skinny guy advice

[wanderlust]

Hi. I'm 6'4 and realllly skinny. I'm in ok shape for endurance but I really want to put on muscle. I weigh 160.

To give you an example I can put my thumb and middle finger around my wrist with it BARELY touching (the wrist). Yeah I have tiny bones and tiny muscles

But I am tired of that. I mean I'm 6'4, and I got a real chiseled face, if I could put some weight on I think I'd look pretty fucking good.

Here is what I have been doing the last few weeks:

Monday: Biceps+Back.

Wednesday: Triceps+Chest.

Thursday: Legs

Friday: Abs

Saturday: Shoulders


Now believe me, after I lift biceps my bis are fucking sore beyond belief, to the point where it takes them a week to heal. After I lift chest, it is sore for a week. All other muscles only stay sore for a day or three.

Now please, what do you recommend for me to gain muscle? Should I eat like a horse? I should say, I really, really do not want to gain fat.

What other advice can you give a guy genetically skinny to get big?

P.S. I heard eating tuna every day is bad for you because tuna has lots of mercury. Truth or False??

Thank you guys.

 

[Freak Show]

Mercury in tuna? I doubt it, otherwise 3/4 of the guys here would be walking thermometers. If you notice that you're really sore for extended periods of time you should dedicate more time to your nutrition and recovery. Take in some quality protein like lean red meat, chicken breasts, tuna, eggs, deli turkey. You may want to try a protein supp for post workout. Your muscles are beggin to be fed right after weight training. Give em what they need to recover. If you're lookin to add weight a good protein supp may be Prolab's NLarge. Check it out, easy to find. As far as recovery, SLEEP. Don't underestimate it. And never train a muscle if its still sore. Also, take some days off. It looks like you only take sundays off(am i wrong?) Only the genetically gifted or chemically enhanced can go 6days in a row without a break. The most days in a row I would try is 3 then you absolutely better take a day off. Even if you're training different body parts your central nervous system probably hasn't had enough rest to duplicate a kickass weight day. Good luck hope this helps.

 

[GenetiKing]

Mercury in tuna? I doubt it, otherwise 3/4 of the guys here would be walking thermometers. If you notice that you're really sore for extended periods of time you should dedicate more time to your nutrition and recovery. Take in some quality protein like lean red meat, chicken breasts, tuna, eggs, deli turkey. You may want to try a protein supp for post workout. Your muscles are beggin to be fed right after weight training. Give em what they need to recover. If you're lookin to add weight a good protein supp may be Prolab's NLarge. Check it out, easy to find. As far as recovery, SLEEP. Don't underestimate it. And never train a muscle if its still sore. Also, take some days off. It looks like you only take sundays off(am i wrong?) Only the genetically gifted or chemically enhanced can go 6days in a row without a break. The most days in a row I would try is 3 then you absolutely better take a day off. Even if you're training different body parts your central nervous system probably hasn't had enough rest to duplicate a kickass weight day. Good luck hope this helps.

I agree.
Train, Eat, and Rest...you will grow. Don't worry about putting on much bodyfat. You seem pretty ectomorphic, so be more concerned with adding muscle rather than accumulating fat. Stay focused.

Good luck.

 

[Mylo]

Stick with compound, basic exercises, definitely. Do squats on legs, deads on lower back, use presses on chest, shoulders, tri's, add some pull moves, use free weights rather than machines, and remember, hardgainers go better w/ less exercises and sets, and I definitely would not go over 4 times a week. Eat simple carbs after workout (up to 30 mins), then complex carbs and proteins (hour or hour'n'half after training), make sure you have enough calories especially from complex carbs, divided to several (I prefer 6) meals, also make sure that you have enough protein a day per lb of bodyweight. I consider the post-workout the most important meal of all, then goes breakfest, then last meal of the day. I personally do not count calories I eat throughout the day, I go with the feeling, after a few weeks or months I started to feel what is enough, and what is too much.
Train hard, sleep a lot, don't do much cardio (I personally avoid it totally, I feel it is enough for me to train hard, and I'd be losing muscle if doin' cardio), and watch out for overtraining - I spent the whole first year and half of my exercising w/ 3+1 system, and as a hardgainer I was completely overtraining. I made my best advance w/ 3-4 times a week of compound movements and a few isolation exercises added.
You can also try creatine, it worked on me.
Good luck.

