FORUMS > Gaining Weight Forum Rules

So I've been working out for the past two months or so (fairly religiously) and I've gained about seven pounds or so of muscle. I'm wondering what the average weight gain on a person would be?

Also I've been considering looking into supplements since eating a lot of food at once isn't an option for me. Any suggestions for brands? Any anecdotal experience with them?

Depends on age, diet, somatype, caloric intake, genes, training method, recovery time, length of time training.

In untrained individuals, remarkable gains can be seen in the first 18 weeks, provided the calories, and recovery are there. The more highly trained you are, the slower the gains come.

There's lots of good information available about this from various universities and research organizations that have studied this at great length.

Supplements are fine, if you're short on calories, but, if not, best you spend your money on food, and, if you're older than about 28 or so, you'll also want to see the doctor about androgen therapy.

Carbs are cheap, fats are reasonably cheap, but, protein is usually pricey.

Main thing: EAT.

Your reported gains would be typical of a neophyte, but, so many things can bounce it around. Going #1 will drop about 0.8 pounds, and going #2 will drop 1 to 3 pounds. Some folks can vary 10 pounds, or more, over the course of the day, just from water intake, and loss.

It's a common sense thing, if you think about your question clearly.

chuckystud said

Supplements are fine, if you're short on calories, but, if not, best you spend your money on food, and, if you're older than about 28 or so, you'll also want to see the doctor about androgen therapy.

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Here we go.
I love the whole idea of androgen therapy if you are over 28... 28 are you kidding me? He is only 23 if you read his profile. It actually only effects 1 in 10 men between the ages of 40-60.
The only reason you would EVER need androgen therapy under the age of 40 is if your testosterone levels are markedly down or if you have a pituitary or testicular disorder or something totally awesome like micro penis. Using steroids may require that you do this also.

compliments of the Mayo clinic.
side effects with exogenous (external and synthetic) testosterone replacement therapy:

Cause skin reactions
Cause fluid retention
Cause baldness
Cause or aggravate sleep apnea (brief, repeated cessation of breathing during sleep)
Stimulate noncancerous (benign) growth of the prostate and cause or worsen urinary symptoms
Stimulate growth of prostate cancer that's already present
Enlarge breasts (gynecomastia)
Stimulate growth of breast cancer that's already present
Cause testicle shrinkage (testicular atrophy)
Limit sperm production (infertility)
Stimulate excess blood production (polycythemia)

Yes, there are benefits for people who actually NEED it. Usually this is a conversation to have when you are over 40, not when you are symptomless in your twenties. Prostate cancer is the number one non skin cancer in men and Androgen therapy can actually worsen it if you have pre existing conditions. (17% of men will get it) Nothing of what you said hints at low testosterone levels so the suggestion is ludicrous as usual.

Okay, whoa! I'm not about to see doctor about this, my testosterone levels are fine I'm sure of that. And for someone who is new to this stuff the answer to my question isn't obvious though I appreciate the response. At heart I'm a scientist and I only ask questions when I can't find the answer in the literature.

I'm pretty sure my caloric intake is low and as much as your touted 'Eat' strategy works for most people I can't actually gorge myself. I would more likely stop working out and call it a loss than do that. I'll have to focus on energy rich foods for the time being and possibly supplements.

Are there any recommendations on supplements or are they all fairly similar?

As Chucky's first sentence said, there is no single answer to your question.

But for general guidelines here is a good article that can better explain it than I can.

Dude, your body can't change over night. Give your body time. Push hard, eat right, and sleep. You will see gains. If you work hard enough your body will respond. Lift effectively and effcently and mind your form. Trust me just keep it up and it will come. Time and hard work is all you need bud. Food and Water as well

Androgen therapy aside, if you have any questions in regard to mass gains, talk to chuck.

You don't need to "eat a lot at once", I'm eating six or more times a day and grazing in between meals. Get over the fear of looking like a pig, because to gain a significant amount of muscle weight, you really have to eat like a pig.

My little 200 pound oinker...DOOODOOOoooooooooooooooooooD.

LOL.

I spent 11 years in broadcast news, so I often speak to a wide audience, and not just the poster as an individual,...just to clear that up.

Mayo has done some great anti-aging research, on how androgens protect the heart and protect you from diseases of aging. I've posted those elsewhere on this site, but, you can google on anti-aging and mayo and read all about it. It's not right that you were mislead.

With regard to hitting it harder: that's poor advice. It drives your androgens and recovery down. National Geographic recently did a program that talked about the perils of over-training.

If you want to stay anabolic (growing), you need to stimulate, but, not overtrain. Overtraining can make you go highly catabolic (losing), and hitting it harder, without proper caloric intake, and without enough androgen, can be highly detrimental to your training goals. If you train like an idiot, you'll look like one, too.

Most folks don't realize the intensity of resistance training on their body. Stimulate, eat, rest / recover. Guys use androgen not just to feel better, avoid disease, have improved sexual function and cognitive ability but also and certainly the reason athletes chose to use science in such a way is ...to change the rules of recovery. If you're not 18, and you aren't eating enough, and you are not anabolic...you'll lose ground by overtraining. That advice was not sound, and would be detrimental to your overall goals.

Again: more is NOT better. Don't be an idiot. Stimulate; eat; recover. If you aren't eating enough, or aren't anabolic for whatever reason, more training will only slow you up.

Speaking to the poster, if you can train yourself to eat, or...and listen closely, there's nothing wrong with being thin. Without calories, though, lifting is nice way to stay firm, but, you won't gain without the calories. I literally eat until it hurts, and then, eat extra. I don't get fat, because I carry so much lean muscle, and I weighed 175 in high school at 12%. I look at weights and grow, and I vacuum food in. Just how I am. A machine. You can buy weight gainer, and so on, but, there's no real substitute for real honest food. Eat, if you want to gain. You'll get used to eating if that's what you want.

dood has gained 60 pounds by following his diet to the letter. He stuffs it down, in much the fashion I do. He wants it, and that's what it takes. He's also type 1 diabetic, and insulin dependent and is able to keep himself anabolic through smart insulin management.

Carbs, and insulin management, along with proper protein, are how you make gains. It's really not rocket science in the way that some would think.

I've seen many a collegiate football player gain 60 to 80 pounds on beer, pizza, fast women / guys, the training table, and intervals (suicides).

Whatever it is you seek, you should like doing it. That makes it easier.

I like eating. I like lifting. I like looking as I do. I love working out at high intensity. I've been doing it 33 years now. Find what works for you, and have fun with it.

Thanks Chucky, so far I'm loving what I'm doing I mostly just wanted to know if the rate of growth matched a healthy level. I am always concerned about caloric intake because I actually can't eat large portions of food or numerous smaller meals due to extreme reflux. If I did that I would end up in the hospital... fortunately that will be fixed later in the year and then I can consider it then. This is why I'm considering other options for caloric intake for the time being.

Anyway thanks for the advice.

Try eating before and after working out. Makes a huge difference for me. P..S. I don't eat any man made carbs.