Toning up but not getting bigger?

[james123]

Ok im having some serious problems gaining weight, im doing a proper workout 3 times a week mainly upper body at this stage it consists of

Bench Press

Barbell Curls

Incline Press

Deadlifts

Close grip benchpress

bb bent over rows

I have gained alot of strength but im not gaining muscle just toning up? Could someone suggest whats going on here? Im guessing its diet but i eat as much as I can maybe i have to stuff myself? I have always been skinny and i have jack all fatr on me.

[IronGame]

Eat more mate thats all there is to it.

Eat untill you feel sick then put the rest of your meal in the blender and drink it :nod:

Eating is the hardest part of all of this, training is easy.

[IronGame]

Oh and Squats!

Try drinking whole milk through the day to bump up cal's

[Marcus]

Post up your diet so we can check it out.

[AlBundy]

Gotta eat to grow although I disagree with eating until you are sick, most people will get indigestion and possibly constipated if they increase their caloric intake to much all at once, gotta do it gradually.

[poos_n_wees]

Why are you only focusing on upper body at the mo?

[2guns]

Eat untill you feel sick then put the rest of your meal in the blender and drink it

hahaha classic :pfft:

[james123]

Im only focusing on upper body because thats where im weak my legs are ok but my upper body is shrimpy as.

[james123]

Are you serious about eating untill your sick?

[IronGame]

Are you serious about eating untill your sick?

That was just to make clear the fact that with where you are currently at you do IMO need to train your body to eat, just as you train to lift weights.

Eating the amount of cal's nessasary to induce serious growth is uncomfortable especially if you are as you say skinny and have low bf.

Lift big and eat big.

[blairandkelly]

yeah buddy!!! i did a few weeks back gagged on some cottage cheese mixed with milk , chucked it all up and some , had to soldier on and eat it all over again :pfft:

[james123]

Does your body adapt to eating more though? Someone with experience could let me know, i guess your stomach strethes or something?

[MasterTel]

Yep - you gotta eat more to grow.

A good way to consume more calories without feeling too full after each meal is to eat smaller meals more often. e.g. 6-8 small meals per day instead of 3-4 large ones.

If a meal is too much to stomach, eat half of it then have a break for an hour or so before finishing the other half. Ideally try and have at least 6 meals a day - including a protein shake or two instead of solid food might also make it easier on your digestion.

[Dumbelldog]

Get a bulking powder also as this will add to the calories you can drink.

[Nobody]

Eat more mate thats all there is to it.

Eat untill you feel sick then put the rest of your meal in the blender and drink it :nod:

Eating is the hardest part of all of this, training is easy.

yeah buddy!!! i did a few weeks back gagged on some cottage cheese mixed with milk , chucked it all up and some , had to soldier on and eat it all over again

Did you have to reblend it or eat it partially digested....IronGame would taking the left overs as an enima work also? I'm just thinking the T Bone would be a bit sharp :toilet:

[IronGame]

Eat more mate thats all there is to it.

Eat untill you feel sick then put the rest of your meal in the blender and drink it :nod:

Eating is the hardest part of all of this, training is easy.

yeah buddy!!! i did a few weeks back gagged on some cottage cheese mixed with milk , chucked it all up and some , had to soldier on and eat it all over again

Did you have to reblend it or eat it partially digested....IronGame would taking the left overs as an enima work also? I'm just thinking the T Bone would be a bit sharp :toilet:

Well I would imagin it would all depend on what the entry angle was :oops:

[deeepsouth_nz]

I think it depends a bit on where James is coming from to start with...for most people when you begin to exercise your body is more likely to firm up first of all and lose excess bodyfat before it gets into an anabolic state of being able to concentrate solely at putting on muscle. The diet and exercises etc are important but it may also be a factor of genetics ie I too was a 'hardgainer' for many years and was incredibly toned, incredibly strong, trained very intensley and ate everything and anything, tried this and that with exercises/ sets/ reps but nothing until it all came together one day (and Im not all there yet).....10 years later I did my first comp. So in summarising I think its natural to go through a period of toning and beyond that we are all individuals and although magazines might like to tell us to do this and that to achieve size straight away, I dont think there's always a simple answer :roll:

[AlBundy]

Nope never a simple answer its a game of trial and error. You need to have patience. Just keep your food intake high good carbs, fats and protein sources are necessary and never get to the point where you are really really hungry. Try stay full all the time so long as you arnt giving yourself indigestion. Also when consuming alot of food increasing fiber intake can help clear the old colon.

Nothings worse than walking into the gym with stomach cramps feeling as though you need to take a crap but cant. :toilet: This type of situation may also take a different course and lead to the dreaded mudbut or cause the unintentional release of gas. Lifting heavy is not advised during these times.

[james123]

Ok from what you guys have said i have definitly have realised where i am going wrong.

I only eat 4 times daily

I only eat when im really hungry

Also as for genetics my Dad was skinny until around 20 then he just got huge without any training hes 44 now and can bench 140kg and doesnt even train so i know i have the genetics to get somewhere. I just want to speed them up

[poos_n_wees]

IMO even though you're wanting to bring your upper body up to scratch, I'd definitely still include legs in your split - just cut back majorly on the volume to maintain the muscle you've got.

I second the addition of more liquid cals, or more calorie dense foooodz like nuts & oils

[Mike Zero]

Ok from what you guys have said i have definitly have realised where i am going wrong.

I only eat 4 times daily

I only eat when im really hungry

Also as for genetics my Dad was skinny until around 20 then he just got huge without any training hes 44 now and can bench 140kg and doesnt even train so i know i have the genetics to get somewhere. I just want to speed them up

Is your last name Knappy per chance?

But seriously, that doesn't mean you inherited his genetics. Don't expect it to come easy.

[poos_n_wees]

:ditto:

My dad and big sis have the BEST calves, and they've never trained them before, ever. The magical genes somehow managed to skip me though

[AlBundy]

Yep I inherited some crummy genetics haha. Shitall you can do about it tho except force yourbody to get big by eating lots and lifting heavy.

[Pseudonym]

I think the easiest way to get used to eating more, is to increase gradually.

If you're currently doing 4 meals a day, bump that up to 5 for a month. It's a reasonably easy step, and that way you aren't suddenly thrown this strange diet that's hard to stick to.

Then when that's become familiar, add another meal.

[deeepsouth_nz]

Definately, even if theyre 5 or 6 smaller meals more frequently so you give your body / metabolism time to adjust. See how it goes and then add more volume to each of these meals based on what your body is doing.....OR bear in mind that there are lots of things that you can eat in smaller volumes but are big on energy ie brown rice, kumara, oats etc.