# why cant I get bigger ????



## frank (Jul 30, 2004)

Anyone can help I'd appreciate it very much

Cant seem to gain any weight. I am 6ft and 80kg. Have been training for last 3 yrs and with no results... have tried creatine , protein and am now going to do a cycle of 1 test thp.

Training 3 times per week split.... chest back // biceps triceps // legs shoulders

Diet is as follows

8am porridge and 5 egg whites

11am protein shake, nuts

1am chicken /veg /rice

4pm protein shake banana

7pm train

8.30pm chicken or tuna or steak veg rice

Am I not eating enough .... I am training hard but not getting anywhere.

Someone help !!!!!


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Sounds like a really fast metabolism to me.

You will need to up the cals to get some results.


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

Simple, you are not eating enough calories. Your diet is pure guesswork.

You weigh 176lbs so multiply this by 24 to get a decent bulking calorie figure.

176 x 24 = 4224kcals per day (you need to eat around this figure to gain weight, maybe even more if you have a fast metabolism - but for arguments sake we will stick to this figure)

To make sure you are eating quality calories keep a track on how much protein/carbs and fats you are eating.

DO NOT GET SCARED OFF THIS IS VERY SIMPLE.

For example if you will need to find a decent balance of P/C/F to gain quality muscle. I advise you to find 50% of your calories from Carbs 30% from Protein and 20% from Fat.

To find these totals you must find the percentages first, so:

4224kcals x .50 = 2212kcals from carbs

4224kcals x .30 = 1267kcals from protein

4224kcals x .20 = 845kcals from fat

Remember that:

1g Carbs = 4kcals

1g Protein = 4kcals

1g Fat = 9kcals

So then to find the amounts of P/C/F you should be eating a day we must divide the calorie totals by the number of calories per gram, so:

*FRANKS BULKING DIET - DAILY NUTRIENT BREAKDOWN*

You should aim to eat:

2212kcals / 4 = 553g of Carbs per day

1267Kcals / 4 = 317g of Protein per day

845ckals / 9 = 94g Fat

Spread the above nutrient totals over 5-7 meals to keep your body in a constant state of growth (anabolic).

Get your nutrients from quality sources, do not pig out on McDonalds or will simply gain useless fat.

Post your routine in one of the training forums and the fellas will make sure you are lifting to your potential.

Happy growing!

Jock


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Right on Jock!


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## GoldenArrow (Mar 30, 2004)

I wouldn't be scientific, hit 300g of protein and eat whatever else you want in a day.


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## winger (Jul 26, 2003)

Jock that is pretty impressive. 

Frank your diet isnt that bad. I just think you need to up the calories. I just got this off of Ronnie Colemans website.

Eat, eat and eat some more

To add strength and mass, try to consume four to six meals a day. Choose from a variety of food groups at mealtime. Try to include lots of potatoes, rice, pasta, fruits and vegetables.

Make sure you are eating enough. A low fat diet and avoiding refined foods are good, but it won't help you build mass. On the same note you don't want to eat a high fat diet all the time. Fat provides additional calories, the fat-souluble vitamins A, D, E and K and raw materials for important hormones that stimulate muscle growth.

Monitor the amount of mass you are gaining. Measure your body parts and weigh every week to see if you are going in the right direction.

Lastly, continue to train hard. And remember gaining mass won't happen overnight.


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

I agree GA, we can get to scientific/specific about these things but I think it is only when things are spelt out to us like this we realise the shortcomings in our diet. I ate a crap diet up until about 19 yet I still made progress. If I knew who to eat properly back then, I would be in better shape right now. I first started visiting fitness/bodybuilding boards about 3 years ago. I used to frequent fitnessboard regularly. There was a mod called sixpack who was a lecturer in nutrition at Arizona State University and boy did he help some people out including myself.

My point is that Frank needs quality calories and lots of them. The more you guess at your diet then the margin for error increases dramatically. I have learnt this the hard way and have considered quitting several times becuause I was not seeing gains. It kills me to see people in the same situation especially when they are busting their balls in the gym.

I probably elaborated a little too much but, I just want Frank to know that attention to diet is crucial.

Cheers, Jock


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

I know people that try to lose by doing massive cardio.

I knew a chick that ate 1 lb. of M&M's every day.

She did 2 hours of cardio every day and sometimes she would play recquetball afterwards.

She trained at least 6 days a week.

She said she did cardio so she could eat everything she wanted.

She was still fat.


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## GoldenArrow (Mar 30, 2004)

True, you need a base knowledge of what's in what and what's good for you etc, so you know when you are cheating! If you don't have this it may be better to just measure everything and get specific.


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## Killerkeane (Nov 9, 2003)

thats a nice post jocky, some reputation points coming your way!


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## Brummie (Jul 23, 2004)

Do you really put that much emphasis on diet ??

I must admit I have been training with weights on and off for a number of years and have an average build, never realy worked out my diet intake like jocks post..

But this has inspired me too now... I have to be honest and say I have always guessed and tried to eat above average protein and reasonably healthy with the rest...

But what about the training, surely you have to also have a steady progress with increasing the poundages to grow with the diet.

Not being crtical, just realising I should have sought this kind of info earlier instead of wasting years in the gym doing my own thing thinking it will work one day.


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## damagedgoods (Oct 17, 2003)

Not enough can be said for diet - I either read or was told that Bodybuilding was 75% diet, 15% training and 10% rest, in terms of importance. get any one of those wrong and you are wasting your time.


