Muscle...

[JustBrandon]

Okay, so i have VERY low self esteem, it sucks. I always manage to find the littlest thing wrong on my body before i take a shower and such.

And then...

i see guys my own age who have freakins 6 packs, biceps, the whole package. And it really makes me sad. i guess i should be thankful for what I have, because my brother, and father are overweight and I on the otherhand am quite skinny. At least i think I am because you can see my ribs clearly, and pelvic bones on my hips.

But anyways, i kinda wanted advice on how to build up muscle. I do attend Goju (form of karate) 2 times a week for an hour and a half. And we do workout in class, but not like weightlifting type stuff.

Thank you

[Jersey4Life]

Hey Brandon :smilewave. Don't feel bad, I'm skinny too and my ribs stick out pretty far because all the men in my family have big, bulky chests. I also have skin poisining on my right shoulder, and it's really noticable. I love myself and my body anyway though, and if someone doesn't like it, screw 'em. Working out would be good for your health, but if what you say is true and you pick things off of your body to worry about, I don't know how much working out is going to solve your body image issue.

What I do to keep healthy and keep my body muscle up each day is jog around the neighborhood for half an hour (endurance jogging), twenty five sit ups, thirty push ups, and some leg exercises I do with a ruberband that wraps around my ankles (got that at Target). If you do that each day, and don't overly strain your body, you'll begin to notice some changes. Trying to build up muscle too quickly isn't healthy and puts a heavy strain on your body, so that's why I suggest you do it in moderation.

[joeyconnick]

Brandon, I TOTALLY know how you feel... I have never had the kind of 6-pack and biceps body yet have always envied it and yow I can't imagine what it must like being in high school these days because there's so much more focus on the "perfect" male body and male beauty in general.

That being said, if you're skinny, you should definitely try to appreciate that because it's a lot easier being skinny in the US or Canada than it is being overweight. Of course most of us usually want what we don't have (I wish my hair were more straight, I have friends who wish their hair were more wavy, etc.) so a certain amount of yearning is normal.

My understanding from my boyfriend who is much more knowledgeable about these things than I am is that the only real way to build muscle is be doing weight-bearing exercise PLUS be taking in more calories than you need maintain your current weight. Building muscle (rather than toning) requires you to do fewer reps of heavier weights... I think something like 3 sets of say 6 to 8 reps where by the 3rd set you have pretty much exhausted whatever muscle or muscle group you're working... so basically you can just finish your third set. And then there's stuff like ideally waiting 72 hours before working the same muscles (at least 48) because the process of building muscle basically involves ripping apart/damaging your existing muscle tissue (hence the "burn) and this then signals your body to build more and thicker muscle tissue which is, of course, bigger.

Seriously, when I wanted to know about weightlighting, I honest to God went out and bought "Weightlifting for Dummies." And it was super-usual to get the basics. Now if only I had the dedication to follow the advice!

With particular reference to 6-packs, though... with that feature, much more than with others, your abs show more the less body fat you have, so while you would want to work your abs, you won't notice any results unless you're doing serious cardio (running, swimming, biking, etc.) which is good for burning fat. However, if you're skinny, you may not need to cover that particular base.

I get the impression for skinny guys to build muscle, they have to really eat a lot (healthy food, high in protein) and likewise work out a fair amount to build mass. My boyfriend was really skinny in high school and is now pretty solidly built. It seems like it takes a lot of initial work if you're skinny but once you get to a certain point it doens't require the same effort to maintain--i.e. it's not like you'll magically go back to being skinny if you let up for even one second. :)

All of that being said, as was mentioned, if you have self-esteem issues, building a more muscular body will not necessarily resolve those. With respect to finding flaws, have you tried just jumping in the shower without paying attention to what's reflected in the mirror and doing an inspection? It sounds like you've gotten into the habit of picking yourself apart and while I'm sure that's not an easy one to break, like any habit it CAN be broken.

The other remedy is to find some hot boy who has a thing for skinny guys--which is probably not as difficult as you might think. *grin*

[EthanS]

Lol, its easy jus do weight lifting and stuff like that.. and to get it faster u need to buy the mucsle proteins.. and the most thing u need is patience wich i dont have..

