A Beginner Trying to Get Bigger

Training
141

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
You aren’t getting fat. You aren’t close to getting fat. Stop worrying about it. If you train hard and force your body to adapt, your body will want and need plenty of food. (And again, if you want the pic down, no prob, just let me know).
[/quote]

Sure, will definitely step up my eating and track calories once again. Don’t know why I stopped other than laziness.

Getting better yeah, but not healed, I’ve occasionally exercised on it through minimal (yet still present) pain which wasn’t the best idea, that could’ve hindered progress. I’ll head over to the injury section of this forum and see what they say, it hurts when I press on the specific part of the shoulder.

[quote]
That Dan John plan is meant to be a 6-week focus, so even though it wasn’t run 100% to plan, finding something new that capitalizes on the well-equipped gym should be fine. However, I think the next program should be something you plan on sticking with for several uninterrupted months. Whatever it is, you really, really need to buckle down and make some dramatic progress.[/quote]

Yeah, I agree with that. I’ll definitely stick with one program, track progress and eat more. Any program suggestions? Obviously want to make use of finally being able to front squat

142

[quote]Flight1 wrote:
I’ll definitely stick with one program, track progress and eat more. Any program suggestions? Obviously want to make use of finally being able to front squat [/quote]
So many choices, really, but these come to mind:

(^ Shameless plug maybe, but the upper/lower split I laid out there is worth a look. No pressure though, ha.)

But really there are plenty of options and it’s almost hard to go wrong as long as it’s nothing overly-complicated.

143

Hey guys, this is what I look like now: http://i.imgur.com/XaH3ZMC.jpg

Gained about 1kg, so I’m pretty disappointed to be honest, I’m not entirely sure why since I tracked my calories and consistently ate at 3,300. The last 2 weeks I ate 3,900 on workout days and 2,900 on rest days. Pretty clean diet too.

My lifts DID improve though, I did the blending size and strength one, here’s the ones I improved on:

Squat - 50 → 70kg
Prone hamstring Curl - 37.5 → 87.5
DB Stiff DL - 15 ES → 20 ES
Leg Press - 10 ES for 25 reps → 20 ES for 25 reps
Deadlift - 22.5 ES → 32.5 ES
Standing Calf - 2 plates on machine → 8 plates
Bent knee hanging raise - 3x4 → Straight leg hanging raise 3x3

DB decline bench - 15 ES for 12 reps → 17.5 ES for 15 reps, found it harder to lift bigger weights up lying down without a spotter so I changed this to Chest Press on the last time I did it.
Bench Press - 12.5 ES → 16.25 ES
T-Bar Row - 20 → 40
BB Shoulder Press - 5ES → 7.5 ES
Pullup - 5x5 0 weight → 5x5 2.5 weight
BB Curl - 25 3x5 → 25 3x7
DB row - 15 ES for 15 reps → 20 ES for 15 reps
Lat Front Pulldown - 5 plates on machine → 8
Preacher Curl - 2.5 ES for 15 → 3.75 ES for 12
Overhead DB extension - 5 for 15 reps ES → 10 for 6 reps ES

The other 4 there was minimal change as a result of not doing those every single time for various reasons.

Does anyone know why this may be happening? Increasing lifts but not size (significantly)?

144

[quote]Flight1 wrote:

Does anyone know why this may be happening? Increasing lifts but not size (significantly)?

[/quote]

You aren’t eating enough.

145

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:

[quote]Flight1 wrote:

Does anyone know why this may be happening? Increasing lifts but not size (significantly)?[/quote]
You aren’t eating enough.[/quote]
That.

And possibly need more volume in the 60-75% range. And/or increased training density, while still continuing to increase intensity (as in, weight on the bar).

146

What does your training look like? What has it looked like since you last posted?

You mentioned sticking with a program and tracking things, so those questions should be easy to answer.

147

You are 17 years old and skinny, correct? You don’t need to count calories. You definitely aren’t eating enough, so eat more. (Do you drink milk? It’s a good source of protein and easy to add to meals).

Weigh yourself once a week, in the morning, before breakfast. Aim to gain AT LEAST 1/2 lb per week (personally I’d aim for 1 lb / week). If after a couple weeks you still aren’t gaining, add more food. If you gain too much, decrease food. Pretty simple.

148

Problem definitely seems to lie with diet then, I’ll increase my intake by a couple hundred calories and see where I am in a month. Only reason I track is as a say of making sure I’m focused on my diet.

