# Bulking Up



## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

I'm currently 5' 10 1/2" and around 150 lbs. I have a fairly athletic build and play sports often. Still, I'd like to look bigger and be stronger. I don't really have access to a gym right now and probably wouldn't go anyway. I just don't have that kind of commitment. Don't laugh but what could I do with pushups, sit ups, 20 lb dumbells (how much of each?) and protein shakes (which one)?


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## MouseWithoutKeyboard (Oct 18, 2007)

Can't bulk up with those, only get definition.


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## AlienFromSomewhere (Oct 21, 2007)

You may bulk up with those but I don't know how.


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## MouseWithoutKeyboard (Oct 18, 2007)

AlienFromSomewhere said:


> You may bulk up with those but I don't know how.


No, not really.


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## ANCIENT (Aug 9, 2005)

SADFighter said:


> I'm currently 5' 10 1/2" and around 150 lbs. I have a fairly athletic build and play sports often. Still, I'd like to look bigger and be stronger. I don't really have access to a gym right now and probably wouldn't go anyway. I just don't have that kind of commitment. Don't laugh but what could I do with pushups, sit ups, 20 lb dumbells (how much of each?) and protein shakes (which one)?


i don't think 20 lb dumbells and push ups are going to do it. if you don't like going to the gym then buy some equipment. i have a i need at home. get the protein mix (the one that comes in the BIG bottle). it is cheaper than the shakes, and it lasts you longer. one scoop has about 20 grams of protein. i usually get the GNC brand. to build mass you have to lift heavy. before i started liftting i was 125 lbs and now i'm at 165 lbs. now my goal is to get cut, so im planning on losing 15 lbs.


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## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

Hmmm....I didn't know this stuff required so much...lol. I'll consider the gym. I have trouble committing to things but this might be good for me. How long did it take to gain 40 lbs?


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## ANCIENT (Aug 9, 2005)

i gained it in 2 years. thats becuase its hard for me to gain weight. but its even harder to loss it lol. the gym is not for me. there is to much people there. i was lucky that my older brothers where into working out bacuase they bought all the equipment.


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## AlienFromSomewhere (Oct 21, 2007)

Same here. I'm lucky because someone has already bought the equipments so I can workout at home. I've gained about 25 pounds in half a year.


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## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

ancient master said:


> the gym is not for me. there is to much people there. i was lucky that my older brothers where into working out bacuase they bought all the equipment.


Yeah, that's kinda why I don't want to go. But I guess I'll force myself. I googled building mass and think I have a better understanding of what to do. 6-8 meals a day, lots of protein, focus on one body part a day and rest rest rest. Of course I have the fear of looking dumb or like a weakling on the machines and also becoming a "regular" (assuming I commit to a daily schedule) but whatever. lt'll get me out of the house and give me purpose for this long month at home.

Stay tuned for some before and after pics. :b


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## vicaversa6922 (Aug 13, 2007)

sup man im a body builder to need to lift heavy do 3-4 sets 6-8 reps eat like a monster and be patient the reslults will come. Protein shakes are good what i do is mix chocolate protein power milk cooked oatmeal and peanut butter together just the right amout of carbs and protein  i used to be just like you see i've been lifting for about 2 years tho :

before


AND NOW:


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## vicaversa6922 (Aug 13, 2007)

am i the only body builder on here? :con


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## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

Whoa, man, that's incredible! Thanx for the tips. I'll be happy with just pounds gained in muscle.


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## vicaversa6922 (Aug 13, 2007)

no problem man good luck


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## MUS1CJUNK1E (Jan 7, 2008)

<----- nope you're not the only bodybuilder on here

edit: btw that pic of me is old, im currently on a bulking cycle right now then I start cutting around april, maybe then ill post some before and after shots.


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## scairy (Sep 18, 2005)

vicaversa6922 said:


> sup man im a body builder to need to lift heavy do 3-4 sets 6-8 reps eat like a monster and be patient the reslults will come. Protein shakes are good what i do is mix chocolate protein power milk cooked oatmeal and peanut butter together just the right amout of carbs and protein  i used to be just like you see i've been lifting for about 2 years tho :
> 
> before
> 
> ...


