Ok, as those of though who have seen me in person are well aware, I’m pretty thin. As in 6’1" 155lb. thin. I had tried putting on some weight over a few months, but it wasn’t working(please no comments about how you wish that were true in your case. It’s not the blessing you think it is). I was using free-weights and a couple of books I’d bought. I noticed almost no difference. Anyway, a couple of months ago I went to go see a guy who supposedly specialized in working with people like me. I paid for a 3 hour consultation with the guy. I ended up leaving with this huge notebook full of mostly diet stuff. So, now I’m on this special diet and I’m lifting, for lack of a better descriptive term, shitloads of weight. In the past 10 weeks, I’ve only put on a few pounds and don’t feel like I’ve accomplished much. And, I’m sore a lot.
The point of all this is, I’m getting discouraged. I’ve tried some of the newsgroups devoted to this kind of thing, and told them about my problem. Everyone of them has told me to try steroids. They make you stronger, work fast, whatever. Screw that crap. I refuse to do anything like that, so also please avoid any similar suggestions. Anyway, I’m guessing a few of you have probably been in the situation I’m in, and I’m wondering what motivated you. I need something that’ll keep me going. Thanks in advance.
I’ll keep my wishing-I-had-your-problems thoughts to myself long enough to say I don’t think that you really should worry about it too much.
You really haven’t been doing the weight training for nearly long enough to be able to decide if it’s helping. 10 weeks and a few pounds sounds like a couple of pounds a month to me. After a year, that’ll be around 25 pounds. Of muscle. Then you’ll be 6’1", 180, and built.
You’re a smart duck to stay away from the artificial ingredients, but don’t forget to nourish yourself. Your body can’t manufacture muscle out of thin air: you have to give it the right fuel. Protien was the recipe when I was first getting into weight training, but you’ve got to stay on a balanced diet.
I knew I forgot something. On the soreness issue, you’ve got to make sure you’re warming up (including stretching properly) and cooling down. You should also throw in some good cardio work (swimming, biking, walking, running) to help stave off muscle fatigue from too much anaerobic activity (lifting).
Is there a medical reason that you need to gain weight? Or do you just feel too skinny?
I too had your problem when I was younger. It didn’t matter what I ate or drank, I could never gain any weight. And for those of you thinking “big fuckin’ deal”, believe me- people who would never say something derogatory to a fat person have no qualms about saying something to a skinny person. It’s not my fault my metabolism was fast, and being really skinny isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I got kind of tired of having the body of a ten-year-old boy when my friends were comparing bra sizes. Not my problem now, of course.
I too believe that diet and resistance training are the key. You don’t want to simply gain weight. Protein and wieght training will increase your muscle mass, and good eating is always beneficial. It will take time, so don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself.
Add my agreement to the recommendation for protein to compliment your lifting.
Either eat a second chicken breast, find a protein bar you can stomach (buy them in bulk to save $) or get some whey powder. And remember the extra protein has to be IN ADDITION TO everything else you eat.
Stick with it. It ain’t gonna happen overnight.
I second the recommendation about swimming. My husband is 6’ tall and weighed about 150 in grad school, but he did a lot of swimming. It gives you a better proportioned look and a better distribution of the fat that you do have.
Four years ago (I’m 26 now), I was in your shoes. I was 6’1" and 145 lbs. I had a super-high metabolism that seemed to burn off food as fast as I ate it.
Anyway, 4 years later, I’m 6’1", 170 lbs…and well defined.
Motivation? Well, here are several things I’ve learned.
Don’t expect quick results. This is one thing that is worth it, but will take time.
Being sore is not bad. Get used to it. This is your body’s way of letting you know that it’s working. In time, it will become less and less. Then you’ll know its time to change your routine and shock your muscles again.
During the course of working out, you’re body will hit peaks and plateaus (sp?) depending on how often you change your routine. You’ll hate the plateaus. You’ll love the peaks.
Find a workout partner! They can provide the invaluable “spot”. With their help, you can get 2-3 more reps that you normally couldn’t get alone. These are the most important ones. Also, they can provide mental motivation as they push you.
And the biggest thing I’ve learned…
Dedication. Make it a part of your life. Like brushing your teeth or showering. I did (and still do) eat what I like and party like a rock star. However, I never let this interfere with my workout routine. NO exceptions. If you start procrastinating (“I can skip today and work out twice tomorrow”), you’re destined to fail.
For the longest time I was 6’2" and about 150-155. I’m now up to 170-175, mostly due to excersize and increased protein intake. (I once made the mistake of trying to go veggie and wound up going down to 140. I looked postively cadaverous.) Also, your metabolism may slow down some with age. Mine has, though I’m still able to eat what I like. I’d also like to stress breakfast. If you’re not eating breakfast, get in the habit. This would be a good time to take one of those protein bar things everyone’s been talking about. Also, don’t worry too much about missing a day or two here or there. The point is not to get too far off your schedule for too long.
