This makes no sense. Lifting is the best way to gain mass. It's like saying you wanna get better at an instrument before you start practicing.
I've trained off and on for a few months, finally got serious about it almost 3 weeks ago, and I'm already looking a bit bigger especially in the chest, and my measurements have gone up as well. This is all despite the fact that I managed to shed a bit of the flab I had before. Gotta love noob gains.
Hardest part for me is eating enough, it's hard to make myself big meals when I'm busy most of the day.