20 year old guy, tall and skinny - looking to change that.

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EnjoyIce

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Hi guys,

I'm a 20 year old undergraduate studying for a degree, I've never seemed able to gain weight and for years I've just told myself it is how I am, but its getting to the point now where I'm starting to really regret not getting on with it a few years back as I'd be in a much better position now - e.g. I went to the rugby club trials, they said I could play very well, but, I'm not big enough for the team.. ..so there went that. This kinda thing has happened a few times and has kinda motivated me to get started, albeit a bit late.

However, I have nooo idea how I should start and after reading around it seems that good advice is golden for this sort of thing - or I'll end up just wasting time and getting nowhere, hence why I am asking you guys.

My situation is: I am in my second year of my degree, I can't join the athletics clubs this year as my course clashes with their training times etc so I need something I can do at home in my room (weight lifting exercises that use your bodies weight like pushups etc). I can get out for running / cycling etc but I'm not sure how beneficial they really are to the bulking up part? More the endurance fitness stuff.

Height: 6ft1
Weight: ~10.6/7kgs ~150lbs

Any advice etc would be great! Things to eat, things I can do in my room etc, routines etc. Also if any of you could explain the reasonings behind what you say (if you can) that would be helpful as that is the only way I can learn for the future.

Sorry for the long post,

Thanks!

p.s. I do eat quite a lot, I just have a high metabolism so don't gain any weight.
 
I assume you must be an ectomorph/hardgainer. I'm the same.

You gotta work hard, that's pretty much always the best answer.

Depends if you wanna go to gym or try free body weight exercising. If you go to gym a trainer will get you a muscle mass program and tell you about nutrition aswell. And even when you think you eat enough, you'll have to eat more. Difference is you gotta eat GOOD food. Full of protein or carbs and 'good' fats too.

To start off you can just start doing a routine, like 3 days a week, doing sets of Pushups, situps, and pullups or dips if you have anything available to use for these.

As you said, an for ectomorphs, cardio is not Vital, not because we don't need the endurance, but because we already burn a heck of a lot without running the **** out of us *lol*

I used to run like crazy, and I boxed too, and then I was wondering why I couldn't build muscle... Because I was sweating the heck out of me everyday and not resting enough. Too much cardio will influence your bulk up.

Good luck man.
 
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I have also always been a hardgainer. I have found that if you're trying to bulk, it works best to eat a lot of good/healthy foods containing proteins and all that jazz, as well as try to lift heavier. If you lift light, it will just tone; lifting heavy (not too much to hurt yourself though) is good for building bigger muscles... It still is a struggle for me to find those balances and maintain them sometimes. Best of luck.
 
If your natural genetics don't predispose you to bulkign up easily then you will need to work really hard to gain size. Nutrition will be your key. You need to start consuming high levels of calories each day (maybe double what your consuming right now) plus you should ensure you consume plenty of complex carbs and protein. You need to find a gym that is centered around weight training and you should be hitting the weights 4 times a week minimum and lifting as heavy as you can. See what I mean.. its hard work, but good luck
 
Danielle Evans said:
If your natural genetics don't predispose you to bulkign up easily then you will need to work really hard to gain size. Nutrition will be your key. You need to start consuming high levels of calories each day (maybe double what your consuming right now) plus you should ensure you consume plenty of complex carbs and protein. You need to find a gym that is centered around weight training and you should be hitting the weights 4 times a week minimum and lifting as heavy as you can. See what I mean.. its hard work, but good luck
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Very Good Post, altough it's also true that as a hardgainer/ectomorph, technically you also have to rest a little more, overtraining will never show much improvement but plateau and leave you tired with no big changes I think. 4 Days of heavy **** is a lot IMO.
 
FAMAS said:
Very Good Post, altough it's also true that as a hardgainer/ectomorph, technically you also have to rest a little more, overtraining will never show much improvement but plateau and leave you tired with no big changes I think. 4 Days of heavy **** is a lot IMO.
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Yes, resting is important too! For your muscles to grow you need plenty of rest and good sleep too. In order to achieve muscles growth you need to create the right hormonal balance. Testosterone is what will help you to build muscle. This is why women naturally are unable to get really big as they simply don't have enough testosterone pumping through their bodies. Even many guys don't have the levels required to get really big. You may want to try to add supplements to yoru diet that can produce a small increase in testosterone boosting such as ZMA (which is all natural). If you eat right, train hard and get plenty of rest between you should start to see changes. But be patient and don't expect to change over night.
 
^Thanks.

But I won't take anything. I'll just work the best I can and eat well and rest, that's my only plan.
 
