Help for a 42 year old ectomorph

[Civa]

All, I have an urgent request.

I am 42 years old, 6' 2", and between 160 to 170 lbs, have always had a high metabolism, and am essentially an ectomorph.

I have always been under weight, and am a HARD gainer, now matter what I do.

I am about to start a regimen of Iyengar yoga (because, no fake spiritual bull****, only stretching, alignment, and posture), have found a rolfer, and will be looking into trigger point.

Now is the part where you all come in:

I have purchased an Injex 30 liquid injector, for the explicit purpose of a supplement program. I was at first looking at ipamorelin and testosterone, however I have heard Ipamorelin isn't actually that helpful, and that GHRP may be a better choice, due to appetite increase, etc. That is how I stumbled upon this.

I am looking for a peptide, anabolic, testosterone program that will help, and am inquiring whether lgr3 IGF-1 is a better and more effective choice, or should I be looking at GHRP, or even somethings like this HGH formula I have found.

I am in desperate need of assistance on this, and am visiting every forum possible for assistance, as everyone seems to want to LOSE weight, but there's no one like me, having difficulty GAINING weight for muscle mass.

I thank you all in advance.

 

[jathan_howe]

Training experience?

 

[Civa]

I used to train free weights. Incline and decline bench press. Attempts at squats, curls, etc.
Machine adductors and abductors.
It's been years since I could train, due to work. Now I am doing everything I can to balance a schedule of working out and work.

 

[HardB0iled]

How many calories are you taking in?

 

[pfresh]

Not meaning to sound like im being judgemental but from what ive read, it kind of sounds like you're looking for a supplement/drug to solve your problems for you.

You need to do more research into diet/nutrition and proper weight training programs. Gaining weight is easy, you're not eating enough. Spend the money on good food over drugs. Tracking your calories and making sure you're eating enough is a max extra 30 minutes out of your day.

 

[T-Bone]

One thread on this is enough. No need for 4.

 

[T-Bone]

There is one thread started in each of these sections- Injury, Training, Nutrition, and Supplements.

 

[Civa]

Not meaning to sound like im being judgemental but from what ive read, it kind of sounds like you're looking for a supplement/drug to solve your problems for you.

You need to do more research into diet/nutrition and proper weight training programs. Gaining weight is easy, you're not eating enough. Spend the money on good food over drugs. Tracking your calories and making sure you're eating enough is a max extra 30 minutes out of your day.

I've done all the research. I burn calories sitting still, and have since high school. I have always been told I would gain as I got older. Well guess what? I'm 42 and LOSING weight, so I think you should ask questions like your colleague above, instead of being judgmental, intentionally, while attempting to preface something you know is judgmental by trying to veil it with a line of "I'm not trying to be judgmental...."

Stop being elitist, ask questions, and offer advice, or don't provide any input to the post whatsoever, as in do not comment at all.

 

[Civa]

There is one thread started in each of these sections- Injury, Training, Nutrition, and Supplements.

There's obvious reason why it's in 4 sections.

 

[HardB0iled]

You have no idea how many calories you consume in a day or what your macro profile looks like and have never followed a serious training program, yet you come into AM (and every other forum you could find) plastering your issue on multiple boards and then respond to everyone who even attempts to offer you advise with hostility and condescension. You sound like a real d1ck... good luck with that.

 

[jathan_howe]

I've done all the research. I burn calories sitting still, and have since high school. I have always been told I would gain as I got older. Well guess what? I'm 42 and LOSING weight, so I think you should ask questions like your colleague above, instead of being judgmental, intentionally, while attempting to preface something you know is judgmental by trying to veil it with a line of "I'm not trying to be judgmental...."

Stop being elitist, ask questions, and offer advice, or don't provide any input to the post whatsoever, as in do not comment at all.

Everyone burns calories sitting still. It depeneds on your basal metabolic rate. pfresh wasn't being judgemental. You just didn't get the response you wanted to hear. He's right, spend the money on food and download a calorie tracker. Eat 500 calories above maintenance. See how that works. I've got friends in the same position that wonder why they aren't gaining because they eat a lot. We do the math on their meal plan and they barely exceed 2500 in reality.

