I need a good body build, please help

More protein calories etc.

But most of all remember that food is not going to bulk you up most of the time. You have to lift weights too (unless you just want to fatten up, but I suspect you are the type who can eat all you want without any change in weight).

Welcome to Able2Know BTW!

What Craven said -

more protein (meat, eggs, fish, milk)
less sweets (bad for you anyway; eat fruit instead)
veggies are always good (you need 'em)

Keep in mind that natural sources of protein often have fat attached to them. So go for leaner cuts of meat, make omelets with more egg whites than yolks, drink skim or 1 percent milk, etc.

You'll want to gain weight before you start weight training. There are some nutritious weight gain bars and shakes out there that you can find. You can also ask your doctor to suggest some nutritious high calory diet for you. A pharmasist might be able to help as well. I wish you the very best ;-)

I know I already welcomed you earlier, but welcome aboard once again :-D

Welcome to A2K, vonderjohn!

As good a start as any is to eat well AND regularly.
Good luck!

Thank you all
Thank you all for welcoming me in here, it looks like a warm place with all the people around As for what you said Montana well the problem is that because of my poor body build and me being underweight, im not being able to eat much. I get full very quickly. Is my tummy small? No it's totally normal. Is the food bad? Not at all, especially when my mom cooks it! :p I have a veeery good appetite, no prob with that. So I need to make a good body build, gain some weight, and then i'll be gradually able to eat more than before. So again it's gaining weight and having a strong body build that I need to do first....and that's where I need your help guys
Thanks

Vonderjohn
If you get full quickly, then you might want to eat many meals in a day. As I said before, you need a high calory intake, so it may also be what you eat as well. The reason you need to gain weight before to start building is because you need something to build. Your doctor may have just the solution for you as far as a weight gain diet.

Hmm..
Well here's a question:
If I don't exercise, I won't have new muscles, and so if I eat without having new muscles, the fat and calories i'll be intaking from the food won't be stored into muscles...i.e i won't gain weight. See my point ?

Yes, but if you work out before you gain weight, you will burn calories that you can't spare. I remember my ex trying to build himself up before gaining weight and it didn't work for him. I use to weight train myself and since I never had a problem gaining weight, I became pretty built in a short time. I'm no expert, so I may be wrong. I'm just telling you what seen. I still think your doctor could give you the best advice on how you should go about it. I believe I saw a trainer respond to you on your other thread on this subject who is willing to help you. I'd jump on that offer in a heartbeat. The best of luck to you.

Hi all!!

I'm back, after a really busy season at work

Welcome vonderjohn!!

I've been reading through this, and am not sure if you are exercising or not.

You need to lift weights, if you want to gain mass.
Low reps at high weight is the way to go for increasing size. Just remember to include some flexibility training with each workout. (high reps at lower weights and cardiovascular training for toning, once you've bulked up.)

As far as eating goes, yes, many smaller meals per day will do it (and it's better for you)

Keep in mind that to build muscles, you've got to damage them, then rebuild them. Each time you push your muscles past their limit, you tear them a bit, your body will repair them, each time making the repair a bit bigger to handle more stress. That's how you get bigger. As a natural effect, the growing muscles WILL need more food. You may not eat much now, but if you start working hard, your body will let you know what it needs.

Eat high carb foods before you work out, for energy.
Eat high protein after your workout, to help feed and repair the muscles you've worked.

High calorie weight gain powders can be helpful, just remember that they're a supplement to what you should be eating already,..not a replacement.

Hope this helps!
Jerry

Welcome back, JerryR! ... Nice to see you again!

vonderjohn, welcome to A2K !! You are getting very good advice here !! I used to be like you when I was 15-16 skinny and all bones, till I started working out regularly !!! I developed a very well toned body (I never went for a very muscular look anyways) through a combination of working out and eating the "right" foods. Unfortunately, the demand of work life, and laziness meant that I let it all go, turning into a fat slob with amazing speed. It is funny how easily muscle turns into fat and how difficult it is to turn fat into muscle

But a gorup of us here at A2K have started working out again, to lose those excess pounds and in some cases, get a toned body, which we have lost. YOu might want to join our A2K Virtual Weight Loss club for inspiration, support and a lot of fun !!

Hello everyone and BIG THANKS for your replies especially you mister content specialist I value every word you all said and I grouped them all in one passage and ill be doing my best to start making a change, step by step.
Though I still have a few sub-questions :
First of all, there is weight lifting (or so-called 'body building') ...and there are the "set ups" or the so-called 'aerobics'.
Now what should I start with??? weight lifting or set ups? and why?
Set ups are known to "warm up" your body and muscles...while the body building thing simply "enlarges" those muscles and triggers new ones, am I right?
Anyway, again I ask, which should I start with first? why? and for how long???
Second 'set of questions' concerning your reply Jerry;
"am not sure if you are exercising or not."

I am planning to start exercising, but I want to know how to organize it (how many days/hours per week?) and what to eat while doing it (what kind of diet should I follow during my exercising periods?)
So far I have been recieving valuable replies from experienced and caring persons. I am very thankful, and I ask for your comment on that behalf.

"Low reps at high weight is the way to go for increasing size"
Low reps?? What does the word "reps" mean? an abbriviation or a short-hand word for something? please clarify.

