Tall and skinny guys

[branman2000]

Im 17 and about 6ft 2in and only like 155-160 pounds. I hate the way my body looks. Im really into sports and im good at them, but for some reason i cant seem to gain muscle mass at all... drink protein shakes, have a personal trainer, and do physical activities every day. But still feel like a rail. My question is, is there anyone that can relate to this?
is there anyone that used to be like this at my age but now is not?
if so, then when did things start to change for you?

[hollisterboi95]

Dude! I'm 17 and 145 and I'm 5' 6" I feel exactly like you! I've been working out for three months and I got a little more muscle but not really much. The reason you're not gaining mass is because you're not eating enough for you to actually gain weight. You're eating just right. You have to take in more calories than you workout if you wanna gain mass. Then once you gain mass you go into a cutting phase and then you will look lean and cut like a magazine model. Trust me, this is true. I know from experience. Hit me up if you have any more questions bro!

[DerBear]

I think this would be better suited in Sport and Fitness as it doesn't really have anything to do with puberty :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

[TigerBoy]

Dude! I'm 17 and 145 and I'm 5' 6" I feel exactly like you! I've been working out for three months and I got a little more muscle but not really much.

Sounds like we're virtually identical stature and I've been training pretty hard for over 2 years now (swimming and gym). I have good definition so you could say ripped but I still look like a boy compared to other swimmers at my club, and I think that is just down to the fact I've an ectomorphic body type.

I used to be really badly skinny, so in terms of how I used to look I'm really happy with how I look now but its taken time to get here.

So OP since you also sound like an ectomorph, I think you will find it hard to put on bulk but it is possible, but it might take you a while.

To motivate yourself maybe you could do things like measure your bicep and thigh circumference, take some photos etc and then repeat that each month so you can see the gains that you might not notice in the mirror.

[Jackerlus]

I'm fairly skinny, and however much I eat (I eat a lot xD) I don't gain weight. I do tennis every week, I'm good at running, and I do 5 hours of PE at school a fortnight. But slowly, quite slowly, I've noticed a difference over a year. My abs are faint, but showing, and my biceps have grown as well. It happens, but I think you gotta be patient with this type of body.

[SimSailorNick]

5'10 130 :( People say i just have to eat more.

[jokermaster101]

yes im super tall, im 6 feet tall. people say i am too skinny for my height. im around 160. i am balanced out but i wish i could be more in toned too.

[redtukr]

take a wk and eat i mean over eat 2nd 3rds even snacks just take in caleries but be carefull I would eat a lot of pasta for dinner then have an evening run or in garage workout and all the caleries would be gone an weight would stay the same

[TigerBoy]

take a wk and eat i mean over eat 2nd 3rds even snacks just take in caleries but be carefull I would eat a lot of pasta for dinner then have an evening run or in garage workout and all the caleries would be gone an weight would stay the same

The trouble with just taking on carbs is that you'll not necessarily put it into anything other than fat, which your body type will consume quite quickly when your carb intake drops again anyway.

Better to eat a healthy diet rich in protein and turn that into muscle bulk through a good resistance training program.

[Ender]

6'2 and 135 :/

Been trying to gain a little weight, or at least muscle. I'll get there someday I guess.

[Allbutanillusion]

I can definitely relate. I am 6 ft and 142 pounds. However unlike you I don't hate my body, I think it can be improved upon but as someone who has the ecodomorphic body type, I have received more envious comments from other people, from strangers than any negative comments. So appreciate it, a lot of people would like to have that body types as apposed to Mesomorph or Ectomorph.


But if you put on some muscle here is what you need to do( in addition to exercising/physical activity):

Get Recovery. As a beginner you need more recovery.

