Adding bulk to a small frame

[mindmaniac]

I'm a fairly fit looking person, but I just don't have a lot of muscle mass. I know it might sound like a dumb question but if I started weight lifting could I really build a lot of muscle over time? I thought genetics have a lot to do with how much you could build. Even when I was lifting for a year and was benching 160 I was about the same size I am now. I only weigh 140 lbs and I'm 5'10".

 

[crt1530]

It's not just lifting weights. You need to eat more. I was 5'8" 155lbs when I graduated from high school. I'm now 5'8" 200lbs at age 25. No magic, no steroids, just eating and lifting. You will not magically add muscle mass if you lift weights and continue to eat the same amount of food.

The people who talk about genetics preventing them from getting past being skinny and weak are the same ones who have no dedication when it comes to eating and lifting.

If you are serious about adding muscle mass and getting stronger, go here and read the whole thread, then come back and start asking questions.

 

[HN]

yeah man, just eat...find some steak, chicken breast, pork chop, salmon and bite the sht out of it.
And don't forget about recovery, your body heals on its days off. working out hard with weights every single day for weeks/months on end is not what you want to do.

 

[OpenThirdEye]

Originally posted by: HN
yeah man, just eat...find some steak, chicken breast, pork chop, salmon and bite the sht out of it.
And don't forget about recovery, your body heals on its days off. working out hard with weights every single day for weeks/months on end is not what you want to do.

Couldn't have put it any better myself. Your frame may have a little bit to do with how big you can actually get, but it shouldn't hold you up too much. Just don't get discouraged with the plateaus when lifting.

...and like HN says above: let your muscle sets relax for a bit...48 hours if you can. You'll see MUCH more gain if you do!

 

[mindmaniac]

Thanks guys, that sounds very encouraging. I was getting to the point where I figured it didn't pay to work out since I would probably stay the same size irregardless. When I used to work out I didn't really eat any more than I used to since I was concerned that I would just gain fat, not thinking too much about the fact that I needed the extra calories to keep up with the rebuilding that would be going on.

 

[purbeast0]

anyone can put on some weight but some of it is definitely genetics.

i have lean jeans in me and was always active. when i started college I was about 150lbs @ 5'11. I had never lifted weights at all. My 2nd semester I decided to take it up since I got a belly over first semester. After my sophomore year I was about 155lbs but I was ripped to shreds. I'm talking like 8pack and all and < 7% bodyfat, but I was not big at all. i was so skinny people told me I looked unhealthy, but I was actually very fit and ripped. i used to think I was the shit when I could bench my body weight lol.

but then i realized i was overtraining for about 2 years and working out TOO much not getting enough rest, which is why I never got my weight up and strength was peaked for the longest time. i was trying to gain muscle and lean up atht esame time, which just is not possible since they are polar opposites. i then started training each muscle group once a week and learned how to do stuff right.

now I try to lean up over the spring/summer months and bulk up over the fall/winter months. i went to the doctors today and they weighed me and I was 208lbs w/my clothes on (but no shoes) so I would say I'm around 200 - 202. That's over 1/3 of my total body weight when I started lifting.

so yes, you can definitely gain weight it just takes time and dedication. I'm 26 now.

 

[Deeko]

Senior year of high school, I was 5'6" 123 pounds, 5% bf. By my 3rd year of college, I was 5'6" 165 pounds, 9% bf. I put on some fat, but I packed on a LOT of muscle. Now I've settled at about 150 pounds, but I only go to the gym every other week these days.

Eating more, and a proper lifting routine does wonders.

 

[CaptainCoors]

People peak at different ages too. I've found as my metabolism seems to slow a bit through my 20's, my gains get better and better. Tons of healthy food and plenty of good rest is what makes you grow.

 

[RaiderJ]

I've always had an easy time adding bulk (muscle or fat), but my appetite has never been lacking either. Very true you need to adjust your diet to include muscle building food if that's what you want to do.

 

[TallBill]

EAT, you can do it. I was 6'6" 180 in high school and almost 230 now.

 

[TheSlamma]

It's not just eating guys, genetics do play a big part in peoples ability to gain weight. My friend is 5'10" 165lbs... he eats 4 good meals a day (he doesn't eat junk cause he's a diabetic) and he can't gain a friggin ounce. He has the EXACT same build as his dad and his older brother.

