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Best way to put on weight

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by mithrandir, Jan 27, 2013.

  1. mithrandir

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    The title sums up my question quite well really.

    Basically I'm a 17 year old male, 6"4 and 70kg. I've been fairly self conscious about how skinny I am for a while now and have finally decided to make a concerted effort to put on weight. It just feels like all my friends and (non identical) twin brother stopped growing upwards about a year ago and began to broaden out whilst I carried on growing in terms of height and not muscle.

    I have been going to the gym about once or twice a week for a couple of months now, and as I finally have a car I'm hoping to up this to a consistent two-three times a week. However, I'm concerned that in this time no significant difference has been made to my weight or muscle mass, and I'm starting to wonder whether I'm just too skinny to put on any significant muscle. I don't want to be ultra hench at all, just not have the body of a scrawny 12 year old anymore.

    Can anyone suggest the best ways to put on weight, especially in respect to changes to diet - i dont think my issue is that i don't eat enough, but maybe I don't eat enough of the right thing? Thank you preemptively for any help you can offer!
     
  2. GabrielTai

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    Some tips:

    1) high protien diet (do your research. Don't OD on protien)
    2) Decent amount of Carbs. (if you're going to be exercising)
    3) Keep your metabolism fairly high by eating small portions often. This keeps your stomach small. Eating large portions less often conditions the body to think it will only get food a couple of times a day and therefore digests it slower, resulting in loss of nutrients and excess stored fat.
    4) Drink lots of water to keep hydrated during exercise. Don't push yourself lifting really heavy weights. Lift less weight for longer periods of time.

    I was between 85 and 95 pounds for a long time. I became physically active and lost a lot of weight that took me YEARS to gain back. I lose weight when I'm stressed out because I either forget to eat when I should, or I just feel sick and can't eat. But I'm back up to a healthy 104 now. and in no danger of getting fat as I've gained weight while keeping my metabolism high and healthy.

    Or, you could do what my boss suggested, which is to sit on the couch for a month and eat nothing but noodles covered in ice cream :slight_smile:
     
  3. Xochipilli

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    I can't really get specific because I'm not sure what I'm doing half the time, but I did a certain popular fitness program type thing that you can purchase and it pretty much had me doing all kinds of stuff 6 days a week and I gained a decent amount of muscle tone. Nothing miraculous, but there was a noticeable difference. There were a lot of shoulder and back exercises like push-ups and pull ups, which I feel I benefited from the most.
     
  4. KaraBulut

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    Muscle takes a while to build. You can add some mass just from weight work and diet changes but adding muscle mass is a slow process.

    What is your diet like today?

    What are you doing at the gym?

    How are you tracking your progress?
     
  5. skiff

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  6. Salazar

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    Do some compound exercises at the gym, such as squats. They exercise many muscle groups so you gain more muscle.
     
  7. isobella

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    EAT LOTS AND LOTS OF JUNK FOOD.
    Have McDonalds or KFC or something every day, DO NOT EXERCISE AT ALL, and just lay about doing nothing, but eat lots.

    There's no better or faster way.
     
  8. mithrandir

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    I eat three meals a day with very little snacking in between. Breakfast is always coco pops which I'm actually embarrassed to admit because I could eat much healthier breakfasts if I could be bothered to wake up earlier. My dad is a farmer and very against fast food so we always have a home cooked full meal for dinner. At school it can vary, sometimes ie at very little and normally I eat just enough, as school meals are quite expensive.

    At the gym I do this session that one of the fitness guides planned out for me on my first day. Starts with the rowing machine for 15 minutes, then three sets of 10 on various weight machines, ending with the bike.

    I am not tracking my progress at all, other than looking. That's actually a really good point, what's the best way to track progress?

    I like then idea of eating small portions more often, as I'm ALWAYS starving hungry between meals, especially at school, but I've never been able to snack really.

    Thank you all for the suggestions so far
     
  9. skiff

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    Your diet sucks.

    Eat 3 full, healthy meals a day, plus exercise.

    Brown bag your lunch.

    Look in the mirror... Your body is diving you what you are giving it. Insufficient results.

    Stuck
     
  10. PeteNJ

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    Eat more -- lots more protein, DON"T EAT junk food -- that's so unhealthy.

    Then go to the gym and start mass building exercises -- squats, heavy lifts, etc.

    It does work!
     
  11. bingostring

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    get in to gym work?
    free weights did it for me
    a personal trainer to help you get going .. .. if you can afford it

    it takes will power and bit of mind shift

    I was a potato for years but a few months of gym work really paid off in building up muscle and shape.. and I never did sports or anything before ... got quite in to it even
     
  12. KaraBulut

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    Well, Coco Pops wouldn't be my recommendation. But if you like Coco Pops, then in moderation that's fine if you consume the milk to get a source of protein.

    You should do a calorie count. You'll probably discover that you're not getting enough calories and adding some protein snacks (cheese, peanut butter or an Oh Yeah bar) for a before-lunch snack.




    Split your cardio into a different day. Different things work for different people but for guys who are slim and who are working on adding muscle, you want to just do a light warmup and then hit the weights. It will also help if you change up your routine- working different muscles on different days but also having a set of exercises for specific body parts that you alternate between- for example, having a day where you do chest but one time do cable fly, next chest day do dumbbell fly, etc.

    Rowing is a great exercise but maybe do that on your cardio day and not on your weight day.


    The best way to track progress is a tape measure, photos or video. Measure the circumference of your neck, shoulders, upper arms, calves, thighs, hips/buttocks, waist and chest. Remeasure about once a month and track your growth along with you weight. Also take shirtless pics at the same time. You will not see changes in the mirror but you will see them in a photograph.
     
  13. leer

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    I had a similar problem I just couldn't put the weight on I went to the gym about 3 times a week but instead of the usual treadmill and stepper`s I concentrated on weights programs
    like pyramid sets

    so it looks like this ##### 15kg x 5 reps
    ##########12 kg x 10 reps
    ############### 10 kg x 15 reps
    high protean diets but include fruits and plenty of fluids I do know some people that use produces that help build musclehttp://emptyclosets.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=5128&stc=1&d=1359919423


    its expensive though but does work If you use it right
     
    #13 leer, Feb 3, 2013
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2013