[Kimi]

A couple of quick things to consider:

1. You must not be laying down new fat -- meaning you must be burning at least as many calories as you are putting in -- to build new muscle effectively.
2. Your body will need to burn off some fat where the new muscle is going before it starts really laying down the hard-to-build muscle.
3. Muscle building doesn't happen in a few weeks -- it should take months to properly build up muscle of the right tone and shape. You don't have to go to the gym but you must consistantly work the muscle groups you want to build up.
4. Only your body can tell you if you are doing enough of these exercises -- you have to push the muscle group to get more muscle building from it. Basically, you have to challenge it and make it think it doesn't have what it takes to do what you want it to and then it will start to build new muscle to accomplish what you want. In short -- continue to push it just one step beyond comfortable and you'll start to see a difference in a few months.
Increase the number of "sets" of each exercise you are doing. When doing push ups, do a "set" of 20, rest for a minute or two, then do another 20, rest again and do another set. Work up to 4-6 sets for each exercise. Add variations of exercises to the same muscle groups (Push ups work the triceps, so add sets of tricep push ups) Tricep push ups are performed by placing hands behind back, sitting on a chair or bench, slide off and hold yourself up with hands, then lower yourself to where the elbow is bent to at least 90 degrees, then push back up. Hits the muscle in a slightly different angle then a standard floor push up and will thicken the muscle.

Do curls of the biceps for the upper arm too. This can be done with Books or get some dumbbells and use them. Again, number of sets needs to be increased. Add weight over weeks of time.

Abs- Standard sit up are ok but crunches seem to work better. Lift the knees up and hands behind the head, try to touch your nose to your knees. Try to work up to 4 sets of 20 at least. Then sit on edge of chair and place feet out in front of you, holding chair pull knees up to chest and back down. 4 sets of 20. Then lay on floor and place hands behind your head. As you bring up your left knee, rise you torso and try to touch you knee with your right elbow, do the same with the opposite side of the body for a 4 set of 20. This works the oblique muscles and will flatten the stomach. Don't over do it, as if you do, the obliques will enlarge enough to increase the size of the mid side areas of the abdomen.

Squats are fine, just don't break the 90 degree angle, otherwise problems with the knees can begin. Do Sets again. Also do lunges, by stepping out with an large step forward then bend the knee. Different angles again for development of the legs, but also the buttocks.

These are but a few exercises you can do. Check with Amazon and see if there are books for doing what are called floor exercises for bodybuilding. Most people will hit some of the main muscles in the front of the body and look good from that view, but you need to also hit the back muscles to give proper balance to your look. The "Arnold" had a book out many years ago devoted to floor exercises, but I don't know if it is still in print. If not, Amazon can do a search for you and see if one is available.

You should begin to see results in 6 weeks, working out at least 5 days a week, but you need to take at least one day off, best two for healing and rest. Otherwise you can get into "over training" and you will gain nothing, but may actually loose what you have gained. Also increase your protein intake a bit more and less simple sugars (soda, candy, white flour).

Hope this helps.

From:http://emptyclosets.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1557

[TexasRomance]

Okay, so i have VERY low self esteem, it sucks. I always manage to find the littlest thing wrong on my body before i take a shower and such.

And then...

i see guys my own age who have freakins 6 packs, biceps, the whole package. And it really makes me sad. i guess i should be thankful for what I have, because my brother, and father are overweight and I on the otherhand am quite skinny. At least i think I am because you can see my ribs clearly, and pelvic bones on my hips.

But anyways, i kinda wanted advice on how to build up muscle. I do attend Goju (form of karate) 2 times a week for an hour and a half. And we do workout in class, but not like weightlifting type stuff.

Thank you

DANCE!!!! easy...
okay i lost about 30lbs from drinkning life/vitamin/water green tea, eating beef jerky all the time probably helped! its good source of protein and 0g trans fat...xD
I also dance and just work out at home...I just changed my diet recently and lost 3 more lbs...eat lots of fruit and not thet guys! jk (!)

