Tall, skinny guy starting excercise routine

M

Makaze

0
Hi, everyone. I just found this site today and signed up. This is my first post. I'm kind of looking for some general advice, maybe links to external resources and such, so I can educate myself.

Just to get it out of the way, here's a bunch of info on myself, I'm 23 years old, male, 6'4" tall, and 152 lbs. I don't know what my body fat % is for sure, but I stood one of those electronic scales once, and it's estimate was 7%. Anyways, I've started to notice that I'm getting soft in the belly, and since I'm not a teenager anymore, I figure it would be a good idea to start working out regularly.

Of course, by any standards I've read, I'm underweight. One guideline I saw on the internet said for my age and height I should weigh between 165 lbs - 205 lbs, and have a BF% between 12 and 19. My main question is, if health is my main concern, should I care? Should I really be trying to gain fat or just muscle? I know from past experience that if I start jogging and lifting, I will probably lose 5 - 10 lbs. I've never been able to gain weight from excercise and weightlifting. I get stronger. . . but generally lose weight nonetheless, no matter how much I eat.

So is it really unhealthy to be this weight?

Also, to gain muscle mass, should a tall, skinny guy like myself do anything different than an average proportioned guy? I read on one website that this is the case, but they wouldn't say just what you should do different unless you paid $17.95 for their "Tall Man's" weight-lifting program.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
i wouldnt pay attention to any guidelines of what you should weigh. those are pretty much some generic forumals someone put together for the general public. they dont take into account ppl who work out. most of them would classify some who weighs 220 with 8% bodyfat with a ton of muscle as being overweight.

is it unhealthy to be your weight? not as much as those who are overweight. but if you want to change your appearance for the better, you can do something about it. here's what i suggest for someone of your size

http://training.fitness.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=43&highlight=massive+member
 
Wow, that's some excellent information. I think I've made some common mistakes in the past.

OK, let's see if I've got the most important points here:

1.) Lots of calories and protein, all-around healthy foods. Shouldn't be a problem, as I love to eat anything and everything. And the best time for creatine and protein drinks is an hour after workout along with some fruit for carbs?

2.) Shorter, more intense workouts, compound movements rather than isolation. This is the biggest news to me. I've always done long workouts many times per week, and tried to isolate muscles.

3.) More rest. Is 3 full-body workouts per week too much or just right?

My main confusion still is about sets and reps. To gain weight, how is something like 5 sets of 6-8 reps for most excercises? Should I try to work till the failure point on the last couple sets, or just the very last set? How long should one rest between sets, 30 seconds?

I think I probably do too much cardio work when I've lifted in the past as well, but I've always felt much better lifting weights when I'm in very good shape cardio wise. I've seen high intensity interval training mentioned a lot on this website. Is this better cardio than plain old jogging if I'm trying to gain weight? Should I perhaps only do cardio once per week? HIIT sounds more fun than jogging anyways.

I hope I can stick with a routine for longer than I have in the past, but I figure if I can quit smoking (haven't had a cig in over 6 months), I should be able to do anything. Man, if I could gain just 20 pounds, I'd be stoked.

Thanks for everything so far, any more info would be much appreciated.
 
Dont do any cardio for the first month, do intense workouts (isolation can work for you as long as you hit every muscle) and don't work the same muscle more than once per week. You must understand, all gains are made away from the gym, absolutely none are made while you work out so I'd suggest doing a workout twice a week at first, 30-45 minutes, no cardio for the first month at all, and eat! That'll make sure those calories are getting spent on adding muscle, not fueling muscle.
 
1) after workouts, you want protein and carbs and creatine if you're using it IMMEDIATELY. its been said muscles are like sponges at this time and will quickly take in whatever you feed them.

2) how you're training now should be what you work up to, something you do after you have established some gains already.

shorter workouts with compound movements help to build the foundation. sure you wont hit all the muscle groups directly, save that till later on when it matters. get some size on you first then worry about the detail work.

3) if you do full body, maybe throw 2 days of rest in between. or you could do push/pull or lower body/upper body. then you could just do 1 day of rest in b/w.

sets/reps there are many ways you can approach it. its generally believed that 8-12 reps are for growth and like 4-6 for strenght and over 12 for endurance but thats not all set in stone.

mix it up. after warm ups do 3 sets of 8. then later on try 2 sets of 12. and when you're up for it, 5X5's are a blast.

low intensity vs high intensity depends on the individual and his situation. for some ppl with a fast metabolism, hiit is too much. for others it does fine. only way to tell is with experience and by keeping good track of your progress.

if you've quit smoking you have it inside of you to accomplish your goals. hold yourself accountable. each day you hit the weights and eat your meals is a step forward and the sooner you will hit your goal. each day you put it off, the longer it will take to get there.
 
OK, thanks guys, I think I know enough to get started. You'll probably be hearing a lot more questions from me in the future.
 
I feel your pain bro, I too am a hardgainer. I was one of those skinny guys who couldnt gain no matter what I ate.
I hated eating, and would actually forget to eat sometimes.
This may sound a little strange, but it worked for me. I started eating ALL the time. Like, 8 or 9 times a day. I would literally force food down. ( Good food by the way, brown rice, chicken, egg whites, fruit, etc.) I only had to do this for about a week. After that, I was always hungry, and I could eat like a god damn truck. I scaled back to 6 meals a day, and continued lifting alot of wieght. The first month I gained 7 solid pounds, and lost 1'' off my waist. That may not sound like a ton, but for someone who hadnt changed on the scale for 10 years, its something.
 
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