I??ve always been a skinny guy.  I will be turning 18 in a couple
days.  I am currently 5 ft 7 inches and weigh 120lbs.  Am I
underweight?  Even though I am not that tall of a guy, I have an
extremely small build for my height.  I don??t like my appearance
mainly because of my tiny wrists and ankles.  I??ve hardly been active
at all the past two years because I am a computer addict.  I would
miss out on meals of the day and so I didn??t eat properly.

Lately, I have been working out occasionally for the past couple of
weeks.  Trying to consume more calories, eating healthier, drinking
more milk/soymilk, eating high protein foods, steak/other meats every
once in a while.  I find myself just a bit fat, meaning only my
stomach area.  But other than that I am really skinny.

I never tried lifting weights much, but I do have dumbbells and use
them every once in a while.  I play basketball quite a bit, do the
occasional boxing around, sit-ups and jump ropes.  I??ve even heard
after workouts, eating protein bars or drinking protein shakes builds
your muscles and makes you bigger.  Although I am trying, I am slowly
losing hope.

All I know is that eating is the most important part of making all
this happen.  I am open for any suggestions you may be able to help me
with.  Mentally I am dedicated to making this all happen and have much
time on my hands.  I want to gain more weight and become bigger.  I
want to build all around, but mainly not look so skinny anymore. 
Especially my lower arms and legs where my ankles and wrists are.  I
am up for anything and everything.  I am very desperate.

How should I eat?  How often should I eat?  Should I reduce my meals
and eat more?  Or increase my meals and eat less?  What types of foods
should I look into?  How often should I work out and how would I work
that out with when I eat during the day?  Is the gym a necessity? 
Should I start getting into weight training?  Please help me out, I
feel lost.

Hello, ironpraxis-ga! 

 First and foremost, strength training is a MUST. Weight training is
the only way to effectively build lean muscle mass. Eating more is
also a MUST, especially since you are very lean to begin with and you
will be burning even more calories with strength training. Eating more
without strength training will simply put on more body fat without
lean muscle, which is exactly what you don't want.
  
 If you don't want to go to the gym, free weights and body weight
exercises will do just fine. The major criteria for you is commitment.
If you feel you can accomplish an effective weight-training program at
home without being distracted, that's great. Sometimes, a gym
membership can help simply because an individual has to exercise once
they are there! (No running to the computer, or answering the phone!)
The other advantage of a gym is the availability of machines and
heavier weights as your ability to lift increases, and a spotter to
keep you safe. You never want to get in a position of lifting a loaded
barbell for a chest press or squat without being able to get it back
on the rack safely. However, that is something you can consider in the
future if you decide to progress into a more rigorous body-building
routine. If you have a buddy that can train with you at home, better
yet!

 The following references should help you get started.



GAINING MUSCLE
==============

To gain muscle size: "If your goal is to gain muscle size, then
nutrition is very important. To build bigger muscles you need to eat
more calories than you burn. You want to make sure you gain quality
weight (lean body muscle) by eating enough quality protein (such as
lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and nuts) and doing a proper
training program, otherwise you will just gain fat."

"To gain muscle size, you need to increase the amount of weight you
lift from one workout to the next. Try to train in the 4 to 8 rep
range per set using a weight that is between 60% to 80% of your 1RM
for a given exercise. So if your 1RM for bench press is 200 pounds,
you should lift between 120 and 160 pounds for each set. Do 3 to 5
sets and rest about 1 to 3 minutes between sets."

See "Strength Training Basics." University of Michigan Health System. 
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/sma/sma_strength_sma.htm

==

An excellent nutrition plan for weight gain along with strength
training can be found on the Student Athletes website:

"The Weight Gain Plan - "If you want to gain 10-20 lbs., it's
essential for you to do resistance weight training to ensure that most
of the gain will be muscle. An hour of lifting weights, for example,
will burn 300-600 calories, depending on the intensity of the workout.
This means that on workout days (at least three times a week), you
should add 300-600 calories to your 3,000 calorie goal to offset what
you burn. Ignore this detail, and you'll enjoy little success in
gaining any weight at all. Those extra calories should be in the form
of protein, grains, and starchy vegetables to promote muscle growth,
supply adequate complex carbohydrates to fuel your workouts and
replenish your post-workout gycogen needs."

