How Much Harder Is It To Gain Muscle With A Fast Metabolism?

[Paramonius]

I genetically have a very fast metabolism, most likely inherited from my Grandfather. I was wondering, how much does this hurt my progress on gaining muscle / putting On weight?

When I first went to High School I was short and fat, but by the time I got to grade 11 (3 years after) I was much taller and skinny. Ever since then I've found it difficult to gain weight.

Right now I'm about 62kg (137 pounds), I'd like to at least get to 70kg - 75kg (154 pounds - 165 pounds)(hopefully mostly being muscle mass) by the end of year.

What would you advise I do in order to reach my goals?

I have made many improvements on diet after eating not-so-healthily in the past (junk food hardly worked for weight anyway). Also just to mention: I will take any suggestions 'except Rippetoes, I am also unable to go to gym at this time.

I have a pair of dumbbells with interchangeable weight, which I can basically add up to 40kg (88 pounds) to, an exercise ball and padded exercise bench.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

[IronMcIntyre]

Eat.

[CrocodileFace]

I've "suffered" from a fast metabolism my whole life. And I just got serious about gaining weight and while there is no real noticable size improvements I AM getting stronger. I've been at school since august so it's hard to get food but since October (when i started to get serious) I've gained about 6 pounds, and i got home from school and started eating like a mad man and put on another 3 in the past 4 weeks. It's Hard, But if you eat and do your research about what you're eating it's no where near impossible.

[Wintermule]

If you eat enough, it's impossible not to gain muscle.

[vayx]

Eat, Eat Eat, workout, then go eat 4 more times. You should be eating 8 times a day if you have a fast metabolism. Eat anything healthy in sight that has good carbs/ fair amount of protein/ good fats.

Read up a bit on nutrition from the nutrition forums and make yourself a diet. Eat like a mad man get in your 3000-4000 calories a day and you wont be stuggling anymore i promise.

[Paramonius]

Eat, Eat Eat, workout, then go eat 4 more times. You should be eating 8 times a day if you have a fast metabolism. Eat anything healthy in sight that has good carbs/ fair amount of protein/ good fats.

Read up a bit on nutrition from the nutrition forums and make yourself a diet. Eat like a mad man get in your 3000-4000 calories a day and you wont be stuggling anymore i promise.

8 meals a day? Whoa.

Well currently I've been having an oats / sultana / fruit / nut mix for breakfast, A sandwich with ham, lettuce and tomato with some milk for lunch and it varies for dinner, but along the lines of chicken, fish or pork with sides of peas, carrots, beans and potato wedges. Often between these meals I'll have a piece of fruit, sometimes some hard-boiled eggs. I've also been drinking a lot of water.

[Wintermule]

Eat, Eat Eat, workout, then go eat 4 more times. You should be eating 8 times a day if you have a fast metabolism. Eat anything healthy in sight that has good carbs/ fair amount of protein/ good fats.

Read up a bit on nutrition from the nutrition forums and make yourself a diet. Eat like a mad man get in your 3000-4000 calories a day and you wont be stuggling anymore i promise.

****, you must be eating some small portions to only get 3000 cals in 8 meals. I get 3000 in about 3-4.

[Paramonius]

Sorry to bump, but I really need some help on this.

[Happy Gains]

Sorry to bump, but I really need some help on this.

What I read in your previous post of your diet seems fine for maintaining, but not for gaining a good steady amount of muscle (which is very unlikely without utilizing progression with a barbell and over 200kg in weights ) Okay enough about that, you should be eating along the lines of this:

Breakfast: 2 cups dry oats, 1L skim milk, 2 bananas, 3 boiled eggs
Mid-morning: 4 wholemeal bread, 100 - 150g meat, 2 cups skim milk
Lunch: 4 wholemeal bread, 100 - 150g meat, 2 cups skim milk
Afternoon: 2-3Tbsp Peanut Butter, 1L skim milk, + whey and fruits (if PWO)
Dinner: Aim for around 40g Protein, 40g Carbs, 5-10g Fats
Before Bed: 1 Cup Cottage Cheese

Enjoy about 300+ Protein, 500+ Carbs, 50g Fat with this plan

[FasterThanLight]

Let me tell you how important diet is. Before I started eating proper amount of food I was gaining 6lb of muscle a year. After I started eating proper amount of food I started gaining 15lb in 3 months. However, it only happens in the Spring. So, by the end of this spring I should be 183+15=198lb. I am hoping to break that 200 mark, and stay there I lost some weight over the summer last year, because I stopped eating as much.

