Skinny Guy Looking for Mass Building Workout Plan

[BrandNew3]

Hi everyone,

I'm always been a fairly skinny guy, with a fast metabolism that results in me having a hard time gaining weight.

I'm looking to start a home workout program to reach the goal of putting on about 20 pounds of mass+muscle. I can spend 4, maybe 5 days a week at about 30mins - 1 hr per day on my routine.

Being new to the workout community, I've got some questions that I'm unsure of. If you could answer any of the below questions or even point me to some helpful links/sites, I would greatly appreciate it.

- What equipment should I buy? Looking to buy reasonably priced used equipment (eg. Free weights vs. machines?)
- What would be a good workout routine to satisfy the above goals given the time I can put in?
- What should my diet be like? (Protein is king I assume)
- Are my goals reasonable based on the amount of time I can spend on this?
- Do you recommend the use of supplements? (I've heard Myotein is really good)

I know these are big questions, but you guys are the experts! Please shed some light on this or point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

[datoolman]

I'm running allpros (one cycle done and on second cycle) and I gotta say my core strength has gone up alot. The nutrition section has stickies for diet but supplements are all about whether you want to use them to hit their minimums. Personally I take dymatize iso100 sometimes simply because that mixed with a frozen banana tastes good not because it is necessary. Allpro's routine is about an hour 3 times a week so you'd be good(the program is better explained in the stickies). I would only get free weights a squat rack and you'd basically be set. Bulking is about surplus so pick a number for calories and adjust accordingly. Good luck man and stay motivated...your goals are extremely similar to mine. Just understand that it will take time to put on that muscle....under optimal conditions of .5lb of muscle per week you'r looking at 40 weeks. Regards
DaToolman

[Roniboney]

all pro's or any other 3 day split.eat a lot.Go to the nutrition section,find out how to gain weight.Lift,eat,sleep repeat and grow

[BrandNew3]

Cool, what's a reasonable amount of time to expect to gain 20 lbs with this schedule?

Any thoughts on Myotein as a supplement?

[datoolman]

Cool, what's a reasonable amount of time to expect to gain 20 lbs with this schedule?

Any thoughts on Myotein as a supplement?

As I said under optimal conditions you are looking at 40 weeks. Of course nothing is optimal so 20 lbs let's say one yearish? Thats what I am expecting but personally I am a recovering anorexic who needs to put on some "bad fat" as my percentage is low. If you want to stay lean you need to "clean bulk". Also the supplemnt I have found doesn't matter. Just eat 10-20% over your maintanence and get 1g of lean body mass in protein, .45g in lb bodyweight of fat and fill the rest of your calories with whatever you prefer. Good luck man and keep in touch if you want with your progress! Regards
DaToolman

[BrandNew3]

Thanks for the feedback datoolman, I'll look into your suggestions! Could someone post a link to the All pros workout that you've mentioned?

Anyone else have any advice? Looking to get a range of opinions

[BrandNew3]

Is this the workout you guys are referring to? - Thread called "A Simple Beginner's Routine"

(I would link but I can't post links)

[FromTheStretch]

all pro's or any other 3 day split.eat a lot.Go to the nutrition section,find out how to gain weight.Lift,eat,sleep repeat and grow

^This.

What are your stats right now? height/weight? If you are real thin/tall and untapped like I was you will gain weight quickly at first with the right diet. Maybe sooner than 40 weeks... EAT A LOT. I gained over 30lbs in my first 40 weeks.

[PeterGibbons316]

- What equipment should I buy? Looking to buy reasonably priced used equipment (eg. Free weights vs. machines?)

Get a power rack, olympic barbell with ~300+ lbs. of weight, and an adjustable bench.

I have a PowerTec Rack, and a Bodycraft FID bench and love them both - highly recommended. Other racks here:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=126624063
My ****:
http://bestbuyfitness.com/product.asp?intProdID=3083
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CGMQ8wIwAA#

Check craigslist for weights.

- What would be a good workout routine to satisfy the above goals given the time I can put in?

I've had great success with SS, links to my log and program in my sig.

- What should my diet be like? (Protein is king I assume)

Read this:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981
Then when you are done, read it again.

The best thing to do is to start tracking everything that you eat. There are websites and apps you can use for this - I use www.myfitnesspal.com but that is just one of several that do the same thing. Adjust your daily intake until you are gaining weight at an appropriate weight. I shoot for ~1 lb/week, but 3 lbs/month would probably be better (less fat gain).

