small athletic woman

[girlygirl]

Hi Im 23 and am very petite.Im 5'2 and only weigh like 90 to 93 pounds. I work out like crazy but only to build muscle. I cant gain fat to save my life. I currently wear a 0 and that doesnt bother me. My legs are only like 16 inches around my thighs. My arms are only like 9 and a half inches around. And thats actually come up from the small 7 inches and 15. My waist is like 26 and my hips and rear is 34. Im looking to add muscle and it seems like just working out alone is not enough. I feel like my legs look like tooth picks and i cant lie i constantly get made fun of. Everyone always says that i will gain weight when i get older But two kids later and still no weight. Im in great health but just am looking to improve my body. Can anyone give me some advice. I would really apprecitate it. Thanks loads Stacey

[Bob Smith]

Hi Stacey!

To gain muscle you need to workout properly and eat properly. The same principles that apply to men also apply to women.

What type of workouts do you currently do? What does a normal day of eating look like for you?

I would recommend reading the sticky threads in the training forum, paying special attention to the "Trbute to JohnSmith" thread.

[dennis]

Originally Posted by girlygirl

Hi Im 23 and am very petite.Im 5'2 and only weigh like 90 to 93 pounds. I work out like crazy but only to build muscle. I cant gain fat to save my life. I currently wear a 0 and that doesnt bother me. My legs are only like 16 inches around my thighs. My arms are only like 9 and a half inches around. And thats actually come up from the small 7 inches and 15. My waist is like 26 and my hips and rear is 34. Im looking to add muscle and it seems like just working out alone is not enough. I feel like my legs look like tooth picks and i cant lie i constantly get made fun of. Everyone always says that i will gain weight when i get older But two kids later and still no weight. Im in great health but just am looking to improve my body. Can anyone give me some advice. I would really apprecitate it. Thanks loads Stacey

You are your own worst critic Stacey...most girls would kill to have a bod like yours..Bob is right on..give us your training and diet methods.go into detail..you are probably overtraining and need to lighten up in that aspect of your training..you cannot gain weight if you burn it all off..You probably are not getting near enough protien and calories either.Evryones metabolism is different..there will come a time in your life where you will begin to gain wieght more easily than now..trust me.Ps..you do not want to gain "fat" you want to build lean muscle..I know you can do this..you just need to formulate a plan and stick with it..it is very difficult for me to gain weight..i have to keep up with my cals and try and not go to gym too much..get back to us..many on here can help you..dennis

[jasthace]

To get rid of the tooth pick legs,I recomend doing a hard squat workout once a week for a year and eat at least every three hours{two is better}
You are lucky that you can start with a lean body,I envisage you will look great in two years if you work hard at the gym
Good luck

[girlygirl]

Hi Actually I work out now like 4 days a week. Im only lifting on dumbbells like 10 and 15 pounds and doing reps of 12. I run like 4 miles a week. And am very into squats and lunges with 20 pounds on the bar. I do like normally 100 reps on each leg. I do a stomach routine but thats just to keep the shape there. I eat like 3 to 4 times daily. Most of the time i eat like 2 eggs two pancakes and some toast. lunch is usally around 400 to 500 calories. I drink whey protein shakes once a day. and for dinner i eat like between 400 to 500 calories. I sometimes have a snack before i head to bed or like usual im hungry before bed and will eat like 400 cals or i will try to anyway. I try to make sure that I work out so that I dont gain alot of fat. Im looking to make the top of my legs thicker as well. Yah know being a girl you want the sexy legs to be able to sport the bikini. Oh yeah i have tiny calves is there any workout that can thicken them up i have been trying forever and they are still tiny. Any advice is well recieved. Thanks so much. Stacey. PS if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

[Grizzly]

Well, there's the problem. Your workout is really bad. How do you expect to look like a woman while lifting weights that are easy for a child?

[Grizzly]

What I'm saying is that you need to up the weights significantly.

[toddjr]

hi stacey. I have couple thoughts for you. When my gf started to lift with me she did the same work out that you are doing. once she had some experiance lifting, which sounds like you do ,I had her do more machine work with alot heavier weight than she was used to. Then she could concentrat more on the muscle than worry about geting hurt. once she started moving heavier weight and was used to it ,she started doing free squats( ina squat rack) and more free weight movements with heavier weight. This took about 6 months and she made major improvments, the most in her legs and shoulders. Now she grunts and sweats with me in the gym al the time. Once you start moving more weight you are going to make noise. Dont worry about what the other people think, they are just jeoulse how you look. This worked for her it might work for you. She is 5' 4'' and 115 to 120 lbs of muscle Look at the stickys for more help thats why they are there. Remember every one is different but this can get you on the right path to what works for you. Good luck

[jasthace]

Also you will find it very difficult to get more musclar shapely legs with all the running that you are doing, it my be your major hinderance ,the more running you do the more you will look like a ethiopian long distance runner.
Lower the reps and up your weights.You should be able to slowly impove your strength week after week ,this will give you the mass and shape you are looking for in your legs.
This should also allow your poor calf muscles to gain some size,just stick to the traditional standing and seated calfraises,heavy for three-six sets of 10-20 reps,should be the go......

