I'm a chopstick!

Hey everyone! New around here and stumbled into these forums from googling LOL. So I'm fairly new to bodybuilding and just got a gym membership. The gym offered to give me a free session with a trainer and that turned out to be a complete disaster. To make the story short, I got very light headed in 15 minutes and barfed on the gym floor. I saw the ooooo's in my cheerios :)

I am about 5'10'' and weigh 155 pounds and find it VERY hard to gain any weight despite what I eat. I remember I hit 160 pounds once, but a couple of weeks later I bounced right back down. I asked the gym and they suggested that I buy a cyto gainer and get atleast 3600 calories a day. If anyone could answer a few questions I have, I would greatly appreciate it!

1.When should I take the Cyto gainer?
2.If my body is sore, should I rest it or hit the gym still because my friends keep telling me that it doesn't matter if i do or don't.
3. On my rest days, what do I eat?

Thank you for all the replies!

http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/The_Basics/m_2191/tm.htm

This covers just about everything you need to know to get started.  Welcome to the forums.  Theres a lot of knowledgeable people on here and feel free to ask away if you have any questions.  Good luck with all your goals!

[image]http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff4/dmahern/calvin-touchdown-sig.gif[/image]

"You miss 100% of the shots you never take"
-Wayne Gretzky

Chop stick my butt!!  I started lifting at 5' 10" 130#.   And that was at 37 years old!!  LOL, I kid....  But seriously, I started out the beginning of this year at 130#.  I am now at 160# and still gaining.  I though I ate enought, but wasn't even close to eating my maintenance calories.

Try this link too, good stuff:

http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/Why_you_are_not_getting_bigger/m_160406/tm.htm

Spend a lot of time in the Nutrition forum here.  You gaining weight (lean muscle mass) will have more to do with nutrition than what you do in the gym.

I don't know much about CytoGainer, but I personally prefer Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex Gainer.  More calories, carbs, and protien that Cyto after looking up some info.  I also prefer to make my own gainer shake, I can taylor the taste to my liking, I can pump it up more, and is generally cheaper.

Also look at this:

http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/3_DAY_FULL_BODY/m_303404/tm.htm

The three day routine he posted (the first one) is a fantastic workout.  As well, the second (Mark Rippitoe's Starting Strength routine) is awesome as well, and is a proven mass builder.  It's what I'm starting tonight in fact.

Her is some more good reading:

http://www.discussbodybuilding.com/Best_of_Training/m_44183/tm.htm

Again, read everything you can in the nutrition forum.  Pick one of the calorie calculators and use it with what you are eating right now.  Chances are you are not eating enough.  Make a general meal plan and WRITE IT DOWN.  Then follow it!  Make canges here and there as you go so you won;t get bored, but eat, Eat, EAT!!!!  Good foods too, like chicken, lean beef, fish, lots of veggies, whole wheat anything.  No pizzas, no greasy spoons specials.  You get the point!

Original: Nunu
I am about 5'10'' and weigh 155 pounds and find it VERY hard to gain any weight despite what I eat.

Oh where have I heard this before! 

Do us/you a favor.  Post up what you eat on a daily basis.  From breakfast to bedtime, and EVERYTHING in between.  Then we can tell you why you are not gaining weight.  Trust me bro, been there!

ORIGINAL: RobertN

Original: Nunu
I am about 5'10'' and weigh 155 pounds and find it VERY hard to gain any weight despite what I eat.

Oh where have I heard this before!

Do us/you a favor. Post up what you eat on a daily basis. From breakfast to bedtime, and EVERYTHING in between. Then we can tell you why you are not gaining weight. Trust me bro, been there!

Hahaha! You're almost the same as me! Just...almost twice my age, I'm 20^^

Well...I need to get an official diet down. I kind of just eat whenever and try to grab something every 2 hours.

9-10am nice bowl of frosted mini-wheats
12pm - Usually a bowl of white rice + some meat my mom has cookin
2 - snack on a fruit or granola bar
4 - dinner...usually more rice...
after 6 - maybe a small meal..

That's what my eating schedule looks like now..but I plan on adding in the cytogainer into my breakfast..Should I take cytogainer again later on the day?

Hahaha! You're almost the same as me! Just...almost twice my age, I'm 20^^

Gee, thanks!  LOL.

