Advice and constructive criticism welcome

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tholder3103
tholder3103 Posts: 14
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
First of all, hello. Now that that's out of the way...

I am 25 years old, 5'7" and my last weigh in was 126 lbs. i have fluctuated between 125 and 131 since i was in 8th grade. I'm trying now to tone, bulk, and gain. My goal is to have gained AT LEAST 10 lbs in the next 6 months for my birthday. My daily calorie goal on MFP is at about 3,000.

I try to be as lazy as possible and eat as many carbs and calories as i can, (including the family sized bag of doritos that i am staring at) but i work two jobs, waiting tables, to help support my family. My mom (who is disabled and Vegan) is NOT happy that i'm going to the gym. She's happy i want to be healthy, but I don't think she understands.

I have only two friends that I am drawing the moral support from directly. They go to the gym with me, and one has the same intention that i do; to gain, tone, and bulk. He just has a lot further to go. The other just wants to lift the weights and pose in the mirror... (he's special, but very dear)

So I guess that i'm looking for advice, criticism, pointers, support, or anything else you can get in a reply.

By the way, for those of you that just thought about Cardio...
No, i don't do very much cardio. I only do cardio when my trainer says that i need an active recovery. about once a week for 30 min. I did find out about the cardio late, but i did stop cardio. I need those calories... lol

Replies

  • beastcompany
    beastcompany Posts: 230 Member
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    Your goal should be to gain much more than 6lbs in 10 months.

    Based on stats, you should be gaining NO LESS THAN 2lbs/month, I'd suggest closer to 3, and even as high as 4.


    As far as family, this isn't their decision, it's yours, and if you want to do it, do it. If they dont' support it, that's their issue, not yours.


    To get off on the right foot

    Get yourself on a quality beginner's training program.
    Something like Starting Strength, or ICF 5x5.

    Ensure you're eating .8-1g/lb of protein.
    .5g/lb of fat.

    Fill your remaining calories as you want, but don't disregard OVERALL health & micronutrient content.


    Flexible dieting is not an excuse to eat like a *kitten* 24/7.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    edited January 2015
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    beastcompany wrote: »
    Your goal should be to gain much more than 6lbs in 10 months.

    Based on stats, you should be gaining NO LESS THAN 2lbs/month, I'd suggest closer to 3, and even as high as 4.


    As far as family, this isn't their decision, it's yours, and if you want to do it, do it. If they dont' support it, that's their issue, not yours.


    To get off on the right foot

    Get yourself on a quality beginner's training program.
    Something like Starting Strength, or ICF 5x5.

    Ensure you're eating .8-1g/lb of protein.
    .5g/lb of fat.

    Fill your remaining calories as you want, but don't disregard OVERALL health & micronutrient content.


    Flexible dieting is not an excuse to eat like a *kitten* 24/7.

    I think this guy nailed it….

    based on your stats you could definitely benefit from even 1 pound per week gain …

    if you don't have a food scale, I suggest that you get one so that you can weigh/measure/everything and be as accurate as possible…

    and thirty minutes of cardio a week is fine…

    some weeks I do not even do any cardio ...
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    ^ what they said.
  • isaiahcool
    isaiahcool Posts: 7
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    1. Tone, bulk, and gain does not make any sense. You are either putting mass on, or leaning out. You need to readjust your goals so that they make sense. If you're putting weight on, you will put on fat as a result, no matter what, unless you are a freak athlete that can eat mcdonalds and snickers bars and be sub 10% bf with a 400lb bench (we call these people NFL players). Eating slightly higher than your maintenance will limit fat gain, but expect to get a little puffy. I'd set your goal to gain around 20-25lbs in 6 months.

