skinny guy advice

[wanderlust]

Hi. I'm 6'4 and realllly skinny. I'm in ok shape for endurance but I really want to put on muscle. I weigh 160.

To give you an example I can put my thumb and middle finger around my wrist with it BARELY touching (the wrist). Yeah I have tiny bones and tiny muscles

But I am tired of that. I mean I'm 6'4, and I got a real chiseled face, if I could put some weight on I think I'd look pretty fucking good.

Here is what I have been doing the last few weeks:

Monday: Biceps+Back.

Wednesday: Triceps+Chest.

Thursday: Legs

Friday: Abs

Saturday: Shoulders


Now believe me, after I lift biceps my bis are fucking sore beyond belief, to the point where it takes them a week to heal. After I lift chest, it is sore for a week. All other muscles only stay sore for a day or three.

Now please, what do you recommend for me to gain muscle? Should I eat like a horse? I should say, I really, really do not want to gain fat.

What other advice can you give a guy genetically skinny to get big?

P.S. I heard eating tuna every day is bad for you because tuna has lots of mercury. Truth or False??

Thank you guys.

 

[Freak Show]

Mercury in tuna? I doubt it, otherwise 3/4 of the guys here would be walking thermometers. If you notice that you're really sore for extended periods of time you should dedicate more time to your nutrition and recovery. Take in some quality protein like lean red meat, chicken breasts, tuna, eggs, deli turkey. You may want to try a protein supp for post workout. Your muscles are beggin to be fed right after weight training. Give em what they need to recover. If you're lookin to add weight a good protein supp may be Prolab's NLarge. Check it out, easy to find. As far as recovery, SLEEP. Don't underestimate it. And never train a muscle if its still sore. Also, take some days off. It looks like you only take sundays off(am i wrong?) Only the genetically gifted or chemically enhanced can go 6days in a row without a break. The most days in a row I would try is 3 then you absolutely better take a day off. Even if you're training different body parts your central nervous system probably hasn't had enough rest to duplicate a kickass weight day. Good luck hope this helps.

 

[GenetiKing]

Mercury in tuna? I doubt it, otherwise 3/4 of the guys here would be walking thermometers. If you notice that you're really sore for extended periods of time you should dedicate more time to your nutrition and recovery. Take in some quality protein like lean red meat, chicken breasts, tuna, eggs, deli turkey. You may want to try a protein supp for post workout. Your muscles are beggin to be fed right after weight training. Give em what they need to recover. If you're lookin to add weight a good protein supp may be Prolab's NLarge. Check it out, easy to find. As far as recovery, SLEEP. Don't underestimate it. And never train a muscle if its still sore. Also, take some days off. It looks like you only take sundays off(am i wrong?) Only the genetically gifted or chemically enhanced can go 6days in a row without a break. The most days in a row I would try is 3 then you absolutely better take a day off. Even if you're training different body parts your central nervous system probably hasn't had enough rest to duplicate a kickass weight day. Good luck hope this helps.

I agree.
Train, Eat, and Rest...you will grow. Don't worry about putting on much bodyfat. You seem pretty ectomorphic, so be more concerned with adding muscle rather than accumulating fat. Stay focused.

Good luck.

 

[Mylo]

Stick with compound, basic exercises, definitely. Do squats on legs, deads on lower back, use presses on chest, shoulders, tri's, add some pull moves, use free weights rather than machines, and remember, hardgainers go better w/ less exercises and sets, and I definitely would not go over 4 times a week. Eat simple carbs after workout (up to 30 mins), then complex carbs and proteins (hour or hour'n'half after training), make sure you have enough calories especially from complex carbs, divided to several (I prefer 6) meals, also make sure that you have enough protein a day per lb of bodyweight. I consider the post-workout the most important meal of all, then goes breakfest, then last meal of the day. I personally do not count calories I eat throughout the day, I go with the feeling, after a few weeks or months I started to feel what is enough, and what is too much.
Train hard, sleep a lot, don't do much cardio (I personally avoid it totally, I feel it is enough for me to train hard, and I'd be losing muscle if doin' cardio), and watch out for overtraining - I spent the whole first year and half of my exercising w/ 3+1 system, and as a hardgainer I was completely overtraining. I made my best advance w/ 3-4 times a week of compound movements and a few isolation exercises added.
You can also try creatine, it worked on me.
Good luck.

-My opinion-

 

[panther]

Train HEAVY, eat HEAVY, sleep HEAVY = Good results
+ Juice = Even better results!

 

[Drifter]

I'm almost in the same boat as you and I find it very difficult to gain weight. That said you're best bet is to eat tons of food and don't worry about gaining fat. When you think you've eaten enough go eat some more. In the gym go very heavy but pay attention to form. My best gains come when I'm in the 1-6 rep range. Good luck.

 

[blood_drinker]

I'm assuming you know how to eat?
Don't just eat the junk you can find at the hot dog stall.

Check out the diet discussion board and post a question for what to eat when bulking (or you could do a search).

For ectomorphs try 21 x weight in lbs
So if youre 160, do (21 x 160)= cals for the day, split into 6-8 even meals. Don't worry if you go a bit overboard, you might gain fat. Do not worry about this fat, as with your ectomorph lighting fast metabolism it will not be a problem to burn it off.

So for you it would equal 3360cals/day.

 

[TAURIUS]

1. You don't need a whole day for abs
2. EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT
3. SLEEP
4. LIFT HEAVY

You get the point.

 

[wanderlust]

Ok, so what do you guys recommend? bi+back day, tri+chest+ab day, shoulder+leg day?

Also, is it better to try and get 8-10 reps in, or more like 4-6? I lift a weight heavy enough that I can do 5 or so reps on my own, and I get my spotter to help with the last 3.

Last question. Is cardio bad, i.e. will it impede my muscle development

 

[lunatic calm]

Cardio can hamper gains in strength and size. Keep it to a minimum. Don't focus on "forced" reps (having your partner help with the last 3 reps) These should be used sparingly. If your focus is on size shoot for 10 reps (on your owns! ) with short rest periods. Utilize many different exercises for each body part. Not just 3. And don't do the same damn ones every time. You gotta use variety to keep forcing your muscles to adapt to new stimulus. A generic split could be:

Mon. - Hams/shoulders (remember to deadlift)
Tue.- Chest/Bis
Wed. off
Thurs.- Quads/calves (remember to squat)
Fri. - Back/Tris
sat and sun - off

I don't have time to go into detail about exercises cuz I'm at work, not working.