I thought I was a body builder until I saw your pic :lol Now I'll call myself a resistance training guy. What's your weight in the second pic? I've been working out for 6 years and still look puny. You need a workout partner :b ?


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## LonelyEnigma (Jan 7, 2007)

To gain muscle mass you will have to lift heavy. By only using 20 pound dumbbell you will not be able to provide your muscle with enough resistance to produce mass gains. Like vicaversa6922 said, your rep range should be low (6-8) reps; Although you can warm up with a lighter weight. By the time you finish your last rep you should be completely worn out (lift to failure). The most important aspect of gaining mass is nutrition. You must eat a lot to gain mass, especially if you are a natural ectomorph like me. But don't just eat anything; make sure you only eat healthy foods, and eat about 6 times a day. Another thing that I find helpful is taking a protein/carbs post-workout shake.

If you don't want to join a gym don't. There is plenty you can do at home; however, you will have to buy some more equipment so you can provide more resistance. Personally, I like just using adjustable dumbbells and a dumbbell bench. With dumbbells and a dumbbell bench you can work every muscle in the body.

Here are some example dumbbell exercises
http://www.dumbbell-exercise.com/dumbbell-exercises.htm

If you're going to buy dumbbell, I recommend you get the *old school threaded dumbbells* (To find the heavy type, you will probably have to go to a serious weight training store). Buying individual dumbbells is way too expensive and they take up too much space. The new school adjustable dumbbells are too light, too expensive, and too fragile.

Ooh, one more thing. Make sure you start off slow. Don't lift to failure until you have been training for a while. If you lift too aggressively at the start, you risk overtraining&#8230;.and trust me, being over trained is no fun

These are just a few very basic tips. If you have some more questions, just post.


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## MUS1CJUNK1E (Jan 7, 2008)

Listen to LonelyEnigma. Start off slow and don't get discouraged by the pain in the first week or 2. After about 2 weeks you will get sore but it's a good sore not painful like the first week or so.


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## MUS1CJUNK1E (Jan 7, 2008)

Also a good site to check out how to do exercises is http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

They even have little animated pictures of someone doing the exercise so you don't just have to go from the writing.


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## jaayhou (Jun 20, 2007)

Right, you won't get far with what you currently have unless you get really creative. Invest in some heavier dumbells (40s are usually sufficient for me when I work out at home, and I'm about 140lb and lean). You'll also need a simple bench. I bought a collapse-able Weider many years ago for only about $50-60. However, that won't get you anywhere near Scairy, but I don't think I could look like that with any amount of training.

As for protein supplements, go with powdered whey. I like Designer Whey. It tastes great and is very inexpensive on Ebay.


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## Dillion (Feb 18, 2008)

Hey guys nice to know there are other bb's here on the site. I'm not an actual body builder but I got interested in weight lifting when I weighed 255 a few years back and motivated myself to lose the weight. I began to change my life for the better and really start caring about myself and my physical health. (tragiclly this is when the SAD started) 
I ended up losing 110lbs and weighted 145 for about 3 months before I realized that my goal was never to be "skinny" it was to be a monster! So I've been bulking since then and am now about up to 175lbs. I'm going to continue bulking for the next few months and finish a cut before the end of spring. My ideal bf% is around 10 for the summer this year.

Also, its really not that hard to bulk up without lifting heavy. If you take into consideration that while he is bulking he will be gaining weight and constantly be lifting more while doing body lifts (pushups, pullups, squats ect...) then he will undoubtedly get bigger. It may not be as fast as hitting the gym 5 times a week, but it will work. Never underestimate the power of the pushup opcorn


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## jaayhou (Jun 20, 2007)

Dillion said:


> Also, its really not that hard to bulk up without lifting heavy. If you take into consideration that while he is bulking he will be gaining weight and constantly be lifting more while doing body lifts (pushups, pullups, squats ect...) then he will undoubtedly get bigger. It may not be as fast as hitting the gym 5 times a week, but it will work. Never underestimate the power of the pushup opcorn


I partially agree, but a lot of your fate is left up to individual body type. Some people can lift and eat like crazy and never attain the mass of other who seem to train little and stay big. I have to work extremely hard to gain weight and I plateaued pretty quickly after working out at home for a while. Going to the gym is a must for me at this point.


