weight gain, muscle building

[justaguy]

I'm new here and I have a question(s) that I would like some help with. I wasn't quite sure where I should add this..I'm sorry for any problems I may have caused. :confused:

What's a good way for a skinny guy like myself to add some weight and transform my boney body into a lean, muscular one? I don't want to look "ripped" with an extremely toned body, but I do want some tone to my body... a nice six pack, full chest, and of course strong arms, etc - nothing really extravigant.

I'm 17 years old, a little tall for my age I guess ( 5'11" ), and my height makes me look kind of unattractive because I'm pretty skinny (underweight and boney); but I'm not an ugly guy, I'm just really skinny - which makes me look less attractive. The basics; skinny arms, wrists I can wrap my hand around (with room to spare), boney chest, etc.

I've been thinking about my weight issue for a very long period time and I've finally decided to take action and do something about it. It just eats away at me, I know looks aren't everything but it brings down my self confidence and makes me feel miserable. I want to be able to protect myself and my "partner". I feel bad about myself, like I will let my woman down, because I know I might not be able to defend my woman against any harm that might come to her - that brings a guy down; BIG TIME. So I want to get myself into shape by gaining some weight and turning it into muscle (then of course study some form of self defense, I was thinking of Boxing; since it would probably be the best when dealing with "street" fighting, unlike traditional martial arts). In doing so I will also gain more self confidence in myself, which would improve my over all look on life; thus making me happier (I get depressed all the time, no self confidence in myself and my apperance; I usually stray away from social interactions and events in which my body will be revealed [amusement parks, pools, etc]) and more open to try new things; which would be great!

I've been reading some stuff about it recently, but I decided to ask for your opinion(s) first. What I read was...

1. eat 6 meals a day, eat every 2.5 to 3 hours
2. eat stuff like Tuna, Steak, Chicken, Fruit, Veggies, Cheese and Nuts (high protein, lean)
3. eat 4-6 pieces of fresh fruit a day
4. drink 4 tall glasses of milk a day
5. do workouts like Squats, Deadlift, ChinUps, Bench Press and Military Press (it says they're supposed to be the best for targeting weight gain.. without getting fat; I think, I probably read it wrong)

Is this basically what I have to do to gain weight and get into good physical shape (nice, attractive body)? Feedback would be nice, all help is appreciated. Thanks a lot!

Sincerely, A guy in need

[Jackal]

Welcome to the board!! Looks like you have already done some research before posting so your already in pretty good shape.

5. Yes those indeed are the best excercises, but not exactly because you wont get fat. They are compound excercises that work multiple muslce groups which is a good thing - and they work the largest muscles on your body promoting more growth.

4. 4 glasses, yea thats ok. I find it a lot easier to get calories by drinking them. I am bulking right now and drinking like 8-9 glasses Keep away from whole milk. 2% to skim is ok.

3. Fruits are good simple sugars. Probably best taken post workout unless you are going to use dextrose/masltose to replenish glycogen.

2. Tuna, steak, and chicken are all excellant. I especially love tuna because it comes in a can and preparation is limited. Make sure the steak is a pretty lean cut. You will need about 1-1.5 grams protein per pound of lean muscle. Try to get your BF% done to figure this out.

Whats missing is that you said nothing about carbohydrates... Those are just as important/ more important when bulking. You need energy to lift hard to stress your muslces. Try to get your carbs from wheat bread, pasta, oatmeal, cereal etc... No carbs = No energy. Try toget 2.5-3 grams carbohydrate per pound of bodyweight.

Fat - You are gonna need fat in the diet too. Not the bad fats of course, but the goods one like flax oil, olive oil, from the peanuts you already listed or from natural peanut butter.

You should try to get 3000-3500 calories total a day unless you arent gaining, which i doubt will happen because you are already pretty skinny(from what ive read). Just bump the caloires up when you dont see gain over a week, and try to keep eating at that amount. You should try to get in the nieghborhood of 50% carbs 30-35% protein and 15-20% fat of total calorie breakdown.

1. Eating all those calories is pretty tough, and your going to feel full all the time( at least i am ). Splitting the day in 6 meals will help you eat more. If you can make it 7 or 8 meals thats just as good.

Keep the questions coming if you have any doubts. People are here to help you.

[Jaster]

EAT LIFT REST EAT EAT LIFT REST

EAT big EAT clean LIFT heavy LIFT often (But don't overtrain)
Make sure you lift the "BIG 3" Dead Lift Bench Press and Squat
It works!

[Wolfnatas]

Originally Posted by justaguy

So I want to get myself into shape by gaining some weight and turning it into muscle (then of course study some form of self defense, I was thinking of Boxing; since it would probably be the best when dealing with "street" fighting, unlike traditional martial arts)(

I have to disagree with you here. Boxing is generally not the best when dealing with "street fighting" for a variety of reasons. The main reason is that street fighting almost always winds up on the ground, and at that point all the boxing training is relatively useless. If you're serious about self defense for the street, look into some martial arts in your area. Ask about the classes and whether they include any grappling. Generally if you're looking for down & dirty street defense, tae kwan do isn't going to be the way to go. Don't get me wrong, there are some very good TKD practitioners out there, and some great teachers as well. Unfortunately a large percentage of america's TKD studios teach tournament sparring techniques that won't help any more than boxing would when you're tangled up with an opponent in the dirt. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents... boxing is great for the ring, but no good in the gutter.

