Needing help with weight gain.

[ghost_]

Hi all,

As the title states I need help with weight gain.

First up; I know nothing about exercise. I might be computer smart; but when it comes to own body, I have no idea.

A bit about myself; I'm 25-years-old, 6ft tall, and approximately 130 lbs. I eat a lot of food already; and I do mean a lot of food but I have an ectomorph type body so it just seemingly evaporates. I'm pretty unhappy with body and I want to change; so this is where, hopefully, you come in.

I don't know where to start. I've looked into a gym that is literally a 1 minute walk from where I live that offers all amenities for about £40 per month. I work as a manager in a bookies so I'm often working late on a random roster and therefore must fit any workout schedule where I can.

I more or less want to build upper body muscle; shoulders, arms, chest but I don't want to neglect other areas of body. What kind of exercises do I need to focus on in order to get this kind of result? How often would I be looking at working out? Brad Pitt's character in Snatch is a rough idea in what I'm looking for in myself, but probably not so defined...

I've read that food is an important part as well. So what kind of foods should I be eating? Currently I eat pretty much anything I get hands on with no planned diet at all. Take out and microwave meals mainly because I'm a terrible cook. Are there any resources for fairly simple dishes?

And finally, I don't want to be discouraged. Considering I have an ectomorph type body, if I follow your advice to the tee, when can I expect to begin to see results? I'm not expecting a magical overnight transformation, but I like to know a rough timeframe so that I can adjust if necessary and to have something to work towards.

Thank you in advance for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: Something else I forgot to note, I practiced Muay Thai and Hapkido for many years prior to now. I no longer do that but exercise isn't totally foreign to me, I can and will work as hard as possible in order to get the results I want.

EDIT the 2nd: Also forgot to note prior injuries. I split radius and ulna when I was 16 and also badly damaged wrist; I can lift heavy objects but sometimes there is pain. Is there anything I need to do in order to take care of this and prevent possible injury?

ghost_

[toddhicks209]

You can build muscle and gain weight by getting plenty of protein and lifting weights. Meat and dairy foods including milk and cheese are good sources of protein. If you can't achieve your goal of making your upper body as muscular as you want by working out on your own, seek the help of a personal fitness trainer.

[Boss Man]

Hi Ghost, good to talk to you.

This kind of system might work for you. It's something I've posted before.

Breakfast

Option 1.

Bowl of Whole-grain Cereal and 1 rasher of Bacon, fat trimmed off and scrambled Eggs, (2 Egg Whites + Yolk)

Option 2.

Protein shake, small portion of Nuts, (excluding higher carb ones like Cashews, Chestnuts and Grapenuts), + Apple. Give the Apple 10-15 minutes to digest to improve digestion.


Snack

Option 1.

Portion of Turkey + Orange

Option 2.

Small Portion of Peanuts, some Chicken + Raw Carrott.


Lunch

Option 1.

Large Beef Sandwich with trimmings, I.E. Tomato, Lettuce, Cucumber etc.

Option 2.

Bowl of Chicken Soup, + Pot of yoghurt.


Snack

Option 1.

Turkey + Cashews

Option 2.

Ham + 2 large Tomatos


Dinner

Option 1.

Pork with mashed Potato.

Option 2.

Chicken and Rice

Option 3.

100g Halibut + Broccoli


Snack

Option 1.

Beans on Toast

Option 2.

Ham Sandwich, no trimmings.

Easy on the bread with both options.

You could add a few things to certain meals, like Sea Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, Parsley, Mustard, Herbs, Garlic.

As for the training you could do a schedule something like this.

Squats, 2 sets, 10 reps

Lunges, 2 sets, 10 reps

Deadlifts, 2 sets, 10 reps

Bent over Rows, 2 sets, 10 reps

Bench Press, 2 sets, 10 reps

Shrugs, 2 sets, 10 reps

Planks 30 seconds.

You would do that 3x a week every other day.

In relation to what to use, go for the second smallest barbell on the squats and deadlifts and the smallest on bent over rows.

Use the second smallest dumbbells on bench press and lunges and the smallest ones on shrugs.

Then every 2 weeks increase the weight a little bit and then after around 6 weeks, you'll be ready to lift close to max lifting for reps, bearing in mind you don't need to do failure training, as it's not necessary and wastes more energy.

This is how your schedule could look per week

Day 1. Weights

Day 2. Cardio

Day 3. Weights

Day 4. Day off

Day 5. Cardio

Day 6. Weights

Day 7. Day off.

This prevents you doing 5 days straight and 2 days of nothing, as I think that's allowing too much consecutive taxation and 2 days of your body doing nothing, slowly starting to adjust to it, before 5 days of grind again, which might take the edge off progress potential, so the 5 split days should be better for you.

As for trying to alleviate some of the pain in the wrists, you can take NSAIDS and also try things like surgical wraps I:E the type of thing people wear on their knees, but designed for the wrists and maybe wraps as well or lifting straps.

[ghost_]

This is fantastic, thank you so much for the information Bossman. I'll be getting to work near immediately.

ghost_

[amazingscottray]

Weight gain is not a common problem as most people are trying to lose weight. Reading from your post, seems like you do have a sensible diet but your body does not retain the nutrients. May I suggest you increase your intake of:

Potatoes
meat
milk-shakes
eggs and bacon

This was the diet given to a recruit I served with in the military, and he gained weight and muscle. 130 lbs is low for your height. Start working out once you reach 150 lbs to build muscle mass. Hope that helps.