 

[Civa]

Everyone burns calories sitting still. It depeneds on your basal metabolic rate. pfresh wasn't being judgemental. You just didn't get the response you wanted to hear. He's right, spend the money on food and download a calorie tracker. Eat 500 calories above maintenance. See how that works. I've got friends in the same position that wonder why they aren't gaining because they eat a lot. We do the math on their meal plan and they barely exceed 2500 in reality.

Incorrect. He provided no info, period. You provided info, he provided smarmy elitism.

As for my basal metabolic rate, I am approximately 6% body fat, and not active at all.

 

[LG Sciences]

Prohormones + creatine monohydrate + epicatichin + food + heavy weights slow movement

 

[LG Sciences]

Gh is really for more experienced people who have done mosy everything else. Stick to the basics and you should have no issues. A good pre-workout, prohormones and epicatichin are good. I also really like mhp myo-x along with the epicatichin.

 

[Civa]

Prohormones + creatine monohydrate + epicatichin + food + heavy weights slow movement

Thank you. I Am obsessed with correct form, so I will definitely utilize slow movements. I will also look into the pro hormones and creatine, as you suggested. however, what is mhp moo-x, and do you know anything about Lr3 IGF-1 or GHRP (I do recognize my appetite has slowed, which really isn't good for me, being of such a high metabolism)?

 

[pfresh]

Incorrect. He provided no info, period. You provided info, he provided smarmy elitism.

As for my basal metabolic rate, I am approximately 6% body fat, and not active at all.

This was never my intention. I do not like seeing people turn to anabolic before they really have everything else dialed in. I never meant to be perceived as an elitist. I too had a hard time gaining weight and was made fun of in college for being so skinny. I have an extremely fast metabolism as well, my maintenance calories is around 4000 a day. It bothers me that you say you are not active at all and yet are willing to try taking a,b and c in an attempt to gain weight. I was only stating that i thought you should start with the basics and go from there.

The first thing you would need to do would be to start eating at a consistent calorie rate on a daily basis. This would involve tracking your meals and weighing your food. If i was you, i would set starting calories to 4000. You are the same height as me and 4000 is the amount of calories that it takes me to maintain my weight at around 185 pounds and about 8-10 percent body fat.

I would begin a full body weight training program 2 to 3 days a week with at least one rest day in between each workout. I would do two to three sets to start for each body part.

Here is a sample beginner workout

Squats to parallel
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Bench press/Dumbell press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Over head standing shoulder press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Barbell rows
3 sets of 8-12 reps

An alternate workout could be

Lunges with barbell
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Dips
3 sets to failure

Seated military press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Pull ups/chins up using the weight assist machine
3 Sets to failure.

I wouldn't really worry too much about direct arm training at this point and time. Your arms should be getting plenty of stimulation from your compound movements. If you find you feel ready to go to the gym again the very next day, up your volume on the exercises.

I would go to the gym as often as possible if my main goal was to gain mass. Full body workouts every other day unless i was feeling really worn out.

The most important thing though, would be the food tracker app and accurately weighing out your food. You need to figure out how much you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Like i stated before, for me it is about 4000 calories a day. Being you are the same height as me ,i would set the app to 4000 to start. Once you figure out your maintenance calories, add 500 calories a day to that number. I would aim for a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I usually aim for 1.5 but the research suggests one gram is more than adequate. Set fats to about half that of protein and fill in the rest with carbs

Sleep is also a very important piece of the puzzle when trying to gain weight. If life permits, try to get 8 hours sleep a night. The more you can sleep, the faster you will recover from workouts. You're also going to want to make sure in those 4000 calories that you're getting complete nutrition. The food tracker app should show you a break down of daily percentages for vitamins. You should try and make sure you max these out everyday.

Any questions, id be happy to answer them. It was never my intention to offend you, i just hate seeing people turn to anabolics right away.They have their place and i dont have anything against people using them.

 

[Civa]

This was never my intention. I do not like seeing people turn to anabolic before they really have everything else dialed in. I never meant to be perceived as an elitist. I too had a hard time gaining weight and was made fun of in college for being so skinny. I have an extremely fast metabolism as well, my maintenance calories is around 4000 a day. It bothers me that you say you are not active at all and yet are willing to try taking a,b and c in an attempt to gain weight. I was only stating that i thought you should start with the basics and go from there.

