You're here to gain muscle.

Or to get stronger. 

Whether you have access to a gym, or not, you will find you're starting / continuing point here. 

We’ve designed this page to be a resource for FAQ's, programs, and more. 

Here’s what you'll learn:

• Diet (basically eat above TDEE)
• Program (follow a pre made program)
• Meals (meal ideas)
• Supplements (protein powders, creatine, what to take)

Without food, you won't have fuel for muscle building. 

And with the correct food, you’ll have the best food to help fuel your workouts.

Here you'll figure out how much you need to eat with the help of a calculator below. 

First you need to find your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) or energy balance to see how much calories you burn each day (don't worry this is easy), including physical activity and your base metabolic rate BMR.

Finding your TDEE with this calculator below:

No calculator will give you the same exact result, this will differ as each of them use some slight variation of the calculator.

This is why you need to adjust based on the results you get in the real world.

If you want to bulk, then you need to eat 500 calories on top of your TDEE.

To lose weight, you need to eat 500 calories below your TDEE.

To maintain you need to eat at TDEE. Generally, you want to eat 3000 calories daily for bulking if you are male, or 2500 for women.

For bulking, you should be gaining 1lbs per week, but this should be checked at the same time every week . 

If you're an advanced lifter, this rate might be slower.

All foods have their own ratio of macros, calories and benefits.

Foods differ by macros and micros.

Macronutrients are protein (amino acids), fats (saturated, unsaturated, omega 3, and more), carbs (starches, sugars, alcohol).

Micro are micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) and they are needed for physiological processes.

A well-designed diet should be enough to supply you with vitamins and nutrients but multivitamin can ensure it.

At the very least, I recommend getting zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B from supplements.

Exercise can deplete these nutrients and if you live in a country without much sun, you should be getting vitamin D (D3 being the best form) from supplements.

Macro ratio isn't too important, but around 0.68 per 1lb bodyweight, you can eat more than 30g in one sitting. Fill the rest of the diet with carbs and fats).

Aim to consume whole foods like oats, chicken, whole milk, beans, legumes, nuts, vegetables, peanut butter and whole grain bread.

Supplements are supplements for diet, and can help fill in gaps.

A great example of this is protein powder.

It's challenging to get enough protein from diet, whether it's due to time or caloric restrictions, or helping you consume more calories than normal.

Protein powders:

Getting enough from diet is challenging, this is where protein powder comes in. 

Although it's not needed if you already achieve protein requirements, you may find it easier to remain in a caloric surplus if you have protein shakes.

Weight gainer:

These are high calorie shakes, with adds carbs and sometimes micronutrients as well.

Protein powders made with different foods like oatmeal, olive or MCT oil, nuts and fruits can turn into a homemade weight gainer.

Creatine Monohydrate:

This supplement is easily one of the best that's worth taking.

Can be read more on examine.com or through our creatine guide.

It's cheap, safe, healthy, works.

Use at 5g a day, there's absolutely no logical sense for fearing it.

Monohydrate is the most studied and proven form of creatine.

These are meal ideas that you can make and eat to help gain muscle:

• Shakes
• Snacks
• Meals
• Vegetarian recipes
• Recipes 

Skinny guys are skinny because they don't eat enough.

But this is the challenge, eating more can be quite hard for someone who struggles to consume enough to keep up with their caloric surplus.

The GOMAD diet helps add in calories by drinking half a gallon of milk of day. 

This won't work for people who are lactose intolerant.

This diet can lead to fat gain if you're not careful because of the calorie intake and overdoing it.

While this case is rare, even high metabolism, you'll only burn 200 calories more than the average person. 

Track everything for a week, adjust accordingly and  as needed.

You might be tempted to try to change everything overnight.

This will lead to failure.

Start with drinking more water, eat more frequently, increase workout intensity, increase calories slowly so the body can adjust.

May be tough when you first change your diet and you may struggle but you can get through it and you can eat more than before eventually. 

Most food has a breakdown of calories inside, but can be googled or by using MyFitnessPal.

Either track the calories through the app, a journal (digital or paper).

Tracking calories for a week or two will give you some idea of how much to eat without actually tracking all the time.

It doesn’t matter when you eat.

Eating whenever is convenient is the best way to go.

Increasing frequency doesn't influence metabolic rate but eating more meals throughout the day helps increase calorie intake.

And the post workout window is overblown, as there’s no firm conclusions on eating (see page 11).

So there’s no need to stress about protein / food after workout.

