Magpie0001

Forgive me if this is a repost but I have a prob.
Ive always been skinny & tall. Ive been the same weight since I was 16-17 which is:

10 stones,
or 63.5 kilograms,
or 170.139 Pounds (apothecary),
or 140 Pounds (avoirdupois),
or 170.139 Pounds (troy),
or 0.0635029 Tons (metric) hehehehehe.
(I found a converter!)

Im 6 foot 2
or 1M 88cm.

Which is pretty skinny. I want to do some exercise to put on a little muscle on my chest/shoulders. My legs are ok, coz I walk miles & cycle to the moon & back every other week. I do not want to go to the Gym for two reasons.
1) I dont have the money
& 2) I wouldnt know what to do & I would probably feel like a fool surounded by built blokes with bodys like the hulk.
So does anyone have any advice to help me out.
Thanks for your time.

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4thTimeLucky

How old are you?

I was like this until about 21.

I ate and ate and ate. But never got any bigger. I tried weights and gained strength and a bit of muscle definition (you can have great abs if skinny), but was still 'skinny.

Then at 21 or so I suddenly found that when I ate and ate and ate, a little bit would actually stay on me and i went from 10 stone to 10 1/2 and then 11. Then once I had some fat on me (not much, but I could at last pinch my stomach) I set about turning into muscle and the 'skinny' problem was on its way to being solved.

So my suggestions:
Eat, eat and eat. Lots and lots of healthy food.
Then buy some dumbells and start to do lots of running.
This will hopefully bulk you out a bit.
Good luck, and remember that it can be hell to be overweight so count your blessings.

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lady

So, 140lbs...

Pushups - vary your positions, arms spread, normal, close together, arms forward (more up by your head), and farther under your chest.

Or lifting makeshift weights - whatever you've got at home. Try and curl gallons of milk.

You can build up your triceps also by doing dips off a chair - sit on a chair, put your hands on the front edge of the seat by your thighs, scoot your bum forward off the seat, and lower your body down using your arms, then come back up.

__________________
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.

lady

Oh, and rest assured there are some of us women out there who like skinnier guys.

My bf is a bit taller than you and currently weighs a bit less.

__________________
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.

RemyLebeau97

I had that same problem, thought I was just too skinny and wanted to put on some extra pounds. Im 6"0 tall and weight 162 pounds at the moment. Everyone always told me Im just cut and not skinny but I was still a lil unhappy with my body. I bought me a set of 25 pound dumb bells and started working with them every day, just doing curls and what not. I also did sets of push up's, inclined push up's, set up's and jogged, not far but just around the park about 3 times a week. I noticed a slight difference in my body but still needed the pounds to work with. So I joined a gym and started using Cell Tech Creatine, which I think is the best you can get. After cycling on this for about 3 weeks I started to see results, even my friends and family noticed a big difference in my muscle mass. The only down side to this is once you cycle on the creatine you have to keep taking it in order to maintain ur mass. But anyways I gained about 11 lbs. in 8 weeks which isn't bad. So if you wanna dish out the extra $$ I'd suggest this to you, but if not then just eat right (lots of beef, chicken and fish) exercise every day even if it's only for 10 minutes and stay motivated. I know Im prolly not much help but I thought I'd share that with ya since I went through the same thing.

Magpie0001

I just turned 24.
My grandfather was skinny like me all his life. Its not that I have a problem being skinny, I find alot of girls like it (but maybe its "me Irish charm")
Most of hte people here are into fitness n'that, & coz Im very white, skinny, tall & have almost no body hair I tend to stick out a bit too much for comfort.
Besided, I heard somewhere that exercise is good for you.
Thanks for the feedback all.

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Music is my first love & It will be my last.

debaser

Amen sister.

Hammer curls, wrist curls, and bench press will also help your arms and chest.

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Mael

if you get some dumbbells, try the arnold press. it's a lot like a military shoulder press with dumbbells. when your arms are extended over your head, your palms are facing in front of you, but when you lower them, turn your plams inward so that they face towards you. works your anterior and medial deltoids pretty well.

rogue49

BTW, don't worry about going to the gym & comparing yourself to the bigger guys...they totally ignore you...working out is a very private thing.
And everyone has to start somewhere.

You can get a cheap bench & weights and start there.
Eat, but do it healthy.

You still have about 4 or 5 more years of growing build naturally even without weights.

