For the gym rats

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My goal is to add weight and bulk, I'm currently a weedy 8 stone but want to get to at least 10 by the end of the year. I'm tired of people commenting how small I am and getting bigger should help my confidence too :) My bro is an officer in the army and is really well built now so a bit of friendly competition can't hurt.

I've just started the beginners workout here and WILL follow it until I get to my goal and then some.

I guess I'm kind of lucky being skinny as I don't have to worry about losing weight at all and can just eat as much as I can while training hard :)
 
Col_M said:
My goal is to add weight and bulk, I'm currently a weedy 8 stone but want to get to at least 10 by the end of the year. I'm tired of people commenting how small I am and getting bigger should help my confidence too :) My bro is an officer in the army and is really well built now so a bit of friendly competition can't hurt.

I've just started the beginners workout here and WILL follow it until I get to my goal and then some.

I guess I'm kind of lucky being skinny as I don't have to worry about losing weight at all and can just eat as much as I can while training hard :)
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Yep you've got it, eat like a pig, everything you can with as much protein as possible. Dont dismiss the big lifts (deadlift, bench press, shoulder press and squat) just because you are small and feel they are for 16stone blokes with necks like trees. Make them your be all and end all, make them the most important part of your routine. Thats how you will put on mass..
 
Ultra_Extreme said:
Yep you've got it, eat like a pig, everything you can with as much protein as possible. Dont dismiss the big lifts (deadlift, bench press, shoulder press and squat) just because you are small and feel they are for 16stone blokes with necks like trees. Make them your be all and end all, make them the most important part of your routine. Thats how you will put on mass..
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Cool, it's good to get some confirmation of what I'm doing is at least on the right path :)
I really don't mind doing the big core exercises, they are all I'm doing tbh, accessory exercises can wait until I've got a base to work from, so I understand where you're coming from :) The eating part is where I'll struggle if I'm honest but if I try to eat little and often it should be ok.
 
As I'll probably struggle most with quantity in my diet, what meal replacement drinks/shakes are worth getting to give a helping hand on top of my daily intake? something like whey and oat powder mixed in some milk or juice, or some ready mixed powder?

I can eat around 2200 cals per day (I've been doing a diet diary) and I really want to add more to that but it's a bit of a struggle.
 
Col_M said:
As I'll probably struggle most with quantity in my diet, what meal replacement drinks/shakes are worth getting to give a helping hand on top of my daily intake? something like whey and oat powder mixed in some milk or juice, or some ready mixed powder?

I can eat around 2200 cals per day (I've been doing a diet diary) and I really want to add more to that but it's a bit of a struggle.
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Whey + Oats + coconut milk = Win! :D

Having a fast metabolism might be handy when you're cutting but its a pain in the ass when you want to bulk. You can't afford to skip a single meal. Everyday you *have* to eat 6times (if not more). When you get bigger you can have a day or two without being quite so strict but in those early days you *have* to stick at it religiously.
 
Some good fats before bed could help you get the calories up..

Remember, carbs and protein are 4kcal per gram, fat is 9kcal per gram.
 
Wardie said:
Some good fats before bed could help you get the calories up..

Remember, carbs and protein are 4kcal per gram, fat is 9kcal per gram.
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Good fats are in things like nuts, oily fish, olive oil etc. right?

Interesting to know :) So a tuna sarnie (brown bread) with a bit of olive oil would be good for a healthy boost?
 
There's barely any Omega-3 in tuna.

Try to avoid having lots of carbs with fat if possible. Fats with protein before bed will slow down how quickly the protein is absorbed so you get a nice slow release throughout the night.

I tend to just have 30g or so of whey with 5g+ of Omega-3.
 
Col_M said:
Righto then, thanks. So...

carbs + fat = bad
protein + fat = ok?
protein + carbs ok?
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No quite. If you read again what Wardie wrote you'll see he said...

Wardie said:
Try to avoid having lots of carbs with fat if possible
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Try and make every meal balanced, so you get protein, complex carbs and "good" fats. I would hope that's how you eat already. Just keep doing the same just more of it ;)
 
Thanks :) Yeah I eat pretty balanced at the moment to be honest, I cook almost all my own meals and don't really eat much processed or junk food as I'm not to keen on it, so just more of the same is the idea.

It's all new to me and want to get it right so sorry for all the questions ;)
 
Im loving couscous with vegetables at the moment...

