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Need help with gaining muscle

PhoenixGamer

Member
Hello,
First off, I am 19 years old and my goal is to gain as much muscle as possible, while maintaining bf% (preferably, losing bf%). I currently weigh 192 pounds and I would like to have my muscles bursting out of me like a bodybuilder's (I feel like I have a decent amount of "wet" muscle, but I want people to see my muscles!). My diet, overall, is very clean; in fact, you guys may have to be careful as to what you recommend that I eat, because I used to be overweight (248 pounds:ZERO Muscle) and I do not want to gain fat. Now, I know there will be some of you that will say you can always cut later...Well I say screw that! I want a solid food plan that I can follow to the letter. Please also include basics: Amount of protein, carbs, fats(I am very skeptical as to how much fat one needs when trying to gain muscle). Also, what kind of protein powder would you guys recommend?(How many protein shakes should I have a day? Any general advice, such as meal times, food recipes, protein brands, etc. would be greatly appreciate! Thanks!
 
Seeing muscle is down to loosing body fat and trying to gain muscle whilest loosing bodyfat is very very difficult if not impossible.
Whatever food you eat you will gain fat if you eat to much of it.You need to get the right amount of calorie intake for your metabolism and for the amount of training you are doing .You will not gain muscle simply by consuming protein , you have to stimulate fibre growth but your protein intake needs to be enough to support this growth.
As for protein powder, whey is recommended directly after training along with simple carbs like dextrose.You could mix casein with your cereal in a morning as this protein is slow digesting and continues to feed the muscles over a longer period than whey.
As for fats well these are important and you should be getting omega3 fats and monosaturated fats . examples fish oil . olive oil.
My reply has been brief in comparison to what you have asked. , but there is so much knowledge out there (google) that you can spend hours doing your own research .A good place to start i suggest the articles on bodybuilding.com
 
how many days a week do you train?
how long are those sessions on those days?
what time do you work out? (morning or night)
can you do cardio in the morning and lift in the evening?
 
lennoxchi said:
how many days a week do you train?
how long are those sessions on those days?
what time do you work out? (morning or night)
can you do cardio in the morning and lift in the evening?
Click to expand...

I train 3-4 days a week.
Monday-chest and triceps
Tuesday-rest or abs
Wednesday-biceps and forearms
Thursday-rest or abs
Friday-rest or abs
Saturday-chest and triceps
Sunday-rest or abs
Workouts usually last 30-40 minutes. I prefer to workout around 3:00 in the afternoon. I could do cardio, but I feel like all I need is a clean, high protein diet to help me gain muscle. I think the fat will slowly dissipate as I gain more lean muscle. However, I like walking on a treadmill on max incline at a moderate walking pace for about 20 minutes.:paranoid:
My workout regimen may fluctuate, it depends on how I'm feeling.:18:

My main problem IMO is getting 200 grams of protein or more a day. I need someone to help give me a diet plan that I can follow. Anything, would be helpful i.e. What should I eat for breakfast? How many hours between each meal? If I just had lunch, when should I have a snack? I am really bad with coming up with my own ideas of what to eat. Here are some things that I eat:Jennie-O ground turkey, apple with cottage cheese, oatmeal, chicken breast, lactaid brand fat free milk, broccoli, mixed vegetables, fish, etc. As for vitamins and all that, I take a centrum complete and a flaxseed oil pill.

Please give me some advice that will help me meet the 200-250 grams of protein everyday:scared:
 
was it an accident there is no leg day in your training split? i assume you left that out on accident? if not, better get a leg day in there.. as far as a diet, you're 19. your natural test production is at full steam.. some creatine, and protein powder is really all you need.. sure you could add in some other supps., but save the money and buy some groceries. getting 200 gr. protein shouldn't be that tough. at 19, and training regularly, being around 190lbs. shoot for around 250 gr. protein/day. that should be relatively easy, if you eat 6-7 times a day, which you should be doing, at 6 meals, 40 gr. protein per meal, you are at 240 gr. right there.. don't over think your diet. you are young, get your protein in, don't go crazy on sugary foods and junk, avoid deep fried foods and saturated fats, and just train balls out. don't get caught up in the party scene, get plenty of rest and you will grow like a weed.
 
PhoenixGamer said:
Hello,
First off, I am 19 years old and my goal is to gain as much muscle as possible, while maintaining bf% (preferably, losing bf%).
Click to expand...

