32 M AU - Intermediate lifter looking to gain mass

[Rickt]

I work (day job) 8:30am - 5:30pm typically. Have been working from home since 2019 and have an arrangement that I NEED to go gym to manage my injuries (2 herniated discs, 1 ruptured disc). My manager is good with it, so I consider myself heaps lucky. My gym is a 3 minute drive. I could walk ther but that would take 15 mins of my precious time.

TBH, I remember when I was trying to get from 70-75 and it was a fuckin journey. Literally had cartons of milk under my bed so I can gain weight on the GOMAD diet - I was 19 back then.

I'll take your tip on keeping notes. I have fallen short the recent years but before I did keep a solid journal on my fitness pal - will get get back on it. Tape measuring is something I need to incorporate into my checks.

Cheers for the tips.

Don't get too hung up in the wanting to look a certain way. Enjoy the journey.
I remember wanting 15 inch arms at the bicept so bad it made me overtrain.
Weird thing is at 53 my arms measured 19.5 inches and I still thought they were little.
It's a mind fuck this game. Just enjoy the ride.

 

[LightWeightBaby]

Don't get too hung up in the wanting to look a certain way. Enjoy the journey.
I remember wanting 15 inch arms at the bicept so bad it made me overtrain.
Weird thing is at 53 my arms measured 19.5 inches and I still thought they were little.
It's a mind fuck this game. Just enjoy the ride.

I know what you mean bro - body dysmorphia is a daily struggle... constantly looking at my body in the mirror, weighing myself multiple times a day, getting cheesed if I lose weight despite knowing it could very well be water weight.

With that said tho, I love the journey and working out is therapeutic for me so I will never stop until I end up with something like dementia/alzheimers.

Thanks bro, will always be enjoying the ride

 

[Trenbolonely]

Sounds good. I'll dial up the food in take until I feel like puking, and then eat some more. I'm not into dirty calories or sugar so that's probably what's been working to keep me lean. Not into the whole idea of dirty/bulking and would much rather slowly gain weight over a period of years than gain a whole bunch only to feel like I have to lose it when summer comes around. My physique hasn't changed much since school, which was about 15 years ago.

I've previously calculated my BMR and did a meal plan. I'll give that another go for about 12 months before jumping on anything. I would hate to gain strength + mass with gear and then lose a significant portion of it when I get off cycle.

Thanks @Trenbolonely - appreciate your feedback.

Open to hearing any other thoughts/opinions

Cheers

Nice! Sounds like a good idea. If you finish a meal plan, and show it here I’m sure people can give some feedback too.
If you space the meals correctly you can eat more and not feel like puking for the most part however some meals might still be tough. If you add in calories gradually you can let the body adjust to the volume and get used to the habit. For example start with like 100cal over, then add more after a week or two and take your time.
Just add calories if you’re not gaining weight, and once you are keep it there til it stops. Rinse repeat

If you don’t eat on a cycle, there won’t be a whole lot to lose, so it’s good you’re gonna get it sorted and are open to suggestions. As long as you’re receptive I’m sure people here will be more than willing to point you in the right direction!

 

[Send0]

@Send0 - What did you do different when you 'learned to eat'? No doubt my diet is lacking. Hence, why I tried to stimulate my appetite with pot/periactin. I agree on taking more rest days.. feel like I'm always sore - likely from overexertion without enhancement.

no tricks... I just forced myself to eat more. Over time I was able to do this more comfortably, and no longer required to force feed myself. Eating a lot of food is natural to me now.

it didn't take me a lot of time, but I did have to be consistent with forcing myself to eat more at every meal.

 

[LightWeightBaby]

@Trenbolonely - Will do! I'll put together a meal plan in the next few days and post it up.

@Send0 - My only concern with that is that I would gain excess weight to the point where my abs would disappear. I get that a gain phase will mean that does happen but i find it difficult to let go of abdominal definition. Probably need to work on that lol

 

[Rickt]

no tricks... I just forced myself to eat more. Over time I was able to do this more comfortably, and no longer required to force feed myself. Eating a lot of food is natural to me now.

it didn't take me a lot of time, but I did have to be consistent with forcing myself to eat more at every meal.

Sorry. But I couldn't help my self. I think I'm down with a sickness.

 

[CJ]

Thanks all for your responses.

@CJ - I don't currently count my calories. My mentor (studying personal training through my local gym) has said to not bother with counting calories, rather keep my stomach full at all times by eating every few hours, and never letting myself get hunger pains.I do focus on eating more carbs now - there was a time where I avoided carbs and focused on meat and eggs.

@Trenbolonely - Genetics, perhaps. However, I get that it's pretty easy to blame deficiencies on genetics. Definitely could be eating more, and foods with higher calories.

In terms of rest, I think I will be adding one more day of rest. Have recently hurt my C3-C4 disc and will be getting a cortisone injection in there next week. The pain has settled but still feeling a dull ache there hence I can train with lighter weights, would prefer to go heavier though.

I'm keen to understand what I can do other than simply eat more. I have to admit that some days I'm stuffing my face full of food. I take a dump first things in the morning and literally drop 4kgs down lol

@Send0 - What did you do different when you 'learned to eat'? No doubt my diet is lacking. Hence, why I tried to stimulate my appetite with pot/periactin. I agree on taking more rest days.. feel like I'm always sore - likely from overexertion without enhancement.

@software - I must apologize, it was late last night and I have definitely over estimated my time in the gym.