-My opinion-

 

[panther]

Train HEAVY, eat HEAVY, sleep HEAVY = Good results
+ Juice = Even better results!

 

[Drifter]

I'm almost in the same boat as you and I find it very difficult to gain weight. That said you're best bet is to eat tons of food and don't worry about gaining fat. When you think you've eaten enough go eat some more. In the gym go very heavy but pay attention to form. My best gains come when I'm in the 1-6 rep range. Good luck.

 

[blood_drinker]

I'm assuming you know how to eat?
Don't just eat the junk you can find at the hot dog stall.

Check out the diet discussion board and post a question for what to eat when bulking (or you could do a search).

For ectomorphs try 21 x weight in lbs
So if youre 160, do (21 x 160)= cals for the day, split into 6-8 even meals. Don't worry if you go a bit overboard, you might gain fat. Do not worry about this fat, as with your ectomorph lighting fast metabolism it will not be a problem to burn it off.

So for you it would equal 3360cals/day.

 

[TAURIUS]

1. You don't need a whole day for abs
2. EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT
3. SLEEP
4. LIFT HEAVY

You get the point.

 

[wanderlust]

Ok, so what do you guys recommend? bi+back day, tri+chest+ab day, shoulder+leg day?

Also, is it better to try and get 8-10 reps in, or more like 4-6? I lift a weight heavy enough that I can do 5 or so reps on my own, and I get my spotter to help with the last 3.

Last question. Is cardio bad, i.e. will it impede my muscle development

 

[lunatic calm]

Cardio can hamper gains in strength and size. Keep it to a minimum. Don't focus on "forced" reps (having your partner help with the last 3 reps) These should be used sparingly. If your focus is on size shoot for 10 reps (on your owns! ) with short rest periods. Utilize many different exercises for each body part. Not just 3. And don't do the same damn ones every time. You gotta use variety to keep forcing your muscles to adapt to new stimulus. A generic split could be:

Mon. - Hams/shoulders (remember to deadlift)
Tue.- Chest/Bis
Wed. off
Thurs.- Quads/calves (remember to squat)
Fri. - Back/Tris
sat and sun - off

I don't have time to go into detail about exercises cuz I'm at work, not working.

 

[cyberflash]

Yes, Tuna has mercury ... and it can cause poisoning ... Look at the Tuna label ... if it says "DOLPHIN SAFE" ... that's low in mercury ... buy tuna only with that sign.

 

[wynnyelle]

i sympathize with you, i'm 5' 7" and 111 lbs and yeah i can do the thumb/middle finger-round-the-wrist thing too. everyone in my family skinny. i've been lifting 6 years and gained little. But whatever i do gain, it shows.
i've tried the eat-like-a-pig 'gaining' diets and all they did was give me a gut. it didn't matter how much or little protein it was or carbs, too many calories made me put on fat and didn't make me any stronger any faster. your body will only put on so much muscle at a time and will store extra as fat.

i would recommend upping the calories little by little (100 or 200 calorie additions) over the weeks, while keeping close tabs on your body weight and of course the lifts. When you see the scale going up, stay at that calorie level and see if your lifts improve. if you notice fat coming on, pare it back just a tiny bit. you might get a little bit of fat no matter what but as long as most of your gains are muscle you're on the right track, you can diet off fat later. i'm what they call a hardgainer i'm lucky if i go up one REP per week on my lifts, no matter WHAT i eat.

if your lifts have stagnated, that might be a sign you're not eating enough (it could also mean you need to change your routine), but if you're making any gains i wouldn't fix what isn't broken. Just telling you what my experience with this stuff has been.