Sure, you're allowed to eat cheat meals, but on occasion (cookies, beer, cake, etc) but make sure they are treated as treats, not staples of diet.

Cheap foods is possible while bulking, relatively cheap.

Here's some of my favorite sources:

• Dirt Cheap Meals
• Search results on Reddit for budget meals
• More great ideas from one Reddit Post

After diet, comes programming because diet will help the body build muscle rather than store fat and a proper program will help propel you on the right path. 

Selecting a Workout Routine

Pre-made routine made by a professional has been tried and tested through hundreds of people.

They work.

Avoid making your own which can lead to issues and imbalances.

Avoid making these mistakes:

• Too much volume, too many exercises
• No compound lifts
• Too many isolation exercises
• Bad form and heavy weights
• Not enough back exercises
• Neglecting leg exercises

Anything will work, for about a month or so. But that is a problem because it's not made for the long term.

There are people who have dedicate their lives to exercise and you need to accept this

Some things to ask yourself:

• What level fitness are you
• What are your goals (strength, muscle or general fitness?)
• Is there enough rest or tempo in your program
• Do you have any weaknesses or imbalances? (ie crouched back)

For a general assessment on what your level of strength is, try using this:

Symmetric Strength 

Below you'll find a list of programs organized by level of fitness: 

The programs below are made for people starting out.

They're focused on building the foundation of strength, with ICF5x5 and AllPros being the best for hypertrophy.

• Greyskull LP: 3x week, chin ups and bicep curls for arm work
• Fitness basic beginner routine: barebones variant of Greyskull LP
• Ivysaur's 4-4-8- 3x week
• ICF5x5 ice cream fitness: 3x strength and muscle based / full body
• AllPros beginner routine: 3x hypertrophy and strength / full body
• Bodyweight 3x week routine

 If you have some lifting experience, at least 3-6 months with a solid foundation of strength, then these programs below are great.

• The big 3
• Novice Ripped Body 4 Day Program
• Stronglifts 5x5 (3 x Week)
• GZCLP – 3 and 4 day template found here 
• Westside for Skinny Bastards – 3 x Week (program allows for additional work if you want) 
• Muscle & Strength Long Cycle program – 3 x Week 
• Metallicadpa's Beginner PPL – 6 x Week / Push Pull Legs
• Dumbbell Stopgap – 3 x Week / Strength based / Dumbbell routine
• 5/3/1 For Beginners – 3 x Week / Full body
• Strong Curves (glute training)
• Powerlifting programs

The programs below are made for building muscle and a complete physique.

• PHAT – 5 x Week Upper/Lower and body part split
• PHUL – 4 x Week / Strength & Hypertrophy based / Upper/Lower (2 strength, 2 hypertrophy)
• German Volume Training – 3 x 5 day cycle (doesn't use a weekly cycle) 
• Lyle McDonald's Generic Bulking Routine, LMGBR – 4 x Week 
• Steve Cook's Muscle Building Program – 4 days / 

The programs below are the best for bodybuilding:

• PHAT Workout Program
• Joe Delaney 6 Day Upper/Lower Split (Ibiza Shreds)
• PHUL Powerbuilding Program
• Joe Delaney 5 Day Full Body Split
• Intermediate Bodybuilder Routine by Ripped Body
• Metallicadpa 6 Day PPL (aka Reddit PPL)
• Mike Israetel Hypertrophy Program
• 5/3/1 BBB for Bodybuilding
• Arnold Schwarzenegger Golden Six Routine

If strength is your goal then check these out:

• Calgary Barbell (powerlifting)
• Starting Strength (foundational strength program)
• N-Suns 5/3/1 by user /u/n-Suns. 4/5/6 day variations available.
• Madcow 5×5 – 3 x Week / Strength based / Full body
• 5/3/1 – 4 x Week / Strength based / Split + Accessories / Very popular
• Candito 6-Week Strength Program (routine spreadsheet) – 5x week / Strength based / Split + accessories / Very popular
• The Texas Method – 3x week / Strength based / Full body
• Sheiko programs (powerlifting)
• Armstrong Pull Up Program (improve your pull up strength)

Form: 

How you set up your exercises matters for the long term.

For example, if you row with a hunched over form, then you'll continue having this issue and your rows will be a waste of time and effort.

And you'll be demotivated and derailed by the lack of progress.

Squat, bench, deadlifts, these are complex movements that need to be studied.

Pendlay rows is a good example of a compound movement. 

Either record yourself or watch the mirror for the form.

