Help! I Can't gain anymore weight!

smalls4130 · 02-08-2005, 02:07 PM

I've been working out since the beggining of last summer. Well, lifting dumbells/pullups/situps/pushups - home stuff. I still havn't gotten a membership to a gym (lots of $$$), which may be my problem.

I'm 5'6'', and 130-135 pounds. I CANNOT gain ANYMORE weight. Whenever I eat more, I go to the bathroom more.

Iv'e tried bulking, but that just makes same sizee everywhere, except my lower abs get less defined. As you can see from the picture my fat likes the lower ab area. That and I go to the bathroom a lot.

Well I'm asking for advice as to what I should eat to gain more weight? It seems impossible...

Sorry for the dark photo.

Abdominator · 02-08-2005, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smalls4130

I've been working out since the beggining of last summer. Well, lifting dumbells/pullups/situps/pushups - home stuff. I still havn't gotten a membership to a gym (lots of $$$), which may be my problem.

I'm 5'6'', and 130-135 pounds. I CANNOT gain ANYMORE weight. Whenever I eat more, I go to the bathroom more.

Iv'e tried bulking, but that just makes same sizee everywhere, except my lower abs get less defined. As you can see from the picture my fat likes the lower ab area. That and I go to the bathroom a lot.

Well I'm asking for advice as to what I should eat to gain more weight? It seems impossible...

Sorry for the dark photo.

Hey smalls4130!

You have a muscular physique, so it could be that you're burning a lot more calories than you did when you were thinner. What is your current diet like and what is your workout routine like? Also, how much sleep are you getting per night? If you're not resting, your muscles might not be growing at the rate they could. Plus, if you're over training, your muscles won't grow either.

Again, very athletic physique. Let us know what and when you're eating, and we'll figure out something.

- Skip

smalls4130 · 02-08-2005, 02:49 PM

My Current Diet (I dont have a full schedual of school)

-morning before school (6:30am): big bowl of raisen brand/lucky charms

-During school (11:00am): wheat grams for a snack

-Get home (1:00pm): big bowl of Noodles (no butter) or eggs (5-6), and usually sided with a cheese burger (1/2 lb) or two strips of serlion steak. This part of my diet really depends on what food I have in my kitchen, or what I feel like. I usually drink 2 glasses of orange juice now, or two glasses of milk. I also add in a banana or apple.

-Get home from work (8:00pm): This time is also flexable, I usually have 1lb of steak with green beans and mashed patatoes, or 1/2lb cheeseburger with greenbeans and mashed patatoes. Along with two glasses of milk. Sometimes I have a big bowl of noodles instead of a cheeseburger/steak, depending on whats in the kitchen.
__________________________________________________ _______________

I work out when I get home from school, after I eat (around 1:30pm). Here's my routine:

Arm Curls: 2 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Hammer curls: 2 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Arm Curls: 1 set of 30 (for each arm, this is a lighter weight)

Chainsaws: 3 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Tricept extentions: 3 sets of 20

Butterfly extensions: 3 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Shrugs: 3 sets of 15
Pushups: 50 straight, rest, 30 straight, rest, 20 straight, done.
Tricept Pushups: 30 straight, rest, 20 straight, done.

Situps: I follow a routine from a "Abs 200", I think that's what its called, well it's a video that I remembered from gym class.

Pullups: 10-20 depending on how much energy I have left
__________________________________________________ _______________

Sometimes after my workout I drink a WHEY protein shake.

Notice how I have no leg workouts. At work I'm a janitor, and I carry a 30lb vacuum up 6 flights of stairs, and vacuum them. My legs are still scrawny, and I bet I could add some weight there, but not much.

Sleeping could be a reason, I get 4-7 hours of sleep on the weekdays, and 12 hours of sleep on the weekend days.

I havnt gotten sore since after the first week of excersizing, no matter how many sets I do, although if I don't excersize for a week or so, I'll get a LITTLE sore, nothing compared to the first week.

I really don't think im overtraining my muscles becuase i'm never sore. But I am novice, so I could be wrong.

muscledup · 02-08-2005, 03:09 PM

smalls4130 you look awesmoe the whey you are now bro, sweet torso and killer abs look GREAT bro.

Dennis151 · 02-08-2005, 03:10 PM

Eat more.. small.. eat alot more and more often 8-10 small meals a day..

pseudoswitch · 02-08-2005, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smalls4130

My Current Diet (I dont have a full schedual of school)

-morning before school (6:30am): big bowl of raisen brand/lucky charms

-During school (11:00am): wheat grams for a snack

-Get home (1:00pm): big bowl of Noodles (no butter) or eggs (5-6), and usually sided with a cheese burger (1/2 lb) or two strips of serlion steak. This part of my diet really depends on what food I have in my kitchen, or what I feel like. I usually drink 2 glasses of orange juice now, or two glasses of milk. I also add in a banana or apple.

