Hardgainer starting from scratch

[iwealth]

I've decided to change things around for myself and stop living in shame of my body. I'm 21 years old, heading into my senior (sophomore/junior really tho with transfers) year in college. Here is the pathetic stat line:

5 feet, 9.5 inches tall
141 lbs as of an hour ago

Yes, you can imagine...downright scrawny. I don't feel ashamed saying it in here really, I'm sure you guys would rather help than criticize. I'm small-boned if there is such a word...shoulders aren't broad, very small wrists, long neck, etc. Typical ectomorph I guess. This is going to be a hell of a battle for me.

Starting my diet and workout tomorrow (I'll be working out at the local YMCA at 6:00AM to try and avoid the rush). I'll be eating about 2500 calories daily, upping that as I gain weight...about 250-260g protein, 175-185g carbs, 80 or so g fat. (mostly from Udo's) I'll be using creatine and glutamine and trying to down about a gallon of water a day.

Here's the workout plan I intend on using..please criticize it but keep in mind what I am working with here. I've never trained with weights before, so I'm sure my strength is going to be ridiculous. I'll be working out 3 times a week..

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps
Flat bench press(4 sets, 1 burnout set)
Incline dumbell flyes (1 superset)
Shoulder Press (4 sets, 1 burnout set)
Side raises (1 superset)
Shrugs (4 sets to failure, 1 burnout set)
Bar dips (4 sets to failure)
Tricep pushdowns (1 superset)

Legs
Squats (4 sets, 1 burnout)
Leg Extensions (1 superset)
Stiff-legged deadlifts (4 sets, 1 burnout)
Hamstring curl (1 superset)
Calve raises (strip sets to failure)

Back/Biceps
Wide grip pull-ups (4 sets to failure)
One arm rows (4 sets, 1 burnout)
Lat-bar pulldown (1 superset)
Dumbell curls (4 sets to failure)
Reverse curls (multiple supersets)

(This routine may look familar to some people .. yes I was a sucker about a year ago). Anyway, when I say a burnout set, I'm referring to a set with much lighter weights than my last work set to completely fatigue the muscles. When I say superset I refer to taking no break between it and the last set of the last exercise.

I'll be increasing the weight with each work set, and going with a 8/6/4/2 rep pattern if I can. I think that's about it .. I'll update every workout day starting tomorrow.

Thanks in advance..

 

[The Dude]

Man, I'm tired of this hardgainer whining. Most folks don't grow like weeds. Hard work over the long haul, regardless of your physical make-up, will produce results.

 

[BadBoy]

I'm no expert...

but I would increase the calorie intake if I were you. I think 2500 is average calorie intake for everyone. So I think maybe 3500-4500? Correct me if I'm wrong experts. Other than that, I think that looks fine if you stick to your plan.

 

[kjwise]

If you have never trained with weights, then take the first month just to get adjusted to the most critical practices.

Focus on form, and nothing but form.
And then focus on pump.

8, 6, 4, 2 reps per set pattern is made for strength, if you are a "hardgainer" you'd rather think about 14, 12, 8, 6 rep pattern that is much more efficient for you considering your low training age.

Ofcourse the weight should increase as the reps decrease.

And dont get lost in the woods of knowledge, TRY OUT STUFF!

For knowledge can often give you the false assumption of having experience.

 

[Maximum Intensity]

Nicely put Dude -- I agree with you whole heartedly.

 

[cheeta]

hmmmm?

well id say you should separate shoulders and chest. Do more chest exercises like try, flat bench, flat dumbells, incline bench then end with flies. do 4 to 5 sets for each excercise. Eat like a mad man, probably id say about 3000-3500 cals a day. Protein potein protein. Buy a protein shake, i reccomend metrx for gaining weight.

Seems like for eah body part you are doing too little amounts of excercise. Like i said maybe try doing 4 diff types per body part. Its justmy opinion though. Aloha

 

[absolute hardgainer]

Maximum Intensity, The Dude:

This guy isn't whining, he is asking for advice.

You two ain't making it easier for people on this board who geniunely ask for help from others, and that's NOT very nice.

iwealth:

You got some good advice from kjwise already. I agree that if you are starting out you should not worry about doing low rep sets so much. Initially your body will make neuro-muscular strength gains which should be quite significant, don't be surprised to have your bench double or even triple in the first 3 months. But hypertrophy will usually only start once your body has exhausted neuro-muscular strength increase potential. Therefore you should focus on a higher rep range 8-12 or even 10-15 for now. Ensure that you lift with STRICT FORM. Bad habits form early - strict form will save you from possible injuries and wasted exercises.

I can't find much fault in your routine, I may add a deadlift to your back/bicep day. Make sure you don't spend more than 90 minutes at a time lifting and that your muscles recover before working them again.

hardgainer (not whining, proud to be a hardgainer)
(stay hard and keep gaining)

 

[Scott Steinner]

Badboy, you're advice is not bad, hey has to increase his calorie intake to 3500 - 4000 kcal. Whey hardgainers really burn much energy!

