Life bulks up

[lifeislearning]

Lately I've been thinking about what I want from my life, and one aspect of that is to be bigger, healthier, stronger, etc. Naturally I am a skinny oaf (160lbs @ 6'3"), but in the past, with a dedicated gym regimen, I can bulk up. I'd like to give it a go.

For the past couple weeks I've been going to the gym on and off, but I figured posting here might help myself remain accountable. Help me to incorporate the gym into my routine.

Saturday I did:

Squats 2 x 8 @185
Squats 1 x 15 @165
Stiff Leg Dead Lifts 2 x 8 @165
Hyperextension 2 x 8 @BW+35
Calf Raises 2 x 10 @ 185

The weights may not be much, but I can feel myself getting stronger already, and I want more.

I'm working a night shift tonight, and plan to hit the gym beforehand.

 

[lifeislearning]

Did hit the gym before heading in for my overnight shift.

Incline Press 2 x 6 @ 115
1 x 6 @95
Dumbbell Press (Flat) 3 x 8 @ 40's
Shoulder Press 2 x 8 @ 25's
Tricep Press down 3 x 10 @ 40

Trying to take it easy on the shoulder press as an old football injury springs up if I don't go light for a bit. I'm really trying to work my bench hard as I've always had a weak chest and would like to work toward a better balance.

I felt so unusually energized afterward I ran around the neighborhood before heading home. Perhaps the result of a tough leg workout on Sat. Or my body enjoys the effort. Or both.

 

[lifeislearning]

Missed a couple days thanks to poor planing and then being exhausted after a night shift. On thursday I did:

Deadlifts 3 x 6 @185
Row or Chinup/Pulldown 3 x 8 @115
Bicep Curl 2 x 8 @ 25's
Forearm Curl 3 x 10 @ 30's

Today after some concern about deadlift form (I was tired of hitting my knees with the bar) I watched some videos on youtube, and tried to correct my workout. On the deadlifts I pushed my shins toward the bar and really sat down as I lifted and REALLY felt it in my back. I felt the work at a deeper intensity and higher position on my back than anything I've done before, so I decided to back down the weights and not risk an injury. My back is still incredibly tired and the run home just about exhausted me.

Squats 3 x 6 @ 165
Squats 1 x 15 @ 115
Deadlifts 2 x 8 @ 135
Hyperextension 2 x 8 @BW+25
Calf Raises 2 x 10 @165

 

[Jblunt]

Only exercising will not make you muscles. You need a good and balanced diet with it. A good diet includes CarbHydrates, fiber and everything that increases your weight.

 

[lifeislearning]

Yesterday I didn't have the time to run to the gym, but I did ride my bike and was able to increase a few weights.

Incline Press 1 x 6 @ 125
2 x 6 @115
Dumbbell Press (Flat) 2 x 8 @ 45's
Shoulder Press 1 x 8 @ 25's
1 x 8 @ 30's
Tricep Press down 2 x 10 @ 45

As for diet I seldom eat the same things every week, but I do know the importance an increased caloric intake has on a workout regimen. In high school and college I ate constantly and would often beat guys twice my weight in impromptu eating challenges, but all I ever did was sh*t more, so when I started to pay my own bills I realized I could get by fine on meals only slightly larget than those the average person eats.

For this period I will try to push myself to four and five meals daily. Problems in my way are my lack of a steady schedule (I work from midnight to 8 AM two days of the week, hit or miss contract work from 7-11PM, etc.) and my monetary limitations that require me to cook 98% of my own meals.

A standard daily intake looks something like this:

Breakfast: 2 organic eggs (more nutrition in every way, taste better too) toast or cereal, glass of OJ, and a piece of fruit.

Lunch:Sandwich with meat, cheese, and lots of veggies, extra veggie or two, and some bread or crackers.

Pre-work meal: Protein shake and bowl of pasta.

Supper: Palm sized steak, rice (1 cup dry Jasmine, so good), and spinach salad.

I do have a pretty damn healthy diet usually, but lord cooking everything sucks. Any large pot favorites?

 

[Fuglydude]

Your diet is grossly inadequate for someone whos 6'3" in the 160s, and is trying to put on serious mass. I'm 5'8" 190 12% bf and comfortably wear size 32" pants... if I was 6'3" I'd be like 240-250 easily at around 12% bf.

Always remember that diet is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BY FAR when it comes to acheiving your goals... nothing else comes close. Anyone can train 6-7 days a week... hell I worked 80 hours last week, and made it into the gym everyday. It takes A LOT more focus, planning and determination to plan out a specific diet and stick to it 90% of the time.