We watched a Broncos game at Famous daves last month, I watched him eat an entire side of briscut, a full link, bakes beans, slaw and cornbread and he was asking if I was gonna eat my cornbread if that gives you an idea of how much this guy can throw down.

Food 0
Genetics 1

Not that I havent seen people increase their food intake and gain weight (hack it worked for me). I just know it doesn't work for 100% of people like is being applied here.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not just eating guys, genetics do play a big part in peoples ability to gain weight. My friend is 5'10" 165lbs... he eats 4 good meals a day (he doesn't eat junk cause he's a diabetic) and he can't gain a friggin ounce. He has the EXACT same build as his dad and his older brother.

We watched a Broncos game at Famous daves last month, I watched him eat an entire side of briscut, a full link, bakes beans, slaw and cornbread and he was asking if I was gonna eat my cornbread if that gives you an idea of how much this guy can throw down.

Food 0
Genetics 1

Not that I havent seen people increase their food intake and gain weight (hack it worked for me). I just know it doesn't work for 100% of people like is being applied here.

well then he has to eat more. he obviously has a very fast metabolism, and if he eats more then he will have an excess of calories which will have to turn into weight.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

well then he has to eat more. he obviously has a very fast metabolism, and if he eats more then he will have an excess of calories which will have to turn into weight.

Yup, actually tracking the exact calories for a while helps as well.

 

[Koing]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not just eating guys, genetics do play a big part in peoples ability to gain weight. My friend is 5'10" 165lbs... he eats 4 good meals a day (he doesn't eat junk cause he's a diabetic) and he can't gain a friggin ounce. He has the EXACT same build as his dad and his older brother.

We watched a Broncos game at Famous daves last month, I watched him eat an entire side of briscut, a full link, bakes beans, slaw and cornbread and he was asking if I was gonna eat my cornbread if that gives you an idea of how much this guy can throw down.

Food 0
Genetics 1

Not that I havent seen people increase their food intake and gain weight (hack it worked for me). I just know it doesn't work for 100% of people like is being applied here.

well then he has to eat more. he obviously has a very fast metabolism, and if he eats more then he will have an excess of calories which will have to turn into weight.

Indeed.

Some guys just find it a lot harder then others. I didn't put much muscle on the first 6yrs of training. I stayed moderately lean, I ate well most days but looking back the volume really wasn't enough for my metabolism.

Now in year 8 of training I can put on muscle very easily. I don't even have to eat much and I can put muscle on.

My mate eats a lot but doesn't gain. He just needs that 'bit more'. I can also out eat him if I choose to, but then I'd be a fat f0cker if I eat more then him everyday 😛

Get your index finger and your thumb. Wrap them around your wrist. How is the fit?

If you can just about touch your body frame is more 'mesomorpth' (swimmer type of build). If they touch with plenty of space your an ectomorpth (think horse racing jockey type of bu ild) and if they can't touch your more of a endomorpth (sumo type of build). This will give an inclination of what sort of body type you are.

People with small wrists in general won't get really massive but you can still put on A LOT OF MUSCLE, you just won't be going to Mr Olympia 😛

Eat, train, rest, repeat 3-4x a week come back in a solid year. If you haven't gained you didn't do one of the following properly. You should be able to gain at least half a lb in a week easily if your a beginner, if ot over 2 weeks if your eating enough.

Koing

 

[GenHoth]

My dad weighs in at 131 lbs. I've managed to get up to 160, so it is certainly possible!

 

[BigPoppa]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not just eating guys, genetics do play a big part in peoples ability to gain weight. My friend is 5'10" 165lbs... he eats 4 good meals a day (he doesn't eat junk cause he's a diabetic) and he can't gain a friggin ounce. He has the EXACT same build as his dad and his older brother.

We watched a Broncos game at Famous daves last month, I watched him eat an entire side of briscut, a full link, bakes beans, slaw and cornbread and he was asking if I was gonna eat my cornbread if that gives you an idea of how much this guy can throw down.

Food 0
Genetics 1

Not that I havent seen people increase their food intake and gain weight (hack it worked for me). I just know it doesn't work for 100% of people like is being applied here.

