Putting on weight and keeping it...

[Bugz]

Right. With holiday inc. soon I'm a bit desperate. Basically, i cannot put on weight. It is all gd saying 'high calorie diet' but I a) don't have the cash and b) i have trouble keeping it.

So first question is

a) Can anyone suggest some cheap fixes to putting on weight...

second question is

b) how do I make sure i dont lose that weight? I've put on like half a stone b4 but in a week ive lost it again. Do i need to pump weights to turn it into muscle? Someone educate me here.


Ta in advance,
Nick

 

[cazno]

eat butter! its taaaasty! and im sure ur mom got loads!

 

[Naffets]

Eat plenty of meat and plenty of carbs, build up a bit of fat then work out a fair chunk to convert it into muscle i guess

 

[DocWolfe]

how come all these people want to gain weight? I'm 13.5 st and I'm built, was rowing 10k every otherday when I was 17, but I'd love to lose my love handles. I'd love to know how to lose weight, eating a low cal diet just doesn't cut it for me I have to excercise every day or I just stay static. When I dont excercise I just go back to my prev weight regardless.

lucky imo.

 

[leviathane]

ye kinda like me, do all this stuff and will stay the same weight, no matter what i eat aswell. But ahwell tht's life will probably catch up to me when i'm like 40 and will weigh like 17st or some shit

 

[Thadius]

Ive 8 and a half stone

I eat tons of prtein and fat

Gte nowhere

 

[Naffets]

13 and a half stone, 6 foot 4. Can eat like someone twice my size and stay this way

 

[Bracken]

Lard and beer. That'll sort you out

 

[Tilda]

Nick I have similar problems, I'm 12.5 last time I checked and can honestly eat as much as i like of anything without putting weight on.
Recently i've been doing weights, situps and pressups more and have put a bit on but its slow going.
I dunno whether your parents would let you have weights, mayhaps a bit young but you can do situps and pressups, see if that helps.

 

[Bugz]

I dunno whether your parents would let you have weights, mayhaps a bit young but you can do situps and pressups, see if that helps.

I do some light weights - generally just lifting a 8kg weight for 30-40 a night or so but the gain was like half a stone over a fairly large period of time.

If i could build more fat bulk (probably best in the holidays since i'm not as active) then surely I could just turn tht into muscle?

 

[lilmissnaughty]

well some folks are just meant to be a certain size it seems due to their frame.
so some of ya will always be chunky whether that be by fat or muscle an some will always be lanky nerdy lookin dudes aka the mr muscle adverts man
you can change the amount of fat/muscle u have but not ya bone structure.
if thats made anyone depressed

 

[Amildin]

From my experience, putting on weight then burning it doesnt work half as well as a high protein diet during serious weight training. By serious i mean 3-4 times a week at the gym doing 2 muscle groups at a time. The pair i do them in is shoulders + abs, biceps + back (this includes forearms), triceps + chest.

Do 3 exercises for each muscle group, keeping your time at the gym to about 45mins-1 hour so you can exercise fully. Before I did this i would spend 2hours - 2.5 doing a full body work out each time, didnt work as well at all.

The trick is to get a right balance of heavy lifting and endurance. The way i do this is different length sets with different weights, ie. bicep curl is 6 reps with 18kg, 8 reps with 16kg, 12reps with 12kg. Use this form for pretty much everything but abs, where it is 1 exercise of heavy lifting, 2 exercises of endurance.

Remember, if you're young you will grow, just get toned and let nature take its course. Another trick i was taught was to eat a high protein meal after exercising. This works because when you weight train you make very small tears in the muscles and proteins, in simple terms, fill in these gaps increasing the muscle size.

How old are you if you dont mind me asking? Would help advise on how seriously you should be doing this

 

[Darksword]

well some folks are just meant to be a certain size it seems due to their frame.
so some of ya will always be chunky whether that be by fat or muscle an some will always be lanky nerdy lookin dudes aka the mr muscle adverts man
you can change the amount of fat/muscle u have but not ya bone structure.
if thats made anyone depressed

only sensible reply so far, to a rather simple question.

you may think your eating alot, but trust me, its nothing; theres no quick fix to weight gain, or weight loss, and if there was, you still shouldnt be wanting to take it for a long time.