[matteothefart]

its not hard.. probably easier... you just won't get it very fast.. but atleast cutting will be easy... and bulking will be hard... and overall you probably could get extremely cut when you are ready...

[schulerdoish]

The 8 meal a day thing is bull****.

I gain fine eating 2-3 solid meals (they're big and one is PWO). I do drink a lot of milk. Most people on this forum (teens) are too small to be doing crazy diets.

[Paramonius]

Forgot to mention that I'm not looking to get HUEG, I just wish to have a defined torso and bigger arms.

Picture is my current physique.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6128/lawl2ot0.jpg

[krocknw]

eat....everything in sight... big meals are your friend...

[saint_lazarus]

i get 4000+ calories a day. i used to think i was a hard gainer until i started to eat so much then i found out i was wrong lol. eat 1000+ calories b4 u go to bed too that helps since your metabolism slows down at night. my favourite pre bed meal is 2 double cheeseburgers and a large coke from mcdonalds =) u should try that every night and tell me if u gain or not lol

[Paramonius]

i get 4000+ calories a day. i used to think i was a hard gainer until i started to eat so much then i found out i was wrong lol. eat 1000+ calories b4 u go to bed too that helps since your metabolism slows down at night. my favourite pre bed meal is 2 double cheeseburgers and a large coke from mcdonalds =) u should try that every night and tell me if u gain or not lol

Dirty bulking? Lol no.

[Pull-Up]

You should be eating 8 times a day if you have a fast metabolism.

That will make his metabolism faster than it already is, I think it's not the point is it?

[TheFearOf911]

Forgot to mention that I'm not looking to get HUEG, I just wish to have a defined torso and bigger arms.

Picture is my current physique.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6128/lawl2ot0.jpg

whats your BMR?

[AfteraDream]

You're like me. You need to eat eat eat and counts cals, no need to dirty bulk, get like 3000-3500. Don't do cardio. Add nuts and cottage cheese to your diet. Drink shake before/after workout. Don't stay at the gym for 2 hours. Train with 3x10 for growth and you should be gaining 1 kilo a month! Join group for skinny guys at BodyGroup to get more help..

Good luck

[Vishus]

It's hard as balls.

Eat everything.

[Sem213]

8 meals a day? Whoa.

Well currently I've been having an oats / sultana / fruit / nut mix for breakfast, A sandwich with ham, lettuce and tomato with some milk for lunch and it varies for dinner, but along the lines of chicken, fish or pork with sides of peas, carrots, beans and potato wedges. Often between these meals I'll have a piece of fruit, sometimes some hard-boiled eggs. I've also been drinking a lot of water.

I eat your lunch fourteen (14!!) times a day on workout days, and on top of that I have a large breakfast, dinner and a late night snack.

Just to show that you are not eating a lot. And I wouldn't even say that I eat a lot nor that my metabolism is fast, I eat enough to gain 1 lbs a week.
There are lots of sites on the internet that can give you the number of calories, protein, carbs and fat for tons of different kinds of foods. Try it and you'll see that you are not eating as much as you think.

Most people need something like 3500 - 4500 calories a day to grow. The average for normal men (for teens it is probably even lower) is 2500 calories. See the difference?

For the HUGE part: you have years of training and growing ahead of you before you can be considered huge. Most people will never get huge without steriods, so don't worry about that. It doesn't accidentally happen, you know.

