Trying Bulking Again; How Realistic is My Goal?

[~attrACTION~]

That "Anthony Ellis claims he got this big naturally" thread is kind of the reason I am making this thread.

I am currently 5'9" and weigh approximately 125lbs. I have tried bulking on two separate occasions:

First, I went from 122lbs - 144lbs. Most of it was fat because I was not actively lifting weights.

After that I dropped back to around 132lbs. About 6 months later, I tried bulking again, this time using the Anthony Ellis program. I got to around 140lbs, and it seemed like I hit a plateau. I just could not gain more. I lost motivation, and stopped again.

I have since become unhealthy again and lost a lot of weight. To be honest, after trying two times without much results, I have been a little disappointed. I want to give it another shot, and this time I will focus on core exercises, such as those described by the A-Unit (Repost)... sticky thread.

Also, attached here is a picture of the progress I wish to achieve.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1844/beforeafteran4.jpg

The left hand picture is my most current picture, and on the right is what I would like to achieve. How realistic is this (and how much do you think I would have to gain), how long do you think it would take, and what kind of program do you recommend?

The reason I ask is because, looking at the Anthony Ellis before and after, it appears he was in O.K. shape before he began bulking. I am not too surprised, given his predetermined genetics that he was able to gain as much as he did. I, on the other hand, come from a family of very skinny genetics. My father is a toothpick, same with my mother, brother, and sister. Even my grandparents were/are skinny. The only person I can think of in my family who has a full, muscular figure is my uncle who was a star athlete all of his life. I am wondering if I even have the genetics to be able to break over 150?

Thank you for any advice.

 

[dirtyvibe]

That "Anthony Ellis claims he got this big naturally" thread is kind of the reason I am making this thread.

I am currently 5'9" and weigh approximately 125lbs. I have tried bulking on two separate occasions:

First, I went from 122lbs - 144lbs. Most of it was fat because I was not actively lifting weights.

After that I dropped back to around 132lbs. About 6 months later, I tried bulking again, this time using the Anthony Ellis program. I got to around 140lbs, and it seemed like I hit a plateau. I just could not gain more. I lost motivation, and stopped again.

I have since become unhealthy again and lost a lot of weight. To be honest, after trying two times without much results, I have been a little disappointed. I want to give it another shot, and this time I will focus on core exercises, such as those described by the A-Unit (Repost)... sticky thread.

Also, attached here is a picture of the progress I wish to achieve.
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/1844/beforeafteran4.jpg

The left hand picture is my most current picture, and on the right is what I would like to achieve. How realistic is this (and how much do you think I would have to gain), how long do you think it would take, and what kind of program do you recommend?

The reason I ask is because, looking at the Anthony Ellis before and after, it appears he was in O.K. shape before he began bulking. I am not too surprised, given his predetermined genetics that he was able to gain as much as he did. I, on the other hand, come from a family of very skinny genetics. My father is a toothpick, same with my mother, brother, and sister. Even my grandparents were/are skinny. The only person I can think of in my family who has a full, muscular figure is my uncle who was a star athlete all of his life. I am wondering if I even have the genetics to be able to break over 150?

Thank you for any advice.

id put him with a height of 5'9 at 170 and 11% bf. 151.3 lb non-bf. youre probably 11-12 bf. 111.25 lb non-bf. 151.3-111.25 = 39.8 lbs of muscle you need to add

you can add 24 lbs of muscle/ year with a good diet and workout program. So, realistically that physique would take 2-3 years allowing for error along the way.

everyone has the genetics to get over 150..

actually check this out, its apparently pretty accurate: it'll calculate your natural genetic potential.

http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/maximum-size-calculator.html

Mine is apparently 5'8 200 lbs 8%, the same as arnold at 6'2, 240 height/weight wise (though his bf was probably at 4)

 

[[S]alvatore]

I, on the other hand, come from a family of very skinny genetics. My father is a toothpick, same with my mother, brother, and sister. Even my grandparents were/are skinny. The only person I can think of in my family who has a full, muscular figure is my uncle who was a star athlete all of his life. I am wondering if I even have the genetics to be able to break over 150?

I don't understand how you could have put on so much fat if you and your family are all ectomorphs. Yes you would have the genetics to break well over 150, a decent size for your height would be 210lbs (all depending on whether you want to look like an athlete, or like a bb'er). All you need to do is find a routine that works for you, and tweak your diet until you are getting the results that you want.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I wouldn't put much faith in those calculators. Much like jeans, they're made for an ideal-standard human being which most probably doesn't exist or is 1 in a million if they do.

