Best Of The Forum: Building Muscle For Skinny Beginners!

Here is living proof that if you work hard, you can gain a decent amount of lean mass through proper exercise and nutrition. The following are a bunch of transformations of people who were skinny at one point... but not anymore!

Mass Gain Transformations

Benjamin Pierce

Name: Benjamin Pierce
Location: Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Email: benpierce@gmail.com
Age: 26
Height: 5'6"
Weight Before: 125 lbs
Weight After: 150 lbs cut, 170 lbs bulked.

To Read Benjamin's Success Story, Click Here.

Skinny Vinny

Name: Vince DelMonte
Age: 25
Height: 6'0"
Scaleweight Before: 150 pounds
Scaleweight After: 190 pounds
Bodyfat Before: 13%
Bodyfat After: 8%
Total Muscle Gained: 45 lbs
Total Fat Lost: 6 pounds

To Read Vince's Success Story, Click Here.

Chris Dalton

Name: Chris Dalton
Age: 17
Weight (before): 130 lbs
Weight (after): 150 lbs

To Read Chris's Success Story, Click Here.

Joel Dale

To Read Joel's Success Story, Click Here.

Matt Guarrasi

Name: Matt Guarrasi
E-mail: mguarrasi@myeastern.com
Height: 6'1
Weight (before): 155lbs
Weight (after): 190lbs

To Read Matt's Success Story, Click Here.

James R.

Height: 5'9
Scale Weight before: 155 lbs
Quad size before: 22.5"
Bicep size before: 15"
Calf size before: 14"
Scale Weight after: 207 lbs
Quad size after: 26"
Bicep size after: 17.5"
Calf size after: 15.5"
Total weight gained: 52lbs

To Read James' Success Story, Click Here.

Brian Strider

Name: Brian Strider
Years Bodybuilding: 2 years
Favorite Bodypart: Chest
Favorite Supplements: Protein powder, creatine, and a multivitamin.
Hobbies: Art, reading, dance
Favorite Bodybuilders: Ronnie Coleman, Kevin Levrone
Age: 20
Height: 6'
Weight: 255 Lbs
Chest: 51 inches
Calves: 18 inches
Legs: 32 inches
Arms: 20 inches
Waist: 34 inches

To Read Brian's Success Story, Click Here.

Jeremiah Bustos

Name: Jeremiah Bustos
Email: brain082883@yahoo.com
Age: 22
Height: 5'7" Weight Before: - 135 lbs
Chest Before: - 36"
Biceps Before: - 12.75"
Waist Before: - 29"
1RM Bench Before: - 155 lbs
Weight After: - 158 lbs
Chest After: - 43"
Biceps After: - 15.5" (want this to be 16)
Waist After: - 32" (want to get this down to 30)
1RM Bench After: - 320 lbs (want to get this up to 340)

To Read Jeremiah's Success Story, Click Here.

Parker Cote

Name: Parker Cotte
Email: parkercote1@aol.com
Age Before: 17
Age After: 18
Weight Before: 165
Weight After: 195

To Read Parker's Success Story, Click Here.

Justin Hagar

Name: Justin Hagar
Sport: College Football (Wide Receiver)
Weight Before: 141 lbs.
Weight After: 194 lbs.

To Read Justin's Success Story, Click Here.

Dean Goudie

Name: Dean Goodie
Weight Before: 115 lbs.
Weight After: 165 lbs.

To Read Dean's Success Story, Click Here.

Randy Herring

Name: Randy Herring
Weight Before: 115 lbs.
Weight After: 155 lbs.
Weight Gained: 40 lbs.

To Read Randy's Success Story, Click Here.

Dax Joyner

Name: Dax Joyner
Before: Skinny Teen
After: NPC Competition Winner

To Read Dax's Success Story, Click Here.

Todd Blue

Name: Todd Blue
Weight Before: 130 Lbs. Skinny
Weight After: 250 Lbs. Muscular

To Read Todd's Success Story, Click Here.

Helpful Forum Posts

Putting on muscle takes time and dedication, as a beginner you need to realize that.

To help you get started, I have found some great information on the forums which I believe will be of great help to those of you just starting out. There is everything from muscle building posts, to muscle building nutrition, workouts, and even muscle building supplements.

Muscle Building

Forum Post - "Dead End":

"If there was one single key to the gains
I made... it is oats/steel cut oats!"

