College kid with not a ton of time-- but I need help bulking

[YYZ94]

Hey I'm a 20 year old college student at UNC and I need a good deal of advice on bulking. I guess, like everyone it seems, I'm looking for the "lean bulk."

I posted on this forum this past summer looking for similar advice. I heeded it and had some decent results, although my diet, to a degree, restricted my gains (I am trying to change that now w/ more calories/proteins). I would have just stuck with that strategy but in November I came down with mono-- the grim reaper for a love life and an exercise life. I was cleared to start resuming the aforementioned literally yesterday :woohoo:, and I'm trying to get back into the gym seriously as quickly as possible. The 2+ months cost me most of my gains from the summer and I was down to 155 pounds (from 165) as late as the first week of January. This time, though, I want to have a better plan.

6'1", 160 lbs, 30 waist, (begrudgingly) skinny biceps

If pics help:
myspace.com/109876286

It's difficult for me to eat more than three times a day as I get back to my apartment fairly late. If a 5x meal a day diet is necessary, though, I will have to consider forcing myself to comply. I have one handicap and that is that I do not eat red meat... my meals mostly consist of some sort of combination among these foods:

Breakfast (some combo of these, again)

-3 eggs scrambled
-Some sort of all-bran or nasty flax cereal
-Cream of wheat
-Soy bacon
-1-2 cups skim milk

Lunch/Dinner

-Gorton's Fish Filets (protein is solid)
-Chicken Breasts on the Foreman (I try to go with the "w/ Rib Meat" kind)
-Turkey Burgers
-Chicken Hot Dogs
-Pasta/tomato sauce
-Subway (12 inch turkey or chk teriyaki with all the veggies, no chz/mayo)
-Chick Fil-A Sandwiches
-Baked Lays
-Turkey sandwiches
-Bananas/Apples/Fruit
-Skim milk and lots of it

Here are my normal exercise habits

-2 days a week basketball for two hours (this can't change )
-3-4 days a week at gym w/ push-pull lifts on alternating trips
-Sporadic runs once or twice a week when I have time
-I walk my ass off around this huge campus all day, every day, too... for what it's worth

What I need from you who are well-versed in this stuff (that seems like pretty much everyone here ):

1) Supplement advice-- vitamins and shakes and whatever else I may not have heard of.
2) Whatever advice/revisions to my "routine" you can give me.

Thanks a lot guys.

Go Heels tonight!

 

[Beebs]

If your worried about trying to get in the calories, you can always start bringing pb&j's with you. 2 of those a day and you have +1000 calories. You may want to just write our your macro count for a few days to see how much you are actually eating. Also, I think that with your hieght and weight, its safe to say that you are probably an ectomorph and could get by eating a lot more or dirtier than most. Having said that, you may want to switch to whole milk for the 50 more calories per glass.
As far as supplements go, I would just look for some CEE pills or some sort of creatine along with a multivitamin. You shouldn't need much to see gains from where you are. Just make sure you start taking in around 2800 calories a day.

 

[stxnas]

EAT EAT EAT! Three meals a day won't cut it and I wouldn't worry about the not eating red meat. You're going to have start planning out in advance what you eat and when.
I think it's a good idea to start off by using FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal for a week or two and log what you eat. From there you will get an idea of what you need to add more of to your diet. In the mean time look around and find some ideas for foods on the run, how to make your own weight gainer shakes, and other various ways to get more calories in.

Let me see if I can dig a couple of threads up for you to get you started!

 

[stxnas]

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/bulking/52337-clarification-ratios.html

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/nutrition-health/56049-nutrition-dummies.html?highlight=nutrition+for+dummies

Do some searches for recipes of weight gainers read through peoples logs for tips on what you can add to your diet to get more calories. I know it's hard when on the run, but try to stay away from processed foods...and just a suggestion if you're short on time, try throwing together an extra shake with various combinations of natty pb, lowfat yogurt, fresh fruits, milk, oats or oat flour, milled flax seed, cottage cheese, eggs or egg whites...some guys even throw in some extra virgin olive oil. Hell, make some Healthy Cheat Foods a staple. With you being an ecto you might be able to get away with a little more than others can.

 

[YYZ94]

If your worried about trying to get in the calories, you can always start bringing pb&j's with you. 2 of those a day and you have +1000 calories. You may want to just write our your macro count for a few days to see how much you are actually eating. Also, I think that with your hieght and weight, its safe to say that you are probably an ectomorph and could get by eating a lot more or dirtier than most. Having said that, you may want to switch to whole milk for the 50 more calories per glass.
As far as supplements go, I would just look for some CEE pills or some sort of creatine along with a multivitamin. You shouldn't need much to see gains from where you are. Just make sure you start taking in around 2800 calories a day.

Well, I don't think I'm an ectomorph, so that's why I'm careful with what I eat. I used to weigh 205 lbs (and probably an inch or two shorter) and lost 40 in about a year from June '05 to '06.

I'm not sure I can handle the whole milk (lactose intolerance), but 2800 seems to be a decent number to shoot for.

