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Anonymous
Hey /fit/, I'm the skinniest, weakest, of skinny weaklings. 5'8 around 100 lbs. I have Arnie's bodybuilding book and have done extensive research through various other sources, and I've got a good idea for a workout plan, but everything I've read and been told is that I need to eat to gain muscle. So my question is, I know protein/shakes powder is very important but I just don't have the financial means to purchase them at the moment... as long as I get a sufficient caloric intake(1,000+) each day of mostly healthy foods, will I start to see results? My goal is 20 lbs of quality muscle on my upper body.

Pic somewhat related, hopefully I'll be able to bang something like that once I get in shape.
>> Anonymous
>>82493

>as long as I get a sufficient caloric intake(1,000+)

..........

you're kidding, right?
>> ESH !Oj4wGhYfsE
1, 000 calories isn't nearly enough. Matter of fact, if that's all you've been eating for this long, that's why you look like Skeletor. Bump that up to at least 2, 500 a day, comprised of mostly meats and vegetables. Pasta/starches sparingly (This isn't a "rule" per se, but it's just how I go about it.)

Also, SQUAAATZFDGSGM, DEADLIIIIFTZZ. Heavy and often.
>> Anonymous
>>82497
I thought you just add a zero to whatever your weight is, and that's how many calories you should take in each day...
>> Anonymous
Delicious asian boobies.
>> Anonymous
>>82498
Hell, I've probably been eating less. I was never really at all active throughout my life and I lived off junk and frozen food. I definitely have to change my diet but I still want to know if I'll see results if I don't take protein supplements in addition to my regular meals?
>> Anonymous
diet is by far the most important aspect of bodybuilding, if your diet isn't in check, don't expect spectacular results.
>> ESH !Oj4wGhYfsE
>>82501

Dudes were making great progress long before protein supplements were around. However, they were immensely committed to eating a lot, pretty often (every 1-2hr), even more so than they trained.

So, yes, you can make amazing progress by eating, so long as you eat correctly. Which, like I said, is mostly meat and vegetables. Chicken, tuna, steak, salmon, etc.
>> Anonymous
>>82503
Well, my diet nowadays is pretty much this...

Breakfast: Cereal, oatmeal, eggs, toast/English muffin with peanut butter (either thing is sometimes doubled up on)

Lunch: Whatever meat is in the house, eat as much as I can till it hurts.

Dinner: Usually the most balanced meal of the day, meat, w/vegetable and a starch.

Small meals: Salads, soups, noodles.

Amidoinitrite?
>> Anonymous
>>82508
Forgot to add that I snack on fruit(fresh and dried) as well as nuts.
>> ESH !Oj4wGhYfsE
>>82508
Your small meals should also be protein rich.

It's kinda a personal thing, but I don't recommend eating till it hurts, rather eat sufficiently 7-8x a day, if it's possible. If not, then keep doing it the way you're doing. It's better than going under for any reason.
>> Anonymous
>>82513
Well, I also neglected to mention in my first post that I haven't even started working out yet. I'd go about eating, but since none of it was getting burned, I just started eating a lot more so I'd feel full. Would my small meals being protein rich be a special case for me? While protein is obviously important, I've read it's equally important to get everything in even if you're trying to build muscle. Though, it looks like I'd need all the protein I can get.
>> ESH !Oj4wGhYfsE
>>82520
>Though, it looks like I'd need all the protein I can get.

That's basically why your small meals should be protein rich. Most people don't eat nearly enough and it's pretty easy to get your daily servings of fats, carbs and all the other essentials. There's a pretty good amount of calories in anything protein-rich.

Plus, more protein is conducive to building more muscle, which you want. So, eat smart and a lot.

Also, start lifting as soon as you can. It's imperative to going anywhere.
>> Anonymous
>>82527
In the next week or two, a gym opened up around here and I finally enrolled. I thought about buying weights and lifting myself (I have a huge open space in my basement) but I figured it would just be a lost cause if I'm not eating right.
>> Anonymous
protein supplements only if you train alot, and if you do lots of exercices. In other words, only if you burn lots of calories. Otherwise, your body's gonna fail trying to get all that extra protein out of your system.

Your body uses up what it needs, but cannot exactly regulate what it absorbs so extra protein can fuck it up. (also, it can convert into fat. I'm guessing it's not what you want)

You also need everything else in your diet. Your body cannot build muscles with protein only, let alone function properly (massive fail).

