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NormanNormal said:
Glad to help. I wouldnt reccomend a clean diet for growth purposes. Health is another issue. My method has always been to eat everything with little discrimination. The goal was X amount of protein,calories and carbs per day, and exceeding that goal was even better. So I wouldnt fill up on sweets or refined sugars, or anything that might take away too much from my protein intake. Ive tried a cleaner diet and its never worked for me personally. Ive gained much more with a non discriminate approach to eating. Just getting it in. If I follow any conventions its by coincidence, as Im mostly nocturnal and dont cook much. I just train very hard (high volume/high intensity), eat all I can (try to atleast) and remain consistent. I too lose muscle at a rapid rate and gain VERY slow. But it does add up. I estimate my arms were around 10" when I started, but seeing your measurements with similiar stats, its possible I was around the same. I didnt measure in the beginning. I dont think I measured until my arms reached 14". Which took 2-3 years:
At 16 years old
Eventually your stomache will stretch somewhat from force feeding. It helps to split up your meals somewhat. But for me personally I eat massive meals. And at a slow pace. I may consume 130 grams of protein at a buffet over 2-4 hours time. That will be most of my intake for the day. Ill add 1/2 a gallon of milk on those days and maybe a protein shake, possibly some string cheese,peanut butter and extras as well. Few meals suits me better. The amount of food I consume is what seems to effect my growth. Not how I get it in. I believe that the food in your stomache will be used effectively to build muscle with hard training. Even if Im storing 130 grams of protein ,aslong as Im not shitting it out,pissing it out, I can feel it being used. Many protein powders I cant digest, so finding the right ones is important. If it goes right through me its worthless. So avoid supplements like that. Experimentation to find whats best for you is needed. But dont fear the workload. Id start with a high volume routine and see how that works out for you. You can always lower the volume (amount of sets) later, or tweak the rep ranges. Heres the routine I started on and still use today (though heavily modified):
http://boards.elitefitness.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308120
If you decide to try that, or have any questions just PM me or post them in the thread. Its a slow process that takes alot of patience, but if you stay with it, train hard and consistent and eat all you can youll see results over time. In the beginning, when I started I hardly ate anything. Maybe one meal a day (nachos). I still managed to rack most of the pin loaded machines for 12-15 reps at around 140-150lbs. This was mental strength I believe. Intensity and mental drive will push you to your goals. I started off with weightgainers that would often make me vomit at both ends. I would even eat the residue with a spoon. Im not sure they helped much at all. But that was all part of the learning process. Youll likely make gains even on a shitty diet in the beginning, with hard training. Mostly strength gains initially,but some size will likely follow. I didnt have any money back then to buy food. Looking back, had I the resources and dedication in my diet I wouldve accelerated my growth a good deal faster. I also biked 7 miles each way to the gym for transportation,eventually even moving furniture ontop of that. I did the furniture moving at 5$ an hour just for the food money. Which I consumed quickly. Eventually I snapped that motherfuckers arm and work came to an end. The main thing for now is keep at it. Eat as much as you can. Writing meals down helped me ALOT. KEEP KILLING THAT SHIT!!
