Gaining Weight

[txboinsf]

Before I go into detail about my problem, here's some background information on me:

I am 25, 150lbs, 5'11" and have been working out for about 1.5 years. 150 lbs is the most I have ever weighed in my life!!! I had always been stuck at 120-123 for the first 23 years of my life, due to a food-nazi-esque ex-boyfriend.

Now for my problem: I have been stuck at 150 lbs for the past 6 months. I do have a high metabolism and low testosterone (yes I know that sounds strange for a 25 year old guy) and I'm not claiming I eat like a saint, but I DO NOT gain the weight, even with eating lots of protein and what not (not currently taking any supplements, but am taking a multi-vitamin). I also go to the gym 4-5 times a week, but that doesn't put weight on me.

I know my biggest problem is the low testosterone, and I know how to solve that, but like most guys here in the States, I have no job and no health insurance.

My question to y'all is how do I gain the weight, but keep the healthy eating?? It's really depressing to be working out at the gym all this time, but not gaining the weight, or getting any bigger?? Am I doing anything wrong??? Any help would be greatly apprectiated

[RadRx]

Dear Tx:

I was in the 120's when I graduated from high school. At the end of college I was in the 160's. I've been at the fat end of the scale as well (220 until last year). I'm now hovering in the low 190's and looking to cut more fat.

The first thing you need to realize is that your metabolism will slow down as you age. You just need to be have a solid foundation upon which to build when it happens.

A balanced diet (including powerhouse types of fruits and vegetables) should serve you well in your workout regimen. You shouldn't need a multi-vitamin at your age. My progress in the gym has never been as good as when I have consumed the recommended "5 a day" servings of fresh veggies. I do use protein supplements because I think that cooking meat is a pain in the ass.

[glammaman2000]

first,GET A JOB!anything.you never who you'll meet,where it will lead,etc.second,WORKING OUT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WORK!! just so your priorities are straight.if you were 20,i would say,"wait 'til you're 25!"you should,just now,start finding it easier to gain weight.as for supplements,the important thing is;not a whole lot of protein at one time,but a little all day.i found that dessiccated liver tablets are convenient&cheap!2 every 2 hours,8 before you go to bed at night.(some people can't digest them)that&working out like a motherf**ker.i gained 30lbs.of muscle in one summer that way!

[BigSteve6ft3]

Hey txboinsf,

I might be telling you stuff you already know, but here are some thoughts.

First of all, if I read your story right, it sounds like you've put on about 25 pounds in the last two years, which ain't bad. So maybe you're doing the all right things already.

But supposing you're not, here's some suggestions. Again, just skip over this if I'm telling you stuff you already know.

You say you go to the gym 4-5 times a week, but how do you train? If you want to gain weight, you need to be lifting heavy weight at low reps. That means using weights that you can lift only 3 to 6 repetitions before failure. If you're mainly doing 12 to 20 reps on a given exercise (except as a warm-up), you're lifting too light to put on any significant size; that's a slim down and tone routine, so I hope you're not doing that. (I do recommend doing high-rep warm-ups, though; it helps prevent injuries). I'd recommend a light warmup on each major exercise, then pyramid up to a weight you can handle for only 3-6 reps, then do two to four sets at that heavy weight. Just be careful to keep your form strict so you don't injure yourself.

Allow enough time for your muscles to recover. I can't tell from what you've written, but it's possible that over-training could be the source of your problem. Training each body part once a week is the current rule of thumb for training enough while avoiding over-training.

Make sure you work hard on the basic compound exercises that work your biggest muscles (squats, bench press, pull-ups, military press, etc.). Training your biggest muscles hard, especially quads and glutes, stimulates testosterone production. Heavy squats, in particular, have gained a big reputation as major testosterone boosters. (By the way, why do you say you've got low testosterone? Were you actually tested for this, or is this just a hunch?)

As for nutrition, if you want to gain weight, you need to take in more calories. That's pretty much all there is to it. Make sure you're eating healthy, avoid eating too much saturated fat (like in red meat, butter, margarine), etc., etc. -- but in addition to protein, you've got to take in more carbs and fat to get the calories you need to gain weight. The Mediterranean diet is considered very healthy, and it includes lots of oils (olive oil or other vegetable oil, oily nuts, oily fish, etc.) and starches (bread, pasta, etc.) If you can afford protein powders, I'd recommend using them. To add relatively healthy fat calories, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to your proteins shakes.

This problem might just go away all by itself as you get older. When I was 24, I weighed about 185, which, at my height of 6'3", made me about as thin as you are now. Then, at 25, my metabolism suddenly toned down a notch and I was able to gain significant weight for the first time in my life. My weight quickly jumped to over 200 without much effort on my part and has been going up ever since. Now I have to worry about the opposite problem.

One final recommendation is that, when you do finally start gaining weight, don't try to put on too much too fast, or you will put on fat rather than muscle. You've got a problem your typical chubby American would envy, so don't squander that advantage. Train heavy, eat healthy, stay lean. And be patient; these things take time.