Rest. Muscles grow when you rest, not when you workout. Start with 3 full body workouts per week and focus on intensity, not gym time.
Sleep. Growth hormone releases when you sleep, building muscle. Aim for 8 hours sleep. Nap post workout if your lifestyle allows.
Drink Water. Avoids dehydration and helps muscle recovery. Drink 2 cups water with each meal, and sip water during your workout.
Eat. "Eat like a horse. Sleep like a baby. Grow like a weed". Your training is useless if you don't eat enough calories for recovery.

Eat Whole Foods. You'll achieve a lower body fat, so the muscles you've built show better. And the vitamin & mineral content helps recovery. Stop eating food coming from a box. Eat whole foods 90% of the time.

Proteins. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk.
Carbs. Brown rice, oats, whole grain pasta, quinoa.
Veggies. Spinach, broccoli, tomato, salad, carrot.
Fruits. Banana, orange, apple, pineapple, pears.
Fats. Olive oil, fish oil, real butter, nuts, flax seeds

Eat More. Training is more important than diet for muscle building. But you do need to give your body the food it needs for optimal recovery. Most guys don't eat enough, you got to eat more to build muscle.

Eat Breakfast. Get calories from the first hour. Read how to build the habit of eating breakfast.
Eat Post Workout. Get proteins and carbs post workout to help muscle recovery and replenish your energy stores.
Eat Every 3 Hours. 6 meals/day. Gives your muscles a steady intake of protein, speeds up muscle repair & recovery, boosts your metabolism.
Eat BW in lbs x 18kcal. You need at least your body-weight in lbs x 18kcal to maintain weight.


Eat Calorie Dense Foods. 100g raw spinach is 25kcals. But 100g raw rice is 380kcals. Eat pasta, oats, olive oil, mixed nuts, etc.
Get Stronger. Increase your Squat to at least 300lbs. Muscle size is directly related with strength gains. You got to get stronger to build muscle.
Drink Whole Milk. If you don’t bother gaining some fat, drink 1 gallon whole milk daily on top of your current food intake. You can gain 25lbs in 1 month if you combine this with 3 weekly Squat sessions.

Get Protein. Proteins have the highest thermic effect. You need 1g protein per pound of body-weight daily to build & maintain muscle. That’s 160g of daily protein if you weigh 160lbs/72kg. Eat whole proteins with each meal.

Red Meat. Ground round, steaks, deer, buffalo.
Poultry. Chicken breast, whole chicken, turkey, duck.
Fish. Tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel.
Eggs. Eat the yolk, it's full of vitamins.
Dairy. Milk, cottage cheese, quark cheese, yogurt, whey.

Persist. Get stronger, track progress and persist until you've built the muscles you want.


I hope that helps. The best of luck to you.

[TigerBoy]

Read how to build the habit of eating breakfast. Try these 7 breakfast recipes.


There's some good advice there , but it would be helpful to post the source so people can look into it, and check its sources etc. Its also good netiquette to acknowledge sources rather than leaving others to assume copypasta is your own work.

Gain Weight. You'll never look muscular weighing 140lbs at 6". No matter how much training you do.
That's a meaningless statement - gaining weight doesn't make you muscular. Gaining muscles make you muscular, and may make you gain weight in the process (unless you are losing a lot of fat at the same time).

[Greg1994]

I'm 6'2" and 165.. I absolutely HATE being this skinny, I look sickly skinny. I've been trying to gain about 20 pounds for months...

[Allbutanillusion]

This site was shared with me about a year and a half ago. Some people think that it is good because it allows you to create a plan and track your progress. It also contain informative articles and health/exercise tips. Which may help some of you. http://www.bodybuilding.com/guides another source that I like is http://www.menshealth.com


Also, I wanted to comment on
Gain Weight. You'll never look muscular weighing 140lbs at 6". No matter how much training you do.