As a final note, with no muscle on you, you cannot burn enough calories needed for protein supplements. As of your height, I wouldn't suggest touching it until you're about 140ish lbs. 1000+ calories is probably the right amount for your weight (general rule is generally not precise enough so for a better estimate, consult pro) but getting a little more fat on you wouldn't hurt, especially for helping burn more calories (more fat = more fat cells = more tissue, although not as good as muscle tissue = better caloric capacity, to an extent).
>> Anonymous
>>82550
Well, I plan to train around 3 hours a day, 6 days a week on average. Work different muscle groups each day, as well as squats + deadlifts. I know I have to push myself to the limit or I won't get anywhere, is this an average amount or a lot of training to you?
>> Anonymous
>>82562
Too much. 3 hours is killer on your body, unless you're juiced up. You'll run out of energy and everything you do near the end will be half-assed and just draining yourself. I started just like you: 5'8", 105 lbs, and I used a lot of information from the same book for when I first started. In 3 months, now I'm up to 120 lbs! Eat a lot of quality protein, but also a variety of good vegetables and fruit, or that protein will just pass through your body and be a waste of time.
>> Anonymous
>>82933
Good deal, that helped a lot. How long would you suggest training for each day, minimum or maximum?
>> Anonymous
>>83097
3 hours isn't too much, per say. i did something similiar and i lost a bunch of weight and gained muscle and most of my lifts nearly doubled in 3 months. i was lifting an hour to an hour and a half a day and running/jogging for an hour to and hour and a half a day, lifting 5 days a week and running 6 days a week

i was even doing the same full body split 5 days a week and i had no over training problems (squats, deadlifts, bench press mainly, those are the important ones)
>> Anonymous
>>83097
As a really skinny kid, over 45 minutes isn't recommended, imo.

You'd want to keep them short, multi join compound exercises and heavy, then back to feasting:p
>> Anonymous
>>83102
How many days a week?
>> Anonymous
Deadlift is a good exercise.

I'm guessing you're about as weak as me, so start deadlifting about 80 to 100 lbs.
>> Anonymous
Muscle need time to repair and grow after working out, the harder you train the more time they need, once a week for upper body and once a week for lower body is fine, try and keep workout <1 hour, have short rests between sets. If your trying to get bigger have 3,000+ cal a day. Do lower body as they are bigger muscles so more growth hormone is released to make them bigger which also effects your upper body growth rate. DO NOT train 6 days a week, every day is an organ day and they need rest too, drink 3 litres of water a day minimum, preferably 5 on workout days but if you drink too much you can thin out your blood too much. High weight low reps > low weight high reps for muscle growth. Take both creatine and beta ... something for fastest results, if you can only afford 1 then take the beta. Cheese and crackers are a surprisingly good way to get a balanced intake of carb fat and protein, don't waste your money on shakes
>> Anonymous
>>83259
I'll see if I can afford either of those... but I heard creatine can fuck you up if you take too much, what would be a good amount to take on average?

Since I've axed the idea of training 3hrs six days a week, what would be good sample workouts for me? I was going to go by Arnold's book but that advises you to train 6 days a week, since I guess the idea is that if you train a different muscle group each day while the others rest...

So, what would be the best approach workout wise, since I got the food part down I think, to achieving my goal?
>> Anonymous
>>83115
Truth in this. Deadlifting will cause your legs, back, and forearms to get big and strong.
>> Anonymous
For Breakfast, Cereal is anything from about 250-300 kcal. Oatmeal is about same but burns slower. Eggs is about same, but provides some nice vitsnmins. Toast is 200 kcal/slice, and muffin is about 250 kcal. all in all, i think your breakfast intake is about 500-600 kcal only.

You should be aiming for the big 1000 if you wanna bulk up. I'm not saying Bacon and Sausages, but a full english breakfast will bulk you up pretty quickly if you do away with the grease (george foreman anyone?) Breakfast is the most important meal, since you burn it for the rest of the day.

If you want a technique for eating a lot of breakfast in the morning, try eating a vegetable platter before bed, or if you have a strong bladder and a need to get up early, a litre of water. your stomach will expand to accomodate for all that stuff you swallowed and you will wake up hungrier than Wimpy on Tuesday.