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## Jock (Apr 8, 2003)

Diet is everything bro, it will make or break your physique.

What I posted may be an extreme example of attention to detail but if you want the gains then you have to be methodical when it comes to diet.

I have a small appetite, and I find it hard to eat over 4,000kcals+ when I'm bulking, and I can usually fill myself up on around 3,000kcals. It's only because I'm so fussy about my diet that I know when I'm not eating enough.

At the end of the day it's up to you bro, you can pay as much attention to your diet as you feel necessary. It might seem like a pain in the ass when your counting everything you eat and spending 1-2 hours calculating a diet but in my experience this is time well spent.

Think about it, you go the gym and bust your balls to get results, why not put the same effort into your diet and deny yourself the results you deserve?

Best of luck mate, Jock


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## Panthro (Jan 12, 2004)

Brummie said:


> Do you really put that much emphasis on diet ??
> 
> I must admit I have been training with weights on and off for a number of years and have an average build, never realy worked out my diet intake like jocks post..
> 
> ...


diet is far far far more important than anything else. you are what you eat...


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## big pete (Mar 23, 2004)

what was it arnie said?

"eat like ****, look like ****"


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## frank (Jul 30, 2004)

Thanks a mil Jock and everyone else who pitched in ....some really good info there but a bit scientific as well .....hard to work out all that. Am just going to try and up the cals and eat like a pig... proper stuff of course. Weighed myself yesterday and am 79kg's so will take it from here now. Hopefully muscle will pack on now. Is there any supplements I should take besides a good protein powder / creatine ; how about glucosamine/zinc etc.

Am currently training 3 times a week ... I do 20 mins cardio (rower) before each workout with one days rest and two at weekend. Should I maybe split more and do 4 or is this ok..... I presume the cardio is fine as well ?? My routine is as follows at the moment

chest 4x flat bench

4 x incline

3 x cable crossover with superset of press ups 20/15/12

back lat pulldown x 4

seated row x 4

wide grip chins or other

DAY 2

biceps ez curl x 3

incline curls

chins

triceps close grip bench x 4

cable pressdowns x3

skull crunches x 3

DAY 3

legs squats x4

leg presses x3

calf raises x4

hamstring curls x 3

shoulders front shoulder press x4 on smith machine

side raises x3

shoulder press dumbells x 3

Of all the areas I would like to gain some mass it would be shoulders. If anyone can suggest some good shoulder work let me know reps etc. I am trying to stick to the compound excercises , there is really only a certain amount of good excercises for the shoulders isnt there ??

Thanks a mil


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

frank said:


> Thanks a mil Jock and everyone else who pitched in ....some really good info there but a bit scientific as well .....hard to work out all that. Am just going to try and up the cals and eat like a pig... proper stuff of course.


 I know it's a hassle, but it's probably worth working out the totals you're actually eating for a few days; as well as showing if you're eating enough, it will make it clearer how evenly you're splitting things over the day. As you first posted for instance it looks like your 11am and 4pm meals are going to be very low in calories (depending quite what your protein shake is).


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

frank said:


> I do 20 mins cardio (rower) before each workout with one days rest and two at weekend. Should I maybe split more and do 4 or is this ok..... I presume the cardio is fine as well ??


 Forgot to add before, the usual advice is that if you're going to do cardio in the same session as weights, then do the weights first. As I understand it you want as much energy as you can to hit the weights hard first. You won't be able to workout with the same intensity if you start out a bit tired from some cardio.


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## hackskii (Jul 27, 2003)

Not only that the weight lifting goes twards the slipping into the fat burning stage.

But I would keep at least a day between hitting the triceps and chest and shoulders.

Also I would keep at least a day between hitting biceps and back too..


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## Musclehed (Feb 17, 2004)

Hey Frank and the rest of the guys,

The diet is bad by no mean but has everyone has stated just needs more calories. Your nuts are a good idea (calorific). Unless you need more sleep than the average guy you could squeeze a meal in before bed (go for collage cheese)

Now if you read any of my previous posts I am a BIG believer in the POST WOK OUT meal!!!! and I have heard nothing of one :-( it upsets me. Lets see you slam a protein shake with ~ 80grams of carbs (1/2 dextrose 1/2 maltodextrin) down after you w/o it tastes good so its like a reward. Helps me with soreness as a bonus and helps you grow and refil the gylocogen.

Hope this helps

Dave


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## winger (Jul 26, 2003)

Hey Frank, if your objective is to gain weight then I would drop the cardio for a bit. Those are calories that could go towards gaining weight. You obviously are burning more calories than you are taking in. Up the calories and drop the cardio. 

Musclehed raises a good point on the post workout meal



> Lets see you slam a protein shake with ~ 80grams of carbs (1/2 dextrose 1/2 maltodextrin) down after you w/o


Feed the muscles I like that.


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## ShowMe (Sep 23, 2004)

Hey Frank, I second wingers comments...drop the cardio!!

I am 6ft also and use to way 70kg, 10kg less than you. It took me a while but I got up to 90kg...I am now 86 but pretty lean. If your matabolism is like mine you can get away with eating a bit of sh1t as long as you keep eating...good luck


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## Killerkeane (Nov 9, 2003)

diet is very important, you go to any pro's website and they will give you the samples of their typical diets. I know dorian yeates have something like 8 boiled eggs in the morning with a whole bunch of other stuff. You hit the 4000 cals mark like jock said, and you will pile the weight on. Dont worry about putting on a little bit of fat, thats natural.


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