#getthickerquicker

Strongwoman Alanna Casey’s excellent tutorial on bench pressing.

This is powerlifter bench (focused on maximal weight,) not a bodybuilder’s bench (focused on pectoral “pump”.)

I don’t ever particularly recommend cardio for any sort of mass building because by nature it’s well…cardio.

Here’s some science stuff:

Building muscle mass occurs primarily through an increase in the size of muscle component cells (hypertrophy.)

This is accomplished through sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which increases the volume of cells and their ability to pool glycogen or myofibrillar hypertrophy, which increases the density of fibers in the muscles.  Bodybuilders, using more reps, tend to end up with more sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. Powerlifters/olympic lifters/strongmen, using lower reps with heavier weights, tend to end up with more myofibrillar hypertrophy.

Making those muscles grow either way usually involves progressively increasing either loads or reps. That’s the stimulus that causes all sorts of things to occur including the adaptation of your nervous system and a variety of biochemical processes and genetic activations.  Within a mere week your body already makes rapid changes to accommodate resistance.

Cardio on the other hand has very little benefit when it comes to hypertrophy.  At best it will regulate your capabilities to process fat and glycogen storage but won’t help you get thicker.

You might attempt putting a stationary bike on the maximum tension or setting it to simulate riding up a hill.  Any sort of added resistance on cardio machines, rather than their base setting might help.

I’m going to speak from personal experience on this…

I was 6’2” 135 for most of my high school life and several years of my college life.  I had been lifting since I was 14 but I was a supposed “hardgainer.”  Trying to consume weightgain shakes at the time never did much for me.

I finally decided to lift HEAVY (and by heavy I mean struggling for some reps) and eat regularly without skipping meals. 

Within two years I went from 135 to 230 with about 14% bodyfat.  It was a pretty astonishing transformation but my biggest obstacle had been my irregular eating habits, lack of macronutrients and doing the same thing over and over in the gym.

Now, I won’t lie.  I didn’t eat what you’d call an exactly “clean” diet.  But I was young and had the metabolism of a rabid shrew.  I consumed a cheeseburger every day, one pound of ground beef at night and about 2,000 calories of gainer shakes a day on top of my diet.  Did it affect my cholesterol?  Nope.

I can’t do that now and don’t suggest it for anyone.  Dietary science has come even further since then and there are much better options in supplements as well.

But I don’t suggest trying to jump into any sort of sudden diet change like going vegan.  Suddenly shifting diets tends to burn people out quickly.  Also, the paleo diet is not only expensive (I tried it a few weeks) but rests on some very shaky speculation and a few outright myths. 

Alan Aragon, one of the top anti-bullshit figures out there in the nutritional science field has some great things to point out about paleo.  See this video: http://www.nsca.com/videos/conference_lectures/the_paleo_diet_claims_vs_evidence/I basically suggest you dial in your caloric needs based on your workout routines, eat what you need to both grow, and keep at it as you’ve been doing so far in regards to making clean choices about soda, etc.

A lot of mumbo jumbo, market hype and bickering amongst diet fans complicates something simple:

Aaannnd...

I also made a very brief FAQ for some of the most common questions here:

http://thickerandthicker.tumblr.com/thickstarter

Quick note regarding looking like a man…

Lean body mass, in large amounts, is achievable by both genders through extremely dedicated training and diets.  While women don’t have nearly anywhere the amount of testosterone output that men do, it is possible for women to get ripped.

What is prescribed as a strictly male physique is merely an aspect of society.  Fitness is not gendered.  If you get extremely muscular you look like a human that’s extremely muscular.  Don’t play into enforced gender roles and the history behind them.

If you’re looking to bulk your thighs up, as always, squat.  Back squats will build up the thighs and glutes and front squats will bulk the quads up even more.

See this previous question in regards to building a bigger bottom half:

Decreasing calories will make any sort of gains more difficult.

Remember that you cannot “get a flat stomach” without losing body fat all over.

Spot fat loss is a myth.

Try focusing on heavy back squats and front squats as well as glute/hip bridges with considerable weight.  Basically trying to activate the glutes through heavier and heavier work.

So, lift progressively heavier, eat enough to sustain your base metabolism AND your gains, and add some cardio in several times a week to drop fat.

I’ve posted some info from previous asks that were similar to yours below so that everyone can read them again…

Diet

Traditionally it’s been suggested that to gain weight you need a weekly caloric excess of 3500 calories to gain one pound.  It’s also suggested to maintain this in a healthy manner by increasing your daily caloric intake by about 500-1000 calories.  You’ll need to taper off (or add more) calories depending on how you accumulate more body mass.

Calculate your necessary caloric intake and increase it enough to cover your daily needs as well as your training intensity.  Enter your info in the calculator below to get a general number of the calories you may need.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939

As far as types of food, I can’t really suggest specific weight gain foods as there is no specific food that makes you gain weight per se.  It’s the amount of calories in the particular food and the quantity of the food you’re eating. Some foods have a higher density of calories than others of course.  Mainly, eat healthy foods that are high in macro nutrients (protein, fats, carbs) and in amounts that satisfy your own daily needs. 

Exercise

As for exercises, if you’re looking for overall thickness AND junk-in-le-trunk,  you need to be performing barbell squats (both back squat and front squat,) deadlifts, weighted hip/glute bridges, and weighted lunges among other exercises.

Here’s some quick videos demonstrating the exercises I mentioned:

Glute bridge - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylpfCk3i-0Y

Weighted lunges - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I__9oV1UDv0

Back squat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW_C1A-rejs

Front squat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlfahNdNPPI

Deadlift - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rKvoLu5Isk

As for how long, I suggest looking into good strength programs like a 5x5 a 5x3 or other progressive linear lifting program.  This gives you a set program to follow, a specific set of exercises, and let’s you track your lifts.

Here are some popular programs:

Starting Strength 3x5  (Wichita Falls Novice Program)

Stronglifts 5x5  (Download the excel sheet also)

Johnny Candito’s 6 Week Strength Program & Linear Program

(Johnny Candito’s programs are quite good btw)

You can add in accessory exercises like the glute bridges and lunges to most of these programs when you’ve finished your main lifts.