# need help bulking scrawny teen



## thomassj (Apr 29, 2011)

hey everyone i new to working out i know you guys will say i should ditch it but p90x is my only option and im about to hit phase 3 of it 
my nutrtional breakdown is 40/40/20 at about 2650 calories a day im 16 162 pounds and im 6'4 need help with a sample diet possbily?


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## Work IN Progress (Apr 29, 2011)

If you are following P90X nutritional guide you arent gonna gain any mass.  If thats the only weight training you have to work with then you need to bump up your food intake.  2650calories is what I eat before noon.  Not quite but you get the idea.  Eat more food and train with high intensity and come back in 6 months.


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## thomassj (Apr 29, 2011)

how many calories do you think i should eat lol im a noobie and dont know anything


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## Marat (Apr 29, 2011)

How long have you been eating 2650 calories? Have you been gaining weight with that intake?

If not, bump up your calories by 300 or so until you start gaining weight. 

If you are not gaining or losing weight at 2650, then you've found your maintenance calories (i.e. the amount of calories that you don't gain or lose weight).

Also, ditch the percentages. A gram of protein and half a gram of fat per bodyweight is a good start. You can use 'lean body mass' instead of bodyweight if you want. Make up the rest of the calories however you want -- you can choose all carbs or a mixture of all the macros. 

As far as p90x goes, Work in Progress is correct -- it sucks.

Also, chances are you can somehow rub a few pennies together to afford a gym membership. There must be a place within walking/bike riding/ parents-driving distance.  Most places are about $20-30 a month and usually give discounts to young folks like you. Also, your high school might let you use theirs.

You can work once a week each month and scrape up the 30 bucks. 

The program "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe is  a good start for you.

Another good idea is this one. One of our old forum members scratched it up and it's good enough for you, at this point.


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 29, 2011)

Bump it up to 3600 if you aren't gaining at 2600 and see how that goes. Whole milk and olive oil are an easy source of calories.


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## calaja52 (Apr 29, 2011)

sounds like you need about a half gallon of chocolate milk a day


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 29, 2011)

calaja52 said:


> sounds like you need about a half gallon of chocolate milk a day


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## thomassj (Apr 29, 2011)

yeah i would post pictres of how skinny i am but i dont wanna get embarrassed ill post em for insight if i dont get hated on lol and no the school closes in a month and my parents work till 8 every night it sucks


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## x~factor (Apr 29, 2011)

ihateschoolmt said:


> Bump it up to 3600 if you aren't gaining at 2600 and see how that goes. Whole milk and olive oil are an easy source of calories.



How much calories would YOU take if you were to maintain your weight at 185 lbs?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 29, 2011)

Really no need to post pics, just take them and save them as a "before" reference to your progress.


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## thomassj (Apr 29, 2011)

what?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 29, 2011)

Take pictures so you have something to compare to after you make some progress, but you don't have to post them if you don't want. It's just good to see were you started, once you've gained some weight.


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 29, 2011)

x~factor said:


> How much calories would YOU take if you were to maintain your weight at 185 lbs?


IDK I have a really fast metabolism I would probably take somewhere around 4000 to maintain because I am taking 5000-5500 to bulk but I'm gaining a lot of weight.


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## thomassj (Apr 29, 2011)

I'll be posting pictures early tomorrow morning I kind of want to define my abs but people tell me I need to bulk up so I have contradicting thoughts maybe when I post the pictures tomorrow you guys can give me further onsite and some nutrition tips


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## calaja52 (Apr 30, 2011)

honestly if you are that skinny i wouldnt even count calories, i'd just eat everything in sight and lift weights, you will put on some muscle.  lots of milk, eggs, peanut butter, olive oil, sausages, even hamburger meat.  ihateschoolmt knows his shit about gaining for a hardgainer, he's put on over 40 pounds in 4 months i believe


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

these are the pictures... the first ones basically relaxed and the other to are pretty much flexed..


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## Liquid 2011 (Apr 30, 2011)

I agree with increasing your calories. Pasta, Whole Milk, Olive Oil in shakes, etc. Maybe try N-Large 2 by ProLabs was great at putting on some weight. Increase the carbs intake. 

I know some say to not count calories and just eat everything you can. The one reason I do like to count everything is because a lot of people think they get a lot of Carbs/Protein/Cals. and when they break everything down. It's not nearly as much as they think. It's good to keep track. Especially protein and carbs.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

thanks everyone i just dont want to get fat i like being athletic because i play high school basketball....if anyone could maybe give me a sticky for sample diets or give me a sample diet and some nutritional breakdown tips thatd be great thanks.


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## Marat (Apr 30, 2011)

link in my signature. check out the part about "do it yourself diet".


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

uh i dont want to loose weight....im 6'4 162 pounds


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## Gazhole (Apr 30, 2011)

thomassj said:


> uh i dont want to loose weight....im 6'4 162 pounds



That link also provides advice for gaining weight. Also, if you want to bulk you're going to have to put up with gaining fat at the same time. You won't BE fat though, and you can always get rid of it later.