Hope this helps. -- Steve

[glammaman2000]

appreciate the practical,real world advice you're getting here.i could argue some minor points,but overall;you'll get better information here than in most magazines!one thought:Robby Robinson(Mr.Universe,NoC winner,Masters Olympia)once told me"there's no such thing as overtraining!you can under-rest,or under-eat,but you can't overtrain!"i tend to agree with him.discuss.

[txboinsf]

I want to thank those that have replied to this posting.

To answer the question about the testosterone, yes I have had it tested and it is very low for someone my age (my level being that of a 60+ year old man, this test was done last year). I also know my testosterone is low because I have little to no sex drive.

That 123 to 150 over a two year span was actually done in about 6 months, but as I said, it gets kind of frustrating when you stay at a weight for 6 months and see no gains.

Thanks once again for the great advice!!

TXboi

[txboinsf]

Could someone define what overtraining is?? Is it different for each age group or different for the skill level or both???

TXboi

[traveller]

Txboinsf,

IMHO, overtraining depends upon the individual. Signs of overtraining, e.g., fatigue, and loss of appetite, could be due to other things besides training too much. If you "google" for 'signs of overtraining,' you'll find some useful information.

As for your low testosterone, if you can get a job that offers decent health insurance, you should be able to get a prescription for testosterone but probably at a low dosage, e.g., 5 mg/day, that is insufficient for gaining large amounts of muscle mass.

Good luck,

Traveller

[BigSteve6ft3]

I suppose glammaman is right. "Overtraining" is really under-resting and under-eating. I'm not really an expert, but here's my understanding:

Working out causes microscopic damage to your muscle fibers. Your body repairs this damage, and adds some extra mass for good measure, resulting in muscle growth. So the workout is just the stimulus for muscle growth. The actual growth takes place later, mostly while you sleep. It takes several days, with all the right nutrients floating around in your bloodstream, for the repair and growth to be complete. If you work the same muscle again before the repair/growth process is complete, you just break down the partial repairs and set the process back to square one. When you get into that mode, you hit a plateau and don't grow. So basically, the idea is that you need to allow adequate recovery time to maximize your gains.

Anyway, that's the theory. It seems to jibe with my personal experience. I've gone through periods where I worked out religiously almost every day, and others where life got in the way and I missed a lot of workouts. I often made better gains in those more casual periods (but not TOO casual). Now I use the once-a-week-per-bodypart schedule and that works pretty well for me (but that's me).

This is definitely a highly individual thing. It certainly changes with age. The younger you are, the less prone to overtraining you'd typically be, just because the repair processes are faster when you're younger.

You'll need to experiment to figure out what works for you. Try working out even harder. If you start making better gains that way, go for it. If not, back off a bit and allow yourself more rest between workouts. Making better gains that way? Muscle soreness can be a clue. If the muscle you're working is still seriously sore from its previous workout, you might be pushing the workout frequency a bit much. (On the other hand, if you're never sore, you probably aren't working hard enough). Getting enough sleep is also important.

Don't know what to say about the testosterone beyond what traveller already said. Good luck on finding a decent job so you can get some health care. In the meantime, try those heavy workouts. I certainly notice a libido boost when I train heavy, so I think the rumors on this are true (and I'm pretty sure there have been scientific studies that confirm the testosterone-stimulating effect of heavy weight training).

[ethernet_jock]

all I can say is... wow... you guys are great.

I thought I knew it all, but reading over these posts, I seem to always learn more by reading your answers to other people's questions.

RE: Metabolism - I was in the same boat when I was about 18.... it's a different age for everyone buddy. I hit age 20 and went from 6'4" 160 to 250 before I was 24. It was a good portion of beer fat (unfortunately) so I've been working on converting it into muscle ever since. I only got REALLY serious about it last November. It'll happen... very soon... and you're in the perfect position to gain the right kinda weight when it does. The big lesson I had to learn was to quit comparing myself to 16yo wonder kids with insane genetics and start looking at 45-year-old super-buff dudes as my goal.

RE: Overtraining - I wasted a good year and a half overtraining constantly and without any practical diet at all. I trained in my basement, with bad form, worthless equipment, way too heavy of weight, and way too often. I found myself sore and extremely stiff almost every day and getting incredibly depressed about not making any significant gains by the end of that period of time. I took almost 7 full months off for my wife's late pregnancy and the first few months of my son's life and decided I'd try my hand at a real gym. I did about a month's worth of good research on the internet about good diet and training techniques and then had a couple free PT sessions at the gym. Since starting last November I feel like I've made some great gains altho I have a REALLY long way to go.

Anyhow - keep on keepin' on and.... listen to these guys.... they know their shit better than anyone I've ever talked to.

[brent]

Originally Posted by ethernet_jock

...
RE: Metabolism - I was in the same boat when I was about 18.... it's a different age for everyone buddy. I hit age 20 and went from 6'4" 160 to 250 before I was 24. It was a good portion of beer fat (unfortunately) so I've been working on converting it into muscle ever since
...

