For some reason I can't seem to gain weight

[rms4191]

I know this may sound idiotic but I cannot seem to gain weight. This has been going on for a long time. I'm 6 foot and 170 pounds with about 7 percent body fat, pound for pound I'm very strong and am more than able to lift (and more often than not, out lift) with my gym rat buddies who are much larger than me. Im up to squatting 405, benching 245, and lifting daily from the routines guidelined in "the body building encyclopedia," and eat in upwards of 4000 calories a day. I've cut down on my post-lift cardio sessions and have focused more on heavy lifts with lower reps. Over the time i've grown more defined and stronger but cannot seem to actually get bigger. This has gone on for about a year. I'm not some idiot newbie looking for an "instant fix," because i know those don't exist, but any advice would be appreciated. Thank you

[kronik420]

eat more food..

[cgi]

The answer is eat more and cut out all of your cardio. If 4000 calories isn't doing it than do 4500 or 5000. If 6 meals a day do 7, 8, 9 as much as it takes until you gain wait.

[rms4191]

What kind of diet would you suggest? Or any different lifting ideas to try out?

[cgi]

No special diet. Care to post your macros? Do you know what your macros are? If you don't then that would explain why you're not gaining weight because you don't know how to eat. Just eat more meals than you are now. Its really simple, up your food.

[rms4191]

I was staying very close to 100grams of fat, 350 grams of carbs, and 200 grams of protein, which adds up to 3000 calories for my daily intake. (I just noticed I accidentally said 4000 calories in my post.) Increasing my caloric intake by consuming more fats and proteins would indeed be the best approach, agreed. But I'm wondering what some good numbers would be for bulking up or if I should just play around through trial and error to find what works best. I'm 22 years old, 170 pounds, 6foot, 7 percent body fat, and extremely active

[marcus300]

Eat more food and train less often but more intense

[ppwc1985]

Eat more food and train less often but more intense

^^^^ this, if you that active train like Marcus said and eat alot more. Try some weight gainer shakes to add to your calories. Maybe two servings of whey with a cup of oats ground up.

[cgi]

I would actually suggest you up your catbs a lot more. Carbs are your friend.

[Giggle]

Seems to me your lower reps have helped with your strength - but have you tried more of a typical bodybuilders rep scheme? Maybe try slightly higher reps 8 - 12 which may help you for hypertrophy.

Caveat - everybody's different and responds differently. For a 22 yo - you are doing great! Don't give up, it's just harder to fill out when you're tall. But you'll be impressive when you do!!

[rms4191]

Any specific weight gainer in mind? And about how many carbs would you suggest? -I just want to say thank you guys for your help. Body building is a fairly new concept for me and everyday I'm finding out exactly how vastly different it is from the training and nutrition I've grown accustomed to from wrestling and boxing since a young age.

[rms4191]

Seems to me your lower reps have helped with your strength - but have you tried more of a typical bodybuilders rep scheme? Maybe try slightly higher reps 8 - 12 which may help you for hypertrophy.

Caveat - everybody's different and responds differently. For a 22 yo - you are doing great! Don't give up, it's just harder to fill out when you're tall. But you'll be impressive when you do!!

I like that idea, I'll be sure to add that to my routine. Thank you

[ppwc1985]

I use masstech, but it's expensive. But it's also 1800 calories if mixed in milk and I split the serving. I use it for my pwo shake. Some ppl don't like shakes but I have always used them and they work for me.

[Rusty11]

Hopefully, you're not going to the gym 6 days a week. Check out the HIT routine that marcus posted. It's a great workout. Size will definitely come.

[Brett N]

Just my opinion.

Make sure to find an accurate way to track exactly what you are eating. I user a smart phone app called myfitnesspal. Don't lie when you enter numbers, get a scale and be exact. Follow your normal routine of eating and if you like the way your workout makes you feel I would keep doing it.

After 7 days of tracking your macros, add about 40 grams to your carbs, 40 grams to your proteins and about 20 grams to your fat (good fat though, not bad) This will add 500 calories a day. See how that treats you for 7 days and then repeat.

