Quote: (04-06-2013 04:58 AM)Screwston Wrote:
A lot of guys on here regularly hit the weights. Did anyone start off scrawny and gradually put on weight and muscles? Or has everyone always been at least average or chubby so it wasn't as hard to bulk up?
I was a skinny young adult. Naturally around 155lb @ 6'0 when I wasn't lifting. The internet will give you a wide spectrum of information.
If you are naturally very skinny with a high metabolism people will tell you to eat around 3500 Calories & lift. If you claim you are doing this & 'not gaining' they will call bullshit.
From experience though the best thing to do is get a log. Diet is 90% of the challenge. The easiest way to do it is to start at around 3500 calories & log your weight each week. If the baseline numbers don't increase, bump your diet another 250 Calories.
Keep doing this until you add around 20lb & then move into your first cut.
Personally I didn't start to gain decent muscle until I hit around 4500 Calories. My diet consisted of lean meat, rice, fruit & vegetables [Specifically potatoes]. I didn't use mass gainers, instead opting for coconut milk as a healthier calorie booster.
Re exercises: Compound lifts will do the trick. No need to over complicate anything. Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Bench & Row. You can add in smaller muscle group exercises such as bicep curls & triceps extension but they will indirectly grow off the basic compound lifts.