I've never been in the gym...ok...I' used to go there a lot, but never lifted weights or anything, just the treadmill.

I'm 5`7'' and weight about 100 pounds, and I wanna gain a few pounds worth of muscle.

What kind of routines should I do...how much weigh on what machines? I dont even know the names of most of the stuff in the gym.

5'7" and 100 pounds sounds pretty unhealthy man. First thing I would say is don't do any cardio, you don't need to lose any more weight. Second, muscle is built in the kitchen. When you are trying to build muscle you should be getting 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, maybe a little more (I've done a lot of reading on this lately and the consensus varies). Go to your local GNC and get some whey protein (I reommend Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey). Having a shake after your workout along with some carbohydrates will help to build muscle (supposedly it causes a natural release of growth hormone in your body due to some shit with insulin).

I'd also recommend having one first thing in the morning, before you even piss or anything, and having some sort of casein protein right before bed (something like cottage cheese will do). When you wake up in the morning your body is starved for protein and feeding on your muscles, so having a shake will stop the catabolic breakdown that's going on. Casein protein is absorbed slower so having it before bed will let it work it's way through you during the night. Be careful not to overdo it though and take more than the recomended dosage, your body can only process so much protein at one time.

As for a workout routine, here's one taken from some book I have. I've shared it with other people and they've all liked it:

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A Nuts and Bolts Guide to Working Out
The workout I’m going to give you focuses on heavy compound exercises
that work many muscles at once and includes some isolation exercises that will hit any muscles that the compound exercises may have missed.

Compound exercises should be the foundation of your workout. Far too
many guys in the gym—the ones who just work out before spring break and aren’t serious about it—do primarily arm curls and bench press and ignore their legs and back.

This leads to poor posture, and no matter how big your upper body gets,
skinny chicken legs don’t look good. Women really do look at men’s legs.

Do this in a typical week:
Monday –
• Three sets of squats. Do 20 reps, 15 reps, and then 12 reps.
• Three sets of stiff-legged deadlifts. Do 20 reps, 15 reps, and 12 reps.
• Two sets of calf raises. Do 20 reps, 15 reps, and 12 reps.
• Two sets of arm curls. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.

Tuesday –
• Rest or cardio.

Wednesday –
• Two sets of weighted forward-leaning dips.4 Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of incline dumbbell presses. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of lateral raises. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of overhead dumbbell presses. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of weighted sit-ups. Do 20 reps and 15 reps.

Thursday –
• Rest or cardio.

Friday –
• Three sets of deadlifts. Do 12 reps, 10 reps, and 8 reps.
• Two sets of weighted chin-ups. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of weighted pull-ups. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of dumbbell rows. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.
• Two sets of bent-over lateral raises. Do 12 reps and 10 reps.

Do a warm-up set or two before you go into your main sets, using about
50% and then 75% of your working weights. For example, if you squat 200 pounds during your main sets, you’d warm up by doing 100 pounds for 8 reps, then 150 pounds for 4 reps.

You should then feel warmed up to go into your work sets. If not, then you
should do 2 or 3 more reps closer to your work weight. In the example, you would do 175 pounds for 3 reps.

It’s important that you go either to failure to near-failure. When I say do
20, 15, and 12 sets, that means do the maximum weight that you can lift that particular number of reps.

Limit your workouts to 50 minutes. Studies have shown that after that
point, your muscles are catabolizing (breaking down) too fast. Give yourself two or three minutes between sets to recover, but remember
that you want to be able to do all your exercises within the 50-minute limit.

Immediately after your workout, consume a mixture of protein and
carbohydrates. This puts a stop to the catabolic breakdown that you’ve started by lifting weights and shifts your body towards anabolism (muscle building).

The workout I’ve outlined is tailored toward muscle growth. If you want to
emphasize power, do half the reps.

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Thanks dude...your post pretty much cover it

every gym ive ever been in has an introduction by a trainer wen you sign up. DO THIS. they are always super helpful (the ones ive been to)

they will show you around the gym and cover all the equipment you will need for you goal, and show you how to use it and judge your starting weight.

you will get a whole lot more out of this than asking people over the net who have never even seen you before.

Even though i have been going to various gyms for years and went to uni for a course based on fitness, i still always do this- it just simplifies thhings at the start.

goodluck man

That's some really good advice but i personally wouldn't say to cut it out completely. Cardio helps you build endurance dude

5'7" 100 lbs!!!! No shit?!?!?!

