Whats the best way to gain weight with a high metabolism?

[OpethDrums]

The only way to get bigger is to eat & lift big, but that doesn't mean you can just throw a ton of junk food / fast food down your throat and grow muscles. If you're a classic 'skinny bastard' like I was/am, then the only way to change that is to make eating / lifting a job. I'm used to it now and it's not a problem to eat, but the first week was rough. I had to make myself eat even when I wasn't hungry. It sucked at the time, but it's paid off.

same with me right now. i do it like it's my job. im eating like 4 meals a day + protein shakes. working out HARD. i've always trained hard but whats making a difference is the food. i'm eating HIGH protein meals after workouts with my shake. yesterday i had 2 steaks protein shake, sushi protein shake, half a pizza protein shake.. and im trying to get up to 150 pounds.

 

[Madmick]

muscle growth isnt the only way to gain weight :wink:

True, haha. Obviously I assumed that was the weight he desired.

Eric, the term "heavy" is usually applied (in strength and conditioning literature) to loads of 90%-100%. With those loads, one isn't able to reach the range of repetitions (6-15, depending on what you read) that induces hypertrophy.

Hypertrophy- 1: excessive development of an organ or part; specifically: increase in bulk (as by thickening of muscle fibers) without multiplication of parts.

Urban includes a link to my favorite hypertrophy-focused S&C website on the web in his sticky:
http://www.hypertrophy-specific.com/hst_index.html

The "Article" section even has an article, "Eating for Size."


For guys trying to add lean mass, I think this the most succinct and useful site I have ever seen.

 

[D4Damager]

Is there any good sites that show you food information, calories, protein etc etc?
like a big ass list of foods?

 

[Madmick]

www.nutritiondata.com

 

[jasond]

True, haha. Obviously I assumed that was the weight he desired.

Eric, the term "heavy" is usually applied (in strength and conditioning literature) to loads of 90%-100%. With those loads, one isn't able to reach the range of repetitions (6-15, depending on what you read) that induces hypertrophy.

Good point, mick. I guess heavy is relative. What I consider heavy is more in the 70% - 80% range that allows me to do between 4 - 8 reps. But this was my own definition. So, I guess I was using the term a bit liberally.

The way I alter my lifts is like this:

If in my first set last week I was able to do more than 6 reps, then I add a little weight for my first set this week. Otherwise I stick to the same weight as last week. If I can do6 reps or more with the new weight then I keep it on for my second set. When I get to the point in my 2nd/3rd set where I can only do 4 reps (or less) then I drop the weight for my next set. That way I'm always doing about 4 - 8 reps. For my 4th set, I drop the weight enough to be able to do about 10 - 12 reps.

So, on average my 4 sets of Bench Press might be for reps 3, 8, 6, 10; for example.

Keep in mind this is what I've found works for me. It may not be perfect, but from my own experimenting this is the range that produces the best results for me personally. I've experimented with really low reps (2 - 4), medium reps (8 - 12), high reps (15 - 20), and even tried a month of really low weight with extremely high reps (50+).

 

[Madmick]

Looks like you have basic periodization going there. From the looks of it, you might be overdoing it a bit (I used to do this): I'm assuming the reason you have to drop the weight in the 3rd and 4th sets to stay in the same repetition range is because you're failing on the first two. I used to go to failure on every set. Often, my friends and I, thinking we were "hardcore", would go 4-5 reps past failure.

After I learned this was a bad thing, I more easily maximized my training potential and results.

But, like you said, it looks like you've been through it, and know what works for you. I just mentioned this because I got results doing it that way, just not nearly as good (and I didn't get much stronger during hypertrophic phases doing it that way either...I was too fatigued).

 

[shogunera]

yeah i got the same problem as you basically. i drink weight gainers and lift sometimes.

 

[D4Damager]

Well i have decided to try to have about 3000 calories a day and atleast 150g of protein.
I was at the store and picked up some PVL PowerMAXX which has just over 1000 calories + 54g protein per serving. So Im going to have 3 glasses of that a day mixed with 2% milk and a banana, try to eat more, and more healthy and work out as much as i can. I'll try it for a month and go from there....

I really appreciate all the help and advice.

 

[jasond]

Well i have decided to try to have about 3000 calories a day and atleast 150g of protein.
I was at the store and picked up some PVL PowerMAXX which has just over 1000 calories + 54g protein per serving. So Im going to have 3 glasses of that a day mixed with 2% milk and a banana, try to eat more, and more healthy and work out as much as i can. I'll try it for a month and go from there....

I really appreciate all the help and advice.

Three 1000 calorie shakes a day? That might be a bit much.

It's better to get a majority of your calories from whole foods and use protein shakes, etc. to supplement.

I eat 3 meals a day + 3 snacks (one snack includes a protein shake). My meals average 600 - 800 calories and my snacks average 300-500 calories. So at a minimum, my meals account for 1800 calories and my snacks account for 1200.

By snacks, I mean healthy snacks like plain oatmeal cookies, bananas, beef jerky, tuna fish, pb&j sandwiches, etc.

On and I'm up 2 more lbs. this week and my waist is 1/2" smaller.

 

[jasond]

Looks like you have basic periodization going there. From the looks of it, you might be overdoing it a bit (I used to do this): I'm assuming the reason you have to drop the weight in the 3rd and 4th sets to stay in the same repetition range is because you're failing on the first two. I used to go to failure on every set. Often, my friends and I, thinking we were "hardcore", would go 4-5 reps past failure.

After I learned this was a bad thing, I more easily maximized my training potential and results.

But, like you said, it looks like you've been through it, and know what works for you. I just mentioned this because I got results doing it that way, just not nearly as good (and I didn't get much stronger during hypertrophic phases doing it that way either...I was too fatigued).

Mick,
Would you mind if I sent you a PM with a few questions? I'd like to pick your brain. My diet / workout is basically built from studying the articles on T-Nation and experimenting. Far from perfect, I know.