PhoenixGamer said:
I train 3-4 days a week.
Monday-chest and triceps
Tuesday-rest or abs
Wednesday-biceps and forearms
Thursday-rest or abs
Friday-rest or abs
Saturday-chest and triceps
Sunday-rest or abs


My main problem IMO is getting 200 grams of protein or more a day.
Click to expand...

i suspect your main problem is the lack of a leg or back day. if you're not working out 3/4 your body what do you expect to happen? your body grows (or tries to grow) proportionately.

that is to say you won't get maximal chest development without a strong back. likewise, your upper body will only grow so much without adequate leg work, notwithstanding the incredible test release your testes produce when doing squats/deads with a heavy load. you're routine is what is selling yourself short, not your diet. though your diet may need tweaking as well.
 
suncloud said:
i suspect your main problem is the lack of a leg or back day. if you're not working out 3/4 your body what do you expect to happen? your body grows (or tries to grow) proportionately.

that is to say you won't get maximal chest development without a strong back. likewise, your upper body will only grow so much without adequate leg work, notwithstanding the incredible test release your testes produce when doing squats/deads with a heavy load. you're routine is what is selling yourself short, not your diet. though your diet may need tweaking as well.
Click to expand...

I am not really sure what exercises to do for leg and back. What do you suggest I do? Should I do leg and back on the same day? If I do back, do you recommend I work another body part also? Please give me some tips i.e. number of sets, reps, etc. Thanks.
 
One quick thing. I have tried doing squats before, but I am either incredibly weak or I am not doing it correctly. Every time I would try doing a set with the slightest bit of weight, I would feel as if I could not do more than a few reps. I would love to do some type of squat because I know that it is a really good exercise. Also, any tips for doing a deadlift? How much weight should I be lifting? Thanks.
 
PhoenixGamer said:
I am not really sure what exercises to do for leg and back. What do you suggest I do? Should I do leg and back on the same day? If I do back, do you recommend I work another body part also? Please give me some tips i.e. number of sets, reps, etc. Thanks.
Click to expand...
i would pair back with your bicep workout. something like :
chins/pullups
deadlifts
shrugs
t-bar rows
then whatever biceps you can do after those chins...
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps are best for mass.

* i also add rear delts on back/bi day, (face pulls), and throw front and mid delts on chest/tri day. its entirely up to you on how you want to approach your shoulders though.

PhoenixGamer said:
One quick thing. I have tried doing squats before, but I am either incredibly weak or I am not doing it correctly. Every time I would try doing a set with the slightest bit of weight, I would feel as if I could not do more than a few reps. I would love to do some type of squat because I know that it is a really good exercise. Also, any tips for doing a deadlift? How much weight should I be lifting? Thanks.
Click to expand...
practice doing squats with the bar. or do box squats. find a big guy at your gym, and tell him you need to start doing squats, can he critique you. he should be able to make sure your knees aren't going forward beyond your toes, and you're getting close to parallel. squats are very hard, and don't worry about the weight you're using, worry that you're progressing. my first year working out i didn't do legs, and had crappy gains as a result. after adding them in, i really started making the progress that i wanted. i was squatting 95 pounds at the time, and man it was brutal. it doesn't matter how much weight you're doing, just that you're pushing yourself. the big weights will come with time.

deads are similar in this aspect. i started doing deads with 135 - but it doesn't matter how much weight you do, rather that you keep progressing.

one trick that worked well for me in the past, is to work my way up to 10 reps, then add some weight (5'ers on each side), and do 6 reps. then each day at the gym, try to get one more rep. once i hit 10 reps, i'd add some weight and shoot for 6 reps.....

gotta run to class soon, hope i addressed this issue correctly. if you have any questions, post it in this thread, and i'll be glad to help you out when i get back.

-suncloud.
 
To suncloud or others that want to give advice

suncloud said:
i would pair back with your bicep workout. something like :
chins/pullups
deadlifts
shrugs
t-bar rows
then whatever biceps you can do after those chins...
3-4 sets of 8-12 reps are best for mass.

* i also add rear delts on back/bi day, (face pulls), and throw front and mid delts on chest/tri day. its entirely up to you on how you want to approach your shoulders though.


practice doing squats with the bar. or do box squats. find a big guy at your gym, and tell him you need to start doing squats, can he critique you. he should be able to make sure your knees aren't going forward beyond your toes, and you're getting close to parallel. squats are very hard, and don't worry about the weight you're using, worry that you're progressing. my first year working out i didn't do legs, and had crappy gains as a result. after adding them in, i really started making the progress that i wanted. i was squatting 95 pounds at the time, and man it was brutal. it doesn't matter how much weight you're doing, just that you're pushing yourself. the big weights will come with time.

deads are similar in this aspect. i started doing deads with 135 - but it doesn't matter how much weight you do, rather that you keep progressing.

one trick that worked well for me in the past, is to work my way up to 10 reps, then add some weight (5'ers on each side), and do 6 reps. then each day at the gym, try to get one more rep. once i hit 10 reps, i'd add some weight and shoot for 6 reps.....

gotta run to class soon, hope i addressed this issue correctly. if you have any questions, post it in this thread, and i'll be glad to help you out when i get back.