Just because he eats like that at one meal doesn't mean he eats like that all day. As others have said, actually counting what is eaten is a big step in gaining/losing weight. Hell, I lost 25lbs in 2 months by actually keeping track of what my intake was and hitting the gym 3x a week. I've stalled out on the weightloss due to regressing a bit on eating/alcohol, but those are coming back in line. Strength is still going up, newbie gains rock. Nothing like a PR every week.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: TheSlamma
It's not just eating guys, genetics do play a big part in peoples ability to gain weight. My friend is 5'10" 165lbs... he eats 4 good meals a day (he doesn't eat junk cause he's a diabetic) and he can't gain a friggin ounce. He has the EXACT same build as his dad and his older brother.

We watched a Broncos game at Famous daves last month, I watched him eat an entire side of briscut, a full link, bakes beans, slaw and cornbread and he was asking if I was gonna eat my cornbread if that gives you an idea of how much this guy can throw down.

Food 0
Genetics 1

Not that I havent seen people increase their food intake and gain weight (hack it worked for me). I just know it doesn't work for 100% of people like is being applied here.

ANYONE can gain weight if they eat enough. Granted, some people have extremely fast metabolisms and need to eat several thousand calories per day to gain, but it can be done.

The key is to actually track what you eat using Fitday and make controlled adjustments as necessary.

I've known skinny guys who swore they ate *everything in sight*, and then when they actually plugged it into fitday, it only totaled ~1900 calories, which is pathetic for a young, healthy guy trying to gain weight.

I've also seen guys who will totally pig out during one meal, but then go 24+ hours without eating anything else. Just because you see them eat a certain way during one meal does not mean they eat like that all the time. If you want to gain weight, you must eat a lot on a consistent basis for months to see any real results.

 

[Shujaa]

Why are calories needed for muscle gain anyway? Surely you just need the right protein intake to build mass.

ps hi Koing 😛

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: Shujaa
Why are calories needed for muscle gain anyway? Surely you just need the right protein intake to build mass.

ps hi Koing 😛

Total calories are just as important as grams of protein. You can be getting plenty of protein, but if you are still burning more calories than you are consuming, you will not gain weight.

 

[vi edit]

ANYONE can gain weight if they eat enough. Granted, some people have extremely fast metabolisms and need to eat several thousand calories per day to gain, but it can be done.

I'm the epitome of ectomorphs. If I wrap my fingers around my wrist I can slide a few fingers in there and still have room. If I even think about working out I shed weight. If I do absolutely nothing I can put weight on. But the moment I start working out my metabolism goes through the roof and the weight just bleeds off me.

For me to gain weight I have to eat retarded amounts of calorie dense foods that leave me feeling just miserable. It just isn't worth it. My body is what it is and it doesn't like me trying to make it something different.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

ANYONE can gain weight if they eat enough. Granted, some people have extremely fast metabolisms and need to eat several thousand calories per day to gain, but it can be done.

I'm the epitome of ectomorphs. If I wrap my fingers around my wrist I can slide a few fingers in there and still have room. If I even think about working out I shed weight. If I do absolutely nothing I can put weight on. But the moment I start working out my metabolism goes through the roof and the weight just bleeds off me.

For me to gain weight I have to eat retarded amounts of calorie dense foods that leave me feeling just miserable. It just isn't worth it. My body is what it is and it doesn't like me trying to make it something different.

Have you considered getting the bulk of your calories in liquid form, such as protein shakes? They aren't nearly as filling as whole food meals, but you can easily get enough calories that way. You can also supplement with vegetables, vitamins, etc. to make sure you are getting all the important nutrients.

Also, exactly how much did you have to eat? Did you ever calculate it out? I'm just curious.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: vi_edit

ANYONE can gain weight if they eat enough. Granted, some people have extremely fast metabolisms and need to eat several thousand calories per day to gain, but it can be done.

I'm the epitome of ectomorphs. If I wrap my fingers around my wrist I can slide a few fingers in there and still have room. If I even think about working out I shed weight. If I do absolutely nothing I can put weight on. But the moment I start working out my metabolism goes through the roof and the weight just bleeds off me.

For me to gain weight I have to eat retarded amounts of calorie dense foods that leave me feeling just miserable. It just isn't worth it. My body is what it is and it doesn't like me trying to make it something different.

