Scrawny whelp in need of advice

[Almost Evil 665]

Hi. My name is Weston, and I am chronically skinny. My parents bestowed me with a metabolism that is a mixed blessing: it incinerates anything I eat on contact. This means that I could eat nothing but Twinkies and not gain an ounce, but it also means that I have trouble bulking up.

My goal is twofold: One, I'm an actor of sorts, and for an upcoming role, I need to be a bit more muscular. And second, that role requires staged combat, possibly including tricking, so flexibility is a secondary goal.

That said, I have tried to bulk up before, and have met with minimal success. I know the basics, such as protein shakes and not even looking at anything that contains the letters S-U-C-R-O-S-E, but I suspect there is more I could be doing. I have read Juji's material on the home page, but I was wondering if there's anything that could be added for an 18 year old male, 6' 2", 150 lbs (give or take) who can't seem to build muscle to save his life.

Additionally, I am willing to put down the capital for a gym membership. Possible options include Gold's Gym and a local rec center.

Any help or direction from the collective wisdom here would be much appreciated.

-Weston

[Swartz]

First and foremost you need to eat a whole lot more. Generally healthy foods of course. Anything high in protein and complex carbs. A whole shit load of calories multiple times a day. You need to make it a priority and a job. It's not like going to the gym for an 30-60 minutes once a day, it's a 24/7 task, so it's not easy but an absolute must. Also start lifting heavy weights maybe 3-5 times a week. I won't go into making you a routine because that's something you need to figure out for yourself. Train every body part though. Whether you split them up, like one for each day or do a full body workout is up to you I guess.

Protein shakes are not a basic essential, they're just an alternate source of protein rather that whole food and can be a helpful addition but are not required. The main thing is just eating plenty of actual food.

In terms of flexibility you just have to start stretching, and Juji's articles on the main site are a great place for learning about that. You say you've already read the stuff though so you just need to start doing it. It's not any different just because you're a certain height or weight (in terms of how to stretch).

[TKD_Andy]

EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT WORK OUT

mix in these quantities, and repeat.

Before i went to uni i was incredibly skinny, i weighed under ten stone, after my first semester i put on almost two stone and a lot of muss. I put it down to having a good 4-5 meals a day, and protein shakes with maltodextrin every day, and training with guys alot bigger and stronger than myself. It worked out damn well. Now, im alot bigger and in some cases stronger than the guys i train with.

Just get the nutrition right, work out a suitable training program and you'll be fine. High calorific diet is highly necessary.

[Honken]

Seeing as you're very skinny, consume high(er) amounts of good fats for extra qualities.
This should boost your calorie intake by, well, as much as you want!

[receive]

how much do you actually currently eat? like 1800-2000 cals per day? 1200 when you forget to eat lunch?

[Almost Evil 665]

^^^There and abouts. The only arguable exercise I currently get is at work: I'm the retail backroom guy who puts boxes on shelves all day. Better than a desk job, maybe, but I understand that the benefits are negligible.

And thanks for the great advice so far, guys.

-Weston

[chicanerous]

Hi. My name is Weston, and I am chronically skinny. My parents bestowed me with a metabolism that is a mixed blessing: it incinerates anything I eat on contact. This means that I could eat nothing but Twinkies and not gain an ounce, but it also means that I have trouble bulking up.
Wrong.

That said, I have tried to bulk up before, and have met with minimal success. I know the basics, such as protein shakes and not even looking at anything that contains the letters S-U-C-R-O-S-E, but I suspect there is more I could be doing.
Wrong.

EAT.

You think you eat, but you don't eat enough. Sit down to eat four times per day. Don't leave the table until you've consumed at least 1000 solid calories in addition to whatever liquid you consume. Do this for a few months and see if your bodyweight doesn't increase drastically.

Don't try to eat all protein. You'll never make your caloric requirement. Eat a lot of protein, of course, but load up on the complex carbs and healthy fats (unsaturated and some saturated). Use natural food sources for the most part, but don't be afraid to turn to less healthy alternatives occasionally in order to boost your intake.

Here's a short list of foods to consume:

- steak
- chicken
- turkey
- ham
- fish
- sweet potatoes
- brown rice
- whole wheat or grain bread
- pasta
- nuts
- peanut butter
- olive oil
- heavy cream
- whole milk

Make sure to drink some "real" fruit juices and eat your vegetables in addition for vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.

[Final Prophecy]

Yeah even if you do the 3 meals a day "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner" (I suggest you fit in a fourth meal though) make sure you eat more.

Force it.

Eventually you will start hungering for this heightened amount of food.

[Rahf]

If you have a normal daily rhythm, as in brekkie at 0600-0800, lunch around noon and dinner at 5-6, you definitely have space to squeeze in another meal, if not two.