I am a small guy for my age (145lbs / 20yrs. old) and want to gain some pounds. I want that to be in muscle however. I don't want to just get fatter. I have tried going to my gym here at school but have never been able to stick with it for more than a week or so. How can I get bigger while still avoiding the gym?

There are supplements out there that can help you gain weight, but they are usually supposed to be used in conjunction with working out.

I'm sorry to tell you, but there are 2 basic ways to gain weight: from muscle or from fat. You gain muscle weight from working out, and you gain fat weight from eating. I'd recommend working out

As far as staying motivated, being active on this site is very helpful for me. There are lots of great people here to offer you words of encouragement and help keep you in line. But when it really comes down to it, it's all about you: you have to want this change in your life. If you don't have that, no amount of encouragement from others is going to help.

Welcome and good luck!

Sounds good, and I will definitely stay active here. I guess my question could have been better asked. Is there a way for me to gain weight in muscle without having to go to an actual gym. Is it possible through push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, running, etc.?

Trust me, don't go work at a donut factory... it will help you gain weight... not too muchmuscle though

Haha...alright, i'll avoid that one. Thanks...

Yes, this is definitely possible. I've never had a gym membership, although I do have an elliptical at home. My typical workout routine is 30-45 minutes on the elliptical, followed by push-ups and crunches.

I am going to make a chart (something in excel or similar) to keep track of what I do each day as far as working out goes (how many push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups). It'll not only help me track everything I have done and be used as a means to setting goals, but I think it will also help me to stay motivated. If it's pinned to the wall in my room, I can't help but see it and think about doing some kind of excercise.

You could also use the "My Logs" feature on this site to track your progress. You can create your own custom logs for anything you can think of (hours of sleep, number of pushups, etc).

Yeah, i've seen that. But I think I need a physical sheet sitting in front of me screaming "you haven't done anything today! do some sit-ups and then fill in the number you did here!" to keep me honest with myself.