Tips to help my husband gain muscle

goal_girl_35

Hi everyone,

My husband is naturally thin at 6 feet and 146 pounds and lacks muscle tone. He has never lifted weights before, but he would like to gain at least 20-30 pounds of muscle. He is going to start lifting weights at the gym, does anyone have any tips for how he can get started? For example, weight lifting suggestions, routines, should he do any cardio?, when should he take protein supplements? Thanks in advance!

rossinator63

I workout with a personal trainer every week, and then go in on my own 2-3 additional times per week. The trainer will help him with exercises and proper technique. It is a process, muscles take time to grow. It will be worth it in the end.

454mikey990

No cardio. Eat more protein, healthy fats and fewer carbs work hard and the muscle will come

SnuggleSmacks

There's lots of beginner programs, like StribgLifts (free phone app) or The New Rules of Lifting (book). At least one session with a trainer to show proper form is a good idea.

asdowe13

454mikey990 wrote: »

No cardio. Eat more protein, healthy fats and fewer carbs work hard and the muscle will come

Wrong. Well the cardio part isn't but the eating part is.


To gain muscle... Eat all the food - Lift all the things

Eat a caloric Surplus - meet your protein and fat macros, then eat all the carbs.
Lift Heavy - get onto a good weight lifting routine. A trainer can help with proper form.


Calories are king in gaining muscle.

If he does do cardio he has to account for that and eat more.

Topsking2010

Tell your husband to checkout bodybuilding.com

Wheelhouse15

That's a lot of muscle to gain and, assuming it's possible, it will likely take three years or more to get there. First thing he needs to do is start a good lifting routine like Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting, Strong Lifts 5x5 or some other good beginer program. Then he will need to eat at a caloric surplus of 250-500 calories per day with about protein intake of about 1g/lb of body weight.

Cardio is actually fine, but should be limited while bulking and will need to be taken into account for the caloric surplus. It will slow the bulking a bit but being healthy isn't just about gaining muscle so I would include some in the program just for general cardiovascular health.

lishie_rebooted

rossinator63 wrote: »

I workout with a personal trainer every week, and then go in on my own 2-3 additional times per week. The trainer will help him with exercises and proper technique. It is a process, muscles take time to grow. It will be worth it in the end.

Trainers aren't necessary.

He needs to eat at a surplus and start a progressive lifting program like Stronglifts, Starting Strength, AllPro, ICF 5x5, etc

ndj1979

eat in a suplus that equals about .5 pound per week gain.
get him on heavy lifting program where he progressively lifts more
I would say that 35 to 40% of his intake should come from carbs and fill the rest in with protein and fat…
minimal carido - one hour per week at most

and ignore the advice about low carbs….

goal_girl_35

Thanks for the help!

spongebath

Hey goal girl, I think most of the advise here is pretty good. Eat a small surplus & lift heavy.

However most of the strength routines mentioned, stronglifts, 5x5 & 5/3/1 include big compound lifts. Squats/Deadlifts can be hard to get right, especially if your tall & lack flexibility. I found a trainer who had olympic lft experience & got him to get my form correct. This is everything, do it badly & his going to pull something when he gets near lifting body weight.

So I personally think a good trainer is really worth it, however there are more useless ones about.

Also if he lacks a base of strength, a month or two of body weight or weight circuits could provide him with a base of strength that will set him up nicely.

Perhaps try looking for a proper olympic lifting club to go & get some instruction, it could really help.