Diet is definately key. Be aware there are a lot of diet myths out there and the one I am about to mention will make me very unpopular.
High protein for muscle gain. This works from the basis that muscle is made from protein, but it isn't. Muscle is over 90% water and the same thing happens to a lot of the excess protein that you take in as excess water, it comes out in your urine. The excess proteins that can be are converted to lipoporteins, fat in plain language, so the additional weight gained is generally fat not muscle.
We do need protein in our diet and the more exercise we do the more we need to deal with repair, growth and a range of other things exercise demands from us. However proportionately we need virtually the same amount of proteins as a couch potato, because we are burning far more energy so need to ensure this is replaced and available when we need it.
You will get the grams per kilo of bodyweight quotes which are wildly inaccurate exerts from Weider magazines decades ago. Protein is needed for repair and growth. A marathon runner will cause far more damage to his muscles during his daily workout than an equivilant sized body builder, so will need more protein per kilo to make these repairs than a body builder.
One thing against protein for growth in general amino acids are what the body uses to guage satiety, so eating large volumes of them mean you always feel full.

Good diet for growth.
Basically eat balanced and constantly. I don't know what you do for a living but I am desk based to am able to have a large tub of food beside me and keep shovelling it in throughout the day.
There is no real number of meals per day, I just eat pretty much whenever I can. Basically I have to be awake and not too close to the start of training, suggestions for how to eat while asleep are welcomed.
Do a google search for the food pyramid. If your diet fits this you will be fine, if you need to increase weight increase your intake of all the food groups in balance.

Training for gain.
Genetically I am pathetically scrawny, very good for distance running but not so good for building muscle. However this can still be acheived by keeping to some basic rules when setting up your programs.
Rep range for optimum growth is between 10 and 6, and 6 should be infrequent.
Allow time for recovery. Your body will prioritise repair over growth, because it has to. Doing a chest workout on day one which will be using your tricep as prime mover most of the time then arms on day 2 will mean very little gain. Keeping disciplined not to train body parts that haven't recovered is one of the hardest things to do for those anxious to train and gain. To this end 3 times a week is generally good and easy to set up. If you can organise every other day, 7 times a fortnight, great.
Hit it hard, hit it fast, leave it alone. Don't spend a full hour doing 10 arm exercises or similar. Look at the most effective way to hit the body parts you want in a small number of exercises, do them, then cool down and leave.
Change your routine, routinely. Don't do a different workout every week but don't do the same thing for a year solid either. For most the best balance is to change every 6 to 8 weeks, this is totally personal, I can't tell you what is best for you. Change can simply be going from 3 sets of 10 to a 10, 8, 6 routine, or a change of exercises or indeed both. But you need to change to maintain overload on your body, which is essential to any type of progress.
Overload for building mass needs to be weight, pure and simple. If you can easily do 50 push ups that's nice but it won't build mass. the easiest way to get access to weights is join a gym, but I have helped people do so without before. One of the most extreme I have encountere was someone who used his bed frame and furnishings for weight, push ups were done with this on his back, squats were don by loading up his bed and having a rope attached to the bed on his back. This style of thing can and should be considered a risky alternative to a real gym, not a prefererable one.
 
"CRAZYOLDMAN":please.........Do not give advises when you need some!!!!!!!You are giving info. that is crazy wrong.Please.....
 
ALF said:
"CRAZYOLDMAN":please.........Do not give advises when you need some!!!!!!!You are giving info. that is crazy wrong.Please.....
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That was a very broad sweeping statement. What did I get wrong?
I am always ready to learn but to do so need to be corrected not just plainly ignored.
I have taught, body builders, off and on season, natural and assisted. European standard female power-lifter, distance runners, footballers, boxers, field gun runners and a number of other people. What have I been missing to have meant their success could have been better?
 
I think your long post was Fine.

The only thing I didn't know about, was what you said about a distance runner needing more protein than a bodybuilder. I was very surprised. Aren't distance runners, usually ultra thin ectomorphs?

I have been a boxer, and I learned that sweating the **** out of myself every training day and building muscle, would not happen together, and same goes for running a lot.

Anyhow, It was an interesting read so cheers.
 
Ok,I react a bit hush .You state that muscle is more than 90% water-wrong!Then you say that the excess protein comes out in your urine,and later that the excess protein is turned into lipoproteins.Which one is true???You state that marathon runner will cause far more damage than bodybuilder-wrong.Marathon runner uses mostly type I and type IIa muscle fibers to run which are far more fatigue resistant fibers than fiber IIx that the bodybuilder will use.Type I and IIa have moren blood capillaries,more mitochondria and generating ATP by oxidation which means that they need less repair at the end!!!Of course it all depands at the end.If we talk about runner that runs for 3 hours and runner that runs for 1 hour,and bodybuilder that workout for 30 min and bodybuilder that gives everything for 2 hours.So protein is needed when we talk about bodybuilding and yes it is not a myth!!!!
 
