need to get bigger

[steveski]

ok I know you guys get these questions all the time - but I need some help bulking upas quickly as possible. I am 17 , a guy. 6 foot and weight about 120 pounds- yes I am a skinny stick insect. I am also not very strong .
Anyhoo I would like to get bigger generally cause I know I'm too skinny. Unfortunately I have another quite embarassing reason - my mom has just remarried and I am now the "big bro" to a 13 year old kid who at about 5 feet 8 inches weighs about 250 pounds. My "little" stepbro is making my life hell by "accidentally" bumping into me and knocking me off my feet , "playfully" grabbing me in bearhugs (and picking me up off the ground which I hate) and generally giving me a hard time about being so skinny. He also keeps suggesting I try to kick his ass in a wrestling match.He is basically a complete oversized jerk but I cant really "tell" on him can I - it would look really bad that I couldnt deal with a 13 year old.
I know this sounds really weak - a high school senior being "bullied" by his fat kid bro but frankly this whole thing really sucks. I dont normally get into fights but I am seriously contemplating fighting him - but in wrestling am not too sure? Anyways sorry for going on and on - I am looking for some advice on:
a lifting program which will increase my size and strength (I know I wont get up to 250) but just something which will give me some size and strength so I wont get so easily thrown around ?
shoudl I try creatine or other supplements?
any other advice in how to deal with this ? ( I know this isnt a martial arts forum).
Sorry if any of this does not make sense or sounds too pathteic.

[gcs118]

First things first, eat a LOT. I mean A LOT. I'm trying to gain weight and it's taking a good 4000-6000 calories a day. That should be your main priority right now. You will also need to eat a lot more to see any real muscle gains either. If you browse through these forums, take a look at some online journals to give you an idea of what a good lifting plan should look like. If you don't have access to a gym, you can try out some bodyweight exercises (I believe pierini has a journal w/all bodyweight). Build your workout routine around the squat, deadlift, and bench press. If you still have trouble sorting out a workout plan, www.exrx.net can help you find new exercises for body parts. All you need is about 45 minutes 3-4 days lifting and you'll see some pretty good beginner gains.

[AARS]

gcs118 gave you some good advice, eat more, especially carbs and protein. Don't go nuts and just eat candy bars all the time though. Eat clean foods like chicken, lean beef, seafood, whole grain breads and pasta, veggies and fruit. You get the idea. If you can afford it buy you some protein mix. Use it before and after your workouts, and some hard gainers get results having one before bed, but not me, it goes straight to my waistline. And if you are doing any kind of hard running, like basketball or anything like that, it can really diminish your gains. If you can't lighten up on the cardio, then make sure you have a meal before and right after. Good luck.

[Jaster]

I have posted this before.

To put on mass it's pretty easy.
Eat clean eat big.
Lifting Now I know this sounds like it's not much but if done with the right weight it will kill!
Use a weight you can lift 8 reps with good form.
Lift 10 reps each 3 - 4 sets
Day 1
Dead lift, Bent over row, Pull ups, Barbell curl. (You can add in Incline DB curl or Preacher DB curl)
Day 2 rest
Day 3
Flat Bench, Incline Bench, Military Press, Jaster Shrug, Triceps push down. (You can add Skull Crushers or Triceps over head press or Dips)
Day 4 rest
Day 5
Squats, Calf raise, Leg Curl, Leg extension (You can add Box squats or Front Squats)
Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Rest
Repeat

Hey instead of fighting with him how about lifting with him. Get the basics down then ask him to learn how to lift with you it may be bonding and help bridge the gap.

[yorkie85]

I was almost as skinny a while back. My advice would be to lift 3 times a day, but to stick to weight machines for the first month or two. Starting out, with little knowledge of form and brittle tendons, you're much less likely to injure yourself on a machine than with a barbell. Also, it's pretty intimidating walking into a weight room full of beefy guys when you're that build.

[wndrdr1111]

3 times a day?? i think that's way too often. 3 or even 2 times a week to start with. you have to ease into it.

cheers,
tom

[NateDogg]

Originally Posted by yorkie85

I was almost as skinny a while back. My advice would be to lift 3 times a day, but to stick to weight machines for the first month or two. Starting out, with little knowledge of form and brittle tendons, you're much less likely to injure yourself on a machine than with a barbell. Also, it's pretty intimidating walking into a weight room full of beefy guys when you're that build.

This is horrible advice.

1. There is NO need to EVER workout three times in one day. It is a waste of time and calories in pretty much any case where the lifter is not an elite athlete with nothing to do but lift eat and sleep.

2. There is no need to stick to machines at all. Use free weights, start light and learn to perform movements correctly. Injuries occur when people use machines, then think strength translates directly to free weights. Then they go and try and bench 200, or squat 300 lbs the first time out because they could bench or leg press that much in a machine.

3. You think those "beefy guys" started out "beefy"?

[Gooseneck]

Lift heavy but safely, eat like you live in a grocery store, and sleep 8 hours everyday. Also, 3 times a day is the worst advice I've seen so far this year. 45 min- hour 3-4 times a week is all you need.

