Shit can the protein drinks. Just eat what you normally eat, time will put the weight on. To develop muscles, just use them. Do normal exercise, ride a bike, run or jog. So you have a slim frame... packing huge muscles onto that will make you look weird.
The protein powder won't just stick to your ribs. You gotta tell your body that you need bigger muscles by using them. Eating lots of high-protein food will just load up your digestive system with extra work.
I built myself up when I was planning on climbing in Nepal. I spent a year doing free weights, using the Nautilus machines at the high school gym, and swimming miles. It takes time to grow the tendons and thicken the bones along with adding muscle.
I'd get some kind of workout program on DVD. They have many in the library or on the web. The main thing is to stay consistent.
Do a few light workouts to get the muscles alive with small weights. Then, do a burnout where you increase the reps and decrease the weight until you can't lift anything. This will tell your body to start changing. If you started digging ditches as a job, you would thicken up in a week.
The whole rep thing is to keep the load steadily increasing. 3 sets of 10 reps is my method. I start an exercise with a weight that I can lift for about 8 reps. 3 sets with a few minutes of rest in between sets. I stay with that until I can make 10 reps comfortably. Then, I add 5 lbs.
Don't work out every day. Give your body a chance to recover. Every other day is good.
A workout bench and cast iron weights is a lot better than then concrete in plastic weights. It costs a bit more - like around $100. Bench presses, leg lifts, are hard to do without a bench and the weight holder arms. There are many who start working out and leave the weights in the garage. Craig's list or ebay.
Exercise young dude! If you do not develop an exercise routine when you are young the chances of having one when you really need it to keep your body working are slim. Your lack of fat is a virtue, but your lack of muscles will become a problem, they hold your spine up, they maintain your ability to survive accidents--I am positive the unexpectedly strong recovery of Gabby Giffords is because she is in such good physical shape. Like cyclo.
If you would spend 30 minutes each day doing push ups, pull ups, sit ups and leg exercises, pushing yourself hard enough to get your heart maxed out, it will extend your life and improve your mental abilities.
You do not need any equipment--it can be fun, but it is not necessary. You can join a club--that can be motivating because you pay for it, but it is not necessary.
Put down the mouse and just do it. You CAN do it everyday if you vary the muscles you are pushing. No successful athlete takes every other day off. Nor does the military. I say this because it is much easier to make behaviors habitual if you do them everyday. You do not eat every other day. There will be times when you are injured and cannot keep up your exercise routine, but your body will recover much faster if it is strong when you are injured.
Be Strong--and you may need some fat to survive the coming revolution you so desire.
I can't speak highly enough about exercise... what I can add is that it is a great tool to relieve stress. The best exercise is of course one where you don't feel like you are exercising... like walking or cycling to school, work, supermarket.
If you want to tone the muscles as Iggy8n says you have to make them work. Even without weights, you can do multiple sets/reps of pushups, situps, crunches, bicycle crunches, squats and lunges. When you get the dumbbells you perform your squats, lunges while holding these and add military presses to strengthen the shoulders/upper body. A bench would also be a good addition so you can do back rows and bench presses. Lots videos on youtube to show you how to do these exercises... that is how I got started with weights a few years ago. I never felt I had to enroll in a gym but if you think going to one will motivate you more then try it out.
I do weights about once a week in the winter when I don't bike as much. I am more into improving endurance as opposed to building muscles so I do lighter weights with more reps. Jaysaul is right, exercise/weights can help one to avoid more serious injury when one gets into an accident. This is the reason I try to build some strength on my upper body even if these muscles are not used that much in cycling (except when climbing hills out of the saddle). Hopefully added upper body strength will keep me avoiding face-plants when the inevitable crash occurs. He is also right that exercise helps you sharpen your focus and improve mental endurance.
Finally, the body adopts to exercise so if you just keep repeating the same sets, the effectiveness will taper off. The best thing to do is alternate or do different types of exercise as Iggy8n suggests. For example, instead of doing weights you can skip rope or lift your body using a monkey bar (I have a cheap one which you hook to door frames). Instead of cycling you can swim or run. Check out craigslist for gym equipment... some people are ready to give these away for almost free.
Regarding protein shake, I do take this immediately after a strenuous bike ride or exercise especially if I will not be able to eat a meal within 30 minutes of the exercise. Many say drinks that consists of Whey protein is the most effective.
EDIT: While I think the 100 pushups program is a good idea, I feel it would be better to do 25 pushups, 25 situps, 25 crunches, and 25 bicycle crunches. This way more muscles are exercised. Exercising only certain muscles might not be optimal in the long run.
Crap, I got to say that I wish I had the problem you have. I have lost a lot of weight and I am usually down to 155 lbs on average. I would love to lose 10 or so more for the purpose of longer, faster running but my body just does not want to lose that weight no matter what I do. (I did get under 150 at couple of times but it did not stay there.)
