Five Reasons You're Still Skinny

I like the thread alot! Definitly need to be followed by newbs, especially the ones who talk about starting roid use before they've even touched a weight. I'm still natural and think that if someone is 20-30 lbs less than me and trying to use roids has another thing coming.

They need to take there time to get educated on diet, excercise, and many other things before steroid use is even considered.
 
They probably lack the necessary upper back stability and strength, and as a result their body puts on the brakes. If they were to take two to three months and really focus on their upper back strength and stability they'd be pretty friggin' amazed at what happens with their bench total and chest size.

My back is the strongest part of my body. And my chest is not where i want it to be. So this point doesnt seem to add up.
 
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just beacuse you have a big back dont mean that it will make yyour chest bigger if you geneticly have very small chest muscles.

maybe changing your treaining, diet, maybe you too narrow and not wide nuff to grow chest, maybe genetics: soo sooo many factors they can be, and comboes that i dont know what to tell you really.

but it makes sence to me. and would for most but not everyone is the same and there are always exacptions.
liek i never work calves and have big calve.
soem keel them selfe trying to grow it.
I got lucky I guess, but im also not very tall only like 5' 8" so i unno
 
great pos man, i am the classic skinny guy and have read every sort of bullshit imaginable, great info put plainly!
 
I was your typical ectomorph. But with the right training principles, and timing/calculations of my diet. I grew...
Look at any so called "hardgainers" diet, and you will see all the holes.
Usually missing out on some of the most important times of eating/supplementation.
Skipped meals, not enough sleep, and overtraining.
Oh, and Bees Honey is your friend...
Some of the most important supplements:
Starting with the BIG 3: Creatine, Glutamine, Protein,
Multi-Vitamin
NO (Nitric Oxide) stimilator such as L-Arginine AKG or other, if you don't feel the pump, well, it just don't feel right. Holla if ya hear me.
BCAA's(usually provided in good protein brands),
Some sort of preworkout energy ignitor(some form of caffeine, or other stimulant)

Most important times of your day.
Before bed..
Wake up...
Pre-workout...
Post-workout...

Before bed

When you are sleeping, you are fasting..
Casein Protein before bed.....slow digestion throughout the night. Lessen your chances of going into a catabolic state..spare your muscle...

First thing when you wake up
a source of fructose with a protein shake. Followed up a little later with breakfast. Throughout the night, your liver glycogen levels have went down. Instead of traveling straight to the muscles like glucose, fructose must first head to the liver. There it replenishes glycogen, which shuts up the liver and shuts down catabolism. Honey is your friend. 1 to 2 tablespoons. I do it religiously, so I go through alot of honey...

Pre-workout: Apple or Orange and a protein shake.
Slow digesting carbs(apple/orange). Fruit is full of fructose, which will provide a longer lasting energy and wont trigger a big insulin surge that would blunt fat-burning during your workout. And you wont crash and feel rundown, halfway through the workout.

Post-Workout: Fast burning carbs(around 60grams) and a protein shake...
You have two immediate nutritional goals after you finish training. To drive as much protein into muscles as possible and replenish muscle glycogen stores.
I start drinking my Gatorade(fast burning carbs) toward the last 10 minutes of my workout, or during my last exercise. When I get home( I live 2 minutes from the gym), I take 2 tablespoons of honey and 1 tablespoon of pancake syrup(Mrs Butterworth). Followed by 1 scoop of protein. 10 minutes later, I will eat 2 whole eggs(boiled).

Even better post workout-a Waxy Maize supplement, which I will be moving too. Along with Protein shake, and other complex carb-creatine-glutamine..