[JustBrandon]

Thank you all for the advice:icon_bigg

[Micah]

I'll just say that

Thin is in. Particularly in the gay community. You'll most likely find that you'll flesh out as you get closer to 18 years old - but keep in mind that being naturally thin is low maintenance and is pretty fashionable these days.

[chrisg]

Hey man, I envy you for being naturally thin, because I sure am not. When I went away to school, I decided to lose 40 pounds and did--now, I'm building muscle by going to the gym. Upper body strength takes a long, long time to build, but, as long as you keep at it, you'll see results.

[Kimi]

Hey man, I envy you for being naturally thin, because I sure am not. When I went away to school, I decided to lose 40 pounds and did--now, I'm building muscle by going to the gym. Upper body strength takes a long, long time to build, but, as long as you keep at it, you'll see results.

That is awesome:thumbsup:

I'm also trying to build some muscle but I'm not going to the gym so that'll take much longer to build...which is..................not so fine:mad:

[kiba123]

Okay, so i have VERY low self esteem, it sucks. I always manage to find the littlest thing wrong on my body before i take a shower and such.

And then...

i see guys my own age who have freakins 6 packs, biceps, the whole package. And it really makes me sad. i guess i should be thankful for what I have, because my brother, and father are overweight and I on the otherhand am quite skinny. At least i think I am because you can see my ribs clearly, and pelvic bones on my hips.

But anyways, i kinda wanted advice on how to build up muscle. I do attend Goju (form of karate) 2 times a week for an hour and a half. And we do workout in class, but not like weightlifting type stuff.

Thank you

hey:smilewave , my wieght is 204 lbs strong, but it is mostly fat. it could be worse. being skinny isn't all that bad. just eat a little more and hit the gym mor oftn. the muscles will start to pop out.

[EthanS]

Im 12 stones and im only 5ft7/8.. i look kinda built but its fat i think.. For u to get muscle is easier than us obese people cuz we hav to get rid of da fat too:bang: :tantrum:

[kevinx519]

alright so like a year ago in my freshman PE class, we had a unit on weightlifting, and our teacher gave us a lot of advice on how to build muscle. he said if you want to bulk up and look bigger, you should power train, as in train with heavier weights but less of them. on the other hand, if you want to look more toned and build stamina, you should keep it at a reasonable weight and do more consistent reps. in my opinion, weightlifting isnt that interesting so i'd say if you were going to do it, ask a friend to come with you. it's more likely that youll stick with the program if a friends with you. you could also try swimming. it's my preference, mostly because you can stare at all the hot guys in speedos. mmm. =)

[Red87]

I'm not the skinniest person myself, 5'7'' and 160lbs. I got a bit of fat around my middle. I just think i have bad genetics, because I max the Army Physical Fitness test for push-ups (72 correct pushups in 2 minutes), meaning I'm in excellent shape there, nearly max the standard for situps (again in excellent shape), and I run on average 6-8 miles a day, 3 times a week (Mon, Wed, and Friday, 3-4 in the morning and 3-4 in the afternoon), and do several hundred pushup variations/situp variations twice a week (usually 300+ pushups/situps each on Tues and Thurs). I'm starting to drop in weight, but I've been taking Hydroxycut as well. It really kills my appetite, so I don't eat as much, but I DO need to eat better. I've got a thing for Pizza and beer on the weekends. I used to be down to 145, right after I got out of Basic training, but our diets were regulated highly there.

Supplements such as Whey protein can help you build mass, but just don't take them if you're not gonna work out as well, because I've heard (not sure) but the extra protein can turn to fat if you don't work out. And the packages usually say to consume before a workout as well.

I've never done weight lifting, but the muscle I do have (Which I do have a lot, just covered up in a bit of fat:) ) is very toned. I'm not really bulky, but I have a LOT of endurance. It all depends what you want more, do you want to be really cut, or do you want to be toned? Go for power lifting and fewer reps for really cut, or go for more reps and less weight for getting really toned.