Skinny guy needs advice

[Bazza]

Iam 24, 5ft 11", 10stone 6. Since I started working out Ive put on 1and a half stone... I was really skinny. For the past few months my body will not put on weight or gain any strength and its starting to get to me.
I take 3 protien drinks a day (75g protien), and creatine. Are there any other supplements that I should try? I need something that will really pump me up.

Please help ...

[Steve]

If you were really skinny to begin with, then maybe you have reached your genetic potential, but don't take my word for it. Maybe you should just change the way you work out. Have you tried upping the intensity a bit? Like going really heavy - low reps?
Do you do heavy compound movements? If you haven't, give it a try.

As a last resort you can also experiment with Anabolic steroids (if you have no hang-ups on this). Be careful with AS, though. Do a lot of research before you even think of taking them. The WEB is full of info.

Good luck
Steve
P.S. check this out
http://www.pharmaeurope.com/steroid_profiles.asp

What is your food intake like? Are you getting at least 3500 cals? Hard gainers should be eating 4000 to 5000 cals - and that amounts to alot of food. Protein shakes are good, but they can't be substituted for real food.

[Bazza]

My workout usually consists of four exercises for each muscle group. I do four sets of six - twelve adding weight on every set. I like mixing things up and usually adjust my workout every two or three weeks.

I try to eat lots of food but I just cant cope with LOADS of food. I know I need to eat lots but I find it hard, I think Ive got a really small gut. I dont know hom many calories I eat a day but I will start counting from tommorrow.

What do you guys think about weight gainer or mrps....will these make me fat? or will i put on muscle? I dont want to put on fat...

Thanks for the advice guys.

Try to eat 6 or 7 small meals each day. That will make consuming the calories that much easier. MRP are a bit better for you than weight gainers. Also, make sure to supplement your diet with Essential Fatty Acids from sources like flax seed oil or hemp oil.

[Bazza]

Its me again. I bought some EFA's (if thats right) today but what are they for?? What does this fatty acid do for me?

The value of EFA's to health results from their chemical properties. EFAs react with oxygen (EFA-rich oils—flax, hemp, safflower—were traditionally used in paints because they oxidize, dry and harden quickly when exposed to air). When fresh, these oils are valuable human foods. EFAs absorb sunlight, increasing their ability to react with oxygen by about 1000-fold and making them very active chemically.

EFA molecules carry slight negative charges that cause them to repel one another. They spread out in all directions. This property enables EFAs to carry oil-soluble toxins from deep within the body to the skin surface for eliminations. EFAs form associations with sulfhydryl group (cysteine) in proteins, important in reactions that make possible the one-way movement of electrons and energy on which life depends. EFAs store electric charges that produce bio-electric currents important for nerve, muscle, and cell membrane functions, and the transmission of messages.

EFA Functions
As structural components of membranes, EFAs help form a barrier that keeps foreign molecules, viruses, yeasts, fungi, and bacteria outside of cells, and keeps the cell’s proteins, enzymes, genetic material, and organelles (small organs) inside. They also help regulate the traffic of substances in and out of our cells via protein channels, pumps, and other mechanisms.
They perform similar functions in membranes that surround organelles within our cells. EFAs fulfill many functions:

Regulate oxygen use, electron transport, and energy production—our cells’ most important moment-to-moment processes.
Help form red blood pigment (hemoglobin) from simpler substances.
Keep juice-producing (exocrine) and hormone-producing (endocrine) glands active.
Help make joint lubricants.
Are precursors of prostaglandins (PGs), three families of short lived, hormone-like substances that regulate blood pressure, platelet stickiness, and kidney function. A delicate balance between PGs with opposing functions, in part determined by omega 6 and omega 3 intake, determines the health of our cardiovascular system.
Help transport cholesterol.
Help generate electrical currents that make our heart beat in orderly sequence.
Are precursors of derivatives like DHA, which are needed by the most active tissues—brain, retina, adrenal, and testes.
Help our immune system fight infections by enhancing peroxide production.
Help prevent the development of allergies.

Check out the post on ALA for some more info.

[Lee J B]

Hi All, I've been reading your posts and I thought you might be able to help me. Ok im nearly 16 years old , I like to look good like every normal person , but I also workout a lot , the only thing is for the first year or so I was doing ok , loosing the unnessercery fat and building muscle gradually , but still not to a big extent because of my age. Although ive got to an annoying point now of i work out 3 times a week, most of the time doing more than some of the adults down the gym , and i swim twice a week to build stamina as well (hoping to be a royal marine) but ive noticed ive got to a point where nothing is happeneing anymore , the harder i work nothing happens either , all muscle stays the same weight stays the same. I have a controlled diet , but im wondering if you could help me sort out the next step up , as i need to continue my work , but so i see results and i know it takes time ive been at it for 3 years, but now it seems to have stopped ive tried upping my weights but still nothing , any advice?

thanks a lot guys , lee.

Hi Lee. Have you tried changing your training routine? If you have been working out 3 days per week I'm going to assume it is a full body routine. If you want to keep with that then lower the reps that you use per set. Or maybe you could switch to a push/pull routine. Push one day, pull the next, legs the third day, and rest on day 4. Start all over again on day 5. Or, have you tried using extremely heavy weights and partial movements? That might be enough to get you off of the plateau you are on. There are many different ways to change your routine and get good results.

[Lee J B]

thanks for your reply, yes it is a full body workout , and i've never thought about trying a different muscle workout for a day for a set of of 3 days , I will now set about doing that , thanks a lot for the advice mate , also i will try the very heavy weights and lower my reps in each set i do, ill write back and tell you how I get on with this new routine. Thanks a lot, lee.

Originally posted by IronMan
What is your food intake like? Are you getting at least 3500 cals? Hard gainers should be eating 4000 to 5000 cals - and that amounts to alot of food. Protein shakes are good, but they can't be substituted for real food.

everything said there i personally found to be correct, protein shakes are not a food replacement, also everyone is not built the same, i myself am a very hard gainer and naturally skinny, to gain mass i need at least 4000 to 5000 cals a day like IronMan said before. you are taking 75g protein a day? you need to double that. i take about 150g of protein in supplement shakes only, thats no including food i eat. also try different brands, i cant tell you how many different shake brands i used before, the truth is some work great and other brands do close to nothing for me. also if you are a hard gainer you need a very intense workout.

[beefcurry1]

i doubt football is your main objective but this site ironman showed me looks pretty useful. im about to try it and if nothing else we can compare results http://www.sportsnutrition4u.com/art...0as%20Easy.doc

beefcurry1:

great info you posted, it does look usefull has a lot of things i didnt know. i recommend anyone to read that document