Have you considered getting the bulk of your calories in liquid form, such as protein shakes? They aren't nearly as filling as whole food meals, but you can easily get enough calories that way. You can also supplement with vegetables, vitamins, etc. to make sure you are getting all the important nutrients.

Also, exactly how much did you have to eat? Did you ever calculate it out? I'm just curious.

I do two shakes a day with 1% milk. That's only worth about 600 calories. Add onto that two breakfasts for 1000 calories, a 600 or so calorie lunch, another 300 calories in snacks through the day, and a 1000 calorie dinner plus another snack at night for another 300 calories.

I'm in the range of 3500 calories. Any more and it feels like an absolute chore eating nonstop throughout the day and I just constantly feel full and bloated. Not something that I enjoy.

I'm 6' and go a very lean 170 pounds. I lift 3 days a week, and do an hour plus of cardio another 2-3 days a week.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: vi_edit

ANYONE can gain weight if they eat enough. Granted, some people have extremely fast metabolisms and need to eat several thousand calories per day to gain, but it can be done.

I'm the epitome of ectomorphs. If I wrap my fingers around my wrist I can slide a few fingers in there and still have room. If I even think about working out I shed weight. If I do absolutely nothing I can put weight on. But the moment I start working out my metabolism goes through the roof and the weight just bleeds off me.

For me to gain weight I have to eat retarded amounts of calorie dense foods that leave me feeling just miserable. It just isn't worth it. My body is what it is and it doesn't like me trying to make it something different.

Have you considered getting the bulk of your calories in liquid form, such as protein shakes? They aren't nearly as filling as whole food meals, but you can easily get enough calories that way. You can also supplement with vegetables, vitamins, etc. to make sure you are getting all the important nutrients.

Also, exactly how much did you have to eat? Did you ever calculate it out? I'm just curious.

I do two shakes a day with 1% milk. That's only worth about 600 calories. Add onto that two breakfasts for 1000 calories, a 600 or so calorie lunch, another 300 calories in snacks through the day, and a 1000 calorie dinner plus another snack at night for another 300 calories.

I'm in the range of 3500 calories. Any more and it feels like an absolute chore eating nonstop throughout the day and I just constantly feel full and bloated. Not something that I enjoy.

I'm 6' and go a very lean 170 pounds. I lift 3 days a week, and do an hour plus of cardio another 2-3 days a week.

What are you putting in your shakes? You can easily make shakes that contain 1000+ calories and can be prepared and consumed in < 5 minutes, and should not make you full. Here is one example:

2 cups skim milk (160 calories)
1.5 cup oats (450 calories)
2 scoops whey (240 calories)
2 tablespoons natural PB (200 calories)

The above shake has 1050 calories, but can be easily adjusted by varying the amounts of individual ingrediants.

 

[vi edit]

I do 8oz of milk and one scoop of whey per shake. I have to keep my protein consumption in check. I have one kidney and if I go overboard my nephrologist would hunt me down and strangle me.

I shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight...which is still about 3x what the RDA recommended amounts are.

Bottom line for me is that it's just simply too much of a hastle to try and eat myself to the point of adding more bulk than what my body reallly wants. I have no desire to gourge myself.

I'm just adding my opinion to this thread. Some of us just simply have bodies that weren't made for getting big.

It's a simple risk/reward. It isn't worth it to me for the work that it requires.

 

[wwswimming]

Originally posted by: mindmaniac
I'm a fairly fit looking person, but I just don't have a lot of muscle mass. I know it might sound like a dumb question but if I started weight lifting could I really build a lot of muscle over time? I thought genetics have a lot to do with how much you could build. Even when I was lifting for a year and was benching 160 I was about the same size I am now. I only weigh 140 lbs and I'm 5'10".

some muscle, yes. a lot of muscle, i don't know.

i think it's more important to concentrate on being &
feeling healthy.

in addition to exercise, including rest between workouts,
diet makes a huge difference as you get older.

i try to eat 8-12 fruits & vegetables a day, with 2 or
3 sources of protein. the only part where i feel a little
like i'm force-feeding myself is with the carbohydrates
at lunch, for example mashed potatoes & squash with
parmesan cheese.