See daily eating chart and sample daily menu on the following site:
http://www.chap.com/dietgain.htm

==

Contrary to what you might think, many natural bodybuilders have a
thin framework underneath well-developed, lean muscle. Anthony Ellis
is just one example: http://www.bnatural.com/gallery/anthony.htm

Here is Anthony's sample eating plan:
 "Eating to Gain Mass." http://www.skinnyguy.net/eating.html

Anthony Ellis' website
http://www.skinnyguy.net/


 
BASIC STRENGTH TRAINING EXERCISES
==================================

Below is a list of the basic muscle groups associated with strength training. 

Chest 
Back 
Shoulders
Biceps 
Triceps
Quadriceps 
Hamstrings 
Calves 
Abdominals


An excellent assortment of barbell/dumbbell exercises you can do at
home can be found on the Student Athlete Educational Foundation
website:
http://www.chap.com/wht-ref.htm


The "ExRx Exercise & Muscle Directory" also has a complete list of
exercises for each muscle group on the left-hand side of the following
page. If you are going to do free weight exercises at home, be sure to
look under the exercises for barbells or dumbbells. If you decide to
go to the gym, there is a good variety of machine exercises as well.
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html



** As for adding to the circumference of your ankles and calves, you
must remember that you are talking about a joint with muscle
attachments as opposed to working the muscle belly. There is not an
effective way to increase joint size. However, you can add to the
thickness of the lower calf, as well as strengthen the muscles around
the wrist.

See the following exercises:

Calves
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/CalfWt.html

http://www.chap.com/calf.htm


Wrist Flexors and Extensors
http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/ForeArmWt.html

Forearm
http://www.chap.com/forearm.htm


==


Another simple list of basic dumbbell exercises by major muscle group
can be found on the following site:

"Dumbell Exercises... Simple, Safe And Effective." Sport Fitness Advisor
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbellexercises.html


A list of Abdominal exercises may be found on the same site
http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/abdominalexercises.html


==


 If you want a great reference book to keep by your side, at home or
in the gym, please consider buying "Getting Stronger: Weight Training
for Men and Women (Revised Edition)," by Bill Pearl. It is one of the
best books I have come across in all my years of weight training and
is available from Amazon and other online sources.

 Muscle and Fitness magazine can also be quite informative for
variations on training routines. Although geared primarily to
bodybuilding, I have always found it to be a fun motivational tool.
You can look at it online as well at http://www.muscleandfitness.com/
.

==


 I hope this information is helpful. Have a great time working out and
watching your body develop in ways you never thought possible.

Sincerely,

umiat


Search Strategy
basic weight training
basic weight training exercises
basic strength training dumbell excercises
weight training for a thin build
nutrition and strength training

Thank you.  Excellent research!  The information you gave me is a lot
more than I would have expected.  I'm certainly thinking about going
to the gym every so often.  I live in the Potomac, MD area.  Any
suggestions?  I only know of the Potomac Community Center, but where
else can I find some great gyms to work out at?  Possibly gyms where I
can get my own personal trainer?  How expensive are personal trainers?

Thank you so much, ironpraxis, for you extreme generosity and kind
rating. As for gyms, a search of Potomac exercise clubs brings up
several listings, but most are in Gaithersburg. Is that close enough?
There is one listing for the Potomac Tennis Club that also has an
exercise facility.
http://local.yahoo.com/MD/North+Potomac/7737238/Health+and+Medicine/8107103/Fitness/
 Potomac Tennis has certified personal trainers: http://www.potomactennis.com/

ironpraxis, have you thought about martial arts?  I'm a Caucasian
female with a very slender build.  When I started doing tae kwon do (2
times per week), my thighs and calves went from looking like sticks to
looking muscular and toned in about a month.  Results will of course
depend on your own body and on how much time your TKD class spends on
kicking drills and standing in stances (front stance, back
stance--both stress the quads).

