Hi Tom,
First thing first, ditch the cardio session before hitting the weights. Aerobic exercise will primarily use stored glycogen and then once these stores are depleted, will begin to burn fat. The problem is, anaerobic exercise such as weight training uses these same glycogen stores to power your muscles. So you are in effect, depleting your primary weight training fuel source before you even hit the weights. Aerobic exercise also obviously raises cortisol levels - the muscle wasting hormone caused by physical stress, so it's not a good start to your workout if you're trying to bulk up. Cardio work following weight training is better, but my advice would be to still avoid it.
If you have a very fast metabolism, you have to figure out your priorities in the short term. Limiting your overall aerobic output will obviously help to conserve valuable calories, but at a loss to your overall cardio fitness. But if you're intent on bulking up, then obviously, limiting aerobic exercise should be a priority.
As for nutrition, the usual advice goes:
- Eat small regular meals every 2 1/2 - 3 hours in a 1 third protein, 2 thirds carb ratio.
If this is impractical, certainly substitute a couple of meals for a whey protein drink to maintain a positive nitrogen balance.
- Remember the importance of pre and post workout nutrition. Numerous studies have shown that by combining a fast acting protein such as whey with a quality carbohydrate such as maltodextrin, quickly replenishes glycogen levels and significantly increases protein synthesis. It's fundementally important to ensure you consume a protein/carb drink within 20-30 minutes of finishing your weight training to optimise nutrient uptake - which will in turn optimise lean muscle gains.
Remember, to gain weight, you also need to consume more calories than you expend. If you know your current calorie requirements to maintain your present weight, then you should be looking to add an additional 500-1000 extra calories to your diet a day to gain weight at a healthy 1 - 2 lbs a week. These calories can certainly come from a good weight gainer supplement if you have difficulty increasing your intake.
If you don't know your present calorific requirements, you can try this simple calculation:
Body weight in kilos
x 24
x activity level (1.55 for moderately active, 1.75 for very active or 1.9 for extremely active).
The above calculation gives you a rough idea of your present calorific requirements to maintain your present body weight. Obviously, it's just a guideline, so needs some common sense applied also.
Then add in the extra 500-1000 calories a day you need to gain healthy body weight and you'll get an idea of the figure you should be aiming for.
Training advice for hard gainers is simple. Overtraining will lead to zero gains. It's far better to undertrain. Don't work out each body part more than once a week - my advice would be to aim for around 6 - 9 sets per muscle group using only compound exercises such as bench press, dips, shoulder press, pull ups, bent over rows squats and deadlifts.
And of course, get plently of sleep - minimum 8 hrs a night - this is one of the most effective things you can do to maximise recovery between workout sessions and therefore, increase lean body mass as quickly as possible.