Login required to started new threads

Login required to post replies

How do you get muscle?
Quote | Reply
Is it possible that my body just won't get significant muscle? I am 5'10 and weigh about 136. I am long and somewhat slender. I lift and run, swim, bike and all and there is no change in muscle definition in my legs or arms ever! All I really care is that I am getting faster and longer in workouts but it would be nice to have a bit of definition. So I am wondering could I need more protein and less carbs and thats why- does protein help with muscle formation and would it be helpful to try more of a protein based diet. Or is it just possible I am a pure slowtwitcher and not fast twitch and I just can't get muscle definition? Thoughts?

COtrimom


Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Muscle "definition" and "tone" don't really exist at all (from a physiology perspective ;-)

If you want to see muscle on your body it's twofold: you have to have muscle and secondly it can't have too much puppy fat over it (think tummy muscles: we all have ab muscles, but whether or not you can see truly "defined" abs depends on how much body fat is over them).

Gaining muscle, or hypertrophy, can be quite difficult for some people, and yes i think it is related to fiber type - fast twitch fibers are more likely to hypertrophy (I think, I'd have to look it up for you), why sprinters tend to have bigger muscles. But I'm not sure if you're asking, if you want to gain muscle size, or just want to see them better (back to the body fat thing). As an FYI when you first start to lift changes in strength are due to neural recruitment (I've always found that kind of cool).

Protein does help with muscle formation in that it is broken down into amino acids, and the amino acids help rebuild muscle tissue. But eating more protein will not automatically make you gain muscle tissue. There has to be a stimulus that is breaking down that muscle tissue and it NEEDING to get bigger/stronger. Sounds like your body has figured out where it wants to be as far as sbr muscle. Not sure what your lifting workouts look like.

My last thought would be, you JUST started running again, and you're only running 15 mpw or so, right? Be patient. I've gotten a lot of muscle "definition" or "tone" in my legs over the past 14 months I've been pretty injury free, but it has happened over the course of 2000 miles ytd.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Quote Reply
Re: How do you SEE muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Tan-ness and lighting play a HUGE roll in what you can see. If the lighting can't cast shadows you won't see any 'cuts'. It's like bumps in the snow if you ski or snowboard. Find an overhead light then move around a few steps checking the difference in the mirror.

What are you doing when you're "checking yourself out" relaxed, flexed? People in magazines are smiling but NOT relaxed when photographed. During lifting squeeze the contraction hard at the end of a rep. I like to do sets of 10-20 reps to exhaustion then when you can't hit 10 repeat with a descending weights.

How hard do you hit the weights? Running is a cardio-respritory -heart & lungs exercise.

To get a temporary view of your muscles hit the sauna for a bit. Or pull a survivor, every once in a while I'll be really busy and once you get to the second missed meal I'm not even hungary anymore. It could be 2-3 days with hardly one full but it's intruiging the differenece I can see. To a smaller extent pulling an all nighter I can see the stress on the body. (Of course I've never seen my muscles while sleeping maybe I get ripped every night and don't know it) These maaay be more directed for a single person.
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I agree that I am just getting back into it but I have been biking and swimming for a while- I also agree that my body likes exactly where it is since even when I was healthy and in season I didn't have much muscle definition. Most people would say I am lean but maybe there is just enough pudge to hide it. My weight routine is arms I do...twice a week 2 sets of 15reps done 10 seconds apart (had a coach a couple of years ago start me on that- not sure if it works).
Arms: Bicep curl, tricep kick backs, straight arm raises, late pull down, and press ups.
Legs twice a week 3 sets of 15reps
Legs: Single leg sled, single leg knee extensions, hamstring curl, step ups with weights, step downs, and shallow lunges.

I am trying to be more aware of the protein benefit and eating more lean proteins.
Any thoughts on my weight routine?

COtrimom


Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Change your routine in the gym-no logical reason to expect a different result from doing the same thing over and over again.

DFL > DNF > DNS
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
You call Tony Soprano,he will send the boys over if you need some help.

.
Quote Reply
Re: How do you SEE muscle? [runxner] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
To get a temporary view of your muscles hit the sauna for a bit. Or pull a survivor, every once in a while I'll be really busy and once you get to the second missed meal I'm not even hungary anymore. It could be 2-3 days with hardly one full but it's intruiging the differenece I can see. To a smaller extent pulling an all nighter I can see the stress on the body.

what happens there is you get dehydrated, lose muscle glycogen, not healthy...

