I'm 15, 5'8 and 112 pounds. I'm starting strength training to build up my strength and power, but I also want to add muscle mass. How much weight should i try to put on over the long term? Thanks
You could afford to put on 50lbs over the very long term. You'll probably grow taller, too, and that number would only get higher.
thanks for the advice Another question: How much muscle could i typically put on in lets say, 3-4 months? Would it be unreasonable to expect about 15 pounds?
I'm no powerlifting expert but since it will be noob gains then I think it is possible. Of course, you also have to eat a lot. And you will get some fat along with that.
when I first started working out at 15 I didn't even do legs or back I think and I still went from like 110 to 140 in a year, and I didn't eat much differently but I think my appetite got a bit bigger from the weightlifting. if your going to eat alot and your just starting weights now you can easily gain 50lbs within 2 years, getting into diet is good at early age
I wouldn't bother bulking up. You may be a loser in high school right now, but wait until you are 30 and everyone who picks on you has become fat, bald and has diabetes and you are a lean 140 pounds. Then we will see who the real losers are.
lol! But i still want to bulk up a bit, even if only for when i'm playing sports. I don't want to get thrown around the whole time either.
2lbs of *muscle* a month is considered above-average. Expect half-of-that over the course of the entire year. Not to discourage you but just letting you know that it takes time to put on lean muscle. Now also putting on some fat will help as-well and is also a healthy thing. If I was you I'd aim for a good 50lbs, mostly muscle, over the next 2 years. With your height 160-180 is a good range. Good luck!
If your just starting to weight lift now, if you take it serious you'll be getting the biggest gains possible,the biggest gains are always at the start and gaining all this muscle at the start will add alot of weight to you if your a skinny guy like me that has a hard time putting fat on
One more thing, size does not equal strength. I am 140, 22, and get the you're a lot stronger then you look compliments a lot, both in the gym, and when grappling. Most of it's mental, I believe I am stronger and so I am. Don't discredit that. The other of course is I work towards strength more than size. I like being lean (not even wrestler-cut, just an above-average fit 140lb, 5'8 dude), I like having cardio that goes for days, I like my opponents underestimating me when I enter divisions where the limit is 10lbs over my weight, and they have all cut from 150-160. It gives you a mental edge when they lock in and realize you are no push-over. I'm telling you, just believing you are stronger is 50% of the game, the other 50% of the game is what you do with the bar in the gym. For both size and strength look into the compound lifts, 5x5's for strength, 5x8-12's for size. Isolation work where you need it. I usually do a compound lift, a major exercise for the other half of my body, a horizontal row of some sort (t-bar rows all day), pull-ups (add weight too!), any isolation work, and an exercise to work the antagonist muscles around the isolation work. Seriously, row. Rowing builds size and strength. I LOVE rowing probably as much as I love Squats, and I love squats like I love women. Vertical rowing motions (pull-ups) build width; horizontal rowing builds thickness. Don't neglect!
You're missing an important fact. He's 15. He'll be growing in size no matter what he does. So if he lifts weights along with that he can expect gains greater than just the average from lifting weights.
