I’m 28 yrs old and I’ve been lifting in and out for the last 2 years. Now I’m trying to make it seriosly. I’m 5’6" ft, 150 lbs. I always get frustrated with my weight, it is so hard for me to gain just 2 pounds. and I can loose 8 in two weeks. I know that this website has a LOT of good stuff to read but I will apreciate any help in my training program and weight problem. Also I will apreciate help with my arms, no matter what I do they don’t grow
I go to the gym 5 days a week and do some cardio in the pool (2)days.
Do I have to take supplements? suggestion?
thanks!
p.s. I found this website during a search and It’s GREAT.
Supplements are not a must but they can help. The only “supplements” that I usually take are fish oil, flax oil, a multivitamin, and protein powder. But I consider these to be part of my “diet” instead.
THe main thing is to get consistent with your training and diet. You must get used to eating enough calories every day before you can put on some muscle. Keeping a food log will help.
Diet: If you can’t increase your body weight, increase your calorie intake.
Supplements:Supplements supplement a nutrition plan. They only work if you have a need for them.
Use a decent training programme for weight gain. Compound exercises, Squats, Deadlifts, Chins, Rows, Presses.
Drop the cardio its to catabolic.
Here’s a diet you could follow that would get u to a reasonable bodyweight.
Upon Rising
1 x tspn Creatine
1 x tsp L-Glutamine
1 scoop of Maltodextrin
Blend all in water
Meal 1
2 x egg yolks and 6 x egg whites scrambled
2 pieces wholemeal toast
Large bowl of rolled oats
Meal 2
1 tspn of Creatine
Medium tin of tuna or chicken breast
250g low fat cottage cheese
Baked potato or rice or pasta
Vegetables or salad
Meal 3
1 tspn of Creatine
Chicken breast or lean beef
Baked potato or rice or pasta or wholemeal bread
Large salad or vegetables
Meal 4
1 x 200g Danone flavoured yoghurt
or 2 x scoops Whey Protein
Meal 5
2 scoops Whey Protein
1 tspn of creatine
1 tspn of L-Glutamine
1 x Danone flavoured yoghurt
1/2 later - TRAIN
After Training
4 scoops of Maltodextrin
3 scoops Whey Protein
2 tspns Creatine
2 tspns L-Glutamine
Blend all in water
Meal 5
Lean beef, chicken, or fish
Baked potato or rice or pasta
Vegetables or salad
Meal 6
2 scoops Whey Protein
1 tspn L-Glutamine
1 Danone flavoured yoghurt
Blend in water
Note
After 7 days of loading, drop creatine from meals 2 & 3
Maintain Creatine dose of 3 tspns a day for 7 weeks, followed by 2 weeks off Creatine
Repeat cycle
On rest days
Drop supplements used immediately after training
Tip
Minimum 3 litres water per day
And a Training Programme
Routine A – Three days a week
Monday
Flat barbell or dumbbell bench press: 4 x 8-12
Squats: 4 x 12-20
Barbell rows: 4 x 8-12
Barbell curls:3 x 8-12
Wednesday
Chin-ups: 4 x 8-12 (add weight if needed)
Overhead barbell or dumbbell press:4 x 8-12
Stiff-leg deadlifts:4 x 8-12
(Note: hamstrings have recently been found to react better to rep ranges traditionally suited to the upper body, while quadriceps still need higher reps)
Leg curls:4 x 12-20
Friday
Deadlifts: 4 x 8-12
Weighted dips: 4 x 8-12
Lying triceps extensions: 3 x 8-12
Standing calf raise: 3 x 12-20
Crunches: 3 x 12-20 (hold weight if needed)
Follow this for 12 weeks and I guarantee that you would gain at least 15 pounds naturally.
My friend you have indeed come to the right place. I’m not the one to answer your training/nutrition questions specifically, but when T-Nation says it is bodybuilding’s think tank, it’s true. Building size/gaining weight requires time and experimentation with different training methods and nutrition regimens. As all of us have discovered, what works for one may not work for another. There are hundreds of training programs and nutrition articles on this site to address your desires. Take your time and use the search feature here to read up. You will literally find tons of information that will help. One observation though, if I may: although you don’t mention anything about your current training program or dietary habits, I would guess that 1) 5 days/week of training is too much or 2) your’re not eating enough. Most likely a combination of the two. A long time back an article ( I believe “The Diet Manifesto”) addressed the “I can’t gain weight” plea, and the bottom line was “It’s your diet, stupid.” Not calling you stupid, mind you, it was just the response. Nutrition/diet has more to do with gaining than does your workout. I think that you will find this message repeated again and again. Good luck and welcom to T-Nation.
