I am too skinny and out of shape, and I want to be bigger

[Kyle]

Hi, first off let me tell about myself. I am 18 years old and I am finishing my senior year in high school. I'm about 6ft, pretty skinny, and I'm light - about 140 pounds. Imagine the build of a basketball player. I used to play basketball in 7th grade and I ran track for 2 years. Then when I got to high school I got involved with having jobs, and then I started to become really lazy. I had no interest in staying in shape and I never wanted to work out.

 

Well since winter break I realized how lazy I am, and looking at all my friends, I regret not doing sports in high school. A lot of my friends are bulky or very toned from various sports. I haven't done anything 4 years, and I want to change it now. Since I already have the build of a very potential athelte, I know it's possible for me to get back into shape and get bigger than I was before. I am just too skinny for my height - I just want to look fit. I want to be toned but I have nothing to tone at the moment, so I want to bulk up and tone at the same time. But the main problem is I have extremely high metabolism. I eat a lot, all the time, and I haven't really done any exercise in 4 years, and I have the same body as I did before. I can't gain any weight. My body is fine but around my waist is where it is really lacking some mass.

 

I started a new job 6 months ago where it's required of me to lift bags and I noticed my arms and chest started to get bigger, but it's not enough. I want to be serious about it now.

 

2 weeks ago I started going to the weight room. I go with my friend about 1-2 times a week. I maxed at benching 10 reps of 95lbs which is pathetic, but two days ago I did 5 reps at 120. So it's coming along. Every single day I do 30 pushups/40 situps in my room, when I wake up, sometime during the day, and before I go to bed. I'm going to take a conditioning class next week which will allow me to run/play sports 2 days a week and go into the weight room 3 times a week. I also play to start track again, when the season begins in March.

 

So I will simplify all of that into some questions. Are my plans to take the conditioning class and run track good ideas? If I am going to be running, will that be counteracting if I want to lift weights and bulk up? What do I need to do to get bigger (protein drinks?) What can I do about my very high metabolism? I want to get my body back into the body of an athlete. I want to be able to run without being so easily tired and to just look bigger. I don't care if I don't look huge, I just want to look fit. I want people to see my body and think, "yeah he looks good for his height" instead of saying "you wouldn't look that bad if you weren't so skinny".

 

Thanks, I know it's a lot to read, but I would really appreciate the help. I just became interested in forming my body and I don't know much about it.

[RottenGazebo]

The best site is http://www.bodybuilding.com. This will have articles covering everything you need to know in order to get bigger.

[MattB]

i was in your exact shoes. 6' tall and 140 lbs. You do have the body type of an endurance athlete. When I started triathlon training, the hardest thing to overcome was the lack of bulk. However, trust me on this, you will start to increase mass. Remember, there is no such thing as "bulk". There is muscle and there is fat. When you gain weight you add one or the other. There are 2 types of muscle, slow twitch and fat twitch. Slow twitch are good at high endurance, but can't hold much load. Fast twitch fibers are very strong, but they have no endurance. A distance runner uses primarily slow twitch muscle while a power lifter is all fast twitch...

 

Now fast twitch muscles are bulky, while slow twitch are lean and defined. This means as you start endurance training, it will take a while for slow twitch fibers to start to bulk up and be super noticable. It will happen though.

 

Running will help a lot with your legs. Swimming would help a ton with your upper body. As part of my training, I lift twice a week in addition to pilates for core strength. When I lift I do high reps and low weight, never lifting to exhaustion. My max weight is right around 60 lbs and I do 3 sets of 15-20.

 

Don't worry about protein shakes yet. Once you start running track, start worrying about recovery drinks. Make sure you feed that metabolism and feed it right. You can exercise all you want, but without the right nutrition, your body will get stronger. That high metabolism and slender body type will make you a good runner, as it means you can pack on a lot of strength in very little weight. More power and less weight = faster. There are many athletes that would kill for that body type. So join the track team, or just start training for aerobic endurance and stop worrying about what your body looks like.

 

It is frustrating, but you will get there.

[amerikajin]

Dude when I was in college, I was 6'2" and barely 140, and I totally did not pull chicks unless they were butt wasted on the dance floor. I'm a bit heavier (usually about 175) now but it took some effort.

 

Hit the gym and get some weight gainer, that'll help alot. I remember I finally made it a point to go to this nautilus machine in my aparment complex when I was maybe 21? It made all the difference. I came back about 15 pounds heavier, and it was all muscle. I was not, nor will I ever be, a big buff dude, but I was quite fit then (need to get back to it). I could tell when I came back to school that next fall that chicks were checkin' me out - it was the first time in my life I'd ever noticed that. It was the greatest feeling in the world. I still had shyness but it gradually started getting easier for me because I finally knew that women were looking at me and were interested in me...whereas before I would always wonder and I would make it worse by obsessing over my clothes, and my hairstyle and crap like that. By taking things into your own hands and going to the gym, you'll feel better and look better, and then you can focus on courting babes.

