Trying to stop being skinny and gain muscle [duplicate]

Question

Basically, I am a 15 year old boy, 5f 11". I weight about 10st/140lb/63.5kg.

For the last month I have been exercising by just doing random push ups/sit ups throughout the day (roughly 100 push ups and 200 sit ups). I can do Sit Ups in groups of 40 and Push Ups in groups of 20-25. I know that just doing two different things isn't very effective, so I need an actual routine. The summer holidays are coming up for me (its my last day tomorrow) and in these 6 weeks I am wanting to spend more time on it.

So basically, what kind of routine should I be doing? I just want to increase my upper body strength. I can spend money on dumbbells etc (I want to buy dumbbells, but I'm really not sure what weights I should get, I was thinking 5kg or 10kg)

Also, what should I be eating? As I'm 14 I can't really control my diet, but I eat a lot (more than you would expect, I have a good metabolism though so I have virtually no body fat), and lately I never have anything sweet and I skip any puddings. I have always been more of a healthier person, always having my 5 a day in just fruit that I eat. My mum/dad cook healthy homemade meals.

I was planning on buying g-fuel (http://gfuel.com/). It's not a protein shake or anything, just a healthy energy drink basically which should help me if I take one drink every day before I workout.

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

You need to lift heavy, eat big, and prioritize. In your situation, that might look like this:

Pull-ups & Dumbbells

Find, buy, or make A) a sturdy pull-up bar that's not in anybody's way and B) a pair of heavy dumbbells - 10kg to 15kg each would be fine. Three or four times a week warm up then do a lot of pull-ups (50 per session is a good goal), 3 sets of overhead presses with the dumbbells (say, 5 to 8 per set), and 3 sets of goblet squats (say, 5 per set). If you find other exercises you want to do, that's fine, but do them last. You'll have to do the research yourself on how to do those exercises.

Alternatively, you could buy a 20kg kettlebell and follow a basic kettlebell program of swings, get-ups, goblet squats, and eventually clean-and-presses. Any of Pavel's kettlebell routines would be fine.

Cook Your Own Food

15 is plenty old enough to start buying groceries and cooking for yourself. If someone else cooks for you, start helping them, and by helping them gain some decision-making power over what gets bought and made.

Once you're helping shop and cook your food, eat a lot of it. Prioritize vegetables and meat, but eat a lot of both. Your best bets are high-animal-protein items like meat, eggs, milk, and fish, alongside staples like vegetables, greens, starches (e.g. sweet potatoes), and good fats like pastured butter, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado.

Don't Get Distracted

Pick a goal, select a path towards it, and stick to it.

Don't miss workouts. Don't miss meals. Don't skimp on sleep. Find friends who want to work out with you instead of convince you to skip workouts to waste time drinking or doing nothing.