Bulking up

Posted by: eagleyed

Bulking up - 06/10/11 01:25 PM

Hi. All i ever see is diet, diet and diet advice. I live at the other end of the spectrum where i want to put weight on. I can't afford all the special powders and to be honest they tend to go right through me anyway. i just want to bulk up a bit. i hate seeing ribs in the mirror. Any feeding advive very much appreciated. Thanks. confused
Posted by: Shusha

Re: Bulking up - 06/10/11 04:55 PM

To a certain extent you probably have an efficient metabolism and you will just have to accept that. But the formula for "bulking up" is pretty simple. Eat more. Make sure you are eating plenty of protein. Do strength training. Repeat for at least six months. smile

I sympathize with your plight since I also have a hard time gaining muscle.
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Bulking up - 06/11/11 10:17 AM

In terms of gaining mass it is actually fairly straight forward (in theory!):

If your calorie intake for the day is less than what your body uses in a day, you will lose weight.

If your calorie intake is more or less the same as what your body uses in a day, you will stay are more or less the same weight.

If your calorie intake per day is more than what your body uses in a day, you will gain weight.

Where a lot of people seem to come unstuck (usually while trying to lose weight but possibly while trying to gain weight too) is that they miscalculate the amount of calories they consume in a day. So something for your to consider is to keep a food diary for a while. See what you are eating, and record the number of calories for everything you have eaten that day. Add them up at the end of the day. If you can't find the calorie information on the food packaging, try looking it up on a food calorie website. These are usually best guesses, but they will give you a rough idea:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_food.php

An average adult male uses about 2000 calories just moving about everyday. If he exercises, then of course he is going to use 2000 calories a day plus the calories he burns doing exercise.

What I would suggest is keeping a food diary. If you aren't gaining mass and are eating rougly the same amount of calories each day, then you may want to consider consuming more calories. I would encourage you to eat healthy, whole foods to add more calories. Don't try and bulk up with ice cream ha ha!

One final note on supplements and powders: So far as I am aware there is nothing you can get in any protein powder or meal replacement powder that you can't get in good wholesome food. If it were me, I would try to get my bodies nutrients from food rather than powders. I know this isn't always possible or practical, but I would make the effort to eat properly first and foremost.

As for building mass as muscle, well, there are no shortcuts for that I'm afraid. Good intensive strength and conditoning training will do that.

If you want ideas for weight/stength training to help you build up your body, check the strengh forum on here. It's pretty ace. If you need more help with weights/strength training, start a topic in there.

Good luck.
Posted by: choonbee

Re: Bulking up - 06/11/11 05:21 PM

Originally Posted By: Prizewriter
One final note on supplements and powders: So far as I am aware there is nothing you can get in any protein powder or meal replacement powder that you can't get in good wholesome food. If it were me, I would try to get my bodies nutrients from food rather than powders. I know this isn't always possible or practical, but I would make the effort to eat properly first and foremost.


Agreed.
Many people seem to think that protein powders are the holy grail of bulking up, and companies that make them capitalize on that.
Old-time bodybuilders trained hard and ate lots of good food, and grew like hell.
I'm not a big fan of bulking up because I really don't see any benefit in it other than bodybuilding competition.
Posted by: eagleyed

Re: Bulking up - 06/11/11 07:26 PM

Thanks for the replies everyone. I can assure you that any advice is appreciated. I'm not looking for a body of bodybuilding proportion. I'm happy for my missus to have bigger boobs than me. I just want to eat healthy, keep fit and feel good when i look in the mirror. I don't do drugs yet sometimes feel i might look that way. A bit of meat is all i want (no rude replies thanks)
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Bulking up - 06/11/11 08:41 PM

No problem.

Eating more to add mass and working out doesn't mean you are going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can add mass by controlling your diet and doing a moderate amount of weight/strength training without becoming a man mountain.

