Help for poolees wanting to gain weight

[KevinR90]

I know a lot of people post asking for advice on how to lose weight, and it makes me feel left out- just kidding. I just wanted to ask for advice on how to gain weight. I'm about 140 lbs, 5'11", and I've been wanting to gain weight ever since freshman year in highschool (i'm now a senior).

I work out some (3 days a week) however I've never really worked on eating healthy. When I played football (first 3 years of highschool) after workouts I would drink a weight gain drink- nothing with creatine or other such chemicals- it was basically just a drink with 1900 calories per serving.

What's some advice on how to gain weight? Hopefully this will help others out there who want to gain weight.

[Petz]

weigth gainer and heavy gym time.... oh and protein.

[Donut Brigade]

Eat more lean protein. For your 140 pounds you should be eating 100 grams of protein per day. Buy a big bag of powder protein and mix it with milk according to instructions. Figure out how many calories your body needs just to sustain it's weight without PT; if you plan on gaining one pound per week, add 500 calories to your diet each day (1 pound=3500 calories).

Lift weights 3 times per week, 3xmax sets, not low repetition/low weight, you want to build muscle.

Hopefully I was of some help.

[Brandon1]

I've got a workout to help you with mass. Which that should help you to gain weight as well. Also if you havent noticed I am a big fan of BSN products. So I would suggest CELLMASS and TRUEMASS. Both really work well for weight gain. Also I would try AXIS-HT. http://bodybuilding.com/store/bsn/bio.htm

Thats all of the BSN products. I get all my drinks, supplements, ect, ect, from that site.

[Echo_Four_Bravo]

Honestly, losing weight and gaining weight both come down to a simple formula. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you happen to be lifting heavy at the time, you're likely to gain good weight. If you're not, you'll gain bad weight.

It sounds like you're one of those people with high metabolism. You'll have to work every bit as hard to gain a pound as some of our larger friends have to work to lose one.

[Smitty Puffs]

Im the same way. I just eat a carton of eggs a day, work out, and drink a ton of milk. My lean muscle mass has increased ten fold sense I was a freshmen in high school. Ive gained only about 30 pounds in 3 years though.

[gnarkill04]

I'm in the same boat. Senior in high school, except I weight 130-132 and I'm 5'11". I've heard just eating a lot more protein shows a lot of difference so I'm going to be trying that soon.

[Petz]

this is odd.. I have an edit time cut-off... hey admin, this can be annoying ya know.

uh, yeah I should re-read/read completely before I answer questions..... well you seem to have a high metabolism... do you get plenty of sleep? do you do plenty of sports? are you always figiting? describe your habits a bit more..... smoker? anything so we might find out why you can't gain with an estimates 4000 calorie diet on weight gainer supliments..... seriously if you are burning close to that much, you are a fat womans worst enemy.

PM me with more details if you're still interested in hearing a half crazed Sgt's suggestions.

[kbs95125]

eggs, tuna, beef jerky, peanut butter, milk and a simple workout will do wonders...

[KevinR90]

this is odd.. I have an edit time cut-off... hey admin, this can be annoying ya know.

uh, yeah I should re-read/read completely before I answer questions..... well you seem to have a high metabolism... do you get plenty of sleep? do you do plenty of sports? are you always figiting? describe your habits a bit more..... smoker? anything so we might find out why you can't gain with an estimates 4000 calorie diet on weight gainer supliments..... seriously if you are burning close to that much, you are a fat womans worst enemy.

PM me with more details if you're still interested in hearing a half crazed Sgt's suggestions.

Well I don't smoke, haven't done a sport in about a year- do some kind of PT 3 times a week, don't figit, get anywhere between 6 and 8 hrs of sleep a night.

I think mainly I just have to start eating more protein and lifting more weights. Mostly my PT is just cardio, abs, and arms. I haven't done any heavy lifting such as Squatting, dead lifting, or other types in quite some time.

[benw2200]

So I would suggest CELLMASS and TRUEMASS. Both really work well for weight gain.

I've used Cellmass as well and was pretty pleased with it. Don't be afraid to try out "chemicals", Creatine can work wonders when combined with the right diet, the right amount of protein, and more importantly: consistant, heavy lifting. Just so you know, creatine isn't magic. It only gives you the ability to get more out of your workout- you're responsible for pushing yourself and getting that extra few reps or few pounds. You'll definitely gain weight if you start using it, but a lot of that will be water retention in your muscles, which you will lose when you go off it. When I used it for the first time I went from 155 lbs to about 170, then went back down to about 163. Another note about creatine, make sure you're drinking plenty of water, especially if you're running or doing anything else where you sweat a lot. My advice would be: if you're not ****ing clear, go drink some more. Good luck with your routine.