-suncloud.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips suncloud. I'm not really good with bodybuilding lingo yet. Do you think you can elaborate on what you mean by adding rear delts/front and mid delts on chest/tri day? And when you say it's up to me on how I approach my shoulders, do you mean I should add a workout day for shoulders? Sorry, I am a bit confused:happysad:

So, if I were to start doing deadlifts, (which is a back exercise) I guess I would be adding other back exercises for that workout day, right? What other back exercises do you recommend? Should I do only back exercises that day or what other body part should I work, legs? I workout in my garage so I am not sure what exercises I can do for my legs, any ideas? Also, for deadlifts how many sets should I do? Thanks!
 
PhoenixGamer said:
Thanks for the tips suncloud. I'm not really good with bodybuilding lingo yet. Do you think you can elaborate on what you mean by adding rear delts/front and mid delts on chest/tri day? And when you say it's up to me on how I approach my shoulders, do you mean I should add a workout day for shoulders? Sorry, I am a bit confused:happysad:
Click to expand...
you have the option of working your shoulders by themselves, or adding part of your shoulders to chest/tri day, and the other part of your shoulders on back/bi day. basically, those parts of the shoulder are already being used as secondary muscles on those days, so (in my opinion) you might as well train those parts, since they've already gotten a warmup set.

PhoenixGamer said:
So, if I were to start doing deadlifts, (which is a back exercise) I guess I would be adding other back exercises for that workout day, right? What other back exercises do you recommend? Should I do only back exercises that day or what other body part should I work, legs? I workout in my garage so I am not sure what exercises I can do for my legs, any ideas? Also, for deadlifts how many sets should I do? Thanks!
Click to expand...
man, now we're getting somewhere. you work out in your garage then? what kind of machine/freeweights do you have available? this will help tell me what kinds of exercises you will be able to do.

with regards to deadlifts, i do one set, after working up to my heavy set.

as far as your legs go, squats and stiff-legged deadlifts (a hamstring exercise) may be the only two exercises possible besides maybe lunges.

again, if you can give me a basic rundown of what you have onhand, i will attempt to design a routine for you.
 
To suncloud

Well, in my garage I have a bench, pull up bar, dip bar, ez curl barbell, straight barbell, weights (ranging from 5ers to 25ers), dumbbells (ranging from 10lbs to 25lbs, although I do have one 40lb dumbell and a dumbell that I can modify the amount of weight on, so I could make that one 40lb also and have two 40lb dumbells. Ummm... I thinks that's it.
 
PhoenixGamer said:
Well, in my garage I have a bench, pull up bar, dip bar, ez curl barbell, straight barbell, weights (ranging from 5ers to 25ers), dumbbells (ranging from 10lbs to 25lbs, although I do have one 40lb dumbell and a dumbell that I can modify the amount of weight on, so I could make that one 40lb also and have two 40lb dumbells. Ummm... I thinks that's it.
Click to expand...

you might be stuck for cash -i dont know but theres more advantages to do your training in a gym , than in your garage. You can get help from the instructor. you can ask someone to spot you and it becomes a social thing so you can exchange ideas , talk supplements , or maybe just about the weather but it becomes somewhere to look forward to . I think training at home you have to be very singleminded and you dont always push yourself as much as you would with someone to support you.
So to sum up , id join a gym , have an introductory chat with the instructor , tell him /her your goals, what you want to acheive, where you want to be say in 6 months time . a programme will be written out for you , youll get shown around, proper instruction in how to use the equipment, guidance when it comes to nutrition and youll have someone you can fall back on face to face.
As in The UK there are gyms to suit all pockets , so look out for one you can afford and has good feedback (ymca?)

In my view youll get much more benefit from doing that , than training at home
 
PhoenixGamer said:
Well, in my garage I have a bench, pull up bar, dip bar, ez curl barbell, straight barbell, weights (ranging from 5ers to 25ers), dumbbells (ranging from 10lbs to 25lbs, although I do have one 40lb dumbell and a dumbell that I can modify the amount of weight on, so I could make that one 40lb also and have two 40lb dumbells. Ummm... I thinks that's it.
Click to expand...

okay, so we're looking at no leg machine setups, and no squat racks. basically that means you've got to lift the weights up to squat them. looks like we can work with this.

i'm going to write a list of exercises, and we'll figure this out.
back - pullups or chins
back - deadlifts
back - bent over rows
back - shrugs
biceps - hammer curls
biceps - barbell curls (wide grip)
chest - bench press
chest - incline DB bench (or barbell)
chest - DB flyes
forearms - pinwheel curls
forearms - wrist curls
shoulders (rear) - bent over DB raises
shoulders (front) - front DB raises
shoulders (middle) - wide grip upright rows
triceps - close grip bench
triceps - dips (you can weight these if needed by holding a DB with your ankles)
triceps - reverse grip EZ bar skullcrushers
abs - ? whatever your routine is. i suck at abs
legs - front squats
legs - stiff legged deadlifts
legs - lunges
legs - calf raises while holding weight...

