Skinny confused noob seeks basics

[Chakra]

I've been browsing this forum for nearly an hour. It's all very daunting.

Anyhow, story is i'm a 6ft 136lb 21 year old male. I'm one of those skinny peaceful yoga types, but i've been weightlifting on and off for the past two years, but with absolutely no weight gain. I'd like to change that with your help.


Diet is what I find most confusing. As I understand it, protein is necessary for muscles, and carbs is necessary to fuel the body, but yet I hear talk of Insulin gain from carbs, and see other people's diets are mainly protein based. What type of diet should I undertake in order to gain muscle mass?


As for the actual exercises in weightlifting itself, I've done enough reading on that in the past to know what i'm doing....just not how to combine it with the correct diet for muscle gain. To this date i've kept to a fairly basic 3-meal diet.


Additionally, i've bought the supplement Creatine and have been using it for the past 2 weeks. I've definitely noticed an increase in my abilities to lift, but not in mass. Also, how does L-Glutamine aid Creatine? I hear faint whispers that it's necessary for some reason.


Your help is much appreciated, and may well change my life.

[zOaib]

dude 135lb and 6 ft , u need to eat bro and at this point u dont even need to count the calories ........ eat eat and eat ........ thats ll u gotta do first !

[mfenske]

The first step in my mind is to clearly define an attainable long and short term goal. What are yours? If you say you want to gain weight you won't. If you say you want to gain 10 pounds you can. I am interested in seeing what you currently eat in a day. Write everything down for a week. If you want to gain weight you need to consume more calories than you burn. I personally recommend AT LEAST 6 meals per day. At your height I would start with around 3,000 calories a day. I am sure opinions will differ on this but start with a ratio of 40% carbs (complex ones like brown rice, potatoes, oatmeal, yams, etc.), 40% protein (lean beef, chicken breasts, tuna in water, lean pork, whey, etc.), and finally 20% fats. If you find that you still aren't gaining weight with heavy (heavy is relative, don't try squatting 405 if you normally do 135) compound exercises like bench press, squat, and deadlift then try upping your caloric intake by say 500 calories a day for a few weeks. Observing a similar nutrient ratio (40/40/20). Then re-assess your progress. Keep in touch with us here at AR. You'll find if you're patient, honest, and polite the folks in here will just about bend over backwards to help you. Welcome to the board. Mark

[eacman65]

go 6 meals a day and just eat like a madman, go to the diet forum for more questions on that, you definetely need to get some whey protein, i suggest you get some made by optimum nutrition they have great prices, the most important thing though is that you eat.

[Chakra]

Thanks for the advice. Your info is very much appreciated.

My current diet is nothing spectacular, just 3 meals a day: muesli for brekkie, bacon sandwich for lunch and who knows what for dinner...curry, pizza, pasta, etc..

Fortunately i'm aware of what's good for protein and carbs (done enough chef work in my time), but just not when to eat it in relation to weight lifting. What is suggestable when preparing for and after a workout? Doesn't protein and carbos digested at the same time hinder the stomach in some way and wear you out?

Also, is there a difference to diet in days i'm doing lifting and not?

I've yet to break out the barbell, and unfortunately I don't have a bench press. However i've been doing 2 hour sessions every other day with an assortment of various exercises i've read up on with two 20lb dumbells. I find these to be my limit.


And i'm still dead curious about anything more I should know about creatine and L-glutamine... the creatine intake is just 5g before and after a session, and none on idle days. I've yet to crack open the glutamine. What's the info on this?

[nsa]

Right now you don't even need supplements, except for protein. Just check out the workout and diet foum and get your training and diet in check before anything.

[Testsubject]

Eat EVRYTHING, I mean EVRYTHING, junk or not, just eat it all and eat all day long. Judging by your height and weight Im guessing you have a fase metabolism, so I wouldnt be too worries about gaining fat. Just eat bro and youll gain.

[dalcowbag]

Eat EVRYTHING, I mean EVRYTHING, junk or not, just eat it all and eat all day long. Judging by your height and weight Im guessing you have a fase metabolism, so I wouldnt be too worries about gaining fat. Just eat bro and youll gain.

agree man, ,EAT EVERYTING YOU SEE and get some whey and dextrose. . .check out the diet forum stickys for some good diets

[Psychotron]

heh, here is my current diet.
http://inconsiderate.org/derek/diet3.htm

[eacman65]

thats not to bad of a diet