Looking to gain weight?
I?ll first explain my story, and wrap up with a how-to to help anyone do it faster than I did by avoiding some of the mistakes I made.
First, I?ll start with my story. I am 22 years old, and just graduated college a few weeks ago. I am 5?11? tall, and about 11 months ago, I weighed about 120lbs. I decided that I wanted to gain weight, but really didn?t have any education on how to do so. When I first started, I didn?t change my diet at all. I just started by going to the gym and lifting weights. My diet probably consisted of 60g protein a day and about 2000 calories.
My routine consisted of an entire body workout using nautilus machines. I would do 2 sets of each exercise, and probably 2 exercises for each muscle group. I would workout 3 times a week. After 3 months of lifting this way, I increased marginally in strength, but only gained about 5lbs. (My bench press went from about 80lbs to 110lbs on the Nautalus) This routine is the first mistake I made. If you want to see more rapid weight gains, you HAVE to use free-weights (dumbbells, barbells, etc..).
When the fall semester started, I started using free weights, and changed to a workout separated into muscle groups. For example, Mondays I do chest/triceps, Wednesday I do Back/Biceps, Friday I do shoulders and legs. Keep in mind, at this point, my diet is still nothing special.
When I started lifting with free weights, it was embarrassing. My bench press was 50lbs (25lb dumbbell in each hand). This is because after 3 months of lifting, I NEVER worked my stabilizer muscles. By December, I had worked my way up to 55lb dumbbells in each hand, and had increased to about 135lbs in weight.
After Christmas, I decided I needed to change my diet. I started forcing myself to eat more, and I ordered some whey protein. After this change, I consumed about 100g protein a day, and around 2700 calories. Combining this with my same free-weight lifting, I was able to reach 144lbs
This is when I discovered something amazing. It?s called BSN True Mass Protein Powder.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calories 626
Calories from Fat 140
Total Fat 15.5g 24%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 110mg 37%
Sodium 260mg 11%
Potassium 410mg 12%
Total Carbohydrates 75g 25%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 13.5g
Protein 46g
Vitamin A 5000iu 100%
Vitamin C 60mg 100%
Calcium 250mg 25%
Iron 18mg 100%
Vitamin D 400iu 100%
Vitamin E 30iu 100%
Thiamine 1.5mg 100%
Riboflavin 1.7mg 100%
Niacin 20mg 100%
Vitamin B6 2mg 100mg
Folic Acid 400mcg 100%
Vitamin B12 6mcg 100%
Biotin 300mcg 100%
Panothenic Acid 10mg 100%
Iodine 150mcg 18%
Zinc 15mg 100%
Copper 2mg 100%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stuff is simply amazing. Unlike most protein powders, this stuff is loaded with carbs, and actually has a lot of calories in it.
In the last month using this, I have gained nearly 15lbs. I now have reached my one year goal of over 160lbs.
I will now describe my current diet and routine to give anyone who wants to know how I have gained weight:
Diet:
1) As soon as I wake up, I walk to the kitchen and have True Mass protein shake.
2) I go and shower or whatever, and then make breakfast, usually consisting of 2 eggs, some bacon, a wheat bagel, and a banana.
3) Lunch meat sandwich and potato chips for lunch
4) 2 or 3 hotdogs as a snack before going to the gym
5) True Mass protein shake immediately after the gym
6) Dinner, usually consisting of a chicken breast, some frozen veggies, and a potato
7) Evening snack, usually consisting of cheese and crackers
8) True Mass protein shake immediately before bed
Adding all this up, I get about 4500 calories, 200-250g protein, and >400g carbs.
This may seem like a lot, but spaced out about every 2 hours, your body will quickly get used to it. After a month of this, I am now constantly hungry.
Lifting:
1) You MUST use free weights
2) You MUST use a system that maxes you out on every set performed (pyramid, etc..)
3) You MUST do squats. Make sure you get a trainer to show you the proper form, however, as you can hurt yourself doing them wrong.
I perform 3 sets of each exercise, and I start with my heaviest weight, and lower in weight in each set, making sure to struggle on the 10th rep in each set.
Chest/Triceps
1) Flat Bench Press
a. In the last year, I have gone from 25lb dumbbells to 80lb dumbbells
2) Incline Bench Press
3) Chest Flys
4) Decline Bench Press
5) One-Arm Tricep Extensions
Back/Biceps
I use Hammer Strengh Machines to work my back, and do a few different types of rows and pulldowns. For biceps, I just to bicep curls since the back exercises work the biceps really well on their own.
Shoulder
1) Military Press
a. Have gone from 15lb dumbbells to 60lb dumbbells
2) Front Raise
3) Shoulder Shrug
4) Lateral Raise
Legs:
1) Squats
2) Leg Press
3) Leg Extension
4) Leg Curl
5) Calf Raise
To wrap up, I have presented MY routine, and what has worked for ME. I am in no way a personal trainer, so there might, and probably are better ways of doing this. Basically, the key to my weight gain was maxing out at the gym, and eating a ton. It may seem hard to eat so much, but BSN True Mass (bodybuilding.com) is simply the best way to do it.
