Emergency Weigh Gain!

So I'm sick and tired of being a little guy.

It's bad enough that I'm 5'7 but over the last 15 years I've eaten like shit and gotten super skinny. Like unhealthy, anorexic, skeleton skinny.
It's time for me to change. I've planned my exercise routine, got a workout partner lined up, and have a dope gym at my apartment complex. One problem left:

I've been trying to design a diet but don't know jack about macronutrients, etc. So I need some help. Everything I've read says diet is 80% of the solution. This is a cool place so hopefully we can find a cool solution.

Only one rule: No seafood.

I'm far from rich so the lower the budget the better.

Any links/info/anything is mucho appreciated!

its fairly late so i cba to write a diet plan now, but it comes down to basically eat every macro in moderation (protein/ fats/ carbs), and eat enough for you to put on i weight. if you dont put on weight, eat more, if youre eating more but not putting on weight, then eat more etc etc...

Due thank you so much for that link. It took me down a rabbit hole that ended with a perfect budget grocery list (which I will also convert to recipe book)!

Another conundrum: My gym has everything BUT a bench. The chest exercises are pretty replaceable. The Gym has a leg press but is that enough to fully replace squats & deadlifts? What can I throw in to supplement?

Jamrockin;592383 said:

Due thank you so much for that link. It took me down a rabbit hole that ended with a perfect budget grocery list (which I will also convert to recipe book)!

Another conundrum: My gym has everything BUT a bench. The chest exercises are pretty replaceable. The Gym has a leg press but is that enough to fully replace squats & deadlifts? What can I throw in to supplement?

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you're welcome. you can do various forms of squats and deadlifts with dumbbells. google dumbbell squats or dumbebell deadlift and look at the images.

i supplement with glutamine and high quality proteins (grassfed whey, organic pea and veggie proteins). Also creatine at times.

On mass gaining phase I'd say eat as many grams of protein as your desired goal in pounds (you wanna be 200 lbs - you eat 200g protein every day). Than add a lot of carbs and fat. If you have really fast metablolism it should go up to 4000 kcal. Don't mind some fat gain for now, you'll cut later.
As for squats with dumbbels, go with goblet squat. Easy to learn and effective. But in the long run I'd find a gym that has barbells and benches and lots of weights. Plus squat racks.

Thx youknow & ghost! I actually saw goblet squats this morning on youtube so now it's popped up twice so it must be fate. So since you guys are being so awesome and answering all of my ?2 I'll keep it going: How the heck do I determine what weight to start at? 5'7 and 110 pounds (yeah...I know..holy shit..)

Jamrockin;592472 said:

Thx youknow & ghost! I actually saw goblet squats this morning on youtube so now it's popped up twice so it must be fate. So since you guys are being so awesome and answering all of my ?2 I'll keep it going: How the heck do I determine what weight to start at? 5'7 and 110 pounds (yeah...I know..holy shit..)

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you're welcome. ya goblet squats are great...make it easy to keep good form. they are a good place to start even if your gym had a barbell. you're weight will probably be a bit light at first but your strength will increase as you stick with it...just do no do to much to quick!! that stops many people when they get to sore or cause an injury that is minor or more serious. if you are just starting out pick a weight you can do a warm up set with of 25 squats. then a weight you can do 15 squats, then a weight you can do 12 squats, then 8 squats. eventually once you build a good foundation of strength you'll get into the 1 rep max weights.

Jamrockin;592472 said:

Thx youknow & ghost! I actually saw goblet squats this morning on youtube so now it's popped up twice so it must be fate. So since you guys are being so awesome and answering all of my ?2 I'll keep it going: How the heck do I determine what weight to start at? 5'7 and 110 pounds (yeah...I know..holy shit..)

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i wouldnt realy agree with goblet squats. theyre not too bad to start on, but will likely become very easy very fast, and have no room for progression as most gyms dont have very heavy dumbbells. then once theres no more weight to use you just cimply cannot progress anymore unless you do stupid high reps.

my advice would be to find a new gym. as for what to start on, you will have to find that out on your own. start with a very light weight on a given exercise, then work up till it gets hard.

Well, my gym is walking distance to my place and free. My wallet is pretty empty so I can't afford to pay for a gym membership and gas. Think I'd be better off saving for food and a baby bench press (Amazon- $150 for bench and bar with 2-25s and 2-10s).

So jordey, if you not fond of goblet squats, what would you recommend? Can't just be shooting down ideas without replacing them!

Jamrockin;592557 said:

Well, my gym is walking distance to my place and free. My wallet is pretty empty so I can't afford to pay for a gym membership and gas. Think I'd be better off saving for food and a baby bench press (Amazon- $150 for bench and bar with 2-25s and 2-10s).

So jordey, if you not fond of goblet squats, what would you recommend? Can't just be shooting down ideas without replacing them!

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its not that im not fond of them, you just cant progress very far, and unless you can find some very very heavy dumbells your lower body will never look very good from them. there is no real replacement for movements like the squat and deadlift, so if it was me i would just find a way.

if you have leg press, curl and extension machines they could potentially be used instead, as atleast you have the potential for future progression in terms of progressive overload with these, aswell as the trio evenly building your legs

jordey;592576 said:

its not that im not fond of them, you just cant progress very far, and unless you can find some very very heavy dumbells your lower body will never look very good from them. there is no real replacement for movements like the squat and deadlift, so if it was me i would just find a way.

if you have leg press, curl and extension machines they could potentially be used instead, as atleast you have the potential for future progression in terms of progressive overload with these, aswell as the trio evenly building your legs

Click to expand...

once you max out the weight with goblet squats with the dumbbells at the gym you will have built a strong foundation. Then simply use 2 dumbbells to perform your squats. one held in each hand.

