looking for advice on getting bigger

[geek2muscle]

hey there!
So i am a hard gainer and i really want to get bigger. i just started working out seriously about a year ago and i have noticed a difference but it seems that i have kind of hit the wall. any advice anyone can give would be awesome.
I love the gym and working out and am committed to changing my body. I just want to have more mass to me.

Right now i am 6'1" and 150 pounds. i would love to maybe put on 10 or 20 pounds. does that seem about right? here are some pics. let me know what advice you guys might have for me. i'm open to get bigger any way it takes.

here are some pics:
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2466.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2471.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2468.jpg

[gogr2]

Eat like you have never eaten before... it looks like you have a high metabolism. While it would be better to eat clean calories (aka not junk food), you might be able to get away with just eating anything.

I really can't say much more for you though, as I come from the other end of the spectrum... fat going to skinny and muscle comes on at a normal pace.

Good luck with the growth!

[geek2muscle]

Thanks so much guys. I have gotten some great advice here so I am ready to head out on this journey! Hell hath no furry! I am going to be eating like crazy and have added both a weight gainer and protein supplement to to my routine. I will be lifting heavy and have gotten a routine to lift with.

This will be my progress journal so hopefully people will check it out. I got a tape measure so I will get measurements up tonight. I almost got the 120" tape but i figure lets not get ahead of ourselves Thanks again guys!

[DaBigGuy1]

Eat, eat, eat, eat, and eat some more.....

Did I mention, eat?

You will see that a lot of it is diet, and you got to lift heavy, hard and brief.

Stay away from a lot of isolation movements or machines..hit the basic compound movements that employ many more muscles of the body. Forego any other activities. If you're a runner, stop. You have a high metabolism so preserving calories for growth is a MUST for you!

Eat as clean as you can, but DO NOT worry about some "dirty" calories...you're body is burning them all off anyway! I made that mistake a long time ago, and I learned to just eat...

Just for the heck of it, Google an article called "So you want to be a freaky bodybuilder?". Not say that that is what you WANT to be or to follow any thing in it, but do read the part about the diets of the big bodybuilders.....good food for thought.

Good luck and lift heavy!!

Ron III---III

[geek2muscle]

AWESOME! that helps a lot. I know this may be an ignorant question, but can you give me some examples of the basic compound movements. I think I have an idea of what you mean but would you mind elaborating. Thanks again!!! Munch munch munch....

[arpeejay]

The three foundation exercises:

Bench press

Dead lift

Squat

The only thing I'd add:

There are many variations on each of these; mixing it up helps! Each time you do a slightly different variation (for example, dumbbell chest press or Theraband chest press, leg press or hack squat, seated low rows or lat pulldowns) you work a different set of ancillary muscles as well as the primary muscles (pecs, quads / hams, lats / lower back.) Working through the variations (a) prevents you from getting stuck in a rut and (b) increases your overall effectiveness by strengthening those ancillary muscles.

Hope this helps!

xoxo

Richard

[geek2muscle]

thats awesome! thank you so much. you guys really rock! so basically hit the foundation heavy weight low reps yea? what about biceps?

[arpeejay]

Standing barbell curls

Alternating seated curls

Hammer curls

Theraband curls

If you do all the others, you'll work your arms plenty.

xoxo

Richard

[DaBigGuy1]

Just what he said!

And one more thing.....keep those exercises avy, inteense but brief, and out of the gym! For instance, in my opinion if you are in the gym for more than 1.5 hours, you are either not keeping your intensity up or you are doing too much, and you will throw yourself into overtraining. Keep it intense but brief....

And about those biceps.....focus on them, but don't overdo it. The biceps are a small muscle compared to, for instance, your legs and badck. And in doing back your biceps are trained indirectly, so hit the biceps wisely. i know, I knnow, the biceps are the "showy" muscles...BUT, there is always somethiing to be said about a wide back, thick massive quads, bowling ball sized delts...need I go on/

Ron III---III

P.S. SQUATS!! Learn to love them!

[geek2muscle]

This info has been so awesome! thank you so much. I feel empowered

So today I am starting my new workout plan and I started the new eating plan and shakes this week. So I figure I am getting about 3k calories per day. Does that sound about right to you guys or should I try for more? I am doing a gainer powder as well as added protein shakes(supposedly chocolate flavored, but not like any chocolate I know or love).

Here are the details on my current size. I know i know i know im small but that's why I am here! So don't laugh too hard. Here are pics again:
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2466.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2471.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2468.jpg
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 150 pounds
Bicep: 13"
Chest: 35.5"
Waist: 30"
Thigh: 19"
Calf: 13.5"

Oh, one more question. In regards to the workouts and excersises, I assume I should be doing the heavy weight but low reps yea? And how many sets should I try for and how much time between sets? I am sure this is all out there somewhere but I really appreciate the help.