But if you do weights, it doesn't really matter when you start.
However, it WILL take time,
this will not happen overnight.

Just do it for about 20-30 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week.
And in a few months, you'll gain in strength and build.

BTW, when you do the weight for gaining mass.
Do less reps, more weight.
For toning
Less weight, more reps.

Be careful,
don't push yourself, and don't compare with anyone else.
You are, what you are,
different people, have different development rates.

Pyrate

I'm skinny same way, but just not that tall. I'm about 5.8/9. I like beeing skinny, or 'slender' as they (I) say.

I started to go to gym about a year back, and I was prang too. I thought there was gonna be big guys and fitter girls all around. It was true to an extent, but the trainer there said, "hey, you look pretty toned. Not big, but toned. I can see you've been working out."

If you've been working out and keeping toned, that's great. Personally I don't wanna be one of those hulks who look ridiculous everywhere but in gyms. As long as you're fit and toned, that's cool.

Of course this is my view, you may want to put on weight, but I've been skinny (slender!) all my life, never liked it when I was pre teen, but I've learned to tone what I got to my advantage, and I'm happy with my physique. I like the slim yet toned and developed look.

Anyways man I hope that helps even a little bit.

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Pyrate

Oh, and try one handed pushs up-Jet Li style.

They used to be impossible for me, but now I can easily manage 21 every morning and evening, with a little bit in between. The do wonders for you strength. If you saw me you wouldn't think me to be strong, but slim or not, strength is in everyone. You just gotta hone it and increase it. Just keep trying them, no matter how many times you fail. I started off killing myself with one or two, but gradually I got there.

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Fake Alias

Explain how to do these effectively?

MichaelFarker

Skinny and healthy is a great thing to be. We're all different, and I'm grateful for that. Besides, it's very hard to tell how strong someone is by looking at them. Some people just look skinny, even when they build up a great deal of strength.
When you're first starting an exercise, try holding the position. In my case, when I couldn't do a pushup, I held myself in the up position. This is how I got started when I had no money and was getting frustrated.
If you have a little money, dumbbells are the way to go. They're very cheap and pretty easy to store or travel with. To pick one, stretch and warm up a little. Then find the heaviest one you can properly do your desired exercise with. To build mass, pick one that weighs about 80% of that one's weight. You should be able to do about 6-8 repetitions of your chosen exercise. When you can easily do 3 sets of 12 repetitions, it's time to buy a heavier dumbell.
Whatever you do, remember to warm up first. If your joints hurt because of what you're doing, stop. If you're coughing or light headed when you exercise, reduce the intensity (go slower). Eat a healthy diet and sleep enough. The most helpful thing is to have a friend to exercise with. If you can't tell, I beat my head against all these walls and I'm just passing on what others shared with me.

debaser

The hammer and wrist curl is done with a dumbell.

Hammer (Builds the bicep): Hold the weight with your arm at your side, relaxed. Knuckles should be facing out. Move the weight in an arc untill your fist is at your shoulder, keeping your upper arm still, and your knuckles always facing out to the side. Do not use a jerking motion, the contraction should be smooth. If you have to jerk it, then lower the weight. The proper weight should bring you to muscle failure after about 20 proper repetitions. Repeat with the other arm.

Wrist: (Builds the tricep): Lay your fore-arm on a flat surface, with the wrist hanging over the edge. Knuckles are pointed towards the floor, back of hand bent at approximately 90 degrees to the arm, holding the weight. Contract wrist through the full range of motion, keeping the knuckles perpendicular to the fore-arm. Same rule for weight as above applies to these.

Bench press: Go to a gym and have someone show you (you should always have a spotter anyways).

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Pyrate

Isn't that "me Oirish chaam"?!

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Magpie0001

Well, Yes & no, It depends where youre from, Accents from dofferent counties differ greatly, alot of people wont be able to understand a thick Dublin accent. Even though the couinties are pretty close together compared to other countries the accents are completly different. A few of the main ones are

Cork: people ther mess up thier O's "Inn fram Cark!"

Dublin: 333 = Tree huundret an turti tree

Limerick: you = Ouu. nothing = Naa'In. story = staary

Up north (ulster): Real bouncy accent goes up at the end of sentences. Im from county Cavan = Ui'm fram caunty Caavan.

CAnt really think of other examples but there ya go.

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Music is my first love & It will be my last.

