Gaining weight for beginners

[tonpaulerc]

What are some tips for gaining weight rapidly? I know you should lessen the rest time between sets but what are some other good tips?

[Fazc]

Originally Posted by tonpaulerc

I know you should lessen the rest time between sets but what are some other good tips?

That is not necessarily true. There are no 'tips', no special tricks.

The key is simply progressive poundages in the big exercises for medium to high reps. In addition eat more than maintenance. It is just that simple, really.

[Shadowschmadow]

Rapid weight = fat... It takes time to get big, just as it does time to lose fat. The difference between the two is reversing the calorie intake.

Fat = Low Cal.
Muscle = High Cal.

Typical starting recommendation to lose fat is minus 500 calories from maintenance.
A solid recommendation for gaining would be a surplus of 500 calories.

If you still don't see results, +/- calories to suit your goals. If you're seeing significant fat gain, in addition to muscle, reduce your surplus to 300 calories.

[Shadowschmadow]

Simplicity is key. Complication hinders progression. Though becoming elite requires a bit more than simplicity, you can go pretty damn far keeping it simple. Plus, unless you're at an elite level of training, you shouldn't even be complicating things because its not required.

This post is more for the silent readers than it is the answer to the thread.

[_J_]

Want a tip from someone that was a 158 pound beginner just a couple of years ago (currently 189)? This was some of the best advice I got on the subject and it worked for me--first of all, keep it simple.

--eat a lot of quality calories.

--if you are eating enough, your gains should be steady, but not necessarily linear (won't always be 0.5-1.0 pound gain per week, but you will steadily gain)

--do not worry about your abs

--if, after a few weeks, you stop gaining lean body mass (or you never started), then one of three things is wrong--(1) you aren't eating enough, (2) you aren't working out hard enough, or (3) you aren't resting enough.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Shadow

Rapid weight = fat... .

Caveat that...if someone is not underweight. The body appears very willing to normalize if it is underweight.

[Off Road]

Broken record alert...
Squats and food. Simply eat an excess of quality food so that the scale slowly climbs in the right direction, and get really strong with high rep squatting. Throw in a few other lifts for balance, but focus on the squats and food. It really does work.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Off Road

Broken record alert...
Squats and food. Simply eat an excess of quality food so that the scale slowly climbs in the right direction, and get really strong with high rep squatting. Throw in a few other lifts for balance, but focus on the squats and food. It really does work.

Worked for me. Squats were my magic back in the day. They still are to this day.

[Davis]

To just eat. Try to eat the "best" foods. Go hard in the gym, go hard in the kitchen and go hard in the bed...sleeping and sex. Oh, and be smart about all of it. The 1,000 calories of doughnuts won't do as good as the 1,000 calories of steak and potatoes.