Gaining muscle

[Never]

I'm 16 years old and I weigh about 130 pounds. I am 6' tall, so I am fairly skinny.

Last year I was about 5'6'' and 135 pounds, and was around the final stages of puberty - and shot up 6" in height over the summer. I also looked a lot leaner, because I was taller. I am involved in sports and I do excercise, so it isn't as though I am terribly skinny or vise-versa.

Recently, I've been trying to do crunches (Like sit-ups), push-ups, and running. I have a tredmill that I run on for a mile every other day, and everyday I do 50-100 crunches and 15 push-ups.

I have been doing this for about three months now, usually daily (some days I would be too busy), and I do see that I am forming defined abs and biceps, but I still do look skinny. I have lost weight because of excercising, but I've also changed my eating habits. Snacks instead of pizza or something I'll have a salad or fruit. Breakfast I eat healthy, vitamin enriched ceral and lunch I usually try to have a water and a burrito or something. It's not that I'm worried about gaining weight necissarily, but I feel a lot happier when I eat something I feel good about eating.

So anyways, are there any other excercising I could do around the house or something to start building muscle in my stomach and arms, and start loosing weight in my legs and bottom?

Any help would be appriciated, thank you.

[dprelz]

Until you want to gain some serious muscle and change the entire way you workout and eat, I would stick to what you are doing.

 

Keep doing situps and pushups, in that order. You could also try getting a pullup bar; they are really cheap and you can add that to your rotation of exercising. Good luck

[MattB]

two things you can do:

 

First off make sure you are eating enough. An active life style requires more calories to maintain it. I'm currently on a 3000 cal per day diet to keep up. Just make sure you are eating the bulk of your food during the day and that you focus on complex carbs (no sugar or white flour!!), lean protien (animal is better after working out), and unsaturated fats. Right after working out, eat something with as close to a 3:1 carb:protien ratio as you can get. That will ensure your muscles are recovering properly. If you eat too much you gain fat (which doesn't seem to be much of an issue for you), but if you don't eat enough, you cannibilize muscle tissue, making you lose weight and definition.

 

workout more: Running a mile every other day isn't a heck of a lot of running. Try running outside instead and start pushing the mileage up. Outside running is much more enjoyable. I started noticing good development in my legs after a solid month with my weekly mileage around 15 miles. You might also consider either joining a gym with a weight room or buying some free weights or resistance bands. Those will give you more options in terms of exercises and increase the number of muscles you are working.

 

So it really depends on your goals and how much time you can devote to it.

[Guest]

Thank you very much for the replies to both of you

dprelz - I think a pull-up bar would help as well, but I can't do very many - maybe I should make it more routine and get better at it. We have a park not too far from my house, so I could jog over there and do some pull-ups on some playground bars.

 

Matt - All right, never thought about it that much. I have been on roughly a 1800-2000 calorie diet (Not because I'm really trying to, but just because it seems to be a good amount to keep myself happy), so I'll try to up it a bit.

And really, more carbs than protein? We have this protein shake that I drink, and it has 25g per 12oz of protein, and I have that usually after a good workout.

The running actually varies, it's not really a set day that I run, and some days I run two or more miles. I just don't find myself running as much anymore, so I thought once every two days was about average for how much I'm running. But I'll try to do a mile a day now, and gradually increase it.

Okay, well actually, the main reason I don't try to eat too much is the fact that I have somewhat of a 'belly'. The doctors say it's a growing thing; where my body stores nutrients until I get taller, and when I do it will go away. But I'm 6' and still have it, I'm just trying to get rid of it. It just protrudes a little out around my bellybutton - doesn't look like a deformaty or anything, it actually looks pretty normal. But I just want to try to get rid of it, which is one of the main reasons I've started eating right/excercising. Muscle around it is getting much better, even with it, it looks as though I have a good amount of ab muscle.

I'm going to try to get some weights and an elevated excercise pad - since I hear they help. They also are supposed to help with back pain, which I have.

Sound like a good idea or should I take a different route?

[Never]

Yeah, I do think a pull-up bar would help since I'm not the best at doing them.

 

And I will try having a more balanced diet, I have been on a 1800-2000 calorie diet roughly (Just because it seemed like the perfect amount), so I'll try eating more complex carb food.

And about the carbs/protein, really? Usually after working out, I have some protein shake which has 25g of protein in like 12oz. I'll try working on eating carbs too, then.

And I am aware 1 mile isn't all that much, but I'm usually worn out after school and such, so sometimes I just don't run - and sometimes I run 2 or more miles. I just thought a mile every other day was about average - but I'll try doing more daily.

The actual reason why I started exercising was because I have some growth thing on my stomach. It's around my bellybutton - it doesn't look abnormal or anything, but everything around it looks fine - I can see the abs around it and such, but no matter what, it seems, I can't get rid of this growth thing. It just goes out a little bit - the doctor said it's related to growth, and my body is storing nutrients for when I grow taller. I'm not so sure though, maybe I'm just eating too much sugar or something. I just want it to go away..

[scobro]

EAT THEN THEN EAT THEN EAT AND EAT SOME MORE

 

EVERY 2- 2.5 HOURS HAVE SOMETHING.

lEAN PROTEINS

COMPLEX CARBS

ESSENTIAL FATS

 

even pizza and hamburgers put some fat on you so you get stronger and lift more which in the end equals more muscle.You can always diet down later but just get lots of calories in you.

[Bogun]

Ill give you the same advice an old football coach from school gave us when skinny kids whined about not being able to put on bulk....

Take a tub of ice cream, put it in a blender (the ice cream, not the tub), then throw in some red meat, grind it all up, then drink it up.

[MattB]

it should go away. if you are trying to drop body fat, then most definately pay attention to when you eat and what you eat. Even on my 3000 cal per day, I'm still dropping body fat. It's because I'm doing all aerobic cardio, which is burning dietary glucose and fat instead of muscular glycogen. 2000 cal might be okay for you, if you aren't running that much. Just make sure you are doing proper recovery.

 

As for energy.... It sounds stupid and you won't want to do it, but it works. Go to bed early and wake up early. I started going to bed at 9 and waking up at 6. That gives me an hour and a half to run before I have to be in class. I thought it would make me tired, but it actually increases my energy. I'm more awake during the day and tired at night. Also running as the sun is coming up is one of the best experiences ever and it seems like I have so much more useable time during the day.

 

and yes, more carbs then protein. Carbs are fuel, protein is recovery. Your body needs the carbs (long chain especially) to function. Too low carbs and you start to metabolize muscle tissue. As long as you eat the right carbs at the right time, you don't have to worry about them turning into fat. Protein is best after working out as it aids with muscle recovery. It does also help with muscular endurance, but that doesn't kick in until you are running/riding over 3 hours at a time.

[westernxer]

My cousins were all skinny growing up, and even though they tried gaining muscle mass, nothing helped.

 

They finally stopped growing in their late teens, reached their twenties, and worked out harder than ever, while taking supplements and protein shakes alonside their meals.

 

Now they look like Scobro.

 

Teenage metabolism burns calories faster than a forest fire. When it finally settles, the weight will come. May take a few years though.