Evolution of a Skinny Guy

[Jon]

I'm starting as soon as my order from GNC comes here. All those vitamins and no more soda but a gallon of water a day instead plus the excersizing.. shiiiet. If I don't see shit within a month, I'm going to blow up all of the stuff I ordered on July 4th with an M-80.

 

[geekcognito]

Haha. Just be glad I don't live in NYC and I can't put you on a "bootcamp" session.

And not the wimpy shit people pay for in the "fitness clubs." I mean what you would really go through if you went through boot camp.

 

[josh]

Do you think gaining that much muscle and changing your body that drastically in a short amount of time is bad for you?

 

[[R]DeVore]

Haha. Just be glad I don't live in NYC and I can't put you on a "bootcamp" session.

And not the wimpy shit people pay for in the "fitness clubs." I mean what you would really go through if you went through boot camp.

I know some people in the army and marines who tell me about boot camps and shit. really crazy stuff. For sure nothing like the fitness clubs. haha

I read that to help the muscles grow, you should eat 1.5-2 grams of protein for every pound you way, each day. So, I weight 240, so I should be eating close to 450 grams of protein daily? I am 6 '4 so I want to stay around the 225-250 weight range. I was 6 '4 and 130 pounds at one time, and being that skinny is a problem. so, I ate a lot. lol. I mean, a LOT. I just need to build muscle now.

And to whoever said pushups and situps dont work, tell that to the people in prison who don't have weights and thats all they can do is pushups, situps and dips. trust me, those things work. When i was in county, I put on a lot of muscle in the 6 months I was there, but then I got out and immediately lost it all due to smoking weed and drinking all day.

Oh, and Jon, I know what you mean about the pop thing. I drink a 2 liter a day or more of mountain dew. I've tried quitting cold turkey, but i get massive headaches from the lack of caffeine, so I've been cutting back the past few weeks, and now am down to 1 can a day. soon, i'll be off the soda totally. lol


Chucktown, I'm looking forward to your post.

 

[barman]

A[R]DeVore - 1.5-2g would be ideal but impossible for most people unless you are eating for a job. Do try to get at least 1 gram of protein per lb though.

Push-ups and sit-ups do work, and whoever said that does not know what they're talking about. Push-ups and pull-ups are those core exercises that you can do anywhere and work better than any gym equipment you can get your hands on (when it comes to functional strength and power.)

There are a variety of push-ups (wide, mid, diamond, clap-push ups, incline, decline, etc) and pull-ups (wide, mid, close-grip, weighted) you can do that beat any gym equipment.

And when it comes to sit-ups... well there's a number of kinds you can do as well.

 

[znine]

So, I weight 240, so I should be eating close to 450 grams of protein daily?

If you're 240 without too much muscle, even at 6'4'' you're likely in the high overweight borderline obese category going by BMI. You probably want to drop some of that weight before you start bulking so you don't get to really dangerous levels of fat. Remember that weight training is part of effective fat loss as well and helps you lose less muscle when you're losing fat.

And as for situps and pushups they will have an effect up to a point depending on your genetics. You will eventually stop improving when your body get used to the weight. Do you know any Olympic weight lifters that got where they are by doing pushups all day? You have to keep adding weight for your body to keep responding. For a skinny guy normal situps and pushups will probably do hardly anything noticable, maybe make you a bit less flabby. The average person already naturally builds more mass doing nothing.

 

[znine]

I'm starting as soon as my order from GNC comes here. All those vitamins and no more soda but a gallon of water a day instead plus the excersizing.. shiiiet. If I don't see shit within a month, I'm going to blow up all of the stuff I ordered on July 4th with an M-80.

Haha, if you follow your diet, do your workouts, and SLEEP, you'll start to notice changes quickly. TAKE A BEFORE PICTURE. Strip down to your underwear and take a picture of yourself. It's easy to make the mirror lie, but pictures tell the truth. Look at the picture for motivation if that's your style or just compare every couple weeks or whatever (new pictures?). When you reach your goal looking back can be sweet and help you keep motivated to maintain.

Oh, and avoid GNC, their products tend to have shit quality and a bunch of random ingredients you probably don't even want. This is especially true for whey powder (they have relatively low protein content and sometimes have a shit ton of sugar and other stuff). Vitamins and stuff should be alright for the most part I suppose. I haven't looked closely at GNC stuff in a while but I doubt that they have changed.

