Need help - Can't gain weight

[bdawg21]

Hello,
I've been lifting for about a year and a half now, and recently have been lifting about 5 times a week. While I have seen gains in my physique, strength, and athleticism, I have remained the same weight for about 3 years. I'm still a skinny kid, but instead of a scrawny skinny kid I'm a cut skinny kid. While I don't have a set regimen, I follow this:

Pretty much do 3 sets for everything upper body, trying to increase from a 8-10 rep first set to 6-8 rep second/third sets.

Back/Bicep day:
Cable rows, Lat Pulldown, Lower Back Extension, Row Machine, Reverse Grip Rows (Not sure real name, palms faced up), Reverse Curls, Preacher Curls

Chest/Tricep day:
Bench, Incline, Dips, Machine Dips, Skull Crushers, Military Press, and some other tricep exercise.

Legs:
Do have regimen, not worried about.

I probably do back/bicep and chest/tricep day a combined 3 days a week with at least 1 day rest in between (ie back-mon chest-tues leg-wed back-thurs).

Take protein about 2 times a day, no other supplements. Would like to gain weight, but do not want to sacrifice my athleticism or large portion of my body fat%.

Am I overtraining? Do I have a bad regimen? Do I need to mix things up to see gains? Should I take supplements? Eat more?

Thanks for your help!

[liftingbuddy1]

Eat more.

Mike

[Carlito1980]

Eat more calories and consume more protien than that.Drop machine excercises and use heavy compound(barbell and dumbell)movements.Explain more on legs.For biceps do barbell curls,seated alternate dumbell curls to keep you from using your legs,Close grip bench for the tris and also dips.Forget fancy supplements maybe some creatine will help but definitely include post workout shakes and Mrps if your budget allows.

[bdawg21]

How much protein should I aim for? I'm ~170 pounds. Legs I follow the vertical jump bible strength routine

Edit: Also, what are MRP's?

[microsize]

How much protein should I aim for? I'm ~170 pounds. Legs I follow the vertical jump bible strength routine

About 1g/lbs. 170+/-, if you suck at math.

[v4lu3s]

why dont you have a leg regimen? Do you not want to gain mass in your legs even though those are some of the largest muscles in your body?

[AphtaLyfe]

However much you are eating now. Double it.

Don't try to defy the laws of physics... Eat more to gain more.

[morphin_endo]

How much protein should I aim for? I'm ~170 pounds. Legs I follow the vertical jump bible strength routine

Edit: Also, what are MRP's?

MRP = meal replacements

throw in squats and deadlifts if u havent already.

and eat like there's no tomorrow if you're an ecto,also up your protein rich foods. dont worry about getting fat, cos you will lose it quickly. carbs wont hurt you either, especially pre-workout and since you're an ecto. did i say, dont worry about getting fat!?? aim for 5 meals a day if u aint used to eating that much...

or take MRP's if u feel too full... warning, after a while, some brands end up tasting like sh!t.... i got a massive box of myoplex, and i'm feeling like gagging when i take the vanilla flavours... chocolate is ok, strawberry still tastes pretty artificial.. ugh...... and i'm getting sick of canned tuna too... LOL.... oh yeah, wholemeal bread is good for ur breakfast, each slice contains ~10g protein

[bdawg21]

The leg workout 2-3 times a week, 2 lifting days and one plyo day. Lifting days has squats, lunges, deadlifts, curls, extensions, and calf raises.

Sounds like eating more is the way to go. How do I know if I'm eating enough/too much/too little?

[r_graz]

Sounds like eating more is the way to go. How do I know if I'm eating enough/too much/too little?

It's pretty easy. You weigh yourself each week. If your weight is going up by about a pound a week, all is well. If it isn't, you need to eat more - add another 300-500 calories to your daily intake, and weigh yourself again a week later. If you're gaining much more than that, and if the mirror starts to show you looking fatter than you want, dial back the calories.

Of course you need to have an accurate idea of your daily caloric intake for this to work.

There are some formulas that get tossed around to predict how much someone will need to eat to gain weight, but it's really a shot in the dark. It will vary *a lot* from person to person, based on metabolism, age, general activity level, etc. What you need is something you're going to have to figure it out for yourself.

[formula1]

Add squats and deads.. the two most important compound lifts which promote growth throughout your entire body. And eat more.

[AFIrensde]

eat, squat, dead, bench

train to get stronger...

[pjluvsae]

I would be interested to see your leg regimine. Also, Are you doing wide grip pull-ups and dips? These are two of the best mass-building excercises, including squats and deads as mentioned many times already.
Be sure you are not kidding your self on your range of motion (ROM). I was! go to as low as possible in squats. Make sure you are really feeling the muscle flex when you a re working that muscle, don't just lift.
And as always EAT, EAT, EAT, and no cardio for yourself being a hardgainer. You can continue cardio when your BF % gets higher and the fat will fall off quickly. Feel free to message me with any questions as i'm in the same boat with you!

[bdawg21]

Thanks for all the help guys.

[BigIsBetter]

Your training is not the problem but you are not eating enough. Here is some information on how to bulk up, I hope it helps.

John

www.muscular-fitness.com

[Xscorpio]

Here is some information on how to bulk up

great info, thanks