That said, all the advice here seems to be quite good. I did running, biking, stair stepping and medicine ball type stuff. Of course, I am trying to get stronger without gaining weight but still, it would help you as well.
Being in excellent shape and wearing 5-15 lbs over what you "think" is your ideal weight are not mutually exclusive states. If you get sick or seriously injured, having those extra lbs of stored energy can save your life and/or make your recovery much quicker and less painful.
We are all familiar with the expression, "you can't be too rich or too thin." I will never know about the too rich part of that, but I do know from experience you can be too thin. Fat is stored energy. The problem with our cultural body image obsession is that we worry more about how we look than how healthy we are.
The cool thing about getting in shape is how good you feel. Since my left arm finally healed a few months ago and I have returned to my push ups, now they are fun to do because they make me feel so strong. And my tennis game has never been better--with strength comes control and having better control over your body is the best rush you can experience.
I have never been able to maintain an exercise program without some passionate goal--like improving my tennis game. Tennis itself is great exercise, but trying to keep up with younger dudes has really made me push myself. I go 30 minutes early, before those young studs get up, and practice my serving and my ground strokes. And I do push ups and wind sprints on my off days. I rest on Friday, just a few exercises to stay flexible. I play tennis every Sat morning. I miss maybe 3 times a year. The very best way to keep at it regularly is to do it with one or more friends (right cyclo?), that way when you just would rather have a piece of cake and watch the tube, your friends razz you into keeping up with the pack.
When you look for the cheap weights, the guy with the broken ones will be selling them real cheap - the plastic cracks in the weather. Cast iron weights with a stainless bar will last for years. Make sure all the fasteners are there. It's a pain to find pliers to remove weights off the bar. Wingnut fasteners work the best. The cheap vinyl-upholstered bench also wears and tears when left in the sun. Look for a bench with terrycloth or canvas covering.
Jaysaul beat me to it again... the key to getting motivated in performing these exercises is to have a higher goal. For me that goal is to be able to keep up in group bike rides and at least get respectable finishes in a few races I join in the summer. Try to find a competitive sport that you will train for. That can be competing in bike races, marathons, triathlons, tennis tournaments, basketball tournaments, rowing events, etc. Nothing improves your level more than competition.
Iggy8n has a point when it comes to weight equipment... get the iron dumbbells and barbells with wingnuts or metal screw mechs at the ends. These are definitely longer lasting than plastic/vinyl ones with sand/cement inside. I also find that having at least 2 sets of dumbbells and 2 sets of barbells with differing weights saves time since you don't need to keep replacing the weights on these when you move to a different routine.
Finally, learn to listen to your body (more so as you get older)... you will feel it when you are on the verge of over-training. Resting the body is at least as important as exercising it. Take note that the body strengthens during rest periods. Over training can result in your immune system being weakened/compromised so take care not to over do it. The body is not a machine... there are peaks and valleys to performance... it is important to understand these patterns to avoid frustrations.
You don't need to eat all that extra protein in those shakes and candy bars. As you exercise, your body will realize that it needs to have more muscles. If you stuff all that protein in there now, you'll just put fat on your belly. Develop a market first, then feed it.
Comments
Eating lots of high-protein food will just load up your digestive system with extra work.
I built myself up when I was planning on climbing in Nepal.
I spent a year doing free weights, using the Nautilus machines at the high school gym, and swimming miles.
It takes time to grow the tendons and thicken the bones along with adding muscle.
I'd get some kind of workout program on DVD. They have many in the library or on the web. The main thing is to stay consistent.
Do a few light workouts to get the muscles alive with small weights.
Then, do a burnout where you increase the reps and decrease the weight until you can't lift anything.
This will tell your body to start changing. If you started digging ditches as a job, you would thicken up in a week.
The whole rep thing is to keep the load steadily increasing.
3 sets of 10 reps is my method.
I start an exercise with a weight that I can lift for about 8 reps. 3 sets with a few minutes of rest in between sets. I stay with that until I can make 10 reps comfortably. Then, I add 5 lbs.
Don't work out every day. Give your body a chance to recover. Every other day is good.
A workout bench and cast iron weights is a lot better than then concrete in plastic weights. It costs a bit more - like around $100. Bench presses, leg lifts, are hard to do without a bench and the weight holder arms. There are many who start working out and leave the weights in the garage. Craig's list or ebay.
If you would spend 30 minutes each day doing push ups, pull ups, sit ups and leg exercises, pushing yourself hard enough to get your heart maxed out, it will extend your life and improve your mental abilities.
You do not need any equipment--it can be fun, but it is not necessary. You can join a club--that can be motivating because you pay for it, but it is not necessary.
