Complete Noob

Alrighty, so firstly, some details.
I'm 18, about 5'11", and weight about 130 lbs.

In short, I practically can't gain weight no matter what I do, lol. I mean, I don't necessarily eat to gain weight, but I eat whatever. (Example, most nights I chow down on the most unhealthy stuff you can think of on top of a nice sized breakfast/lunch/dinner and I think i LOSE weight from it.)

I do not consider myself "active". I spend most of my days in the house not doing much, occasionally going out with friends, again, not doing much. So I'm guessing my metabolism must be off-the-charts high.

Either way, I'd really like to start focussing on gaining some weight and muscle.

I just want to say going to a public gym is sorta out of the question at this point in time. I do have a bench at home with dumbbells, barbells, and about 100lbs in weights.

Now that I got all the details you should need out, lets get to the question. How do I gain some weight? I'm sorta afraid that if I gain 5 lbs or so, I'll "feel" it or something. It sounds stupid, but I guess I'm afraid of gaining too much weight or something.

Also, what's a good routine I can do every day / MWF? I have college during the day, but I'm free once I get home.

One important point - My back isn't great at all. I have a spine condition that prevents me from putting too much strain on it without suffering some pretty nagging pain. Example - I have to stop my crunches b/c of back pain rather than ab pain.

Wow. What a life story.

Anyway, any help/tips appreciated.
 
I take it that you have seen a doctor about the spine condition and back pain?

Crunches shouldn't hurt your back. Are you sure that you're doing them right? I know that might sound like a weird question, but improper form can cause weird things to happen.

The first thing I can tell you about gaining weight is that you are not eating enough. Yeah, I know you eat whatever you want, etc... But, I'm willing to bet that you are not eating that much. A lot of people think they eat a lot because they always eat till they are full and hence couldn't possibly eat more.
 
The first thing I can tell you about gaining weight is that you are not eating enough. Yeah, I know you eat whatever you want, etc... But, I'm willing to bet that you are not eating that much. A lot of people think they eat a lot because they always eat till they are full and hence couldn't possibly eat more.
I think it is more important to eat not only a lot of food but quality nutritonal dense food. So by that I mean your foundation foods for any hardgainer - rice, whole milk, potatoes and of course your lean red meats and proteins.

Having such a fast metabolism eating empty calories found in junk food wont help you put on weight - your metabolism is a furnace and will burn straight through the empty calories.
 
I think it is more important to eat not only a lot of food but quality nutritonal dense food. So by that I mean your foundation foods for any hardgainer - rice, whole milk, potatoes and of course your lean red meats and proteins.

Having such a fast metabolism eating empty calories found in junk food wont help you put on weight - your metabolism is a furnace and will burn straight through the empty calories.

Exactly!
 
Do you have a steady job? I would consider getting one and buying some protein. Although it is important to eat, protein shakes is an easy way to put on some meat. I weigh around 155 but when I started working out I prob weighed around 145. I, like you have a very fast matabilism (bad thing about this is that your matabalism will eat away your muscle if your not eating right or consistantly taking protein) , not to mention I'm also 18 years old. The only trick with protein is that it important that you stay consistant with it and keep taking it daily (whether you work out or not). Its fairly hard to put on good muscle when you dont have the basic machines or free weights that a gym would have. If i were you I would check to see if your college has a gym that you could use, most do. When I started, I knew nothing about working out, ect. Although once you go to the gym its easy to watch/ask others and how they use the machines/free weights to bulk up. Others might want to show you other ways of how to bulk up, ect. I can promise you that this routine will work for ya, it definitely worked for me!

if this helped ya can you please give thanks at the top of my post
 
Its fairly hard to put on good muscle when you dont have the basic machines or free weights that a gym would have. If i were you I would check to see if your college has a gym that you could use, most do.

Wrong. You absolutely don't need machines... and you absolutely can put on muscle mass with a basic dumbell/barbell set and/or pure bodyweight. As mentioned above by matk and evan, and most importantly, you NEED TO EAT RIGHT. Come up with a good diet/meal plan that fits your body and goals, and then worry about the weights. Just a guess, but based on your "stats" you should probably be eating at least 3000 calories a day to gain weight. I'm your height, weigh 155 lbs, and am in a build phase eating 3300 calories a day right now... balancing my macros (protein, fat, carbs) at 30-35% each. Protein on the higher end. I've gained six pounds in the last month and workout with dumbells and bodyweight at home. I'm pushing for 20 lbs of lean muscle by 3/2010.... expecting to gain around 30 lbs total before cutting. I've been hitting the gym hard for almost a year now, but this is my first educated attempt at gaining weight. So far so good!

You CAN do it dude! There is a ton of good advice on this forum. Spend a couple weeks digging in to the Nutrition and Body Building sections and post questions to things you can't find answers for. There are a bunch of very cool, knowledgeable people on this site that WILL HELP YOU! I'd be happy to share specifics as to my diet and weight routine if you'd like.... but I pulled everything I'm currently doing from advice on this forum.

Good luck bro!!
 
Wrong. You absolutely don't need machines... and you absolutely can put on muscle mass with a basic dumbell/barbell set and/or pure bodyweight.

Hell yeah. I call this the Rocky 4 theory. Rocky worked out hardcore at some frozen wasteland with no equipment. Ivan Drago had steroids and leg extension machines in that Soviet high-tech (at least in the '80s) gym. We all know who won that fight.

Building muscle has 3 equally important components: proper diet, lifting heavy, and getting plenty of rest.
 
Hell yeah. I call this the Rocky 4 theory. Rocky worked out hardcore at some frozen wasteland with no equipment. Ivan Drago had steroids and leg extension machines in that Soviet high-tech (at least in the '80s) gym. We all know who won that fight.

Building muscle has 3 equally important components: proper diet, lifting heavy, and getting plenty of rest.


Haha! Draaaagoooo!!!

I'm not saying a basic home setup and bodyweight will suffice forever, cause at some point you'll simply need more weight. Its my guess, however, that FindsThings is a ways off from that. I started with a similar build, although a little heavier, and am still making great progress with what I have at home.
 
To build muscle you need just as much protein in your body as you have weight. I'd suggest eating a lot more carb's and protein's but you have to be active for this to be effective otherwise you will just get fat. I would work out a schedual of what muscle's you would work which day, this layout will keep you on track and get you into a routine. You could possibly pick up a creatine if your comfortable with taking supplement's..but if your going to take this working out is essential or you will get what's called "water bulk". Hopefully these helped
 
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