# Any advice from other naturally skinny guys (especially with on the go jobs)



## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Hi everyone

Love to hear from naturally skinny guys who are body building naturally.

I've already posted in the diet section for advice as my job means cramming extra meals during the day isn't possible. I also have nowhere to keep food cool whilst parked up at a job.

Following the muscle monsters YouTube channel. Has anyone got any other good sources of information, and can advise realistic goals? I don't buy into the astonishing results in 21days/6 weeks.

I'm 5'9 and currently 10st10 and working out for 30 mins 3 times a week using the low rep & low rest (15sec between reps, 1min between sets) methods


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## JuggernautJake (Nov 6, 2013)

As a former skinny skeleton I can tell you what I did...I was one of those people who said "I just can't gain weight bro, I'm a hardgainer bro"...you hear that all the time

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Well after gaining weight it turns out I was a malnourished mesomorph rather then a typical ectomorph, Having gained the muscle it turns out I have a some medium sized frame, I just had zero muscle at the start

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But anyway I got there through whole milk....milk is magic... it was the key ingredient to gaining weight for me 2,3,4 litres a day and I blew up, didn't really get fat either.

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I don't do it now though as I have developed much healthier diet habits, theres no need to drink the milk at this stage as I have learnt alot about diet and training throughout the years the milk was just used when I was a beginner and at University so was short on money

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Don't just drink the milk tho, Squat Bench and Deadlift 3 - 4 times a week and add weight each week


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## mrwright (Oct 22, 2013)

Eat warm food or take a small cooler/coolerbag with ya


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## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

I will add to that.

30 minutes is not enough time for training.

If you consider a few things such as time between sets, moving the weights,talking,drinking and so on, that 30 minutes is no more than 15..You need at least 40 mins training and a half hour for incidentals. Basicly an extra hour. eating is an issue you can solve by having a shake during the night or early morning when you get up for a pee,adds an extra few hundred cals to your daily intake.


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## mr small (Apr 18, 2005)

NX1977 said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Love to hear from naturally skinny guys who are body building naturally.
> 
> ...


Eat eat and eat more it's simple . Get protein drinks into between meals @10st10lbs you need at least 150grams of protein per day (a 185g tin of tuna has approx 40grams of protein) eat food that's easy to make a quick it's all about designing a diet around your needs

Your training needs to change 30 mins 3 times a week isn't enough , lower your reps up your weights and keep a wee log of what your lifting you will start to see your weights go up after a month it so and that's good for the mind.

My advice would be train 1hr mon,wed and Friday to start with see how you get on


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## sneeky_dave (Apr 2, 2013)

400g of oats, 1l of milk and 2 scoops of my protein equals 2200cals...... Easy and convenient to drink from an old juice bottle whilst driving


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## JuggernautJake (Nov 6, 2013)

Yeah just to be clear you still have to eat food, get your protein in, good fats bla bla bla you know the score.

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I did all that but with each meal drank a pint of milk...then washed that milk down with some milk

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Its just all added calories


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## Ginger Warrior (May 13, 2014)

JuggernautJake said:


> Yeah just to be clear you still have to eat food, get your protein in, good fats bla bla bla you know the score.
> 
> .
> 
> ...


Hi, I'm new to this site and had a problem putting on size, I'm still slim but gaining well. Like Juggernaughtjake said, Milk was my answer, I drank a gallon (8 Pints) a day for a good few months and watched the size come on, gone from 10 and a half stone to 13 and a half. Did gain some fat though so now I am going to cut back before doing a leaner bulk. It definitely works if your eating enough calories, I had to count mine and have a set meal plan, thats when it started to work.

