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Guide to GAINING Weight - for us skinny folk!
This poll is closed
What is the worst thing about being skinny? (click more than one if needed)
People telling you that you look underweight, or need to gain weight.31%
Lack of 'presence' when around other bulkier people.20%
Inability to control your weight.9%
Embarrassment on beaches or in swimming pools etc.18%
Worry that people of the opposite sex are not attracted to your weight class.21%
Total votes: 127
Hi,
I have read many posts asking how to gain weight, and so here we go.
Let me start by saying - skinny folk can only gain weight in one manner - dedicated hard work, and commitment. Without which you will fail.
Background info:
I'm currently 28, 5'8" and 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7).
Up until 2 years ago I was 8 stone in weight.
I am also male.
I understand the frustration of gaining weight, when everyone around is bigger. I used to eat 1kg of chocolate a day, large meals and cokes galore to gain weight.. no joy.
The reality is, if you have a fast metabolism, you will never gain fat.. your only hope is to gain muscle, and this is actually possible.
Method:
Unlike your big bulk mates, you will need a different tactic to gain muscle, here is a program I wrote after years of reading.
Exercises:
First thing you need to do is make sure you do not carry skinny fat. If you have a belly on your skinny body, you have to lose this first. Cardio exercises every day until you do.
Weight training.
To gain muscle you will need a strict regimé of muscle training and diet. Luckily skinny folk dont need to work out as much as bulky folk, as too much exercise is detrimental for high metabolisms.
Basically 3 x 1hour workouts a week. Each 1 hour workout you need to work on 2 of these muscle groups:
- arms (Biceps)
- arms (Triceps)
- Chest
- Back
- Legs x 2 (upper and lower)
Also every workout should end with stomach crunches.
Work on 2 muscle groups for 1 hour, then rest those groups until next week.
Microworkout.
Each workout should be planned in this way. I will give an example of using a leg lift.
You will need a session to find your starting weights.
Find the weights which exhaust you after 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 lifts. Write these down, as these are your weights.
Then on each session lift those weights, in that order, that many times.. with a 2 minute rest between each set.
E.g.
12 x 50kg
10 x 40kg
8 x... etc
Then finish with your 12 lifts of the lowest weight.
Switch to muscle group 2, then 1 then 2 then 1... etc until you hit an hours workout. Then Stop! Stretch your muscles then go home (and ache! lol).
If you are not wasted after a workout, you have not pushed yourself enough!
Repeat 3 times a week, with 2 different muscle groups each day. Do not do cardio.. your high metabolism will just burn off muscle if you do. This regime is to gain mass, not tone up.
Diet
This is the key to success or failure.
The golden rule.. you must NEVER feel hungry. High metabolism = muscle breakdown everytime you feel hungry. Skinny folk carry little fat, and so they feed off muscle tissue when they are hungry.
So, you will probably need to eat 8 times a day.
What to eat.
Of course, you need greens and fruit and some fat (do not avoid fat).
But essentially you need high carbs and high protein. Eat protein in every meal, and carbs throughout the day, but not in the evening. Eat more carbs 30 - 45 mins b4 a workout, and lots of protein immediately after a workout.
Stick at this for 3 months, and you should start to see a difference.
Cheers
Rad
I have read many posts asking how to gain weight, and so here we go.
Let me start by saying - skinny folk can only gain weight in one manner - dedicated hard work, and commitment. Without which you will fail.
Background info:
I'm currently 28, 5'8" and 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7).
Up until 2 years ago I was 8 stone in weight.
I am also male.
I understand the frustration of gaining weight, when everyone around is bigger. I used to eat 1kg of chocolate a day, large meals and cokes galore to gain weight.. no joy.
The reality is, if you have a fast metabolism, you will never gain fat.. your only hope is to gain muscle, and this is actually possible.
Method:
Unlike your big bulk mates, you will need a different tactic to gain muscle, here is a program I wrote after years of reading.
Exercises:
First thing you need to do is make sure you do not carry skinny fat. If you have a belly on your skinny body, you have to lose this first. Cardio exercises every day until you do.
Weight training.
