weighed in at a whopping 145lbs. I stayed that way until I was about 28. My highschool had a weight lifting club that I joined and that was my first taste of pumping iron. I kept lifting weights for years and would get stronger but never broke 150. If I would stop lifting my hard earned 5 pounds would vanish in about a month. It realy took a toll on my self esteem. I figured I was just born to be skinny.

I tried everything out there from the time I was 16-30. I was working out 4-5 times per week. Taking every mirical suplement out there. Nothing worked.

When I hit 33 years old I tryed Body For Life. Dispite it being a fat loss program (I dropped to 135 after a month on the program) I found the info very good. Eating 6 meals and the logic behind why to do it made sense to me. Also planning your eating. It was the first piece of the puzzel.

A couple of years after I ran across an other program that was for strength building. This program talked about the concept of "Lift heavy but less is more". That was the second piece of the puzzle.

Last year I ran across a stray artical about the "lose fat while gaining muscle" myth. It basicly shot holes in the myth and had a pretty powerful argument. I had always tryed to stay ripped while gaining mass. Basicly working at cross objective. This was the final peice that I needed.

Last Christmas I set a goal for the new year to go from 150lbs to 175lbs before May. Using the 3 pieces of the puzzle. I spent January perfecting my diet. Not some super secret training diet but figuring out which foods were quick and easy to prepare that worked with my goal. From Feburary to May I gained 22lbs. I came up 3lbs from my goal but who cares. I gained more in 4 months than I had gained in 20 years.

I didn't say I was the sharpest tool in the shed but I do catch on eventualy.

I just ran across this web site yesterday. Man, this site could have saved me years of frustration and sweat. In the short time I have read this site, it has summerized what took me 20 years to stumble across. The concepts are simple but they are not always easy.

Tips

The main thing I have leared was.

1) Go heavy with the weights. Don't be afraid of strength training. 

2)Simple compound join excersizes with free weights. Bench press, squats, etc. Don't get fancy. Leave the fancy stuff for the meat heads who you are going to leave in the dust a few months down the road.

3)PLAN WHAT TO EAT AND WHEN. Again nothing fancy. Create a base menu and try to stick with it as best you can. Do the calorie counting up front so the rest is pretty much auto pilot. If you are like me, you think you are eating more that you are.

4)Nutrition was my biggest fault in the past. I kept me from ever getting big. When in doubt, eat a little more. If you pack on a little fat.... so what. Remmember, we are the gifted souls who can shed weight if we blink too often. It will come off so err on the side of too much to eat than not enough.

5) Read every artical on this site. The web master has done a great job of encapsulating everything you need to know. He keeps it simple because it is simple. Don't reinvent the wheel. Don't tinker. This guy has a ton of solid advice. It took me 20 years of heart ache to figure this stuff out.... he is giving it to you on a platter. (sheez. you would think this was a paid endorsement.)

I'm currently 27 and have always been skinny (132lbs and 6 ft)- I've gone through 3 serious attempts to put on weight (at ages 17, 21 and 23) for 6 months or so each, but as I now realise, I was letting myself down badly with nutrition.  I always thought I ate a lot but now I realise I wasn't. I put on 4lbs in one period and nothing during the others, even though I ended up bench pressing 220lbs (got some strange looks in the gym!) and doing all the right things with regard to training methods.

This website got my hopes up and after a 4 year break I've been doing it the 'proper' way for 6 weeks now and the difference is amazing. 

I'm now 165lbs (put on 28lbs in 6 weeks), and I'm shocked with just how fast it is going on after just a few changes.

Update: I got a neck injury in September from an overly enthusiastic session which paused my program for 6 weeks, but with that out of the way I've kept my good gains. I hit 85kgs (about 188lbs) a few weeks ago and have now been into the 'cutting phase' for a couple of weeks - using 'BFFM' as suggested. I'm currently about 16% body fat and I'll get it down to about 8% and 78kgs or so. And then I'm done! I still get daily comments from mates etc and I feel much better about myself.