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
My weight routine is arms I do...twice a week 2 sets of 15reps done 10 seconds apart (had a coach a couple of years ago start me on that- not sure if it works).
Arms: Bicep curl, tricep kick backs, straight arm raises, late pull down, and press ups.
Legs twice a week 3 sets of 15reps
Legs: Single leg sled, single leg knee extensions, hamstring curl, step ups with weights, step downs, and shallow lunges.

I am trying to be more aware of the protein benefit and eating more lean proteins.
Any thoughts on my weight routine?

Like Sally said, doing the same thing for years in a row isn't going to help you. Also get off the machines, they isolate muscle groups, do stuff on a stability ball and kill two birds in one stone (engages core muscles)

You can do hamstring curls on a ball - lay on your back with the ball supporing your calves (legs are bent at 90 degrees). Arms are down by your sides and there for a bit of balance. 'Bridge' so your back comes off the mat, legs extend (like an upside down plank) and then contract your hamstrings to pull the ball in under you.

Single leg squats - just like it sounds - increase weight by holding dumbbells

I don't know what exactly you mean by step ups / step downs, or "shallow" lunges

arm stuff: do the bicep curls on the ball, triceps you can do extensions sitting on the ball (arm goes overhead like the shoulder stretch where you would be reaching trying to touch between your shoulderblades - then press up). Also, dips off a bench. If you look on the main forum, on the Dec swim challenge, I posted my shoulder weights routine - check that out, strengthen your posterior shoulder muscles too.

Let me ask you this, the goal of your lifting is what?

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
I'm not an expert, so take this advice with a grain of salt. But, everything I read has said that if you truly want to develop muscles, then you need to change the way you are doing your strength work. If you are lifting weights and doing 15 - 20 reps of everything, then you are toning your muscles. If you pick heavier weight, so that you can do a max of only about 8 - 10 reps, then you will start gaining more muscle. Two workout routines that help with this are P90X videos (I'm doing that one right now) and the book "Body for Life" (not the women's version - the real one). I'm not sure either of these will help you long term with your endurance sports, but they will help you gain real muscle.
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Try periodizing your weights. At some point depending on you triathlon training you need to lower your weight repititions to about 8 (3 sets). of course, when you do this you will increase the weight to as much as you can do,
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [DawnT] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Dawn is right, your rep range is a bit off. In general, the following rep ranges are used for the following goals (with appropriate changes in amount of weight lifted):
1-6: Power and Strength
8-12: Hypertrophy
15-20: Endurance
These phases are ideally cycled to avoid plateaus in gains, and the phase that I'd focus the most time on is Hypertrophy - for as Tigerchik said, muscle tone actually comes from gaining muscle, the "cut" comes from losing the fat over it. There is not a whole lot of truth in the "low reps to get big, high reps to get toned" belief. Two other notes for women in particular - 1) it is extremely unlikely you will develop so much muscle that you will lose your femininity - Many women bodybuilders you see that look "too big" have not done so entirely naturally, though by no means illegally, for it requires more testosterone than many women have. 2) In order to gain muscle, there needs to be sufficient protein, timed right, in your diet, and it is hard to gain muscle with a severe calorie deficit (some is ok though it puts a bigger honus on nutrition timing). Protein immediately after workout and before bed are two important times that are usually overlooked when your body needs protein. Stick at it and remember, theres a good chance that you probably look a lot better than you are giving yourself credit for, so enjoy your gains but be happy where you are too!
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [spotticus] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
Wow everyone great and totally helpful posts. Gotta love ST! The rep thing makes complete sense as does the leveling off and shaking it up. Even more which is what I am starting to become really aware is the diet component. Any good resources where I can read more about the protein aspect? Thanks again for your time! I will print it out and chew on it a bit!

COtrimom


Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
In Reply To:
ny good resources where I can read more about the protein aspect?

scroll down on this thread - is from a paper I wrote for a sports nutrition class:

http://www.edenathletics.com/node/8672

Don't neglect fat - protein is important, carbs are important, fat is really good for you too.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
Quote Reply
Re: How do you get muscle? [COTrimom] [ In reply to ]
Quote | Reply
The rep thing is key. Another key thing is making sure you do enough reps to exhaust your muscles. Pick a weight that this will happen in 8-12 reps. You want it so the last rep in the set is almost unattainable and you can't do another rep. The catalyst for muscles to grow bigger/stronger is complete exhaustion, which is, essentially, torn muscle fibers.

Eating a nice, lean protein diet and drinking a lot of water is also key. A lot of people think that protein is the key factor into building muscles, but muscle repair also requires a good amount of H2O. You are also going to have to consume more calories if you want to add muscle mass (namely protein).
Quote Reply