That coupled with the compound lifts worked wonders, I've got far to go yet but I know that what I am doing has been working for a skinny guy 

Oh and I was 10 and a half stone at 6 foot..now much better 

Plus I rested more between sets to not burn calories so fast and workout for an hour, go heavy and I worked out only twice a week as more than that I just didnt grow, To get in 8 pints of milk a day meant peeing a lot lol, But I didnt need to drink water as milk its like 80 percent water anyway, not sure that is the best idea but it DID work


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

NX1977 said:


> I'm 5'9 and currently 10st10 and working out for 30 mins 3 times a week using the low rep & low rest (15sec between reps, 1min between sets) methods


That sounds like a very weird way to train, particularly the 15s between reps. What's the point of just standing there for 15s with a heavy barbell on your back between squats? Sure, pause a bit longer between the last couple of reps of a heavy set when you need to but deliberately aiming to have 15s pause between every rep doesn't make sense to me. If you found this somewhere, I would suggest you've found a rather advanced training technique, which is not at all what you need right now. Also, low rep work will primarily improve your strength but not make you gain much size, which by the sounds of it is more your aim?

As others have said, 30 minutes isn't long enough, especially if that is including time to warm up (which you want to be doing so you don't get injured).

If you're new to training I'd suggest following something like Stronglifts (Google it) for say 3 months to learn the big lifts and progress to lifting some heavier weights. In the long run you'll probably want to move away from the 5x5 approach if size is your primary aim, but it's a good start. Possibly with the addition of chin-ups to add a bit more bicep work.

Re. you diet question, provided you can eat enough at breakfast, lunch and dinner to get most of your calories, then a mid-morning and mid-afternoon protein drink with some fruit (a banana or some raisins for example) will be fine.

You need to eat more to grow, but don't get carried away. Have a read of these two articles:

http://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/bulking-diet-delusion

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/the_truth_about_bulking

Oh, and you're right to be sceptical of amazing 6 week transformations. Building muscle takes time, so be patient. Consistancy of both training and diet are key.


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Sorry I meant 15 seconds between each exercise, 8 in each circuit. Wait 1 min than repeat x5


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

That makes a bit more sense! How about you post the full details of what you are doing? From what you've said so far it doesn't sound the best idea for a beginner to me.


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Thanks.

Just done first week following this http://www.menshealth.com/best-life-magazine/exericse-anywhere?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-MensHealth-_-Content-BL-_-BusyManWorkout

I've only got dumbells to use so looked for routines I could use using what I already have.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

NX1977 said:


> Sorry I meant 15 seconds between each exercise, 8 in each circuit. Wait 1 min than repeat x5


Drastic change needed mate. Circuit training with short rests like that is far more geared towards conditioning than gaining mass.


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Thanks. Clearly a newb error.

Any good tips for someone with just dumbbells?

I see conflicting advice. Some say go heavy but for low reps and rests, others say high reps and longer breaks.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

NX1977 said:


> Any good tips for someone with just dumbbells?


The Muscle Monsters YouTube channel you mentioned consists of squat, deadlift and bench press, so I'd assumed you were doing that! If you are serious about getting bigger I'm afraid you need to either join a gym, or buy yourself some proper weights and equipment to use at home. You can't do it with just a couple of fairly light dumbbells.



> I see conflicting advice. Some say go heavy but for low reps and rests, others say high reps and longer breaks.


I think you've got things mixed up. Strength training usually consists of lower reps with longer rests between sets, whilst more size orientated training tends to use higher reps with shorter rests between sets. When starting out it's usually advised to lean slightly more towards the strength bias (e.g. Stronglifts) while learning the major lifts. But not everyone will agree!


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Thanks again ultrasonic


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## gearchange (Mar 19, 2010)

We don't just decide to do low reps for no reason,Its mainly because the weight is so heavy ,its impossible to do any more than 6-8 reps an ideal way to gain strength and size for a more advanced bodybuilder.What you need is a 5x5 routine,5 sets of 5 reps per exercise,no set rest time,just rest as much as you need between sets.Only thing I have an issue with is how you will achieve this with just dumbbells.

You can do only so much .you need quite a lot of weight to progress.


