Weight Gainers!!

[IronFist]

Calories alone will just make you fat

You need a good muscle building workout as well so that the calories you eat get direction

IronFist

[red_fists]

Get married. Works a treat.

[hughes]

Originally posted by IronFist
I don't think 3 sets of 5-8 reps will add mass to most people...

IronFist

HEy ironfist, i remember taking your advise from a while ago and im sure 3x8 was mentioned.if not i must've misunderstood. What reps-sets should i be doing then? 3x4 and lifting heavier? BTW I'm 17 5 foot 8 and 126lbs, and I was like 117 at the start of the year,so i AM gaining weight and all,but now I'm not sure if its "good" weight as it were.

[INSANE MANTIS]

i worked out hardcore for many years...mostly i ate tons of noodles,tuna fish ,peanut butter and red meat....also drank protien powder and took amino acid,,,,,you need too workout heavy for mass and burn out for cuts...i always ate right after lifting and when ever possible...its hard at first but you get used to it...drink lots of water also..

[-Sai-]

Hello. My friend and I are quite skinny people. Both 17yo, 125pounds, he is 5'7, i'm 5'6. We eat as much as we can (not on any diet, we eat junk). We seem to burn all of it very fast. both hyper-active, always need to be doing something. We don't put on any weight at all. We exercise a bit, few weights a week, basketball at lunch, badminton weekends etc...

How to 'grow sideways' as we're very light. Eat more carbohydrates? Fatty foods? heavish weights/low reps? I eat heaps of fruit/veg a day, and about 1.5-2 liters of water a day normally (50-70oz).

Any help would be appreciated.
thanks

[IronFist]

At least you understand that you have to eat to gain weight.

To gain weight you need a caloric surplus in your body. 3500 calories = 1lb. Now, you can eat a lot and just put on weight, or you can do mass gaining type workouts (ie. Bodybuilding style) and therefore, in essence, "direct" the protein into your muscles. This is the way to put on mass that looks good.

Since you said you were skinny and you eat a lot, you will probably never be huge.

We seem to burn all of it very fast. both hyper-active,

There is a saying in bodybuilding "Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, and if you can lie down, you might as well take a nap." The meaning behind this is that in order for bodybuilders to get as big as possible, they have to burn the least amount of calories possible. As a side note, professional bodybuilders are some of the most unhealthy people in the world... many of them cannot even walk across stage without becoming out of breath. However, their goal is not to be healthy or good athletes, their goal is to become as big as their genes will allow.

Now, this is not to say you can't add some mass an still be an excellent athlete. But, by keeping up your aerobic activity, you will by definition be burning more calories than if you didn't. So to compensate for this you will probably have to eat more.

Putting on size is a gradual process. Do not jump in to eating thousands of calories a day. Gradually build up. Make sure you eat at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight once you start your mass building routine. Also, be prepared to be sore following your workouts and know that this will have an effect on your other sports as well.

Most importantly, I know at 17 it would be cool to be huge, but you may not be done growing yet so don't rush things. I know that's not what you want to hear, but as a 21 year old who was 145lbs at 5'9" in highschool, I know what you are going through.

One more thing, I assume you are an ectomorph (naturally skinny, low bodyfat, hard to put on muscle or fat). If this is the case, any muscle you put on will automatically be ripped because your bodyfat is naturally low. If you don't have one already, it will be fairly easy for you to develop a six-pack.

Good luck,

IronFist

[-Sai-]

Since you said you were skinny and you eat a lot, you will probably never be huge.

I would say i eat a lot, compared to other friends, but I don't really eat until I can't eat no more, much, I guess eat more for breakfast, as that's one that I don't eat too much (a bowl of cereal, 2 slices of bread, just enough for me to to through the first 2 periods at school) So i guess maybe more breakfast.

There is a saying in bodybuilding "Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down, and if you can lie down, you might as well take a nap." The meaning behind this is that in order for bodybuilders to get as big as possible, they have to burn the least amount of calories possible. As a side note, professional bodybuilders are some of the most unhealthy people in the world... many of them cannot even walk across stage without becoming out of breath.

Yes we're both quite fit, all round good at most ball games. I can do 20 pullups, but 15 would be around 'normal' 20 is bordering of exhaustion, so i can lift my bodyweight very easily. He is a bit slimmer than me (weigh same, he is 1-2 inches taller).

Is a pinch test on forearms/biceps an idicator or body fat? (haven't tested properly) If it is, i have 'defined' arms, but not all cut up, as there is a layer of fat over (I don't lift exponential amounts of weights that I can hardly pick up)

Putting on size is a gradual process. Do not jump in to eating thousands of calories a day. Gradually build up. Make sure you eat at least one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight once you start your mass building routine. Also, be prepared to be sore following your workouts and know that this will have an effect on your other sports as well.

yup thanks for that. What do you think about protein shakes? (he is maybe thinking of it) And what foods are most protein rich?

Most importantly, I know at 17 it would be cool to be huge, but you may not be done growing yet so don't rush things. I know that's not what you want to hear, but as a 21 year old who was 145lbs at 5'9" in highschool, I know what you are going through.

One more thing, I assume you are an ectomorph (naturally skinny, low bodyfat, hard to put on muscle or fat). If this is the case, any muscle you put on will automatically be ripped because your bodyfat is naturally low. If you don't have one already, it will be fairly easy for you to develop a six-pack.

He is quite "ripped" so to say, and while both haven't got huge sick-packs (at the moment), as there's fat around there (of course).