Why do you wnat to put on weight? Putting on weight is just as hard as losing it, you have to eat ALOT, feel sick? keep eating, been sick? drink some water, keep eating, ran out of food? go buy more food and keep eating, eaten 5 meals a day and about to go to sleep? keep eating.

Basicly, eat breakfast, eat "brunch", eat lunch, eat something between lunch and your main meal, and then eat something after, and eat before you go to sleep. Have snacks (healthy ones, apples, pears, oranges, bananas, grapes, then like nuts, seeds etc). A rule of thumb is for every 1lb u weigh (i weigh 163lbs) u need to eat a gram of protein to increase weight, 0.7grams to maintain weight, and anything over 1.5grams is bad on your kidneys. Drink alot of water, water burns fat!

And really, id recomend doing some sort of exercise, even if you just skip and do body weight exercises (push ups, body weight squats, sit ups, squat jumps, tuck jumps, burpees, hand stands (really fun and great for balance), i find skipping fun as you are shit to begin and quickly become good and see yourself progress. Also, join a gym and get a REAL routine, curls etc have no use here, you need squat, deadlift, bench, over head press, bent over rows etc etc, compound movements. And heavy weight low reps. 3 times a week, and rest properly, you grow in your sleep not in the gym.

Diet diet diet really.

 

[Darksword]

From my experience, putting on weight then burning it doesnt work half as well as a high protein diet during serious weight training. By serious i mean 3-4 times a week at the gym doing 2 muscle groups at a time. The pair i do them in is shoulders + abs, biceps + back (this includes forearms), triceps + chest.

Do 3 exercises for each muscle group, keeping your time at the gym to about 45mins-1 hour so you can exercise fully. Before I did this i would spend 2hours - 2.5 doing a full body work out each time, didnt work as well at all.

The trick is to get a right balance of heavy lifting and endurance. The way i do this is different length sets with different weights, ie. bicep curl is 6 reps with 18kg, 8 reps with 16kg, 12reps with 12kg. Use this form for pretty much everything but abs, where it is 1 exercise of heavy lifting, 2 exercises of endurance.

Remember, if you're young you will grow, just get toned and let nature take its course. Another trick i was taught was to eat a high protein meal after exercising. This works because when you weight train you make very small tears in the muscles and proteins, in simple terms, fill in these gaps increasing the muscle size.

How old are you if you dont mind me asking? Would help advise on how seriously you should be doing this

hmm, personal preference but id neglect ALL of this apart from protein after workout;

eggs in the morning
weigh protein (mixed with milk) after workout,
and cottage cheese before bed. sorted.

 

[Amildin]

hmm, personal preference but id neglect ALL of this

Mind if i ask why?

 

[Darksword]

Mind if i ask why?

i was a bit hastey; i agree with no more than 1hour lifting, and splitting up your routine.

but i mean biceps need a day? triceps need a day? Simple routine is push/pull/squat, and that works every muscle group. Also should scale your routine up so

12 reps, increase weight and 10 reps etc, warming muscles up etc.

3 days a week is plenty, and gives your body time to recover, after 1-2 years of proper lifting hten take it to 4 times a week, your body needs time to recover and adapt so. On your off days go do sprints or something instead.

 

[Amildin]

i was a bit hastey; i agree with no more than 1hour lifting, and splitting up your routine.

but i mean biceps need a day? triceps need a day? Simple routine is push/pull/squat, and that works every muscle group. Also should scale your routine up so

12 reps, increase weight and 10 reps etc, warming muscles up etc.

3 days a week is plenty, and gives your body time to recover, after 1-2 years of proper lifting hten take it to 4 times a week, your body needs time to recover and adapt so. On your off days go do sprints or something instead.

Well the full yearly plan is 5 months on, 1 month off to let body rest + do some cardio training. 3 times a week is fine, and lets you do all the muscle groups in one week. The 4th time i mentioned is to work legs + do cardio.

About warming up, i should have put that in as its pretty vital. Usually do 1km rowing as warm up and 1k as warm down. Rowing is good as it really does work out the whole body.

Biceps and triceps certainly are important, biceps go hand in hand with forearms, and if you play to work out you have to do your arms properly or else you just look out of proportion. Triceps are not as important, only have 2 exercises for them, but still without building tri ceps up you just look out of proportion again.