now, those are the exercises (there are many more) that you can do and get a great workout from. now we have to figure out your split.

you have basically 4 options for training style, though you could alter the following list a little bit for more variety. secondary muscles shouldn't be trained the next day, so there's very few ways of doing this : for example, if you train chest, you shouldn't train tri's or front/mid delts the next day, because you won't be able to use maximal weight. same with back, biceps and rear delts. a great example of this, is do chinups (back exercise) till failure and see what kind of pump your biceps get. anyways, on to the list.

1:
chest/back
legs/forearms
bi's/tri's
shoulders/abs

2:
chest/tri's/front and middle delts
back/bi's/rear delts
legs/forearms
abs

3:
chest/tri's
back/bi's
legs/abs
shoulders/forearms

4:
chest/tri's
back/bi's
legs/forearms
shoulders/abs

again, you could tweak the 4 days keeping in mind secondary muscles, and not to use them for the following days workout.

see first list, grab some of those exercises, plug them in to appropriate days, and have fun. of course there are other exercises you can do, the list is not cut and dry, but it should be enough exercises for you to make major progress.

* i'm really stressed today, so hopefully i explained this properly and stuff. any other questions i'll be glad to answer.
 
suncloud said:
okay, so we're looking at no leg machine setups, and no squat racks. basically that means you've got to lift the weights up to squat them. looks like we can work with this.

i'm going to write a list of exercises, and we'll figure this out.
back - pullups or chins
back - deadlifts
back - bent over rows
back - shrugs
biceps - hammer curls
biceps - barbell curls (wide grip)
chest - bench press
chest - incline DB bench (or barbell)
chest - DB flyes
forearms - pinwheel curls
forearms - wrist curls
shoulders (rear) - bent over DB raises
shoulders (front) - front DB raises
shoulders (middle) - wide grip upright rows
triceps - close grip bench
triceps - dips (you can weight these if needed by holding a DB with your ankles)
triceps - reverse grip EZ bar skullcrushers
abs - ? whatever your routine is. i suck at abs
legs - front squats
legs - stiff legged deadlifts
legs - lunges
legs - calf raises while holding weight...

now, those are the exercises (there are many more) that you can do and get a great workout from. now we have to figure out your split.

you have basically 4 options for training style, though you could alter the following list a little bit for more variety. secondary muscles shouldn't be trained the next day, so there's very few ways of doing this : for example, if you train chest, you shouldn't train tri's or front/mid delts the next day, because you won't be able to use maximal weight. same with back, biceps and rear delts. a great example of this, is do chinups (back exercise) till failure and see what kind of pump your biceps get. anyways, no to the list.

1:
chest/back
legs/forearms
bi's/tri's
shoulders/abs

2:
chest/tri's/front and middle delts
back/bi's/rear delts
legs/forearms
abs

3:
chest/tri's
back/bi's
legs/abs
shoulders/forearms

4:
chest/tri's
back/bi's
legs/forearms
shoulders/abs

again, you could tweak the 4 days keeping in mind secondary muscles, and not to use them for the following days workout.

see first list, grab some of those exercises, plug them in to appropriate days, and have fun. of course there are other exercises you can do, the list is not cut and dry, but it should be enough exercises for you to make major progress.

* i'm really stressed today, so hopefully i explained this properly and stuff. any other questions i'll be glad to answer.
Click to expand...

Very nice Suncloud. A well layed out program for the garage.

You can add in some DB pullovers for chest, and some seated DB extentions for tirceps.

If it helps at all, I used to sit on the head of the bench to get the bar on my shoulders then stand for squats. The hard part was getting it back to the rack once your legs were burnt out.
Same can be done to do standing calf raises.
 
Thanks suncloud! Just one quick question. When you say I have four different options for training style, let's say I chose option four. Do you mean on monday, I do chest and tri's, then Tuesday,back and bi's, then Wednesday legs and forearms, then Thursday, shoulders and abs? Or, should I take a rest day in between each one, for example:Monday-chest and tri's, then Tuesday-Rest Day, then Wednesday-legs and forearms, then Thursday-Rest Day, etc.?
 
Quick question: I thought shrugs worked the traps, not back, or is it done a certain way so that it can target the back? Thanks.
 
shrugs target traps, you're right. its your choice if you want to train it with shoulders or with back. i generally do them with back, as deadlifts are pretty nasty on traps. if they feel 100% on shoulder day, feel free to hit them again.
 
pullovers are extremely easy to have bad form with.


make sure you have your form down with lower weight.
 
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