Want to go from skinny to built in 3 months, tips?

Duddy

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2002
4,674
9
81
I plan on working out 3-4 times a week with time between for my muscles to build.

I will take NO-Xplode pre-workout and I'll be taking some kind of whey along with a good diet.

Not sure if I should take creatine though.

My workout will consist of weight training exercises.

Any tips anyone can give me so that I can meet my goal?
 

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
10,110
5
81
If three months is your time frame for success I'd pick a different goal. Take all the supplements you want but there will be an adjustment period before your muscles and joints can begin to handle serious weight training 3 to 4 times a week.
 

MrMatt

Banned
Mar 3, 2009
3,905
7
0
A) Drop the No-Xplode. Just trust me, don't bother with it.

B) Post your diet. I know you said it's good, but most people are shocked at how bad it is when they actually track it. Get fitday and track what you eat meticulously. Eat like a horse. Steak, tuna, brown rice, cottage cheese. Pre workout make sure you eat something with some carbs in it. Post workout consume something with a blend of carbs & protein (Surge from Biotest comes to mind).

C) What kind of exercises? If you're just starting you should probably stick to doing full body workouts a few times per week. Squat, deadlift, Benching, Pressing, Rowing, Pullups, Front Squats. Keep it big & compound for movements. Don't waste time doing concentration curls, 21's, tricep kickbacks or anything like that.

D) What are your stats now? How is your body built (i.e. short legs/ long legs, short arms/long arms, etc.)
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
32
81
You can gain quite a bit of muscle in three months, but you can't go from "skinny to built." What program are you doing? If you're going to try something that you've conjured up yourself, that's a bad idea. A lot of people seem to do that even though they have no experience in the field. NO-Xplode is going to be a waste of your money as well. There is no research that says it has any benefits for weightlifting. Plus it often raises your blood pressure to unhealthy levels. Try to look at Stronglifts 5x5 beginner program or Starting Strength. They both have good programs for gaining weight and learning your way around the gym. Creatine's the only supplement besides whey that actually has proven benefits. However, like I said, it's really not necessary. It seems you've got a bit to learn. If you can find the fat loss sticky, read it. Do everything that's said in it, except maintain a caloric surplus.
 

polarmystery

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2005
3,888
8
81
Oh, and I won't post any more information unless you post more pics of your wife!!!


(Just kidding man! :) )
 

OptimumSlinky

Senior member
Nov 3, 2009
345
1
76
3 months is plenty of time to go from skinny to built if you dedicate yourself to it. I went from 165 to 185 in roughly three months when I finished rowing in college and took up weightlifting.

As others here have mentioned, drop the NO Xplode and any other "stacker" garbage that so-called nutrition companies would tell you that you need. What you do need is a solid source of proteins. Notice the plural. Whey is a fantastic post-workout protein because it's fast-digesting, but that's also it's downfall, and it gets in and out of your system quickly, leaving your metabolism looking for something else to burn (like those muscles you're trying to so hard to build). You want to keep your body fueled all day long, so you need a slow-digesting protein like casein (found in milk usually) as well. It's very pricey, but Optimum Nutrition's ProComplex is loaded with multiple proteins, including whey and casein. The "ideal" in your case would be a ProComplex shake made with skim milk in the morning when you first wake up, the purest form of whey immediately following your workout (within 30-minutes), and then another ProComplex shake with skim milk right before you go to bed (to stop your metabolism from eating at your muscles while you sleep).

Since you are trying to build muscle with an inherently fast metabolism, your protein intake needs to be constant and high; your body will naturally be looking for fuel to burn so you need to make sure it gets plenty. For intense weight training, the generally accept formula is 2.5-grams of protein per kilogram of weight to ensure maximum muscle repair and growth. I'm not a nutritionist, but I dare say you might even want to jump that up to 3.0-grams per kilo body weight in your case. You're going to want to eat a lot of lean steak (flank steak is the your best choice) and skinless chicken breast. I don't recommend you count your calories or weigh your food like some of the CrossFitters I know do, but as a general guide as to what you should be eating, look into the Zone diet.

When I took creatine, I was drinking gallons of water a day, still getting ridiculous headaches, and had to piss every 20-minutes (which gets old, quickly). Make your own call, but people make creatine out to be more of a wonder than it really is, in my opinion.

