Extremly Skinny friend needs help with weight gain and a workout Routine

[Frisco Girl]

Hey everyone!

I need some more input here... My girlfriend, is extremly skinny well she always has been, She was going to go to GNC pick up some weight gain and try to gain weight! LOL I told her you HAVE to workout and take weight gain..

Well, problem is she never ever has worked out except for a little treadmill and there. I could help her but needed some advice on where to start and if you have any ideas on weight gainers/Protein Shakes that would work well for her in her situation.

She is 5'4 110 pounds... Is skin and bones.

 

[circusgirl]

hmmmm she could do worse than come on here and read the sticky threads, plus also go to www.stumptuous.com/weights.html to read Christa's non-scary intro to weight training for beginners. This was one of the first weights pages I read and it took the scaryness out, weight training acn seem very technical to a beginner, especially if they buy some copies of muscle and fitness or whatever that make things needlessly complex.

For weight gain - what about the 3 shakes plus three meals idea? Body for Life type thing but with LOTS more cals (3000 per day?) Should be easy for her to get her head round, without getting too technical. Spatts will have some advice on carb cycling for maximising lean mass in the weight gained.

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

Add weights, ditch cardio and eat clean food like a horse.

 

[FitFossil]

At least this friend wants to gain weight, that's half the battle right there. If she was suffering from an eating disorder, it would be a whole different story.

I think first of all she should check with her doctor to make sure she's otherwise healthy. While I haven't seen her, 5'4" @110lbs isn't particularly underweight. Perhaps she just looks weak and scrawny from lack of muscle tone.

I agree she should hit the weights, with the goal of gaining strength and muscle. She also needs to rework her diet so she's getting sufficient nutrients and calories - consisting mostly of lean proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats. She should try to get her diet from real food as much as possible, but protein shakes are excellent for some of those meals.

I'm a little wary of "weight gainer" formulas, because they often have some excess junk in them that causes unnecessary fat gain. And unless her bodyfat is already below 10-15%, why add excess body fat. I think a good quality protein powder would be sufficient, as it can be mixed as a shake or in with other foods (like oatmeal).

 

[MS]

"Add weights, ditch cardio and eat clean food like a horse."

AGREED. Make sure she understands that just taking a weight-gainer without adding weight training MAY make her gain weight, but it will be almost ALL fat gain. If she wants to gain fat then this is fine. But if she wants to look hot, then she needs to add some muscle as well as more calories. Those calories should not come from weight gainers IMHO since most weight gainers have too much sugar in them. Stick to real foods plus protein powders.

 

[Frisco Girl]

Hey guys! Thanks for the replies. I haven't gotten her into my gym yet, but i told her to meet me and i can show her a weight training routine and get her BF%. By, the looks of it doesn't look like she has much body fat at all. I will keep you posted on the %. The only prob was i'm not to keen on Protein powders because i just started taking them myself.

I will nix the "weight Gainers" and go for high calorie high carb protein powder?

I gave her a list of some clean carbs and food idea's that she can use. I will Look on the website you gave me circus girl. I'm scared she can't even pick up a 5Lb. dumb bell. LOL..

This might be a challenge, since her idea of eating is McDonalds, but she wants this so hopefully she'll commit. I would have sent her to this discussion board, but she doesn't have a computer.


3 shakes a day? Morning, post workout and late afternoon?

 

[Pink Space Biscuit]

A high calorie high carb protein powder isn't a protein powder. It's a weight gainer or meal replacement filled with sugar.

Just stick to protein powder and a huge serving of REAL food like oats or yams or brown rice as the carb. She needs to eat lots of CLEAN food, not just add in shakes.

 

[circusgirl]

I just had a look at the nutritional profile of my weight gainer and you're right - it's almost 70% maltodextrin. Time to cook some more chicken methinks and relegate the weight gainer to post-workout. Thanks for pointing that one out - I had read the composition of another protein powder product and "assumed" they were all of similar composition. Damn, now I know why I didn't get any sugar cravings. Back to the drawing board...

 

[Gladiola]

Ditto again to PSB's replies. Lift like mad, work to get strong, ease into it so she's not so sore she can't move (That's not fun at all to most sane individuals! ) Keep cardio very minimal & low intensity, low reps on the lifting workouts.

Lots of good clean food, red meat, chicken, eggs. She really outta learn to cook, cuz truely 'clean' food is VERY hard to get elsewhere. Doesn't have to be fancy, bake chicken breasts, scramble eggs, regular brown rice, sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave, etc. Get comfy in the kitchen.

 

[Frisco Girl]

Ok i got it, i will start her on a protein shake, that i would get for myself. Still looking around. What do you guys think of NYTRO TEK has anyone tried thier products or protein shakes?


I have her doing high weight (for her) at low reps right now at least 4-5 sets each excercise

No cardio at all for now.. (she's hurting enough already)

That is what i told her but she cringed at the Yams. What about red or regular Idaho potatoes?