[dennis]

I agree with all of the above..cut out atleast 75% of the cardio you are curently doing.You will have to lift and train like a man not woman to bulk up..oh yeah ,and you are not eating enough !Try for 1 day to write down everything you eat and add up the protien and cals..see where you are at.I would think you need to eat about every 2.5 hours untill you go to bed at night.Try a training split like mon/tuesday work out..wed off..thur/fri work out..sat/sunday off..this gives your body time to recoop and hopefully put some weight on.Get a partner in the gym who will push you.Lift heavy,train hard..go to almost failure at the end of each set.....on a good leg day you should have trouble getting from the gym to your car after your squats are finished.Tell us what muscle groups you exercise and in what order....d

[Bob Smith]

Other than Grizzly, I think most people dont know what they are talking about.

First, 4 miles A WEEK of running isnt going to have any effect on gaining weight. Thats about 200 calories a week, big freaking deal. Stacey, keep running if you enjoy it.

Second, you need to lift heavier. Grizz is right, lifting 20 pounds for 100 reps isnt going to get you the results you want. Rather, it will get you the results you already have.

Third, you wont gain muscle if you eat like a bird. Up your calories about 500 per day to start.

For a good workout, you would make awesome progress on a 5x5 program. I would bet youre not quite to the point of being able to handle that, so 3x5 (3 sets of 5 reps) would be a good start. You want to work with a weight that is heavy, where if you really pushed it you could hit 6, maybe 7 reps in that set, but stop at 5. A basic program might look like this:

Squat 3x5
Row 3x5
Incline bench 3x5

Repeat on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 6-8 weeks and you will notice huge changes in your body.

[jasthace]

If you run 4 mile a week,that is equivilent of 6.4 km if each step you take is one metre,then you have taken 6400 jarring impacking steps{reps} on you muscles.I dont care about the calories,I'm talking muscle fatigue.
Take it from some one who has done alot of running before,it will do you no good in gaining muscle size and strength.

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by jasthace

If you run 4 mile a week,that is equivilent of 6.4 km if each step you take is one metre,then you have taken 6400 jarring impacking steps{reps} on you muscles.I dont care about the calories,I'm talking muscle fatigue.
Take it from some one who has done alot of running before,it will do you no good in gaining muscle size and strength.

blah blah blah. 4 miles is freakin nothing.

[jasthace]

Originally Posted by Bob Smith

blah blah blah. 4 miles is freakin nothing.

It is if you have tooth pick legs and other areas of your training and diet are not pro-mass building.
But I agree some people don't know what they are talking about, except for Grizz off coarse.

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by jasthace

If you run 4 mile a week,that is equivilent of 6.4 km if each step you take is one metre,then you have taken 6400 jarring impacking steps{reps} on you muscles.I dont care about the calories,I'm talking muscle fatigue.
Take it from some one who has done alot of running before,it will do you no good in gaining muscle size and strength.

If those "6400 jarring, impacking steps" were due to sprints as opposed to jogging, I guarantee they'd cause hypertrophy with all things remaining the same.

[Grizzly]

I think the biggest flaw in your reasoning is considering a step a rep. Should she stop walking, too? Walking/jogging is nowhere near comparable to a repetition of a heavy, weighted exercise.

[jasthace]

Girly girl is doing too much light fluffy work and not enough heavy gritt.
She is wasting her energys on "a bit" of running and lots of light weight reps.
More food and weight /less reps

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by jasthace

Girly girl is doing too much light fluffy work and not enough heavy gritt.
She is wasting her energys on "a bit" of running and lots of light weight reps.
More food and weight /less reps

No arguement here. However, the few miles won't hurt anyone and will probably help her with recovery.

[girlygirl]

I really do thank all of you for your advice. But i do need one more thing. How in the world do i make myseelf want to eat more. I guess im so use to eating what i am eating and trying to eat every couple of hours is really making me hate eating. Im still full from the last time i ate. Is there anything that i can take that will up my appetite. Thanks loads.

[dennis]

GG..Iam sure you will get several replies with differing opinions (again)..But I feel for you ..I have some of the same problems you have..I am an extreme hard gainer.It's all I can do to gain wieght.I eat when I am not hungry and about every 2.5-3.0 hours all day untill I fall into bed.One thing I found that helps me is to work out and do light cardio..(very light cardio) in the early morning hours..this kicks my metabolism into high gear for most of the day.I get up 4;30 am eat about 200 cals and drink a 300 cals protien drink..lift and do light cardio from 5;00 -6;30 am..then I eat a big breakfast..basically anything I want about 7;30 am..then it's eat evry 2-3 hours after that..I start feeling full and slow down usualy about 3;00 pm or so.I have the luxury of being able to take nap each day at lunch.I use 3 protien shakes a day to insure my calorie and protien intake reaches their goals.I play and jump on trampoline after school w/ my daughter about 4;00 and this seems to get me hungry again for dinner and 2 smaller meals before bed time.My last before bed is 2 packets of oatmeal and 1 protien shake(about 700 more calories to sleep on..i am basically force feeding myself even though I feel semi full before eating.It should get easier for you as you go along..the working out in the morning is the key for me..you may have to use a version of protien powders desingend for men not women..the women's tend to be light versions...try one called muscle milk..the chocolate taste's pretty good.The reason I keep saying(light cardio) is because if I do more than 15 minutes of cardio any day I will not gain weight and have lost weight from that..no matter what griz and b smith say..