Heres' a sample diet that's quite similar to my own:

Meal 1: 50 g whey isolate + 2 eggs + 1 cup oatmeal + fruit

Meal 2: 6-8 oz steak + 1 cup oatmeal/2 cups cooked brown rice + veges

Meal 3: 1 mass gainer shake + fruit

Meal 4: Same as meal 2

Meal 5: 6 eggs + 1 oz almonds

Obviously do your post-WO shake after you train, etc, on top of all this.

 

[lifeislearning]

Other than your meal #5, that actually sounds a lot like mine. As I only eat organic eggs, the 6 to a meal is just not going to happen, but I am open to alternatives.

Trust me gents, I am aware of the importance of a larger diet, and I will be pushing myself, but people have been trying to put weight on me ALL MY LIFE. In high school my football coach designed a plan to help me gain 25lbs over a season. After showing me the plan I saw the diet was less than I already ate.

Up till two years ago I regularly ate 4000+ calories each day, and weighed less than I do now. Now I am 6'3" about 160 lbs, 32 waist, with about 4% bf. I have always been thin, but also inexplicably light, not the emaciated prison camp victim you're thinking of.

I do very much appreciate the advice, and I am increasing my diet, but I simply do not put on mass as simply as others. Time and persistance. Not massive sh*ts.

 

[Fuglydude]

Other than your meal #5, that actually sounds a lot like mine. As I only eat organic eggs, the 6 to a meal is just not going to happen, but I am open to alternatives.

Trust me gents, I am aware of the importance of a larger diet, and I will be pushing myself, but people have been trying to put weight on me ALL MY LIFE. In high school my football coach designed a plan to help me gain 25lbs over a season. After showing me the plan I saw the diet was less than I already ate.

Up till two years ago I regularly ate 4000+ calories each day, and weighed less than I do now. Now I am 6'3" about 160 lbs, 32 waist, with about 4% bf. I have always been thin, but also inexplicably light, not the emaciated prison camp victim you're thinking of.

I do very much appreciate the advice, and I am increasing my diet, but I simply do not put on mass as simply as others. Time and persistance. Not massive sh*ts.

Sorry man, there's substantial differences between what you said you're consuming daily vs. my proposed diet. I'm just gonna show you from a basic protein deficiency perspective.

Differences:

Between my meal 1 and your breakfast: 50 g whey + 4 eggs + considerable amount of low GI carbs. Basically hear you have a shortfall of something like 50-60 g of protein and you're not taking in important slow release carbs that you really should. Oatmeal is a fantastic bulking food.

Between my meal 2 and your lunch: Unless you're slapping half a pound of chicken into your sandwich your sandwich and getting in a good amount of calories from fat you're not gonna come even close to getting the macro nutrient amounts that you need here. I'm gonna say there's gonna be a 3-5 oz "meat deficiency" (haha that sounds funny!). 3-4 oz of meat = 25-35 g protein deficiency. I'm not even gonna get into the calories you're missing out either.

I'll assume your pre WO meal is similar to my mass gainer shake but I said you need to take in a post WO shake complete w/ whey isolate and simple sugars following your workout. This is another 40-50 g of protein you're not getting. Since you're working out 3-4 times a week we'll half this and say 20-25 g of protein.

I'll assume your dinner's the same as meal 4.

Meal 5, the one you're missing is crucial as its giving your body nutrients for regeneration as you sleep. I'm sure you know that most growth happens when we are resting. If you don't give your body the basic building blocks you just won't grow.... its not rocket science. This meal gives you a deficit of another 40+ g of protein as well as lots of calories and good fat.

That's approximately a 130 g of protein deficit daily between our proposed diets just on a daily basis. Over the course of a week that's something like 2 lbs of protein. I'm not even beginning to touch on the calories you're not getting in. Skinny guys always think that "they eat enough". I was 125 lbs when I first started working and thought that... Now at 190 i KNOW I don't eat enough!!

Also post pics... if you're 4% bf, how can you and I have the same waist measurement. I mean I'm more than half a foot shorter than you and weigh like 30 lbs more and have a lot more bodyfat. Something doesn't seem right.

 

[EFFORT]

One thing I notice with people that can't seem to gain weight is they don't have a detailed, planned diet that they've been following. When I ask them to send me there planned diet that includes food choices and food quantities weighed by a food scale, they say "oh I don't do that I just eat all I can" or something on the lines of "I eat a TON of food, I don't need to have it written, I just know its a lot" They severely overestimate how much food they eat over a time frame.