[qlharvey]

take brazilian jiu-jitsu for ground fighting techniques... along with boxing for the stand up fighting.

[Emilio]

I work out 5 days a week and eat right but I still can not gain muscle. I have been working out for a year and have seen very few gains. I do cardio 5 times a week and hit the weights too. On Mondays I do chest and legs,Tuesays shoulders/back/arms and Wednesday I continue the same routine of Monday. Should I just not do cardio and hit the wieghts only. I am afraid if I cut down on cardio then I will gain fat around the stomach.What should I do .Thanks

[figgs]

Originally Posted by Emilio

I work out 5 days a week and eat right but I still can not gain muscle. I have been working out for a year and have seen very few gains. I do cardio 5 times a week and hit the weights too. On Mondays I do chest and legs,Tuesays shoulders/back/arms and Wednesday I continue the same routine of Monday. Should I just not do cardio and hit the wieghts only. I am afraid if I cut down on cardio then I will gain fat around the stomach.What should I do .Thanks

If you work out 5 days a week, split your workout routine up more....doing what you do, your probally overtraining. Split your workouts to 1. chest and tris, 2. back and bis, 3. legs, 4. shoulders/traps. If you are trying to gain muscle/strength i would cutdown on the cardio a little, but if you know you body more than anyone else so you would have to decide. just a lil help....it works for me but everyones body reacts different.

[Wannabbig]

Emilio you answered you're own question as to why you're not gaining much muscle or weight. You're doing cardio 5 TIMES A WEEK!!! Cut that back to maybe once a week. Focus on lifting heavy and eating plenty of protein and you're sure to grow.

[justaguy]

Wow, I appreciate the excellent feedback everyone! A wealth of very valuable information. I'm going to take Jackal's offer and ask a few more questions to clear things up for myself, if that's alright?

About the diet: Thanks a ton Jackal, you pretty much cleared up everything I wanted (needed) to know about the diet and nutrition for right now (unless there's something else you feel I should know). Oh yeah, odd question, will drinking soda/pop effect my weight gain/lifting process? I mean, I read somewhere that you have to drink more water everytime you drink a soda.. isn't water helpful when working out, lol? Well, I appreciate the help!

About the self defense: I forgot about that (ending up on the ground). I just assumed that boxing was better, I never really thought of martial arts as a good way to defend yourself when in a street brawl. I always thought of martial arts as; You get ready, prepare yourself (body and mind), then go into the action. Even though I know there are many many forms of martial arts, I guess I was just being ignorant. Just goes to show my lack of knowledge on the subject, lol. Plus I stumbled upon a boxing book that claims boxing was a better choice of defense when dealing with street fighting situations; Savage Science Of Streetfighting: Applying The Lessons Of Championship Boxing To Serious Street Survival. But I trust you guys, I'll look into some martial arts when I get the chance. Thanks for helping me out with that.

About the exercise: Thanks for clearing up some things with that. But I do have a question or two if you don't mind helping me out (I don't like being "spoon fed" but I don't have any clue how to start setting up my workout routine.) Someone gave me a suggestion on a workout routine to do and I was just wondering what experienced people, such as yourself, thought of it. He said it was the routine I should do if I'm just beginning weightlifting.

Monday: chest and arms (bench press, dips, curls, dumbbells)
Tuesday: legs (squat, leg press, leg extensions, calf raises)
Wednesday: Back and abs (dead lift, bent over rows, lat machine, 10 sets of ab exercises)
Thursday: Rest
Friday: chest and arms (same routine)
Saturday: Legs (same routine)
Sunday: Back and Abs (same routine)
Monday: Rest

However, he did not give me any information as of how many times I should do each exercise and how many sets of each would be best. Do you guys/gals have any suggestions of a good workout routine for a beginner such as myself (targeting my goals too that is)? That would help me out big time!

Oh yeah, about how much weight I should use.. I'm not expecting anyone to tell me how much I should lift, but do you have any general idea of how much I should do? I mean, should I put on just enough weight where I'm straining my muscles, but not wearing myself out (but still having a burning sensation afterwards)? Or should I put on enough where I can barely do it (yet still able to finish a set)? I'm not sure if this made sense, and nobody has to answer it, I was just wondering if anyone had any idea about this... Can you tell I'm new to this, lol?

Well, I will never forget this valuable information, I'm sure it will prove as a life changing experience, thank you very much everyone!

[MRitzzo]

Boxing is great for street fighting i have been in many street fights, i live in what Wolfnatas would call the "gutter" ha, and basically if you can knock a motherf**ker out, you will be fine, but then again objects work well also