Forum Post - "The Science Behind Building Muscle":

"ATP is one of the factors that can determine
how many fibers we recruit."

Forum Post - "Newbie/Beginner Gains":

"...the weight came pretty slow, but
I was also Ethiopian skinny."

Forum Post - "How A Beginner Build A Good Base Frame":

"To improve your stability, you must
first develop some strong legs."

Forum Post - "Should You Bulk Or Cut First?":

"Depending on how much bodyfat you have,
you may be able to do both."

Article - "Women - Building Muscle Mass":

"We're told how difficult it is for women to
gain muscle mass due to our hormonal setup..."

Muscle Building Nutrition

Forum Post - "Low Carb + Muscle Building":

"All that crap about 'low carbs = muscle loss'
is a bunch of bullcrap."

Forum Post - "Low Carbs And Muscle Building??":

"You need to decide if you want
to get lean, or get big."

Forum Post - "Carbs And Muscle Building":

"When you ingest carbohydrates, your body
won't break down protein for energy."

Article - "Protein Handbook For Beginners":

"If you make more muscle protein than you break down,
your muscles will increase in size and strength."

Forum Post - "How Many Calories Should You Eat?":

"Add 500 calories a day to your maintenence calories.
You now have your bulking calories."

Article - "The Unified Theory of Nutrition":

"Total calories dictates how much weight you gain or lose;
macronutrient ratios dictates what you gain or lose."

Forum Post - "Good Foods For Muscle Building":

"Lean meats like steak, chicken, fish."

Forum Post - "The Best Product For Muscle Building":

"Food + hard work + water + sleep = Results."

Forum Post - "Bulking On A Budget":

"Cheap Protein = Eggs.
They're 49 cents a dozen out here."

Forum Post - "Favorite Bulking Foods":

"Add some whole wheat spaghetti, brown rice,
and red potatoes in there."

Muscle Building Workouts

Forum Post - "The Best Advanced Muscle Building Workout":

"This workout combines low reps and high reps,
supersets, and pre-exhausting target muscles."

Forum Post - "Muscle Building Program":

"For sure, this is a great beginner routine."

Forum Post - "Most Effective Way To Build Muscle":

"Yeah, all those damn powerlifters using
Westside are just smoking crack."

Forum Post - "The Best 3-Day Split For Muscle Building":

"Let me first say that isolation exercises
will not cut it here."

Forum Post - "The Best Rep & Set Range For Muscle Building":

"Everybody is different and responds differently
to various training styles."

Forum Post - "Building Muscle Mass - How Many Reps Per Set?":

"If you're aiming for muscle mass, then
4-8 reps is all you need."

Forum Post - "Beginner Routine":

"Big danger of burning yourself out here..."

Muscle Building Supplements

Forum Post - "The Best Muscle Building Supplement For the Money":

"Thanks for all the great links, Slated.
I have this thread bookmarked."

Forum Post - "Best Muscle Building Supplement On The Market?":

"Whey Protein. Word."

Forum Post - "The Most Powerful Muscle Building Supplements You Ever Used":

"Creatine. Word."

Forum Post - "Best Muscle Building Product":

"Genetics."

Forum Post - "Hardcore Muscle Building Supplement":

"Have you tried Xtend? Or any BCAA/EAA supplement?"

Forum Post - "Best Supplements To Bulk (Noobie)":

"Hypercaloric diet of clean foods, fish oil, good
cardio/lifting routine, and a creatine product."

Forum Post - "Stack For Bulk?":

"Ah, thats a pretty good stack, but I
think you should ditch the caffeine."

Forum Post - "If You Could Only Take One Supplement, What Would It Be?":

"Hard for me to say just one, but I
would say my general line of antioxidants."

Forum Post - "Clean Bulk Supplements":

"I'd recommend stacking CLA
along with creatine."

Forum Post - "Why Do You Want To Gain Muscle? Tell me!":

"...to scare the sh!t out of the smaller people..."

Conclusion

After reading these threads and posts, you should have a better idea of what you need to do in order to put on some lean muscle. Take the information that you just learned and turn it into a lifestyle. There is no quick fix, and like everything else, good things come to those who wait (and of course are persistent and dedicated).

Bodybuilding is something that you need to make part of your daily life. It is a combination of nutrition, training, and sleep. When all these aspects are met, the gains will follow. Good luck and good health!