Hi, I've got a question.

I'm new to body building, saw your thread and thought it might be useful to me.
Anyways my goals are to gain more strength, thicker arms, gain weight, and maybe a 6-pack.
My goal atm is mainly to gain weight and gain more muscles.

Current stats:
5"9
145 lbs ( )
Age: 18

I do have access to the gym and I do have some dumbbells at home.
I started working out with the dumbbells (just the usual triceps exercise) about 2 weeks ago,
atm I do 3x Sets:
1x 15 reps
1x 15 reps
1x 20 reps

They are not that heavy, about 22 lbs. (I'm dutch so we use the metric system with KG and Meters)

And I started doing triceps exercises about one week ago.
3x 10 reps per arm
about 20 lbs

I do these reps about 4 times a week before I go to sleep.
Haven't been to the gym for a while since all my friends quit, but planning on starting to go there again when I've got an idea of what I want to do.(boring to go there for me)


But I'm having huge problems with gaining weight and also I don't notice any real difference in my muscle strength. (I thought I could do a bit more reps after training with these dumbbells for almost 3 weeks.)
We do have a big jar of whey protein powder for protein shakes at home. I could use the powder if you suggest me to.
I'm not planning on buying any other pills/powder to build my body at the moment. Maybe when I become a bit more 'muscular'.

So my questions:
- What would be a good balanced meal for me to gain weight? (Aiming for ~150-160 lbs, so thats roughly 20 more lbs than I weigh atm)
- What would be good exercises to train my abs, triceps, biceps, shoulders, etc? I mean the full package
- Any other tips would be welcome


Thanks in advance.



Ps; Excuse me for the crappy english, my native language is dutch

dirty bulk basically means you eat anything (very calorie rich) but you keep your macros somewhat in order (50c/30p/20f or something close)

clean bulk is tons of carbs in the early part of the day, no carbs at your 5th and 6th meals, no sugar, etc.

veel succes ermee ik ben ook eigenlijk net begonnen

I have a dilemma. I have an ectomorphic build. My muscles have gone to literal crap because of school and the horrible food they give us here(i study in england at a university) and i've been lax when going to the gym. Essentially i've shrivelled up. I'm really tall but underweight. I have a shoulder that comes out of the socket occasionally that i am meant to be doing physio for that sort of complicates things. Any suggestions on how to not only put on weight put make that weight muscle? Workouts, eating, shoulder fixing excercises O_O?

hey there -

considering you only have dumbbells - try this workout whenever you can't make it to the gym.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/planet14.htm


As far as diet goes -

Try this:

Eat at least 3,000 calories a day - with at least 50% from complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, bread, oatmeal, potatoes, etc.) and at least 200g of protein (meats, fish, dairy, eggs) and plenty of good fat (fish, oils, dairy, avocados, etc).


as far as exercises go for all the muscle groups:

go here: http://bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm

Two things.

First off, increase your diet - you need more calories + more carbohydrates + at least 200g protein + lots of good fat. (eat at least 3,000 cal a day)

If you have the ability to buy supplements, get Cytosport Cytogainer and drink two shakes a day mixed with fruit and milk - tastes absolutely amazing...and will bulk you up fast.

In addition, you will need to be working out ONE major muscle group per day, 5 days a week. Go nice and slow, squeeze the muscles with every set and take your time. The faster you work out, the more calories you burn, and we don't want you burning anything considering you are a hardgainer.

Do not do cardio.

Also, if you feel pain at the gym working out, stop the exercise - lower the weight, and go again. If you feel constant pain, change the angle that you are performing the exercise. If theres still pain, move onto another exercise.

Hey,

I hear most people here say 5x 5 repetition is the best way to make your muscle grow, but when i do that i dont feel nearly as tired as when i do 10-12 repetitions, how come?. It doesnt really feel like i have used my muscles as much as i could have but i am sure that i cant do more repetitions of the same weight.

Am i doing something wrong? ive tried 5x 5 for a few weeks but im back to my old program now, but on here people say its not as good.

This post was edited by SeaBas on Mar 19 2009 02:48pm

Okay. Thanks. I'll try to do this, but also going to do some strength training before i start this. It looks like i need it.

Thanks, just did my first set of that 18 minute dumbbell workout. My arms are all swollen up
And what do you suggest about they protein (whey) powder? Use it or don't use it?

always use protein supps...preferably before and after a workout.