Just got a gym membership... I'm a stick.

[Axcell]

Hey guys, 20 years old, and I recently got a gym membership. I can't exactly say that I'm the biggest guy around, I'm quite skinny, but I want to get more mass and muscle on my arms. Recently went through a breakup, so thought this would be the best way to let out my frustrations - to devote my extra time on myself.
Before I just used to do pullups/pushups at home, but I need some advice on how to build mass properly. I've been doing those for the past 3 years, and honestly, it's made me a bit stronger, but my arms are still very skinny.

I am currently 5'9 and I weight 110 pounds (very skinny.) I can do about 60 push-ups straight.
Going to try to include eggs/fish/pasta in my diet. But does anybody know the amount? Also anybody have any recommendations on whey powder? I personally don't want to consume any products that have any artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame, etc.)

Any tips are great! For the past week I've only been on the treadmill, still need to learn how to use weights and for people to recommend me some routines.

Anything would be great!!
Thanks.

 

[Fuglydude]

At 5'9" 110 lbs, you really don't need the treadmill. Gaining mass isn't easy, well actually it can be pretty easy at the start. One rule of fitness I'll always encourage beginner trainees to follow is to do your fundamentals really well.
This means eating right 90% of the time, training with brutal intensity, allowing your body adequate rest and supplementing prudently. There's a myriad of information on the web. Unfortunately a lot of it can be crap. In the end its up to you to figure out what combination of diet, training regimen and supplementation work to give you the best gains.

Eating is the most important thing in fitness. Hammering out a good diet plan and kicking bad habits. Do BIG compound movements. I've been at this for close to 11 years and those still form the basis of my training program.

By the basic movements I mean:

1. Squats/squat variations
2. Deadlifts/deadlift variations
3. Bench/Bench variations.
4. Dips.
5. Chin ups/Pull ups.
6. Shoulder press/shoulder press variations.

Don't waste your time doing endless sets of bicep curls.

Eat every 3 hours. Each meal should contain at least 30-40 g of protein. This will mean that you're getting in 5-6 meals a day and anywhere from 150 to 240 g of protein. I'd aim for 1.5-2 g protein/lb of bodyweight if you wanna see serious results. The importance of diet cannot be overstated.

The vault contains lots of great information. You're gonna have to do the work and read it up yourself.

Good luck!

 

[blinkwatt101]

I will go more thoroughly into some good stuff when i get to work next week to help you start off but I will keep it short for now.

MAKE SURE YOU ARE HAVING FUN! If you aren't you won't keep going back.

Try to get in 1.5 grams of protein per pound. May seem hard at first but after a week or two it's all cake(don't eat cake). Try to eat real food like fruits or veggies or food that was once alive like Ground Beef,Chicken,Eggs,Tuna and such!

NEVER LIFT HEAVY WHEN YOU FIRST GO TO A GYM! I don't care what anyone tells you. Establishing form should be your first priority. I don't care if you are doing 5lb bench press with dumbbells for 100 reps. FORM BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE!

Good luck dude! I wish I could start all over again from being scrony and just DESTROY myself in the gym and kitchen with the knowledge I have now that took 3 years to learn.

 

[Irs88]

ur lucky to have us all here. Go to the best of threads and find the one for massing. It is really good. good luck.

 

[Flyer]

Read the vault, and fuglydude's post.

As for how to do the exercise - read up "starting strength"/ stronglifts.com, then get somebody to show you. (trainers are not the best person to ask as they have an agenda to get business - and are often noobs at the lifts themselves)

If the 'somebody' is saying something contradictory to what you've read on stronglifts/starting strength, then they probably dont know what they're talking about.

Train well.

 

[Cure]

Drink Milk, as much as you can!

You seriously need to put weight on, which means massivly upping your calorie intake.
Ive been on 4 pints of whole milk a day for the past few weeks and its working rather well.
4 pints of whole milk is 1500 calories, with approx 70g protein, 90g fat and 120g carbs.