Aemx,
1)5’6", 150 lbs: you are not skinny !
2) Forget the arms at the moment: try to slowly raise your bodyweight approximatively 1lb/month.
3) Hit the gym 3 times/week or one day on/one day off.
4)In this way you have enough time to recover. You build muscles during the recovery days.
5) Concentrate on the big compound movements. Choose one of the many T-Nation bulking programs: ABBH, Westside, De Franco’s, CT’s, IK’s etc.
6) Anyway no bulking program will work unless you eat properly. Choose a proper T-Nation bulking diet.
7) cardio: 1 day/week.
8) To get bigger arms you have to raise your bodyweight. At 170 lbs your arms will probably be about 15", a reasonable measure.
Luca
I would like to start and say that your diet is going to be the #1 factor to your goals.
I would suggest that you post your current diet so we can help you along more.
Food LOG.
Are you keeping one?? This will be very helpfull. It is a valuable tool that you will need to Gain weight. Many so called “hard gainers” are amazed at how little they are actually eating when they take the time to keep track.
Training= Train hard, keep it fresh, dont over do it, and get plenty of rest. If you have been lift in the high rep range for a long time then change it up, go for a low rep strength program or vise versa. Limit your cardio.
As far as supplements. Grow could help you a lot. Liquid calories like this can add up real fast and pack on weight.
Surge. This is a must. Not only in helping you preserve/gain weight, but also optimizing recovery and growth. Slam a serving or two of this down after/during/before training.
You may consider Alpha Male, Tribex, Red Kat, and M. This will optimize T and limit E. I would say hold off on these a bit, and get that diet nailed first. Go with the Grow, Surge, and food as your supplements until then.
As I stated before, post up that diet and training you are currently doing and we will all be able to chime in with much more usefull info… Making sure you are getting all your different macros and such (P,C,F). More often than not many hard gainers short themselves on Fats mainly, then protein, and sometimes carbs.
dwain - Thanks for your recommendation and training program… i will try to adjust my schedule to it! the diet is also great, what is L-Glutamine and what it does?
luca - thanks for your support comments “5’6”, 150 lbs: you are not skinny ! " but is the fist time in my live that i hit the 150…
Phil - thanks for your suplement suggestion, I skip to post my diet,it is a crap… it include, tv-dinner, McDonalds, and who knows!
…thanks to all the people that reply, i should find this website two years ago
Pure powder free-form L-Glutamine is the most bio-available form of L-Glutamine as it requires no carriers to enter the bloodstream or muscle cells.
L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue. It is also very abundant in the immune system.
L-Glutamine stores are depleted during any form of high intensity training (i.e. weight training, cycling, running etc) through the “glucose alanine cycle”. This can cause catabolism muscle breakdown.
Supplementation of L-Glutamine helps restore levels in muscle providing an anabolic environment muscle growth. It will also restore health and integrity of the immune system preventing overtraining syndrome.
L-Glutamine combines very well with micronised creatine to aid recovery and increase lean muscle mass.
I Recommend a dosage of: 10g-30g per day
A Program that i normally use:
Upon rising: 5g 1x teaspoon L-Glutamine
30 mins before training or event: 5-10g 1-2x teaspoon L-Glutamine
Immediately after training or event: 5-10g 1-2x teaspoon L-Glutamine
60-80g Pure Carbs
Before bed: 5g 1x teaspoon L-Glutamine
Tips
Use 10g pure carbohydrates in liquid or powder form with every 5g dose.
Use 60-80g pure carbohydrates in liquid form after training and games for glycogen replenishment and insulin spike increasing Glutamine uptake and providing an anabolic drive.
As far as diet. Just start slow, it is a lifestyle change. Dont try and do it all in one day.
Just try and clean it up and go from there. Check out JB’s “7 habits” article.
Nail these basics and you will be well on your way.
As for training I would suggest simply picking out one of the many from this site. Whichever catches your fancy, and run it as written to completion.
They are all great programs and have there place. Run one to completion, then choose another and do the same, etc… Keeping it fresh and keeping the gains coming.
Good Luck, Glad we could all help. Come on back with any further ?'s