To gain muscle you will need a strict regimé of muscle training and diet. Luckily skinny folk dont need to work out as much as bulky folk, as too much exercise is detrimental for high metabolisms.
Basically 3 x 1hour workouts a week. Each 1 hour workout you need to work on 2 of these muscle groups:
- arms (Biceps)
- arms (Triceps)
- Chest
- Back
- Legs x 2 (upper and lower)
Also every workout should end with stomach crunches.
Work on 2 muscle groups for 1 hour, then rest those groups until next week.
Microworkout.
Each workout should be planned in this way. I will give an example of using a leg lift.
You will need a session to find your starting weights.
Find the weights which exhaust you after 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 lifts. Write these down, as these are your weights.
Then on each session lift those weights, in that order, that many times.. with a 2 minute rest between each set.
E.g.
12 x 50kg
10 x 40kg
8 x... etc
Then finish with your 12 lifts of the lowest weight.
Switch to muscle group 2, then 1 then 2 then 1... etc until you hit an hours workout. Then Stop! Stretch your muscles then go home (and ache! lol).
If you are not wasted after a workout, you have not pushed yourself enough!
Repeat 3 times a week, with 2 different muscle groups each day. Do not do cardio.. your high metabolism will just burn off muscle if you do. This regime is to gain mass, not tone up.
Diet
This is the key to success or failure.
The golden rule.. you must NEVER feel hungry. High metabolism = muscle breakdown everytime you feel hungry. Skinny folk carry little fat, and so they feed off muscle tissue when they are hungry.
So, you will probably need to eat 8 times a day.
What to eat.
Of course, you need greens and fruit and some fat (do not avoid fat).
But essentially you need high carbs and high protein. Eat protein in every meal, and carbs throughout the day, but not in the evening. Eat more carbs 30 - 45 mins b4 a workout, and lots of protein immediately after a workout.
Stick at this for 3 months, and you should start to see a difference.
Cheers
Rad
Scroll to see replies
Radnmad
The reality is, if you have a fast metabolism, you will never gain fat.
Not true at all.
Radnmad
First thing you need to do is make sure you do not carry skinny fat. If you have a belly on your skinny body, you have to lose this first. Cardio exercises every day until you do.
First thing you need to do is make sure you do not carry skinny fat. If you have a belly on your skinny body, you have to lose this first. Cardio exercises every day until you do.
I disagree. If you're already skinny, there's no point getting even skinnier. On a bulk you will gain fat anyway so just bulk and get rid of it when you cut.
Radnmad
Also every workout should end with stomach crunches.
Radnmad
Microworkout.
Each workout should be planned in this way. I will give an example of using a leg lift.
You will need a session to find your starting weights.
Find the weights which exhaust you after 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 lifts. Write these down, as these are your weights.
Then on each session lift those weights, in that order, that many times.. with a 2 minute rest between each set.
E.g.
12 x 50kg
10 x 40kg
8 x... etc
Then finish with your 12 lifts of the lowest weight.
Switch to muscle group 2, then 1 then 2 then 1... etc until you hit an hours workout. Then Stop! Stretch your muscles then go home (and ache! lol).
If you are not wasted after a workout, you have not pushed yourself enough!
Microworkout.
Each workout should be planned in this way. I will give an example of using a leg lift.
You will need a session to find your starting weights.
Find the weights which exhaust you after 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 lifts. Write these down, as these are your weights.
Then on each session lift those weights, in that order, that many times.. with a 2 minute rest between each set.
E.g.
12 x 50kg
10 x 40kg
8 x... etc
Then finish with your 12 lifts of the lowest weight.
Switch to muscle group 2, then 1 then 2 then 1... etc until you hit an hours workout. Then Stop! Stretch your muscles then go home (and ache! lol).
If you are not wasted after a workout, you have not pushed yourself enough!
What's the point. I read half of that then stopped. For a beginner simply do 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Nuff said.
Radnmad
So, you will probably need to eat 8 times a day.
5-6 small meals. Not 8. It's not that hardcore.