Antagony

Awesome! I've always wanted to see classification of different Irish accents

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Deadmemory

lemurlad

Enjoy it. Time & Life happen. You'll be portly by the time you're 40...probably. So eat healthy and exercise regularly. If you think you can't gain weight no matter what you eat ... it's amazing how many calories are in carrots when you're stuck behind a desk with children at home.

Turd

my dad and his dad and so on, generation after generation have been tall and skinny - like 6ft 4in and around 175 lbs.

my dad tells me once a doctor told him to eat eat eat and so he did - and he lost weight. maybe its a joke.

but the point is - i think its genetic. youre, im, going to have to fight a big battle versus the genes to make any headway - and little at that. with hardly any excercise and drinking pepsis like a madman with a fast food diet, all ive been able to do is go up 10 lbs and put a belly on me.

maybe a lot of protein and excercise - but again youd be fighting genes and creating huge amounts of muscle/fat out of thin air.

Bobaphat

First off, most guys in the gym are not built like the hulk. There is no reason to be nervous in there. Also, most gyms have programs that aren't advertised, but are significantly cheaper than the ones that they do advertise. These programs usually only allow you access certain days and times of the week rather than unlimited access, but they are definately affordable.

As far as keeping weight on, you need to eat a ton of high quality and high calorie foods. You should eat throughout the day and not just during meal times. I recommend having several protien shakes a day. Running and Cycling, while good for your cardiovascular health, will not help you to keep or put on weight. In order to put on muscle, it is critical that you do weight training exercises. At home, without weights, you can do things like squats and lunges for your legs and push ups and pull ups for your upper body. Also make sure you give your muslces time to heal before working them again or your growth will be substancially slowed.

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punx1325

Thanks for all the advice, I also am skinny, and i started losing weight from stress at work. :\ I've been trying the weights for a month or so, I will try some of these ideas.

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If something seems too good to be true, then it probably is....

tobasco

i'm pretty skinny too, 6' and ~145 lbs, but i'm getting bigger. i agree with a lot of the advice already posted: pushups, barbells are effective and easy, and eating a lot is key. eating's been the hardest part for me actually, especially making sure i eat breakfast. just keep at it, and eventually you'll see some results.

deadmemory: interesting site, thanks

docbungle

You just have to put in the work. No way around it. You have to eat right and work out right. Things that have normally been more important have to go on the back burner for a while.

Lift heavy and eat heavy. Eat lots of protien AND carbs. With your metabolism you wont have to worry about getting fat. Once you start seeing results you can adjust your diet.

dmay

there is a health problem that occures from eating any thing with glutten in it,bread ,pasta ect.It called silliac not sure of the spelling.A friend stoped eating bread ect. and in a few weeks gained 25 pounds.It has something to do with the glutten not allowing your body to digest the other vitemens and minerals.Eurpean docs are hip to it in america they claim the test for it cost to much.Over a third of the population is affected by it. Good luck

pangavan

If you are anything like me, dont get your hopes up beyond gaining 10 or so pounds. I am 34, 5'7", and 135 lbs, not even the army could get me to gain weight with extra physical training and double rations. I wnet in at 111 lbs and topped out at 140, but that was still 10 lbs less than the average for my age and height. In the twelve years I have been out I have had no exercise program, and lost 7 pounds. I even quit smoking and did not gain weight.

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panzer

Don't get caught up too much in getting "big". Let me tell you my story:

I was 5'8" and 130 pounds. I wanted to get "big", so I started eating like crazy and working out with a trainer, doing a really solid weight training routine.

Flash forward two years. I'm now weighing 140 pounds, but I don't look "big" at all. In that time I've increased my bench press 100 pounds to 180, and I'm way fitter. But I'm not big. Some people just don't get big, and there isn't much you can do about it. But I still love working out, and I love how much stronger I am. So start working out, but don't worry about getting "big".

Stare At The Sun

Seriously, im 5 10 and 125 pounds, i have a nice 6 pack, and some tone in my muscles(running, and being fit) and im ok with that. Besides, if you're worried about looking good to get a girl, its not worth it, any girl that would only date you because of how big you are, isnt worth it anyways. And if you wanna get big to be able to fight, thats not worth it either, cause more than likely, you're goign to get your ass beat anyways...To quote chris rock

"You got pecs? I got tec's"

(tec-9 for those that dont get it)

Basically, just be happy with who you are. I know i am, and thats what its all about.