I started at 5'8 165lbs and now I am 6'2 205... still gaining too...

3x a week at the gym for 3 hours each. Used to take Protein, Creatine and RF, but only Protein now and a better diet.

Might start RF again...

 

I don't think you should take a protein shake right before working out. Your body is going to start digestion, and it'll drain a lot of your energy. I would try to take it afterwards, and then right before bed.

 

Okay, os I noticed a lot of you said you're smaller guys who have trouble gaining. Weight, that's awesome, I'm the same way. The problem we have is that America is so centered on losing weight that there isn't much for us. Secondly, a lot of the guys we work out with have normal metabolisms that allow them to just workout, eat, and get bigger as simply as that. We have to put in more work, but we get a lot more benefits, too. In the hopes that it might help someone, here's my story (this might get long):

After my first semester at college (where I just sat around playing computer games and "studying" :beer: ) I weighed in at a whopping 130 pounds at a height of 5'10". I was really weak, too. Could barely turn a wrench (12 oz. curls do nothing for ya ) A friend of mine who goes to Berkeley came back home for break with huge muscles. He looked a lot different and he got so much attention from the ladies, it really made me realize that I should be in better shape, especially since the UofA has such nice, free facilites. That's when this picture was taken (linked in deference to 56kers):
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...5/fcb5027a.jpg
So, I came back to school and started lifting weights. I concentrated on doing mostly freeweight stuff, with a few machines and some bench press. I worked out 3 days a week and drank about 20g of protein a day mixed with 2% milk (god awful stuff) on those days. Almost immediately I shot up to about 140, but I didn't really look any bigger. When I reached 145, I looked bigger, but I wasn't really toned and you couldn't really tell through my clothes. Eventually I tortured myself up to 147, but then sort of stalled out. It was like, no matter what I did I couldn't gain any more weight. It made me want to quit. Instead I did something dumb and tried working out 5 days a week. This just got me completely burned out and I was very tired and hungry all the time and I quickly regressed back to 140. So, I returned to my 3 day program and just as the semester finished, I made 150 lbs, but I still didn't really look any better.
When I went home for summer, I worked out a little less (at least 2 days a week, sometimes 3) and stopped taking protein powder. I also took some time off for vacations and such, so I dropped down to 145 again. However, since I was working out for these 6 months (and started a much better ab routine) my muscles started to look more toned, and it really added to the effect of being slightly bigger This picture was taken last August:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...b/fcb5027b.jpg
I came back to school again, did more "studying" :beer: and stopped working out for a few months. When I finally went back to the gym, I was 140 lbs again, but I still looked about like I did over summer. When I started working out I noticed that I could lift at my old capacity, but I couldn't get much higher. So, I read a few websites/articles about skinny guys (skinnyguy.net was an okay source) and set my workouts to 2 days a week. At those workouts I always put on more weight than I thought I could do (if I curled 20s on the preacher bar the week before, I'd do 25s). The only way this worked, was by drinking a cup of protein powder 2-3 times a day (2 scoops in each, so 40 per, 80 a day) every day (even on on non-workout days). I bought the vanilla kind and mixed it with OJ, thanks to a suggestion on this board. It tastes a ton betetr this way. This constant supply of protein allowed my body to keep building muscles at it's own pace during off days. I also knew I couldn't slow down my metabolism (skinny guys know what I'm talking about, eating 7 times a day and never gaining any weight). So, instead I tried to use it. I forced myself to eat bigger meals at each sitting, knowing that I would gain some fat. I gained fat, but my weights also went up and my body weight shot back up to 150 and even started to creep over (into the much sought after 151-2 territory ) Then I went on another winter break, and didn't lift very much and life has been too hectic to start again (will probably get going again tomorrow).
Anyway, the goal of this is to continue eating, drinking protein powder and pushing myself in workouts until I reach somewhere in the 165-170 range, at which point I will switch over to a maintenance workout (just keeping the weight up) and add in some running and other cardio to burn off the extra fat I'll gain from all the eating. This is supposed to be an ideal way for skinny guys to gain mass, because we have the ability to just shed fat we don't need much more easily than other body types.

Okay, sorry for the long-ass post, but this can be a pretty depressing thing for those of us with hyper-metabolism to go through. I hope it helps give someone an idea or inspiration, it's what worked for me.

 

spike: how can u add some height in four months too

u just hit puberty??

 

:rofl: i was wondering that too

 

I feel you little guys.. h:



















no I don't :fawk:

 

2 inches since aug 2002 is nothing...


i grew honestly an inch a month for a while.. then i stopped.

I had stopped growing vertically but it kicked back in when I started working out. Coincidence? :dunno:

 

MountainGSR

Nice post :thumbup:

I see you got a bit bigger, but that was over a long period of time. You should be gaining more then that. I say work more trunk and shoulders...

 

Well, by the end of the period I decribed I had gained 20 pounds in about 6 months. I don't know what kind of weight other people gain, but it's very hard for people with a high metabolic rate to gain weight. A lot of people don't believe that if I were to sit around and do nothing but eat potato chips and canned food and watch Tv, I would actually lose about 25 pounds. But I think this new plan will help out a lot, just a matter of getting off my lazy ass and doing it

 

:werd: I've only gained 4 lbs too and I've been doing it since January 6th. I work out 6 days a week, working a muscle set 2 days a week. Monday and Thursday I do my abs, Tuesday and Friday I do my chest, shoulders, and back, and Wednesday and Saturday I do my biceps. How can I gain more should I start eating more or working out differently? And I take a shake one hour before I work out is that bad?