Skinny and depressed (guy)

[CashMoney123]

Hey guys i am new to this site and i am looking for some help. I just purchased a gym membership and i am looking to make some fast gains quick. I have never really worked out much, a little weight lifting in school P.E but nothing serious. I am 5'8/125/16y/o and i have long lanky arms. I want to begin a serious workout/diet plan so i can pack on the pounds and not be skelator for graduation. Being skinny and noticing all my friends gaining weight, getting girls has got me pretty depressed, i have tried going to the gym with my friends but none of them had started out as skinny as me and none of them want to workout with a skinny bitch who cant even bench press. I have no idea how long i should be working out or what muscles to workout together, i would really appreciate it if someone could help me out and show me a diet plan and good workout plan. Oh yea, i also smoke weed, (no cigarettes) but i have been clean for a couple days now preparing for my new workout .. just wondering if that can have any affect on it

Hopefully someone can help and get me on to the right track, thanks Jeff

[CashMoney123]

Annnyone?

[domeyeahaigh]

Hey man couple of things. Doing weed is not tolerated here. No illicit discussion, except steroids . Marijuana is a schedule I DRUG not federally recognized for any medicinal benefit whatsoever...

with that being said... fast gains? you are 16 years old man. you are going to keep growing for a good amount of time.

first things first, just get in the habit of going to the gym. people can take a lot of time out and write up the proper routine but if you have no dedication than what a waste of time. stick around the board and keep posting, you will get big with information.

a good book is the Arnold Schwarzenegger "Encyclopedia of Modern Body Building" read this and that will get you on your way. .

one last thing, if your friend can deadlift 300 pounds, but not with proper form - your friend can not deadlift 300 pounds.

i have seen people spend months tinkering their squat technique, with hardly any weight - once you get your technique perfect - your gains will begin skyrocketing...

so if you see your friends getting big and throwing weights up and around, poppin prohormones and drinkin a lot of alcohol - seek the proper path

[jypoll]

first thing you need to do is create a proper diet.

go to the dieting section and read all the stickies

find out your TDEE and add upto 500kcals

create a diet comprised of 40%protein/40%carbs/20%fat by kcals
eat egg whites, whey, lean meat, fish(salmon is best) broccoli (as much as you can eat) brown rice and oats

once you get that figured out then you can work on figuring out your lifting program.
for a beginner i would suggest compound lifts, squat, bench, and deadlift are a great start.
I would stay away from heavy weights and work soley on technique with low weights for the first couple weeks.

i would start with fullbody workout, easily achieved by any of the 3 lifts i mentioned(if done properly)
as you become more experienced (in a couple months) i would switch to upper body and lower body workouts
then after you really start to get familiar with your body you can incorporate all kinds of different techniques.

[Josepejoe]

Cash- I am 5'8"- used to be 120-125 lbs.

I am now 159lbs- in good shape.

I know how you feel. It's not easy. Nothing is going to change in 2/3 months.
You can see significant changes in 6 mos- and
Be a whole new you in 8-12 months.

That's the reality. If you are interested, I can tell you how (what I did).

[CashMoney123]

Cash- I am 5'8"- used to be 120-125 lbs.

I am now 159lbs- in good shape.

I know how you feel. It's not easy. Nothing is going to change in 2/3 months.
You can see significant changes in 6 mos- and
Be a whole new you in 8-12 months.

That's the reality. If you are interested, I can tell you how (what I did).

sure what did you do?

[Stosh_112]

Stick with the multi-movement lifts, such as Squats, Deads, Presses, Rows. Meaning they work more than one muscle when performing the lifts. Start out light to to med in weight with med to high reps to get ur muscles, tendons and joints used to the movements. Say about 2-3 months. Then step it up with heavier wieghts with lower reps. Eat like an animal. At ur age eat anything u want as long as u get 2g of protein per lb of body weight. Stay away from the weed, it lowers testosterone and makes ya lazy. Take before pics that way u have something to look forward to when u take progress pics and see ur new growth. It kinda motivates ya to make ur next pic look more muscular. And if ur friends dont wanna lift with ya, then ****em. Theyre not true friends. Read up on diff diets and lifting regimens and i bet by the time u graduate ull have a decent 20 lbs of muscle to show off when ur ****in that hot prom date!!!! Good luck bro and stay hungry!

[Big Balta]

Doing weed is not tolerated here. No illicit discussion, except steroids. Marijuana is a schedule I DRUG not federally recognized for any medicinal benefit whatsoever...

That's pretty ****in stupid that you can discuss steroids but not weed. Steroids are 100000x more dangerous and harmful than weed. You can abuse weed and live to be 80. You can't abuse steroids and live to be 40. This should be changed, especially when the question is in context with workout/nutrition related discussions. I don't know, but these kinds of STUPID ASS RULES really piss me off. And yeah I know someone will be the wise-ass to tell me that I don't have to come on here and post but I just had to say it and keep it really real, otherwise I'd be a hypocrite.

Ok... now that I got that out of my system...
You wont stay at 120 lbs for the rest of your life, trust me. At this age, or any for the matter, there is nothing you can do that is safe that will get you a faster increase in muscle. Time is your friend. Use it to train, eat, an sleep. Nobody can give you a full rundown on everything you need to do. You will naturally put on muscle by just growing up. You'll look a lot different 3-4 years from now than you would imagine. I had friends in high school that were twigs, even when they graduated, and they put on at least 30-40 lbs since they graduated and they grew more too.

Also, don't make bodybuilding your life. You will never be the biggest or baddest. And the biggest and baddest guy you see will be dead soon anyways. When you get into the whole bodybuilding thing you will often times feel smaller and weaker than the guy who doesn't even work out. Why? It's all mental. When is it ever enough? I was the happiest ever the first 3 months I started seriously working out. Now, I'm just trying my hardest to maintain what I got and I don't feel that great doing it either. It's like the thing with buying a big house. Once you have it, you want an even bigger house. And people can tell you all day that your house is big enough, but inside you know it isn't.

[Conrad0032]

Weed should definitely be dropped 100% if you plan on being a serious lifter. It gives you a lazy personality and drains your body the next day preventing you from giving it your all in the gym. Furthermore, depression is all mental if you ask me, you just need to stop telling yourself your depressed and do something about the things your not happy about, nothing will be handed to you. I know I might get crap from people saying depression is a mental state and not a "disease" (kind of like ADHD... BS), but that's my philosophy.

As far as getting bigger: your 16 years old! You have so much potential to grow and be stronger now! I started off benching 95lbs, deadlifting 135ish and squatting like 115, in three and a half years I got that to 290, 545, and 480; not to mention I learned everything with youtube videos and forums haha. Keep to the basics when you first start. Do Squats, Deadlifts, bench press dips, pull ups, rows, bicep curls, snatch, clean and jerk, military press. You can use dumbbells for the presses as well. Be sure you learn the form for all these movements. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night, preferably 9 especially since you're lifting and your only 16 so you need extra sleep for your growth.

Get your diet in check. That means no more McDonalds everyday, no more cheetos when you got the munchies, no more binge drinking every weekend. It'll happen from time to time that you let yourself go, forget about it and get back on track. Check out the stickies in the dieting section and use those. Get yourself some potatoes (sweet and normal), oatmeal, chicken, beef, fruits, vegetables, milk, etc. Remember if you can't kill it, pick it, or grow it, don't eat it haha. A simple rule of thumb.

Furthermore, you will not get very far in 3 months, try 12...24...48 months. Then you just might be closer to where you want to be. If you truly work your ass off you can get to a good physique by the time you're 18 and ready for graduation (assuming you're a sophomore, going to be a junior). Btw, thought the youngest age for these boards was 18 haha :P but whatever.

Feel free to pm me with questions and what not as I'm a senior in high school right now and can help you out. Not being cocky haha, just I think someone in high school can best relate with another high schooler when it comes to giving up dirnking/smoking/w/e to get big and strong. I started lifting freshman year of high school. Good luck man!

[mg2336]

as a beginner when it comes to lifting always have good form the amount of weight you lift shouldnt be a concern until you put on some size and get older

[CashMoney123]

Hey guys you have helped me a lot and I have put your words into action! Eating right and like a horse, consuming almost 3500 per day I feel better and slowly starting to gain some weight. I am going to keep posting around the forum and gaining some body building knoladge! Thanks a ton!

[Gaspari1255]

That's pretty ****in stupid that you can discuss steroids but not weed. Steroids are 100000x more dangerous and harmful than weed. You can abuse weed and live to be 80. You can't abuse steroids and live to be 40. This should be changed, especially when the question is in context with workout/nutrition related discussions. I don't know, but these kinds of STUPID ASS RULES really piss me off. And yeah I know someone will be the wise-ass to tell me that I don't have to come on here and post but I just had to say it and keep it really real, otherwise I'd be a hypocrite.

Ok... now that I got that out of my system...
You wont stay at 120 lbs for the rest of your life, trust me. At this age, or any for the matter, there is nothing you can do that is safe that will get you a faster increase in muscle. Time is your friend. Use it to train, eat, an sleep. Nobody can give you a full rundown on everything you need to do. You will naturally put on muscle by just growing up. You'll look a lot different 3-4 years from now than you would imagine. I had friends in high school that were twigs, even when they graduated, and they put on at least 30-40 lbs since they graduated and they grew more too.

Also, don't make bodybuilding your life. You will never be the biggest or baddest. And the biggest and baddest guy you see will be dead soon anyways. When you get into the whole bodybuilding thing you will often times feel smaller and weaker than the guy who doesn't even work out. Why? It's all mental. When is it ever enough? I was the happiest ever the first 3 months I started seriously working out. Now, I'm just trying my hardest to maintain what I got and I don't feel that great doing it either. It's like the thing with buying a big house. Once you have it, you want an even bigger house. And people can tell you all day that your house is big enough, but inside you know it isn't.

Actually, it's not stupid. I would think that the whole point the AR mods are trying to make is that no rec. drug talk is acceptable, because a simple "I smoke weed here and there" will quickly turn into another member ranting and raving about his cocaine addiction. Within days later, I'd bet my bottom dollar that we would see a thread in the lounge entitled: "Does coke really affect my gains?" Then some idiot would ask if Coke and Tren is a good idea and if the nose bleeds would double. AR needs to keep order here some how. Disallowing the little problems saves them the trouble of dealing with the bigger issues. Just my 2 cents

[Simon1972]

1. smoking weed gives you depression- proven fact- STOP IT.

2. free weights are best, but, when you are skinny like i was- with the lack of supporting core muscle you'd be best with machine weights for any movement that requires you to stand up. eg- squats are best done on a leg press instead - not the same but similar movement- until you get more muscle- for deadlifts- use machine rows instead etc. until you develop enough muscle- otherwise you run a real risk of injury.

3. diet is very important-increase intake- but dont go nuts and eat fats- carbs and protein if under-utilised will covert to fat anyway, fat just loads up your frame with fat- fat =ugly = no chicks. remember kfc, mcdonalds means ugly fat chicks wont even bother with you.

4. do a 3 day routine- ectomorphs take more time to recover so you will need to rest more- focus on light weights that you can push at 8-10 reps per set - do 3 sets of each. you can find a basic routine online- stick to it for 5 weeks and have another routine ready to go, or change the machine you are using for that muscle group. this will shock your muscle into new growth.

i have a mate that stays away from certain machines or excersices because "it doesnt feel good/right" , sometimes they are the best- if it doesnt feel right and you are using good form- it means your muscle isnt used to it and that excecise after a few weeks will respond and grow. you will learn to love the pain of muscle growth. pain after 24 hrs = muscle growing -smile when this happens, it means you are making a change.

good looking bodies are a result of the owner maintaining it with good food and excersise. one day you will be 40 and every other dude will be fat with belts that wont buckle- do this right and you will be laughing picking up 20 year olds!

[JamesGycle]

Well that's interesting.. I donno what I can really say about it though.

[JamesGycle]

There's so many ways to go about this im not sure where to start

[Arcânn]

I feel your pain more than you realize. At 17, I was 6'2 and 145 pounds. When I started lifting at 22, I was 150 pounds. I'm one of those people who loses weight, rather than gain it, if I let myself go. Being skinny runs on both sides of the family. At ~208 pounds, I'm the biggest person on both sides of my family until you start getting to 2nd cousins. Maybe half of those are my size or bigger. And I know I'm not gonna "gain it all when I hit 30" because it hasn't happened to anyone else in my family. If anything, they all got skinnier after 30.

When you're first starting out, I personally think it's best to start out simple, then when you get comfortable with things, gain more knowledge. There's a LOT of information out there (I've been at it for 6 years and I'm still learning new stuff) and if you try to take it all in at once, you'll drive yourself crazy. At least you're starting much earlier than I did and starting at a time when you can really make a lot of gains very quickly if you play your cards right. And you came to the right place to learn. I've only been here a few months and I've learned more here than I have the other 5.5 years of training combined.

At first, I would say stick to the big 3 basics: Train hard, eat a lot of food (and more protein than you normally would), and get a lot of rest. It gets more complicated the further you get, but for the first month or two, I would just stick to doing that. And try to keep it as clean as possible, but at the beginning stages, it's not necessary to try to eat like a pro bodybuilder. If you wanna eat some pizza one day, eat some pizza, but don't make that the staple of your diet. Keep it clean as reasonably possible. You can worry about counting macros after you get comfortable in the gym. Would it help early on? Sure, but I don't think you need to overload yourself with information before you get the basics down. It wouldn't hurt to calculate your TDEE and then add 200 -300 calories to that. There's a sticky thread in this forum to help out with that. Or you can google "TDEE Calculator" and I think the first result (tdeecalculator.net or something like that) is a really good one to use.

Find a training routine that works FOR YOU. I would suggest training 4-5 days a week, but different people will tell you different things because different things work for different people. I like to split all my muscle groups into 3 days. Anything else drives me insane. Some people prefer to do full body workouts, some prefer to split their muscle groups into 5 different days. I personally know one guy who split his routine into 7-8 days and worked every muscle group only once every...10 days or so? And he was one of the most impressive guys I've every personally seen...but not everyone can get away with that. In fact, I think it's safe to say most people couldn't.

Your big 3 exercises are going to be bench press, squats, and deadlifts. But I think it's important to work EVERY muscle group into your routine, no matter what stage of the game you're in.

Focus on form first before worrying about weight. Good form with lower weight will yield more results than shitty form with high weight.


And one last thing. When it comes to advice about gaining weight, don't listen to those fat dumbasses in your everyday life who say "if you wanna gain weight, you need to eat more junk food". That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard, but most people outside of the gym actually believe that shit. If you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight. The type of weight you gain will depend on what kind of food you eat. If you wanna look like those fat-asses who do nothing but eat donuts, smoke cigarettes on their porch, and drink all day while watching judge judy, then sure, eat all the junk food. But if they knew what the hell they were talking about, they would look like they knew a thing or two. If you're anything like me, I'm sure you get those comments every week which is why I say this.

[Chrisp83TRT]

Compound lifts and eat like a man .

Clean food ( have to eat more to gain more weight
Good form with compound lifts ( progressive over load and rep ranges for mass gains )
Sleep is essential for recovery

Train hard and eat clean and big and you will go places over time.
Nothing is quick and easy. You are young so be patient.
Just be dedicated and eat man and you’ll be okay.
You are also in an ark ward phase in your life. It’s normal .

Make good decisions and be you. Don’t be a follower. Lead and people will follow.
You got this bro!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kay kay]

Cannabis will not impair your workouts in any way unless it stops you from performing at 100%.

The key things are as follows IMHO:
Eat “well” (research!), and make sure to eat ENOUGH. If you aren’t gaining weight over 10 days, increase your calories! Don’t estimate your food intake if you’re having trouble growing, counting is the only way to be SURE.
Consistency is key! Doing the right things repeatedly day in day out will get you to your goals. It’s a marathon not a sprint!

I started out at 6 ft 155lb buddy I’ve been there. I just finished my last bulk at 233lb. If I can do it you can too, I was uncoordinated and physically quite pathetic when i started. I couldn’t even bench 10lb per side, or 65lb total.