 

[Darksword]

Well the full yearly plan is 5 months on, 1 month off to let body rest + do some cardio training. 3 times a week is fine, and lets you do all the muscle groups in one week. The 4th time i mentioned is to work legs + do cardio.

About warming up, i should have put that in as its pretty vital. Usually do 1km rowing as warm up and 1k as warm down. Rowing is good as it really does work out the whole body.

Biceps and triceps certainly are important, biceps go hand in hand with forearms, and if you play to work out you have to do your arms properly or else you just look out of proportion. Triceps are not as important, only have 2 exercises for them, but still without building tri ceps up you just look out of proportion again.

You have more than one exercise for biceps? biceps have nothing to do with forearms, and triceps are more important than biceps in all honesty, they shift more weight and are used more.

Bench press - works all your arms, chest and shoulders, (if incline)
overhead press - works all of arms and shoulders

compound movement. Biceps are of no importance, and curls are pointless, at the highest level they are used to suplement a workout if biceps are FINALLY limiting a lifter (very very rare and only after years of serious lifting, like 8-10 years before anyone should think they are plateaud and even CONSIDER biceps). Biceps are a metro exercise, pump those guns! etc.

 

[Melachi]

Gaining weight is simple in a sense but can be hard to do, what you have to do is eat more, which can be hard, but I mean that, eat loads more. Try get more protein in your diet, use a supplement if you want.

I dunno whether your parents would let you have weights, mayhaps a bit young but you can do situps and pressups, see if that helps.

Bodyweight training is good, and will help, but it tends to build more strength than mass.

And heavy weight low reps. 3 times a week, and rest properly, you grow in your sleep not in the gym.

Hmm, isn't he trying to gain mass, not strenght? I think you have a bit of a problem with bodybuilders from some of your posts Ive seen, surely he should go for more reps if he wants to gain size. 8-12reps etc..

Ive 8 and a half stone

You're 8 and a half stone!? Man what height are you, that is seriously underweight unless you are short

 

[Huntingtons]

Eat plenty of meat and plenty of carbs, build up a bit of fat then work out a fair chunk to convert it into muscle i guess

protein, not fat - you need protein. beans and peas... problem with protein is that it cannot be stored (cannot be turned from protein to fat like carbonhydrates or w/e.) basically you can live of protien, it's not healthy but you can tho you need fat to make new cells so you wont grow i guess.

 

[Elkie]

14 and half stone and built like a brick shit house due to protein diets and pumping 700 reps of weights a night, you want to get fatter or build muscle?

 

[Darksword]

14 and half stone and built like a brick shit house due to protein diets and pumping 700 reps of weights a night, you want to get fatter or build muscle?

LMAO u fucking serious?! bwahahahaha 700 reps of what exactly? this has to be a joke right? 700 reps a night? hahaha.

also; as i said, growing in size is a long term process. the 8-12 rep range is also good, builds size quicker but the low rep range builds size better due to tendon/ligament strengthening and building muscle density. the key to lifting is every workout has to be a struggle, if you go for 8-12 reps then fine, but make sure your last few reps are a battle with shifting the bar.

 

[tookha]

Had at least 5 pints daily during my stay in London last week and put on 3kg. That's quite a bit seeing as I'm relatively thin. 85~kg.

Soo, gogo Guiness!

 

[Vladamir]

hmm, personal preference but id neglect ALL of this apart from protein after workout;

eggs in the morning
weigh protein (mixed with milk) after workout,

You want whey in water so it's absorbed quicker along with some simple carbs to replace the energy burnt in the gym.

Whey+Milk can be used as a quick alternative to cottage cheese at night too.

As for everyone who has trouble putting on weight, 99.99% of it is because you don't have a good diet. Only a few people are classified as what are known as 'hardgainers'.

I was 11st at the beginning of March. Started on a bulking diet now i'm up to 12st6. Thats from eating all 'clean' foods, virtually nothing i eat is processed now.

By serious i mean 3-4 times a week at the gym doing 2 muscle groups at a time. The pair i do them in is shoulders + abs, biceps + back (this includes forearms), triceps + chest.