How much more do I need to be eating workout days versus on just a regular day where I may or may not do cardio? I realize what I should be eating/drinking, but it's sort of unclear to me how much more is necessary for workout days.

Thanks for helping me out.

 

[Beebs]

Just keep it simple and add a shake or something post workout. I like to eat PB&J before lifting and have a shake after. 2800 calories is a good number to shoot for, although you may need to tweek it some to find a good target.

 

[YYZ94]

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/bulking/52337-clarification-ratios.html

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/nutrition-health/56049-nutrition-dummies.html?highlight=nutrition+for+dummies

Do some searches for recipes of weight gainers read through peoples logs for tips on what you can add to your diet to get more calories. I know it's hard when on the run, but try to stay away from processed foods...and just a suggestion if you're short on time, try throwing together an extra shake with various combinations of natty pb, lowfat yogurt, fresh fruits, milk, oats or oat flour, milled flax seed, cottage cheese, eggs or egg whites...some guys even throw in some extra virgin olive oil. Hell, make some Healthy Cheat Foods a staple. With you being an ecto you might be able to get away with a little more than others can.

Thanks a lot for diggin those up for me... I'll take a good look at em this weekend

 

[stxnas]

That was just the tip of the iceburg, but that should lead to some good info for you and will likely lead to other questions. Keep us updated.

 

[bigjoey84]

your post

I saw your post. while your basics is ok there are weakness in your diet. First your not getting enough food in your diet to achieve your goals. Your program has weakness and they need to be corrected. I would suggest that you fill in the gaps between breakfast , lunch pre/post workout. I would suggest that you contact the people at bodyfactoryllc who can help you with the issues of being a student and your nutrition habits.
their site is Body Factory LLC - New York City's Premiere Personal Training Company

 

[randall82]

Eat as much as possible (to help you can get an appetite stimulant like GrubOn or BlackHole) Also focus on your big three (squat,bench,deadlift) and do a 5x5 routine with it. Also google "westside for skinny bastards" and put together a routine for yourself. I used to think that there would be one magic supplement or a routine that would one day make me blow up...however it wasn't until I started eating 5-6meals a day that I really started to see gains, Just consistently eat 5-6 real meals a day(protien/weight gainers don't count) and you will see results in the first 2 weeks

 

[redvision]

Eat as much as possible (to help you can get an appetite stimulant like GrubOn or BlackHole) Also focus on your big three (squat,bench,deadlift) and do a 5x5 routine with it. Also google "westside for skinny bastards" and put together a routine for yourself. I used to think that there would be one magic supplement or a routine that would one day make me blow up...however it wasn't until I started eating 5-6meals a day that I really started to see gains, Just consistently eat 5-6 real meals a day(protien/weight gainers don't count) and you will see results in the first 2 weeks

^^great advice bro, but I wouldn't agree on doing 5x5 to gain mass... It can work indeed, but not for everyone. I personnaly am unable to gain any bw doing reps lower than 8-10...

I gain a lotta strenght from 5x5, but no mass... Maybe I'm an exception, but I only wanted to clear up that you have to try for yourself with a lot of rep-range to see what works for ya.

Bench, Squat and Deadlift, for sure, but in a few different rep-range please

just my 0,02

Red

 

[randall82]

^^great advice bro, but I wouldn't agree on doing 5x5 to gain mass... It can work indeed, but not for everyone. I personnaly am unable to gain any bw doing reps lower than 8-10...

I gain a lotta strenght from 5x5, but no mass... Maybe I'm an exception, but I only wanted to clear up that you have to try for yourself with a lot of rep-range to see what works for ya.

Bench, Squat and Deadlift, for sure, but in a few different rep-range please

just my 0,02

Red

I should have mentioned that I am a powerlifter. Unless I am warming up I never go above 3 reps, despite all of that I still don't think high reps is the best way to bulk.

Personally before I started powerlifting I was a high school and college football player who was focused on getting bigger 24/7. So I would do all of the fancy routines with supersets and pyramid schemes and the biggest I ever got was 185 and I was still very skinny for 185. Now when I started powerlifting all I cared about was getting stronger so with the advice of my coach I ate all clean and healthy foods 6 times a day trained heavy 2 times a week and kept it light and focused on form 2 times a week. In 3 months I went from 178 to 210 all while only using protein for supplements not to mention my strength has gone through the roof.

Now I know a lot of people on this board ESPECIALLY in the bulking section would say you NEED to EAT TO GROW.

The only reason I can see someone not gaining anything on the 5x5 routine would be that they don't have their diet on point.

 

[BrownBoi]

cycle diet?

Hey im going to start a Halodrol 50 cycle here in the next month and i was wondering if you guys had any thoughts on a good diet. I have been told to eat around 3000 cals (im only 5'4 150) per day. I just want to get the most out of this cycle and keep the gains. any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[randall82]

What is your age and experience in lifting?

 

[BrownBoi]

im only 21 but i have been lifting for about seven years. Powerlifting mostly. I competed in state comps in high school and now im in college just trying to get bigger. I really want to stay As lean as possible tho. i want to pack on alot of muscle with my halodrol cycle that im starting here in a week or two.