How hard is to build muscle? My new years goal

haha dude, you are on the same boat with me. I peaked out my height when i was 16 at 6'5 185 lbs. I played varsity bball throughout high school and nothing my coach did could help me gain any weight. I have worked out my whole life and never could gain muscle naturally. 3 years later I still hadn't gained a pound or grew an inch. I was extremely lean, but not overly skinny. I finally decided to do a lot of research on methods for putting on muscle and I started taking certain supplements and protein shakes. I gained 20 lbs of muscle in less than 2 months. If you are willing to fork out like $70 or less than let me know I can point you in the right direction. Just let me know what you are willing to spend and if you want to put on muscle, or maybe a little fat as well. A little extra fat is healthy to have when putting on muscle.

 

me dos

 

The real question is did you keep the weight on. I can spend 100+ and gain 30 pounds in 6 weeks. but you'd loose it as soon as you got off your supplement.

 

Get yourself a routine going and stick to it for as much as possible in two weeks you will definitely notice yourself getting stronger. #1 thing is to stick to the schedule

 

Begginer gains on a skinny person = potential for massive, rapid gains. Get yourself on a good program. As a skinny person your biggest limiting factor is likely going to be nutrition. Get in the gym and start eating hard. Keep in mind that lifting is only half of the muscle gaining process. Recovery via adequate nutrition and sleep is key to good gains.

A great site to utilize if you are serious is T NATION | The Intelligent and Relentless Pursuit of Muscle

It has a lot of advanced information and stuff that will be irrelevant to you for now, but also has the most knowledgeable community around, and excellent articles written by the best in the fitness buisiness.

Look at a program such as starting strength.

I am 6'' 1' and currently 210 lbs. Bodyfat around 10-12%. 4 months ago I was 185 similar bodyfat%. I feel I can make similar gains over the next 4 months, and plan on doing so. My focus has been on strength gain and power generation, not raw mass gain. I imagine with different priorities I could be 215 right now, but multiple goals are bound to cut into recovery. Set yourself some clear goals as a benchmark, it helps many motivationally.

At the comment to 1 pound of muscle/month, this seems like a reasonable expectation for an intermediate lifter. As a true begginer, and a skinny one at that you should have no problems with that rate of gain at a minimum, or more like 1 lb/week if you eat vast quantaties of healthy food, attack compound lifts (squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead/military press, pull ups, and dips are all awesome) and say fuck it to isolation (seriously don't be one of the majority that go to the gym to do their 10 sets of bicep curls in the squat rack, or a guy that just benches. You will gain best via compound lifts exclusively for quite some time) and convince yourself you are sleeping beauty.

Around 2.5-3 months I started to have some serious stretch marks on my back/thighs/triceps. That should serve as an indication of potential gains.


EDIT-- to the question of if weed's effect on muscle gain. I have been high every day over this 4 month period (vape-i quit smoking. Lungs have improved noticably) as the appetite stimulant effect is necessary for me. I've seen posts on this site with cited sources regarding weed reducing sleep quality. That being said I combated any of this effect with getting baked and taking more naps! I find I personally handle high intensity better high (vape high ONLY). Thus for me weed is a perfect fit, however it may not be beneficial to muscle gains depending on you and your goals.

 

I second that. Vaporizing is much better when working out. Its Much easier mentally to max out your body when vaped as fuck.

 

If your diet is solid it makes it fairly easy to build muscle, assuming you have a routine and are sticking to it, and progressively adding weight.

Getting an excess of calories is very important though, because your body uses like 90% of the energy intake to maintain the chemical processes of life, so it leaves very little to devote to growth. You can work harder than anyone in the gym, and while you'll probably gain strength regardless, your unlikely to gain any muscle unless your diet is strong.

 

I dont think building muscle is very hard. It can be challenging and frustrating. You just have to put forth the work, effort, dedication and time.

Read about weightlifting and gaining weight dont just hit the gym without a clue working out your whole body everyday. I used to be 5'7 128 lbs. now I'm 173lbs..i still have much work to do though..i started working out mid Feburary last year. The first couple of months though I was unsure how to use my muscle lifting...I was just going through the motions you know? Not contracting or anything. Ate and ate and ate..eggs.oatmeal.chicken.steak.tuna.noodles..etc..I tried to get in a bunch of carbs after I worked out. Took whey protein for about 4months 2scoops and casein protein at night. Stopped and now I'm just natural . Oh I would rest one week like for every 8-12 weeks you lift..tbh it's helped me a bunch.

Don't neglect your legs..a strong upper body derives from a solid core and lower body.
You don't grow inside the gym..you grow outside eating right and resting.

 

Eat right, train/workout correctly, supplements are helpful but technically not necessary.

I've heard that pot gets you more focused while at the gym. I've never tried it. But I've been using hemp protein and hemp oil mixed with whey protein shakes in the morning and post workout. It's kind of nasty but I've been feeling great.

 

You didn't gain 20 pounds of muscle in 2 months dude. Maybe 20 pounds including a lot of fat, but there's not a man alive who can gain that much muscle that quickly without the juice (even with it i'd be doubtful)