And I totally get ya on the bicep thing and I totally get what DaBigGuy1 is saying. I am all about a wide back Ok off to the gym. Thanks for following this with me

[arpeejay]

Hmm, pix didn't load for some reason. Each link comes back "page not found." Am I doing something wrong?

xoxo

Richard

[geek2muscle]

oops try these:
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/zz159/xspot21/IMG_2466.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2471.jpg
http://i823.photobucket.com/albums/z...1/IMG_2468.jpg

[arpeejay]

Much better!

And, ya know, you're already seriously sexy! If you never gain another pound, you'll still have guys following you around with their tongues (and other things!) hanging out!

We'll enjoy watching you GROW, even so!

When you get as big as DaBigGuy, I will be happy to have you carry me off to your cave! :-)

xoxo

Richard

[TheMM]

Your body type reminds me of well....me.

Good luck to gettin huge.

[geek2muscle]

thanks for all the support and nice comments. so i figure i will post what i did at the gym and you guys can tell me if i am on the right track. i basically focused on chest.i wasn't sure if its best to jump around or give each body part its own session. let me know what you guys think on that and on what i did. i felt it and it wa hard to push thru. i kept good form and did them nice and slow. Should i have done more? Thanks again for all the help!
Bench press
90lbs x10 reps warm-up
5 sets 150lbs x5 reps

Dips
5 sets x10 reps

Smith machine seated overhead press
50lbs x10 reps warm-up
5 sets 80lbs x5 reps

Converging plate chest press
5 sets 140lbs x5 reps

[arpeejay]

Great work, G2M! Expect to be sore tomorrow!

This early in the game there might be some advantage in doing total body workouts for a few sessions. Otherwise, this looks pretty good.

xoxo

Richard

[geek2muscle]

Okey dokey. So today I did some back work. I figure next week I will start trying for an all around work out. Any suggestions on once I go that route as far as how many exercises per body section? Anywho, here is what I did today. I feel like I didn't get as many things in as I did with the chest workout, but it still kicked my ass. Let me know how effective you guys feel today was. I know I felt it I figure I will just keep posting here as a journal and you guys can give advice as you see fit. Thanks again and I hope I am not being too annoying

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
10 reps 110lbs warm-up
5 sets 160lbs x 5 reps

Barbell Shrug
10 reps 90lbs warm-up
5 sets 215lbs x 5 reps

Seated Row
10 reps 100lbs warm-up
5 sets 150lbs x 5 reps

Barbell Bent over row
10 reps 65 lbs warm-up
5 sets 115lbs x 5 reps

[geek2muscle]

So I was back at it today after taking a day off yesterday. I thikn I have settled into a groove. My plan is going to be this:
Mon-Chest/Shoulders
Tuesday-Legs
Wed-Back/Biceps
Thursday-Legs
Friday-Chest/Shoulders
Does that seem reasonable? I think that gets me around to everything i need to hit. Here is what I did today for my chest and shoulders workout. I was able to go up in weight from my last go which i felt good about and the workout felt great. I have been eating like crazy too which is I am sure a good thing. I have never been so hungry in all my life
Bench press
90lbs x10 reps warm-up
5 sets 175lbs x5 reps

Dips
5 sets x10 reps

Smith machine seated overhead press
65lbs x10 reps warm-up
5 sets 115lbs x5 reps

Cable chest cross(not sure what the name for this is, but i did it with the two cables and pulled up and over)
2 sets 50lbs x5 reps
1 set 70lbs x5 reps
2 sets 90lbs x5 reps

Cable Up Fly
5 sets 40lbs x5 reps (i was tired out at this point)
Thanks again for reading and following!

[geek2muscle]

oh wait...on that cable chest cross thing i meant i went in a downward motion...then the last exercise i did in an upward motion.

[BIGJOEY]

looked at your workout plan and if your trying to build then you need to make some changes
do legs first. they are slow twitch muscle fiber muscle groups which will tak longet to recover from a workout doing them 2x a week in your situation will be over training. secon you have no day for triceps. combining back and biceps is going to over train your biceps which means they wont grow much.

can i offer this layout to you

monday legs
tuesday back
wed chest
thurs shoulders
fri arms

do 2 warm up sets 12-15 reps
3- 5 worksing sets 6-8 reps moderat to heavy weight

do a compound exercise in each muscle group.

legs = squats compound move
back barbell rows or deadlifts
chest bench press
shoulders miltary press
biceps barbell curl
triceps close grip bench

do 3 other exercise involving either dumbbells, cables or machines.

[geek2muscle]

hey thanks so much! i will give this a go starting this week. i have actually seen some gains and I will try and post them here. but i am excited to give this a go. thanks again for the advice. i love any and all i can get!