[Surtur]

hey guys love the forum lots of great info.
what i am looking to do is bulk up i am 6ft 160lbs
I have worked out in the past trying to bulk but didn't eat properly and did not see results plus i was younger with a stupid fast metabolism (i am now turning 26 this year and my metabolism is slowing so i can now gain some weight (noticed this from drinking lots of beer i am getting a belly)

I eat a lot more clean and healthy foods now and it seems to let me gain some weight but i want to gain like 40-60lbs.
I personally can not consume enough food in a day to gain what i want so was looking into some weight gainers (allmax quick mass looks to be the one i will try) so i can add this in the morning and at lunch when i am at work and also will add some Creatine monohydrate to my daily intake (have used it in the past but any suggestions on a good brand would be great) i have a physically demanding job so i only work out 1-2 times a week.

i was reading through Ronnie's picture post with his gains and using Halovar (with great results) is this something that can be added right away or after several months when i have more experience. any reason not to use this sup? and can this be found in Canada?

anything else i should look into adding as far as sup's go?
do i need more protein i usually eat lots of chicken and red meat plus the Quickmass has 56g per serving should i still add some whey protein powder (what brand or are they all the same)?

as for work out routine i am still working that out to balance my workouts with my job so i don't slack in either one from being sore or burnt out. i know to keep reps down to 6-8 per set but i have a friend that was showing me a different way of lifting and it involves 21 reps (14 half reps 7 lower half 7 upper half then final 7 are full reps full motion) is this a good bulking system (seems to work for him but just wondering) is it even a good way to lift weights?

any help, tips, suggestions, criticism are welcome.

[OCCFan023]

Heres a quick list I would lay out for ya

1) Don't look into any pro hormone/steroidal supplements for quite some time.

2) Don't look into commercial weight gainers because there crap. Make your own out of protein, egg whites, peanut butter, fruit, milk, and so on (theres recipes on here)

3) Don't look into any supplements at this moment.

4) Realize that 40-60 lbs will take you anywhere from 2-5 years depending on how much effort you put into this.

5) This intial step in this process does not lie in supplements it will lie in your ability to train hard and more importantly eat quality foods and a lot of it.

Setup a nutritional plan (you don't even have to go overboard and break down every macro in it, but make sure you hit a certain amount of calories a day around a certain macro break down.) I would recommend setting up a daily intake of food so you don't slack but I understand that it can be difficult.

As far as training look into Bill Star's 5x5 program, max ot, and similar programs (or even look at the training logs to formulate a program that suites you.)

Bare Bone Recap: Forget the supplements for the time being because you will be wasting your time/money (this does not include protein powder, EFAs, and multi vitamins.) Find a lifting schedule/program that interests you and you find results from, then give your body the chance to grow (aka get the results you want) but giving it what it needs: rich healthy nutrients from a substantial amount of food.

Again if you really make an effort to eat correctly you will see the results you want (90% of this is nutrition not lifting.) You may find this to be a redundant post, but believe me its the truth.

Best of Luck

[tattoopierced1]

You can consume the food, just not in all in one day, you have to work up to it over weeks. Try upping your calories by a few hundred each week, your body will adjust and you'll start feeling hungry after a while without forcing the food down.

[OCCFan023]

Lol I wonder if hes going to come back for the information...

[koopa]

i started at close to your height and build.

6ft 2 165lbs. By really knuckling down and LISTENING to the advice given by people more knowledgable than me i was able to get to my current weight of 196lbs. Im not ripped but im not trying to leanout yet and im anything but chubby.

I accepted that if i was going to get BIG i had to forget about trying to sculpt abs and tshirt muscles and instead focus on eating whole foods and working compound heavy movements to build the overall size FIRST. Trying to sculpt big arms when your 160lbs and eating like a sparrow aint gonna work.

Id recommend starting the day with a big ass bowl of oatmeal along with a couple slices of peanutbutter on wholemeal toast.

Follow this up a couple hours later with chicken/tuna pasta salad.

Another hour or so later have a nice big chicken or beef sandwich with a pint of semi skimmed milk.

At dinner have something like chicken fajitas, or beef or mince with veggies and rice.

Fill in any gaps with protein shakes mixed with milk and make sure you have a shake before bed.

I do this diet and believe me you can buy much much more eggs, steak, fish oats and milk for the price of a small tub of Nitrotech or similar!

Look up a good 5x5 regime and if your like me you will see gains soon! Dont give up and dont worry about seeing a little fat on the belly. You WILL get muscle if you stick at it.

Edited to say im 25 with a full time job working 9am-6pm 6 days a week with a very demanding girlfriend!
I know it can be hard to get to the gym so i find a 2-3 times a week 5x5 incorporating big compound movements and a few isolations is the easiest way for me to build and recover with the time i have.

[BodyWizard]

Clean & healthy is good, I'd recommend starting with 2 protein shakes a day (1 in the AM, before breakfast or mid-morning and 1 mid-afternoon or before bed), and use the first month or so to contemplate shifting from 3 to 4 meals a day. Keep to a sane workout schedule (don't overload on cardio), get your diet shifted, and you should be on the right track.

