Going on a strict weight gain diet.. need advice

[mnason722]

Hello
First and foremost I decided that I am going to be dedicated for however long it takes (my goal is December 2005) to reach 195-200 pounds.

Currently, I am 6'1" 150lbs, I have some fat on my stomach but I'm skinny as hell on my arms, I'm pretty much a toothpick. I want advice as to if my regimen will work.

I plan on purchasing the RTD 50 grams and some sort of Whey Protein. Should I get Whey Protein or Muscle Milk? Also, if going with Whey Protein, will this work? http://www.nicemuscle.com/100-whey-protein-80595.htm


Should I work out every day? I usually work out my upper on Sundays and my lower on Wednesdays and do Push-ups in between. I just want to bulk up and have nice meat on my body, I don't necissarily want to be cut and all just BULKY

What I am wondering though is, would it be alright to intake 3 servings of the Protein daily even though I don't work out? So i'll still be taking it even though my muscles aren't ripped? There's a lot of Steak that I purchased in the freezer that I will try to have at least twice a week. I just want to be sure I get a Whey Protein that will work. So far all the ones I've tried in the past didn't do me any good! GNC Weight Gainer....nothing... Maximum Performance Up Your Mass (wasted big bucks on this)... Nothing! Looking for a change and asking the big guys what they use and what works! Thanks

 

[pintoca]

Man, bulking is one of the most difficult things to do, some say it's even harder than cutting. Ditch the protein, that will get you nowhere, especially in those quantities. For bulking you need REAL food, quality food.

You need to be on a large caloric surplus to gain mass. Do you know your current BF? can you estimate it or get a test done?

As for the training, while bulking most people like to train 4 to 5 days, but VERY intensively. For need you will need either a 4 day split or a 5 day split. What you do right now is not what you need, for good mass concentrate on max 2 muscle groups per day but blast them!!!

Estimating your BF% at 15%, you could go with a plan like this:

Mon to Sun
3.357 Kcal
30% 252 gr Prot
50% 420 gr Carb
20% 75 gr Fat

All this spread in 6 meals, make sure your PWO meal is a shake with the following (or equivalent):

38 gr Whey Isolate
38 gr Dextrose
38 gr Maltodextrin


Believe me, eating all that food is NOT easy.

 

[Mithrandir]

that is a shitload of food...I eat around that now for the past month and I have gained about 8 pounds...I have more protein, but whatever, goodluck...

 

[KIAN]

pintoca is right in stating that it is calories you need to be concerned with for bulking purposes. The important thing to remember is that they must be quality calories. The only thing you didn't post was your age so you will have to do the following calculation:

Adult Male:
BMR = 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Your Basic Metabolic Rate is how many calories you require on a daily basis at a resting position. The more activity you perform the higher the consumption of calories that you will require. Now that you know what your BMR is, what is your daily caloric intake? If you don't know then don't go out and start buying supplements. Spend one week keeping track of your nutritional intake. List the calories, protein, carbs, and fat values. This will give you a reference point at the end of the week to make the necessary changes to your current diet.

1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of carbs = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories

An increase in your caloric intake by 500 calories per day over the span of one week will add one pound to your body weight. Look at foods such as pastas, rice, and oatmeal. If you need to use a supplement then have a look at the following link. Try to stay away from weight gain supplements which are exceedingly high in calories as this is usually from unwanted sugars and will leave you bloated and/or sluggish for your upcoming workout.

ProLab N-Large2 / weight gain

As you are just starting out, try to use a one day on/ one day off split for the first month so that you can get into a routine. It isn't necessary to perform every exercise ever created but make sure you work each of the muscle groups to ensure proper development.

Training Program First Month

Training split 1 on, 1 off

Day 1: Chest/shoulders/arms
Day 2: Rest
Day 3: Back/legs/abs
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Chest/shoulders/arms
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Back/legs/abs
Day 8: Rest

Try to limit your cardiovascular activity to just warming up your muscles prior to exercising. For the second month you can increase your training to a 3 on / 1 off split. This will also mean that your caloric consumption will also need to be increased but by this time you will have a good appetite and should have no problems. If you find that you are putting on too much (unwanted) weight then either reduce your carb intake or increase the level of your workout.

As to protein: Protein is important in building quality mass (muscle) and should be consumed at a level of 1 gram per pound of lean body mass. The following scale gives you an idea of the potential sources of protein.

Whey Protein Isolate
Whey Protein Concentrate
Eggs
Milk Protein
Meat Protein
Casein
Soy Protein

Whey Isolate is best suited pre and post workout for best absorption rates while Casein based proteins are more suited throughout the day. The protein supplement you were looking at is a Whey Concentrate so you can see where on the scale it resides.

As you have tried other weight gain supplements in the past without much success, it is important for you to remember that they are to be used as a 'supplement' to a good, balanced diet. If you rely on them alone, then you will not achieve the results you are after and will just end up wasting more money and time.

So this time, let's do it right. First step is to find out what you are consuming on a daily basis over a one week period and go from there. Spend your free time during this one week to post more questions on here and do as much reading on nutrition and supplements as you can so that you know what your are going to do in week 2.

Best of luck.

_______________________

KP -- Fitness Basics

 

[coeus]

Great Post! just one small change, you want to shoot for extra calories over your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) instead of BMR. Your BMR is just the calories that your body will burn if you were to lay in bed all day. The TDEE is takes 'loosely' into account how much calories you will burn from daily lifestyle activities. Say you walk to work/class 2miles everyday, the TDEE attempts to factor this in. The TDEE is just a multiplier over your BMR. You can read more about it here:
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_1.htm
and here
http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/masseating_2.htm

Feel free to ask any other questions!
Good luck!