Hard Gainer starting out, what's the BS and what's real?

[ExtremeSkinny]

Hey there,
I've been going to the gym for about a year now at university, and despite getting definition, I really don't get any muscle mass. I'm about 140 lb's at 5' 10''.

I'm home for the summer doing only 20h a week job so I figured now is as good as any to get serious. I read some information that basically said I need

-To eat like it's my job, get meal replacement powder and protein
-Short heavy lifts but only 3 times a week, alot of time to recover
- eat about six times a day?

I want to head to GNC this weekend to look at some options (I have a great friend who's going to plan out my lifting schedual so thats covered)

What's the real deal here?

THanks much!

 

[Vicious cycle]

Skip GNC. The rest will get you started. 5'10" 140lbs sounds like you're at least 18-19 years old, you should be able to make some solid gains. Remember there are no hard gainers...just poor eaters.

 

[Tolstoy]

Short heavy lifts but only 3 times a week

Perhaps you should re-evaluate your lifting program. Mabye you need to add more volume, less intensity. What does your routine look like?

 

[das79]

The best advice you can get is to eat and eat and eat. Im 5'9 165-170. I started out about at 140lbs. I didnt start to make my gains until I started to eat right. To me working out is the easy part, eating is the hard part. Try to eat every 3 hours.

 

[swordfish151]

EAT! this is where most go wrong...and trust me..what you think it eating right now..is not enough....there have been guys on here that say " i eat like a pig" and you ask them what they are eating and they bust out with , eggs for breakfast with toast, a shake for a snack, some chicken and veggies for lunch, sandwich and meat and potatos for dinner..NOT ENOUGH..you need to evalute how much your eating...in anycase if your eating well under 2500 cals when yoyu add it up..then you need to up your food intake.

 

[ExtremeSkinny]

EAT! this is where most go wrong...and trust me..what you think it eating right now..is not enough....there have been guys on here that say " i eat like a pig" and you ask them what they are eating and they bust out with , eggs for breakfast with toast, a shake for a snack, some chicken and veggies for lunch, sandwich and meat and potatos for dinner..NOT ENOUGH..you need to evalute how much your eating...in anycase if your eating well under 2500 cals when yoyu add it up..then you need to up your food intake.

Hah, ok, yeah so I eat two meals a day with like a sandwich for a snack.

I need to go buy food

 

[ExtremeSkinny]

I guess I'm also afraid of getting fat. Right now I have a six pack and can see all my muscles, I don't want to mess up and loose all of it.

 

[alex2678]

If you have a six pack then chances are your DNA is more likely to create muscle from excess calories than fat. I have a cousin who started out 6'1 170 pounds 7 years ago, he's now up to 255lbs with abs. He eats clean food and junk food everyday too. Make sure you eat as much as you can and get stronger in all of your major lifts. If you start to gain some fat and it bothers you, lower your calories for a few weeks until your abs
are visible again. Then start to eat alot again.

 

[DaPit26]

i'm only about 5'5" and i couldn't gain weight for the longest time. i started eating about 9 times a day (smaller meals) and now i'm at about 180-185. my bench went up from about 315 to 365 in a few months. Good foods are raisins, oatmeal, rice, chicken, steaks, egg whites, broccoli, baked beans, tuna, peanuts and peanut butter. I said fuck the 6 pack for ahile and gained weight and now for the summer i'm going to start cutting. Lifting heavier weights with less reps helped quite a bit too. Set yourself up with a good routine and follow it religously. You'll NEVER see results if you're not dedicated. oh yeah....fuck GNC!!!

 

[swordfish151]

I guess I'm also afraid of getting fat. Right now I have a six pack and can see all my muscles, I don't want to mess up and loose all of it.

you can gain a minimal amount of fat IF you choose the correct foods bro...you dont have to scarf down pizzas and burgers to grow...just add more "clean" calories to your diet and you will do just fine....yes you may gain some fat..but trust me...once you get to the size you want..you'll have no problem shedding it..