Its easy to keep from overtraining...Enter "Split Training"
Every body part gets ample rest.
My workout schedule changes every week.
Example of one of my workouts schemes..
My biceps were a lagging part. So instead of training them after my "Back" workout, I put them on my "Chest" day. So I could really hit them when they are fresh. As well as on Sunday, I would train them again.
Monday: Shoulders and Triceps
Tues: Back
Wedn: Off
Thurs: Chest and Biceps
Fri: Legs
Saturday: Traps/Forearms/Calves

Get a helper: My daughter(she is 10) comes with me to the gym. She is my little helper. She sprays and cleans the benches when I'm done..refills my water bottle...
Helps me do forced reps...
Uses my laminated 1RM conversion chart and a calculator to do calculations for me.
But we recently got a cooler chart that has everything calculated. So she just tells me the weight I need in order to get 12 reps, or 8, or 6...

Which brings me to intensity: You need to calculate these things...I have scanned the chart, and I have provided a link to the .zip file.
The chart is self explanatory.

I will do 2 warmup sets for a given bodypart, then put a weight that I know I can do less than 20 reps with. Do as many reps as I can, and then my daughter does the calculations using a list of coefficients, and finds my 1RM. Then uses the other chart from then on to tell me the weight I should use for my other 3 sets. 12reps/8reps/6reps.

You can guess weights all you want, but if you don't know how much you lifted the previous workout, and you don't progress forward with increased weight, you will stay where you are.

Here is the link to the 1RM chart, and coefficient chart I put together. It works damn well, and is pretty accurate.
http://rapidshare.com/files/405841298/1RM_Charts.zip.html

If this link is not allowed, let me know, and people can just PM me for the link....
 
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I don't really think you need to eat 5 meals a day at the least... I eat 3 meals a day... Well maybe four. But I consume a hell of a lot of food for each of these meals, and I'm a relatively smaller male compared to the meat heads on the dumbbells racks.

Breakfast: 4-6 eggs, two pieces of whole wheat toast, glass of milk, and if I'm not too full I add some oatmeal.
(workout)

Post workout: Something HIGH in protein such as today I ate a tuna sandwich whole wheat toasted bread, and had a bowl of tuna as well. Along with some multivitamins.

Then Lunch around 3-5: I have another big meal, consisting of higher protein, and high carbs. I always match it with a glass of milk.

Then dinner I usually have some kind of pasta, and can devour a lb or more to myself... Usually accompanied with chicken.

I think this is plenty to get bigger and stronger... Along with gear...

And I am one of those guys that do many workouts for legs. But I do EVERY single workout to its fullest at a high weight for rep of 6-8 for 3 sets. I take a 2-3minute rest and proceed. I will be doing this until my legs are back to their original stages, and when they reach good size and strength, I will cut back the rotation to maybe only squats, deadlifts, and leg extensions or so on. I never leave a routine unfinished and don't do cardio seeing as I am bulking and my bodyfat is already low as it is. I will do maybe one day of cardio if i start getting too puggy. That is it.

And I have already seen significant gains. So I think it depends on the persons mentality and structure.
 
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"Or the guy who stalls out on his squat because his core isn't strong enough to support the weight. Quite simply, the weak links in your chain will always hold you back from building your ultimate physique."

I understand weak links need to be fixed, but I have not done any core work and my squat is decent. I have never understood whether ab work is necessary.

I thought doing Squats and Deadlifts *was* the way to build your core. This implies you have to supplement ab training or you may hit a wall on them. Can someone explain whether this is necessary or not? Thankyou
 
"Or the guy who stalls out on his squat because his core isn't strong enough to support the weight. Quite simply, the weak links in your chain will always hold you back from building your ultimate physique."

I understand weak links need to be fixed, but I have not done any core work and my squat is decent. I have never understood whether ab work is necessary.

I thought doing Squats and Deadlifts *was* the way to build your core. This implies you have to supplement ab training or you may hit a wall on them. Can someone explain whether this is necessary or not? Thankyou

squats and deads DO work your core, if you do them correctly. Problem is most guys don't (poor form) which can result in a weak core thus stalling progress.

I rarely ever do abs mainly because i know how to squat and deadlift. But also cause i know if i want them to show, its all about diet. Unfortunatley most guys think abs work makes them ripped.
 
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