My suggestion is to follow a detailed planned diet with food choices and quantities already determined for the next 12weeks. In addition to this I would suggest having all your meals packed and ready to go everyday regardless of your work schedule.

You need to go through the process of shopping for your food, cooking your food, measuring your food, storing your food and transporting your food. Each of those task requires you learn certain skills that will determine most of your success.

So as a default regardless of your schedule get yourself a lunch bag and pack it the night before with all your meals for the next day. If for whatever reason you can't get to a meal because of a schedule issue, no worries, what matters is the consistent daily intent produced by having your meals prepped and with you. If there prepped and ready you'll have a lot higher chance of eating them than if there not.

 

[Burroughs]

Fugly..what whey isolate do you use..Isopure? (like most)

also why the 50g PLUS 2 eggs...I thought the body can only absorb 50g protein per 2 hr max?

 

[Fuglydude]

Fugly..what whey isolate do you use..Isopure? (like most)

also why the 50g PLUS 2 eggs...I thought the body can only absorb 50g protein per 2 hr max?

I use AllMax's Isoflex whey isolate... Its good tasting stuff, and the best selling isolate in this part of the world. My wife also does promo work for Allmax once in a while, so we get a reasonable deal on it.

I'm not sure about all the shiit people say about the body being able to only absorb x amount in an hour, etc. To the best of my knowledge, there is no primary literature on this topic. It would tough to study as different people would obviously have different absorption parameters given that there are a myriad of different factors that affect GI tract physiology. It would be next to impossible to conduct an in vivo study and keep all the other variables controlled.

You can make the argument that your body has limited absorptive capacity for protein if you're just drinking protein shakes all day. However, when you consume steak, or other high protein "real food" I believe the body has much better ability to assimilate more of the nutrients, including protein. This is why I'd rather eat real food than chug supplements. Proteins shakes/mass gainers just make it easier to get in adequate amounts of protein and calories, but ideally it would be best to go with steak, yams and veges!

I am a strong proponent of getting in LOTS of protein like 1.5 g/lb bodyweight as I find that its much easier to stay lean when getting in more protein. Remember that protein has a potent thermic effect, and having high amounts of amino acids in the blood coupled w/ the appropriate growth stimulus will also "push" the metabolism towards nitrogen retention and yield anabolism in the muscle tissue.

 

[Colossus]

I will echo what Fugly and Espi have said---your calorie intake and protein total are grossly under where they need to be for mass gain.

Here's another example of a PLAN that will put mass on your frame:

1- 6 eggs (whole), 1 cup oatmeal, 1 piece fruit

2- 40g shake and some almonds

3- 12 oz chicken breast, rice or quinoa, and yogurt

4- apple and a few hard boiled eggs or a meal replacement bar

training

5- 50g fast carbs and 50g whey

6- 1/2-1lb ground beef or turkey, some raw green beans, and a yogurt if you like.

Drink 1 GALLON of water per day. Dont be afraid to hit up burger places a couple times a week, or crush a large pizza on saturday night. You want to get bigger right?

Bulking is not rocket science. It's a simple matter of More substrate going in than substrate expenditure. And heavy training. And consistency---most important!!!

One more thing--dont be afraid of putting on a little fat. You'll prob lose your six pack. An exclusively lean bulk is a daydream. And you are not 4% BF.

 

[lifeislearning]

Lord amighty, leave town for a few days and the posts explode!

Ok gents, first off thanks for the feedback and the encouragement. I do agree that my meal plan can be better structured for significant gain. While I will attempt to create a diet with sufficient protein (240g daily for 160lbs, right?) and a significant abundance of calories, I know the plans outlined will not be easy to follow with my schedule. But what easy thing is worth the effort right?

Due to financial limits I won't be able to eat 8 eggs daily (though I do love them, and if they were free I'd eat a dozen every day) and I love fruits and veggies and believe they should constitute the MAJORITY of the human diet. Meat may be the most delicious thing in the world, but I don't think modern man lives a lifestyle that merits placing meat in the largest portion of our diet. Crazy right?

BUT, like I said, I WILL make an effort to follow your tested and true advice.

Give me a few days to see what I can afford to buy and have the time to cook, and I'll see what you all think.

Other than that I hit the gym on Friday before I left town. Asked a friend to help me on the deadlifts, and I really felt my form improve. Felt the weight distributed evenly from my legs to my mid back, and only the sore tension of a workout well-done.