[Phantom Blooper]

Damn,all these eggs and tuna....you all are gonna be some stinky rascals.

Just have a seven course meal....a six pack and a Big Mac for each meal and you will gain weight!:beer:

:evilgrin:

[Petz]

that's for civilians!!! haha

[NeedSomePT]

Just stick with real food, you'd be surprised at how far you can go (at a tiny fraction of the cost of using supplements)

[DoOrDoNot20]

Don't listen to the 3 sets of max mumbo jumbo!

1-6 reps mainly strength gain with some muscle mass and virtually no endurance.
7-12 reps mainly muscle mass gain with some strength gain and some endurance gain.
12+ reps mainly endurance gain with a little muscle gain and virtually no strenth.

Some good tips in this thread; if you are looking to gain weight low fat chocolate milk works wonders right before bed after a hard workout; it has a premium mix of carbs and protein.

[Ub3rmike]

Back in August 15th when I first depped in, I was one of those archetypal stick Asians weighing in at 137 pounds at 6'0". My recruiter was genuinely concerned about my weight and took me out to Mcdonalds and Carls Jr. before hitting MEPS. I've gained about 20 pounds and barely qualify for what the UFC would consider welterweight (155-157 right now), and this is just from increasing my calorie intake while still adhering to rigorous workout schedules every week.

Weight gain is pretty important, if you're one of those people who had to just cut a serious amount of weight too quickly, or you're just a featherweight from the onset, chances are you'll be more suseptible to sickness. (Friend who lost 30 pounds caught pneumonia at MCRD-SD)

Honestly, if you aren't eating crap right now, then just eat more of it. Obviously a little more protien will do good, but only if you're actually PTing regularly and intensely. Otherwise you'll end up gaining a bunch of dead weight. Try doing pull ups with a heavy vest or lat belt and you'll see what I mean.

[Petz]

well, you should cut back on cardio.... just don't stop it... you should do more anaerobic exercise and less aerobic ... this should help to build mass, and make that 8-10 hours of sleep a night... also get a personal trainer for once a week for a month... just so he can help you get your routine down, then dump the guy unless you need a spotter and continue down the path he sent you. Semper Exploit!






Well I don't smoke, haven't done a sport in about a year- do some kind of PT 3 times a week, don't figit, get anywhere between 6 and 8 hrs of sleep a night.

I think mainly I just have to start eating more protein and lifting more weights. Mostly my PT is just cardio, abs, and arms. I haven't done any heavy lifting such as Squatting, dead lifting, or other types in quite some time.

[KevinR90]

well I've started lifting weights a lot more- did Squats and leg press for first time in about a year today- I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.:D

[Petz]

don't quit just 'cause it hurts man... doing it again will make the pain go away, I promise you! just do it with less weight. then streach a lot! oh and you should drink a gallon of water before you goto bed, you muscles are 70% water!!! or is that your body and your muscles are like 90%???? either way, more water means more power and less pain.



well I've started lifting weights a lot more- did Squats and leg press for first time in about a year today- I'm gonna feel it tomorrow.:D

[KevinR90]

ha! I never said I quit b/c It hurt- I'm just disappointed with myself. I wish I had kept lifting throughout the past year. I use to be able to Squat 365lbs (you wouldn't think so b/c i'm kinda small) and now I'm back at 135lbs.

I did arms today too, so i'm getting back on track.

[DoOrDoNot20]

Just remember there aren't any weights at boot camp!

[kbs95125]

Just remember there aren't any weights at boot camp!

Yes there are. You probably just won't use them.

Sometimes before your final PFT your DI may or may not bring in some stuff to help your platoon better prepare yourself or those who aren't doing so well. We had an inclined bench brought in for crunches before our final PFT. Every squadbay should have a pull up bar that you can almost always use during your square away time, or like my platoon had to, everytime you had to went to use the head after lights out... let a DI catch you not doing your pull ups....

I used to do inclined pull ups when I had a bottom rack and I couldn't sleep. Push ups behind your rack after lights....


You can also use jugs of cleaning solution as free weights. Improvise poolees.

[SGT7477]

Damn,all these eggs and tuna....you all are gonna be some stinky rascals.

