How to bulk up?

[quiet_riot]

Following on from that article, does anyone use creatine as it suggests? Is it a worthwhile addition to the diet for those of us not looking to compete, but just to look a bit better?

Also, if anyone wants a bargain protein source, Aldi do canned mackerel fillets for 45p, and they're pretty alright.

 

[FantasyIreland]

For the cheapness of creatine I would certainly recommend it,while some respond better than others,its definitely a product worth taking.

Basic monohydrate will do the trick.

I've tried the Aldi Mackerel but a bit too much sauce for my tastes,still a very good product though.Try the M&S version,twice the price but twice as good imo,their sardines are also superb at 65p.

 

[Deleted member 52846]

Cheers SWP



Need some help regarding weight lifting. I am 5 foot 7 and about 10 weeks ago I was only 8 stone... I decided I wanted to gain weight and last time I checked I was nearly 9 stone 5. I have brought myself a bench press and some dumbbells to do some weight lifting at home. Also got some Whey protein powder. Just a few quick questions if anybody can help, Should I drink the shakes before or after my work out? Do I have a light snack before working out and a big meal once I have finished?

I am only lifting around 35/40kg on the bench and around 10/15 on my dumbbells but will gradually buy more weights once I can lift them :-) Should I be lifting much more?


Diet wasn't great before I started this

Morning
Bowl of cereal and a protein shake
yogurt on my break at 10.30

Lunch
Pasta dish with chicken and maybe some crisps

Tea time
I have been eating mainly steak and chips at the moment
Protein shake before work out

Before bed
I would normally have some strawberries and cream

I try to eat fruit in the day maybe an orange or banana. I can't stand eating eggs or tuna and I no they are really good for bulking up. Also on days I train I will mainly have porridge in the morning

Am I eating right to bulk up? I have tried egg and fish but I just can’t stomach them

Any advice??

Thanks

First of all I would say you need to look at your diet rather than worrying about what your lifting.

Ditch the cereal at breakfast to start with as it will be full of sugar and will set your sugar cravings off for the day. Ditch the pasta for your dinner as its a starchy carb and is pretty much has no goodness in it what so ever. Steak is fine but instead of chips try and go for sweet potato (can get these from any supermarket) or steamed/roasted vedge.

The more vedge you can get in the better. Vedge is the best carb you can eat and will help you to grow. Also try things like spinach and kale (form of cabbage).

Just to give you a few ideas i tend to have eggs most breakfasts as its arguably the best multi vitamin you can have. I make egg pancakes for breakfast which is basically 3 eggs mixed with 2 handfuls of oats and a bit of cocoa powder mix it all up throw it in a pan and have it with banana or any fruit. It's full of protein and protein is the ideal way to start the day. For lunch id go for some kind of chicken salad (prepare your own chicken its a lot cheaper) and just buy spinach/beetroot/cucumber/onions etc from supermarket.

As for lifting don't worry about the weight that will just come with progression. Consistency is the key, and plenty of hard work.

Apologies if this is long winded but if someone asks for help in this area i always like to give the best advice i can. My brother is a personal trainer and a qualified nutritionist. If you are on twitter you can follow him @livealeanlife. He gives great advise. Good luck mate. CTID.

That is basically my diet but I have leaned out far too much and needed to add more carbs

You will need to add more carbs to increase your weight, sergiokun.

Eat cereal for breakfast if you want but make sure it's a wholegrain cereal. Also have some scrambled eggs/omelette or bacon+eggs, with breakfast as well. So you're getting protein.

Have pasta for dinner but make sure it's wholegrain. Wholegrains are nutritious! They contain, not just the endosperm, but also the bran and the germ (unlike white products like white bread, white pasta and white rice which only have the endosperm which actually doesn't have a great deal of goodness in it). Whole grains contain iron and many B Vitamins and help reduce LDL cholesterol.

You'll need to increase your fats too.


This is what I eat when I'm training for size:
Breakfasts (07:30) - bacon+egg/scrambled eggs/omelette/cold cut meats with olives/pâté on toast/nut butter on toast (toast=wholegrain)
Second breakfast (10:30) - raisin wheats with full fat milk (the incomplete protein in the wheat join with the protein in the milk and create a complete protein.
Dinner (12:00-13:30) - example; prawns with fresh egg noodles, beansprouts, carrot, red chilli, cashew nuts and coriander in a butty box. You can change the protein from shellfish to fish to meat to poultry, you can change the carbs from noodles to pasta to rice (alway wholegrain), you can change the salad to veg etc - be creative.
Post-training (anytime) - shake
Tea (18:30-20:00) - meat/fish/shellfish/poultry with potatoes and veg (anything really).
Supper (23:00) - rye bread with nut butter or honey (small snack), helps to provide you with some energy when you wake as the rye bread is a slow release carb.

