Huon

Thanks for the info! Very helpful and insightful :-) I could buy online, but delivering stuff to my apartment is a bit of a hassle as I live on the fourth floor and the intercom system of my doorbell is broken. So, when someone rings the bell, I have to (if I hear it all) quickly put shoes on and run downstairs to open the door for whoever is there, which might take a few minutes. My friends know this, but other people will likely assume that I'm not at home. So, nowadays I'd rather just not order stuff online unless I really have to.

So I've been eating around 2600 calories a day since my last post and I have already gained a little weight (I can't really tell whether it's muscle or fat, though, but at least I'm not losing weight anymore). I've particularly been eating lots of eggs and oatmeal. Now, oatmeal is pretty much the cheapest thing there is, so that's great (thanks, turboseize!), but eggs - while cheap per pack - can actually get rather expensive when you buy enormous amounts of them. So, I've been thinking about getting some proteine powder (which is cheaper when it comes to how much you pay per gram of protein so to speak), would this be a good idea? I've read a few articles about it and I quickly discovered that many people warn about amino spiking in cheap protein powders; I don't fully understand it, but I get that it's bad. There are two local stores here that sell protein powders, but both their products contain glycine, glutamine, isoleucine and other individually listed amino acids, which - as I've read - is a bad thing. How much does this matter?

Ah, I'll remember that in case this reply issue comes up again! I work from home at the moment, so I'm pretty free in managing my time. I'm currently trying the eating-more-before-going-to-bed thing for a few days to see if it makes any noticeable difference, but if it doesn't I could try going to bed earlier. As for your own issue, perhaps you could plan to do something early in the morning that you can look forward to? I always find myself waking up rather early when I go camping for vacation (that's what's happens when you sleep on a crappy bed in a tent :P), but I never have any trouble getting out of bed at those times because - since it's a vacation - I'm looking forward to whatever I'm going to do that day.

Hmm, something went wrong there. Somehow I can't type anything below that quote. What I wanted to say is: currently, I'm setting my alarm for 7 am, but for starters I'd be happy with anything between 6 am and 8 am (in case 7 am appears to be in the middle of a sleep cycle or something).

I usually go to bed around 11 pm and I've been sleeping pretty well lately, so I don't think that's where the problem lies. I've considered the sleep cycle thing as well and I've tried setting my alarm to go off at different times, but to no avail so far. The thing about eating before going to sleep might be a great idea though! I actually eat very little after dinner, so that may very well make a difference. I'll try it tonight, thanks!

I've read the first and last page of this thread and I see most of you are having trouble with getting to sleep on time and falling asleep at all. For me, that's not really a problem (anymore), but I do have enormous trouble with waking up in the morning. When I don't use an alarm, I usually wake up naturally somewhere between 8 and 8:30 am and I feel more or less fine. But, as that's obviously too late, I find myself having to use an alarm to wake up earlier. However, when I wake up this way I'm often so exhausted that it feels like I've just risen from the dead or something. I can barely even move and sometimes I seriously have no idea where I am, even though I'm in my own bed. So, what happens is that I often stay in bed for a while to give my body and mind some time to really wake up, but when I close my eyes for just 1 second I fall back asleep. I'd really like to figure out how to feel more awake when I wake up, so any advice is welcome

Thanks for the additional replies! Sounds like this stuff is rather complicated for a newbie like me, but the more I read, the more I learn. As suggested in the first replies to this topic, I downloaded an app to track my calories (I went with VirtuaGym's Calorie, Carb & Fat counter, as it was the only one I could find that would run on my outdated phone). Now, my app tells me that I should eat about 2616 calories a day if I want to gain 10 kg (about 22 lbs) in 20 weeks, with 50% of what I eat being carbs, 25% being protein and 25% being fat. I've been tracking my calorie intake for a little over a week now and I can already conclude that on avarage days I don't reach this goal of 2616 calories and that (as I already guessed) I'm especially missing out on protein. I'm gonna try to eat more and follow up on some of your suggestions. I'll let you guys know how that works out!

Thanks! I wouldn't know where to hang rings in my house, but I found out a local store is having a sale on pull up bars (and other fitness items) next week, so I was thinking about picking one of those up. (Good luck with your own rings, btw! If I can find the motivation to do these things, then so can you! :P) Nuts are actually rather expensive here. Probably even more so then meat if you judge by the price/protein ratio (how much protein you get for your money). Roasted and salted peanuts are the cheapest I think, but being roasted and salted makes them a rather less healthy option I guess. My uncle, who has a walnut tree, gives me some walnuts from time to time though, haha.

Thanks for the replies! I'm not tracking my calories at the moment, so, like both of you suggested, that would probably be good a thing to start doing. I'll look into it! It's true that exercises with more weight would likely yield better results than what I'm doing now, but for the time being I'd prefer working out at home so I don't really have access to barbells or gym equipment. The only equipment I can use at the moment are weights I can make and use at home (milk jugs filled with sand, etc.) and/or really cheap other pieces of equipment. I do think I am naturally an ectomorph, so yeah... I'll probably have to eat a lot. Cooking in batches sounds like a very good and simple idea that I can definitely start doing. With Christmas and New Year coming up I'll be out of town for a while, so it probably won't be something for this week, but it sounds like a good New Year's resolution, haha. (I don't usually do those, but the timing is just right now :P.) I'll also have a look at the links both of you provided. Once again, thanks for the advice!

Hey, thanks for the welcome! I guess I was a bit impatient with waiting for replies, haha. I'll have look at the 4-week challenge section and the groups you suggested (bodyweight exercises are my preferred exercises at the moment, so those two groups look like good choices for me). Thanks!

