Well, the girlfriend says i'm far too skinny so time to bulk up :lol:

pics:
http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/THFC4LIFE/?action=view&current=DSC00501.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1
http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c54/THFC4LIFE/?action=view&current=DSC00503.jpg&refPage=&imgAnch=imgAnch1

stats:
age - 17
Height - 5'10
weight - 137lbs

I've asked for a BF% estimate before and have been on two bulks since then. I've probably only gained 5 pounds of muscle overall because i'm too afraid of putting fat on (I was obese until i was 15, probably weighed over 220 pounds at my heaviest) but now that i'm 137 pounds I think I can get over my fear of adding a little fat. Planning on following the Westside For Skinny Bastards routine.

Anyway, a couple of questions

1) I'm planning on eating about 2500 - 2700 calories daily, do you think this is enough?

2) As you can see from the pictures, I have a rather wierd bone structure especially noticeable in the hip bones and waist (waist at its smallest point = 25 inches, hips at their largest point = 31.25 inches), are there any exercises that will help make my waist wider so that my body doesn't look quite so... womanly?

Thanks in advance :)

I agree with your girlfriend....time to put some meat on that frame. :nod:
2500-2700 calories from a good clean diet is a good start. I think that if you stick to that and continue a solid workout regimen, then you won't have to worry about putting on fat. You look very lean as it is. It would take a grossly fatty diet and a sedentary lifestyle for you to start packing on <excessive> fat. But you're here on this forum, so I don't think that is going to happen. Change your mindset and worry about not gaining lean mass instead of gaining fat. Get over that hump and I think that you'll be on your way to where you want to be.

As far as your waist line questions...I think that a bulking period will help in this respect. Your lats will fill out, as well as your waist and legs.
:gl:

You shouldn't be too concerned about putting on fat. Its going to happen regardless. The thing is as you gain fat you will also gain muscle, so you won't appear "fatter" but rather "bigger" and more muscular. At this point, if you were to gain 10 pounds of fat and 10 pounds of muscle, i'd say even that's on the road to a healthier structure and appearance.

2500-2700 sounds enough to me. But everyone's different. I gain easily so even at 175 I can gain mass with that calorie intake. Monitor it over a couple of weeks and, assuming you're working hard in the gym, you should be gaining fairly quickly.

And don't judge your potential too much by what you currently see. You are in an emaciated state and have lost a tremendous amount of muscle through atrophy so your entire bone structure will appear far more embellished than once you put some mass on. The masculine appearance will naturally come from adding pounds, and actually, the slimmer waist will probably enhance the appearance of a strong, masculine upper-body.

Steve

Treat your bulk as you would a science experiment.
Track your calories, track your lifting progrss and track your weight (and you can measure your body too).
Keep it in a log and then refer to it every week or so. I would suggest aiming for 1 lb a week, or maybe 3-4 lbs a month. You could easily gain more weight than that, but this would hopefully minimize your fat gain.
Evaluate your progress and change your calories as needed. If you eat 2700 a day for two weeks and see no weight change at all, consider upping it to 2900 a day. Repeat as necessary. If you feel you are gaining too much fat, then cut back on the calories. Take pictures, and let your eye be the primary decision maker (even though you want the process to be scientifc).

Don't skip any workouts. You can always make an excuse to avoid the gym, but don't make any. Have a clearly planned schedule and know what lifts you want to do at the gym for that day. Write them down and bring them with you (which is what I do).

Check out www.fitday.com - their software is GREAT for tracking stuff like this. I went ahead and paid the 20 bucks to download the PC version of the software, which is well worth it.

If you enter all your exercise, and everything you eat, it takes all the guessing out of losing / gaining weight. I would shoot for +200kcal a day, which should put some serious muscle on your frame after a few months, while at the same time keeping fat gain very minimal :tu:

I recommend this article (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1268956) by Christian Thibaudeau.