I?ll first explain my story, and wrap up with a how-to to help anyone do it faster than I did by avoiding some of the mistakes I made.
First, I?ll start with my story. I am 22 years old, and just graduated college a few weeks ago. I am 5?11? tall, and about 11 months ago, I weighed about 120lbs. I decided that I wanted to gain weight, but really didn?t have any education on how to do so. When I first started, I didn?t change my diet at all. I just started by going to the gym and lifting weights. My diet probably consisted of 60g protein a day and about 2000 calories.
My routine consisted of an entire body workout using nautilus machines. I would do 2 sets of each exercise, and probably 2 exercises for each muscle group. I would workout 3 times a week. After 3 months of lifting this way, I increased marginally in strength, but only gained about 5lbs. (My bench press went from about 80lbs to 110lbs on the Nautalus) This routine is the first mistake I made. If you want to see more rapid weight gains, you HAVE to use free-weights (dumbbells, barbells, etc..).
When the fall semester started, I started using free weights, and changed to a workout separated into muscle groups. For example, Mondays I do chest/triceps, Wednesday I do Back/Biceps, Friday I do shoulders and legs. Keep in mind, at this point, my diet is still nothing special.
When I started lifting with free weights, it was embarrassing. My bench press was 50lbs (25lb dumbbell in each hand). This is because after 3 months of lifting, I NEVER worked my stabilizer muscles. By December, I had worked my way up to 55lb dumbbells in each hand, and had increased to about 135lbs in weight.
After Christmas, I decided I needed to change my diet. I started forcing myself to eat more, and I ordered some whey protein. After this change, I consumed about 100g protein a day, and around 2700 calories. Combining this with my same free-weight lifting, I was able to reach 144lbs
This is when I discovered something amazing. It?s called BSN True Mass Protein Powder.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Calories 626
Calories from Fat 140
Total Fat 15.5g 24%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 110mg 37%
Sodium 260mg 11%
Potassium 410mg 12%
Total Carbohydrates 75g 25%
Dietary Fiber 5g 20%
Sugars 13.5g
Protein 46g
Vitamin A 5000iu 100%
Vitamin C 60mg 100%
Calcium 250mg 25%
Iron 18mg 100%
Vitamin D 400iu 100%
Vitamin E 30iu 100%
Thiamine 1.5mg 100%
Riboflavin 1.7mg 100%
Niacin 20mg 100%
Vitamin B6 2mg 100mg
Folic Acid 400mcg 100%
Vitamin B12 6mcg 100%
Biotin 300mcg 100%
Panothenic Acid 10mg 100%
Iodine 150mcg 18%
Zinc 15mg 100%
Copper 2mg 100%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stuff is simply amazing. Unlike most protein powders, this stuff is loaded with carbs, and actually has a lot of calories in it.
In the last month using this, I have gained nearly 15lbs. I now have reached my one year goal of over 160lbs.
I will now describe my current diet and routine to give anyone who wants to know how I have gained weight:
Diet:
1) As soon as I wake up, I walk to the kitchen and have True Mass protein shake.
2) I go and shower or whatever, and then make breakfast, usually consisting of 2 eggs, some bacon, a wheat bagel, and a banana.
3) Lunch meat sandwich and potato chips for lunch
4) 2 or 3 hotdogs as a snack before going to the gym
5) True Mass protein shake immediately after the gym
6) Dinner, usually consisting of a chicken breast, some frozen veggies, and a potato
7) Evening snack, usually consisting of cheese and crackers
8) True Mass protein shake immediately before bed
Adding all this up, I get about 4500 calories, 200-250g protein, and >400g carbs.
This may seem like a lot, but spaced out about every 2 hours, your body will quickly get used to it. After a month of this, I am now constantly hungry.
Lifting:
1) You MUST use free weights
2) You MUST use a system that maxes you out on every set performed (pyramid, etc..)
3) You MUST do squats. Make sure you get a trainer to show you the proper form, however, as you can hurt yourself doing them wrong.
I perform 3 sets of each exercise, and I start with my heaviest weight, and lower in weight in each set, making sure to struggle on the 10th rep in each set.
Chest/Triceps
1) Flat Bench Press
a. In the last year, I have gone from 25lb dumbbells to 80lb dumbbells
2) Incline Bench Press
3) Chest Flys
4) Decline Bench Press
5) One-Arm Tricep Extensions
Back/Biceps
I use Hammer Strengh Machines to work my back, and do a few different types of rows and pulldowns. For biceps, I just to bicep curls since the back exercises work the biceps really well on their own.
Shoulder
1) Military Press
a. Have gone from 15lb dumbbells to 60lb dumbbells
2) Front Raise
3) Shoulder Shrug
4) Lateral Raise
Legs:
1) Squats
2) Leg Press
3) Leg Extension
4) Leg Curl
5) Calf Raise
To wrap up, I have presented MY routine, and what has worked for ME. I am in no way a personal trainer, so there might, and probably are better ways of doing this. Basically, the key to my weight gain was maxing out at the gym, and eating a ton. It may seem hard to eat so much, but BSN True Mass (bodybuilding.com) is simply the best way to do it.
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