[Anonymous]

Hey, i'm a 19 (almost 20) year old male and although i wouldn't class myself underweight i would like to build up a bit over the summer. But i just have a couple of quick questions ,

1) In term of weight gain , is it more effective to eat 3 meals larger meals a day or 4 or 5 smaller meals ?

2) Over the course of let's say 3 months could i realistically gain a stone or so ?

3) Can i build muscle ( i don't want to build a lot of muscle just bulk up a bit ) without weights ( Sit ups, Push ups etc) on a daily basis ?

Thank you

[EonBlueApocalypse]

(1) Neither, it's effective to eat 4-5 medium/large meals a day. To gain weight= More calories in than calories used.

(2) If you've never used weights before yes it's possible, these are called noob gains. When I started training I put on 10kg of muscle in 10 weeks, before it started to slow down.

(3) Unless your incredible weak, sit-ups and press ups wont do anything really. You could put books or something in a backpack and do it that way. But realistically the only way you're going reach your goal is to join a gym.

[tans8701]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Hey, i'm a 19 (almost 20) year old male and although i wouldn't class myself underweight i would like to build up a bit over the summer. But i just have a couple of quick questions ,

1) In term of weight gain , is it more effective to eat 3 meals larger meals a day or 4 or 5 smaller meals ?

2) Over the course of let's say 3 months could i realistically gain a stone or so ?

3) Can i build muscle ( i don't want to build a lot of muscle just bulk up a bit ) without weights ( Sit ups, Push ups etc) on a daily basis ?

Thank you

1, 4/5 smaller meals would be better, but more important is the type of nutrition you want to be eating 2g protein per kg body mass this is fundamental
to gaining mass through repairing and increasing the size of microtears within the muscle fibre after training

2, yes easily provided you have a clever work out plan and work efficiently and effectively, ideally train 3 times a week

3, stay away from to much cardio but make sure you warm up well, do compound exercises, squats, dead lifts, pull ups, bench press. you will need to use weights, pull ups/ press-ups on their own are good but if you want 3mts 1stone you need to use weights, and go heavy (80% close to your one rep maximum) 4-6 reps 3sets

[monk_keys]

Hi,

two observations I'd like to make.

1) With regards to meal frequency don't get bogged down in what's supposed to be most effective and what the science says. It's far more effective to go with what you find easiest to apply to your daily life, you're far more likely to stick to it this way and that's what's most important!

2) Although sit-ups and push-ups specifically wont do much, I'm guessing what you really want to know about is putting on muscle without having to go to the gym. There are many great exercises you can do using your own body weight, check out books like 'Building the Gymnastic Body'.

Good luck!

[GodspeedGehenna]

(Original post by EonBlueApocalypse)
When I started training I put on 10kg of muscle in 10 weeks, before it started to slow down.

No you didn't.

[Arcanine]

(Original post by EonBlueApocalypse)
(1) Neither, it's effective to eat 4-5 medium/large meals a day. To gain weight= More calories in than calories used.

(2) If you've never used weights before yes it's possible, these are called noob gains. When I started training I put on 10kg of muscle in 10 weeks, before it started to slow down.

(3) Unless your incredible weak, sit-ups and press ups wont do anything really. You could put books or something in a backpack and do it that way. But realistically the only way you're going reach your goal is to join a gym.

lol, you put on near enough ten kilos of fat.

[Arcanine]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Hey, i'm a 19 (almost 20) year old male and although i wouldn't class myself underweight i would like to build up a bit over the summer. But i just have a couple of quick questions ,

1) In term of weight gain , is it more effective to eat 3 meals larger meals a day or 4 or 5 smaller meals ?

2) Over the course of let's say 3 months could i realistically gain a stone or so ?

3) Can i build muscle ( i don't want to build a lot of muscle just bulk up a bit ) without weights ( Sit ups, Push ups etc) on a daily basis ?

Thank you

1. Just eat until everything you can, until you can't eat any more.
2. Yes.
3. Not really, you will get a little stronger and a little bigger but you'll plateau very fast.