Reply 2
That sounds very good guild. I might start following it.
im also 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7) coming from 9 and a half and i gained that in last few months by doing no excercise and just eating.. .. i will start my years training at the end of this month..... but there would be no need to loose this fat if i was planning on ganing it again right? fat can turn into muscle easily??
im also 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7) coming from 9 and a half and i gained that in last few months by doing no excercise and just eating.. .. i will start my years training at the end of this month..... but there would be no need to loose this fat if i was planning on ganing it again right? fat can turn into muscle easily??
Reply 4
yo-sup-man
That sounds very good guild. I might start following it.
im also 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7) coming from 9 and a half and i gained that in last few months by doing no excercise and just eating.. .. i will start my years training at the end of this month..... but there would be no need to loose this fat if i was planning on ganing it again right? fat can turn into muscle easily??
im also 147lbs in weight. (10stone 7) coming from 9 and a half and i gained that in last few months by doing no excercise and just eating.. .. i will start my years training at the end of this month..... but there would be no need to loose this fat if i was planning on ganing it again right? fat can turn into muscle easily??
fat does not turn into muscle, muscle turns into fat when you stop your strict exercise regiem but continue to consume all of hte high calories that you would need if you were working out. You dont need to get fat first to start weight training, im gaining a 1lb a week, just by working out for an hour a day, and having a strict balanced diet, i eat lots of protien and carbs, like pasta, tuna, cheese, milk & potatoes, try to avaoid eating things with white sugar you want more complex sugars such as those found in honey,
Reply 5
Radnmad
OP
This guide is based on my own experience, and many years reading and experimenting.
Skinny people can carry fat, usually on one area of the body. And no, this is not a sign they can bulk up. If you wish to lose this, lose it before you gain muscle mass, as skinny people burn muscle as easily as fat - if you gain bulk, you will probably regret not losing it and so try to later - only to find you are losing muscle as well.
Fat doesnt turn into muscle, so lose it first.
Lapsaj's comments on getting skinner first are not helpful. I know as a skinny person that I carried no belly, but I have older friends who did, they needed to lose this first.
8 meals a day is necessary. I know from 'experience'. I am not prescribing 8 huge meals, but a meal between every meal and before sleep, to avoid any hunger pangs.. as these are the killer when gaining mass.
The 8th meal is the extra one you need after a workout.
Abdominal muscles are perhaps the quickest recovering muscles in the body, they build quickly and dont need so long to rest. Also I am prescribing stomach crunches, which are not as exhausting and damaging as heavy weights.
The science behind gaining weight on muscles, is in tearing them and then prompting the body to repair the muscle with the protein you consume. Hence the progression of weights. Bulky folk can just throw themselves into repeating sets of heavy weights, but for more defined building it is better to move up the weight sets as I have described. I used this and later many people in the gym started to also, after talking to me about my workout. Many men who thought they had reached their peak started to see more progress.
It is important to build a stamina with your strength, hence the progression. Skinny beginners make an error in throwing themselves into repeated sets of 6-8. That is the workout heavier folk do, who can use the gym daily due to their metabolism.
Again, I offer this as no better than any other personal experimented methods for skinny folk. I just know it worked for me, and people I know - and I tried many no starters prior.
If you have criticisms, why not channel them into writing a program people can use rather than just slating this attempt to help people.
Rad
Skinny people can carry fat, usually on one area of the body. And no, this is not a sign they can bulk up. If you wish to lose this, lose it before you gain muscle mass, as skinny people burn muscle as easily as fat - if you gain bulk, you will probably regret not losing it and so try to later - only to find you are losing muscle as well.
Fat doesnt turn into muscle, so lose it first.
Lapsaj's comments on getting skinner first are not helpful. I know as a skinny person that I carried no belly, but I have older friends who did, they needed to lose this first.
8 meals a day is necessary. I know from 'experience'. I am not prescribing 8 huge meals, but a meal between every meal and before sleep, to avoid any hunger pangs.. as these are the killer when gaining mass.
The 8th meal is the extra one you need after a workout.
Abdominal muscles are perhaps the quickest recovering muscles in the body, they build quickly and dont need so long to rest. Also I am prescribing stomach crunches, which are not as exhausting and damaging as heavy weights.