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## Marat (Apr 30, 2011)

glad you took the time to read it


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

Oh im sorry I read it took cook my bad I appreciate it


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

Quick** and what do you guys think my bf% is?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

IDK probably like 10-11%. Hard to tell from a picture, especially a grainy picture of abs.


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## trapzilla (Apr 30, 2011)

Milk!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if you drink a pint of whole fat(is it called full cream in america?) milk with every meal and for every drink you consume in a day you will gain weight like a prostitue who always swallows.

If you feel that it isn't cutting the mustard put 2 tablespoons of olive oil on every meal will add like 1000cals to your diet.

failing that just never stop eating


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## TJTJ (Apr 30, 2011)

The kid is 16. He wont see mass gains until his balls drop. IMO I would just focus on building a proper training foundation so in 2-4yrs you'll know how to attack and take your body to the next level. 

I dont think he can do much. We can all remember how fast our metabolism was when we were his age. plus hes 6'4. Stick to your strengths. This was taken from my PSY class on Positive Psy. You want to focus on your talents not your weaknesses.


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

TJTJ said:


> The kid is 16. He wont see mass gains until his balls drop.


16 year olds can make mass gains, I joined this site when I was 15 and gained like 30 pounds in a little over a year. Wish I stuck with it, I quit before I turned 17 and when back down to 130 pounds.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

sample diet anyone? so i can get a very good idea and i wanna do a clean bulk ive been doing some reading and i also will probably add a cheat meal or day havent decided yet every two to three weeks i was thinking about 3000-3400 calories a day i have to continue to do p90x becasue well thats my only option.  i realize it isnt ideal but it'll have to do open eyes and ears to any suggests thanks!


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

It's not that important how you get the calories. Go to fitday.com and enter in a few days of eating and see what the break down is. You should be getting around 200g protein 400g carbs and around 100g of fat. That would put you at about 3300 calories. That's a rough idea of what you should be eating. I like to keep it simple and eat 3 or 4 meals and drink a lot of milk in between, however much you need to make the calorie requirement after food.


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## trapzilla (Apr 30, 2011)

thomassj said:


> sample diet anyone? so i can get a very good idea and i wanna do a clean bulk ive been doing some reading and i also will probably add a cheat meal or day havent decided yet every two to three weeks i was thinking about 3000-3400 calories a day i have to continue to do p90x becasue well thats my only option. i realize it isnt ideal but it'll have to do open eyes and ears to any suggests thanks!


 
I can't speak for others or tell you exactly how to eat but I can share my bulking diet;
7 am weight gain shake made with 1 pint whole milk
9 am 250g raw weight(rw) chicken breast, 75g rw white rice, 2 table spoons olive oil, 1 pint whole milk
12 pm same as 9 am
3 pm same as 12 pm
6pm 250g rw steak, 75g rw white rice, 2 table spoons olive oil, 1 pint whole milk.
7 pm protein shake made with 1 pint whole milk + pre workout
10pm carb shake-post workout meal
11pm 100g rw white rice, protein shake made with 1 pint whole milk, 2 table spoons olive oil.

comes out roughly to between 6,500 and 7,500 cals a day, 650g carbs, 250g fat(very high but mostly unsaturated fats) 500g protein

If you follow that diet you'll sure as hell gain weight!


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

i use fit day right now my day is looking at my totals of being 2600-2700 calories...ive read things that just say it doesnt matter what you eat as long as it fits your macros is that comple bullshit or is it true? i always thought eating clean would be ideal?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

I mean you can't be getting all your carbs from sugar or eating at McDonalds everyday. I just mean it doesn't matter if you carbs are coming from rice or pasta or potatoes or whatever ya know? Just as long as your getting them some how. Also, clean bulking is pretty tough when you have trouble getting in enough calories to grow, don't be afraid to get some healthy fats in there. I eat pretty similar to what trapzilla posted, just not quite as big of portions, and I put cheese on stuff more probably lol.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

hey ill take some ideas from that thanks man


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

and how do you guys feel about subway? ive only dont like 2 or 3 cheat meals in the past two months! and they were only easter and my birthday...and a tiny one on my best freinds birthday im craving a chicken marinera melt !


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

Bulking is supposed to be the easy diet to stick to lol. I enjoy my marinated chicken breast with fried rice that I just ate, but yesterday I ate a whole california kitchen frozen pizza, it was about 1000 calories 66g protein 29g fat and 101g carbs, which really isn't a bad meal at all. You can get away with a lot more while bulking then you can with cutting. I promise someone with your age and body type won't gain fat very fast. I often enjoy Italian food, lots of fat calories from cheese, but still not that bad for you. I try to stay away from fast food like subway, but cheat meals can be whatever you want.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

thanks i appreciate it i think i just have a hard time telling myself its okay to eat alittle unhealthy sometimes and i realize im only 16 skinny and active idk what wrong with me i also know subway isnt that awfully bad....the nutritional facts for a footlong are... 820 calories 20 grams of fat (8 saturated) a shit load of sodium ( 2320mg) 108 grams of carbs 12 grams of fiber and 56 grams of protien


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

The fact that it's processed, the bread is bleached white and that makes it less nutritious, and the high sodium are what make subway bad. That, and it tastes like shit!