Ok I sit corrected on some of the points. I should check first and post second. Muscle is approximately 3/4 water. I remember there being delightful things that body builders were injecting into muscle tissue, synthol if memory serves, bringing this up to closer to 90%.
There are only a few amino acids that can be combined to make lipoproteins, these are as the body keeps hold of anything it can energy wise. The rest have to be disposed of to avoid damage to the body and are excreted in the urine. That one I checked and haven't mis-remembered.
Slow twitch or red muscle fibres are more fatigue resistant, they are not more damage resistant. Over loading them causes the same damage per pound as equivalent fast twitch or white muscle cells. Marathon runners will use most of their body each workout so cause more damage per pound of muscle. I have done both types of training, the recovery from distance running affect everything trust me. Weights make you ache more but in less areas when isolating. This doesn't mean a body builder doesn't require more protein than a marathon runner but the amount will be proportionately less pound for pound, when natural. The body builder will of course likely be a good few pounds heavier.
Protein is needed, it is not a myth and I never declared the need for it as one. However there is no need to eat proportionately more of it for muscle growth compared to a normal diet.
First and foremost what you need when training hard is energy to do so. This means you need high energy, high protein for repair and growth, high every darned thing because your body is being worked to its limit. The balance remains, the quantity is the only thing to change.
I am crazy and will undoubtedly say things wrong. I have read a lot and do on occasions get some of what I have read mixed up, as at the start of this. Undoubtedly I will need help noticing this on occasion, and there will be new research I am totally unaware of, hence I always reserve the right to be wrong.
In my defence, I have competed at European level in something I was naturally good at and qualified for national level, just, at something I am far from naturally good at, so I get a lot of stuff right too. I have worked with some great people and learned stuff not in the books, and made mistakes that have taught me other stuff no-one tends to. That's part of being old.
The last part of the name is defaulted by gender, and of course open to opinion.
Thank you for coming back with your comments, I do like to be corrected, learning is harder when no-one does.
 
I am sorry about the first post.I were a bit rude.I were looking for conversation on these few topics (protein and muscle structure) because I wrote about them recently and that was a way to see another opinion.And I am sorry because you are just like me.We can say that we are wrong and always look for new info because we can always learn something new.Just to go back on the main topic I think that building muscle requires some extra protein because that is one of the healthy ways to get real results through diet.And I really like what you said-"The balance remains, the quantity is the only thing to change".I also think that bodybuilders have a lot more fat % than marathon runners and they shouldn't be worried of getting some extra.That's part of the job.
Thanks,goood luck and keep it up!
 
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My biggest nightmare it to always be right on everything. If I knew it all I would have nothing else to learn and that would be horrendous.
The protein argument is a complex one, made more so by numerous factors.
Absorption. There is a limit to how much protein the body can absorb in one sitting, this is greater within that magical half hour window just after training, and no I don't remember the exact amounts. I do however remember finding out it was roughly half what you would find in a pint of most protein shakes outside the window and a bit over within. This means those supplementing could easily be taking in more than the blood will even see.
Balance of aminos. There is a perfect balance for muscle building, however the body will choose what to use them for and if the balance isn't right overall this macro monitoring will be useless. Same as having all of the parts made out to produce 5 nascar racers then having some of the steering wheels taken away to us in tractors. Daft analogy. There are essential and non-essential aminos, those the body can and does make on it's own. A balanced diet will have all of them, and a few to mild excess, this way you have all you need and dispose of a small amount. Over supplementation will make the body work harder than it needs to disposing of what will become dangerous chemicals if left unchecked.
Other supplements. Especially the injected form. These change the amount of damage and growth the body will cause and stimulate in a workout. Even still the balance is not massively different and the higher intensity training enabled does demand massive amounts of additional energy. I eat 4,500 to 5,000 calories a day, and have trained one particular body-builder who was eating nearly that at the end of his dieting phase, and almost double off season. Others eating far less leading up to stage with masses of protein looked less pumped and couldn't put the energy into their routine. It was funny when they found out how scrawny his trainer was when he came second instead of the expected last or close to.
Protein is essential, the part I knew would make me unpopular it to explode the myths of it being the magic food for everything from weight loss to weight gain. Balance is key and also very personal to what you are genetically and what you demand of your body.
My balance is masses of carbs, sensible mix of fats and of course plenty of protein, I take multi-vits, because I am never 100% sure if I have got that right and would rather be safe than sorry, most of the tablet is likely waste, but hey. This has enabled me to be a bit of a freak in general. 5'10" 168 pounds, hardly the physique of a god. Bench around 90k roughly 200 pounds, squat around 170k roughly 375 pounds, deadlift around 180k roughly 400 pounds, running pace over distance 8.5 to 9 mph, with work bag containing clothes and food, 8 to 8.5, city cycling over double that, co-ordination and core to an extent that I can do some really stupid and unnecessary things without accident or injury, flexibility enough to avoid injuries despite refusing to be moderate anywhere. Basically I am a crazy old (39) man, but I refuse to be an unfit crazy old man, and I love my training.
You can tell me where we are similar, though I expect my bodyweight and lifts are paled into insignificance by yours, my PBs are better but this is what I can do right now. As far as being rude, iron heads are an aggressive crew, we have to be to achieve what we do, to expect otherwise would be stupidity, and I try to only be stupid occasionally. I came here to converse with others at least partly likeminded as they are in short supply so I am having to cast the net worldwide. I introduce myself a bit on the intros section and explain some of my more stupid moments in the locker room. So far no-one has been willing to admit they have been stupid, which if I am honest is disappointing, other than that it's a good crowd.
 