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## NJexplorer313 (Feb 12, 2008)

Whats up pal? 
I have been powerlifting for about 3 years now, and went from 185 to 240lbs.
Your diet should consist of frequent meals throughout the day. anywhere from 5-8 meals a day is usually good spread out about 2-3 hours. Protien,carbs,and good fat is usually good to get in those meals. Depending on your goals, you can mess around with the carbs and fat amounts. Protien is vital though in those meals. Do some research on nutrition for strength training.
As far as your weight training, you will want to lift relatively heavy, but starting out, reps in the 8-10 range is your best bet to work on your form. Stay in this range for a good 4-6 months. The gains you will make at first will be mainly neurological (newbie) gains, meaning your body and central nervous system is adapting to the changes. While you may get stronger quick, you wont gain much in the way of size. Just be patient here.
Now, your best bet is doing compound exercises. 
Bench,Rows,Squats,Deadlifts,Overhead Presses etc. You will gain more mass doing these movements than you will with all the isolation crap. Learning good form is also vital. It takes time to actually learn the proper form, but is worth it in the long run.
After the first 4-6 months of getting used to the movements and form, you should look into some kind of 5X5 method. This is lifting these prime compound movements for 5 sets of 5. Look up Bill Starr 5x5 routines on google.
Your focus will be gaining strength on these compound movements. Once you have a solid amount of strength, you can vary the volume via rep/sets for further increases in hypertrophy (muscle size). If you need more detailed information as far as a routine, let me know!
Good luck!


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## hell_is_other_people (Feb 14, 2008)

...


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## jaayhou (Jun 20, 2007)

NJexplorer313 said:


> After the first 4-6 months of getting used to the movements and form, you should look into some kind of 5X5 method. This is lifting these prime compound movements for 5 sets of 5. Look up Bill Starr 5x5 routines on google.


Hi NJ. Do you train a single muscle group daily (arms, chest, back, shoulders, or legs), or go for multiple groups? I used to follow a routine that had me training one per day at 5 sets/exercise (12, 10, 8, 6, then 4 reps) for around 4-5 different exercises. I think this may have been too advanced for me, so I now do two groups/day.


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## hopeful dreamer (Feb 23, 2008)

Hi, I've been training for functional strength at home without using any weights for about a year. For equipment I use a pull-up bar and push-up bars which is very cheap. The main exercises I do are pullups and handstand pushups which build great upper body strength. There are lots of other exercises that you can do, the thing with bodyweight training is knowing how to train, there is always a way to make an exercise easier or harder, for example with pressups you can elevate the hands the hands to make them easier, or raise your legs onto a table to make them harder or do them on your fingertips. You can vary the hand position, putting the hands closer together or do pseudo-planche pressups where the hands are at the waist. You can do pylometric clapping pressups, one handed pressups, handstand pressups, planche pressups, etc. The list of calisthenic exercises you can do are endless. Ideally a set of rings and parallettes would be the ideal training equipment although this type of gymnastic style training won't suit some people.