Something tells me that when you weight 110 lbs you are not going to outlift heaviest dbs in yur gym that fast. But if you wanna set up a home gym, get bar first, then weights, than squat stands/ squat rack. Bench can wait. It's overrated anyway.

Jamrockin;592557 said:

Well, my gym is walking distance to my place and free. My wallet is pretty empty so I can't afford to pay for a gym membership and gas. Think I'd be better off saving for food and a baby bench press (Amazon- $150 for bench and bar with 2-25s and 2-10s).

So jordey, if you not fond of goblet squats, what would you recommend? Can't just be shooting down ideas without replacing them!

Click to expand...

free gym and walking distance...screw the barbell lol...IT'S FREE!!!!

Okay so we're set on squats. What about deadlifts? That seems complicated. The machines I have are a leg press and a stand up calf raiser. What ya think?

Jamrockin;592643 said:

Okay so we're set on squats. What about deadlifts? That seems complicated. The machines I have are a leg press and a stand up calf raiser. What ya think?

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Go on YouTube and look up "Elliot Hulse Science of Dead Lifting". It's a 3 or 4 part series that teaches you how to dead lift heavy weights with perfect form. :cool:

Sorry for the double post. Didn't read through this thread before my first post.

GhostRider;592431 said:

On mass gaining phase I'd say eat as many grams of protein as your desired goal in pounds (you wanna be 200 lbs - you eat 200g protein every day). Than add a lot of carbs and fat. If you have really fast metablolism it should go up to 4000 kcal. Don't mind some fat gain for now, you'll cut later.
As for squats with dumbbels, go with goblet squat. Easy to learn and effective. But in the long run I'd find a gym that has barbells and benches and lots of weights. Plus squat racks.

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Carbs are most important for skinny guys. Look out for excessive protein intake. The reason why a lot of skinny guys stay as skinny as they do is because they have a lesser quantity of digestive enzymes in their digestive tract. I've had bubbles in my urine as long as I can remember and on the days my protein intake is very high the bubbles almost become a thick foam in the toilet. The significance of this is that no matter how many grams of protein a lot of skinny guys eat, they only digest so much. But high insulin levels from constant carb intake drastically raise GH levels and in turn - hunger, which is what most of us skinny (were skinny) guys lack.

Jamrockin;592472 said:

Thx youknow & ghost! I actually saw goblet squats this morning on youtube so now it's popped up twice so it must be fate. So since you guys are being so awesome and answering all of my ?2 I'll keep it going: How the heck do I determine what weight to start at? 5'7 and 110 pounds (yeah...I know..holy shit..)

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Zercher squats from the floor - best replacement for Back/Front squats. You can lunge very heavy as well with no squat rack.

Jamrockin;592557 said:

Well, my gym is walking distance to my place and free. My wallet is pretty empty so I can't afford to pay for a gym membership and gas. Think I'd be better off saving for food and a baby bench press (Amazon- $150 for bench and bar with 2-25s and 2-10s).

So jordey, if you not fond of goblet squats, what would you recommend? Can't just be shooting down ideas without replacing them!

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Craigslist. You can get an olympic standard barbell with a total of 300lbs of weight for around $150. That'll last you years unless you deadlift like a madman, pull 700lbs and bend the bar.

jordey;592576 said:

its not that im not fond of them, you just cant progress very far, and unless you can find some very very heavy dumbells your lower body will never look very good from them. there is no real replacement for movements like the squat and deadlift, so if it was me i would just find a way.

if you have leg press, curl and extension machines they could potentially be used instead, as atleast you have the potential for future progression in terms of progressive overload with these, aswell as the trio evenly building your legs

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Listen to this guy ^ . He knows what he's talking about. Zercher squats, dead lifts, lunges, and sprints. That'll make for some sexy, sexy legs.

youknowme123321;592590 said:

once you max out the weight with goblet squats with the dumbbells at the gym you will have built a strong foundation. Then simply use 2 dumbbells to perform your squats. one held in each hand.

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i personally dont think so, and performing squats the the dumbells by your side takes loads off of your legs as your arms are holding the weight and it is not directly loading on to your back. for both goblet and dumbbell squats a persons arms/ grip will also likely give out before their legs do because of the inefficient loading mentioned.

but barbells arent for everyone, so if you like db's then thats obviously fine. and op, if you really cant figure out a way to get access to a rack then db's/ zerchers would be your only alternative.

in the op you mentioned you need guidance on macro composition of your diet, but we would need more information, e.g. height, weight, age, training experience, goals etc

height: 5'7 with no shoes
weight: 110
age: 25
training experience: No significant workout experience (in the last 10 years) other than having regular sex.
Goals: Don't look like a 12 year old girl.

Jamrockin;592671 said:

height: 5'7 with no shoes
weight: 110
age: 25
training experience: No significant workout experience (in the last 10 years) other than having regular sex.
Goals: Don't look like a 12 year old girl.

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I suggest the see food diet. Eat everything you can see.