Sounds like my own life, but my fat wasn't from beer, and it didn't hit me until 25. I went from 175 at 24 years old to about 215 at 28. The upswing is that muscle seems easier to gain now. Stay with it EJ, soon enough that fat will be muscle (which I'm sure you wife will appreciate).

Originally Posted by BigSteve6ft3

...
I've gone through periods where I worked out religiously almost every day, and others where life got in the way and I missed a lot of workouts. I often made better gains in those more casual periods (but not TOO casual). Now I use the once-a-week-per-bodypart schedule and that works pretty well for me (but that's me).
...

I find that once every 6 days is about perfect for me, I agree that most people don't allow enough time to repair. I once heard that the soreness goes away before your muscles are repaired.



Now, as for getting a job:
1. Jobs are mighty scarce in the US these days.
2. Most jobs I've had don't come with health insurance. I haven't had insurance since 1998.
3. Maybe he has a reason for being unemployed, like being in school.

[glammaman2000]

some ideas...too bad about the"beer fat".i was going to recommend the "beer&banana"diet.2beers,2bananas.every day.the potassium helps.&a study was done of elite athletes.they were asked what you should drink after major exertion.they said"gatorade,protein shake,etc"then they followed them around to see what they actually drank.beer.a good,clean,chemical-free beer has trace minerals& the alcohol is largely diluted by water.it also has a mild sedative effect that aids sleep.OVERTRAINING.when i trained for the Eastern America i did 6hour workouts!my 1st contest,5th place,drug-free,against guys on steroids!(190lbs.28"waist!)the closest i ever came to overtraining was a ridiculous arm routine.my arms got stronger,harder&SMALLER!but they started&continued to grow for a few weeks after i stopped the routine.i knew a doctor who"sponsored"a Mr.Universe.his formula for bodybuilding success was"a whole lot of steroids,10 HOURS of SLEEP(!)&nothing else to think about"there is no substitute for knowing your own body.takes time.

[brent]

Glamm,
What are dessiccated liver tablets? I have never heard of them, but I am intrigued at this 30 pounds in one Summer. Is there something out there that might be as good, but does not involve parts of an animal? I tend to be one of those annoyingly strict vegetarians...

[buffdoc]

I think you have already received great advice. I would like to reiterate and add a couple of points for you:
1. You need to get a job. You need to be working to establish some sense of self worth. It is essential in developing you in a functional and self-motivation adult. This will actually help you focus and prioritize with respect to training.
2. Workup the low test. You cannot simply write off low test levels for someone of your age. It requires a medical work-up to exclude things like prolactinoma and other causes of central endocrine dysfunction. True, it may be idiopathic but it needs investigation. It also may be a reason why you can't seem to gain. No health insurance doesn't mean no health care. I've taken care of lots of people who couldn't pay during residency. Many of these people had jobs too. Go to an academic university hospital--they have free clinics staffed by residents and overseen by attendings. The government pays them to do this. Try to get an appointment with an endocrinologist (preferably) or start with a general internist who will likely refer you to one if they can't figure out what is wrong when common things are excluded. Avoid family medicine because they often try to treat without really knowing.
3. Eat more. The bottom line is that if your weight is not increasing you are in caloric balance; that is, the number of cals going in = number of cals being expended. It is easy to gain weight--it is much harder to gain lean muscle mass without fat. Keep track of everything you eat and total the cals. Once you get an idea, increase that amount by 500 cals. This should help you put on 1-2 lbs/months with proper training and rest. Also eat six times a day. You can search the board--I posted a detailed nutrition plan for another dude about gaining while minimizing fat.
4. Change your training. I am sure you are over trained based on what you have described. Focus on compound lifts, drop all isolation movements. Maybe even cut backing lifting to 3 times a week and then gradually increase to 4.
5. Get realistic. The bottom line is that most people will never look like a professional bodybuilder or a top fitness model. Most have used anabolic steroids extensively in varying amounts and spend all the time in their lives to look like that--it is their full time job. It is very, very difficult to look huge and be extremely ripped (unlike the descriptions in most of the muscle growth stories unfortunately). However, it is possible for anyone to be moderately built and quite ripped. I think you could easily hit and maintain a lean 180. So maybe you should shoot for that. In the long term, it is much easier to maintain.

[glammaman2000]

are very old school.your health food store has them,on a dusty bottom shelf somewhere.i have gone through periods of being lacto-ovo-vegetarian.it has its advantages.you could substitute dessicated corn liver tablets.if corn had livers.

[txboinsf]

Thanks to all the guys that have responded to this post. I'm working on getting a job and am looking into all the free clincs that SF has to offer to see if they'll do a testosterone check.

I wish I had a before pic to show y'all how thin I was.....I'm sure I have it some where on my computer, but I'll just post a pic of what I look like now at 150 lbs. I have noticed some filling out, but my chest needs the most work, since I'm working against a concave chest (not too bad of one, but still one none the less).

Thanks once again guys.

[brent]

Try to get treatment now. As I recall, SF has LOTS of free clinics that would be open to the unemployed. You may not have access to those if you are employed. Even if you do find a job in this economy, and even if they have benefits, most employers make you wait 3 months for benefits.