 

[The Dude]

I know he wasn't whining, but everyone throws that damn label around so much. I just felt compelled to bitch about hardgainer whining in general and wasn't directing it at iwealth. However, to label yourself as such from the beginning probably set me off just as much.

 

[iwealth]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. I was hoping to start my workouts and diet plan Wednesday morning, but I awoke to find my mother gravely ill. I rushed her to the hospital where they found that she had an ovarian cyst which needed to be removed immediately. Luckily, the surgery went very well, and she is doing much, much better.

So...tomorrow will be the day now that my nerves have finally calmed down.

The Dude: You are absolutely right about it being premature to label myself a "hardgainer." Hell, I may find that I pack on mass extremely fast. There's no way of knowing since I've never trained nor kept a decent diet in my life. I guess I just figured since I know plenty of people who've never trained or ate properly yet are still quite a bit larger than I am that I would have a difficult time.

I just match up with the "small wrist, small ankle" label pretty well. I do hope though that my hard work and dedication brings me at least some visible results.

Anyway, I'll post weekly updates letting everyone know how my progress is going (if anyone cares

Thanks again.

 

[Maximum Intensity]

I agree -- that label is thrown around way to much. People think because they aren't gaining 20 pounds of quality muscle each year, then they must be a hardgainer. Damn -- I guess I am a hardgainer then (all these years of waisted training.) Fact of the matter is unless you are doing anabolics, the average person is not going to gain 20 lbs of muscle per year, especially as the years pass. Train hard, eat right, get sleep, and be consistent -- the gains will come. PROPER training, PROPER nutrition, and CONSISTENCY will help you grow. Most, and let me stress the fact that I said most and not all, people blame lack on progress on poor genetics or being a "hardgainer" when in fact is do to failing to follow one of the above.

 

[GenetiKing]

PROPER training, PROPER nutrition, and CONSISTENCY will help you grow.

Agreed.

iwealth,
I hit you up with a response elsewhere.

 

[Welsh power house]

OI!!!!!! all you need to do is eat proper foods, now if you weigh 140 ish, then 260 grams of protein is way too much. You should aim for 1 gram per pound of bodyweight or 1:5 per pound of weight, if you go by the latter then that is 210....260 will just get pissed out of your system.

If you are new to weight training you should cut down the number of exercises you do and the time you spend in the gym, remember, you grow when you rest, you only break down the muscle in the gym, not build it, that is where the nutrition comes in!

For a programme you should do:

deadlifts, squats, bench presses, dips, military presses, straight barbell curls, barbell rows and chins

thats it! forget all isolation exercises, concentrate on the compound basics and try to add 1 or 2 lbs to the bar for each exercise a week. Then go home and eat good food and supplement with a weight gainer like n-large.

Good luck!

 

[Burning Rage]

If you haven't trained with weights before, or in a long while, I recommend doing a preconditioning phase. They are very important when starting. They will prevent injuries. Usually such a phase will only last 4 to 6 weeks. The idea behind this is to not go heavy, but to practice perfect form. Believe me when I say this, if you haven't lifted a weight before, you are going to have a hell of a time balancing when you do your squats. If you do not have perfect form, you cannot train succesfully. You will have to focus a lot of your energy on form. Also, the routine you provided, it is not a bad routine. I suggest a more simple routine. Simple does not refer to "beginner". Start out with one compound movement for each exercise. Focus on geting bigger and stronger on those movements. Here's an example of a preconditioning routine.

Mon/Wed/Fri
Squats
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
Bench Press
Lat Pulldowns
Bent Over Rows
Shoulder Press
Dumbbell Upright Rows
Calf Raises
Crunches

Some people prefer to do arm work on preconditioning routine. I do, in fact. I recommend doing light, multiple sets of each exercise, do 10-15 reps. Focus on form. Or a good way to get prepare for yourself, is to do the program that you want to do. But only do light sets, and concentrate on form. Then when you feel comfortable start your routine.

For those peope who are too arrogant to understand what a hardgainer is, should learn. iwealth, don't feel bad for taking any heat for saying that you're a hardgainer. A lot of people aren't, so they cannot comprehend how difficult it is to gain weight, or muscle. Don't take it personally. It's pure arrogance. I'm not a hardgainer, but I do know a few. My cousin as been training for 5 years now. His diet is pretty good, he eats around 3600 calories a day, 60% coming from Carbs, 25% protein and 15% from fat. He should be gaining a lot of weight from this kind of diet. He lifts 4 times a week and takes his last set of each exercise to failure. He does about 5-8 sets per body part, depending on how big it is. I think in his 5 year period he has gained no more than 15 pounds of muscle. He's lost some fat. He looks pretty good. He's lean. He doesn't have a lot of muscle mass, but that's do because of genetics. He's 6'3", 175 pounds. When I was cut, I was 5'7", 165 pounds. So overall for my built, I had a more impressive body than he.