Every week, reevaluate where you are at. You will know if you are gaining too fast or not enough. When you are at the rate you want to be, level off the calories. If you feel you are getting a little pudgey , maybe subtract 250 calories. Doens't seem like this will happen very easily though.

This could mean eating an extra omelette a day or drinking a shake. Whatever you choose.

Edit - By the way, those numbers are great for your body weight. Very impressive. I would be very proud of lifting numbers like that. What you are doing seems to be working fairly good for you so far.

[johnC80]

GOMAD: How to Gain 25lbs in 25 Days with Squats & Milk | StrongLifts StrongLifts

[OzBoi]

Hopefully, you're not going to the gym 6 days a week. Check out the HIT routine that marcus posted. It's a great workout. Size will definitely come.

Hey Rusty, could you paste a link to this HIT routine? I'm not sure how to go about finding it... Nooblife! Lol
Cheers
J

[Brett N]

@ OzBoi, pretty sure this is the one he was talking of.

http://forums.steroid.com/lifting-te...-training.html

[crazy mike]

Eat more food and train less often but more intense

^^ This might help with more weight and size. However you are young and your body is just a bit immature to filling out. Let tell you about strength. Some people are genetically strong and some are genetically weak. Just the same for size and shape in bodybuilding. There are those who lift less and just grow to look awesome much quicker then the average. Some people are fast runners, naturally gifted. My point is sometimes it's genetics and we work with it as we train, eat and mature. Be patient.

I develop nicely in shape and definition but never real big. But at my best competitive look I was lifting far less then my competition. Never did I lift what we think of as heavy weight. I seldom can brag about my lifts. But at the same time I could stand next to some good competition. A long time ago ....crazy mike

Too young and immature (body) for Tren

[Jayprice]

Get use to eating all the time. I'm figuring that out! You won't be hungry ever. I'll even try to eat tablespoons of peanut butter between meals. I consider myself to be a hard gainer but I'm putting on some weight now.

No cardio! Unless you do start putting on fat.

[Rusty11]

@ OzBoi, pretty sure this is the one he was talking of.

http://forums.steroid.com/lifting-te...-training.html

Yes. That's the one. It's very effective.

Regarding GOMAD....it's hard to believe that doing this for a month would cause you to gain 25 # and only 2% bf.

[baseline_9]

Track your macros, weight, cardio calories and training calories burned every day for 2 weeks and report back

[ObviousDecoy]

I'm going to agree with most people have said here. Meticulously track what you eat and use a scale if you aren't sure about portions. I've found that most people who can't seem to gain or lose weight are vastly off in their calorie estimates.

[johnC80]

Regarding GOMAD....it's hard to believe that doing this for a month would cause you to gain 25 # and only 2% bf.

for a beginner who doesn't know how to eat properly....it will work. 1 gallon of whole fat milk is 2400 calories. Maybe they will gain more fat than 2%, but less likely for an ectomorph who has never been able to put on weight.

[crazy mike]

I am an ecto. I am a hard gainer and always was. For my first two years I drank milk. I would be thirsty as all get-out and I would say to myself. "Drink that 6-8oz. of milk first and then you can have anything you want to quench my thirst. This I did all the time. As I trained and grew I gained weight. I didn't gain BF % to speak of. I stayed lean because of my metabolism.

So I promote milk and eggs and more milk and protein shakes. Just watch you BF% and if you are like me or what you say you will steady gain. This is at the beginners level. ...crazy mike

[rms4191]

I've been tracking my macros, adding another 2000 calories and have made amazing gains. Added 10 pounds of weight, my squat is up to 495 now (as of today) and though I haven't maxed on bench I'm now able to do sets of 245 (which used to be my max.) I work at a seafood restaurant so I've been eating a lot of fish and chicken for protein, peanut butter for fat, and bought a carb mix that I've added for during and after work outs, and Ive gotten a weight gainer shake I drink regularly. So far ive been seeing great results in size and definition and none of the weight gained seems to be fat or make me look bloated. Thank you guys

[rms4191]

Brett I havent been in the fourm in a while and just saw your post, but I'll try that routine and let you know how it works for me. Thanks