Just have a seven course meal....a six pack and a Big Mac for each meal and you will gain weight!:beer:

:evilgrin:
Could very well be a stinky arse,lmfao.:evilgrin:

[Abyss]

I am 5' 9" and I weigh 140 lbs. Before football I was 120 lbs. After the season was over I weighed 130. I began to take protein and weightlift everyday. People are always calling me skinny bastard because of how small I am. I worked out religiously and now I am at 140. I seem to be leveling off. I can't seem to gain or loose any weight. Even with track practice (running a lot everyday) I still can't seem to gain any leg muscle.

[SGT7477]

Ahh heavy lifting at the gym no pain no gain.

[KevinR90]

I should probably start deadlifting again too- though for some reason most people don't like to do that. From what I've read the core lifting exercizes to complete are Squatting, dead lifting, and benching.

[benw2200]

Don't listen to the 3 sets of max mumbo jumbo!

1-6 reps mainly strength gain with some muscle mass and virtually no endurance.
7-12 reps mainly muscle mass gain with some strength gain and some endurance gain.
12+ reps mainly endurance gain with a little muscle gain and virtually no strenth.

I'm a bit confused about this..

How can "muscle mass" gains be classified seperately from "muscle strength" gains? I always thought that bigger muscles = more strength. I have yet to meet a person with a small upper body that can bench a lot- or for that matter, a person with a lot of muscle mass who wasn't strong.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it just makes sense to me that size gains and strength gains would go hand in hand..

[fs19]

I'm a bit confused about this..

How can "muscle mass" gains be classified seperately from "muscle strength" gains? I always thought that bigger muscles = more strength. I have yet to meet a person with a small upper body that can bench a lot- or for that matter, a person with a lot of muscle mass who wasn't strong.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it just makes sense to me that size gains and strength gains would go hand in hand..

I'm only talking from my own experience here so this could be completely wrong...

I belive that it is possible to get alot stonger but not alot bigger by increasing the density of the muscle mass. I know that for me at least, doing [alot of] pullups has greatly increased my upper body strenth, and while I have gotten bigger, the most noticable difference is how "hard" my muscles have gotten. I also think it it possible to put on alot of mass but not gain as much strength because the muscle fibers are not dense.

This could be completely wrong and if it is someone please set me straight, like I said this is only my experience.

[Petz]

you're kinda right but you're completely wrong.

strength is from low reps high percentage of max weight
endurance is high reps low percentage of max weight

the denser you are the more endurance you have, the bigger you are the stronger you are.

now, you can't have endurance and strenght at the same time... well not loads of it anyway, you have to choose... for boot camp you will train for endurance and the amount of strength to do 20 pull-ups and 100 crunches and 18min 3 mile... after that it's all endurance.... so focus on that.

also for you guys who platou... seek a personal trainer for a few weeks... they'll help you out!!!

and if you work out a lot and still can't gain, then you are burning more than you are taking in... beef up your carb intake!!!! keep it healthy or do what I do, eat 5 double cheese burgers from the dollar menu and once digested go hit the gym.... it's great trash guys! now go do it!


I'm only talking from my own experience here so this could be completely wrong...

I belive that it is possible to get alot stonger but not alot bigger by increasing the density of the muscle mass. I know that for me at least, doing [alot of] pullups has greatly increased my upper body strenth, and while I have gotten bigger, the most noticable difference is how "hard" my muscles have gotten. I also think it it possible to put on alot of mass but not gain as much strength because the muscle fibers are not dense.

This could be completely wrong and if it is someone please set me straight, like I said this is only my experience.

[FeMzZ]

- buy a protein shake. get vanilla so you can mix it.
- beef jerkey is KING......its pretty much kind of a meal and the protein is high
- boiled eggs....always have boiled eggs in my fridge just in case i want a snack sometime, instead of having junk i have something high in protein
- workout...do tons of pushups

when i first enlisted back on December 31, 2007 i was lacking in my pushups.....i started putting tons of protein into my body and now i can usually bust out about 300 a night depending on how many i did the night before and how much time i have. I also put on about 15lbs....im sure of muscle because i am even more tone than i was before

[phantasm]

I am 5' 9" and I weigh 140 lbs. Before football I was 120 lbs. After the season was over I weighed 130. I began to take protein and weightlift everyday. People are always calling me skinny bastard because of how small I am. I worked out religiously and now I am at 140. I seem to be leveling off. I can't seem to gain or loose any weight. Even with track practice (running a lot everyday) I still can't seem to gain any leg muscle.

I'm the opposite of you. I'm 5'9" and 179 as of this morning. Started at 185 and have been dropping. I need to run alot more and trim this gut off. Beer is good, but bad for the belly. Fortunately, I've put the majority of my hard drinking behind me (Public Service Announcement: If your under 21 - DONT DRINK).