Tips

The parts which I took from your website and made a difference for me were:

 -calculating caloric intake daily for a week (for me I was only getting 1900cals) and then upping it - now eating 4200cals per day...hard work but this is the single biggest 'tip'.  It seems if you eat enough, your body has no choice but to put on weight, and then it's just up to training as to whether it's fat or muscle.  Occasionally my weight gain would slow so I'd just increase my daily calorie intake.

-increasing carb percentage.  This makes sense now, I previously did try a protein supplement but it wasn't protein I needed.  In fact I failed a urine test at doctor's due to surplus protein passing thru.

-having a big carb meal before bed

-nil aerobic work (uses up too many calories!). 

-only do a few exercises, and mostly compound exercises.

-workout only twice a week (previously 5/week).

-have a liquid meal immediately after workout.

I'm hoping to keep going for just a bit longer - maybe 190lbs - and then cut back to get fit again.  I don't want to be huge, it's just nice not being skinny anymore!

Ed. Notes: Great stuff - pay extreme attention to Daniel's daily calorie tip. When you consistently feed the body, things happen. Smart Stuff turning to Venuto's Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle when it came time to get cut.

I started training in january. I was 6 foot 3 and 168 pounds. Now I am 6 fott 3 and 194 pounds. Still not very big but much better. I hope to reach 210 by the end of the year. What I found interesting was that my gains came in spurts. I did not gain much in a the first 3 weeks but then I really started emphasising my diet. I gained most of it in the next couple of months (I was 186 by April). I did not find this site until last week but it has a lot of good advice. I am going to try and work some of the post workout nutrition advice into my schedule.

For workouts I train Monday, tuesday, thrusday, Friday. I split upper/lower. I have just recently moved to a five day aweek schedule as my work schedule has slowed and allows me to spend more time.

Tips

I started Cell-tech inMay and saw some good gains immediately but then it sort of stopped after a few weeks so I stopped. I have seen where this can happen so I will probably start it agins soon. I also used NO Explode when I first started but it did not seem to help me.

I think if you want to get a better body you have to not give up. I was ready to give up when I first started and got no gains. You have to work hard but you also have to really eat a lot like some other people mention. Guys at the gym now ask me for advice which is kinda weird. I just tell them you have to go balls to the wall with the workouts and then eat everything you see which was the advice I got from another guy at the gym and it is really what got me going. I never worried about what i ate but it might be a good idea. Believe in yourself and just work hard.

I started training with weights when I was 16 years old, I am now 40 years old. I have made some good gains in the past. My weight when I started training was around 150 pounds. My heaviest weight since I've been lifting was around 265. I am 5 feet 8 inches tall, so I guess you could say that I have been sucessful gaining mass in the past. I currently weigh about 225 pounds, so I have lightened up some with age. I can honestly state that I have never used steroids over the years! I also wouldn't call myself a body builder, I was more of a power lifter when I was in my 25 to 35 age span. I just lift now for fun and stress relief! I have a wife and three children so my priorities have changed a lot! My current stats are

ARMS: 17.5 INCHES
CHEST: 50 INCHES
LEGS: 29 INCHES
WAIST: 38 INCHES ( THAT IS MY WEAK AREA)

I just started training again after about six months off, and your site has been very informational and helpful!

Tips

I would like to share some of the things that have helped me over the years. I would say that your diet is the single most important aspect of mass gaining!! If you are not committed to ingesting huge amounts of food you will not have good results! It is important to eat six or seven meals a day 2 or 3 hours apart! I also believe in taking a good quality multi-vitamin everyday. I have never been a big suppliment guy! I just never saw any radical difference when spending money on that stuff! I love some of your suggested routines, they are designed with the right amount of volume! I feel I trained too long and hard for years! I would like to maybe get my arms back in the 19 inch class, I had them when I was 30, so we shall see if this old man get get them back!! I will give you a rundown on my current plan just for informational purposes. It has worked for me in the past

WEDNESDAY: CHEST, SHOULDERS, TRICEPS

FRIDAY: BACK, BICEPS, LEGS,

SUNDAY: I do a light full body workout with about 50% of max weights, just to loosen the joints some!!

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