I have been trying to bulk up for 2 years with no success. I am a skinny 18 year old 155 pound 6’3 male who swims competitively 5 times a week for two hours per day. Stopping swimming is not something I am able to do. Im just wondering how much I need to eat and when I should space out my meals.
list out every single thing you ate and drank yesterday
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That is eerily similar to me at 18, almost down to to the exact weight, height, and the swimming regimen.
List what an honest day of food looks like, what your goals are for bulking, and we can go from there.
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3 eggs for breakfast with a protein shake with protein powder, bananas, and milk, A sandwich with 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 6 slices of ham, and lettuce, a bowl full of peanuts, Indian curry with 3 chicken breasts, and a second protein shake.
Is there a reason you are eating chicken breasts compared to the cuts of meat that would have fat on them, like thighs?
You need to eat more food. “Bowl full” isn’t too helpful of a measurement when it comes to peanuts.
For breakfast, I’d double the amount of eggs and include some sort of meat alongside it.
For that midday meal, I would have at least 2 sandwiches, rather than just one.
Do you permit yourself to eat things like cottage cheese and greek yogurt? How about ghee?
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Got it — let’s break it down step by step with rough estimates. Exact calories will depend on portion sizes, brand, and prep, but here’s a solid ballpark:
Breakfast
- 3 large eggs → ~210 kcal
- Protein shake (1 scoop protein powder ~120, 1 medium banana ~105, 1 cup milk ~100) → ~325 kcal
Breakfast total: ~535 kcal
Lunch (sandwich)
- 2 slices whole wheat bread → ~160 kcal
- 6 slices deli ham (~3 oz) → ~90 kcal
- Lettuce → ~5 kcal
Sandwich total: ~255 kcal
Snack
- Bowl of peanuts (depends on size, but 1 cup shelled is ~830 kcal — bowls are usually around that much)
Snack total: ~800–900 kcal
Dinner (Indian curry with chicken)
- 3 chicken breasts (~24 oz raw, ~700 kcal cooked)
- Curry sauce (oil, cream, spices) → can vary a lot. Let’s estimate ~300–400 kcal depending on richness
Dinner total: ~1,000–1,100 kcal
Second protein shake
(Same as first: ~325 kcal)
Grand total estimate:
535 (breakfast) + 255 (sandwich) + 850 (peanuts) + 1,050 (curry) + 325 (shake)
≈ 3,000 calories
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Crazy question, maybe: Are you lifting weights?
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I’m not typically one to opine on what somebody’s goals should be, but why do you want to bulk aggressively if you’re a competitive swimmer?
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Exception to the rule and not really a competitive swimmer in that sense, but you can be a decent swimmer and bigger/stronger, but your point is definitely valid.
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More than you’re eating right now.
2-4 hours apart.
155g protein daily
50g fat daily
As many carbs as you can stomach, preferably timed around your weight lifting (which I assume you are doing..?)
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I get that (and also get you aren’t arguing against), but I’ll take the opportunity to make my point: our competitive window is so short, and the odds so long, why do anything that doesn’t help?
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Was a serious swimmer 45 yrs ago47.1 100, 1:42.0 200, 4 :35 500, 15:53 1650. In season averaged 14,000-16,000yds a day, more in the summer , (2 workouts). Don’t worry about “ bulking” during season, focus should be on swimming and recovery. In off season you can prioritize weightlifting. Definitely need to eat more, get more protein, probably 200g a day, and more carbs. You’re a teen, eating while doing sports should be easy. I also coached womens swimming in the Big 10 and big 12.
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A study in 2016 found the average size of Olympic swimmers was 6’2” and 180 pounds.
Do we believe in the concept of “Model Athletes” and trying to build bodies that match up to these “ideal” standards?
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Would also be helpful to know what his events are. Speaking very generally, sprinters require more power than distance swimmer. I was an OK sprinter, but was more of a distance swimmer. In HS was 6’1” 175ish, in college got to 6’2” and 185. Rarely saw slender sprinters in D1 swimming.
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I believe the opposite: the sport will naturally select those best suited for it.
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What do you think I’ve been doing over here??
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Now I have a ton of questions about swimming.
Can a thin swimmer gain muscle mass just by eating more food while doing the same swim training, without weights?
Are there any lifts that are correlated to swim performance? Chin ups, squats and hanging leg raises seem almost universal for other sports. Do the “work” for the pool?
How do you know if training is having a positive effect? Do you have to wait for competition day to see if you got faster in real races? Or are there “Performance Indicators” that coaches measure during practices?
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Great, complete answer.
I’ve never heard of a Swim Bench, that’s pretty cool. Water like resistance (isokinetic?) sounds neat.
Yup. They’ve been around since the late 70’s. Allows a closer simulation of stroke and speed, I really liked them. Good for power.
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That’s cool.
Every once in a while a great lifter will mention using some old school rope resisted iso-contraption. And they always say how great it works.
Swimming sounds like a great use for that type of resistance.
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