Welcome aboard our newest brother, Phrogg!
You're in the right place as it's a great group of BP Diehards here and I'll walk you through it step by step. First, please share what your goals are, how many years you've been training and what you'd like to improve the most.
What I know thus far is this.. you are young 18, 5'8" and 144lbs (ectomorph). Yo have reservations about any Famine stage. I'd need to know the following:
1.) Are you grounded/familiar in the big 3 basic exercises (Bench/Squat/Deadlift)? Meaning have you performed 6-8 weeks of some fairly rigorous work in those movements?
2.) Do you do these in a commercial gym with a spotter available or can you perform them in the safety of a power rack?
3.) Have you been on bulking cycles in the past whereby you've eaten 5-7 small meals frequently as a lifestyle of sorts to cram in more protein, calories etc?
These may seem like very basic questions but it is essential that I understand what exposure you've had to the things I'm talking about. Reason: no exposure to heavy deadlifts/squats and asking you to take a 1RM on those lifts is like shooting a cannon out of a canoe. You could get hurt. I take your health/safety as serious as I do your gains.
What you can do starting today is head out to the grocery store and obtain the following:
Pour the following ingredients into a blender:
- 12/16 oz of Pineapple juice
- 2 cups of skim milk powder (alternatively, 2-3 scoops of protein powder)
- 1 large banana
- 2 containers of liquid egg whites (back in the day, this was 6 raw eggs!)
- 1 tablespoon of raw/organic wheat germ
- 1 container of Greek yogurt
- 2/3 scoops ice cream (don't be afraid of full fat stuff at your bodyweight)
Place into large thermos and sip slowly with every meal.
- This baby is loaded with calories, protein and b-vitamins from the wheat
germ
- Bromelain and papain digestive enzymes come from pineapple juice
- Digestive enzymes are important and overlooked for protein absorption
- Rich in potassium/vitamin C, fiber and beneficial bacteria found in the
yogurt.
3.) Organic peanut butter: Healthy fat and it tastes great. Can be mixed
into shakes or used in sandwiches, etc. It's a superfood that will go a
long way toward hitting that caloric goal. The organic designation is
there for a reason.
4.) Honey: Again, very calorically dense and perhaps nature's perfect
carbohydrate. It should be added to whatever carbohydrate staple
you're consuming from oatmeal to yams to peanut butter sandwiches.
Fantastic for replenishing glycogen in both the liver and muscle tissue.
5.) Quiona: Cooks fast and is a nutritional powerhouse of a food. Travels
well and will be a HUGE boon to your diet. See here:
https://bodybuildingsupplements.com/phpB ... .php?t=295
At your stage and bodytype a big part of the battle will be with the knife and fork. We aim to make that easy for you via wholesome, liquid nutrition for many of those calories and REAL FOOD.
At 144lbs, you should be shooting for a minimum of 2,160 calories/day from those food sources above. Those 2,160 calories should be consumed on your "off" days meaning no gym work. On training days, I'd like you to shoot for about 2,800 calories or bodyweight x 20. We can dial that back a bit if too much fat is realized but it's a solid fuel plan for the work that lies ahead.
In addition, red meat, eggs, whole grain breads/pastas and vegetables etc are highly recommended to round out the diet. Spread these calories over 5-7 daily meals not less than once every 3 hours and you're good to go. If necessary, start slow and work up to the daily caloric targets as it takes some getting used to.
Finally, I want you to look at this for what it is: You have a huge, untapped growth potential that there's no telling how far you can take it. In a way, I sort of envy you. Most importantly, you're getting advice from a guy who was in your shoes at 16. Six feet one inch at 143lbs wasn't a pretty sight. I took care of that and will help you do the same. I'm not the only one.
Plenty of guys here doing just the same. DaCookie, for example started at 154lbs with The Blueprint and finished his first run at 170lbs.
That's 16 total lbs of quality muscle.
You're in the right place, and we're glad to have you here.