Which was an unintentional mistake which was caused by hastiness,distractions and lack of proof reading. I think at the very least, even a semi-intelligent person would have deduced that was a possibility when reading this. That it did not read as it was intended to. As pointed out, I will agree with the statement that gaining weight within itself does not make you muscular. I have deleted that statement from my original post to avoid any confusion that it may or could cause many of you.(apparently)

[squibles976]

Pick up the fork and lift weights,

[TigerBoy]

Which was an unintentional mistake which was caused by hastiness,distractions and lack of proof reading. I think at the very least, even a semi-intelligent person would have deduced that was a possibility when reading this. That it did not read as it was intended to. As pointed out, I will agree with the statement that gaining weight within itself does not make you muscular. I have deleted that statement from my original post to avoid any confusion that it may or could cause many of you.(apparently)

You'd make a great politician: they're also big on excuses and insulting their detractors when they're on the back foot.

Everyone makes mistakes, and there is a lot of myth and rumour around fitness topics. The only reason for pointing out perceived mistakes here (or requesting sources) is to arrive at accurate advice for the OP. If you don't understand how debates work at VT, there are some good stickies around the site.

I suggest next time someone responds to your posts you take a few deep breaths and react a bit less emotionally or you will just look even more foolish.

[Human]

You need a surplus of calories to gain weight so at over 6 foot you should be having 2800+ calories a day and lifting it all off to gain muscle mass.
I'm 5'10 and pretty lean, I have super fast metabolism so I resorted to drinking lots of milk

[Cicero]

In order to gain muscle mass and extra weight. You have to eat more calories than you burn, you should eat 500 calories more than you burn. IMO personal trainers are a waste of money. Just get a good, simple plan (Stronglifts 5x5) and have a good clean diet, with an extra 500 calories. Milk is a great source, I'm trying to drink 1 gallon every 2 days. Great protein, carbs, and fat and it takes up a lot of calories. I have to eat about 3500-4000 calories a day.

[Nellerin]

Tall and skinny guys can get muscle mass and it isn't that difficult. Keep training about 4-5 days a week and eat at a 500 calorie surplus to start. High protein/carbs diet and very little cardio.

[Avenida105]

I'm 5'8, and I'm 118lbs. Then again I kind off have to be skinny.

[Athlete15]

6'1 150.. play two varsity sports but don't gain muscle for ish.. never have to worry about packing on fat though!

[Wolfy-15 n_n]

I'm unfortunately the same. I'm 15 (probably younger than a lot of you) and maintain fitness at my Gym 3-4 times a week. I've been doing this for a year now and i'm also on natural Protein shakes. I walk the dog for 30 minutes and go for a 20 minute jog EVERY day. My arms are still toothpicks and i have dumbbells at home to maintain during 3-4 days. I acknowledge the fact that my muscles are still developing and it mostly isn't good for me to do this

[Austin2]

I'm 16 5'11 and weigh 140, To gain mass you have to go to the gym and have a schedule and good eating habits avoid sugars and such

[Drew5]

Sounds like we're virtually identical stature and I've been training pretty hard for over 2 years now (swimming and gym). I have good definition so you could say ripped but I still look like a boy compared to other swimmers at my club, and I think that is just down to the fact I've an endomorphic body type.

I used to be really badly skinny, so in terms of how I used to look I'm really happy with how I look now but its taken time to get here.

So OP since you also sound like an endomorph, I think you will find it hard to put on bulk but it is possible, but it might take you a while.

To motivate yourself maybe you could do things like measure your bicep and thigh circumference, take some photos etc and then repeat that each month so you can see the gains that you might not notice in the mirror.

So wouldn't skinny people be ectomorphs?
https://www.google.com/search?q=endomorph&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|0;d|hz96Gk24zlh_xM:

[TigerBoy]

So wouldn't skinny people be ectomorphs?
https://www.google.com/search?q=endomorph&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#biv=i|0;d|hz96Gk24zlh_xM:

D'oh yep good catch. Realgone wrote a good thread (http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=149639)about this I should have read more closely. Looks like I'm not the only one who got this the wrong way round in this thread ;-)

[Drew5]

D'oh yep good catch. Realgone wrote a good thread (http://www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=149639)about this I should have read more closely. Looks like I'm not the only one who got this the wrong way round in this thread ;-)

Only reason I know the term endomorph is because my doc mentioned it once abt my weight, so I looked it up and remembered thinking I'm not fat or maybe I'll be fat when I get older even though it doesn't mean I'm fat. Guess that's how my mind worked in 7th grade/13 y/o

[Zenos]

GUYS GUYS GUYS!! If you guys that are having problems gaining weight would take exactly one week off to let you're body rest from training,then switch to a 3 day a week whole body 20 rep squat program you'd gain weight fast.

