how to gain size

[grifilken]

okay i have a lot of natural strength, i'm only 160lbs and i can bench 225lbs...but i can't seem to gain any size, and i've been lifting for about 3 years now. So i was wondering where i am going wrong because it sucks to be able to outlift people that are substantially bigger than me but not be able to gain size...don't get me wrong i'm defined and when i lift i appear bigger, but i just want to have that "lifting look" all the time...thanks

[urso8up]

are you eating right...Diet is the key

[GearTripper]

check your diet... back in my high-school, i could out-lift the biggest body builders day in and day out. it wasn't until years later, i finally got my diet in check.

[grifilken]

i don't have a set diet like eat fish this day and protein this day...but i eat healthy and drink about a gallon of water a day plus i don't eat a lot of sugar or pop...is that good enough

[bowbow]

It sounds like your diet for sure.

[Gary]

How old are you?

If you are under 20, it can be real difficult to put on mass naturally. Most guys don't start putting on mass until their 20s when their frame and height are finished growing.

It can be done with mega calories but it is hard.

[JACKAL]

i agree about diet. do you get set number of meals? how much protein do you take in a day? if you care enough about getting bigger, you should care enough to atleast keep track of protein and carb intake. it could be your workouts also. post more info.

[ski]

You can get as strong as hell training but without a proper diet you will go nowhere as far as making muscular gains are concerned.Make sure you are doing these things everyday.

6 meals a day
1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight as a minimum
Take in more calories than you burn off daily
Eat ever 3 hours or so
Keep a training and diet log
Drink a gallon of water daily ...minimum
Take in 2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight
train hard and heavy
Be consistant
Try to add more food to your plate all the time if gaining weight is hard for you
Supplement your diet with two protein drinks daily
Eat Beef
Lot of work but that`s bodybuilding for you.If it was easy we`d all weigh 250 with 5 % bodyfat. Good luck dude !

[hlcn8]

props to ski, he hit all the bases, just eat like it's your job bro!

[JACKAL]

id like to emphasize the "BE CONSISTENT" part of ski's post. consistency is key.

[grifilken]

Originally posted by Gary
How old are you?

If you are under 20, it can be real difficult to put on mass naturally. Most guys don't start putting on mass until their 20s when their frame and height are finished growing.

It can be done with mega calories but it is hard.

i'm 16, so i can probably only put on strength but no mass huh...that sucks. Won't a lot of calories (no matter how hard you lift) make you fat?

[ski]

Calories make you gain weight not necssarily fat.Protein builds muscle.At 16 years of age your fucking hormones are raging you should be a testosterone producing monster.Test levels that are high will build muscle.Refer to my post above. That is basicxally all you need to do in a nutshell.There is no reson you can`t build muscle unless you aren`t following the guidelines I wrote.If you did that you would definately grow,anybody would.Don`t expect miracles overnight bro be persistant and you will make it. Good luck brother!1

[Gary]

Ski's advice is excellent.

Lots of protein to build muscle and carbs to fuel them. 5-6 meals a day rather than 3. Plenty of water.

If I remember the numbers right: 1 gram of fat has 9 calories whereas 1 g of carbs or protein has 4-5 calories. So keep your daily fat calories down to about 20%. Avoid fried food and simple carbs like white bread, doughnuts, sodas. You are really going to have to eat a lot of protein and carbs in order to get the high calorie intake to put on mass.

Be sure to rest a muscle group for several days. For example, chest work once a week on Mondays. You tear the muscle fibers during your workouts and they grow by repairing themselves during the rest periods.

Good luck, be patient. By increasing your strength, you are building the frame, tendons, ligaments that will handle bigger muscle mass.

[grifilken]

i'm not lookin to be body builder size...just to get my arms to like 16" and my chest a little bigger too...right now my arms are 13.5" so it is possible I just ain't seeing any growth is all...