[Paramonius]

I eat your lunch fourteen (14!!) times a day on workout days, and on top of that I have a large breakfast, dinner and a late night snack.

Just to show that you are not eating a lot. And I wouldn't even say that I eat a lot nor that my metabolism is fast, I eat enough to gain 1 lbs a week.
There are lots of sites on the internet that can give you the number of calories, protein, carbs and fat for tons of different kinds of foods. Try it and you'll see that you are not eating as much as you think.

Most people need something like 3500 - 4500 calories a day to grow. The average for normal men (for teens it is probably even lower) is 2500 calories. See the difference?

For the HUGE part: you have years of training and growing ahead of you before you can be considered huge. Most people will never get huge without steriods, so don't worry about that. It doesn't accidentally happen, you know.

I can appreciate your nutritional knowledge, but it's not like I can increase my appetite at the snap of a finger. Are there any good sites on the internet that allow me to add up calories?

Also do you think it would be possible for me to get bigger while cutting the fat from my stomach (so that my abs show), or would I need to bulk then cut?

[Dom!]

8 meals a day? Whoa.

Well currently I've been having an oats / sultana / fruit / nut mix for breakfast, A sandwich with ham, lettuce and tomato with some milk for lunch and it varies for dinner, but along the lines of chicken, fish or pork with sides of peas, carrots, beans and potato wedges. Often between these meals I'll have a piece of fruit, sometimes some hard-boiled eggs. I've also been drinking a lot of water.

That's nothing!
I eat more than that and I'm trying to stay lean lol.
Chicken, milk, bacon, steak, duck, tuna, turkey, ham, bananas, eggs, baked beans, bread, saussages.
Eat plenty of the above, and if you still can't gain weight then I suppose start eating junk/taking weight gainer.
Oh, and after workouts, have a protein/carb shake.

I'm obviously no expert, just my opinion.

[Sem213]

I can appreciate your nutritional knowledge, but it's not like I can increase my appetite at the snap of a finger. Are there any good sites on the internet that allow me to add up calories?

Also do you think it would be possible for me to get bigger while cutting the fat from my stomach (so that my abs show), or would I need to bulk then cut?

It was meant as an example to show you the difference between eating a lot and thinking that you eat a lot. Obviously you can't and also you shouldn't increase your food intake in one major step.

I only know Dutch sites, so that wouldn't be of much help to you.

What is your length, compared to the 62 kg. Even skinny people tend to carry some fat around the waist, doing a cut to lose that fat would only make them even more skinny.
First build a decent base of muscle. If you do it without rushing (I tend to use the rule of thumb 1lbs a week) you can increase you muscle mass without increasing you bodyfat.

[crunchfit]

Not much harder. Just eat more.

[Wevans2303]

A lot of people say they have a fast metabolism and they loose weight easily, when another more feasible explanation is that your not eating enough anyway to sustain weight.

If your metabolism was that high you would want to eat more.

Thats my take on it.

[Paramonius]

It was meant as an example to show you the difference between eating a lot and thinking that you eat a lot. Obviously you can't and also you shouldn't increase your food intake in one major step.

I only know Dutch sites, so that wouldn't be of much help to you.

What is your length, compared to the 62 kg. Even skinny people tend to carry some fat around the waist, doing a cut to lose that fat would only make them even more skinny.
First build a decent base of muscle. If you do it without rushing (I tend to use the rule of thumb 1lbs a week) you can increase you muscle mass without increasing you bodyfat.

As I said in a previous post, here's a pic of my current physique: http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6128/lawl2ot0.jpg

I'm about 180cm, so JUST within a healthy BMI.

[Sem213]

Sorry, missed that.
I would train and try to gain some muscle mass, and just lower your bodyfat (if needed at all) when your bigger.

[Paramonius]

Sorry, missed that.
I would train and try to gain some muscle mass, and just lower your bodyfat (if needed at all) when your bigger.

Is it okay if I do cardio while trying to build muscle (I've been doing a 1.2 kg jog 3 times a week, on top of my exercise scheme)?