[EonBlueApocalypse]

(Original post by GodspeedGehenna)
No you didn't.

I was EXTREMELY skinny had never lifted weights and suddenly started eating above 3500 calories a day and lifting 3 times a week. They were complete noob gains and I've never had such gains since. I have nothing to prove, why would I lie?

[EonBlueApocalypse]

(Original post by Arcanine)
lol, you put on near enough ten kilos of fat.

No put on hardly any fat actually. Gains like that aren't impossible when you start training and eating above 3500 calories a day when you've never lifted weights before in your life. Obviously once after this time gains slow down ridiculously and now i struggle to put on 1kg in a month but I got nothing to gain by lying. Just saying it's not impossible IF you've never ever trained before. Get off your high horse.

[LookIt'sPete]

(Original post by EonBlueApocalypse)
When I started training I put on 10kg of muscle in 10 weeks

lololololololllololoolololol

[GodspeedGehenna]

(Original post by EonBlueApocalypse)
No put on hardly any fat actually. Gains like that aren't impossible when you start training and eating above 3500 calories a day when you've never lifted weights before in your life. Obviously once after this time gains slow down ridiculously and now i struggle to put on 1kg in a month but I got nothing to gain by lying. Just saying it's not impossible IF you've never ever trained before. Get off your high horse.

Were you also popping dbol for breakfast?

[Rookai]

1. My body builder friends would say you should eat every 2.5 hours but that's a bit complex for what we have here. Just out of preference I'd say 4 or 5 meals would be ideal, but don't eat smaller meals. To gain weight you need to eat more than you currently do (which is the amount of food required to sustain your current weight). You want to try and eat as much protein as you can (shoot for 1 gram of protein per lb you weigh) and generally up the amount of food you consume. Protein shakes could be something to look into but I prefer wholefoods to shakes, but it's your call.

2. That seems a reasonable enough goal.

3. I'm not sure how you will put on a stone if you don't want a lot of muscle because I'd assume you don't want to be fat either. You can definitely bulk up without weights, but it's much more convenient to join a gym though so you have access to free weights and machines. If you really want to completely skip weights though, you want to devise a routine that just uses body-weight exercises. Have a look around different websites, the internet is full of useful stuff. A key term that people throw around is 'Prison work outs'. That's how prisoners get hench in jail without equipment, books like "convict conditioning" might be something to check out.

Also:

(Original post by GodspeedGehenna)
Were you also popping dbol for breakfast?

Breakfast, lunch and dinner seemingly

[Old School]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Hey, i'm a 19 (almost 20) year old male and although i wouldn't class myself underweight i would like to build up a bit over the summer. But i just have a couple of quick questions ,

1) In term of weight gain , is it more effective to eat 3 meals larger meals a day or 4 or 5 smaller meals ?

2) Over the course of let's say 3 months could i realistically gain a stone or so ?

3) Can i build muscle ( i don't want to build a lot of muscle just bulk up a bit ) without weights ( Sit ups, Push ups etc) on a daily basis ?

Thank you

1) Doesn't matter. Just eat more food.

2) Yes, so long as you do #1

3) No. Join a gym.

[Old School]

(Original post by GodspeedGehenna)
No you didn't.

Can be done.

Just because you didn't achieve the same doesn't mean it isn't possible.

[allthelove]

You're best gaining muscle not fat, so eat a large of protein and exercise. Or just binge on food.

[Z.93]

i was in the same boat as you a few months ago, but started eating tonnes of protein rich foods, cut down on cardio because i was getting too much exercise and not eating enough to replace burnt energy/calories

since then my arms dont look skinny anymore and my body has shaped up nicely, because of doing 'weighted' sit-ups and press-ups..meaning i hold a weight while exercising to add resistance which means hard work!!

lol but fret not my friend, your still young and being slim is great, just eat protein rich food like chicken and meat and stay healthy
good luck

[toshi44]

I would love to lose weight.