Forget the supplements.

[Surtur]

thanks for the reply's i understand the eat as much as possible but for me it is hard to do i can eat a good breakfast but lunch and snacks are going to be minimal at the least (except weekends when i don't work) that is why i was going to buy the weight gainer mix so i could have one with breakfast and one at lunch when i am at work i only have time to eat a sandwich and maybe some soup. i know the weight gainer is not ideal but i think it would be better then nothing ( i can get 1500 calories at lunch instead of 300-500).

Also i do have times when i have no appetite at all but i know i should be hungry (any thing to help with that that i can take?)

I will lay off the sups for now but i think i will still get the weight gainer just for the fact it is quick easy calories so going by that knowing that i will be taking the weight gainer (i know against your suggestions) should i have one or two a day or should i have a protein shake in the morning and the weight gainer at lunch?

i appreciate all the input and will try to eat more real foods. i am not concerned with gaining fat since i have been bone skinny all my life so a little fat wont bother me. i will try what you guys suggest and hopefully in time i will get to where i want to.

[WireJim]

Originally Posted by Surtur

thanks for the reply's i understand the eat as much as possible but for me it is hard to do i can eat a good breakfast but lunch and snacks are going to be minimal at the least (except weekends when i don't work) that is why i was going to buy the weight gainer mix so i could have one with breakfast and one at lunch when i am at work i only have time to eat a sandwich and maybe some soup. i know the weight gainer is not ideal but i think it would be better then nothing ( i can get 1500 calories at lunch instead of 300-500).

Also i do have times when i have no appetite at all but i know i should be hungry (any thing to help with that that i can take?)

I will lay off the sups for now but i think i will still get the weight gainer just for the fact it is quick easy calories so going by that knowing that i will be taking the weight gainer (i know against your suggestions) should i have one or two a day or should i have a protein shake in the morning and the weight gainer at lunch?

i appreciate all the input and will try to eat more real foods. i am not concerned with gaining fat since i have been bone skinny all my life so a little fat wont bother me. i will try what you guys suggest and hopefully in time i will get to where i want to.

As far as not being hungry sometimes, I was like that too. I'm 6-02 and about 185 depending on the day. I found that once I dialed my diet in and really dedicated myself to a program, I am always hungry. About every three hours I'm looking around for something to eat.

[sreed11]

i say good call on the weight gainer... kinda. i'd say you are correct with squeezing in a shake to get some cals in. bring some all natural peanut butter to mix in with your shake maybe along with whatever you decide to eat.

you seem to already know about the smaller reps heavier weight... 21's are to get cut. most people that just start seem to only focus on chest and bi's. please dont.

3 most important lifts for you right now are
-Squats
-Deadlifts
-Bench Press

good luck bro. DO WURK

[koopa]

Originally Posted by Surtur

thanks for the reply's i understand the eat as much as possible but for me it is hard to do i can eat a good breakfast but lunch and snacks are going to be minimal at the least (except weekends when i don't work) that is why i was going to buy the weight gainer mix so i could have one with breakfast and one at lunch when i am at work i only have time to eat a sandwich and maybe some soup. i know the weight gainer is not ideal but i think it would be better then nothing ( i can get 1500 calories at lunch instead of 300-500).

Also i do have times when i have no appetite at all but i know i should be hungry (any thing to help with that that i can take?)

I will lay off the sups for now but i think i will still get the weight gainer just for the fact it is quick easy calories so going by that knowing that i will be taking the weight gainer (i know against your suggestions) should i have one or two a day or should i have a protein shake in the morning and the weight gainer at lunch?

i appreciate all the input and will try to eat more real foods. i am not concerned with gaining fat since i have been bone skinny all my life so a little fat wont bother me. i will try what you guys suggest and hopefully in time i will get to where i want to.

Hey man thanks for the rep.

Regarding weight gainers. I used Cytogainer and while it gave me good gains it is very very easy to just chug them back like they are protein shakes and eventually over indulge thus resulting in gainer-gut.

I Dont get out for lunch breaks or snacks when im at work much like you i guess. I used to think the only way i could manage is by chugging like 4 weight gainer shakes a day in between 11am and 6pm. I eventually just got a grip and realised for the money i was spending id be better off just going home after work, spending half an hour boiling up a big bowl of tomato pasta and mixing in some chicken pieces and hot sauce. ID make a pot big enough to last 4 days and take a big plastic tub of it to work to snack on throughout the day.

I find that eating lots of whole foods and a plain protein shake gets me more lean mass than a weightgainer and a halfway there diet.

If you MUST go the weightgainer route i would suggest limiting yourself to one, two at the max shakes a day and trying your damndest just to eat solid. I gave myself sooo many excuses when i was training last time. I didnt get much gains. It wasnt till i accepted i had to go balls out to get anywhere and make it a big part of my life for at least 6 months.

Train and eat hard and you will get there my friend. NOw what are you doing reading this...you should be eating a peanutbutter sandwich while cooking a 6 egg white omelette and thinking bout that heavy ass 5 rep set of squats and deads your gonna bust out later hahah