Routine:

Monday: Heavy Upper Body

A1: Barbell bench press 6x3 - 16.25 ES: 3,3,3,3,3,3

A2: T-bar row 6x3 - 40: 3,3,3,3,3,3

B1: Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5 - 7.5ES: 5,5,5,5,3

B2: Pull-up 5x5 - 2.5: 5,5,5,5,

C1: Skullcrusher 3x5 - 5 ES: 5,5,5

C2: Barbell curl 3x5 - 25: 7,7,7

Rest 2-3 mins

Other: decline press 3x5 - 20 ES: 5,5,5

Tuesday: Light Lower Body and Abs stop 1-2 before fail

Leg press 1x25 - 20ES / 1x20 - 22.5 ES/ 1x15 -25 ES: 25,20,15

Dumbbell stiff leg Deadlift 3x13 - 20 ES: 13,13,

Barbell walking lunge 2x15 ES - 25: 15,15

Seated calf raise 3x20 - 0: 20,20,20

Hanging Leg raise 3x15 - 0: 4,4,3

Rest 60 seconds

Thursday: Light Upper Body stop 1-2 before fail

A1: Chest press 1x15 - 80 / 1x12 - 100 / 1x20 - 60: 15,12,20

A2: MTS high row 1x15 - 20 ES / 1x12 - 25 ES / 1x20 - 15 ES: 15,12,20

B1: Dumbbell lateral raise 3x15 - 5ES: 15,14.8,12.3

B2: Pulldown to the front 3x15 - 8 plates: 15,12,11

C1: Preacher curl 2x15 - 3.75 ES: 12,11

C2: Overhead unilateral dumbbell extension 2x15ES - 10: 5,6

60 sec rests

Friday: Heavy Lower Body and Abs

Barbell squat 6x4 - 26.25 ES: 3 (27.5),4,3,0,0,0

Deadlift 1x8 - 22.5 ES / 1x6 - 25 ES/ 1x4 - 30 ES/ 1x2 - 32.5 ES: 7,6,4,2

Lying leg curl (Keep feet pointed down) 3x6 - 87.5: 6,6,4

Standing calf raise 5x5 (position 6) - 8 plates: 5,5,5,5,5

Hanging bent leg raise 3x8 - 0: 8,8,8

Though I haven’t been doing the light workouts the day after, I’d have a rest day. Does this need to change?

149

[quote]Flight1 wrote:
A1: Barbell bench press 6x3 - 16.25 ES: 3,3,3,3,3,3
[/quote]

This notation is just nonsense. This is what you did:

A1: Bench: 6x3 @ 52.5kg

This is simple and no-one will have to do the maths to figure out what weight you actually lifted. It’s also a good idea to tell people whether the numbers you are using are in kg’s or lbs as it makes a huge difference.

I know this isn’t the question you asked but it bugs the hell out of me trying to work out what people mean.

150

This was just my personal notes, so it wasn’t intended to fit everyone else’s way of writing down which weights they lifted. Think it’s more important to focus on the progression than how much is lifted surely?

151

If you’re going to post your lifts you might as well post them in a way that people can understand. I had no idea what “16.25 ES” meant. That is Dagill’s point.

Look, I just read the entire thread, and you have gotten a lot of good advice on what you need to do to add muscular bodyweight. You also seem dedicated. But you really haven’t been making the kind of progress that is possible for a weak skinny teenager who starts lifting. You’re familiar with Rippetoe and Starting Strength – there are plenty examples of 16 year olds gaining 40 or 50 pounds in a few months, adding 100+lbs to their squat and deadlift in that time. When I started lifting at 5’10 150lbs 20 years old I gained 25 lbs in the first 2-3 months. Added over an inch on my arms and suddenly didn’t look so skinny any more, and that was on a pretty mediocre lifting program with only dumbbells and no heavy squatting / deadlifting. This is the norm – they’re called “newbie gains,” and there is no reason you shouldn’t be realizing your own.

You need to lift heavy and hard – making progress on the lifts, getting stronger – and you need to EAT. When I started I basically just added peanut butter and milk to my diet and ate as much of everything as I wanted. It has been said before but if you continue to worry about your abs and “getting fat” you will be severely compromising your ability to get big and strong quickly.

152

[quote] craze9 wrote:
If you’re going to post your lifts you might as well post them in a way that people can understand. I had no idea what “16.25 ES” meant. That is Dagill’s point. [/quote]

Fair point, will ensure I do it next time.

[quote] Look, I just read the entire thread, and you have gotten a lot of good advice on what you need to do to add muscular bodyweight. You also seem dedicated. But you really haven’t been making the kind of progress that is possible for a weak skinny teenager who starts lifting. You’re familiar with Rippetoe and Starting Strength – there are plenty examples of 16 year olds gaining 40 or 50 pounds in a few months, adding 100+lbs to their squat and deadlift in that time. When I started lifting at 5’10 150lbs 20 years old I gained 25 lbs in the first 2-3 months. Added over an inch on my arms and suddenly didn’t look so skinny any more, and that was on a pretty mediocre lifting program with only dumbbells and no heavy squatting / deadlifting. This is the norm – they’re called “newbie gains,” and there is no reason you shouldn’t be realizing your own.

You need to lift heavy and hard – making progress on the lifts, getting stronger – and you need to EAT. When I started I basically just added peanut butter and milk to my diet and ate as much of everything as I wanted. It has been said before but if you continue to worry about your abs and “getting fat” you will be severely compromising your ability to get big and strong quickly.
[/quote]

Yeah, it’s been frustrating not being able to make as much progress as I can, I’ll just have to REALLY step up my intake, see how I progress and then decide whether or not to keep/increase/decrease intake. I’ve been getting in a lot more vegetables and having ~500ml of full fat milk a day, and at least 1 peanut butter sandwich on brown bread.