 

[Doobus]

Do you know any Olympic weight lifters that got where they are by doing pushups all day?

If your gonna use Olympic weight lifters as a example, why not just go to the top and say "Do you know any World's Strongest Man competitors doing push-ups all day."

You make note that genetics play a factor, without a doubt I agree with this, but by saying "Do you know any Olympic weight lifters that got where they are by doing push-ups all day?" You're making it seem that this is what everyone aspires to be. How many people can actually follow an Olympic weight lifters training regimen? I mean we all have to work, have sex, play tennis, have a social life, ect...

Yes, doing push-ups and sit-ups can only get you so far, but hitting the weights also has its limitations, of course the limitations is higher, but how many people here actually want to have one of the bodies on those body building magazines... I would certainly think not many. As far as where I am today, I could have as easily achieved it with weights, but since I'm not a fan of weight training, I stuck with the push-ups and sit-ups, alongside eating right, yoga, and running.

 

[emp]

I'm starting as soon as my order from GNC comes here. All those vitamins and no more soda but a gallon of water a day instead plus the excersizing.. shiiiet. If I don't see shit within a month, I'm going to blow up all of the stuff I ordered on July 4th with an M-80.

Make that 3 months.

And yes, take pics as well as detailed measurements.

Weight / fat %

If you want, you can also add mesure of ribcage , bizeps, legs

It is easy to trick oneself into "It hasn't worked, I'll stop it now, has been too hard anyway."

::emp::

 

[znine]

If your gonna use Olympic weight lifters as a example, why not just go to the top and say "Do you know any World's Strongest Man competitors doing push-ups all day."

You make note that genetics play a factor, without a doubt I agree with this, but by saying "Do you know any Olympic weight lifters that got where they are by doing push-ups all day?" You're making it seem that this is what everyone aspires to be. How many people can actually follow an Olympic weight lifters training regimen? I mean we all have to work, have sex, play tennis, have a social life, ect...

Yes, doing push-ups and sit-ups can only get you so far, but hitting the weights also has its limitations, of course the limitations is higher, but how many people here actually want to have one of the bodies on those body building magazines... I would certainly think not many. As far as where I am today, I could have as easily achieved it with weights, but since I'm not a fan of weight training, I stuck with the push-ups and sit-ups, alongside eating right, yoga, and running.

I was just saying that becoming a non-skinny guy will require more than situps in your bedroom. Skinny guys have a hard time gaining muscle or they wouldn't be skinny. They need more stimulation than just pushups/situps or they won't get too far. You made it sound like doing 100 pushups a day will do anything, that is why I mentioned the Olympic lifters.

 

[Doobus]

I was just saying that becoming a non-skinny guy will require more than situps in your bedroom. Skinny guys have a hard time gaining muscle or they wouldn't be skinny. They need more stimulation than just pushups/situps or they won't get too far. You made it sound like doing 100 pushups a day will do anything, that is why I mentioned the Olympic lifters.

Call it a blessing or a curse, but I graduated high school at 120 pounds thanks to a fast metabolism. Can't speak for every skinny dude who has a fast metabolism, but I put on 40 pounds most of it muscle since graduation, doing sit-ups and push-ups, with zero weight training.

One person whom I hope people know of is Michael Phelps, this dude arguably has a decent body for 6' 4", standing in at 200 pounds, yes that may be on the skinny side, but if you look at his photos he looks pretty good size wise. In an interview he stated that he doesn't lift a single weight. The reason I use this guy as an example because like most people plague of being skinny usually have fast metabolism like Phelps.

Again, I don't know what type of body your talking about that can't be achieved by doing sit-ups and push-ups, but if Phelps can achieve such a body by swimming, I might have to hit up the pool more often. I state that cuz I'm assuming the limitations you speak of with sit-ups and push-ups is the fact you can't increase the resistance as you can with weights, but tell me how can you can increase the resistence in the water.

I guess you've tested the push-up and sit-up yourself and it didn't work for you, for that I'm sorry. However if you're stating that doing 100 push-ups a day won't do anything, then I suggest you you hit up the weights.