Kneadtoknow: It’s actually been about 8 months. My new routine has been going on for about 10 weeks now. That’s why I’m getting frustrated. The purpose of my working out isn’t to get huge. I just want to “fill out” I guess. I don’t think I’ve been warming up or cooling down properly. That is something I need to work on. As for other activities, I play hockey and tennis. My cardio is good and I’m quick. But, when some 250lb guy does catch me and slams me into the boards I sure feel it.
malaka: that helped a lot. Part of the new diet is 6 meals a day, with 2 of them being those protein bars/shakes. I’m eating less at a time, but more frequently. And, my schedule does change quite a bit. I end up with a lot of those ‘I can do it tomorrow’ times, but I know I could fix that.
sliv: 170-175 is my current goal. I’d be pretty happy with that. There’s no way I could ever go veggie. Red meat good.
Anyway, I can’t address everybody, but thanks for all of your help. I’ve probably set a couple of unrealistic expectations, so I’ll just need to rework them.
Aglarond, i’m like you. I can’t gain weight, but I work out incessantly. Stick with one routine, changing so much in just 8 months is not going to show you any results. It took me about a year already just to start “seeing” results on my body, but I’m still thin, and will probably always be thin because of genes. I’ve been sticking with Yoga and Pilates, and some Capoeira for this past year, and can definitely feel the difference. Weights never did anything for me except pump up my arms a little.
The diet thing is good to stick with also, but make sure your’e eating healthy, and try to stick with organic foods if possible to get all the nutrients you can out of them.
That’s about al the advice I can give.
I’m 5’9"-5’10" and 145lb. And veggie is not necessarily a bad thing, Red meat actually will hurt you later on. Get your protien as best you can, but be aware that meat in general will slow you down. I like to eat vege before and after workouts especially. When i used to eat meat, I would keep that to a minimum and eat it on days when my workout was light.
I’m happy now with my routine, hope you fall into that nirvana of working out yourself. Good luck!
1)To gain muscle you must ingest loads of protein. Like Chicken, fish, steak, pork, meat, cheese, eggs. Another route is to go to GNC and get a barrel of whey protien (the most bio-availbale protein). And have a shake everyday.
2)MOST OVERLOOKED is proper technique in the gym, it is of the utmost importance!
3)The quickest way to get defined is to focus exclusively on specific muscle groups throughout the week. Like Monday, work biceps, Tuesday - chest, Wednessday - shoulders, Thursday - back, Friday - triceps, Saturday - legs, Sunday -abs.
Some people go to the gym and weight train their whole body. This is not good because your body can only create so much new muscle tissue. And if you weight train your whole body a few times a week you fatigue a lot of your muscles (BAD!) and get irregular muscle growth.
4)Use weights that are not too light and not too heavy. Use a set of weights that you can do 20 consecutive repititions on before exhaustion.
5)Use the same muscles at different angles. This will give you that godly definition. For example on biceps: Do 4 sets of 10 reps with free weights (making sure your elbow is stationary) then do 4 sets 10 with of preacher curls. Then move on to 4 sets of 10 with one-arm cable curls. Try to do 3-6 different exercises per bodypart.
Do all these things and in months you’ll start to take on quite a physique.
Alas, I have the same problem. I can’t gain weight no matter what i do. I’m 5’7" and about 120-125. Sometimes below that. I guess I should work out more, and I’m starting to, but even though I’ve been eating a lot of fat and protein, nothing happens.
Cog, this I do know. If you’re taking a lot of protein supplements, but aren’t working out, it won’t do you any good. If your body doesn’t have anything it can do with it, it’ll just flush it out. My understanding is that most people who don’t work out get more protein than they need anyway. Your body sees that it has more than is needed and gets rid of it.
Geez, I wish. Actually, if you take in more protein or fat than you need, it’s stored as fat. However, if your calorie monitoring system is working correctly, you will usually compensate for increased calories at one point by eating less at another point.
Aglarond, FWIW, I think you look perfect. But then, being attracted to tall, slender men is my curse (or short slender men for that matter). (I’m watching this thread closely )
When I was weight training, what worked for me was keeping a log(I liked to see the progress I was making), and arranging my workouts to have the least impact on my schedule as possible.
What I have to do to get aerobic workouts in is to keep myself from getting bored. This means my treadmill is facing the TV and I rent movies and walk on the treadmill. Unfortunately, I have a health problem that keeps me from exercising as much as I would like to.
Thanks, but I’ve always been real skinny in the upper-body area and I’d like to fix that. I played soccer for 12 years and never had to work on my arms, chest, shoulders, etc. My legs are solid, though. I haven’t gone the treadmill route, but I run about 5-6 miles 3 times a week. If I’m bored, I’ll throw on my in-lines and skate for a while. I am keeping a log, and the fact that I haven’t had a date in freakin’ forever leaves me with a lot of free time. I do have a couple of friends I spend a lot of time with, but we all work out together. Maybe that’s my problem. I’m working out with a 6’2" 205lb and 6’0" 195lb guy. I think I’ll go look this weekend for a guy skinnier than me I can pick on.
)