153

Vegetables are great but they have very few calories so are not a bulking staple. Eat them, just don’t focus on them or fill up on them (e.g. don’t eat a pound of broccoli as a meal).

But your plan sounds good. Keep eating and if the scale doesn’t move every week add more calories. Good luck.

154

Also just want to add that 500 ml of milk / day really isn’t that much. That’s what, 300 kcal?

You’ve heard of GOMAD – gallon of milk a day? It’s not for everyone but a lot of skinny teens have used it successfully, and that is 3,800 ml of milk / day. Just to put things in perspective.

It’s fine to try 500ml for now but if you continue to not gain weight you know what the problem is.

155

Thanks, it should do the trick. Yeah i have heard of that, part of the reason I never did it was simply the cost, as 3.8L of milk a day can be expensive but I’ll certainly try and step up to 750ml to help reach that caloric goal.

156

[quote]craze9 wrote:
Vegetables are great but they have very few calories so are not a bulking staple. Eat them, just don’t focus on them or fill up on them (e.g. don’t eat a pound of broccoli as a meal).
[/quote]

What is wrong with eating a pound of broccoli? Because it isn’t dense in calories?

The OP is 16 years old, and you’re telling him not to eat his veggies…

157

OP, here’s my two cents.

You’re 15? 16? You are probably 2, MAYBE 3 years into puberty.
Some kids grow faster, some slower.

My wrestling partner in high school started his freshman year at 95lbs, soaking wet. I was a sophomore then and brushed him off because of his stature. I’ll tell you that I learned one of my very first lessons in humility that first day I trained with him. I outweighed him by 20lbs, and yet he wiped the floor with me. I made it to states. He won the states and went on to wrestle at an Ivy League university.

He is now, 195lbs @6’2. Shredded. Drug free, doesn’t lift weights more than twice a week, and wrestles 5 - 7 days a week.

Doing crazy shit like pounding your face with food because want a 27 year olds body in a year is gonna fuck up your gut for the rest of your life (if not done properly). Drinking a gallon of milk will make you gain weight. Hence, it works… but so does stealing and cheating.
Or you can be smart, start slow and have patience, which is hard to do of course. But unless you have a coach monitoring you, I wouldn’t take any drastic measures.

In the end, it’s up to you to decide what approach to take. But take anything you read or hear with a grain of salt.

158

[quote]Jarvan wrote:

[quote]craze9 wrote:
Vegetables are great but they have very few calories so are not a bulking staple. Eat them, just don’t focus on them or fill up on them (e.g. don’t eat a pound of broccoli as a meal).
[/quote]

The OP is 16 years old, and you’re telling him not to eat his veggies…

[/quote]

LOL!!!

159

[quote]Jarvan wrote:

[quote]craze9 wrote:
Vegetables are great but they have very few calories so are not a bulking staple. Eat them, just don’t focus on them or fill up on them (e.g. don’t eat a pound of broccoli as a meal).
[/quote]

What is wrong with eating a pound of broccoli? Because it isn’t dense in calories?

The OP is 16 years old, and you’re telling him not to eat his veggies…

[/quote]

Did you read the thread? He is 17 years old and has been training for 1.5 years and still under 160lbs at 5’10.

Obviously he should eat veggies and I didn’t say he shouldn’t but if he has trouble eating enough food, adding a pound of broccoli isn’t going to help. I eat a pound of broccoli when I’m dieting, because it is not calorically dense but still fills you up, which is the opposite of what the OP needs.

160

Just wanted to run through your progress highlights from Day One here. I might’ve missed an update or two, but it looks like you’re up 18kg in 19 months. 3kg of that was in the first month alone.

That would be great progress for an average dude in his early-30s. But that’s insanely-slow progress for an underweight 6-foot tall 15/16 year old. I’m 100% serious when I say that your habit and consistency with checking in here is probably in the top 10% of guys on the site, but unfortunately your progress is very-not that.

Look way back that first month. You even said that you gained a kilo in two weeks because of the food, but somewhere along the way, pretty quick, that started to slide. You should not have a 1,000 calorie difference between training and rest days. You should not be eating just 500 calories more than you were seven months ago (this past April).

You do know what you should be doing.

[quote]Flight1 wrote:
Gained about 1kg, so I’m pretty disappointed to be honest, I’m not entirely sure why since I tracked my calories and consistently ate at 3,300. […] Yeah, it’s been frustrating not being able to make as much progress as I can, I’ll just have to REALLY step up my intake[/quote]

Oct 5 '14:

[quote]I haven’t been eating loads or counting calories, I was scared of overeating and becoming too fat so that’s probably why. Really going to take more care of my diet again.

Weigh pretty much the same, if not slightly less.[/quote]
August 6 '14:

May 29 '14

April 4 '14:

Oct 13 '13:

June 9 '13:

May 16 '13:

April 26 '13:

April 12 '13: