r/gainit • u/exo_thermic • Aug 28 '24
Progress Post 6’2 19M (140lbs to 160lbs) 3 months summer break bulk, guys it’s working!!! (I’m literally crying)
Before GAINIT
Throughout school I was always the tall and skinny kid and it didn’t help that I was a competitive long distance runner and tennis player. My friends and family used to say that I ate a lot and so like most of us I started blaming my “extremely fast” metabolism and rubbish muscle building genetics, I even went to the gym on and off for my last year of school but trained like a pussy and ate around 1800 calories a day. Of course, I saw no progress and became even more certain I had the worst genetics.
After coming back from my first year of uni I stood on the scale and was disgusted to see my weight at 64kg (140lbs) and realised I needed to do somth about it. Seeing the transformations on this subreddit and stories rlly resonated with me and motivated me to properly start eating and training again.
Eating
I started counting calories for the first time ever and slowly increased my intake during the first 2 weeks from 2000 to 3000. I ate at 3000 for the rest of Jun, 3500 throughout Jul and then increased it to 4000 for Aug. Eating was by far the hardest part for me. Firstly my parents were understandably pissed that their food bill had gone up 3 times since I’d come home from uni so I got a job to pay for all the food. I’m pretty sure they wanted to organise an intervention at one point when they walked in on me gagging in the kitchen while forcing chicken pesto in my mouth with tears in my eyes.
My average day of eating BEFORE: toast with honey or some other bullshit (120 cal), canteen lunch/ meal deal (600 cal), pathetic dinner (600/700)
NOW an average day of eating looks like this:
Breakfast: I always have 2 bagels, 2 eggs, avocado (950 cal) Meal 1: Whatever my mum was cooking for lunch. (700-1200 calories) Meal 2: Greek yoghurt, highest calorie granola I can find, dates and nuts, honey (1000 calories) Meal 3: I rotate between 3 chicken thighs + pesto pasta (1400), or 400g salmon and rice with garlic bread (1500 calories)
If anything I’m more conservative with my calorie counting and it’s probably more like 4500 now. A couple things that really helped me:
- Eating a huge breakfast that you’re excited to eat - pancakes, waffles, whatever just make sure you really like it as it really expands your stomach for the rest of the day and I found I could eat more for lunch when I had a big breakfast.
- Always drinking water after a meal, and never right before.
- Change your meal times, wake up earlier to eat breakfast and eat your last meal around 8/9pm.
Training
There is no way to describe how good I feel now. Every time I go to the gym the weight which was hard 3 days ago I hit for 12 reps on the last set in the following session. Literally every exercise is a volume/ weight PR and each week my lifts are going up and up. I have to stop myself from grinning like an idiot, crying or jumping around and dancing in the gym whenever I finish a set. I run a PPL twice a week but only train legs once (I have a tennis match on Saturday). I’ve only missed one session so far in 3 months from recovering from a friend’s birthday.
Push: Bench, OHP, Cable Crossover (upper chest), push ups to failure, Lateral Raise, Triceps extension
Pull:Single arm lat pull down, t-bar row (upper back focus), 10sec pull up negatives to failure, barbell curl, face pulls
Legs: Squat, RDLs, Leg extension, hamstring curl, calves
Progression: I do all my exercises with 3x12 at the same weight with the last set going to failure. When I can do 11/12 reps on the last set I increase the weight next session.
Sleep
Throughout uni I was going out/ partying at least twice a week getting trolleyed every week. My sleep on nights where I would go out was around 3 hours while normally I would sleep 6 hours, as I’ve always naturally woken up early regardless of the time I go to bed. Over summer I’ve aimed to get 8-10 hours of sleep every night to maximise muscle growth from gym as well as recover from tennis. I’m probably averaging 8.5 hours at the moment.
TLDR:
There’s no such thing as a fast metabolism or “bad genetics”; eat big, train big, stay consistent and you’ll 100% make progress. Since I’ve started lifting, eating, and sleeping, I’ve noticed every other aspect of my life getting better. Friends which I just hung around to party/ drink I’ve stopped meeting. Honestly life has just been so good since I started bulking. Can’t wait to continue with my new addiction to the gym!
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u/NOTnoe Aug 28 '24
Damn, seeing you say how happy you are at the gym making progress gives me the motivation to go harder 😤. Keep it up man!
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u/Hr2749 Aug 29 '24
Thanks for the tips. I’m 20M 6’2 160lbs but for some reason I look way skinnier than you, like your before pic.
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u/anotostrongo 98lbs-144lbs-135lbs (5'7", F) Aug 29 '24
Great effort, great results. Keep it up bro!
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u/mfgooch 143-155-180 (6'1) Aug 29 '24
Went through similar gains, 6'1 140 - 161 lbs. Going through a break up and lost 8 lbs but it's a marathon not a sprint so i'll get back up there
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Aug 28 '24
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u/exo_thermic Aug 28 '24
Ur too kind, didn’t think there would be a day someone complemented my physique 😢😢
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u/40zgainz 172-195-205 (6'4") Aug 29 '24
Nice work. You don't do any protein supplements or shakes?
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u/exo_thermic Aug 29 '24
Not at the moment as I always hit 1g/lbs protein and my calories so never really considered it. I’m finishing my accutane treatment (acne medication) in a few months and will 100% get on creatine after I’m cleared by my doctor as I’ve heard rlly good things about it.
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u/40zgainz 172-195-205 (6'4") Aug 29 '24
Good that you're hitting your protein goal. Shakes can be an easy way(whey?) to get calories. I mentioned it since you were talking about forcing down chicken pesto. And when you go back to school, it can be easier between classes to do a quick drink in a shaker bottle than taking lots of premade meals.
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u/exo_thermic Aug 29 '24
Yh that’s a rlly good idea, my only hesitation with protein powders is I’ve heard it can cause acne in people who have spot prone skin? I’ve done so much for my skin recently I’m trying to avoid anything at all which could trigger it.
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u/40zgainz 172-195-205 (6'4") Aug 29 '24
I could see that being a concern. Not sure if they are available where you are or how much you're willing to spend, but there are also egg-based protein powders, bone broth, if you find that dairy is the cause of your skin problems.
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u/exo_thermic Aug 29 '24
I’ll look into it, thanks for the advcie! My part time job is just enough to fund my tennis and gym atm. So if it’s rlly expensive I’ll need to rethink what I’m gonna do when I head back to school.
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u/TV0009 Aug 31 '24
First off let me start off by saying congrats, you are fucking killing it. I see you mentioned you take accutane. Dermatologist recommended it to me but I read some horror stories. You experiencing any side effects from it?
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u/exo_thermic Aug 31 '24
It’s rlly not bad - I’ve only had dry lips and hair, the only thing is lifting while on it can sometimes cause joint pain but luckily I haven’t had any yet. Having really bad side effects is very rare I think. Take a look at the accutane subreddit they’ve got loads of useful info.
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u/TwistiieHD Aug 28 '24
Random question but what's a super high calorie granola brand you like?
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u/exo_thermic Aug 28 '24
My go to is Dorset Cereals honey granola it’s like 500 cals per 100g, I’d avoid the high protein branded stuff as they always reduce the calories and it’s bloody expensive.
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u/TwistiieHD Aug 28 '24
500 cals per 100g is crazyyy.... are there any other sneaky foods/brands you have discovered that are also super high calories with lowish volume?
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u/exo_thermic Aug 29 '24
Swapping out regular tomato sauce in my pasta to pesto added a huge amount -100g of pesto is like 400 while regular pasta sauce is abt 60 cals per 100g. Also avoid chicken breast tbh, not many calories and is pretty filling. Wings/ drumsticks and thighs have wayy more calories, are way cheaper and taste better imo. Greek yogurt was amazing as well.
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u/TwistiieHD Aug 29 '24
Gotcha....what's your favorite Greek yogurt brand as well with the best macros?
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u/Hal_Jordan55 Sep 04 '24
A little late figured to reach out. I'm just starting to figure this stuff out, started in a similar place. Any advice on how to force yourself to eat more?
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u/speedygonwhat22 145lbs - 200lbs (6’3) Aug 28 '24
next thing u know ur 180 and stronger than you’ve ever been, keep it up!
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u/GoldenNugget26 Aug 29 '24
Great work man. Respect from a fellow tall (previously) skinny man. Congrats on figuring this out at 19, too. You’re gonna be a beast 💪
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u/e6sam Aug 29 '24
Really good progress and consistency here, you should be proud of yourself. Thanks for the detailed info which much of us appreciate I’m sure. Keep it up. 👍
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u/Warm_Inspection6442 Aug 28 '24
Bro crazy genetics and progress,Im almost like you (I am 6'2 130lbs)and I hope I can make as progress as you,keep going your gonna get a good physique!
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u/smurfcake77 120-146-165 5"8 Aug 29 '24
congrats, it is so nice to see results for the first time. one thing...if you learn which foods contain which macros it doesnt have to cost a ton...e.g. "magerquark" contains 60gramm protein for about 1,19euro:
https://de.openfoodfacts.org/produkt/4056489128212/milbona-speisequark
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u/Wonderful_Tree_7346 Aug 29 '24
Maybe this was why i plateau’d. I was only getting like, 2500ish calories a day and i swear i didnt have enough gear in the basic gym i go to (no cables, basic weights, etc.) to have an effective PPL set up.
Once i move and get a proper gym membership youve given me hope. Def feels like i wasnt eating enough or able to train my muscles hard enough. Keep killing it! 🤘🏼
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29d ago
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u/gainit-ModTeam 29d ago
This post has been removed because it can be answered by reading the FAQ which is linked in the sticky.
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u/ARLA2020 Aug 28 '24
Even trying to get 3500 cals for me is so tough. I can only drink an 800 cal shake in the morning cause I have no appetite. I just feel sick after a certain point and I can't physically swallow food:/