Ive cut out quite a lot of what id normally eat in the last 2weeks and i can already feel a difference

even little things like coffee, id normally have about 4 coffees a day with sugar, im lucky if i have one every other day with no sugar lol
 
I have cut down on the amount of bread I eat as I was getting through quite a lot, always left me bloated. Started to eat a lot more mixed nuts/seeds now as I never really bothered in the past.

If I weigh around 170lbs I need to consume roughly

225gs'ish protein a day?
170g's of carbs
plus around 65g's of fats?

How many people here count calories also? I dont at the minute but I might tot up what I get through in a day so I know what I consume and how much I need to adjust it.
 
R5Rich said:
I have cut down on the amount of bread I eat as I was getting through quite a lot, always left me bloated. Started to eat a lot more mixed nuts/seeds now as I never really bothered in the past.

If I weigh around 170lbs I need to consume roughly

225gs'ish protein a day?
170g's of carbs
plus around 65g's of fats?

How many people here count calories also? I dont at the minute but I might tot up what I get through in a day so I know what I consume and how much I need to adjust it.
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You only really need about 1-1.2g of protein per lb of lean mass... so it won't be 170lbs. If you're at 10% BF it will be 170-17= 153lbs, therefore @ 1g per lb you'll need 153...

Some people say 2g of protein per lb, but unless you're training like a mofo and a huge proper bodybuilder I don't think there's a need, and that's a fairly hard number to achieve unless it's your life IMO. I get by fine with 1g per lb, and I'm over 15st and low BF - and rather solid looking :cool:

I don't count calories, I just know what foods to eat, I don't eat a lot of bread, I don't drink fizzy drinks, or alcohol (beer in particular), sweets or chocolate, or fast food or greasy/fatty foods. I grill my meat, steam my veggies and eat a well balanced diet. I do probably eat slightly over the average kCals per day of a man, but it hasn't stopped me putting on over a stone in 16 months whilst keeping my bodyfat low. :)

R5Rich said:
damn it! I norm have a pre bed shake. Reading on MP forums if you take zma 30mins before your shake then goto bed its alright?

Ive heard some strange things with people and dreams as well, but trust me I think I have had some messed up ones to be able to cope with this :D
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Just have it without milk?! Use water instead! Easy!
 
So, I've decided to up my weights a little at the gym recently. I'm now doing the following. My weights don't include the bar...are you supposed to include that?? I'm a noob at this lark. Let me know if anyone can recommend any improvements!
Also - sorry, I don't know the names of some things! :)

I do 3 x 10 reps on all...a minimum of 8 if I'm exceedingly knackered.

Mon - Chest (30-40mins) & Cardio (20 mins)
Bench - 40kg
Incline Bench - 30kg
Fly - 21kg

Tues - Bi's & Tri's & Cardio (as above)
Seated Arm Curl with w bar - 20kg
Tricep (the rope) - 15kg
Dumbell Arm Curl - 12kg
Dumbell Tricep (the one extending arm behind your head) - 8kg

Thurs - Back & Shoulders & Cardio
Not sure of the weights on this as I use the machines rather than free weights but I do shoulder press, seated row and a couple of others I can't remember right now!

I also fit in a spinning session usually once a week as well on top of this to up my cardio.

I'll usually have a whey protein shake (1.5 scoops with about 500ml of semi skimmed milk) after each session.

Whilst I have noticed a definate increase in strength and stamina I don't seem to be shifting anything of my old beer gut! It's really disheartening considering I put in some hard work and eat well. Can anyone recommend anything? Am I not doing something right? I'll be sure to persist anyway as I know this is a long term investment and I also love it. :)
 
Yes you usually include the bar weight when stating your figures :)
OMG!!! No leg workout??? You better fit that in quickly before KillaKen sees you're not doing them lol ;)
 
haha...not sure about what leg workouts I can do to be honest. I can't do anything too strenuous (for example, I can't do squats) as I have a bad knee (arthritis) which is why I do more 'low impact' cardio like spinning.
 
You could do assisted squats with no weight if it helps. Just rest one hand on a chair or something and squat from standing without holding any kind of weight. See if it 'doesn't' aggravate your arthritis.
Should be able to do deadlifts too as the knee tends to be stabilised when deadlifting.
Adductor/abductors flyes don't involve the knees.
Hamstring curls may aggravate your knees but try them and see before dismissing them.
Good luck :)
 
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