You can also practice the form without the weight, as you should be lifting without weight.

The problem with asking people around you in the gym, they may not know the correct form, or may not have time to fully critique your from.

It is hard to correct the form after it's been implemented for so long.

Compound lifts:

To get the most out of your time, you need to do compound lifts. 

The smaller muscles around them will be worked, this means you'll be able to get bigger overall with compound lifts.

Majority of transformations are with compound lifts, you'll never find anyone who is fully developed by using only isolation / machine exercises

Recovery:

One exercise, like heavy squats, can drain your entire body.

This happens because your immune system, central nervous system and hormonal system are all affected with heavy lifting and they need time to recover.

Deloading or taking a full week off from exercise is required if you want to maximize your development, for both muscle and strength gains.

Journal your progress:

Tracking back your workouts and seeing how far you've come can be a great source for motivation.

There's a few ways to do this, either through digital or offline, like an app, spreadsheet, or through a journal.

Listen to your body:

If you feel a cold is coming on, you feel pain near or directly on your joints, or an exercise feels uncomfortable, then hold it off until you find out why.

A lot of injuries happen because we're ignoring the signs.

It's better to recover than to push yourself beyond the pain as you may find yourself taking more time off than if you originally just have had a week off.

Don't stress over small things:

Seeing weight stalling or not seeing progress is common. 

Stressing over this will not help and will do the opposite.

Your most frequently asked questions will be answered here. 

Now because of Covid-19, you may find your gyms in your area to be locked down.

However, if they are not locked down, try to find a gym that has a power rack where you can do squats in.

If a gym isn't an option, then you can buy some equipment and train at home.

If you don't have equipment at all, then bodyweight fitness will be your source of exercises.

All you need is one or two dumbbells for a complete routine.

There are a few variations of squats you can do if you don't have a power rack, like zercher or hack squats.

Cardio is good for you but we recommend not doing cardio the day before squats or you may be setting yourself up for injuries and it may hinder how much weight yo can squat.

Cardio can help enhance recovery, improve endurance and improve heart health.

If you plan to do cardio on the same day as lifting, then do it after.

Depending on the exercise and techniques used, rest periods can last anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

Most exercises can pass with a general recommendation of 1-3 minutes.

High reps and light weight means you can rest quickly, around 30-45 seconds.

For compound exercises, you'll want to rest anywhere from 2-5 minutes.

If you're training for strength, then it's not uncommon to have a rest period of closer to 5 minutes.

Most programs will have suggested rest periods, if you're following one, try to follow those.

No it's the oppsoite. 

Taking a week off will allow you to come back stronger and sometimes even bigger than before. 

Try to look for the recommended rest.

If you feel rundown, depressed, or have pain either in the joints or in muscles, then it's probably time for a break.

Building a solid foundation for posture can be a determining factor for your form. 

Good posture can prevent potential problems and injuries.

Posture can happen even with the most experienceed
athletes/ bodybuilders.

Sitting at a desk can lead to rounded shoulders and back, this can lead to a rounded back as they lengthen. With age, this can get worse. 

A hunchback posture can also decrease height.

Inward curvature of lumbar and cervical vertebral column. 

Hyperlordosis can lead to lower back pain and can get worse with age, making exercises like deadlifts or squats very hard. 

Many injuries can be prevented by fixing hyperlordosis. 

Anterior pelvic tilt is a common cause of lordosis.

Confused about deadlifts vs Romanian deadlifts? This will help you. 

Pelvis tips forward making abdomen and buttocks to protrude, cause by sitting for most of your day.

When you sit, hip flexors (psoas) are shortened, abs glutes and hamstrings are lengthened.

Prolonged periods of this posture can make hip flexors fuse into this position, abs glutes, hamstrings become weaker, like kyphosis.

Most posture issues come from tight muscles, place emphasis on strength or volume on the lengthened agonist muscles

For example, doing more back than chest exercises, more glutes and hamstrings than quads, and so on.

You definitely don't want to do crunches, do reverse crunches and planks instead.

Foam rolling and antagonist muscle stretching is essential, do these everyday:

Focus on joint health and mobility. Mobility WOD is going to help with instabilities. 

More resources on posture and mobility:

• EXRX Posture
• Fixing Anterior Tilt
• How to fix poor posture 
• Mobility WOD

Everything you need is in this FAQ.

You should follow everything listed in this guide. 

Or you can check out this 7 step course.

Your muscles need as much rest as workout days. 

