SakiGT

I finally surpassed the 110 mark Im 5'7 and have always been very skinny. My problem is that my arms are not tone enough and my rear and upper legs are a little on the...uh...flabby side. Its not hideous by all means, but Id like the tone of my front to match the back

I was thinking running would be my best bet but I dont want to burn off all the fabulous weight I gained. Weight training? If so what are some cheap, compact, in-home options?

Right now, I look skinny (everywhere except my torso - mostly arms and legs). I want to look like Im in shape, not dying.

Doc.Booty

You're looking for better muscle definition. The only way to get that is to lose body fat, so you're gonna have to lose some weight.

Have you been lifting at all while trying to gain weight?

SakiGT

Lifting? No. 15 minutes or so of crunches, girl push ups and squats, yes. 15 minutes because I had no other time to do it (unless I started getting less than 7 hours of sleep a night - which isnt healthy, imo). Luckily my school hours changed so I changed my work hours. Ill have an extra 30-45 minutes to do something useful now in the morning so Im open to suggestions. Ive got the Whey Protein shakes ready to go as well.

Doc.Booty

Well, unfortunately, almost all of the weight you've put on is fat.

Start lifting heavy and eat like a madman.

SakiGT

*sigh*

Back to being a 100lb weakling, I guess. Thanks!

"Lifting like a madman" - Can I just use free weights at home? Currently I only have 10lb weights (which were plenty for me) how much higher should I go?

JimmyCarter

Maybe try power yoga or pilates for toning.

Adam_Schwartz

Remember that lifting heavy is relative to you - I'd say that 10 lb weights, even at 100 lb body weight, won't help you add much mass, assuming these are what you use for bench, delt press, etc. For tricep kick backs and side lateral raises, then these should be plenty for now.

In a nutshell, you will have to progressivly add more weight to your lifts, ideally 2-3 lbs each week. But that can be hard to do since there are not many weights that increase 1.25 lbs at a time, so just try to add 5 lbs to each lift as often as you can to the point of at least pumping out a few good reps for that last set. This is also where a spotter comes in real handy so you can push out those last few reps.

You might actually be able to add more since you will get those higher initial gains. But in order to get stronger and bigger, you pretty much have to lift heavier over time and push your body harder, as well as eat more and rest more to give yourself more time to heal. Never forget that consistency is key. This is all anecdotal, but it's be very basics that most ignore when they want to add mass. When you hit a plateau, then you will have to get more advanced. Until then, just keep it simple and work your ass off.

Like Breece said, "toning" means losing fat, which means losing overall weight. So if you want to weigh more but be leaner, then be prepared to work hard for it.

Doc.Booty

You're still a weakling, it's just that you're a fat one now

10lbs aren't gonna do you shit. Get a gym membership and bust your ass.

SakiGT

*slits wrists*

Doc.Booty

That should be

*runs to the local Powerhouse and pays membership fee*

SakiGT

Powerhouse we have not.

Hmmm. I was thinking I could do it at home but maybe actually going to a gym would be beneficial. Ill think about it.

Doc.Booty

You could put together a home gym, but it's probably a better idea to go to a local one first.

Doesn't have to be a powerhouse, or a gold's, or any big chain gym. Just make sure it's got a nice set of free weights, benches, and a power rack.

Adam_Schwartz

I am sure you have more than enough options in Jacksonville - just join a gym and bust some ass. Don't get sucked into doing just pansy lifts either - big dawgs do the big lifts!!

99_CL_girl

thats what I was gonna say. pilates works great for me.

SpeedyV6

A 5'7", 110 lb girl does not need to lose body fat.


Saki, try doing squats if you want to add bulk in the right places. And don't be afraid to lift heavy weights even if it means you can only do 8 -12 reps.

Adam_Schwartz

Oh crap, I did not know Saki was a she. Sorry! But you should still do some squats to really work those leg and butt muscles. Squats are just an all around great lift.

Doc.Booty

Saki is a she?!

My point was that s/he would eventually have to lose bodyfat. That's how you get better definition (okay, you have to have muscle mass to show, but bodyfat is a bigger factor). Nobody needs to be trying to lose weight at 5'7"@110lbs.

is not advice conducive to losing bodyfat.

Your squats suggestion is spot-on.

Chr8808

iTrader: (1)

https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=185

Doc.Booty

Well shit.

My advice of eat lots and lift heavy still holds true

SakiGT

Sorry I didnt specify

I read on bodybuilding.com that legs should only be worked on once a week to allow time for rest. Makes sense my squats weren't doing shit...I was doing them daily. *doh*

There's a gym at my boyfriend's condo so Ill be working out there 3x a week. I shouldnt have a problem keeping that schedule so that consistency should be helpful.

Doc.Booty

If you were able to do squats daily, you probably weren't doing them with enough weight. You'll know you did it right when you feel wobbly on your feet after legs day.

virtualbong

Is this true? You should only work legs (ie. quads, hammies, calves, etc...) once a week???? Resident workout specialists, please advise. I work on my legs 2-3 times a week.

Adam_Schwartz

Nah, that is not a hard and fast rule by any means. I can work my legs 2x a week pretty easily, for instance, but I tend to heal in 2-3 days after working out a specific muscle group.