    2. at 5'7"/126 pounds you are pretty damn small. Something tells me you have a fast metabolism. I've dealt with many athletes like you and the number I always go to is 4000. You probably don't have as ambitious training goals, so try 3500. 3000 isn't enough. If you gained 10 lbs in two weeks back off about 300 calories until you're right about 2-3lbs a week. Anymore than that will just put on excessive body fat. The idea is to gain weight but stay under 20%. If you're under 20%, you can lean out close to 10% in just a few months so don't worry about it. Any higher than that is not advantageous unless you want to be a powerlifter. Everybody wants to be a scientist about it and calculate everything, go barely over maintenance, and all that crap. That works for advanced athletes that know their body. You do not know your body yet so you will likely just be wasting your time. Eat. A lot.

    3. In regards to macros, in my experience with gaining weight, I'd up your fat intake and just lower the carbs. Fat is much more calorie dense and will make getting those calories in easier. .5g/lb is 63g. You're not a bodybuilder. Good luck getting all those calories in with 63g of fat. You would need like 600g of carbs. You can go as high as 1g/lb BW and still get in enough carbs to maintain your sugars and keep good energy. A good place to start macro-wise would be 126f/126p/450c. Keep fat-heavy meals to a minimum before you train (at least 2 hours). Go light-ish during the day (higher carb meals, lower fat) and then hit a huge meal (1000 cals+) at night.
  • tholder3103
    tholder3103 Posts: 14
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    isaiahcool wrote: »
    Everybody wants to be a scientist about it and calculate everything, go barely over maintenance, and all that crap. That works for advanced athletes that know their body. You do not know your body yet so you will likely just be wasting your time. Eat. A lot.

    I would agree with this more than anything else. I have only been working at this for a week, so all of the numbers that everyone is throwing at me, is very confusing. But i do understand upping my calorie intake. That was just what MFP had my minimum goal at. I don't understand micro and macro nutrients though.

    Although, i do want to thank all of you for the advice.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Ultimately it's very trial and error- you're looking at a moving target- and remember- as you gain- you need to eat more (same with as you lose- you need to eat less)...

    so eat lots
    gain weight.

    if you aren't gaining- you aren't eating enough.

    it's pretty self correcting as long as you are monitoring it- there is not "EXACT" right answer.

    eat enough food to get you to the point of gaining. If you plateau out- or make an adjustment wait at least 3 weeks (I think 2 is just too short for me personally) before adjusting something else and making sure you made the CORRECT adjustment.

    I second that Beast nailed it.
  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
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    isaiahcool wrote: »
    Everybody wants to be a scientist about it and calculate everything, go barely over maintenance, and all that crap. That works for advanced athletes that know their body. You do not know your body yet so you will likely just be wasting your time. Eat. A lot.

    I am a big believer in this approach for a first bulk, too.

    And I'm glad that OP recognized it as good advice!

  • tholder3103
    tholder3103 Posts: 14
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    Thank you guys
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    JoRocka wrote: »
    Ultimately it's very trial and error- you're looking at a moving target- and remember- as you gain- you need to eat more (same with as you lose- you need to eat less)...

    so eat lots
    gain weight.

    if you aren't gaining- you aren't eating enough.

    it's pretty self correcting as long as you are monitoring it- there is not "EXACT" right answer.

    eat enough food to get you to the point of gaining. If you plateau out- or make an adjustment wait at least 3 weeks (I think 2 is just too short for me personally) before adjusting something else and making sure you made the CORRECT adjustment.

    I second that Beast nailed it.

    this too..

    i started bulkngat 2750 and then had to increase to 2850 and then 2950 and now I am at about 3000 to 3100 a week and that is just for me to get to a .5 pound per week gain …

    for reference I am a 5-10 male 35 years old..starting weight at bulk was right at 175
  • tholder3103
    tholder3103 Posts: 14
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    ndj1979 wrote: »
    i started bulking at 2750 and then had to increase to 2850 and then 2950 and now I am at about 3000 to 3100 a week and that is just for me to get to a .5 pound per week gain …

    for reference I am a 5-10 male 35 years old..starting weight at bulk was right at 175


    I have actually taken some of the other advice I've gotten here on my thread and decided instead of 10 lbs in 6 months, to go for 20-24 lbs. That would put me closer to my goal ultimately anyway. However, I did have to increase my goal calorie count, but i am still new at this, and half of the advice i have gotten, and I'm sure it's wonderful advice, i don't understand it. I've been a part of MFP for all of three days and have only EVER worked out for three days prior to that.