What you posted would probably be around 1300 calories a day, barely enough to be considered a maintenance level.  I am at 4000 calories a day right now, and will probably be adding another 500 a day real soon.

Eating every 2 hours is a good plan, now just make it 7 meals a day of good clean food, and at least 500 calories at each of those meals, and you should start seeing some weight gain.  Don't rely too much on gainer shakes, try to get as much of you calories as possible from real food.  I get my 4000 calories without any supplements other than fish oil and UDO's oil.  But, one shake for breakfast and one later in the day, maybe right before lunch, should be OK.

At 5' 10" 155# I think it would be a good guess that you have an ectomorph body style.  Naturally thin, flat chest, very lean, lightly muscled, small shoulders, long arms & legs?  If so, don't overdo it at the gym.  Two, maybe 3 times a week, full body type routines.  No more than that, or you will overtrain yourself.    Keep your total workout under 1 hour.  Concentrate on the big compound lifts.... squats, deadlifts, rows, military or shoulder press, pullups, dips.  Don't worry about focusing on just your biceps, or just your traps... they will get plenty of work with all the good compound lifts.  Those are the ones that will add mass the quickest.

Oh, and the one thing that easily gets overlooked.... SLEEP!  You don't grow in the gym, you grow when you sleep.   Get at least 8 hours of GOOD sleep.  Food, then sleep should be the first and second priorities. 

And looking back at your original post; body being sore.  When I first started lifting I was always sore.  It seemed like for weeks on end I was always sore.  But the farther I go, I seem to be sore less and less.  It's not that I am getting any less of a workout, I just don't get as sore as often.  I have heard that before on this board as well.  Just give your body at least a days rest in between workouts.  I workout Mon, Wed, and Fri.  Or if it is a 2 day a week routine, then I do Mon and Thur.

Thanks for all the help Robert~ I'll add more meals into my schedule, like a tuna sandwich, or egg sandwich..seems like the only thing I can make at home right now but I'll look for more different kind of meals around the forums. Don't worry about sleep! Sleep is one thing I do very well!
Just one question:
Do I keep the same diet as my workout days on the days I rest?

nunu.   i am 24.   was stuck at 155 pounds for 3 years in highschool.   i know exactly how you feel.

first of all, all the advice you have been given is VERY good.  read alot, start learning.

second of all, i agree with robert.  you aren't getting very many calories.  your breakfast is kinda pathetic.  breakfast MUST BE your biggest meal of the day.

here's mine.

3 eggs cooked in microwave
cup of lowfat yogurt

1000 calorie smoothie -   consists of 1.5 cups milk, 1 cup uncooked oatmeal,  1 spoonful of PB, 1 scoop of whey protein.

my breakfast probably has more calories than your entire day combined.


you need to take a serious look at your diet.   DO NOT BE AFRAID OF CARBS!  they are your friend.  just make sure you are getting the right kind though.

so many things i need to tell you, but it's all here on the forum.  start reading.  we know how to help you reach your goals if you listen to the advice given.

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.

Thanks SilverFox!  I guess you can teach an older dog new tricks? 

Nunu, keep your diet the same all the time.  Do give yourself a cheat day once in a while, you don't want to get to a point where you feel your food is boring and blah and is always the same, never to change.  Just keep it to a "cheat day", not a cheat week! 

I have always kept my diet the same for workout and non-workout days, but naturally on my workout days everything gets bumped up a little more (calories, carbs, etc......) due to the "extras" like pre- and post-workout shakes and such.  My post-workout shake alone is 605 calories, 2g fat, 100g carbs, and 48g protein!  That's about the same as your 9am, 12pm and 2pm meals combined!  And this is just something I slurp down in about 5-10 minutes immediately after a workout.

Like SilverFox said, read everything you can on here.  The training and nutrition sections are full of good juicy info!

Tell me more about this egg cooked in the microwave....I never knew that this was possible! Do I just crack 3 eggs into a bowl and microwave it for whatever minutes?

crack 3 eggs in a medium sized bowl ( the eggs get a bit puffy)  and whisk them up.   put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.   if they are still a bit moist, go another minute.   

much easier than cooking them on the stove IMO.   they taste almost the same to me, except they are a bit more fluffy.

My name is FOX.... and I approve this message.