Thanks.

[Cashier Graham]

I had the same problem for a long time, eating lots and not getting any bigger. Until I found a magic elixer that helps you put on weight very quickly, it's commonly known as beer. I don't know where you are so I don't know if you can get it easily and I feel guilty pusing beer onto 17yo's so do what I used to do and eat 1 litre of ice cream every week in one sitting as well as your normal diet. You probably won't put any weight on but it'll give your belly a stretch. I put on 1st in about 4 months on the beer diet and i'm now 11st which i'm very happy with.

[Hai_To]

Believe me I know where you are coming from. When I got out of high school I was about 6' and 125 lbs. When I graduated college I was 6'2" and 145 lbs. Now I weigh 165 lbs. I have always wondered where my high metabolism came from as my father is my height and 350 lbs, and my mother is big too (not fat, but big).

Being thin at your age wasn't very fun. Though I was a pretty good athlete (probably due to less wind resistance). Eating more can help, just make sure you eat healthy. Though, in all honesty, the best cure is time.

Look on the bright side, a lot of obese adults would kill for your genes.

[IronFist]

Sai, protein shakes are for supplementing protein if you can't get enough normally. For you, eating 120g of protein per day will be no problem. A small can of tuna is like 30g, a chicken breast is usually 30-35. If you eat steak, a steak can be 50+. Turkey, ham, etc is all protein. Meat is protein. When you eat meat, generally you are eating the animals muscle which is made of protein. Milk has 1g of protein per oz.

Anyway, protein shakes are not some magic pill. The main use for protein shakes is if you are trying to get like 300-400g of protein per day... it would be hard to eat that much food so you can just drink a shake to help. If you are just starting do not worry about the shakes. Don't let the GNC salesman talk you in to anything. The only thing you need is a good MEN'S multivitamin. Make sure you get a men's vitamin because it won't have iron in it. Men don't need extra iron. If you just get a random vitamin, it will probably have iron in it and too much iron can make you constipated as well as mess with your joints.

Hope this helps,

IronFist

[-Sai-]

So does that mean, we should eat, eat, eat, and not do our 'hyper-active' activities? I.e. no more ball at lunch, extra activities outside of school? Just sit around at lunchtime, eat eat eat? No weights/nothing for a few months, we'll get fat, then burn it all off?

Or... eat eat eat, and don't simply burn calories during the day, and burn them when doing weights?

We figured out we actually don't eat much, we always eat till we're 'satisfied' not like FULL or over-full.

thanks.

[IronFist]

So does that mean, we should eat, eat, eat, and not do our 'hyper-active' activities?

Not exactly.

I.e. no more ball at lunch, extra activities outside of school? Just sit around at lunchtime, eat eat eat? No weights/nothing for a few months, we'll get fat, then burn it all off?

If you eat eat eat and don't lift weights, you will not develop big muscles. The weight will be stored as fat (even though you're skinny... so it will just be less fat than on other people). You must lift weights bodybuilding style in order to build muscle. This must be combined with proper nutrition.

Or... eat eat eat, and don't simply burn calories during the day, and burn them when doing weights?

It's impossible to not burn calories. Everything burns calories... breathing, sleeping, walking, etc. Just some stuff burns more. So, if you're interested in putting on weight, I would not do overly-aerobic activities (like no marathon running). But if you love to play basketball, don't necessarily cut that out. The hardcore bodybuilding lifestyle is not for most people so there's no reason to give up everything you love just to put on a few more pounds. You can still build some size and still be fairly active.

We figured out we actually don't eat much, we always eat till we're 'satisfied' not like FULL or over-full.

Uh, ok. If you could estimate your daily caloric intake it might help a bit. But for the most part, you should never over eat anyway.

IronFist

[-Sai-]

ok thanks alot Ironfist and others.

[scotty1]

God, Sai we got the same problem. 5'9" and 135 lbs. I've been eating like a fat b!tch for months now and I'm just starting to put a little bit of weight on. Its a long hard struggle my friend. I'd say the most valuable thing you can learn is that you don't have to be built like Pitt in Fight Club to be an effective fighter or happy with your body shape.

So much is down to your genes and body shape, I have come to the conclusion that my ideal body 'look' is just not attainable with my body. Trying to attain something that is not attainable is just going to make you frustrated. Be realistic in your goals.

But saying that, you are only 17 and I was a lot skinnier than I am now when I was 17. So all my effort and tins of tuna has paid off I suppose. In fact, looking back, I am a lot happier with my body than I used to be. And I have altered my body shape a lot.

Yeah, big up myself. I used to be too skinny. Now I am skinny.
And I'm happy with that because I know its not going to change.
But that's what I'm saying to you, be realistic in what you can attain, and only compare yourself to yourself, not to others who due to their parents (or whatever) are going to put on muscle like TWICE as easy as you.

Ectomorphs of the world unite!!

[dezhen2001]

I'll stand with ya! 5'10" and 147lbs... have been around that for many years. At first i did a lot of weights and things when i trained boxing and muay thai, but nothing much happened at all! It is a hard struggle...

Then i just accepted i am the way i am... train to maximise my potential with what i have. that's why now i do wing chun and qigong, which work just fine with a skinny body! lol The hard qigong i am doing is also making me much stronger and my body develop in a natural way (i am filling out a little at last). Of course this can also be my age (22) and other things.

Anyway Sai, good luck with what ur doing

david