I understand that body image is a huge issue for a lot of men. It doesn't get the same press as female body issues in the media, but for sure it is pretty common.

Drug centres in England and Wales help people take illegal drugs safely, no questions asked. They are there to stop people who take drugs hurting themselves by doing things like using dirty needles etc... There was an article from the BBC 2 or 3 years ago revealing by far and away the largest group of people visiting these centres for help were young men trying to take steroids. It is a major problem which isn't helped by endless magazines displaying Adonis' who claim to take every supplement under the sun.

You should watch a documentary called Bigger, Faster, Stronger. It's a great documentary about steroid use in the USA and the obsession with male body image. Here is a great clip exposing some of the deceptive practices used by sports photographers to make men look better than they really are. I was shocked to see those "before and after" photos were done in the same day!!:



I do weight training because I enjoy it and because it helps me out now and again in the everyday world. I have a little bit of vanity but by and large I don't worry too much about what I look like. As long as I'm healthy, that's all that matters.

Instead of going straight to the gym, you could try yoga. This will give you a great introduction to bodyweight exercises. Although bodyweight exercises aren't IMO the best way to train to add mass, you can still add a little bit of mass and tone. Additionally yoga has a lot of mental benefits and is generally a very calming practice. You may find that after a few yoga classes you are happier within yourself and don't worry so much how you look. Plus you might be able to talk your girlfriend in to trying yoga too. That way you have a training partner and you can help keep each other motivated.
Posted by: eagleyed

Re: Bulking up - 06/12/11 04:38 AM

Thanks 'p'.
yoga sounds like a great idea. might give it a go. I dont think the missus would be up 2 it though. unless i could convince her that its good for arthritis. she suffers it real bad.
As far as steroids go. never in a month of sundays.
Posted by: Prizewriter

Re: Bulking up - 06/12/11 06:32 AM

Originally Posted By: eagleyed
Thanks 'p'.
yoga sounds like a great idea. might give it a go. I dont think the missus would be up 2 it though. unless i could convince her that its good for arthritis. she suffers it real bad.


Well.... http://www.arthritis.org/yoga-ra-08.php

That said, not all yoga classes are created equal. I would say a more gentle practice may suit someone with arthritis better. Particularly Iyengar yoga has a philosophy of adapting yoga to help people with ailments. Yoga teachers aren't (usually!) doctors though, so I would encourage your girlfriend to talk to her physician about yoga. Or possibly Tai Chi. A good Tai Chi class will definitely help you develop a certain amount of strength (particularly in the legs).

As some added motivation, here are a few "ripped" Yogis. These guys aren't tanks, but they are good yoga practioners who have some muscle:


Andre Sidersky


Glenn Ceresoli:


Some guy from New Zeland called Shane lol! (he's all over this site):

http://yoga.org.nz/benefits/physiological_benefits/yoga_flexibility.htm


Now I'm not saying that these guys ONLY do yoga, but I'd say a lot of their strength comes from their yoga. I say this because to get to the level they are at requires a lot of practice (although I think Shane from yoga.nz does mention some strength training too).


Good luck!
Posted by: choonbee

Re: Bulking up - 06/12/11 07:17 AM

I still lift weights, though not nearly as much as I used to. I feel that it's a good suppliment to my martial arts training.
The difference now is that I stretch a lot after lifting, and I watch what I eat instead of eating everything in sight.
In my younger years I was too concerned with how my body looked, and lifted for size. Now that I'm middle-aged (45) I'm more concerned with extra weight playing hell with my joints.
The funny thing is now that I'm slimmed down with lean muscle, I get more compliments and attention from women than when I was bulked up, and I feel way more energetic.
Posted by: Stormdragon

Re: Bulking up - 03/29/12 01:32 AM

Gallon of milk a day if you aren't lactose intolerant. Eat chicken or tuna with every meal, and throw in some peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches as much as you can. And squat and deadlift like a mad man. Yes I know it's an old thread.