It's one training method that while rarely used(in favor of super wonder programs) has been time tested to put weight/muscle on just about anyone(including grasshoppers...lol).



The only thing wrong with the info in the following link is the guy credits John McCallum with introducing the 20 rep squat system in 1968 ,when Mark H.Berry Introduced it to the bodybuilding/weightlifting world back in the 1920's or 30's.

http://www.seriouspowerlifting.com/2843/articles/20-rep-squat-program

[Marek1]

I'm sure it is more difficult for tall guys like me to gai weight. I'm really tall (6'7) and quite skinny too. You just have to eat more and train. Chubby guys just have the mass and their excess fat turns into muscle...if you understand my point.

[canadaski]

I am 6'6" and used to weigh around 165 pounds. The heaviest I ever was, was around 215 pounds over about 1.5 - 2 years which doesn't sound like much but I was making visual improvements. The surprising thing is that my body fat peaked at only 16-20 percent, while I cut down to 8-9% after. Unfortunately I got severely depressed and let myself go, and now I've got no mass and probably 15-20 percent body fat, haha. I needed to consume so much food to gain weight, I'm talking 4500-6000 calories per day. Believe it or not, it's actually quite hard to eat a lot. People actually noticed, and to my surprise asked me "have you been working out" and people telling me that I look buff, big etc. Believe me, that's the last thing I ever expected because I was always the really tall lanky scrawny guy throughout school.




You WILL get fat if you're doing everything right, your swimming may suffer. If you've ever seen an off season bodybuilder, you'll know how disgustingly fat and puffy they become when they're bulking for contest prep.

Don't workout every day, start with 3 times a week and eat as much, if not more food on your off days.

Stay away from the supplement market, the only thing that would benefit you at this time is a pure whey protein mix, and a weight gainer to help you reach that high caloric intake you're after.

Find out how much you're consuming and calculate how much you should be eating with proper, often counterintuitive macronutrient ratios. There are many calculators for this online. Try to find a ratio that's not too fat conscious, as lots of good mono and polyunsaturated fats can work wonders.

Try doing a full body workout, using big compound lifts but take care to use proper form as many can easily ruin your back otherwise. Keep your workouts under 1 hour, don't do cardio on your lifting days. When you do have a cardio workout, do HIIT for 15 minutes or less.

Don't underestimate the value of bodyweight exercises, pullups and chin ups were the best exercise I added to my routine and gave me the most lat size and were the best thing I ever did for my biceps.

Above all, do some research but don't do too much. Also, stay away from the bodybuilding.com forums as nobody almost nobody there knows what the fuck they're talking about. Study some of the bodybuilding greats as most of them have published works, but stick to those that have your body type, it's helpful regardless of whether they took a massive amount of roids or not. Just make working out and gaining wait your hobby and your interest, rather than working out to get bigger for swimming.

TAKE PICTURES in the anatomical positions from front on and from a profile, and take measurements of your body parts and weight. Don't measure your body fat, focus on gaining weight and not muscle because invariably you will gain both.