Your muscles grow and recover when you're resting. 

Maintain stress, a consistent sleep schedule, and pay attention to the signs of over training.

Being sick can be a sign of overtraining because your immune system is compromised after training. 

It is as drained as your muscles. 

It's better to rest and recover.

Same time in the morning, after your pee, since your body has the least waste and water. 

Be consistent with when and how you weigh yourself, weekly is ideal.

It's normal to see your weight go up, it depends on what you eat, drank, etc. 

That's why you should only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time everytime. 

When you're first starting out, you're probably going to have much more food and you're going to be carrying much more waste and water, hence why your weight seems to have blasted up after a few weeks and then slowed down.

Each of these are important. In ordder to gain weifght, you need to eat more than you burn, eat above your TDEE. 

Macros are needed for normal body functions and it gives the energy your body needs.

There a few reasons why this may be happening:

First track your calories for a week or two to see if you're actually eating enough. 

Commonly enough, people overestimate their calories.

You're not eating enough. 

Even if you've done your TDEE calculations, this is just an estimation. 

Your TDEE might be higher than estimated.

Not enough time given.

Weight gain needs time to happen, more than a month.

You're not weighing yourself at the same time.

Weigh at the same time, ideally in the morning after you pee.

Your weighing methods may be off, like your scales, either for food or for your body.

Medical issues. Check with a doctor and see if you have any medical issues that may be causing you to not gain weight. If not, then add in 500 calories more to what you've eating.

If you've still not gained anything after 2 months of doing this, then it's probably a good idea to seek medical advice.

Not gaining weight after eating over TDEE isn't normal.

Don't self diagnose, see a doctor.

The last thing anyone wants to do at the gym is give away their attention from the one time that they can do makes them feel good, which is their workout.

No one cares about anyone else in the gym, but themselves.

All the big and hard working bodybuilders know the struggle of being skinny or overweight or out of shape.

A dirty bulk means there's more junk food than clean.

Junk foods mean prepackaged foods, fast food, chips, basically calories that have no real nutritional value.

The downside is that more of the food is likely to be stored as fat.

The difference between a man and a woman is their body and hormonal system.

To build muscle like a male, a woman would need to take steroids and testosterones.

The principles for men who want to gain muscle and aesthetics remain the same for women.

There's no metabolism that more than 200-300 calories in difference from the average person.

The only time this is an exception is for medical conditions.

Even if you have a super fast metabolism, you would just need to eat a few hundred extra calories to gain weight.

There's no such thing as a hardgainer nor is being an ectomorph a disadvantage or any different for gaining weight.

If you can't gain weight even after eating above your maintenance, then you may need to check with a doctor.

There's a few resource if you are broke:

• college students
• Dirt Cheap Meals
• Search results on Reddit for budget meals
• More great ideas from one Reddit Post
• School meal plans
• Cheap foods

There's no recommendation for height, it depends on your goal but a general idea includes the stuff here: http://www.reddit.com/r/gainit/comments/1b5911/the_ideal_weight_for_your_height/

The more you consume, the more you have to poop. 

It may be uncomfortable but after a few weeks, you'll feel normal again.

Eating foods with fiber like tomatoes, cucumbers, oats can help with digestion.

Being really skinny can make this stick out more. 

It's noticeable if you're skinny, but once you start gaining muscle, it'll be less noticeable.

And this may be a postural issue, sitting a lot, in cars, desks, etc, can lead to a protruding stomach..

Refer to the posture section.

Seek professional advice from doctor o nutritionist.

You may need help counting calories because counting calories can be a trigger.

Allow a medical professional to wok with you to help create a diet.

If you're in the 15-16 BMI region, then check with a doctor for any issues like heart issues, bone damage, before lifting.

You should get a DEXA bone scan and get approval before lifting weight.

A doctor may recommend light cardio and eating to gain weight before lifting weights.

Since we're not doctors or licensed to give you advice, we recommend that you first consult with a counsellor or therapist and see a doctor. 

Medications can help you beat this. 

There's been a number of studies that show exercise can improve mental state. 

See also exercise out of depression on Reddit.

Seek approval and advice from medical professional before starting any program. 

Here's more recommended sources that you can use:

• Exercises demonstration and guides
• Bulking on budget
• high calorie foods
• Creatine
• Best protein powders
• Mass gainers
• Dairy free protein powder
• Dairy free foods / protein powders
• IBS
• GOMAD

Seek approval and advice from medical professional before starting any program. 

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment and I'll try my best to help you out.