The science behind gaining weight on muscles, is in tearing them and then prompting the body to repair the muscle with the protein you consume. Hence the progression of weights. Bulky folk can just throw themselves into repeating sets of heavy weights, but for more defined building it is better to move up the weight sets as I have described. I used this and later many people in the gym started to also, after talking to me about my workout. Many men who thought they had reached their peak started to see more progress.
It is important to build a stamina with your strength, hence the progression. Skinny beginners make an error in throwing themselves into repeated sets of 6-8. That is the workout heavier folk do, who can use the gym daily due to their metabolism.
Again, I offer this as no better than any other personal experimented methods for skinny folk. I just know it worked for me, and people I know - and I tried many no starters prior.
If you have criticisms, why not channel them into writing a program people can use rather than just slating this attempt to help people.
Rad
Reply 6
My warning to very light-weight people about to try gaining weight would be to increase calories slowly at first. Being very light doesn't mean you won't get fat. Myself as an example, I was 143lbs (65kg) at almost 6ft, when I started trying to gain muscle. I wasn't ripped at all, I had a pretty high bf% and essentially no muscle. Everyone on BB.com etc said OMFG DUDE YOURE SO ****ING SKINNY YOU NEED TO EAT A MILLION cAl0ReeZ!!
As it turned out, I gained about 35lbs in 3 months eating about 2500-3000 cals a day. Id guess it was 80-90% fat.
So just go into it slowly, you don't know how easily you might gain fat.
As it turned out, I gained about 35lbs in 3 months eating about 2500-3000 cals a day. Id guess it was 80-90% fat.
So just go into it slowly, you don't know how easily you might gain fat.
I used to want to gain weight but I just can't be bothered, it's too much effort forcing yourself to eat when you're not even hungry. Anyone know any ways to improve appetite? That's the only problem I have, I don't actually mind working out (that's the easy bit!) but increasing calorie count is the most difficult part for me.
Reply 8
Essence™
I used to want to gain weight but I just can't be bothered, it's too much effort forcing yourself to eat when you're not even hungry. Anyone know any ways to improve appetite? That's the only problem I have, I don't actually mind working out (that's the easy bit!) but increasing calorie count is the most difficult part for me.
Did you not find that eating more stretched your stomach, so you were hungry more often?
Reply 10
I don't get why you need to "lose your belly" before starting to work out with weights??
Working out with weights burns off calories in any case, and as you start to add muscle your metabolism will speed up
Working out with weights burns off calories in any case, and as you start to add muscle your metabolism will speed up
Radnmad
This guide is based on my own experience, and many years reading and experimenting.
Skinny people can carry fat, usually on one area of the body. And no, this is not a sign they can bulk up. If you wish to lose this, lose it before you gain muscle mass, as skinny people burn muscle as easily as fat - if you gain bulk, you will probably regret not losing it and so try to later - only to find you are losing muscle as well.
Fat doesnt turn into muscle, so lose it first.
Lapsaj's comments on getting skinner first are not helpful. I know as a skinny person that I carried no belly, but I have older friends who did, they needed to lose this first.
8 meals a day is necessary. I know from 'experience'. I am not prescribing 8 huge meals, but a meal between every meal and before sleep, to avoid any hunger pangs.. as these are the killer when gaining mass.
The 8th meal is the extra one you need after a workout.
Abdominal muscles are perhaps the quickest recovering muscles in the body, they build quickly and dont need so long to rest. Also I am prescribing stomach crunches, which are not as exhausting and damaging as heavy weights.
The science behind gaining weight on muscles, is in tearing them and then prompting the body to repair the muscle with the protein you consume. Hence the progression of weights. Bulky folk can just throw themselves into repeating sets of heavy weights, but for more defined building it is better to move up the weight sets as I have described. I used this and later many people in the gym started to also, after talking to me about my workout. Many men who thought they had reached their peak started to see more progress.
It is important to build a stamina with your strength, hence the progression. Skinny beginners make an error in throwing themselves into repeated sets of 6-8. That is the workout heavier folk do, who can use the gym daily due to their metabolism.
Again, I offer this as no better than any other personal experimented methods for skinny folk. I just know it worked for me, and people I know - and I tried many no starters prior.
If you have criticisms, why not channel them into writing a program people can use rather than just slating this attempt to help people.