 

[free]

I was and am skinny, but for a while I bulked up a little (all muscle ) from being active (lifting weights, running, playing, etc.) and then lost a lot of the weight and muscle because i got a little sick and believe me, i had a lot more confidence when i had more weight on me

 

[znine]

Michael Phelps is one of the scrawniest swimmers around. Bad example, there are a ton that have a "perfect" physique. Then again basically all of them are involved in weight training. Plus there are a ton of different weight training programs Phelps could be doing without touching weights. A lot of guys are 200lbs at 6'4" naturally...well usually heavier because they're overweight. You're trying to prove to me that something that is generally accepted as true is wrong because you can mention a few specific cases? You're like the fat man who eats mcdonalds every day then goes on a low carb diet and loses 100lbs without exercise and procedes to tell everyone that exercise is pointless and carbs are bad. Maybe in high school you weren't very active and/or ate like a pigeon and when you started exercising and eating you got up to your more natural level.

Go to your local gym. A lot of the guys sit and do dumbbell curls every day for an hour and wonder why they plateau. All you're telling me is that your plateau and Phelps plateau are taller than most people's.

 

[Doobus]

Michael Phelps is one of the scrawniest swimmers around. Bad example, there are a ton that have a "perfect" physique. Then again basically all of them are involved in weight training. Plus there are a ton of different weight training programs Phelps could be doing without touching weights. A lot of guys are 200lbs at 6'4" naturally...well usually heavier because they're overweight. You're trying to prove to me that something that is generally accepted as true is wrong because you can mention a few specific cases? You're like the fat man who eats mcdonalds every day then goes on a low carb diet and loses 100lbs without exercise and procedes to tell everyone that exercise is pointless and carbs are bad. Maybe in high school you weren't very active and/or ate like a pigeon and when you started exercising and eating you got up to your more natural level.

Go to your local gym. A lot of the guys sit and do dumbbell curls every day for an hour and wonder why they plateau. All you're telling me is that your plateau and Phelps plateau are taller than most people's.

Ok i didn't want it to go this far, but now you're just making assumptions. Don't make statements you know absolutely zilch about, I played 3 sports in high school, one of which I've been playing since I could walk and ate 3 meals a day, and I ate my veggies like a good little boy too.

I guess you haven't read a damn post I've put up because your accusing me of trying to prove to you that weight training doesn't work because its generally accepted, wherein fact you're the one spouting that doing sit-ups and push-ups don't do zilch... IN FACT you said that doing 100 push-ups a day won't do shit, which I'm willing to make a wager if you can even do 100 push-ups that doing that daily would actually bulk you up. Again this is where you fail to read, because I said I put on 40 pounds doing sit-ups and push-ups, with zero weight lifting.

And I never once stated that weight lifting didn't work, I'm merely arguing the fact you say that sit-ups and push-ups won't help you achieve the "perfect physique." Since you're spouting out words like perfect and physique within a space apart, name someone who has this "perfect physique" because I'm pretty damn sure this is what we call subjective...

Just to reiterate for the hard of reading:

I generally believe that weight lifting can help you achieve a "better physique."

I also believe that doing sit-ups and push-ups can help you achieve a "better physique," so does two other people on this thread.

Notice how I didn't use "perfect," I'll edit those out later when you give me names.

 

[znine]

Ok i didn't want it to go this far, but now you're just making assumptions. Don't make statements you know absolutely zilch about, I played 3 sports in high school, one of which I've been playing since I could walk and ate 3 meals a day, and I ate my veggies like a good little boy too.

I guess you haven't read a damn post I've put up because your accusing me of trying to prove to you that weight training doesn't work because its generally accepted, wherein fact you're the one spouting that doing sit-ups and push-ups don't do zilch... IN FACT you said that doing 100 push-ups a day won't do shit, which I'm willing to make a wager if you can even do 100 push-ups that doing that daily would actually bulk you up. Again this is where you fail to read, because I said I put on 40 pounds doing sit-ups and push-ups, with zero weight lifting.

And I never once stated that weight lifting didn't work, I'm merely arguing the fact you say that sit-ups and push-ups won't help you achieve the "perfect physique." Since you're spouting out words like perfect and physique within a space apart, name someone who has this "perfect physique" because I'm pretty damn sure this is what we call subjective...

Just to reiterate for the hard of reading:

I generally believe that weight lifting can help you achieve a "better physique."

I also believe that doing sit-ups and push-ups can help you achieve a "better physique," so does two other people on this thread.