"Eat high carb foods before you work out, for energy. "

High carb foods..such as? examples please

"Eat high protein after your workout"

high protein..hmm...like fish, cheese, and... could you give me some more examples for that please?
Thanks again for your concern.

VonderJohn

Reps are repetitions. That is, two sit-ups are two reps, or two lifts of a barbell are also two reps.

High protein foods include most meats (be very careful of fat), cheeses (again, fat, plus you need to be concerned about too much salt, which will cause some bloat weight gain and can be a bit uncomfortable), tofu (yes, it can be made to taste good :-D), peanut butter (some fat and salt but it's easy to prepare and very portable), eggs, fish, beans, poultry, etc. I think that's it. Bacon, sausage and scrapple are all high fat and not too much protein - you do better avoiding them.

High carb foods are what are also called starches. Examples are: pasta (all types), rice, potatoes (careful how you prepare them - french fries are fatty, baked potatoes aren't), breads, other grains like cous cous, cereals, etc..

As for exercise, I recommend starting slowly. You may feel you can do fifty reps on the first day, and maybe you can, but you'll be in a lot of pain for the next few days afterward - perhaps even pain to kill your motivation. Try a lot fewer reps and a smaller amount of weight and work your way up. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your body won't be, either. Be patient; it'll work.

Hi vonderjohn,
Sorry to take a while to respond (thanks for the assist jespah ).

Jespah is right, I'll just add a bit more.

First things first, a few things to keep in mind:
You need to set achievable goals, set your self up to succeed.
You might never be a big, buff body builder,..you need to accept the limits of your body. That's not to say you can't look and feel great, which IS the goal here.

Are you planning on working out at home, or are you going to a gym?
Most gyms are pretty affordable now, I know here in Boston, you can join a decent gym for about $20.00 a month.
Most of these places have personal trainers on staff, they're there to help, and can help you get started, as well as gain a better understanding of what YOU need to do to accomplish your goals.


Warming up is necessary for all forms of exercise, it's important to raise your body's core temperature, and get your joints and muscles ready for the workout.

Cardiovascular exercise is required for good health, and balance in your workouts. If your trying to gain mass, you may be advised to limit this to the healthy minimum.
One of the most effective ways to workout is what they call "circuit-training", which is a combination of high speed weightlifting exercises, where you move quickly from muscle group to muscle group in timed sets,...it gives you the benefit of weight training as well as cardiovasular work. It's a time saver, and the results come faster. It is designed to give you a leaner look, not so much bulky but muscular and well defined.
It's also more difficult, but it is very effective.

Cooling down/stretching is one of the most important parts of the whole thing. It helps increase your flexibility, and helps your muscles to relax and begin healing faster.

Foods:

Carbohydrates are foods that break down to sugar quickly, helping to give you energy faster, they include breads and starches, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Proteins are foods that take the body longer to break down, have valuable amino acids and enzymes that the body needs to build with,..these are your meats, fish, dairy, nuts and, yes, tofu.

Your diet will depend on the exercise program you choose, I wish I could just tell you what to do, but it doesn't work that way. I can give you some general information, but you really need to see someone to put you on the right track for your body type.

My best guess, if you are really motivated, is that you'll need to workout 4-5 days a week, for an hour to an hour and a half per session.

You'll start to feel a difference immediately, and start to see good results in about six weeks. Don't be impatient, it took your body 19 years to get where it is right now, it'll take a little time to make the changes you want to.

Hope this helps, my brain hurts now

Here is the advice I got from a fitness coach:

to start ...... you need to walk ......... cardio ...... 20
to 30 min per day for now ..........

also, you need to set aside time to train ......... if you
could set aside 20 - 30 min .... 2x day ..... that would be
a great start ......... one session of cardio .......
another session of muscle toning (hand weights, sit-ups,
push-ups, etc.) ............

try to get started now ......... but take it easy ......

Just to clarify, 20-30 minutes a day can be divided up into 2 or 3 sessions of 10-15 minutes, while you build your stamina. It is the time, not how you do it that is important. If you plan on building muscle, you should increase your protein intake. I think the diet advice you have been given is relatively sound, but I would avoid supplements....I just don't trust them. Stretch before and after a workout. Also, you need both weight training and cardio to be healthy and fit. Otherwise, you could end up looking totally buff, and then drop dead of a heart attack. Personally, I have found martial arts to be the most complete full body workout. It may not make you "pumped", but it makes you lean, muscular, flexible and fit.

(OH,..ALMOST FORGOT,..Thanks Ms.Olga!!,..good to see you!! )

I am just thinking, this topic may warrant 2 threads, one in Sports and Fitness, for the workout part, and one for the diet part, which can remain here in Food and Drink...

Thank you
I'm very grateful for all the advice/tips/info you all provided me with. Especially cavfancier and JerryR .. thank you for the details. Putting a value for your words I will be printing all those posts and reveiwing them patiently in my room, then i'll take a decision on how to begin and proceed with my body build up. I suppose i'll have to follow steps, and begin gradually. Things will not change in a day or two..not even a week or too..it looks like it's going to take a lot of time, effort and persistance from my side. As for the food..well since I have a good apetite I don't think i'll be facing a problem here...I just need to eat the suitable food to accompany my fitness exercises and weight lifting.
In a few months time i'll have a strong, firm, mascular body...i'm definitely going to be a babe magnet this time!!!

Just one more thing....if you go with carbs, stick to complex carbs. They are much better for you than white bread and pasta.