East fruit and drink water whenever you want.

When I'm training to lose fat/size/weight I drop the carbs completely from my diet. But when wanting to gain size I find them essential.

EDIT: I should add I weigh between 115-121kg and am 194cm. Eating as much as I do might not suit some people as t might be too many calories.

 

[decmancity]

Ok, I have been posting in the fitness thread but I thought I would post in here as well to get some help!

I am 18, 176cm tall and 146.8lb.

Here is my exercise plan;

Spoiler

Monday
flat bench press
Incline bench press
Skull crushers
Close grip bench press
Dumbbell military press
Lateral raise

Tuesday;
Insanity Fit Test
4mile run @13km hour in 18min
500m Rower
10 mile Bike

Wednesday
Deadlift
Bent over one arm row
Lat pull down
Db bicep curl
Hammer curl

Friday
Bulgarian split
Lunges
calf raises
ab workout using Caynax A6w app

I also do various bits of cardio on each day, either bike, rower or treadmill.

I also tracked my diet this week and was hovering around 1700-1800 calories using MyFitnessPal.

Here is a breakdown of everything!

Spoiler

The breakfast situation is my main problem, two days this week I was just sick of wheatbix so had a sugar fix!

 

[dazdon]

This is an intriguing thread and good luck to anyone who is interested in micromanaging their food intake.

But.....

Why in Gods name is this important in your lives? don't you just eat for fun or has everything you eat got to have an end product?

I'm a fat **** who eats what I want to when I want to...although I have run marathons in my athletic youth on a diet of chips and cigs.

 

[garymj]

Good article here from Muscle and Fitness.
Gives you a summary of how many grams of Protein, Fats (good), Carbs, Calories you need according to your bodyweight to help you achieve your goals.

Click here

Well spotted mate, not hard is it?

Must admit it has taken me a while to get into a different mindset.
For 25 years, I played regular footie and marathon running so was only interested in staying slim and fit to make me faster, etc, so I always remained around the 10 stone mark. I never looked at the nutrition side, as everything I ate was simply burned off anywa
Now as I move past 40, I have to flip my training and diet on its head by only training 3-4 times a week with the emphasis being on rest. And the diet must include fats and carbs, which previously were a "no no", solely because of my ignorance to weight training.

However, after speaking to a good friend who is of a similar age and a dedicated bodybuilder, he gave me the exact same advice as in the article.

Success won't come overnight and all I have is a bench a dumbbells, which I use in the dining room at home. But I can get just as good a workout using these and get the same results, as long as my diet also compliments the training program.

Its good your still training, Some one asked me if its harder when you get older, I said not really, I know what Im doing now.

 

[garymj]

This is an intriguing thread and good luck to anyone who is interested in micromanaging their food intake.

But.....

Why in Gods name is this important in your lives? don't you just eat for fun or has everything you eat got to have an end product?

I'm a fat **** who eats what I want to when I want to...although I have run marathons in my athletic youth on a diet of chips and cigs.

Your not Alf tupper are you, from the Victor, "Tough of the Track".

 

[Walkbustaxi]

Didn't know whether to post this here or in the fitness thread (struggling to find any threads unless I've participated on this new tapatalk tbh)

Anyway the question. Does anyone use Beta-Alanine and if so do you cycle it or keep using it permanently?

The reason I ask is I've got another couple of weeks worth of pills and am wondering if when they finish will I lose any benefits I've gained during the month of using them?

 

[BoyBlue_1985]

Just need some help for the resident experts on here

decided to start bulking a bit and found this program, is it any good in terms of will it have results if I eat well with it

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_boring_but_big_3month_challenge" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... _challenge</a>

 

[Dirty Harry]

Just need some help for the resident experts on here

decided to start bulking a bit and found this program, is it any good in terms of will it have results if I eat well with it

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_boring_but_big_3month_challenge" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_art ... _challenge</a>

Sound enough that BB, used similar to the 5.3.1 in the past myself (more of a 5.3.1.3.5). very good gains from it but I always did on the lower rep range stuff.