Deadlifts 3 x 6 @185
Row or Chinup/Pulldown 3 x 8 @115
Bicep Curl 2 x 8 @ 25's
Forearm Curl 3 x 10 @ 30's

Back to the gym today. Even though overnight shifts usually kill my back, I felt strong, and will surely bump up deadlifts soon.

Squats 2 x 8 @ 205
Squats 1 x 15 @ 175
Deadlifts 2 x 8 @ 175
Hyperextension 2 x 8 @BW+35
Calf Raises 2 x 10 @205

 

[EFFORT]

What is your budget for food?

Also read over what I wrote below again in regards to your schedule issues. You can also reduce down to 5 meals with larger quantities.

I would suggest having all your meals packed and ready to go everyday regardless of your work schedule.

You need to go through the process of shopping for your food, cooking your food, measuring your food, storing your food and transporting your food. Each of those task requires you learn certain skills that will determine most of your success.

So as a default regardless of your schedule get yourself a lunch bag and pack it the night before with all your meals for the next day. If for whatever reason you can't get to a meal because of a schedule issue, no worries, what matters is the consistent daily intent produced by having your meals prepped and with you. If there prepped and ready you'll have a lot higher chance of eating them than if there not.

 

[lifeislearning]

Incline Press 1 x 3 @ 135
2 x 6 @ 125
Dumbbell Press (Flat) 3 x 8 @ 45's
Shoulder Press 2 x 8 @ 30's
Dead lifts 3 x 6 @ 185

Oops, should have done triceps rather than deadlifts. I'll just do triceps next time. Arms feel like noodles. On the incline press I felt a sore spot in my upper right abdominals. I did some additional ab exercises last time I hit the gym and I'm guessing this is my repayment. When they're no longer sore, I should easily bump the incline press to 2 full sets of 135.

 

[lifeislearning]

Tricep Press 1 x 10 @ 45
1 x 10@50
Row or Chinup/Pulldown 1 x 8,6,4 @130
Bicep Curl 2 x 8 @ 25's
1 x 4 @ 25's
Forearm Curl 3 x 10 @ 30's

Food budget varies, maybe $300 a month. I'm following the diet Fugly recommended pretty close past couple days. I am getting pretty tired of eating, cooking, and sh*tting all day, gonna have to muiti-task during that time or something Today for example:



Meal 1: Protein shake + 3 eggs + 1 cup oatmeal + big glass OJ

Meal 2: 5 oz steak + 2 cups cooked wild rice + carrots

Meal 3: Protein shake + apple + peanut butter oreos

Meal 4: Same as meal 2 (In 30 mins or so)

Meal 5: 6 oz chicken + pasta and veggies stir fry (Later tonight)

 

[lifeislearning]

Been working so much past week, haven't been to the gym in a while. Today I did

Squats 2 x 8 @ 205
Squats 1 x 15 @ 175
Straight Leg Deadlifts 2 x 8 @ 185
Hyperextension 2 x 8 @BW+35
Calf Raises 2 x 10 @205

Felt fine. Nothing tired or weak even though my sleep has suffered. Trying to stick to the enhanced diet. Eating more protein than I normally would, but adding more calories is tough.

 

[lifeislearning]

Incline Press 3 x 6 @ 125
Dumbbell Press (Flat) 2 x 8 @ 45's
Shoulder Press 2 x 8 @ 30's
Tricep Press 2 x 10 @ 45

Weak and tired. Most likely due to the break. No more long breaks. I'll make time. I feel like this is my weakest day and would really like to increase all these weights.

 

[lifeislearning]

Pulldown
1 x 8@100
1 x 8@115
1 x 8@130
2 x 4@145

Deadlift
1x8@135
2x6@185

Bicep Curl
1 x 8 @ 15's
1 x 8 @ 25's
2 x 5 @ 30's

Forearm Curl
1 x 10 @ 30's
2 x 6 @ 35's

Took a few sets to get deadlift form back, that can be so awkward for me with my height. Pushed myself today.

 

[Lifeforce]

When I'm strapped for time I usually get some nuts and eat between meals. It's not the best type of food to eat for bulking but at least it's plenty of cals, decent fat and okish protein with nearly no carbs. I feel nuts are great for bumping up cal intake since they are very energy condensed, 100g of nuts is like 600 cals.

If you are feeling tired and weak you are probably not getting enough recovery or not eating enough. Sleeping well is as important as going to the gym is and if you are serious about packing on LEAN muscle you need to have the same mentality towards sleeping as to getting exercise.

Otherwise keep at it.