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I am 5'6 and 120 lbs. (basically), and have been working out for a year, but I am not seeing the results I want, which is to get more muscle and get stronger.

I don't have the best diet but I do take vitamins and eat whenever I'm hungry, from salads to cheeseburgers, because I want to get more calories to use in getting more muscle. Since last year, I've only gained 10 lbs. worth of muscle. And I know this because I haven't grown taller, but have shown a lot more muscle. However, since June I haven't gained very much weight and want to know how to get bigger.

I'm 120, so it's harder for me to gain muscle because I don't have anything to turn into muscle. Are there any diets or special workouts I can do to promote better muscle growth? I don't have the best workout equipment and work out from Monday to Friday with a day in between for rest, but every time I workout I do more push ups than before, I curl 20 lb dumbbells (not that much but I haven't been lifting for very many months) along with a 40 to 50 lb barbell. I also walk around with 50 lbs worth of dumbbells where I try to walk around as much as possible while trying to keep hold of the dumbbells. I did try being on a bike but it just was time consuming and could be on a hour with no gains at all.

My favorite is pushups and bicycle crunches and can do at max 70 or so pushups, but sometimes do 50 and then a minute later 45 and than a minute later 40 etc. Every week, I sometimes get over a pound worth of food and eat it in a single setting but it just burns off, so that's why I'm wondering how to get bigger.

donjuedo
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Christian J
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  • Do you have access to a gym? If not, can you give more detail to what equipment you actually have? You mention a barbell; do you have plates to go with it? If yes, how many? From a first glance it seems like you're doing too many reps (which primarily targets stamina / endurance) and perhaps you need to up your food intake again. – Alex L Dec 19 '15 at 23:10
  • Use an effective strength training program: http://fitness.stackexchange.com/a/24596/7091 – Eric Dec 19 '15 at 23:54

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You need to start lifting heavy, compound movements (isolation exercises won't get you as strong), for example:

Squats Deadlifts Bench press Overhead press (standing is good) Bent over rows Cleans etc

So if you have an olympic bar you can start doing those exercises. Even better if you have access to a gym, would provide a safer environment for performing those exercises.

Do sets with the following reps (may vary by exercise) all while adding weight so the last two reps are very tiring:

10 8 6 6 4

Your goal is to lift heavy all the time and your body will adapt and get stronger (and bigger too to compensate for getting stronger). Always try and do more weight (globally) than the last time you worked out (even if it is 5 lbs more) you can't let your body adapt and stay at the same weight since there will be no progression/improvement.

That is basically it, no need for fancy exercises or regimes!

PmanAce
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