Forget the numbers and go by the mirror .. aim as high as you can to succeed.

 

[Warboss Alex]

ps - go on a seefood diet.

 

[6-heads lewis]

forget ellis, i started on his program, too and was disappointed. the guy is full of crap, he says he gained like 50lbs in 2 months then cut 20lbs of fat the 3rd month. no joke.

if you compare yourself to his lies and use his pathetic 1x/week sissy program, youll undoubtedly be disappointed.

start a program that is ONLY compounds. like 5x5 or rippetoe, these are championship workouts, and like WBA said go on a 'seefood' diet. I was a pencil at 6'0 140, and didnt see real gains till i started eating like a monster and doing Rippetoe.

NOTE: im not saying the 1x/week body split is bad, it can be very well done, like the one in WBA's 'idiots guide', I just pure beginners have the recovery capacity to do an all-compound workout like Rippetoe since they are not close to their max srtength potential.

 

[Throttle]

search for wba's idiot's guide to growth in this forum, re-read a-unit's sticky (twice) and also search for 'squat for big arms' (or something to that effect), pick any beginner's program that focuses on big, heavy compound lifts, and eat everything in sight. everything you're saying sounds like you're looking in the right direction, now you just need the motivation to stick with it. none of us can give that to you.

perhaps getting off in a better direction will help, but consider the possibility that your attitude [ie, this isn't working, eh, screw it] needs more help than your workout regimen. on the other hand, these guys are setting you up for the visible results you may have lacked in the past, if you stay away from scales & mirrors for at least a month at time. and just think -- they're giving this advice away for free!

 

[danno1]

how can you succeed if you give up so easily? I mean if its something as simple as eat a lot of food and lift weightsl; how do can you expect to be successful in real life?

EDIT: I really didn't think there was much wrong with Ellis' book other then saying you will gain or lose weight super fast, I skimmed through a free version I had and it basically said what is common knowledge though.

Eat excess calories, bodyweight+ in protein, and do heavy compound lifts

 

[Celadus]

I bought the skinnyguy program and it works. Lots of positive progress threads in the forum. Its nothing you can't get for free though. The key is to stick to it and focus on your diet. If you aren't gaining, keep adding a few hundred calories a week until you are gaining. Anthony worked out for years before he started this program, thats why he was in decent shape before he got big.

 

[blinkwatt]

There is no way he got as big as he did in that time frame without steroids.

 

[~attrACTION~]

Yes, I am very appreciative of the free knowledge on these boards. The SkinnyGuy program was not bad, I just hit a plateau and gave up. Danno, you are right, I should not give up so easily, and I think my motives for bulking were wrong. I have changed my reasons and goals, so I think I can be more consistent this time.

The time I gained roughly 20lbs, I had to eat like crazy, even when I felt full, I would still eat like a bear. I was not going to school in those 6 months, so I practically was resting and eating the whole time.

I will check out a seafood diet, and those threads you mentioned.

Thank you for all the tips and comments.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I will check out a seafood diet, and those threads you mentioned.

um. I said SEEfood not SEAfood. seefood diet = eat anything you see

 

[danno1]

If you don't like something, you wont be able to continue it. It is really a mind set. When I took a week off to decondition because of lousy sleep; during day 5-7 I was craving to do some weight lifting.

 

[Charm&Style]

um. I said SEEfood not SEAfood. seefood diet = eat anything you see

:crackup:

 

[thefonz]

Dude, I'm bulking right now too so if you need support and what not just shoot me an email. You have a stronger frame than me so I don't see any reason why you can't get big.

No I don't think genetics have anything to do with it. Unless you are have a disease I don't think your body is conspiring to keep you skinny, you're just not active enough. You need to balance rest, lifting, and eating. ie. know when to throw in a rest day by measuring your soreness, know how much you should eat and how to space meals apart, recognize when certain workouts dont' do anything for you and switch it up.

And don't forget to DRINK LOTS OF WATER.

Edit: You can also balance your fat mass by monitoring your carb intake WHILE your bulking. Since you'll have to cut carbs and still lift balls to the wall when cutting, you might as well keep it down as much as possible. That's what I do, I'm always in the bulking phase but when I get fat I'll cut out a couple of servings of carbs for the day.