- Are my goals reasonable based on the amount of time I can spend on this?

Yes

- Do you recommend the use of supplements? (I've heard Myotein is really good)

No. Supplements are only to be used if you cannot get everything you need from your daily food intake. Your diet should be mainly whole foods, with supplements meant to do exactly what it says - supplement your diet. With that said, I currently take a multi-vitamin, fiber, creatine, and whey protein every once in a while. I'd recommend starting without supplements and then adding them in as you see fit.

Best of luck to you.

[BrandNew3]

Thanks very much for the feedback! Right now I'm about 6'1 and 160lbs.

Thanks Peter/Jason for the input. Would it be recommended to use dumbbells instead of a barbell? Looking to buy weights but save money on the rack.

Still hoping someone can link me the All Pros workout that is being referred to?

[musikguy72]

Thanks very much for the feedback! Right now I'm about 6'1 and 160lbs.

Thanks Peter/Jason for the input. Would it be recommended to use dumbbells instead of a barbell? Looking to buy weights but save money on the rack.

Still hoping someone can link me the All Pros workout that is being referred to?

It's in the stickies. You should be reading them anyway. And don't forget about the nutrition section.
Barbell is recommended for AllPro's routine. Once the weight starts to really get heavy, dumbbells will be more trouble than their worth for many of the lifts.

[BrandNew3]

Is the sticky called "A Simple Beginner's Routine"?

And I'm intrigued by the App to help monitor eating habits, anyone have any apps they would recommend?

[BigTwoThree]

My fitness pal is popular. Can get it on the iPhone and blackberry. Like it's been said eat! I use to be a super skinny kid who thought I ate a lot and couldn't gain weight. In my eyes there no such thing as a "hard gainer" just people who don't eat enough. If your having a hard time getting food down you might be eating almost enough. Stretch your stomach till you can eat. Or do the gallon of milk thing. Whatever just get calories in. If you want to gain weight without a lot of fat gain then 20 pounds could take up to a year like said. I gained 35 pounds in about a year and a half. Not worrying to much about fat at all and cutting twice. So it's up to you how fast you want to gain.

[Max94]

Hey, I'm not really an expert or anything but I have really similar goals and I'll just tell you what I did. So, I just started working out about 2-3 months ago and I am just loving it. I used to be a really skinny guy last year and really hated myself for it. I tried just eating a lot and always stuffing myself more than I should be at dinner. It never really did anything, and there was a point of my life this passed summer where I had just decided to give up and accepted the fact that I would be looking like this my whole life. Around halfway through August I came accross this website and saw all the useful information so I decided I'd give it another shot but this time I would be educated about working out. I went out to Wal-Mart and bought 2 dumbbells and I purchased an adjustable bench for $25 off kijiji. I started working out and eating a lot (BUT IT WAS ALL HEALTHY FOOD) and 2-3 months later I've put on about 10-15 lbs of mostly muscle.

Anyways man, all I have to say to you is the key things to doing this are
1. Dedication
2. Eat Eat Eat (But eat healthy foods i.e. Whole wheat, and keep sugar to a low)
3. Hard Work (Every single set you do give it your all)

If you follow that, you'll be surprised how much a difference you can make with your body. Also keep in mind, if you're new to working out (same thing happened to me) you will gain weight a lot faster than what most people will tell you (the typical .5lb per week) because of something called "noob gains" it's where when you first start working out you'll just explode up and it gets harder and harder to gain muscle.
All I have to say is good luck man and keep coming to this site for help if you need it, it's worked wonders for me.

[Tommy_Gunns]

Thanks for the feedback datoolman, I'll look into your suggestions! Could someone post a link to the All pros workout that you've mentioned?

Anyone else have any advice? Looking to get a range of opinions

Here's All Pros for you.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843

[BrandNew3]

Thanks Tommy for the link, I've started researching All Pros pretty heavily and once I buy some weights I will get started with the workout.

Max94 and BigTwoThree: Thanks for the feedback. I downloaded Lose It from the App Store and seems to be pretty comparable to MyFitnessPal. I put in my meals yesterday and lo and behold I'm not even close to where I should be for calorie counts. I'm going to research the nutrition thread further to investigate what other foods I should be eating, since I am already quite full after most meals.

Just a couple questions:
- Please provide any links to threads talking about good foods to eat while doing All Pros to bulk up
- Are all the All Pros exercises done with a Barbell? Trying to figure out what equipment I need exactly. (Just a barbell, bench, rack and plates?)

Thanks in advance, you guys have been great!