Help a skinny guy gain muscle

[Dave31415]

I have always been a skinny guy. But by age 37 I had got the usual belly fat, love handles etc by not working out or exercising much. Now I am trying to change that. So I got to the gym 3 times per week. I do cardio on elliptical, punch the speed bag, and lift weights. I do some free weights: bench press, military press, bicept curls, butterflies and some machines: seated row, lat pulldown, leg press, etc. I also do sit-ups and abdominal exercises and a few more things.

The result of working out for a month is that I have lost 20 pounds of fat. I am 5'8'' and now 145. My muscles look more defined but I am not getting big by any means and don't feel that I am getting much stronger. I can still barely bench 100 pounds.

I suspect that I am not eating enough. I am now on stimulants for ADHD which is also suppressing my appetite (though helping with motivating me to work out).

Should I be forcing myself to eat a higher calorie diet? I don't want the fat back but would like a more muscular chest, back, shoulders, arms etc and eventually abs.

[AdamWW]

It's been one month... This is a marathon not a sprint.

[Dave31415]

It's been one month... This is a marathon not a sprint.

Yeah, I know. But 20 pounds of weight loss seems a bit extreme to me. I think much of it is caused by under-eating. I am clearly a newbie but I thought I would gain muscle while I lost fat and keep my weight fairly stable. But maybe that is not how it works. Or maybe that is how it works if you eat enough.

[frankturner1982]

To get more muscle you need to eat in energy surplus for the most part, so yeah you need to eat more.

If you're skinny you don't want to lose weight, you need to eat more above your tdee, start at 10% above and adjust.

You also need to accept you will put on a bit of fat as well.

P.s

You say you lost 20 pounds of fat, chances are that 20 pounds is mix of water, fat and muscle.

But as I say if you're skinny you need to eat more, get your macros intact, put on some muscle with fat and you'll know when you hit your sweet spot.

[ATC1983]

As the other guys say, this isn't a sprint. I've just increased my dumb-bell weight from 6kg to 8.5kg after a month training with the lower weight. I understand of course this is laughable by other people's standards, but it isn't too bad after a month's training. My barbell weight I've raised from 23kg to 28kg. I can't do as many reps - for the time being - but I'm hoping that after time, say another month, I can add another few kgs onto my bells, particularly with paying attention to protein intake.

[frankturner1982]

As the other guys say, this isn't a sprint. I've just increased my dumb-bell weight from 6kg to 8.5kg after a month training with the lower weight. I understand of course this is laughable by other people's standards, but it isn't too bad after a month's training. My barbell weight I've raised from 23kg to 28kg. I can't do as many reps - for the time being - but I'm hoping that after time, say another month, I can add another few kgs onto my bells, particularly with paying attention to protein intake.

Exactly, don't judge yourself on others, judge yourself on you, if you are upping your weight at regular intervals even by a small amount then you're doing fine.

But try and push yourself as much as possible and by as much weight as possible, make it as intense as you can do it.

[Souvent24]

I kind of have a similar body type; however, I was lead to believe that you could gain mass WHILE putting on lean muscle. Meaning, one didn't have to "go pudgy then diet/lean/cut". Is this possible?

[frankturner1982]

I kind of have a similar body type; however, I was lead to believe that you could gain mass WHILE putting on lean muscle. Meaning, one didn't have to "go pudgy then diet/lean/cut". Is this possible?

I might be wrong but newbie gains could account to that, or if you recomped at mainteance or just above, but it's a much slower process and on the whole you just got to accept some fat will be put on, but if you do it slower, say just above mainteance you can make it more minimal.

Slower way of doing it though but as said, it's a marathon not a sprint.

[Elios]

is there anyway you can get off the stimulants and still function? I was diagnosed ADHD too, and i was on them and it was HELL for me...always felt nauseous, always was sweating, and just didn't feel right...

and i hear ya, it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat on those, which is really necessary if you want to gain weight.

[rand18m]

20lbs in one month is too much! At 5'8" and 145 I assume you are no longer concerned with losing weight.

Go to the stickies above and learn to calculate your TEE and compose a diet. As far as the nausea related to the medication you are taking you should have that conversation with your doctor.

Find a workout program that you feel is well designed for your goals. I suggest something that focus' on building a good base that consists mainly of compound movements. Work very hard learning proper technique and continually increasing your intensity. Good luck!