Put down the mouse and just do it. You CAN do it everyday if you vary the muscles you are pushing. No successful athlete takes every other day off. Nor does the military. I say this because it is much easier to make behaviors habitual if you do them everyday. You do not eat every other day. There will be times when you are injured and cannot keep up your exercise routine, but your body will recover much faster if it is strong when you are injured.
Be Strong--and you may need some fat to survive the coming revolution you so desire.
Go Gabby!
If you want to tone the muscles as Iggy8n says you have to make them work. Even without weights, you can do multiple sets/reps of pushups, situps, crunches, bicycle crunches, squats and lunges. When you get the dumbbells you perform your squats, lunges while holding these and add military presses to strengthen the shoulders/upper body. A bench would also be a good addition so you can do back rows and bench presses. Lots videos on youtube to show you how to do these exercises... that is how I got started with weights a few years ago. I never felt I had to enroll in a gym but if you think going to one will motivate you more then try it out.
I do weights about once a week in the winter when I don't bike as much. I am more into improving endurance as opposed to building muscles so I do lighter weights with more reps. Jaysaul is right, exercise/weights can help one to avoid more serious injury when one gets into an accident. This is the reason I try to build some strength on my upper body even if these muscles are not used that much in cycling (except when climbing hills out of the saddle). Hopefully added upper body strength will keep me avoiding face-plants when the inevitable crash occurs. He is also right that exercise helps you sharpen your focus and improve mental endurance.
Finally, the body adopts to exercise so if you just keep repeating the same sets, the effectiveness will taper off. The best thing to do is alternate or do different types of exercise as Iggy8n suggests. For example, instead of doing weights you can skip rope or lift your body using a monkey bar (I have a cheap one which you hook to door frames). Instead of cycling you can swim or run. Check out craigslist for gym equipment... some people are ready to give these away for almost free.
Regarding protein shake, I do take this immediately after a strenuous bike ride or exercise especially if I will not be able to eat a meal within 30 minutes of the exercise. Many say drinks that consists of Whey protein is the most effective.
EDIT: While I think the 100 pushups program is a good idea, I feel it would be better to do 25 pushups, 25 situps, 25 crunches, and 25 bicycle crunches. This way more muscles are exercised. Exercising only certain muscles might not be optimal in the long run.
That said, all the advice here seems to be quite good. I did running, biking, stair stepping and medicine ball type stuff. Of course, I am trying to get stronger without gaining weight but still, it would help you as well.
We are all familiar with the expression, "you can't be too rich or too thin." I will never know about the too rich part of that, but I do know from experience you can be too thin. Fat is stored energy. The problem with our cultural body image obsession is that we worry more about how we look than how healthy we are.
The cool thing about getting in shape is how good you feel. Since my left arm finally healed a few months ago and I have returned to my push ups, now they are fun to do because they make me feel so strong.
And my tennis game has never been better--with strength comes control and having better control over your body is the best rush you can experience.
I have never been able to maintain an exercise program without some passionate goal--like improving my tennis game. Tennis itself is great exercise, but trying to keep up with younger dudes has really made me push myself. I go 30 minutes early, before those young studs get up, and practice my serving and my ground strokes. And I do push ups and wind sprints on my off days. I rest on Friday, just a few exercises to stay flexible. I play tennis every Sat morning. I miss maybe 3 times a year. The very best way to keep at it regularly is to do it with one or more friends (right cyclo?), that way when you just would rather have a piece of cake and watch the tube, your friends razz you into keeping up with the pack.
Cast iron weights with a stainless bar will last for years. Make sure all the fasteners are there. It's a pain to find pliers to remove weights off the bar. Wingnut fasteners work the best.
The cheap vinyl-upholstered bench also wears and tears when left in the sun. Look for a bench with terrycloth or canvas covering.
Iggy8n has a point when it comes to weight equipment... get the iron dumbbells and barbells with wingnuts or metal screw mechs at the ends. These are definitely longer lasting than plastic/vinyl ones with sand/cement inside. I also find that having at least 2 sets of dumbbells and 2 sets of barbells with differing weights saves time since you don't need to keep replacing the weights on these when you move to a different routine.
Finally, learn to listen to your body (more so as you get older)... you will feel it when you are on the verge of over-training. Resting the body is at least as important as exercising it. Take note that the body strengthens during rest periods. Over training can result in your immune system being weakened/compromised so take care not to over do it. The body is not a machine... there are peaks and valleys to performance... it is important to understand these patterns to avoid frustrations.
Whatever you do, don't mix:
- 1.5 cups of milk
- 4 tablespoons hemp protein powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 cup Scottish Oatmeal
together. Disgusting! I drank 3/4 of it but I couldn't finish it it was so nasty. I've gotta find a different recipe.
If you stuff all that protein in there now, you'll just put fat on your belly. Develop a market first, then feed it.