re: Best way to put on size quickly?

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I’m gonna risk the downvotes and say that, in your early 40’s, you’re better off trying to get lean and focus on strength.

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I don't want to look like a body builder, but I see people in the gym lifting way less weight than I am and they are much bigger than me. At least more proportioned.

I guess depends on how much time you’re putting in. Maybe 3-4 sets or something. Have you ever followed an actual workout program?

Like someone else said, I would not recommend “bulking” for a 45 year old. Do you go to the gym and just dick around or are you following a program? If not start a linear progression program. The fact that you have strong legs will only help with everything else. Don’t take time away from legs and back for the sake of a “bigger” upper body. It will come if you progress.

Oof, lsu come back. You’re needed in this thread

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typically go 3x5 with heavy weight.

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One thing I've learned following the PPSA Squatober plan, is that I didn't know anywhere near enough of what I was doing.

If you want to gain size, you have to lift weight, but it doesn't always have to be heavy weight.

I would suggest you go to the Pen and Paper Strength APP (it is not really an app) website and look at some of his plans. You will gain muscle if you run one of his programs.

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I don't want to look like a body builder

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I also just want to be 100% clear here: you will NEVER look like a bodybuilder. You could shoot as much test/tren/whatever and still not look anywhere close to a bodybuilder. Those guys would be freaks in a gym without the enhancements - they're genetic anomalies similar to a basketball player being 6'10" is a genetic anomaly.

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I also just want to be 100% clear here: you will NEVER look like a bodybuilder

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I want to be 100% clear here - this is just wrong.

McDonald’s

If this guy is having to ask an online forum how to gain size, I think it's pretty safe to say that this guy does not have the genetic potential to be the size of a bodybuilder..

As someone in late 40s, I’d caution against taking it to failure every exercise (or even every workout). You don’t recover like a 20 year old, and injuries have the way of derailing progress for a long time.

As for eating in a big surplus, if you’ve been lifting for long enough to bench 275+ then you probably can only gain 0.5- maybe 1lb of lean mass a month. All the rest of that excess is going to fat, which at some point you’re going to have to lose. As someone who just spent 9 months losing 25lbs of fat after a poorly executed bulk, I wouldn’t recommend it.

There’s a lot of physique improvement that ANYBODY can realize before genetic limitations come into play. Also barbell bench press is awesome, but it’s not the best exercise for growing your upper body size. I’d personally suggest a program that focuses more on traps, lats, rows to make your upper back bigger, db press (flat and incline) and flies to grow chest, and lat/rear felt raises with db shoulder press to grow your shoulders.

I really do think Arm Farm in Brovember would tick all those boxes from a programming standpoint