Wow guys, I genuinely didn't expect this many replies, so thanks - its appreciated.

Reading all your comments has been interesting, I understand that it is essentially 50% diet 50% activity. Diet I can change quite easily (I'm in a student house shopping for myself), do any of you know any sites that allow you to calculate needed calories / diet plans etc?

My issue with going to the gym is not that there are no gyms - it is that I can't afford it at the moment, its £30 a month for membership here (with student discount), and I am already at -£700 in my bank account. Benefits of being a student ey?

Body wise, my legs are actually ok - I used to do a lot of cycling/running/swimming/climbing/horse riding and they built up enough to not look too spindly. They're not anything impressive, but they're not that embarrassing either. It is my arms that are the problem, you would have thought that with the climbing etc they would have improved but that hasn't made the slightest inroad (hence why I turned to you guys).

From what I've read it seems that pushups / weight lifting (I have weights with me now) etc are on the right track, but I should be lifting right on the limit of what is comfortable, in order to tell my body that I 'need more' muscle? So for push ups etc should I place something on my back to increase my body weight? I can do ~100 (most likely bad quality) push ups as standard.

Less reps, more weight? So 5 sets of 10 reps with extra weight type thing?

If thats all I do will I end up potentially with some sort of 'popeye' style arms? Where they are still really spindly but if I tense I get a lump of muscle? Because thats no more attractive than the spindly one in the first place.. ..I guess you have to do toning exercises as well?

Maybe I should just eat a lot more than usual, proteins/carbs mainly in order to build muscle as well as general weight around it?

I'm learning, don't laugh! Thanks.
 
From my experience, it's especially important to eat some quality food right after workout, when the muscles are hungry to recuperate, say an hour max. I don't know anything about protein powders and supps, I only eat normal food and think natural is better. And also, WATER! Muscles are made of it and they need it back when you work hard, more can't hurt, you can wee it out if it's too much *lol*

I go for Tuna, almonds/nuts, Banana, a white Yogurt, these things mainly.

As for Mass, yeah, smaller sets with increased resistance should work your mass.

About your question, well I don't know how accurate this is but it should do for an overlook bro,

Best wishes sir God Bless
 
I don't know where you are but giving prices in sterling makes me think UK, same as me. Most universities have gyms, and they offer massive student discounts. Otherwise look around for the old style iron gyms, they can be hard to find and some find them intimidating especially if in bad locations, but they are generally great.
I started out in a bit of a pretty polly gym, ran out of weight fast, and moved on to an iron gym, right smack in the middle of the city red light district. However there is one thing guaranteed to avoid you getting hassle leaving a gym, walking out with a 20+ stone roided ape, you have been having a laugh with moments before. I was 9 stone, 126 pounds, when I started using weights and this didn't matter one bit. They all started somewhere and once they saw I wasn't a fly by night and would laugh at myself happily I suddenly had gym buddies, even if I weighed less than one of their heaviest dumbbells.

If you train in full motion you will not get the pop-up muscles you describe, sorry I did laugh at the image, as you will build throughout the movement.
Reps for building are ideally 10 to 6, but the additional weight means you have to get form spot on. You will see half rep bench press being performed in many gyms where the bar never gets near the chest, or dumbbell swings where the arms hardly bend but the dumbbells are swung in either direction. The guys doing it may be bigger than you, it doesn't mean they are right. Good form and full movement rule, weight and mass will follow.
Muscle will build in tone if you do some cardio. If you want endurance work as well ensure your body has repaired first, or you will gain little. I over train because I don't want mass, you do so make sure your muscles have recovered before the next time they are trained. This can be one of the most difficult parts mentally, but growth follows repair, no full recovery = limited growth.
 
Some great posts guys, learned a lot, thanks!
 
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