Notice how I didn't use "perfect," I'll edit those out later when you give me names.

You're the only one making assumptions, I just said "Maybe xx was the case." I never said doing pushups and situps won't do anything, I said that you are bound to plateau and that the plateau will vary on the person. Yours is apparently 165 and that is apparently what you want so good for you, do what works for you. You are likely not a hard gainer like many in this thread. All I am saying is that for MOST SKINNY GUYS simple pushups won't get them where they want especially within the same time frame as a more structured weight lifting program. I didn't say they will do absolutely nothing.

You are the only one providing misleading information by saying that pushups will make anyone ripped. Stop over generalizing. What works for you doesn't always work for everyone else. Pushups/situps may work, but weight training like described in chucktown's thread WILL WORK and work a lot FASTER. At least I haven't heard of anyone who didn't have results with such a plan if they DO IT. I know/have heard of plenty of people who just did pushups or low weight high rep weight lifting sessions and made next to no progress.

You also may have noticed that when i said perfect it was in quotes. I was implying that it was subjective.

Finally, I would hardly say you did zero weight lifting as pushups and situps are both weight lifting exercises that use your body's weight in addition to optional added weight.

And rereading the posts I find it even more ridiculous that you use an Olympic level athlete as an example... There's also some famous bodybuilders that only ever do pullups/pushups/situps. If this worked for everyone like it works for them, everyone would do it.

 

[Doobus]

Where do you go off saying that I am the only one making assumptions? And this is a direct quote from you:

I was just saying that becoming a non-skinny guy will require more than situps in your bedroom.

As well as this:

You made it sound like doing 100 pushups a day will do anything, that is why I mentioned the Olympic lifters.

These look like fucking assumptions to me.

You are the only one providing misleading information by saying that pushups will make anyone ripped.

Point me to where I said this, and I will secede from further argument.

The only reason I even responded to your first post is because you said push-ups and sit-ups won't do good for skinny guys, and don't even try denying this cuz its plain as day at the top in quotations what you said.

You are the only one providing misleading information by saying that pushups will make anyone ripped. Stop over generalizing.

I used my experience as a possible alternative, I never once said it was the be all end all solution for all skinny guys out there, because if it was I would have already bottled it up and sold it to every skinning assess out there for a large sum of money. Can you point this out to me? Or are you just putting words in my mouth, in this case in my posts.

I don't fucking care if Chucktown's works faster, that wasn't the original argument, so I'm not even going to expand any further on this. I however won't disagree that his weight training program won't work, cuz i never did, sorry if I am a sounding like a fucking parrot here, but I want to make it clear to you that I never said weight lifting won't work.

Finally, I would hardly say you did zero weight lifting as pushups and situps are both weight lifting exercises that use your body's weight in addition to optional added weight.

Now you're just trying to be a smart ass here, I guess since the earth's gravitational push on us is about 14 pounds, every time i lift to pick a booger out of my nose I am in fact doing weight training because I going against about 14 pounds of gravitational pull and adding an extra amount of weight because a booger has to weigh something... Oh wait and every time I get up after wiping shit off my ass thats also considered weight training. I guess I am guilty of weight training... You got me.

Lastly:

There's also some famous bodybuilders that only ever do pullups/pushups/situps. If this worked for everyone like it works for them, everyone would do it.

Thanks for only solidifying the fact that sit-ups and push-ups and yes even pull-ups are a viable way to bulk up, although it may not be for everyone is exactly what I have been saying this whole time.

This has been fun.

 

[znine]

I could play the quote game too but I'm nto going to feed this retarded argument anymore. You misinterpreted things I said, I probably misinterpreted things you said.

You left out an important part of my quote

I was just saying that becoming a non-skinny guy will require more than situps in your bedroom. Skinny guys have a hard time gaining muscle or they wouldn't be skinny. They need more stimulation than just pushups/situps or they won't get too far.

You're giving me grief for making a statement like "The sky is blue." Sure the sky is sometimes grey, or colored from the sunset but that doesn't mean I'm an idiot for saying the general statement that the "sky is blue." I'm sorry if I didn't make it completely clear that there are other cases. Everyone knows that there are exceptions to any rule, especial when it comes to the human body. You are guilty of essentially the same thing.

