What Is A Good Daily/weekly Diet And Exercise Routine For A Skinny, Teenage Guy Trying To Build Muscle Mass?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Wednesday Dec 30, 2009Let it be given that I understand the concepts of caloric intake, nutrition, and exercise techniques when talking about gaining muscle. I have a weight lifting machine and a few free weights. I bought some whey protein powder as well.
On a daily and weekly basis, when should I eat meals, take the protein (or even any other supplement products), lift weights and do cardio? Information such as order, frequency, intensity, etc. would be ideal. Assume that I am not planning on entering any body building competitions, but superhuman strength and huge muscles wouldn’t be bad 
When I was 17, I was 6′ 3″ and weighed 165 pounds, so I know what it’s like to be skinny. That was a long time ago, and I’ve managed to weight-train myself to 230 pounds. Here’s my advice:
* The key to growing muscle is to lift as heavy as you can while still using good form. Good form also means moving slowly when you raise and when you lower the weight.
* Be sure to warm up with a light weight for 10 – 20 reps before moving on to your “work” sets, which should be so heavy that you cannot complete more than four or five reps. Within a couple of weeks you will be able to lift the same weight for 9 or 10 reps. At that point, increase the weight to the point where once again, you can only lift it for 4 or 5 reps. This is called “progressive weight training”. Using this method, you will get progressively stronger as time goes by.
* Perform the one warm up set, followed by two heavy sets like I just described. Rest for one to two minutes before moving on to your next exercise. Use this methodology for all of your exercises.
* When training several body parts in the same workout, always work them from the center of your body outward. For example, if tomorrow you are going to train arms, chest and back, do your chest and back exercises first and your arm exercises last.
* Skinny guys need time to rest in order to grow muscle. Muscles don’t grow while you’re lifting–they grow in between workouts, while you are recuperating.
* Exercise each body part twice a week. A good schedule would be something like this:
Chest, Shoulders and Triceps on Monday and Thursday
Back and Biceps on Tuesday and Friday
Legs and Abdominals on Wednesday and Saturdays.
This gives each body part 72 hours to recuperate before you work them again.
* Skinny guys should NEVER DO CARDIO if they want to grow muscle. You need to conserve that energy for tissue repair from your lifting.
* The three most important times to take protein are first thing when you wake up in the morning, right before your workout, and right after your workout. Try to get 20 – 25 grams of protein each time.
I promise you, if you are persistent and lead a healthy lifestyle with heavy weights, no alcohol and plenty of rest, your muscles WILL grow. But be patient…it takes a while. Don’t measure your arms every week…in fact, throw away your tape measure. How big your arms are is not important–what’s important is how BIG THEY LOOK!
Good luck!
Unit 09 – Eat smaller, more frequent meals, and include a good source of protein at each one. I like the 5 meal a day approach, at 6am, 9, 12, 3, and 6. Protein powder is fine, but use it to supplement and not as a primary source. Chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, milk, all good sources.
Giving you any specific workout plan would be a bit futile. You’d have to switch it up when your body adapted and you stopped making gains in a couple months. The best thing to do is vary your exercises, intensity, and frequency to keep your body guessing. A good rule of thumb for building muscle and strength is to do mostly core exercises and do them in the 6-10 rep range.
Try the routine below. It’s fast paced, as intense as you decide to do it, and it give you a good mix of exercises.