[Cort]

3 times a day is a bit overboard. Once daily is fine if proper volume is maintained, but that'd whipe out and newbie to lifting. Always good to have a few active rest days spaced throughout the week though.

[Grail]

oh man, when i read this i felt the need to register!

man do i hate bullies!

to get rid of this punk's bullying ways you have to do 3 things, get bigger, stronger and tougher. working out good and listening to the advice on this site will help you get there, trust me. a year ago i was 6' 140, now i'm 175, and i haven't really worked out hard in the last few months, and i owe a lot of that to this site.

1. listen to what jaster said, that same advice is what i listened to. trust me, jaster is built like a beast! that workout is built around COMPOUND exercises (do a search on compound exercises). You'll never get big by doing biceps curls, you have to get bigger everywhere! the 4 biggest compound exercises are, in no particular order: SQUATS, BENCH PRESS, DEADLIFTS, and MILITARY PRESS. Do a search on these 4 on this site as well as on http://www.exrx.net/ . That site has all the exercises you will ever need as well as other information.

2. Workout hard. Give 80-90% + everytime you workout. If you can't give this much then just rest and don't bother giving some halfazzed 50% effort workout, you could very well hurt yourself. You only need to workout 2-4 times a week for 45-80 minutes, so go hard or go home! if you want mass, then heavy weight, low reps is the way to go.

3. EAT. If you can, learn about nutrition. i took a college class on it, and i learnt a lot. You have to eat a lot in order to get bigger, do a search on BULKING. Don't just eat krap like chocolate bars, that will just make you fat. Eat good things like bagels and pasta for complex carborhydrates which give you energy, and tuna and chicken for protein which will help you build muscles.

4. REST. You don't get bigger while working out. Working out only rips up and destroys your muscles. Eating well and resting is when the new muscles come back bigger than ever. resting is very important. You should probably spend more days resting than working out. Remember to workout hard and then rest. don't work out the same muscles everyday, giving 50%, that will get you nowhere

5. LEARN. This might be the most important thing. You can't just run around and sweat and think your making progress. You have to have a plan, and you have to know how to execute that plan. You have to learn about compound exercies, reps and sets, nutrition, carbohyrdrates, proteins, fats, resting, etc. learn, read, ask question. Its a sort of mental workout that will make your brain bigger, which will then make your muscles bigger So many people do bicep curl thinking they're getting big, while the triceps make 2/3 of the arm! or do crunch thinking they're going to spot reduce and have a nice 6 pack!

6. get some cardio in. search on CARDIO. run once a week or once every 2 weeks. just run every now and then for 20 minutes. it works your heart, which is a muscle. And this muscle deal with all the other muscles directly!

i hope you've learnt something from my little rant.

oh yeah on last thing. if your 6' 120 right now, you could make it up to 150 in less than half a year, which could mean by june/july. 150 is still light, but you'd still me in a better spot than you are in now. if your step bro is 5'8 250 he's probably fat, which means he's slow, and you have a 4 " heigh advantage which means a reach advantage. i hate to think this way but in a few months with the right training, you could just jab and move and this guy probably couldn't even touch you. 1. he's slow, you'll be fast 2. you have a longer reach, so you can reach him and he can't reach you. i was taking on guys 210 and built and out jabbing them, when i was 140, because i had the speed and reach on my side. watch the lighter boxers and how they move expecially bernard hopkins, and don't wrestle or grapple with him, he'll just mount you(sit on you) and then its over for you.

best of luck with this bullying problem and keep us informed!

down with bullies!

Grail

[yorkie85]

ARGH! Sorry, sorry! I meant 3 times a week. I'm an idiot. Although I do stick to what I said about using machines. I gained over a stone in a few months without touching a dumbbell.

Again, sorry for the gaffe.

[NImrod4154]

Hah well you are indeed very skinny. Im 4 inches shorter than you and weigh 20 more pounds than you. Id try to get a healthy amount of sleep and try to eat as much as you possibly can.

[steveski]

thanks for all the advice guys. It would be great if I could even get to 130 pounds in six months let alone 150 pounds ! So i'm gunna try to follow all the steps and eat "clean" too. I guess I have to force myslef to eat more too.

Of course I'll still be a twig compared to my stepbro...at least for quite a while. I always knew I was too skinny but there's nothing more motivating than being thrown around by an eight grader when youre 17. Frankly I guess I hate the fact that any "little kid" outweighs me I guess.

Grail and Jaster thanks in particular for your detailed advice. Grail I might get some advice on mayb some self defence/boxing moves from a friend of mine ? My bro is huge and to date nothin I do seems to phase him. I was thinking of accepting the wrestling challenge just to shut him up and because I thought my speed might help but yeah being sat on would not be fun.

Oh yeah and Nimrod thanks for pointing out that i'm very skinny ... but 5ft 8 inches 140 isnt huge either - although as said i would be happy with that weight . :

thks to all

[NBS 4life]

eat heaps lift heaps.
And then go to a fighting class of some sort.
When u start to see a difference get a mean haircut and look mean.
Then kick his ass( a good snap kick to the face mite sort the bugger out)