As MrMatt said, try to avoid being one of those isolated bicep curl d-bags and stick to exercises and movements that shock multiple muscle groups. Squats, deadlifts, bench/chess press, push ups, pull ups (both palms in and out), dips, full sit ups rather than crunches, and so forth. You build muscle by working muscles, so while the common gym logic is you need to isolate each individual muscle, the reality is you'll see greater overall gains by hitting all of them with compound exercises. I would limit your cardio to 2-3 times a week, and not more than 20-minutes. For that, do high-intensity interval training. HIIT is where you work as hard as you can for 1 minute, like maximum speed sprints or if you're doing a stationary bike, 80-100 percent resistance, and then rest for 2 minutes. Repeat until your time is up.

crt1530 already posted the link, but Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore are the real deal and know their stuff. Read it, live it, embrace the suck and love it.
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
32
81
3 months is plenty of time to go from skinny to built if you dedicate yourself to it. I went from 165 to 185 in roughly three months when I finished rowing in college and took up weightlifting.

As others here have mentioned, drop the NO Xplode and any other "stacker" garbage that so-called nutrition companies would tell you that you need. What you do need is a solid source of proteins. Notice the plural. Whey is a fantastic post-workout protein because it's fast-digesting, but that's also it's downfall, and it gets in and out of your system quickly, leaving your metabolism looking for something else to burn (like those muscles you're trying to so hard to build). You want to keep your body fueled all day long, so you need a slow-digesting protein like casein (found in milk usually) as well. It's very pricey, but Optimum Nutrition's ProComplex is loaded with multiple proteins, including whey and casein. The "ideal" in your case would be a ProComplex shake made with skim milk in the morning when you first wake up, the purest form of whey immediately following your workout (within 30-minutes), and then another ProComplex shake with skim milk right before you go to bed (to stop your metabolism from eating at your muscles while you sleep).

Since you are trying to build muscle with an inherently fast metabolism, your protein intake needs to be constant and high; your body will naturally be looking for fuel to burn so you need to make sure it gets plenty. For intense weight training, the generally accept formula is 2.5-grams of protein per kilogram of weight to ensure maximum muscle repair and growth. I'm not a nutritionist, but I dare say you might even want to jump that up to 3.0-grams per kilo body weight in your case. You're going to want to eat a lot of lean steak (flank steak is the your best choice) and skinless chicken breast. I don't recommend you count your calories or weigh your food like some of the CrossFitters I know do, but as a general guide as to what you should be eating, look into the Zone diet.

When I took creatine, I was drinking gallons of water a day, still getting ridiculous headaches, and had to piss every 20-minutes (which gets old, quickly). Make your own call, but people make creatine out to be more of a wonder than it really is, in my opinion.

As MrMatt said, try to avoid being one of those isolated bicep curl d-bags and stick to exercises and movements that shock multiple muscle groups. Squats, deadlifts, bench/chess press, push ups, pull ups (both palms in and out), dips, full sit ups rather than crunches, and so forth. You build muscle by working muscles, so while the common gym logic is you need to isolate each individual muscle, the reality is you'll see greater overall gains by hitting all of them with compound exercises. I would limit your cardio to 2-3 times a week, and not more than 20-minutes. For that, do high-intensity interval training. HIIT is where you work as hard as you can for 1 minute, like maximum speed sprints or if you're doing a stationary bike, 80-100 percent resistance, and then rest for 2 minutes. Repeat until your time is up.

crt1530 already posted the link, but Mark Rippetoe and Lon Kilgore are the real deal and know their stuff. Read it, live it, embrace the suck and love it.

Some of the info here is good, but it sounds like it has an agenda. Supplementing with ON's specific product isn't gonna make his gains any better. If he ate that amount of protein in chicken, he'd be better off anyhow.

It's true that high protein intake is important. However, if he's looking to guarantee results, he will definitely have to weigh his food. Most people trying to gain weight swear they're eating enough, but when they plug their food into a website and calculate their total calorie intake, they're only eating 2400 calories. Also, protein intake at 1-1.5g/lb of lean body mass is sufficient for maintaining muscle mass. Gluconeogenesis and the breakdown of amino acids won't occur in a state like that (and very rarely does to be honest - unless in starvation mode).

Hm, why did you get headaches while supplementing with creatine? It doesn't have any real side effects so that may have been something else. Creatine only helps with the phosphagen pathway so if you expected it to make you acutely stronger or faster, that's not what it's for.
 

OptimumSlinky

Senior member
Nov 3, 2009
345
1
76
No agenda, truly. I work for the US Army, not ON, so I really couldn't care less if you buy their product or a competitors. I mention the ProComplex simply because it's the leanest mix of multiple proteins that I have found. If you know of a better source that mixes the various protein types, by all means take that. I just don't know of a good source of casein other than milk and ProComplex (but that's not surprising as I'm not a dietician or nutritionist). I do know that it's pretty much accepted that whey+casein=better results than whey alone. Not saying you should get all your protein from shakes. Not at all. They're call "supplements" for a reason.

Also, I said 2.5 per kilogram, not pound.