    For all of the fitness advice y'all have given me, I want to thank you! I just don't understand
    beastcompany wrote: »
    Get yourself on a quality beginner's training program.
    Something like Starting Strength, or ICF 5x5.

    Ensure you're eating .8-1g/lb of protein.
    .5g/lb of fat.

    ^^^^ I don't understand any of this. I understand starting a program, but I just don't know how. I understand eating protein, but the algebra in between there doesn't make sense. lol I guess i need help in a lot of areas, such as understanding that. But i do know that I am trying to eat A LOT more calories and bulk up. If anyone could help me understand, feel free to post here in the thread or to message me privately.

    Thank you again, guys.

  • Cortelli
    Cortelli Posts: 1,369 Member
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    Starting Strength = startingstrength.com/

    ICF 5x5 = muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

    Both are proven, time-tested full body workout programs ideal for someone relatively new to resistance training. The core focus is barbell lifts that engage the full body -- squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, etc. ICF 5x5 is very similar to SS, but adds in some accessory work (accessory meaning not full body lifts, more focused on smaller muscle groups). Beginners often try to design their own program -- bad idea. The posters are advising you to use a proven program such as the above. And don't let the "beginner" or "novice" tags bother you -- there are plenty of lifters who have been lifting for years and are still quite happy with SS or ICF.

    The protein and fat recommendations are based on your body weight. You said you're around 130, so 0.8 - 1 gram of protein per poound means you should be striving for 104 - 130 grams of protein per day at minimum (130 lbs x 0.8 or 1), and 65 grams of fat (130 lbs x 0.5). Fine to go over, but make sure you're eating a lot of carbs, too.

    So - you have both an overall calorie goal each day, and also min targets around protein and fat for that day.

    Good luck!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    Cortelli wrote: »
    Starting Strength = startingstrength.com/

    ICF 5x5 = muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

    Both are proven, time-tested full body workout programs ideal for someone relatively new to resistance training. The core focus is barbell lifts that engage the full body -- squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, etc. ICF 5x5 is very similar to SS, but adds in some accessory work (accessory meaning not full body lifts, more focused on smaller muscle groups). Beginners often try to design their own program -- bad idea. The posters are advising you to use a proven program such as the above. And don't let the "beginner" or "novice" tags bother you -- there are plenty of lifters who have been lifting for years and are still quite happy with SS or ICF.

    The protein and fat recommendations are based on your body weight. You said you're around 130, so 0.8 - 1 gram of protein per poound means you should be striving for 104 - 130 grams of protein per day at minimum (130 lbs x 0.8 or 1), and 65 grams of fat (130 lbs x 0.5). Fine to go over, but make sure you're eating a lot of carbs, too.

    So - you have both an overall calorie goal each day, and also min targets around protein and fat for that day.

    Good luck!

    OP - if you are concerned about tracking the grams…you can just set your MFP custom marcro settings to 40% Carbs/30%protein/30%fats and that should get you close to the numbers referenced above...
  • tholder3103
    tholder3103 Posts: 14
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    now i understand... lol. thank you so much because i've seen these references in the forums and hoped that the person in my position understood it. Lord knows i didn't. lol
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    You have good advice here but just be prepared mentally to see you fat rise. It can be hard to take for a first time bulk but as noted you can cut ftom 20 to 10 very quickly.

    Good luck and happy training.
  • tholder3103
    tholder3103 Posts: 14
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    You have good advice here but just be prepared mentally to see you fat rise. It can be hard to take for a first time bulk but as noted you can cut ftom 20 to 10 very quickly.

    Good luck and happy training.

    Thank you Wheel. I am actually ready to see some fat percentage on my body. I'm so tired of being so thin

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