The first thing you would need to do would be to start eating at a consistent calorie rate on a daily basis. This would involve tracking your meals and weighing your food. If i was you, i would set starting calories to 4000. You are the same height as me and 4000 is the amount of calories that it takes me to maintain my weight at around 185 pounds and about 8-10 percent body fat.

I would begin a full body weight training program 2 to 3 days a week with at least one rest day in between each workout. I would do two to three sets to start for each body part.

Here is a sample beginner workout

Squats to parallel
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Bench press/Dumbell press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Over head standing shoulder press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Barbell rows
3 sets of 8-12 reps

An alternate workout could be

Lunges with barbell
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Dips
3 sets to failure

Seated military press
3 sets of 8-12 reps

Pull ups/chins up using the weight assist machine
3 Sets to failure.

I wouldn't really worry too much about direct arm training at this point and time. Your arms should be getting plenty of stimulation from your compound movements. If you find you feel ready to go to the gym again the very next day, up your volume on the exercises.

I would go to the gym as often as possible if my main goal was to gain mass. Full body workouts every other day unless i was feeling really worn out.

The most important thing though, would be the food tracker app and accurately weighing out your food. You need to figure out how much you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Like i stated before, for me it is about 4000 calories a day. Being you are the same height as me ,i would set the app to 4000 to start. Once you figure out your maintenance calories, add 500 calories a day to that number. I would aim for a gram of protein per pound of body weight. I usually aim for 1.5 but the research suggests one gram is more than adequate. Set fats to about half that of protein and fill in the rest with carbs

Sleep is also a very important piece of the puzzle when trying to gain weight. If life permits, try to get 8 hours sleep a night. The more you can sleep, the faster you will recover from workouts. You're also going to want to make sure in those 4000 calories that you're getting complete nutrition. The food tracker app should show you a break down of daily percentages for vitamins. You should try and make sure you max these out everyday.

Any questions, id be happy to answer them. It was never my intention to offend you, i just hate seeing people turn to anabolics right away.They have their place and i dont have anything against people using them.

Okay, thank you. Again, much better and helpful advice.

I have another issue (which is why I am looking at trigger point, rolfing, and inyengar yoga) which is a dominant side imbalance. In other words, my dominant side has a winged scapulae, and a rolled in hip. this extends all the way to my ankle and planar fascia.

I have been told, and also notice, that upper body needs to be corrected, to get the rest in line.

Basically, I need to focus on shoulders, upper back, and abdominals, specifically on my right (dominant) side, where the winged scapulae (rolled forward, almost frozen, though not entirely) shoulder is.
My left abdominals do become tight when I do things such as crunches and sit ups, my right, do not.

I am absolutely aware I need to focus on my upper back, deltoids, serratus, trapezius, shoulders, etc.

Would kettle bells be best for this, or the machine (though I am not partial to machines)?

I am believing the goal is to spread my back and shoulders, making them stronger, thus aligning the rest of my body, as told to me by a physical therapist. I am aware that with a combination of yoga, massage, some trigger point, and weight lifting, one woman in the UK cured her curved spine in 12 weeks (this is actually documented), so I feel I should be able to do the same with my shoulders and back.

However, due to the high metabolism, I am concerned with recovery and inflammation, which was another reason why I was looking at the precursors, etc.

 

[johnl1800]

Thank you. I Am obsessed with correct form, so I will definitely utilize slow movements. I will also look into the pro hormones and creatine

I'm not sure how much this will help you but here goes. I'm older than you are and always had trouble gaining weight also. For years I dutifully plugged away with my reps in the 8-12 range because that's what all of the books and magazines recommend as the best for hypertrophy. I never got the results either in strength or weight gain that I was happy with. I later switched up to higher weights/lower reps (4-8) and found that personally I got much better results in both weight gain and strength doing so.

You may also want to actually track how many calories you are actually taking in. All too often people who are trying to lose weight think that they are taking in far fewer calories than they actually are and people who are trying to gain weight aren't taking in nearly as many as they think they are.

As far as the pro hormones are concerned, they work but you will need to make sure you research what you are taking, what they potential side effects and health risks are, and definitely (especially at your age) make sure that you do a proper PCT (SERM).