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

since p90x burns about 600 calories a wokrout for an adult i imagine i burn alot more...is it still possible for me to gain some good muscle using it or is it not even worth trying?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

You have access to a weight room at school? Or would your parents help you pay for a gym membership? I would imagine it's very hard to gain muscle without weight training.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

p90x is weight trainning 3 days a week 3 days a week cardio and no my school closes in the summer and my parents work till 8 every night or later and wont drive me i live in a very small town with small towns around it and no gym


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

Oh I thought P90x is all body weight lol, do you have dumbells or something?


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

yeah i use dumbeblls and a pull up bar in p90x insanity is the body weight workout by beachbody


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

I don't really know what kind of stuff P90x has you doing, but you should be able to put together a semi decent work out with dumbbells, what is the heaviest one you have?


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

like 50 i mean there is some articles for bulking with p90x but like i said im still lookin for the athletic look plus u realized when i really sat down and thought about and a few things came to mind 
1) im 16 years old i need to live a litte 
2)im not fat in fact im underweight 161 pounds when i woke up this mornin


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

but yeah i mean i dont see why you cant gain muscle with p90x if you eat right plus summers coming up and i usually play ball 3-4 times a week


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## trapzilla (Apr 30, 2011)

ihateschoolmt said:


> Bulking is supposed to be the easy diet to stick to lol. I enjoy my marinated chicken breast with fried rice that I just ate, but yesterday I ate a whole california kitchen frozen pizza, it was about 1000 calories 66g protein 29g fat and 101g carbs, which really isn't a bad meal at all. You can get away with a lot more while bulking then you can with cutting. I promise someone with your age and body type won't gain fat very fast. I often enjoy Italian food, lots of fat calories from cheese, but still not that bad for you. I try to stay away from fast food like subway, but cheat meals can be whatever you want.


 
Are you shitting me, Bulking is the hard thing!! I love cutting diets-such a small amount to eat

BUlking is Hell!! i'm always full, bloated and end up hating the thought of food by the end of the day only to start again the next day


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

Really? I just eat until I'm full and drink milk. I've never too full and I never force feed.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

So di you guys think I can make it happen with 090x or not?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

I don't really know what the P90x routine is but you can make gains with dumbbells.


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## trapzilla (Apr 30, 2011)

I've done a quick search on ye olde internet and from what i can gather the answer in terms of significant muscle mass is nada, zip, niente, nope, or just plain no. p90x is good for those looking to drop lbs and be fit not thsoe looking to pack on slabs of meat, ya'll gonna need some iron boy!!


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

But if I eat access calories in it how will that turn out?


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

Why don't you look up some dumbbell work outs instead of doing P90x.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

I actually just found a website of a guy who bulked with p90x it takes longer because ofhow many calories you burn but it can be done


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## cg89 (Apr 30, 2011)

thomassj said:


> I actually just found a website of a guy who bulked with p90x it takes longer because ofhow many calories you burn but it can be done


take dbol...okay now all jokes aside are you on a weight gainer? adding a decent weight gainer with whole milk or 2% will add about 1000 calories to your diet...that doesn't mean you should just add that but bump it from 2650 to about 3000 then take the shake so your at 4000 calories a day. Yeah p90x isn't a real good option for bulking..better off doing pushups till you can't fee your arms same with sit ups, dips, pull ups it can be done. Option 2. Sell the p90x and use the money to join a gym? Oh and eating a nice big bowl of pasta or mac and cheese before bed will def help...drink your weight gainer with that and you'll be good.


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## thomassj (Apr 30, 2011)

Thanks but p90x is my only option really I'll actually take your advice for the meals and you do do dips pushups etc in p90x I'm gonna start at about 3500 Monday then keep bumping


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## Merkaba (Apr 30, 2011)

thomassj said:


> ... i know you guys will say i should ditch it but p90x is my only option and im about to hit phase 3 of it
> ...


Ditch the P90X
Lift heavy
Eat more food
Sleep


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## marxalexis (Apr 30, 2011)

I've been using the P90X workout but to lose weight. My brother whose super skinny was wondering whether the P90X program can help him beef up. As i read in the comments here, it does not help increase muscle mass right?

P90X Review


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## ihateschoolmt (Apr 30, 2011)

Your bother is way better off joining a gym.


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## thomassj (May 1, 2011)

I clearly understand p90x isn't ideal I can't join a gym for the 100th time though I live in a very small town with no gym im or around it. And my parents worn till 8 every night and no I can't use the one at my school because its nit open in the summer and school ends very soo


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## Built (May 1, 2011)

thomassj said:


> I clearly understand p90x isn't ideal I can't join a gym for the 100th time though I live in a very small town with no gym im or around it. And my parents worn till 8 every night and no I can't use the one at my school because its nit open in the summer and school ends very soo



We get it; ihateschool was responding to marxalexis.


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## thomassj (May 2, 2011)

I wasn't responding to him.


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