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## saxondale (Nov 11, 2012)

NX1977 said:


> Thanks. Clearly a newb error.
> 
> Any good tips for someone with just dumbbells?
> 
> I see conflicting advice. Some say go heavy but for low reps and rests, others say high reps and longer breaks.


I favour heavy for high reps


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## platyphylla (Feb 17, 2014)

Look up 5x5 or 5/3/1 mate it'll help.


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## saxondale (Nov 11, 2012)

CobraKai said:


> Do you even?


Even what mate?


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## Brook877 (May 16, 2012)

It's all down to food intake IMO.

I started off really quite skinny, and typically I thought I was eating a lot- three meals, a shake on training days and the odd snack.

In hindsight that was eating just enought to support my 12st at 6.2" so no amount of fancy training splits was going to add much size.

Start increasing gradually, I started by taking a couple of boiled eggs and half a tin of tuna to work with me for morning and afternoon breaks.

Over time the couple of eggs becomes 3 then 4, the half tin of tuna becomes a full tin, normal meals steadily get bigger, start having a shake in the drive into work in a morning etc.

Bottom line is if you want to weigh "x" amount then you need to eat enough to support it.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

Brook877 said:


> It's all down to food intake IMO...


Whilst you are obviously right that diet is very important, in this particular instance I think the training routine is the bigger issue. Short rest period circuit training with light weights is never going to build much muscle.


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## Sway12 (Oct 29, 2013)

Brook877 said:


> It's all down to food intake IMO.
> 
> I started off really quite skinny, and typically I thought I was eating a lot- three meals, a shake on training days and the odd snack.
> 
> ...


Also think getting stronger is key too. I've been training 7 months now. While bulking I ate fuk loads but ended up just gaining fat mainly, mainly because my lifts stalled and barely went up at all after a certain point. I noticed my progress had stagnated.


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## AshleyW (Feb 28, 2013)

JuggernautJake said:


> Yeah just to be clear you still have to eat food, get your protein in, good fats bla bla bla you know the score.
> 
> .
> 
> ...


I'm with Jake I literally was 6ft1 10st 9 up to the age of 26 thought I was a hard gainer specially after gaining no weight in the army for the whole 5 years!

I then heard that most of the time it's just a diet issue! Started force feeding myself extra 2 meals a day and 2 pints of "Fat milk" I started training harder as I had more fuel in turn getting stronger and bigger whilst that was happening I was getting hungry much more often so more food more milk

I would bet my bottom dollar on it if you stuck to the training these guys are saying eat so much more food that you sometimes cry when your stuffing and drink as much milk as pos you will gain so,e good weight

Moral of the story is I loved the extra weight so much I wanted more and did a cycle now my skinny weight is 13st 6 lol :beer:


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## Abc987 (Sep 26, 2013)

NX1977 said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Love to hear from naturally skinny guys who are body building naturally.
> 
> ...


You need to eat more. If your dedicated you'll find a way. I only get 1 break a day but I still manage to have 8 meals a day (including shakes)

What wrong with a cool bag?


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## rsd147 (Nov 14, 2012)

Eat Eat and Eat. Back when I started I ate what ever I wanted, do things differently now but its all about calories. As said previously, whole milk was good for along with 4 sausage rolls and a steak bake from greggs 

Work out your cals and go for it, try and get healthy foods in but with big calories.


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Ultrasonic said:


> Whilst you are obviously right that diet is very important, in this particular instance I think the training routine is the bigger issue. Short rest period circuit training with light weights is never going to build much muscle.


Funny enough I was reading some stuff and watching various YouTube videos (some via the suggestions at the end of a video) which seemed to suggest starting with such routines before going for just power lifts. Same videos also covered Unilateral and Bilateral training and which is best when.

Also read something which suggested a protein ratio of 1.2-1.5 per 1KG as the body just turns excess protein to fat if you stop training?