Heya! I already posted this in the introductions section, but I guess that wasn't the right place so now I'm trying here. Here's a copy/paste from my original post: I've always been skinny as a beanpole and kinda weak compared to other men. I never really thought anything about that, it was just the way it was and I didn't really realize that it might be possible to change my physique. I've also always been rather insecure and not confident at all, not only in regard to my body but pretty much in general. So, about five years ago the thought crossed my mind that I could start working out and become more muscular; maybe that would make me feel better about myself! I had no idea what I was doing, though, and I just started doing lots of push ups (in fact, I found a website with a program that was supposed to train me until I could do a hundred push ups in a row). Unsurprisingly, it didn't really have any results, but I kept on doing it, thinking the results would come in time. So, fast forward a bit... nothing happened and one day while browsing the internet, about one and a half years ago, I stumbled upon Nerd Fitness. I was really inspired by the things I read there and I decided it was time for a change in my approach. I started doing the "Beginner Body Weight Workout", which quickly became too easy and I tweaked it over time until I ended up with the following workout: 10 diamond push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 10 wide push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 10 normal push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 30 bicycle crunches 15 dumbbell rows right arm (using two milk jugs of 2 litre and 2.4 litre filled with sand, plus two one-kilo wrist weights around my wrist) 15 dumbbell rows left arm (using two milk jugs of 2 litre and 2.4 litre filled with sand, plus two one-kilo wrist weights around my wrist) 1 minute plank 10 cobras/supermans 10 body weight squats 10 leg raises (with a one-kilo ankle weight on each ankle) 20 flutter kicks (with a one-kilo ankle weight on each ankle) I repeat this circuit three times and then finish with 10 dumbbell lateral raises with my palms up and 10 with my palms down. I've been working out every other day for years now (starting with just push ups as I mentioned above, then the Beginner Body Weight Workout from Nerd Fitness about one and a half years ago, changing and adding exercises over time to end up with the workout described above, which I think I've been doing for almost a year now), but I still hardly notice any results. A friend suggested taking photos of my body over time, so it would be easier to notice any changes; but as you can see below, that didn't really help: (I didn't have a proper mirror during most of the year) I've been thinking that my lack of results may be because of my eating habits, so I've been trying to eat as much as I can lately. I can't afford to buy a lot of meat though, so I get most of my proteins from eggs and beans. So, anyway... long story short: I'm looking for advice on how to finally gain some muscles. All ideas are welcome!

Perhaps I shouldn't have posted such a long story in the introductions section, but these forums are rather vast and I wasn't sure where to look, so I thought this would be the best place to start.

Hey all, I've known about this site for some time, but I've only just now decided to join the forums because I think I might need some advice; I hope I've come to the right place! Since this is the introduction section, let me introduce myself for a bit. I'm a 28-year-old guy from Europe. I live alone and work from home, making barely enough money to pay the rent and buy food and stuff. I was drawn to this community because of its positive attitude and also (of course) because I'm somewhat of a nerd I guess. I love science fiction and fantasy, mostly books, but movies as well (although there are many popular movies in these genres that I haven't seen, but that's something I'm working on!). I'm also working out regularly, and that's why I'm here. I've always been skinny as a beanpole and kinda weak compared to other men. I never really thought anything about that, it was just the way it was and I didn't really realize that it might be possible to change my physique. I've also always been rather insecure and not confident at all, not only in regard to my body but pretty much in general. So, about five years ago the thought crossed my mind that I could start working out and become more muscular; maybe that would make me feel better about myself! I had no idea what I was doing, though, and I just started doing lots of push ups (in fact, I found a website with a program that was supposed to train me until I could do a hundred push ups in a row). Unsurprisingly, it didn't really have any results, but I kept on doing it, thinking the results would come in time. So, fast forward a bit... nothing happened and one day while browsing the internet, about one and a half years ago, I stumbled upon Nerd Fitness. I was really inspired by the things I read there and I decided it was time for a change in my approach. I started doing the "Beginner Body Weight Workout", which quickly became too easy and I tweaked it over time until I ended up with the following workout: 10 diamond push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 10 wide push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 10 normal push ups (with a two-kilo weight on my back) 30 bicycle crunches 15 dumbbell rows right arm (using two milk jugs of 2 litre and 2.4 litre filled with sand, plus two one-kilo wrist weights around my wrist) 15 dumbbell rows left arm (using two milk jugs of 2 litre and 2.4 litre filled with sand, plus two one-kilo wrist weights around my wrist) 1 minute plank 10 cobras/supermans 10 body weight squats 10 leg raises (with a one-kilo ankle weight on each ankle) 20 flutter kicks (with a one-kilo ankle weight on each ankle) I repeat this circuit three times and then finish with 10 dumbbell lateral raises with my palms up and 10 with my palms down. I've been working out every other day for years now (starting with just push ups as I mentioned above, then the Beginner Body Weight Workout from Nerd Fitness about one and a half years ago, changing and adding exercises over time to end up with the workout described above, which I think I've been doing for almost a year now), but I still hardly notice any results. A friend suggested taking photos of my body over time, so it would be easier to notice any changes; but as you can see below, that didn't really help: (I didn't have a proper mirror during most of the year) I've been thinking that my lack of results may be because of my eating habits, so I've been trying to eat as much as I can lately. I can't afford to buy a lot of meat though, so I get most of my proteins from eggs and beans. So, anyway... long story short: I'm looking for advice on how to finally gain some muscles. All ideas are welcome! (Edit: I forgot to mention that I actually did get some results as I've lost quite some weight (especially during the past year), to the point where BMI calculators call me close to dangerously underweight. Of course this isn't what I'm trying to achieve at all...)