As for my creatine experience, I have no idea. At first I wasn't drinking enough water, which I definitely knew, and suffered from outrageous migraines/headaches. Then I upped my water intake to a ridiculous level (my professors used to yell at me for how often I went to the bathroom), and even after 3 weeks the headaches never went away. So I made a personal call that it wasn't worth it. The only other thing I was taking at the time was whey protein post workouts.
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
32
81
No agenda, truly. I work for the US Army, not ON, so I really couldn't care less if you buy their product or a competitors. I mention the ProComplex simply because it's the leanest mix of multiple proteins that I have found. If you know of a better source that mixes the various protein types, by all means take that. I just don't know of a good source of casein other than milk and ProComplex (but that's not surprising as I'm not a dietician or nutritionist). I do know that it's pretty much accepted that whey+casein=better results than whey alone. Not saying you should get all your protein from shakes. Not at all. They're call "supplements" for a reason.

Also, I said 2.5 per kilogram, not pound.

As for my creatine experience, I have no idea. At first I wasn't drinking enough water, which I definitely knew, and suffered from outrageous migraines/headaches. Then I upped my water intake to a ridiculous level (my professors used to yell at me for how often I went to the bathroom), and even after 3 weeks the headaches never went away. So I made a personal call that it wasn't worth it. The only other thing I was taking at the time was whey protein post workouts.

If you just eat your protein from whole food sources, digestion will be fine. I wouldn't over think that aspect.

I know you said 2.5g/kg, but since this is a dominantly American-visited website, I wanted to clarify :)

Hm, it seems that's more likely a water thing than a creatine thing. I wouldn't let it ruin what you think of it. Under and over consumption of water can both lead to those symptoms. It's definitely your call though and creatine won't effect your performance much either so it's no big deal.
 

IceBergSLiM

Lifer
Jul 11, 2000
29,932
3
81
Muscle doesn't usually add that quick. 5-10 pounds of actual muscle is a realistic goal. He may gain 15 pounds, but it's definitely gonna have some fat with it.

agreed but if he shoots for 15 he'll def get 10. But going from skinny to built doesn't happen without hgh lol
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Anyone got pics of 20lbs in 3months?!

Creatine will make you 'soft' in that you will retain more water so you will look softer. I can train harder and recover better on creatine. I feel great in the gym when on it.

Show us a pic of what 'built' is to you and where you want to be in 3months and we will be able to tell you if it's realistic or not.

Koing
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
32
81
Anyone got pics of 20lbs in 3months?!

Creatine will make you 'soft' in that you will retain more water so you will look softer. I can train harder and recover better on creatine. I feel great in the gym when on it.

Show us a pic of what 'built' is to you and where you want to be in 3months and we will be able to tell you if it's realistic or not.

Koing

Technically, I have pictures of 20lbs in 10 weeks. I gained about 12 pounds of muscle and a bit more fat than I would've liked. Surprisingly though, I'm built for adding mass. My testosterone levels went way up (increased sex drive, backne, more facial hair) and I definitely bulked up more than I thought I would.
 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
16,843
2
0
Technically, I have pictures of 20lbs in 10 weeks. I gained about 12 pounds of muscle and a bit more fat than I would've liked. Surprisingly though, I'm built for adding mass. My testosterone levels went way up (increased sex drive, backne, more facial hair) and I definitely bulked up more than I thought I would.

Post to see 10 weeks gains? What weight were you before the bulk?

At what stage were you in your training to stash on 20lbs in 10 weeks? You did a bf&#37; to check the actual % gains in muscle right to get your 12lbs figure?

I stashed on 3kg in 7 weeks and I'm pretty bored of eating now...but I've been training for 9yrs and the last 3yrs was to keep my weight down to 87kg so I could cut to 85kg. I'm now rocking 90kg morning weight and feeling a lot stronger for not restricting my eating habits!

Koing
 
Mar 22, 2002
10,483
32
81
Post to see 10 weeks gains? What weight were you before the bulk?

At what stage were you in your training to stash on 20lbs in 10 weeks? You did a bf&#37; to check the actual % gains in muscle right to get your 12lbs figure?

I stashed on 3kg in 7 weeks and I'm pretty bored of eating now...but I've been training for 9yrs and the last 3yrs was to keep my weight down to 87kg so I could cut to 85kg. I'm now rocking 90kg morning weight and feeling a lot stronger for not restricting my eating habits!

Koing

My laptop is currently down and I'm using my roommate's computer so I can't get the pictures right now. I don't even know if I took them at the finish. I could take them now and you could have a comparison (I weigh between 158-161 nowadays). In my original post in my workout journal, I have 13 pound gains posted. I was 140 before the bulk and finished at like 165 (while on creatine). I dropped the creatine and dropped 4-5 pounds of water weight.

But, yeah, man you definitely get sick of eating - especially if you're trying to not eat like a slob. I probably ate many, many family's of chickens. May they rest in peace.
 
Last edited: