Weight gaining

[saugus001]

yeah i need some tips on how to gain weight, I'm 17 and 6'1 and i only weigh 150 pounds.I have a really fast metabolism. I've tried to gain weight before but have had no real results.So yeah any help would be awesome. Thanks

[bigv123]

Tip #1 - read every single thread in this sub-forum (Nutrition)...seriously.

Come back in a couple days when you're done and see if you have some more specific questions and perhaps an inkling of some real data to go on.

V

[thatguy2695]

I have some experience here I am also 17 y/o by the way. I'm a wrestler and last season I weighed barely 160 and I was getting kinda scrawny. In less than a year I have gained 20 pounds and am 8-9% body fat.

One thing you need to do is workout yes this will increase your metabolism a bit but your body will now want to do something with the food you eat. Second you need to eat more. [good foods] but yeah there is alot of great info on the site as bigV said.

[usbcable]

Looks like an ectomorph to me.

Find how many calorie you need, add 50% more every 5days. That's madness I know, but it works fast as hell.

[christoph83]

Map out your current intake for us. You also need to be up to 2g of protien per lb. of your body weight, no more then 50g in an hour. If your not always full your not eating enough. Mind you this doesn't mean go out for fast food food. Protien shakes, chicken breast, tuna, buffalo.... Buffalo is extremely lean and packed full of protien.

[yhlkhjkn]

i gained like 30 pounds of muscle in a half of a year just from working out and drinking very large milk shakes

[thatguy2695]

no more then 50g in an hour

Never heard that before can your body not absorb it all. Big v? you know anything about what christoph83 is talking about

[scskowron]

i gained like 30 pounds of muscle in a half of a year just from working out and drinking very large milk shakes

No, you gained 30 pounds of fat with a little bit of muscle.

Do you really think that advice is even remotely useful to this guy?

[yhlkhjkn]

no it was definetly 30 pounds of pure muscle
i dont have any fat on me
and i think that it is rather useful information
drinking milkshakes is helpful

[thatguy2695]

in half a year? how old are you if your still in the teens you need to account for growth and also if your doing heavy lifting your bones getting larger/denser for the added stress. you didn't gain 30 pounds of pure muscle in half year.

[yhlkhjkn]

im 14 but i didnt know that your bones grew too
i did gain a lot of muscle but i guess it could have partially been from the bone thing

[yhlkhjkn]

when i said bones grew i meant thicker
i knew that they grew the long ways
im not a dumb kid

[thatguy2695]

see first your growing up but also your frame is wideing and the testosterone in your body at 14 isn't enough to make you gain a huge amount of muscle. Roids maybe... :)

Keep training bud.

I gained 20 pounds in a year and remained >9% body fat but at least 10 of that had to be bone mass not getting much taller but all the bones widening.

[yhlkhjkn]

im 15
i didnt know your bones got denser as you got stronger
that could have added to the weight gain i guess

[thatguy2695]

o my bad you said you were 14

im 14 but i didnt know that your bones grew too
i did gain a lot of muscle but i guess it could have partially been from the bone thing

Your bones only grow bigger and denser if you put enough force against them. In studies on bodybuilders that could squat over 1000lb they had Much larger Lumbar Vertebrates than normal people. That were created in the bodies response to increasing stress. The minumum Stress required for a bone to grow (on its own not because of puberty) is 10% the force it takes to break the bone. Now with that knowledge please still be careful when lifting weights guys.

[christoph83]

Never heard that before can your body not absorb it all. Big v? you know anything about what christoph83 is talking about


Some even say that is to much. Whatever your body doesnt have time to use can get turned into fat or get flushed out. Essentially there is no point in consuming much more then that per hour because the point is to spread out your protien intake through out the day for better assorbtion. For bodybuilding it it usually recommended to eat anywhere from 6-11 meals per day.

[Thatmanuhate]

Some even say that is to much. Whatever your body doesnt have time to use can get turned into fat or get flushed out. Essentially there is no point in consuming much more then that per hour because the point is to spread out your protien intake through out the day for better assorbtion. For bodybuilding it it usually recommended to eat anywhere from 6-11 meals per day.
I've heard this also. So I did some research on my own and found the exact opposite and what you have stated above...As of now I don't think there is definitive proof that your body can only absorb 50g ofprotien at once.

[n00433478]

That does not sound very logical if you take into account the time it takes for you to digest. Cooked meals, like steak, chicken, etc. take much longer to clear the intestines than vegetables and fruits. Which is why i think 50g protein per hour max is false. Maybe the rate our bodies can absorb protein is 50g per hour but protein rich food can take upwards of 6 hours to pass the small intestines. So you would have to eat 300g protein that meal to be over 50g per hour. 300g in one meal is more than most people should eat in a whole day and is the reason that does not make sense to me.

Side note, i think the original poster of 50g limit may have been aiming at moderation. Which would probably be a good idea to do.

[bigv123]

Sorry for the late entrance to the thread, this one slipped by me.

Yes, it's true that you have a limit as to how much protein your digestive tract can process in a given amount of time. Yet ANOTHER reason why 5-6 meals per day is much, MUCH better than 3. The "old" rule of thumb was 50g per meal. That's a bit outdated however. How much you can absorb depends on a lot of different characteristics. They range from, genetics, metabolism, activity, time of the day, age (ties to metabolism), et. al.

My recommendation is to get a meal into your system about every 2.5-3.0 hours...regardless of whether you're trying to lose body fat or trying to add muscle. the difference lies in WHAT you eat, not WHEN you eat.

Gaining weight is easy guys. All you have to do is eat more calories per day than you burn. However, that approach won't necessarily yield the results you want. That added weight could be fat tissue much more easily than it's going to be muscle. If you're willing to accept that consequence, then life is good and you can just blast away. If you're not wanting or willing to add fat as you also add muscle then you have to be much more careful with your diet.

You young guys need to focus on functional strength and endurance rather than body mass imho. Your bodies are still undergoing some pretty hefty chemical changes. As your frames start to mature a little bit, you'll see the muscle mass...don't worry, it'll come in time. Remember, function over form. How you LOOK isn't nearly as important as how you PERFORM.

V

[christoph83]

Settle down kids and re read what I wrote. I didnt say its the MAX for everyone. It was my recommendation for the original poster, and I never said your body cannot absorb more then that. Thats an on average depending on your fitness level, and if you want to jam down 100g of protien in one sitting go for it the point is to spread it out all day for optimal absorbtion.

[nobell4me]

Your body can only use a small amount(25-30g) per meal.. anything over that you'll just piss out.. If your making drinks with powder mixs don't be a fool and piss your money away... Maybe people should start doing some research instead of asking others for the answers. If it's that importnt to you, Hit the books/mags/internet and find out what you need to do.

[jon5]

you can take muscle milk before you workout and whey after you workout. also eat alot of meat. the protein drinks will help you gain alot of muscle weight. i gained 10lbs in 3 months.

[aaronshipman]

You should get a weight gainer to begin with. Any weight gainer should work, muscle milk has a great one (muscle milk collegiate). Have at least 6 meals a day (try not to go more than 3 hours without eating). A weight gainer shake counts as a meal because it has carbs and protein, so if you have 3 regular 'food' meals in a day, try to have 3 weight gainer shakes as well. Having a shake in the morning right when you wake up is a good idea too.

You should also have a shake right after your workouts, as this is when your body needs the nutrients the most to begin repairing your muscles. Follow that shake up with a regular meal about an hour or 2 after the shake.

You also might want to consider getting a container of casein protein. This protein takes your body 4 to 7 hours to digest, meaning if you take some right before bed, your body will use it to feed your muscles when you are sleeping (which is when your muscles really grow anyways). Some glutamine before bed would be good too. You can get all that stuff at vitamin shoppe, gnc, etc.

[williada]

Sorry for the late entrance to the thread, this one slipped by me.

Yes, it's true that you have a limit as to how much protein your digestive tract can process in a given amount of time. Yet ANOTHER reason why 5-6 meals per day is much, MUCH better than 3. The "old" rule of thumb was 50g per meal. That's a bit outdated however. How much you can absorb depends on a lot of different characteristics. They range from, genetics, metabolism, activity, time of the day, age (ties to metabolism), et. al.

My recommendation is to get a meal into your system about every 2.5-3.0 hours...regardless of whether you're trying to lose body fat or trying to add muscle. the difference lies in WHAT you eat, not WHEN you eat.

Gaining weight is easy guys. All you have to do is eat more calories per day than you burn. However, that approach won't necessarily yield the results you want. That added weight could be fat tissue much more easily than it's going to be muscle. If you're willing to accept that consequence, then life is good and you can just blast away. If you're not wanting or willing to add fat as you also add muscle then you have to be much more careful with your diet.

You young guys need to focus on functional strength and endurance rather than body mass imho. Your bodies are still undergoing some pretty hefty chemical changes. As your frames start to mature a little bit, you'll see the muscle mass...don't worry, it'll come in time. Remember, function over form. How you LOOK isn't nearly as important as how you PERFORM.

V

I absolutely agree. If you're 17, you've got a good 6+ years before your body will be fully matured. Take the above approach, and your body will respond.

[aj1953]

saugus001, I was 17 when I went in the Navy from High School and was a cross country runner. After boot camp I was at 150 and I am 5'10". I needed to gain muscle mass and started on supplement from Muscle and Fitness back then. I use the Atkins diet all my adult life and supplement my meals of protein with GNC Wheybolic Extreme 60 to maintain muscle mass. I am 54 years old and am 165 lbs. today. Little expensive but highly recommended with 2% milk twice a day.

AJ

[aj1953]

In the May 2008 issue of Mens Fitness the following article is for Mike Shkaes for Gains:

pg 17

Mike Shakes for Gain

12oz skim milk with 1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
Add 1/2 cup raw oats, I large banana, I tbsp natural peanut butter.

Add 2tsp caffeinated instant coffee for energy boost.

Also actor Jason Statham is on the page and states he works with a former Navy SEAL doing
exercises.

[saugus001]

Sorry about not posting back for a while. I have been short on time so i have been only able to read your posts. But i really appreciate all your guys help. I am not going to lie it is pretty difficult trying to eat 6 meals a day but I'm trying, it should get easier after lacrosse season is over. Thanks again


Mark

[prostyle]

Ok I got a question and a comment.

1st my comment- I'm sure most of you guys are doing a lot of running/ cardio. Which is of coarse a big part of being a SEAL. Though I personally am on the small side, I am a runner, I can run and run, it's very hard for me to gain weight. I was running 4 days a week any where from 6-10 miles, and not gaining any weight. I had talked to fitness directors at my athletic club and read articles and they all said the same thing, a lot of cardio will eat away your muscle... look at olympic distance runners and bikers. Now I'm not saying stop running all together but I have gone down to 1-2 days a week running 2-3 miles, just for a month while I stay shy of the areobic workouts and hit the weights. Just what I'm doing not saying it's the best or that it's for everyone... but in my situation I feel it's right for me.

2nd my question- Now I saw you (bigv) where saying somehting about kids in the teens shouldn't worry about weight that your time will come. Now I'm 17 and yes I have heard that before, that I will have my last growth spert ( idk how to spell that) but someone said it will come in 6 years, well I plan on going in when I'm 18 and so I hear that the whole road to BUD/s should take 2-3 years(correct me if I'm wrong on any of this stuff). I figured I should be at my peak when I hit BUD/s. Also you said we (teens) should focus on edurance and form, now my question is when do you know when to change your focus from edurance to muscle mass, or will I just start gaining weight then I will know? I don't want to ramble on but I mean I got endurance down thats the kind of body type I have so I wanted to focus on weight so I 'm not behind when I get there. So why focus on edurance when personally it comes a lot faster for me than weight and strength... or is it just something that differs for everyone? I don't expect you to have all the answer I understand it'll just take me knowing what I need to work on... also there are a lot of mixed feeling on here about weight gainer shakes soem are for em' and soem say they are a waste of money, so anyone have a good valued answer.

[thatguy2695]

I know I got Flak for this before but from personal experience minimizing your running is the best way your going to gain muscle mass, if you are doing good on the PST then don't worry about gaining weight functional strength is much more important than your weight.

I stopped running for two months because of a badly sprained MCL I did absolutely no Cardio in that time I normally run a 6:00 mile after the two months my mile stayed the same and my mile an a half went from from 9:40 to 9:09 in that time I gained 9 pounds and remained at 8% body fat.stopping excessive running for a short time can help you gain some muscle mass but Functional strength as I said before is much more important.

[MrParker]

Also you said we (teens) should focus on edurance and form, now my question is when do you know when to change your focus from edurance to muscle mass, or will I just start gaining weight then I will know? I don't want to ramble on but I mean I got endurance down thats the kind of body type I have so I wanted to focus on weight so I 'm not behind when I get there. So why focus on edurance when personally it comes a lot faster for me than weight and strength... or is it just something that differs for everyone?

Well, how are you doing on your pushups, pullups, dips, swimming? How is your PST? Are you doing Crossfit or the warning order? Do you want to get huge? I think between the warning order and cross fit you should do just fine. If you want to work on some more strength, add a basic compound movement to your workouts. Squats, Military press, weighted pushups/dips/pullups. All these are incorporated in Crossfit. Maybe cut back on the cardio if it is super easy for you and focus on strength for a few months. You won't know what works for you until you figure it out. But keep in mind what you are going for.