Rad
Skinny people can carry fat, usually on one area of the body. And no, this is not a sign they can bulk up. If you wish to lose this, lose it before you gain muscle mass, as skinny people burn muscle as easily as fat - if you gain bulk, you will probably regret not losing it and so try to later - only to find you are losing muscle as well.
Fat doesnt turn into muscle, so lose it first.
Lapsaj's comments on getting skinner first are not helpful. I know as a skinny person that I carried no belly, but I have older friends who did, they needed to lose this first.
8 meals a day is necessary. I know from 'experience'. I am not prescribing 8 huge meals, but a meal between every meal and before sleep, to avoid any hunger pangs.. as these are the killer when gaining mass.
The 8th meal is the extra one you need after a workout.
Abdominal muscles are perhaps the quickest recovering muscles in the body, they build quickly and dont need so long to rest. Also I am prescribing stomach crunches, which are not as exhausting and damaging as heavy weights.
The science behind gaining weight on muscles, is in tearing them and then prompting the body to repair the muscle with the protein you consume. Hence the progression of weights. Bulky folk can just throw themselves into repeating sets of heavy weights, but for more defined building it is better to move up the weight sets as I have described. I used this and later many people in the gym started to also, after talking to me about my workout. Many men who thought they had reached their peak started to see more progress.
It is important to build a stamina with your strength, hence the progression. Skinny beginners make an error in throwing themselves into repeated sets of 6-8. That is the workout heavier folk do, who can use the gym daily due to their metabolism.
Again, I offer this as no better than any other personal experimented methods for skinny folk. I just know it worked for me, and people I know - and I tried many no starters prior.
If you have criticisms, why not channel them into writing a program people can use rather than just slating this attempt to help people.
Rad
I can't even be bothered replying to most of that crap. And I am writing a program at the minute.
Reply 12
Essence™
not really, it just made me feel exhausted, eating more felt like a chore. I kept this up for about 2 months.
Fair enough. It took me longer than 2 months to get very comfortable with eating about 6 meals a day (some small, some large) so perhaps you didn't stick at it long enough? Ah well.
Reply 13
Why would people want to be arbitrarily gaining weight? All this weight gain malarkey strikes me as very odd. Someone fill me in.
Reply 15
fewasam
Why would people want to be arbitrarily gaining weight? All this weight gain malarkey strikes me as very odd. Someone fill me in.
in this case "weight" refers to muscle. Presumably to be gained mainly for aesthetic reasons and associated psychological benefits (confidence?). Weight gain (of any type) may be required for sporting reasons, too.
Reply 16
I'm about 5ft and I weigh 5stone5 which I'm aware is very underweight - the problem is I just cannot put on weight at all. I eat so that I'm full, and I also eat a lot of junk but I just can't put on weight at all, and when I do, i.e. 2 3 pounds I loose it over night. I dont think I could eat anymore without feeling sick and bursting lol, im seriously full. But I do want to put on weight because people are constantly going on about how skinny I am, and its like, do you think I don't realise?!
Reply 17
Surely the term "underweight" implies "unhealthily underweight"? I find it hard to believe that many people who live a normal healthy lifestyle with a normal healthy diet are unhealthily underweight.
Okay, weight gain for sport I can understand: boxers or sailors going up a weight class for instance. But just generally wanting to be heavier?
Okay, weight gain for sport I can understand: boxers or sailors going up a weight class for instance. But just generally wanting to be heavier?
black_mamba
Fair enough. It took me longer than 2 months to get very comfortable with eating about 6 meals a day (some small, some large) so perhaps you didn't stick at it long enough? Ah well.
I guess I didn't stick at it long enough, but to be honest I actually feel more healthy eating like I normally do - just 4 regular sized meals a day. I'm not dangerously underweight so I figured it wasn't worth the effort, I wouldn't mind being a stone heavier though.
Reply 19
fewasam
Okay, weight gain for sport I can understand: boxers or sailors going up a weight class for instance. But just generally wanting to be heavier?
again - they want to gain *muscle* (if not for sporting then for aesthetic reasons) which happens to have a mass and thus add weight to the person.
I find it hard to believe that this is such an alien concept to you
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