I also did some grappling (Gracie jujitsu style, 1-2 times per week)
and found that my arms bulked up over the course of several months. 
Yours would probably improve more quickly since you're male.

I just wanted to let you know that there are other options besides the
gym.  I actually found martial arts to have a much bigger impact on my
muscle tone than weight training at the gym.  (Whenever I'm injured
and have to go to the gym instead of to TKD for a few months, I lose
muscle mass.)  Martial arts are typically more expensive than a gym
membership but are also more interesting/fun, in my opinion.  If
you're heading off to college soon, you might be able to find some
cheap classes through your school (either PE classes or a student
club).

Thank you for the immediate response umiat and you're welcome.  I will
look into the gyms you have found after my birthday this weekend and
let you know in the near future how well I am doing.

In other news, I have found myself getting a bit fat lately.  I have
definitely been eating a lot more for the past couple of weeks and
mostly looking into foods that are high in protein.  My belly has
definitely been sticking out.  Is it because I am eating too much
perhaps but not working out everyday?

Are there other types of food I should be concerned about in my daily
meals?  What would help me lose the excess fat in my stomachical area.
 Should I run daily?  Should I sleep less?  Do sit-ups help?  Lol I
should probably get a personal trainer!

Yes biophysicist, I have taken tae kwon do before around the age of 6
for a couple of months.  I know back then it was extremely fun when I
did it. I won't be going to college this year but hopefully sometime
in 2006.  I appreciate your concern and will certainly take what you
have told me into consideration.  Is tae kwon do very similiar to
hapkido and aikido?  What exactly is grappling?  Gymnastics?

ironpraxis - Regarding martial arts, I've only tried a few and can't
provide much detail about the others.  The following statements might
be very inaccurate.  Aikido is supposed to redirect the opponent's
motion and use his strength against him.  It's not going to be as
aerobic as TKD, I think.  I think hapkido involves stimulating the
opponent's pressure points--also probably not so aerobic.  Other
countries' analogues of TKD are karate and kung fu--kicking and
punching, can be very aerobic.  Thai kickboxing probably provides a
similar workout.

Grappling is like wrestling.  I did Gracie jujitsu, but there are many
other martial arts that are wrestling-like, such as judo.  Aikido
might fall into this category, but I'm not sure.  These will build
upper body strength and help you bulk up; they won't be very aerobic
and won't help you burn much fat.

Just wanted to give you an important piece of advice I received when I
started working out. Eat!
Really, it has become so easy to say that and youre probably thinking
but I AM eating. You will not gain muscle mass unless you feed your
body quality calories, and especially so for a skinny guy, also called
a hard gainer. I take it foregranted that you are already working out
pretty hard. If not, then join a gym man, and work out every muscle
group, there's no two ways about it. Anyone who tells you differently,
is not telling you the complete truth. For example, bodyweight
exercises, some lack the required resistance to shock your muscles
into growth. Besides, have you heard of anyone building a muscular
body out of home exercises. No one, ever!
I won't make this long, but I will give you quick pointers. Train
hard, stay dedicated, and eat big! Eat six times a day, and if you
think you have no time then innovate, take protein shakes around in
shakers with you, more than anything, MAKE the time! And for a really
good weight gainer shake, here's what I suggest, first off never buy
the sugary weight gainers on the market. Next mix these ingredients in
a blender: 2 scoops of whey protein, 1 cup of old fashioned oats, and
2 tbsp of natural peanut butter(no sugars, only peanuts and salt). If
you can't take the texture of the oats then you can grind them in a
coffee maker. This will give you approximately 850 calories of
excellent protein, complex carbs and essential fatty acids. Take one
shake a day and 5 meals. If you gain weight its all good, if not then
substitute another meal with an extra shake. Good luck man!