Started lifting casually in school with friends at 14 - so that's already 18 years, plus
throw in a terrible relationship for 5 years where I lifted minimally - 13 years, plus
approximately three years of opioid, alcohol and pot usage due to an injury and being over-prescribed painkillers (codeine, oxycodone) - 10 years

So fair to say 10 years is a more accurate figure. I did play sports (soccer, cricket, football, ice hockey) on and off, but not counting those. I did reverse a lot of my gains when I was on substances so I feel like I've started from scratch more than once.

Photos attached.
Cheers

So your goal is to gain weight, but you've made no progress whatsoever in the last 2.5 months, based upon your weights in the pics. Looks like the "keep the stomach full" method isn't working. How long do you plan on following your mentors advice that's clearly not working? You need higher caloricly dense foods, not simply a "full belly".

And My Fitness Pal has a free version, which I use. You don't need the premium paid version.

 

[CJ]

I know what you mean bro - body dysmorphia is a daily struggle... constantly looking at my body in the mirror, weighing myself multiple times a day, getting cheesed if I lose weight despite knowing it could very well be water weight.

With that said tho, I love the journey and working out is therapeutic for me so I will never stop until I end up with something like dementia/alzheimers.

Thanks bro, will always be enjoying the ride

Weigh yourself every morning after going to the bathroom. Take the weekly average weight, and that's what you use. You do not use daily weights to measure progress, they can swing wildly day to day.

 

[Send0]

@Trenbolonely - Will do! I'll put together a meal plan in the next few days and post it up.

@Send0 - My only concern with that is that I would gain excess weight to the point where my abs would disappear. I get that a gain phase will mean that does happen but i find it difficult to let go of abdominal definition. Probably need to work on that lol

no offense, but you don't have abs... so you're worrying about something you don't even have . This mentality is how you stay exactly the same size and never gain weight.

Also, when I say eat more, I don't mean eat like a child or like an asshole. Slowly add calories until you are gaining weight.

 

[YOURMUSCLESHOP]

Hi All,

I'm a 32 year old male from AU who has been lifting for almost 20 years.

I came across this forum and thought it would be a good idea to get some insights from individuals who are (hopefully) much more experienced than me.

My goal is to put on weight in the form of ideally, muscle mass. My current stats are:
- 6''0
- 80 kgs
- body fat at around 15% (estimate)


I'm looking to get to 90kgs - 200 pounds at ideally <15% body fat.

I would describe myself as ectomorphic and a hard gainer.

Looking to get into some anabolics.

cheers

Welcome to UG

 

[software]

Thanks for your advise.

I do believe that I use that as an excuse although, I have definitely tried to eat more with some success in counting calories. I just moved away from it since myfitness pal decided to become a paid subscription..

Would you recommend that I sign up for it again? Seems to be the easiest way to count calories - unless there are any other free calorie counters just as easy to use?

I do want to try some testosterone and dbol at some point - once I learn to eat more calories. Is there an ideal weight range that you can suggest that I shoot for before jumping on the gear?

you dont need an app to do basic addition. just use a notepad

 

[CJ]

no offense, but you don't have abs... so you're worrying about something you don't even have . This mentality is how you stay exactly the same size and never gain weight.

Very good point!

 

[goodfella]

What do your protein shakes consist of? Start adding a scoop or two of peanut butter, 8 oz of whole milk, half cup oats, frozen fruit, and make sure each shake has 50 gram protein. Also adding a simple snack with the shake like a PB&J is something that will help you reach your goal if your struggling with calories.

 

[Andrewgen_Receptors]

hard gainer usually just means someone who hasn't learned how to eat a lot of food yet.

One of the smartest things Mike Israetel has said
"The prophecy of the Hard Gainer is self-fulfilling" or something to that nature.

 

[LightWeightBaby]

no offense, but you don't have abs... so you're worrying about something you don't even have . This mentality is how you stay exactly the same size and never gain weight.

Dang this hurts a bit ngl
but I appreciate you being straight forward. Perhaps the lighting is bad but on a good day/morning after a dump the abs are definitely more visible lol

Weigh yourself every morning after going to the bathroom. Take the weekly average weight, and that's what you use. You do not use daily weights to measure progress, they can swing wildly day to day.

This is exactly what I do without averaging. I have a withings body+ scale and it syncs across to my phone and does the averaging. Would recommend

So your goal is to gain weight, but you've made no progress whatsoever in the last 2.5 months, based upon your weights in the pics. Looks like the "keep the stomach full" method isn't working. How long do you plan on following your mentors advice that's clearly not working? You need higher caloricly dense foods, not simply a "full belly".

And My Fitness Pal has a free version, which I use. You don't need the premium paid version.

Just out of curiosity, what would be a reasonable weight to gain per month? considering that I'm not on gear (yet) and prefer to not inflate my bf%

What do your protein shakes consist of? Start adding a scoop or two of peanut butter, 8 oz of whole milk, half cup oats, frozen fruit, and make sure each shake has 50 gram protein. Also adding a simple snack with the shake like a PB&J is something that will help you reach your goal if your struggling with calories.

Thanks @goodfella - I can certainly implement this advice right away.

Appreciate everyone's input - cheers

 

[BigBaldBeardGuy]

Eating is only part of it. What’s your training look like? If you’re not training properly you’re not gonna get bigger, just fat.

 

[CJ]

Eating is only part of it. What’s your training look like? If you’re not training properly you’re not gonna get bigger, just fat.

Just out of curiosity, what would be a reasonable weight to gain per month? considering that I'm not on gear (yet) and prefer to not inflate my bf%

With eating quality food, and proper training like BBBG correctly pointed out, I'd say an average of 2-3 lbs per month is reasonable, being natural. Possibly more, since you're starting off smaller and don't have your training on point yet.

The good thing is that we don't get fat overnight. You're not going to just wake up one day with a beer gut. It's not going to sneak up on you.