Gaining Weight and Muscle?

[Broomstick]

I am about 5'9 and 130# i havent been able to gain weight if my life depended on it. I just started a new job at a cable company where i work 10 hour days and dont have a lota time to eat, but i do lug a 60# ladder around all day to climb poles. But on the bright side i just joined a gym and was looking to gain some weight or mass or just muscle would be good like the name i have a basic broomstick body....need any help i can get.

 

[Mudge]

This sounds like a toughie. I'm not the best guy to talk about diet, but it sounds like you have a fast metabolism. For anyone to gain weight, either your going to somehow manage to slow down the metabolism, or your going to have to increase food intake and frequency.

Sounds like your going to have to come up with a way of bringing along a portable meal or two, unfortunately things like protein bars are sometimes labeled deceptively, because some of the protein is useless to us (binders) but is still included on the label.

You could also benefit from an increase in carbs and/or fats it sounds like, I have to watch that stuff myself because I have a desk job, and have approximately a normal to slightly slow metabo.

No ifs ands or buts, you need a diet change - as well as more frequent food intake. If you post your basic diet in the DIET forum, someone can figure out for you wether you need more fats to slow down metabo, or simply MORE of everything.

A 50/30/20 or 40/30/30 diet might be whats suggested, but I dunno - post what your eating now and approximate times, if your not sure then you NEED to find out - count your food intake for about 3/4 days provided its what you normally eat (dont eat more/less and muck up the numbers), and scribble the calories for all of it.

 

[Mudge]

What does your current workout routine look like (if you have one)?

 

[SVB99]

Yeah, your just going to have to increase your caloric intake. Eat smaller meals more frequently but eat atleast 5 meals a day. I'm built exactly like you! I'm around 5'9ish and before the summer started, was at around 130lbs. I've gained close to 10lbs this summer which isn't much by most standards but considering my metabolism, it's alot for me. If you, try to buy some meal replacement packs for the additional protein and carbs they can provide. However, your main goal and focus should be on eating more often. If you don't do that, your not gonna gain anything no matter how much you lift.
Sam

 

[Broomstick]

I dont know to much about working out in genaral but i do 3 days a week at the moment in my basement but i am going to push it up to 4 once i start going to the gym. But i do arms one day then legs then back and i lift as much as i can for as long as i can usally 3 reps

 

[Mudge]

Do you mean 3 sets or really 3 repetitions?

You do need to eat to build muscle, not only for caloric value but protein builds the muscles, without protein you won't build more meat.

If you mean 3 reps thats too low, sounds good for building strength but not raw size on a regular basis.

 

[Lightman009]

You have to increase your appetite, dont waste time with Weight Gainers, you'll only gain fat. Just get tons of the right foods that are high in protein. Try to stay away from foods with too many carbs, only eat these every once in a while. It may take longer to gain weight this way, but a clean bulk is worth it in the long run. When you lift stick to lifting heavy and use lower reps, the workout should be short and intense. The bottom line is to increase your caloric intake and make sure you are getting at least 1 1/2 grams of protein for each lb. I would suggest using protein shakes, and maybe some Creatine.

 

[Lightman009]

Also, try to eat at least 4-5 meals a day. Dont start out trying to do this, you need to build up your appetite just as you do your muscle.

 

[Mudge]

This courtesy of JP, with the necessary credit

Naturally Enhancing Your Appetite


Many guys seem to have a problem of eating enough calories to help them grow. Training/lifting doesn???t seem to be a problem, neither does taking the ???supplements???. Knowledge of supplements is so prevalent on the message boards that anyone can easily get the info they need with a simple click of the mouse. Nutrition on the other hand, is the most difficult aspect of bodybuilding. It takes up hours of your day, every day. It is also the most neglected aspect of our sport because it is: time consuming, expensive and lets face it, boring.
The guys that take this sport seriously all realize that consuming enough good calories is what separates the men from the boys. There is no humanly possible way that a man can add 100 or more pounds of lean body weight to his frame without eating high calorie multiple meals thru-out the day.
Most guys will admit that it is a daunting task. ???How can I continue to eat when I feel full or not hungry at all????. Well, that is what this article is all about. I will let you in on a time proven method of increasing your appetite that is 100% natural, no supplements or pharmaceuticals are necessary.

The trick is in knowing how to make yourself hungry. If you have to force yourself to eat when you don???t feel hungry, it becomes a burden and you will certainly fail.

The first step:
Forget about the traditional way of eating. 3 meals per day just wont cut it (unless you are one of the genetically gifted few). A minimum of 6 meals will soon become your habit.

For the first 5 days, I want you to eat every hour. YES EVERY HOUR !!!. Its not as bad as you think. Not full meals every hour, but small portions of anything.
Example:
1 apple, ½ peanut butter sandwich, ½ protein shake, chocolate bar, banana.
Quality of the foods you eat in these 5 days is not as important as the fact of actually eating something. It must be small enough to not fill you, even if you are still hungry, don???t eat. Let your stomach get used to the small hourly snack/feeding. By the 3rd or 4th day you find yourself starving, craving for that snack. Your metabolism will also start to adjust to your new eating habit. Rather than storing calories to hold you over till your next feeding in 4 or 5 hours (like you used to do), it will come to expect another feeding in a short period. Thus, send more calories to be burned for energy, or for muscle recuperation from your work outs. Can you now see the opportunity for body fat reduction?

After getting your body used to the hourly feedings, you are going to find yourself hungry just about all the time. The logical step for the next 5 day period, is to start eating more at each snack time. But rather than eating every hour, spread the time out to every 90mins (1 ½ hour) or 105mins (1 hour 45mins).

Continue with this process of 5 day periods until your are eating a full meal every 2 ½ or 3 hours minimum.

Eating a lot is not easy. Food preparation of your 6 daily meals takes up a lot of time. Granted, 1 or 2 of those meals will probably be a protein shake but the amount of calories we are forced to eat would turn the average lazy joe into a 300 pound tub of lard in less than a year.
Workout hard, sleep as much as you can, drink the well dry of water, take your supplements and EAT.

Now that you have a solution to your appetite problem, I expect to see you walking around with 20 new pounds of mass within the next 4 months.

 

[Broomstick]

i play cardio 4x a week should I stop and just stick with working out or how should i work it?

 

[Broomstick]

DOH!! I meant I play racketball 4x a week should I stop and just stick with working out or how should i work it?

 

[Mudge]

If you love it then I don't want to say stop, but cardio will EAT calories and dump bodyweight, making gaining weight harder.

 

[Lightman009]

Cut down on the cardio and keep it to a minimum of only once or twice a week.

 

[Broomstick]

Alright I guess I will have to cut it down then thanks i will let you know how i make out......do you know of any web pages that lists all the good food with high calories and protein and stuff?

 

[Lightman009]

Just go into the Diet and Nutrition part of this forum and ask for help from GoPro or W8Lifter, they know of pretty much every beneficial food.