hello im a 18 year old male and im 6.3 ft tall and i weight only 160 pounds. I was planning on going to the gym, and i need advice on what workouts should i do what supplements to take how many times a week i should attend gym and i dont know if i should take whey proteins weight gainer creatine or w/e. i dont really know much about that stuff but i want to gain muscle. if someone could give me aworkout program, diet program, and directions on what supplements to buy please do so. thank you
i wouldn't worry abotu supplements. just start eating a lot more than you do. then, you can gage whether or not you should supplement - but they are called supplements for a reason. i use a simple whey from True Protein. can check them out online. i'd highly recommend getting Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. can also check out New Rules of Lifting. Both are really great books. Starting Strength teaches you the big lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift, clean) and the new edition has supplemental exercises - highly recommended. you'll get strong on this.
Here are some thoughts of a very-long-time ironhead (namely, me): To gain weight of any kind, you have to take in more calories than you expend. To gain primarily muscular weight, you have to move more and more weight (barbell, dumbbells, sandbags, barrels--whatever) over time and consume lots of protein while you're doing it. Don't eat three meals per day. Eat four or five . . . maybe six. Protein supplements and creatine make your job much easier. You can down a lot more protein if you use a protein supplement a couple of times per day, plus after each weight training session. (Make sure your post-training drink contains some carbohydrates, too.) Creatine is one other supplement which has been shown to be safe and effective for most people. I agree with Fitzy21 about emphasizing "big lifts"--lifts that use lots of muscles at once. With your build, you'll probably take to deadlifts and pull-ups pretty well. But you should surely work on power cleans and some kind of press or other. Also try to get skillful at squatting--it has made generations of people (including me) bigger and stronger. For learning, your best bet is getting connected with a senior gym rat who really knows his or her stuff. If you go the book route, supplement your learning by shooting videos of your lifts. Self-critique or ask for help online. (There are loads of bodybuilding, powerlifting, olympic lifting and strongman/strongwoman sites around where people are willing to comment on your videos.) Oh, yes. Even though you're trying to gain weight, don't omit cardio. Don't train like a 10k runner, but four half-hour walks per week will keep you healthier and limit your fat gain. (You will not gain exclusively muscle, but you can keep your fat gain small.) How often to lift? At your age, the options are many because you'll probably recover well. Suggestion: start with three or four, and proceed by trial and error.