[Sand&Water]

Body building for men, I understand, but what about women?

 

I'm wondering myself, what should a woman do (exercise routines) in order to develop a toned body and abs?

 

Personally, I'd like to take up a few routines and enhance my feminine figure. Nothing wrong with hitting it up to the next level.

[MattB]

Body building for men, I understand, but what about women?

 

I'm wondering myself, what should a woman do (exercise routines) in order to develop a toned body and abs?

 

Personally, I'd like to take up a few routines and enhance my feminine figure. Nothing wrong with hitting it up to the next level.

 

cardio (running, swimming, biking) to drop body fat and something like pilates and/or yoga for core strength and muscle tone.

[scobro]

Body building for men, I understand, but what about women?

 

I'm wondering myself, what should a woman do (exercise routines) in order to develop a toned body and abs?

 

Personally, I'd like to take up a few routines and enhance my feminine figure. Nothing wrong with hitting it up to the next level.

 

I hear this everyday from women "I want to tone" here is the myth there is no such thing as tone,sculpt,firm, etc etc....it is just building muscle and losing body fat thats what gets you that "toned look".Tone is muscle definition with low body fat percentage.If you want a "toned " body start lifting weights.There is no difference in skeletal muscle tissue in men and women both the same.You don't have the same amount of hormone levels as men eg testosterone to get big and bulky.Lifting weights is the only way to get that fit athletic looking body that women want.Doing just cardio and pilates will not do it you can potentially lose muscle mass by too much cardio(too much hustle and you lose muscle:p )

[MattB]

Doing just cardio and pilates will not do it you can potentially lose muscle mass by too much cardio(too much hustle and you lose muscle:p )

 

not at all. Assuming proper diet, you don't risk any muscle loss doing too much cardio. In a typical week I spend near 5.5 hours running (30 miles), 2 hours on the bike, and 3 hours in the pool. In addition I do two hours of pilates and yoga. That's about 10 hours a week of pure cardio and I am steadily gaining weight (from muscle mass) and losing body fat. You are right that reducing body fat is the primarly way to increase definition, but lifting weights is not the end-all exercise.

 

There are two types of muscle fiber. Slow twitch and fast twitch. Image two athletes, a long distance runner (or Ironman Triathlete) and a body builder. Both will have very similar body fat percentages, but the endurance athlete will be all slow twitch, while the power lifter would be all fast twitch. The type of muscle you build depends on how you work out. The lean defined slow twitch fibers are built through long duration, low intensity exercise. Big bulky fast twitch muscles are built through power lifting...heavy weight, short duration.

 

The only "loss" in muscle would be seen if you were to lift for months and build up a ton of fast twitch muscle, then switch over to aerbic exercise. Your body would then be building slow twitch and allowing the fast twitch to atrophy. You muscles will start to shrink due to the differences between the two types, but you are not losing muscle, and being all slow twitch is nothing to laugh at.

[scobro]

Yes but genetics plays a big role in how much type1 and type2 fibers you have.So the long distance runner will never look like the bodybuilder if he lifted heavy anyway, he genetically has more type1 fiber than type 2,where the power lifter has much more type 2 muscle fiber than type1.You cant just train type1 and type 2 fibers, both come into play in a contraction, it's just the slow twitch fibers would be more predominant in a weak contraction (low intensity)

 

Assuming proper diet, you don't risk any muscle loss doing too much cardio. In a typical week I spend near 5.5 hours running (30 miles), 2 hours on the bike, and 3 hours in the pool. In addition I do two hours of pilates and yoga. That's about 10 hours a week of pure cardio and I am steadily gaining weight (from muscle mass) and losing body fat.

 

i would doubt you are gaining the kind of muscle you would get from lifting weights, your glycogen would be very low from all the cardio and the bodys next fuel source would take from amino acids from the muscle and from fat (adipose tissue).

[MattB]

i am gaining slow twitch muscle and my glycogen reserves are in fact very high. That's the point of endurance training.... So that the body relies on stored fat and dietary sources of energy instead of immediatly tapping the glycogen reserves. As long as you are building aerobic base, and maintining proper nutrition before, DURING, and immediatly after the exercise, there is no threat of decreasing muscle mass. And no I'm not gaining the "type" of muscle I'd be from getting weights. It's not as large or bulky, but I don't want it to be. I need long lasting strength with low physical mass. Being big and bulky makes you slow.

[Da_1_n_OnlyN3na]

ooo hunny trust me you are not skinny i would love to be 110 atleast i am 17 and i weigh 103-105 pounds!!! lol ive always hated cheerleaders iunno why maybe they seeme to perky and snoby but ive realised some of them arent...but neways these 2 girls in my aerobics class are cheerleaders and one of them was very skinny before like 2 years ago and i was watching them and they have muscles and are very toned i want to be like that.. do you think it would be a good idea to join the cheerleaders for next year??