Eat a fuckin cheezburger!! I am guessing your metablolism is through the roof. Carbs in the morning. I like whole grain english muffins with peanut butter, apples and canadian bacon with a side of yogurt. Protein at night. A steak and a protein shake. Carbs break down to glucose. Glucose is sugar, you dont want to sleep on that. That will make you fat... which i doubt could happen to you.....

You gotta eat at least 2500 + calories a day. The nice thing is that any muscle you put on will be lean muscle. Eat and don't stop.

CK

_________________
success is my only mother fucking option, failure is not.

From the perspective of another skinny guy, I have to recommend P90X. It's one of those video workouts, it's put out by Beach Body I think. I know that may not sound appealing, but it's been great for me and I'll tell you why.

For one, it's simple. You don't need a lot of equipment or machines. Just a set of dumbbells (one's where you can change the weight are best, saves you from needing a whole huge set) and a pull-up bar, the kind you can put in a door frame.

You can do it in your room, and that's nice. I know how awkward it is to be the small guy who isn't totally sure what he's doing in the middle of a gym full of muscle heads. And on that same note, it's nice that someone is guiding you through every routine so you're not wondering "am I doing this right."

Also, everything in the workout is tailored to you. I worked out side by side with a good friend of mine who was way more built then me, but was progressing at the same rate. You don't have to worry about "yeah but am I too weak to even get started?" and once you do start to build muscle the difficulty keeps up with you.

The downside is I think it's expensive. I was using a burnt copy from a friend, so that might be a deal breaker. Also, it is very much the kind of workout that skinny guys like us need. That is, it's a "get in shape" workout, not a "stay in shape" workout. So it is hard and might be tough to stick with in the first two weeks, but if you do it'll be way worth it.

Also, as people above have already mentioned, you're gonna need to start eating a lot more. I have a crazy high metabolism, and you're gonna find out that that makes it a real pain to build muscle. Once you're in a routine of working out though, you're body is going to start craving food, just listen to it.

Spend some time on bodybuilding.com. You will learn everything you need to know there.

Eat 6 meals a day, at least 3000 calories, and lift weights about 3x a weak. Make sure to include bench press, squats, and deadlifts. If you want fast results, it'd be good to buy a weightgainer supplement to ensure that you get excessive calories (consume more than you burn). Stick with it and you'll fill out fast.

_________________
"I MAKE NO EXCUSES FOR MY DESIRES AS A MAN.
I MAKE NO EXCUSES FOR MYSELF.
I MOVE THROUGH THE WORLD WITHOUT APOLOGY." - Ross Jefferies

hahaha P90X is awesome! But it's definitely NOT for beginners. I'd recommend going to the gym first before getting into P90X.... unless you're insanely committed. In which case, go for it.

Anyway, what these guys say is (mostly) true. I'm 5'8" and used to be 115lbs. I'm now a healthy 145lbs, and it didn't take much time to get there.

I don't agree with cutting out cardio at all. If you let your cardio suffer, your weight-training will suffer as well. I once hit a point where my cardio was SO bad that I ran out of breath while lifting weights. DO your cardio, but just do the right type. Cardio is about strengthening the heart, increasing your oxygen capacity, and improving the efficiency of your body. Stuff like sprinting, roller blading quickly over short distances, or swimming lengths very quickly, all work towards improving your cardio, and will help with your muscle gaining. This type of cardio works the same sort of muscle fibers as weight training does. It won't build endurance, however.

If you want to gain weight you MUST absolutely eat every 2.5-3hrs. No sooner and no later. They have got to be full meals, but sometimes you can supplement one with a milkshake. My only warning about caesin (slow release protein usually found in milk) is that it can fuck with your stomach. If you buy supplements, check to make sure that they have digestive enzymes in them, so that it's easier on your system.

And finally, switch over to free weights. Machines are good when you're starting out, but to build functional strength, you need the freedom of free weights, so don't stick to machines for too long. Personal trainers will help, and find someone to go to the gym with and to motivate you.

Keep in mind, your body WILL adapt to the increase in food and exercise, and you may start to plateau (could happen about 4 months in). at this point be sure to switch up your routine and kick it up a level.

Above all else, stay dedicated. That is the biggest thing with this. Like I said, I was 115lbs with like 20% body fat. In eight months I went up to 145lbs (Almost all of it lean muscle), 17% body fat, and my six-pack is "on the way". LoL. Good luck to you.

Q.

PS - About P90X, look into the Ab-Ripper X workout. THAT will get you ripped.