food...
what i eat, I eat a can of tuna on most days, but i like to vary my protein--salmon is nother fish that's good, i have that once in a while, i believe it's much lower in mercury than tuna but i think it has higher calories too. Egg whites of course--very good source--whey protein, chicken, turkey, lean red meat and skim milk are other ways i get protein. for carbs, i do whole wheat bread, oat meal, cheerios and of course lots of veggies and some fruit. i try to get near 1 gram of protein per lb. of body weight. you're a guy though and i heard guys need a little more protein than women, so you could try more, i don't know.

but one thing it sure helps to do, is cut out all the cookies and candy and other sugary stuff. Except of course a treat once in a while ^_^

 

[Rudee34]

if you have a fast metabolism, your body can only tolerate 3 days/week in the gym max. Workout Mon, Wed, and Fri. Concentrate on basic exercises and workout no longer than one hour. Work to get maximum pump then move on. Boatload in the carbs. (cereals, breads, pasta, potato's)

 

[wynnyelle]

is that three days a week weights or three days total? cause i do 3 days a week weights (split routine) cardio on the other days. i tried dropping cardio, it was a disaster. i found out you need cardio.

 

[Liberator]

wanderlust, heres my diet, I have a fast metabolism and I am 6ft 3.5, I gained about 12lbs in 2months on this and barely any fat, another thing worth mentioning is I HAVE NOT DONE CARDIO, I do about 20mins every 2 weeks, I am trying to bulk so cardio is not necessary for me with MY METABOLISM, which I would say was as fast as yours and is still fast.

8.30AM

MULTIVIT+PROBIOTIC
1xNLARGE
2xWHOLEMEAL BREAD (MULTIGRAIN)


10.30AM

2xCHICKEN+COTTAGE CHEESE SANDWICHES ON 4 SLICES OF WHOLEMEAL BREAD


1PM

15mg ZINC
1xCAN OF BEANS
4xWHOLEMEAL BREAD (MULTIGRAIN)
1xJOGHURT


4PM

1xNLARGE2
1xBANANA


6PM - PRE-WORKOUT

PROBIOTIC
1xSCOOP OF 100% WHEY


7PM - IMMEDIATELY POSTWORKOUT --> 2xSCOOPS OF 100% WHEY (44g PROTEIN, 24g CARBS)


8.30PM

CUP OF COOKED BROWN RICE
CHICKEN + VEGGIES


PRE-BED
1xSCOOP OF WHEY


PROTEIN --> 349g
CARBS --> 542g
FAT --> Approx. 60g


I AM ONLY POSTING THIS AS AN EXAMPLE, so dont flame me, IT WORKS FOR ME at my weight so thats all I care about personally.

You could probably eat something better than the CAN OF BEANS I eat, I only put it in because it is good for your skin etc, and I dont have long for lunch to be messing around with veggies etc etc. Sometimes I eat TUNA with it too, depends how I feel. The joghurt is essential, as it provides the body with aminos to assimilate some of the veggie protein.

Sometimes I swap out the red meat in the morning for tuna aswell, again its how I feel, I hate tuna, so I only do it when I am feeling real macho!! heheh.

 

[G Lapagola]

Liberator- I have heard it is bad to eat protein right before a workout. To my understanding you should take in complex carbs before, and lots of protein and carbs (simple or complex) right after a work out. Not sure on this, just thought I would bring it up. This is what I do anyhow, not really sure why I have heard it is bad to eat lots of protein befor a workout, that is just what I have read.

 

[Liberator]

Fair point, I will highlight why I do it:

1. Cuz its 2 hours since my last meal, I dont want solid food so protein shake is ideal.

2. I have a fast metabolism, I will burn fat wether I drink protein or not pre-workout.

3. I only take 22 grams of protein and 6g carbs, about half an hour/45mins before I workout.

I have heard too though that too much can pull blood from your muscles to your stomach to absorb the food. Is this the same with powders? I thought these were quick absorbtion and would require little blood for this process.

I presume this means that this will hinder your ability to lift.

try and do this 45mins to an hour before I workout.

 

[blood_drinker]

hey lunatic, you got a real shit routine there buddy, no offence. How can you possibly incorporate shoulder day RIGHT before chest day????

watch the advise you give

 

[johnny123]

i can do the thumb and middlefinger around the wrist even when i was 5'9 210