Certainly there's a lot of conflicting advice out there to make sense of



Sway12 said:


> Also think getting stronger is key too. I've been training 7 months now. While bulking I ate fuk loads but ended up just gaining fat mainly, mainly because my lifts stalled and barely went up at all after a certain point. I noticed my progress had stagnated.


This was in one of the video's or pages I read.

Not everything synchronised to my phone, but this covered stalling

I think jeromefitness.com and put it down to overtraining or working the same groups 2 sessions in a row?


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Sorry, don't mean the above to come across as though the great advice I've been given by members here is rubbish.

Just as I say so many different and conflicting advice I may have to try and see if/what works for me I guess.

Thanks again though, I really do appreciate all the advice and encouragement both in my posts and via pm.


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Well almost a week of using the my fitness pal app to record each day, and with very little change (to increase protein) I'm well over my calorie intake each day. Yesterday as an example I was 400 over my requirements including the extra 500/day I've added. Keeping to the 3 meals + (good) snacks in afternoon and evening.

Protein wise, using the formula of 1.5g per kg (66kg) which I've read seems to be enough to see results.

Workout I've been using has certainly had an impact on legs and core strength, and certainly something is happening with my abs.

Only 2 weeks in to committed exercise routine and 1st focusing on my intake.

Certainly happy so far


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## FelonE1 (Dec 23, 2013)

I had always been really skinny with a fast metabolism.Had to force feed myself alot of food and I train for an hour and a half 5 days a week.Food is key mate


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

NX1977 said:


> Yesterday as an example I was 400 over my requirements including the extra 500/day I've added.


Sounds like you've made a good start . 400 extra is a pretty major overshoot though, so for the long run try to plan a little better if you don't want to get fat. I'd want to be within 50 myself, but I'm probably more fussy than most!


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## NX1977 (Jun 7, 2014)

Ultrasonic said:


> Sounds like you've made a good start . 400 extra is a pretty major overshoot though, so for the long run try to plan a little better if you don't want to get fat. I'd want to be within 50 myself, but I'm probably more fussy than most!


Totally agree.

Need to get into the routine of doing my recording in the app as I go, rather than at the end of the day.

At least I can see any bad days at a glance to be able to correct bad habits next time.

TBH I've tried working out before, but never sorted my diet, so after 3 months saw little progress.

This time I determined to see if I can get results ready for our August break and have a relatively beach fit body.

Where I want to get to, looking at body fat chart images, is 12-13% with a good arm size and abs to show off.

That's my goal, and based on the help and advice I can see I can get there.


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## gavin79 (May 26, 2014)

ive always been slim, just eat more, drink more water and double the length of time your in the gym for. 30mins seems for to short. i am also ex army and i defo beleave you are what you eat


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## BigArt23 (Jul 6, 2014)

Need some help guys. Started DBOL 40mg a day 4 weeks ago got 1 more week of it left but only seen a 10 pound gain that includes injecting t400 300mg every 5 days for 3 weeks now. my question is after 8 more weeks of injecting t400 and test e how long should I take a break before starting back up on my 2nd cycle? and should I take any PCTs knowing I want to do another cycle? any help would be greatly appreciated!

Used to be overweight but with some muscle lost pretty much all my weight and muscle weighting in at 200 pounds 6'7 inches tall 28 years old. 4 weeks im 211 pounds and feel much stronger.


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## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

BigArt23 said:


> Need some help guys. Started DBOL 40mg a day 4 weeks ago got 1 more week of it left but only seen a 10 pound gain that includes injecting t400 300mg every 5 days for 3 weeks now. my question is after 8 more weeks of injecting t400 and test e how long should I take a break before starting back up on my 2nd cycle? and should I take any PCTs knowing I want to do another cycle? any help would be greatly appreciated!
> 
> Used to be overweight but with some muscle lost pretty much all my weight and muscle weighting in at 200 pounds 6'7 inches tall 28 years old. 4 weeks im 211 pounds and feel much stronger.


I think you got lost... This is the natural bodybuilding section; try starting your own thread in the steroid section.


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