Other than that the advice on this forum and the starting strength/stronglifts stuff is excellent.

Good Luck

Cure.

 

[Axcell]

I've already started the diet for about 2 weeks now (I try to eat ~100 grams of protein per day, but I guess I'll try to increase that to ~150), I'll be starting to do routines in a few days. Okay so the best advice I got is to focus on TONE.

But what exercises would you recommend for a complete newbie? I walked into the gym and I didn't know how to use half the equipment (never walked into a gym.)

 

[Alle_Gory]

I've already started the diet for about 2 weeks now (I try to eat ~100 grams of protein per day, but I guess I'll try to increase that to ~150), I'll be starting to do routines in a few days. Okay so the best advice I got is to focus on TONE.

But what exercises would you recommend for a complete newbie? I walked into the gym and I didn't know how to use half the equipment (never walked into a gym.)

GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! :crazy:

Here's the best advice. It's been passed down from generation to generation. The secret is: Lift and eat.

That's it.

Get plenty of protein and calories and plenty of exercise. Do what works for YOU. I respond better to more repetitions and lighter weights but SLOW movements, you might do better with less reps and more weight... etc. Experiment. There is no one-size-fits-all regimen in either diet or training but there are some basics.

From the beginning: Jack Lalanne Show

Former bodybuilder, now old man. He's 90 and still ripped and pumping iron. :nervous:

 

[Lokai]

I understand your problem.
I gained about 20 lbs in a few months by going to the gym.

This may not be the best thing but this is what I did.

I ate chicken, potatoes in a stew I made. Then also ate bread rolls.
Squats, deadlifts, looked pretty hard to me so I concentrated on using dumbells & the machines.

Lately I'm reducing body fat so I lost a lot of weight but retained muscle.
Don't be tempted to do the fast food high calorie routine. It's bad calories. I tried it & it just turned into fat.

Get one or two magazines with semi muscular models.
I like the magazine Reps! the advice is reachable.

 

[muscleman]

You're in a pretty good state to put on some serious strength and mass in a relatively short period of time, given that you follow the right diet/rest/workout routine. I strongly suggestion you get this book: http://www.aasgaardco.com/store/store.php?crn=199&rn=312&action=show_detail

Best $30 I ever spent (I have the 1st edition) ... it will help you build a solid strength/size foundation without confusing the hell out of you. It will explain proper form (lots of pics), give you a routine to follow, give you info on diet and rest, etc.

 

[blinkwatt101]

You can download Arnold old bodybuilding book. Has some good starting points in there for noobs. Further in the book though it turns into some mainstream info he feed people,it didn't really go with what he did on film and in pictures.

 

[Colossus]

I second FuglyDude's advice.

You can make great gains in your first year of training. But to get big, you need to EAT big!!!

I recommend eating something every 3 hours as well, even if it's just a sandwich and a whey shake. You dont necessarily need to count calories, but make sure you are getting around 500-1000 calories per meal. It's actually not too hard if you eat whole foods.

Good staples:

Lean chicken
Lean beef
Raw oats
Milk, or soy milk
Rice
Wheat pasta
Yogurt (I'm a big believer in yogurt)
Cheese (not too much)
Raw veggies like green beans
Beans, like black beans, red beans, chick peas
Nuts
Some fruit

Go to your local supplement store and get some quality whey. Whey protein is the absolute best protein source there is because of it's very full amino acid profile. Look for a whey isolate or a whey blend. Good brands are MHP, Champion, Gaspari, and GNC's store brand. But remember, the most anabolic thing you can put in your body is FOOD!

Your training should be 3 days per week at first. Do bench presses, overhead presses, SQUATS, deadlifts, dips, and some dumbbell stuff.

NO treadmill!!

Work hard and add 5-10 lbs per week to the bar on each lift.

Keep a workout journal.

Sleep well.

In about 6 months, your friends will be like, whoa...