Do your legs. Else you'll have a nice V shaped back and pumped up chest. You take home the girl of your dreams based on your upper physique. Off come the pants and she see's your chicken legs

Also, as said before, Pressups are no good for mass. Pressups are only good for passing military fitness tests, fact.

 

[Amildin]

You have more than one exercise for biceps? biceps have nothing to do with forearms, and triceps are more important than biceps in all honesty, they shift more weight and are used more.

Bench press - works all your arms, chest and shoulders, (if incline)
overhead press - works all of arms and shoulders

compound movement. Biceps are of no importance, and curls are pointless, at the highest level they are used to suplement a workout if biceps are FINALLY limiting a lifter (very very rare and only after years of serious lifting, like 8-10 years before anyone should think they are plateaud and even CONSIDER biceps). Biceps are a metro exercise, pump those guns! etc.

Yes i have bicep curls and extension curls, forearms are built with this. I also do backward curls + wrist rollers to increase back of forearms. Static bench press works significantly the chest. Are we trying to grow or build useful strength here? As biceps are a vital part of arm growth, and large triceps with no biceps looks awful.

This guy is not trying to become a professional lifter, but overall toned and larger. And if your idea of toned is "pump those guns" then yea sure but you'll just end up looking stupid with out of proportion arms if you dont.

You need a variety of exercises so you work different areas of the muscle, eg. if you always do wide armed bench press you will work the outsides of chest hard and the inside not at all, so you need things like incline press and pec flys to do the whole chest. Don't you agree?

 

[Amildin]

Do your legs. Else you'll have a nice V shaped back and pumped up chest. You take home the girl of your dreams based on your upper physique. Off come the pants and she see's your chicken legs

I know, I do legs a bit playing football. But i just get so lazy by the end of the week, and usually hungover. Also isnt getting them to the bedroom the important bit

 

[Vladamir]

I know, I do legs a bit playing football. But i just get so lazy by the end of the week, and usually hungover. Also isnt getting them to the bedroom the important bit

I put off doing legs when i started too. But its not just your legs it's working when you do it. It's all the supporting muscles in movements (a lot in squats for example).

It's also the fact that big compound movements (deadlifts, squats, benchpress), stimulate the most potent anabolic response. Basically this is where your body goes into the state of rebuilding the torn muscle tissue from a session by building up proteins and muscle from amino acids. From a good session it can last up to 48 hours after training.

By keeping your body in that state you're maximising the possibility of growth, so skipping legs won't help you out

 

[Darksword]

Yes i have bicep curls and extension curls, forearms are built with this. I also do backward curls + wrist rollers to increase back of forearms. Static bench press works significantly the chest. Are we trying to grow or build useful strength here? As biceps are a vital part of arm growth, and large triceps with no biceps looks awful.

This guy is not trying to become a professional lifter, but overall toned and larger. And if your idea of toned is "pump those guns" then yea sure but you'll just end up looking stupid with out of proportion arms if you dont.

You need a variety of exercises so you work different areas of the muscle, eg. if you always do wide armed bench press you will work the outsides of chest hard and the inside not at all, so you need things like incline press and pec flys to do the whole chest. Don't you agree?

no. to put it bluntly. although you do raise a good point, is the OP wanting to gain lean muscle or bulk muscle? and gain weight in what terms?

why isolate any point of your body when you are giving it the workout it needs? do you ever pick something up using JUST your arms, before u even start to say yes, the answer is no.

Bench day = push, push motions include bench, overhead press, and dips. vary your bench for sure, but pec flys etc are stupid. word.

 

[Darksword]

I put off doing legs when i started too. But its not just your legs it's working when you do it. It's all the supporting muscles in movements (a lot in squats for example).

It's also the fact that big compound movements (deadlifts, squats, benchpress), stimulate the most potent anabolic response. Basically this is where your body goes into the state of rebuilding the torn muscle tissue from a session by building up proteins and muscle from amino acids. From a good session it can last up to 48 hours after training.

By keeping your body in that state you're maximising the possibility of growth, so skipping legs won't help you out

cant remember the quote or who said it but

"Son, if you dont squat, your not lifting" - is the general quote. Who said it, when, or how is irrelevent, the message is clear. and its truth.

 

[Litmus]

wish i had your problem