I'm pretty sure we are basically in agreement I just don't like how you imply that pushups/situps will give skinny guys a good chance of getting where they want. All I have been saying all along is that just doing pushups and situps will in general not get skinny guys where they want. I never said it will NEVER work because that's just impossible to know.

And btw, if you gained 50lbs eating healthy food but too much red meat you are probably NOT a hardgainer unless you were eating a number of calories WAY higher than your burned during the day. Being skinny in high school could be attributed to any number of different things (late growth spurt, or maybe your metabolism went to shit for some reason after hs, etc.). It's also possible that your sports helped your progress a lot depending on which ones you played.

I'm not really sure what you're talking about in your speech on the earth's gravitational pull being 14lbs. The force from gravity is relative to the mass of the object... Oh and if you look up "weight training" it is "weightlifting done as a conditioning exercise or as a training program." General day to day tasks obviously consist of lifting weight but it's not weight training unless you are doing it explicitly for exercise which you are with pushups/situps.

I was not being a smart ass about pushups and situps being weight training exercises. Most bodybuilders do pushups/situps/pullups and other body weight exercises. They'll usually add weight though to increase the resistance or do situps on an incline, pushups with your legs lifted up by a partner, etc. Search Google for "workout without weights" or something similar. And of course you can get farther with modified situps/pushups with more resistance.

Things that work for few people are not generally considered a good idea for everyone. Those guys have been huge their whole life and they don't just do the basic situps/pushups.

 

[Xrproto]

I'm starting as soon as my order from GNC comes here. All those vitamins and no more soda but a gallon of water a day instead plus the excersizing.. shiiiet. If I don't see shit within a month, I'm going to blow up all of the stuff I ordered on July 4th with an M-80.

If you're just starting out all you need is a lot of food. Garbs, Protein, Healthy fats (natural penaut butter). The only thing I would supplement is protein shakes & maybe some creatine.

If you still smoke, quit. You will gain a ton of weight by just eating BIG & working out hard.

There is no need to load up on tons of different supplements when a person first starts to work out. The only time one should need them is if they are trying to break a platue and/or if it's your basic protien, flax oil, creatine & vitamines.

Also, track your diet. You shoul be at least taking in 2grams of protein per lb of body weight. That's a shit load and you will have to work your way up but I can guarentee if you are intaking that much you will GROW. The only draw back is the bad protein gas and bms.

Eat BIG to get BIG.

Also, on the push-up things...try weighted, they are by far the best for the chest along with LF Dips.

Cheers & goog luck.

EDIT: That's 2grams of protein per lbs of body weight a DAY ~ a good target is 1.5 - 2g a day. Also, eat tons of carbs...trust me you will be stuffed all friggen day can will have to force food down your mouth.

Us skinny guys are skinny because we don't eat enough, it's that simple. It doesn't matter what workout you are doing if you don't eat. You don't eat, you don't grow.

 

[geekcognito]

If you're just starting out all you need is a lot of food. Garbs, Protein, Healthy fats (natural penaut butter). The only thing I would supplement is protein shakes & maybe some creatine.

If you still smoke, quit. You will gain a ton of weight by just eating BIG & working out hard.

There is no need to load up on tons of different supplements when a person first starts to work out. The only time one should need them is if they are trying to break a platue and/or if it's your basic protien, flax oil, creatine & vitamines.

This is all true, but Jon and some other guys on here wanted to put on some weight pretty fast, so I recommended a good protein, some creatine, and NO2 along with GNC's Mega Men vitamins to start out with. As I said in my post, noone NEEDS supplements. They are as their name implies - supplements. However, I stand by the plan I've laid out as a great way to gain muscle weight safely and effectively when coupled with workouts that consist primarily of compound exercises and a sensible, high protein diet.

 

[Xrproto]

This is all true, but Jon and some other guys on here wanted to put on some weight pretty fast, so I recommended a good protein, some creatine, and NO2 along with GNC's Mega Men vitamins to start out with. As I said in my post, noone NEEDS supplements. They are as their name implies - supplements. However, I stand by the plan I've laid out as a great way to gain muscle weight safely and effectively when coupled with workouts that consist primarily of compound exercises and a sensible, high protein diet.

I didn't realize it was planned out for them, in that chase I'm sure they are getting what they need. I just read he ordered some sups and generaly if someone isn't guided they tend to get a whole bunch of crap and we all know how some of the reps at GNC like to push crap.