A more general rule is to allow at least 72 hrs of rest time between working out specific muscle groups. Just pay attention to your body and if you feel you have properly healed, then by all means work out that muscle group after 3-4 days rest.

I doubt most "normal" people would squat 3x a week, but it's not necessarily out of the question. Just depends on what your goals are.

Doc.Booty

Every day is too much, your muscles don't have time to heal. I prefer once a week for each muscle group; especially when trying to lose fat. But it depends on your situation. If you're eating a lot you'll be able to recover more quickly.

SilviaGTO

Hey saki, you know that mysterious third room of mine? its got a nice weight bench and weights in there

im actually in the process of cleaning that room up, so if you want to use it, feel free to.

SakiGT

Sweet. I thought you were just hiding additional animals from me in there

99_CL_girl

legs once a week huh?! I do lunges every other day.

Doc.Booty

If you really work your legs hard they will probably need more than a day off.

If stphy32 wasn't banned for life she'd have some good stuff to add to this thread.

SilviaGTO

haha. no just the lizard.

JimmyCarter

Hiding the lizard? Does this need a move to D&R?

SakiGT

So...my first workout yesterday. Leg press mostly. I didnt want to hurt myself so I did 50lbs to start. I did 8 sets of 6. Felt like a heck of a workout at the time but my legs aren't very sore today. I did a total of 20 girl pushups, however and my upper arms arre hurting. Feels great

I'll wait a few days before I revisit the leg press but should I be able to do 6 presses before resting? Too little? Too much?

SilviaGTO

by lizard i mean columbian black and white tegu

JimmyCarter

*Search Tegu*
Ahhh...my bad

SakiGT

If I had more room Id take it

Theres no more room in my cell of a room

gavriil

Soreness is not a good measure of overload and intesity the day before.

gavriil

The fastest way to add mass ("this side of taking drugs") is a combination of what you do in the gym, how much you rest and the quality of that rest (including physchological pressure believe it or not = huge factor) and nutrition.

Simplistically, what tells muscles "GROW NOW" is the amount of testosterone secreted.

For women, because that amount of testosterone is a lot lower than in men, naturally they are smaller, from a muscle mass perspective and can exert less power and strength.

Now:

The easiest way to tell your body to create more testosterone and flood your body with it is to find the balance of the exercise which has the most compound characteristics (for large muscles) but does not sacrifice overload and instesity. There are two such exercises today. The deadlift and secondarily the (regular) squat.

Again,

1. these are exercises that are of very compound nature for large muscles= this means that you ask for many large muscles on your body to work hard

2. at the same time these exercises combine overload and intestiy = this means that these are exercises where you can put the most amount of weight on a barbell, as long as intensity is kept at high levels (this is achieved when overload sets are comprised of at least 4 reps and no more than 6 reps).

SO!

Bottom line, for girls, and only because this is contrary to popular belief, the most effective way to increase amounts of testosterone secreted is, believe it or not, to do dead lifts and squats and focus on those two exercises more than anything else.

That's with regard to stimulation though only. This means, what you do at the gym. Nutrition is a differet matter and a LOT more complicated. One thing is for sure, you have GOT TO eat a lot, often and of high protein and carb levels. When I am hungry, I eat.

Why does that matter? Well, the latest research has proven without a doubt that, and let me be very simplistic here so it's understood, for people that have a little bit of a tommy (even more than a bit), testosterone will be produced at higher levels!

This is huge! It tells you that if you are trying to add muscle as fast as possible but also would like to be ripped or even close to that, you are doing yourself a big diservice.

SO!

The fastest way to add muscle is while eating WHENEVER HUNGRY and more than less and often and doing deadlifts and squatst at the gym!

ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A FEMALE! You need the above more than males cos it's harder for you to produce large amounts of testosterone! ALL GIRLS I see in the gym do exactly the opposite of the above due to the wrong beliefs, that is being misinformed. Sadly misinformed and it's a shame cos they are wasting time.

Forget about cardio by the way. ONLY lift and lift heavy and with intesity. It's easier to lose fat later. The reason is because it's easier to lose fat when you have packed more muclse. Bigger Muscles burn more fat faster even if the amount of cardio activity is the same.

Unfortunately the above is very hard to be followed, becasue you have to be a "fatso" or chunky for 2-5 years before you start losing. Yes! Because it takes for ever to add significant amounts of muscle. Research for MEN shows that for untrained men, it takes 2 years! of lifting hard before the potential of testosterone secrition reaches its FULL potential. Think about this. This is huge. This means that you wont be creating as much testosterone as you can during the first 6 months, nor the 6 months after that.

Bottom line, it's hard, it takes for ever, it takes dedication and going through injuries many times, etc, etc. EVEN IF YOU DO THE RIGHT THINGS. That's why very few people have both of all words. Muscle mass, muscle definition, etc. It's harder to add significan amounts of muscle mass than lose weight. No doubt in my mind.

(for those into sports it's harder to add muscle than power believe it or not)

gavriil

After the above, I am in the mood for some cleans by they way. Off to the gym after some apple juice mixed with a teaspoon of creatine.

SakiGT

Ok. So using weights while doing deep and sumo squats is awesome! My legs are all jiggly today *yay*

I cant believe using the machines in the gym did nothing and working out in my bedroom watching NBC in half the time was the thing that hurt the most. I was really pushing the last few reps.