Here is a good website link: http://www.beastskills.com


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## NJexplorer313 (Feb 12, 2008)

There are many dif ways to train. You really have to look at your goals, and the equip. available to you.
I myself train for functional strength, and not as much in the way of size. But, usually size is a by product of strength that can come with a calorie surpluss.
I train multiple muscle groups each workout. I'll have a heavy upper body day, lighter upper body, heavy lower body, lighter lower body. I have plans on competing in Powerlifting Meets in the future for fun.
However, I have recently been adding in forms of cardio. I have been layed off for a little while now, and have not been as active. I have been jogging on a treadmill, playing some basketball, and pulling a weighted sled.
If you dont have access to free weights and equipment, By all means dont let that stop you.
you can do some of the exercises that Hopeful Dreamer has posted. You can really get creative. You can even make some strongman implements if you are crafty. I have made a lot of stuff including specialty bars, farmers walk implements, sandbags, kettlebells, A power rack, bench etc.
BTW. with the 5x5, you would be doing mainly compound lifts each day at different percentages. They are all pretty much full body compound lifts.
And remember, your diet is KEY for building mass!!!!!!


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## ABetterTomorrow (May 17, 2005)

It's definatly possible to get bigger without lifting heavy weights, but it certainly wont be any easier. Google some male gymnasts to see some bodies that were developed mostly from bodyweight movements. 

Using leverage, you can provide the necessary intensity to build muscle with just bodyweight exercises. Handstand pushups ,One arm pushups, One legged Squats, pullups, dips, situps, back extentions, one arm pullups. 

Beyond bodyweight exercises you can turn every day items into weight traning tools: Go find some heavy objects (a big rock?) and clean them and lift them overhead 30 times. A sledgehammer is an awesome strength tool, or chopping wood with an axe.

The ability to progress in a linear manner is why training with a barbell and plates gets such tremendous results, but if necessary you can create a physique without them. Like mentioned earlier, diet is going to be the biggest factor in success.


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## hopeful dreamer (Feb 23, 2008)

ABetterTomorrow said:


> Using leverage, you can provide the necessary intensity to build muscle with just bodyweight exercises. Handstand pushups ,One arm pushups, One legged Squats, pullups, dips, situps, back extentions, one arm pullups.


yeah they are some great exercises right there, one arm pullups are well hard, I can't even lower myself down yet.


ABetterTomorrow said:


> Beyond bodyweight exercises you can turn every day items into weight traning tools: Go find some heavy objects (a big rock?) and clean them and lift them overhead 30 times. A sledgehammer is an awesome strength tool, or chopping wood with an axe.


Those are great training methods. I utilise the furniture to train around my house, it is more fun and interesting if you get creative with your training suspending yourself from furniture in levered positions, doing doorframe pullups, etc, there are trainer marks all over the walls in my house from practicing handstands. I've got nothing against training with weights or machines but I just prefer to do compound exercises pulling and pressing my own bodyweight for the time being.

Another good website worth checking out is:

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/

It contains lots of information on the old strongmen.

Good luck with the training!


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## SADFighter (May 4, 2007)

Update:

I am now 163 lbs, up from between 150-155. I've been working out for about a month, minus last week where I was sick w/the flu. Feels good. I can still only bench about 125, but I've been raising the bar week by week. I see differences already. Oh, and I use muscle milk. The hardest part is eating a lot actually.


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## RacerX (Jun 12, 2006)

If you really, really can't get into a gym or get access to heavy weights, try a routine like HIT or German Volume Training.

And don't worry about what you bench. Worry about the scale coming up and what you see in the mirror. When I first started I could only bench 45 lbs, now I can do 335lbs. As long as you're better than you were yesterday, thats all that matters.


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## jaayhou (Jun 20, 2007)

I'm up to about 150 now, as opposed to 122 Christmas before last. Taking an SSRI has really helped the whole lack of appetite thing, which was my biggest issue with gaining. I'd be more than happy at 160.


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## eripso_0003 (Feb 8, 2008)

Question about bulking up...

In order to grow muscle, do I have to feel sore after working out? I work my muscles a LOT, but I don't feel sore afterwards... is this wrong?


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## jaayhou (Jun 20, 2007)

Certainly not, in my opinion. You've probably reached a point where the delayed-onset soreness does not occur much any more if you've been consistently challenging your muscles. However, I find it useful to switch things up every now and then by deviating from my normal workout routine. I'll substitute new exercises that may be unfamiliar to my muscles or that target different groups, and this usually results in some soreness (but increased growth as well).


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