-Get home from work (8:00pm): This time is also flexable, I usually have 1lb of steak with green beans and mashed patatoes, or 1/2lb cheeseburger with greenbeans and mashed patatoes. Along with two glasses of milk. Sometimes I have a big bowl of noodles instead of a cheeseburger/steak, depending on whats in the kitchen.
__________________________________________________ _______________

I work out when I get home from school, after I eat (around 1:30pm). Here's my routine:

Arm Curls: 2 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Hammer curls: 2 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Arm Curls: 1 set of 30 (for each arm, this is a lighter weight)

Chainsaws: 3 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Tricept extentions: 3 sets of 20

Butterfly extensions: 3 sets of 15 (for each arm)
Shrugs: 3 sets of 15
Pushups: 50 straight, rest, 30 straight, rest, 20 straight, done.
Tricept Pushups: 30 straight, rest, 20 straight, done.

Situps: I follow a routine from a "Abs 200", I think that's what its called, well it's a video that I remembered from gym class.

Pullups: 10-20 depending on how much energy I have left
__________________________________________________ _______________

Sometimes after my workout I drink a WHEY protein shake.

Notice how I have no leg workouts. At work I'm a janitor, and I carry a 30lb vacuum up 6 flights of stairs, and vacuum them. My legs are still scrawny, and I bet I could add some weight there, but not much.

Sleeping could be a reason, I get 4-7 hours of sleep on the weekdays, and 12 hours of sleep on the weekend days.

I havnt gotten sore since after the first week of excersizing, no matter how many sets I do, although if I don't excersize for a week or so, I'll get a LITTLE sore, nothing compared to the first week.

I really don't think im overtraining my muscles becuase i'm never sore. But I am novice, so I could be wrong.

You might wanna cut out all the sugar in the cereals, go for oatmeal instead....instead of orange juice or milk just drink water...too much carbs for your evening (8pm) meal, also try not to eat carbs and fats in the same meal....

Do you do that workout every day??? if so i think that's a little excessive, you need to give your body time to rest and grow, also you need to get more sleep on weekdays dude. You should also be doing heavy leg workouts to boost your upper body growth....remember, just because you're not sore, doesn't mean your body has recovered sufficiently.

peace

smalls4130 · 02-08-2005, 05:38 PM

Thank you for all of your guys' help!

I probably do that workout 4-5 times a week, but I only do that full workout about 2-3 times a week... I usually leave out situps, hammer curls, and chainsaws.

I'll try to eat more, a lot more, not as much carbs at night, and add in lunges and calf raises, I would like to get to 140-145 by June, and be very cut for summer.

I'll post a picture of my legs tomorrow, and you'll get to see how scrawny they actually are, then my progress as time comes to june.

Also, when I get my paycheck at the end of this month, I'll get a membership to a gym.

earth_AD · 02-08-2005, 06:11 PM

try and get something to eat between 1pm and 8pm. like maybe a sandwich and a protein shake or somethin...

Mr_J · 02-08-2005, 07:35 PM

Yo smalls,

Like the others have said, you're looking pretty good. I think to be honest, your problem is the lack of big basic exercises (squats, deads, bench presses, rows etc), as I've seen many people in my gym who were "blasting" away with isolation exercises (DB's and BB's) and couldn't gain, yet a few months after they started squats, deads and bench pressing and doing dips, they gained quite some size.

I would consider joining a gym for maximum results. I know diet has a lot to do with gains, but in my honest opinion (over 12 years of working out) I've never ... NEVER seen anyone make big gains (in weight and strength) by doing only isolations (or even compounds with a low weight for that matter).

I know what it’s like on a tight budget, but I’d really consider a gym membership. Also, other than the fact that there’s more variety of equipment, in most gyms, there’s many helpful people who will be willing to share their advice/knowledge/experience with you, as I’ve found in the many gyms I’ve trained at.

As for diet, try adding a few nuts, glasses of milk, natty peanut butter etc into your diet and try eating more frequently. Count how many calories you’re having per day and try adding to it (in small amounts) if you can’t gain.

Some good articles that may be of use are:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/toddblue42.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dickinson6.htm

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/layne2.htm

There’s a wealth of knowledge/experience on both the articles and here on the boards of bb’ing.com. Good luck for whatever you decide to do next.

PecFlexor · 02-08-2005, 08:40 PM

Your lookin good! As far as meals try to eat more frequently

breakfast can be rye or multigrain toast with peanut butter or grape jam on it. I would also recommend eating some eggs for breakfast. In the morning I am on the go so I usually hard boil about 6 eggs the night before and take the eggs to work with me so I can eat them in traffic. (could work for ride or walk to school too ^_^) Also if you can afford a protien shake to help you up your meal count that would help out alot. (but can be costly) Eggs are cheap, and easy and fast to prepare. Tuna is another great lean protien that is not that expensive. Make a tuna sandwich or just eat it out of the can. You could eat a can of tuna in between classes in the hall. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are also great for building muscle as they are usually 26-29 grams of protien per breast. Depending on your time schedule and taste preference you can cook them in one of those foreman grills (takes about 7 minutes) or boil them, or bake them. Just eat and eat and eat, and you will get the gains you strive for.