[Zenos]

[QUOTE=canadaski;2048735]I am 6'6" and used to weigh around 165 pounds. The heaviest I ever was, was around 215 pounds over about 1.5 - 2 years which doesn't sound like much but I was making visual improvements. The surprising thing is that my body fat peaked at only 16-20 percent, while I cut down to 8-9% after. Unfortunately I got severely depressed and let myself go, and now I've got no mass and probably 15-20 percent body fat, haha. I needed to consume so much food to gain weight, I'm talking 4500-6000 calories per day. Believe it or not, it's actually quite hard to eat a lot. People actually noticed, and to my surprise asked me "have you been working out" and people telling me that I look buff, big etc. Believe me, that's the last thing I ever expected because I was always the really tall lanky scrawny guy throughout school.



[LIST]
You WILL get fat if you're doing everything right, your swimming may suffer. If you've ever seen an off season bodybuilder, you'll know how disgustingly fat and puffy they become when they're bulking for contest prep.


(LOL if you are doing "EVERYTHING RIGHT" and no slobbing,you won't get fat.
1) the pros use roids which in combination with training soley for size givesthem the puffy looking muscles,2) that combined with the fact most of them become fat slobs during the off season eating any and everything in sight and not doing much in the way of cardio is the reason they get fat.
3) Just because you are bulking does not mean you have to do like the pros and get fat offseason.)



Don't workout every day, start with 3 times a week and eat as much, if not more food on your off days.

(sound sensible advice)


Stay away from the supplement market, the only thing that would benefit you at this time is a pure whey protein mix, and a weight gainer to help you reach that high caloric intake you're after.

( The supp industry is a money drive market,if onlt the supps that actually worrked where allowed on the market we'd have fewer supps. Evet wonder why the bodybuilding and supp industry rails against FDA regulations? Cause they know that if the FDSA got involved they'd have the majority of supps tabled as nothing more the snake oil in a bottle)


Find out how much you're consuming and calculate how much you should be eating with proper, often counterintuitive macronutrient ratios. There are many calculators for this online. Try to find a ratio that's not too fat conscious, as lots of good mono and polyunsaturated fats can work wonders.

Try doing a full body workout, using big compound lifts but take care to use proper form as many can easily ruin your back otherwise. Keep your workouts under 1 hour, don't do cardio on your lifting days. When you do have a cardio workout, do HIIT for 15 minutes or less.


( 20 rep sqaut programs work fine,and you don't need to do near as much cardio when on those type programs.,Also with wortking out on eweights tright doing clean and presses,clean and jerks and two hand snatches as a warm up instead of cardio. with the above lifts you get warmed up faster then wiutha cardio session plus youi have more energy to put into you're workouts)

Don't underestimate the value of bodyweight exercises, pullups and chin ups were the best exercise I added to my routine and gave me the most lat size and were the best thing I ever did for my biceps.

Above all, do some research but don't do too much. Also, stay away from the bodybuilding.com forums as nobody almost nobody there knows what the fuck they're talking about. Study some of the bodybuilding greats as most of them have published works, but stick to those that have your body type, it's helpful regardless of whether they took a massive amount of roids or not. Just make working out and gaining wait your hobby and your interest, rather than working out to get bigger for swimming.

TAKE PICTURES in the anatomical positions from front on and from a profile, and take measurements of your body parts and weight. Don't measure your body fat, focus on gaining weight and not muscle because invariably you will gain both.

[abp1999]

Im 17 and about 6ft 2in and only like 155-160 pounds. I hate the way my body looks. Im really into sports and im good at them, but for some reason i cant seem to gain muscle mass at all... drink protein shakes, have a personal trainer, and do physical activities every day. But still feel like a rail. My question is, is there anyone that can relate to this?
is there anyone that used to be like this at my age but now is not?
if so, then when did things start to change for you?

Some guys cant put on weight. My dad was 120 at 6'5" when my parents got married. It is just genetics sometimes. Don't worry about it. You'll fill out.

[its.me.akshay]

im 16... 5.6 and 110.... but they say am a mesomorph... dont know but i have muscles on the right spots in my body... dude... u neednt worry.. life will change...!! have meat more in your food... fish will be great!! try those!!

[Jakejjj]

Just try and eat more and build more muscle then you will get better