I was once a 17 year old kid training for BUD/s and all but I was the opposite of you. I was all kinds of strong but lacked the running endurance. You need a balance and that is different for everybody. The only way to find it is to try different things. It took me till I was 19 to work all the kinks out of my running. We can all tell you what to do but who knows, maybe what works for them won't work for you...

As far as muscle maturity goes, don't even worry about, you can't really speed that up too much. You just need to get older. I am 27 and I am bigger and stronger and have more endurance then I ever could of had in my teens.

[mdwatzon]

I have a similar problem that has me troubled, am a small framed guy. 27 yr old
5'7 and my weight ranges between 120-130 in a matter of days I can lose
pounds, am scoring 80 pushups in 2 minutes, and 70 situps, and my running
is on the slow side, and my cardiovascular is in bad shape... :) so when I
start working on my cardio, I drop pounds, it seems strange am getting stronger,
but at the same time I am losing alot of weight, and am assuming it is all water
weight, since I have very very little fat on me. am eating sausage, 15 grain bread, mac and cheese, pasta, granola bars for snacks, and a t-bone steak corn
etc for diner. thats everyday I been eating this, when I drop weight the min I go
down to seems to get a bit higher, but my weight is always in flux... I have
also been concerned about my weight, because I don't know if it is better to
weigh more or to be strong and weigh less. From what I understand the average
BUD/S cadet is 25 and 175 lb, so am alittle old and under weight....

[jdoleac]

Well, how are you doing on your pushups, pullups, dips, swimming? How is your PST? Are you doing Crossfit or the warning order? Do you want to get huge? I think between the warning order and cross fit you should do just fine. If you want to work on some more strength, add a basic compound movement to your workouts. Squats, Military press, weighted pushups/dips/pullups. All these are incorporated in Crossfit. Maybe cut back on the cardio if it is super easy for you and focus on strength for a few months. You won't know what works for you until you figure it out. But keep in mind what you are going for.

I was once a 17 year old kid training for BUD/s and all but I was the opposite of you. I was all kinds of strong but lacked the running endurance. You need a balance and that is different for everybody. The only way to find it is to try different things. It took me till I was 19 to work all the kinks out of my running. We can all tell you what to do but who knows, maybe what works for them won't work for you...

As far as muscle maturity goes, don't even worry about, you can't really speed that up too much. You just need to get older. I am 27 and I am bigger and stronger and have more endurance then I ever could of had in my teens.

I second that. I'm 26 and can put my body under stresses now that I couldn't seem to handle when I was 18, but I've also learned a lot since then. I don't recover from a hangover as fast though! For all of you guys in your teens, you have to train for your goals. If you want to be in SOF, research all of the exercises, training, and standards that will be thrown your way and become proficient at them. If you want to be huge for the sake of being huge, well that can be done simply (but not easily... there is a difference) through nutrition and the right muscle stimulus. Patience and focus, more than anything, will get you where you need to be. I remember being that age and wanting changes the next day and not appreciating the training for what it was because I was so focused on the goals. Being so goal oriented is not a bad thing, but it can cause you to sometimes overlook the smaller gains you make that are actually taking you to your ultimate destination. That youthful ambition can also lead you to take shortcuts (desperation attempts) to get to your goals, so look before you leap. You'll probably also find that as you get older, your perceptions of being fit and in shape will change. So think about what you want to do with your body. Do you want the performance gains, or simply the muscle mass?

[mdwatzon]

Should we really be worried about our weight if we are going to attempt BUD/S?
Alot of us short small framed guys have short mans syndrome, and weight is
usually always on our mind.

I also read about body fat, and some people saying if you dont have 10-15
percent you have a low chance of passing BUD/S. I get alot of conflicting
information from alot of different sources, and the only thing that concerns me
is my size and weight. I have herd of BUD/S cadets weighing 112 lb.

So really my question is how important is weight at BUD/S? Should we just
concentrate totally on our PST, and endurance. Weight being the last thing
to concentrate on?

note: One issue I have with what seems to be the info boom on navy seals
is there is way to much information out there, and alot of different points of
views, would be nice to have a FAQ w/ statistics authorized by the navy or
something similar all in one place....

[1stud]

Focus on your training and nutrition. If you do those right, your bodyweight and fat will take care of themselves. Some people are naturally lean and smaller, some naturally heavier and larger. Focus on yourself and passing all the PST standards wit flying colors, and your body will be good