Skinny guy needs introductory help in building mass..

Hi there,

I'm new here and i've heard you guys are the diet experts.. I've always had a big problem gaining weight.

I've found that by weight lifting I can get stronger but I never seem to really to look/get bigger.

Ive recently started doing the simple fit (http://www.simplefit.org/workout.html) exercises instead of normal weightlifting and eventually want to start on crossfit.

I've started today on a paleo based diet, no dairy/starch based/wheat etc etc. But im not sure if this diet is the best for my particular build.

I was also told that many repititions of an exercise didnt build muscle (only endurance) (example: many pressups/pullups). So i'm just wondering how possible it is to gain mass with simplefit/crossfit..

Thanks

[Mike ODonnell]

Eat....less cardio....more reps 5-10....lift heavy compounds (squat, DL, Bench, Push Press)....get plenty of protein....eat PWO meals....I don't think you will get serious size without some serious stimulation for muscle building hormones from doing the "Big" 3....Squat, DL, Bench.....pushups will not get you there. Research the Mass gain forum....lots of good info there....but really comes down to I find you have to lift heavy, workout LESS (2x a week I would say to start) and eat more....most people are not taking in the calories for working out 4-5x a week and still gain mass....unless you are taking in 4000cal....but you would be alot heavier if you were....

Simple Fit is a great site but I think it is more geared towards fat loss for larger less fit people....I'll have to put together a simple mass site....it involves a fork and heavy weights....

[Chris Forbis]

From a fellow skinny guy...

I was 6'4" 172 when I started, now I'm up to 192 (10 weeks total or so).

1. Eat a ton. 4000-5000 calories a day. Coconut milk + whey is a good calorie bomb. Grassfed ground beef (75% lean is what I use) has quite a few calories. Eat a handful of nuts with every meal. Don't be afraid of gaining some bad weight.

2. Heavy, compound lifts 2-3 times a week.

3. Get as much sleep as possible.

4. Avoid too much additional activity.

Thanks for the advice guys,

Chris, was the weight you gained muscle? Did you put on much fat?

I'm just worried about suddenly increasing my cals will put a load of fat on too. Which I definitely do not want.

[Dave Van Skike]

You are going to have to let that go. Muscle gain without a little fat gain is really tough. To the plus side, it doesn't seem like you'll have trouble getting rid of the fat after. Just eat, lift rest repeat.

Look over at Power and Bulk, review some programs that are geared to mass gain like Charles Staley's work. If you are looking for something simple check out power to the people, "Bear" program. or google Delorme hypertrophy.

All of these will seem a little cheezy but they do work..if you follow MOD's advice...... Eat.

[chris hill]

i read another (uk based) forum, which although is not so techincally advanced as PM its regulars frequently offer advice in getting bigger in 3 simple steps. Although its a massive simplification it does sum up what you need to do.

1. get your eat on
2. lift some heavy weights
3. man the fu€k up

[Chris Forbis]

There's been fat gain. Fat is easy to lose for skinny buggers like us though.

[Allen Yeh]

Originally Posted by Chris Forbis

There's been fat gain. Fat is easy to lose for skinny buggers like us though.

Chris F - "There's been fat gain. I think I'm up to (whopping) 10-11% bodyfat now......."

Darn you skinny buggers!

[Mike ODonnell]

I forgot where I read it....but it said: "If you say you are a hard gainer....you are not eating anywhere enough calories....period..."

There are no excuses....only solutions....eat more, expend less energy in non heavy lifting exercises (aka cardio, metcon, etc...)..your body will be forced to store the excess calories....aka you gain weight....it's a simple energy in/energy out formula that can not be broken....even if you think you are a hard gainer....you just need to up your energy in and decrease your energy out.....don't expect to get huge and be able to have great endurance running 6x a week....unless you plan on eating 6000 calories a day...it just doesnt work that way.....get the muscle now....then learn how to hold on to it later while you get your endurance back....

To be honest Mike, thats exactly what i've always thought. I just assumed my metabolism was screwing me.

Im going to focus on weight gain now and when/if I hit 190-200, im going to focus on just retaining that weight and cutting the fat a bit.