New Member: Genetically Lanky and "Skinny Fat"

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5/7/12 8:47 P

I am going to take a stab at answering your questions.
I am in a somewhat similar boat as you, in that I am happy with my weight, but am working on building muscle. I am 41, 5'6", 130.
It is a little harder to find info on this site about people in our shoes, but there is good info around! This site is, for most people, about losing weight, though there are a lot of other folks on here with a wide variety of goals.

As I answer your questions, I will share the resources I have been using. My disclaimer there is that none of these resources are written by me, sponsored by me, etc, and I have absolutely no financial incentive in recommending them. (Just had to get that out of the way!)

1. CAN I build muscle if i really work it?
YES, you can, but you are right, it is work! The keys here are good nutrition, and an intelligently designed exercise program. Building muscle is a slow process, so it should really fall into a mid-term to long-term goal category. For most people, it does not happen overnight.

A good rate at which most experts say women can expect to gain muscle is about 1 pound a month.

So, nutrition: You need to be taking in enough calories. For you, I would start at maintenance for a month or so. Make sure you are getting enough of all of the nutrients you need. You will need enough protein, healthy carbs, and healthy fats. Some people will be able to "recomposition;" especially if you are new to exercising. That basically means that, though your weight stays the same, your body fat percent drops while your lean muscle mass increases. A lot of people will need to go above maintenance calories, though, in order to put on muscle.

To find out want your maintenance calorie intake is, there are 2 approaches you could try. One would be to use the sparkpeople food logging capacity, and log everything you are eating now. This will give you an idea of how many calories and what your nutrient breakdown is. Another approach is to set your weight goal at maintenance. Then, Sparkpeople will give you calorie targets to maintain your current body weight based on your individual stats. I did this by setting my starting weight and my goal weight as the same, and set my time in which to achieve this goal as 1 year from now.


2 Sort of related but my butt, when i am stronger i plan on learning to do dead lifts and possibly use a kettle ball. Is that crazy at my age?
No, you are not crazy! These are both really effective exercises for building gluteal muscles, the foundation of a non-flat butt :)

This brings me to the other part of building muscle... an intelligent exercise plan.
So, for building muscle, you really want to focus on lifting weights. Lots of cardio can be counterproductive to building muscle, as it causes you to spend energy. If you are trying to build muscle, you will probably need to eat even more food if you are doing lots cardio, too. From what you are saying, you are doing some cardio, and some is good for overall health, so I wouldn't necessarily stop. However, for muscle building, a lot of people will limit their cardio to short bouts of higher intensity interval style training a couple of times per week.

So here are my 3 favorite resources for women who want to build muscle (the first 2 are free, the others are books).

1. Spark People teams:
I am a member of the Iron Maidens Team here, and recently asked a question about this topic:
http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/team_
messageboard_thread.asp?board=0x1285x4
7040115

2. Lean Bodies Fitness website (this is a website primarily for bodybuilders and physique competitors, but they have a wealth of information overall that is very scientifically based and healthy.) Here is a thread where I recently posted on that board asking questions about building muscle:
http://www.leanbodiesfitness.com/showthr
ead.php?17785-Would-like-to-build-musc
le-need-nutrition-advice

3. The New Rules of Lifting books by Lou Schuler. There are several of these, but I own, and really like, these two:
New Rules of Lifting For Women
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-Rules-Lift
ing-Women/dp/1583333398/ref=sr_1_1?ie=
UTF8&qid=1336437809&sr=8-1

And New Rules of Lifting for Life (targeted for middle-agers wanting to learn to lift weights)
http://www.amazon.com/The-Rules-Lifting-
Life-Muscle-Building/dp/1583334610/ref
=pd_sim_b_1

I guess my question is can anyone build muscle no matter what the genetics.
Yes, though admittedly it is easier for some than others. It may not be as hard for you as you think it will be, though, if you find appropriate nutrition and exercise that works with your body!

And 3. Do i base rest days on how i feel or should i be taking every other day off at my age?
You need at least 48 hours of rest for each muscle group you have worked. As one of my trainer friends reminded me, the gym breaks down muscle, and nutrition and rest are what build muscle!!! If you don't rest, you don't build.
Hope that helps!!!

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5/7/12 4:06 P

Dallasgirl, this is actually a myth:

"Depending on what you want, you can either do a lot of reps on a lighter weight to tone or fewer reps with a heavy weight to add bulk."

Doing more reps with lighter weight doesn't "tone", and fewer reps with heavy weight doesn't add bulk. The general advice for all strength is to lift as much weight as you can safely do in 8-12 reps and still maintain good form. Women don't "bulk up" the way men do. It's simply not true. :)

This article will explain why these myths aren't true, and what the facts *really* are! www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_artic
les.asp?id=1662

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5/7/12 8:13 A

Strength training is an excellent thing to do. Depending on what you want, you can either do a lot of reps on a lighter weight to tone or fewer reps with a heavy weight to add bulk. It also burns calories well after you're done working out and it helps keep your frame healthy. You should always rest muscle groups for a day. I'm 45 and started working about faithfully about a year ago and I can definitely see some definition--mostly in my arms and shoulders. Legs seem to be flabby all the time no matter what I do though!

Good Luck to you.

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5/7/12 7:58 A

I'm no expert but maybe you're under the impression that you can't build muscle because you've never lost your "skinny fat." I hope that makes sense. Since your scale numbers are good, maybe you should base your goal off of reducing your body fat while building muscle. Have you ever gotten that tested? It might be a good starting point for you. Don't give up on strength training because even if you don't see the results you want on the outside, it is doing wonders for you on the inside!

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5/6/12 10:25 P

It really depends on what you mean by "building muscle" - if by building muscle you mean getting huge arms and legs, no... that's not something everyone can do.

However, you CAN get stronger! You may never be big, but I don't believe anyone but those who suffer from certain musculoskeletal diseases can't build strength and muscle!

Strength training can be started any time; 47 is hardly dead! There are ladies in my weight classes older than you, and they are definitely building muscle! If you can lift a dumbbell, you can build strength.

Being long and lanky doesn't mean you can't build muscle, it just means that your parents never tried. ;)

Note that the flab can't be spot-reduced by weight lifting... that's what overall body fat percentage is about.

Rest days are something you should always do after strength; whatever muscle group (or groups) you work should be allowed to heal and recover, even if you're not necessarily sore, because it's that rest that allows your muscles to get stronger by repairing the damage you've done to them!

Edited by: DRAGONCHILDE at: 5/6/2012 (22:28)

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5/6/12 10:06 P

I'm a good weight almost 5'7" and 125, almost 47 (female) but very unfit. I have no definition in my legs, a flat mushy butt, pot belly (esp. lower) and mushy upper arms. The arms bother me the most because they are kind of lumpy looking. I also have a lot of cellulite on my legs. The good news is i started the "Couch to 5K" program, and walk on an incline on the treadmill a couple of days a week and i am starting to see some changes in my body. I have a few questions:
1. I have never been able to build muscle (my parents were both the same, long and lanky) except in my back and shoulders which are actually really pretty even now :) (hey something positive right?) but i think if i don't build muscle in my arms i will always have those lumps in my upper arms no matter how much cardio i do correct? CAN I build muscle if i really work it?
2 Sort of related but my butt, when i am stronger i plan on learning to do dead lifts and possibly use a kettle ball. Is that crazy at my age?

I guess my question is can anyone build muscle no matter what the genetics.

And 3. Do i base rest days on how i feel or should i be taking every other day off at my age?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.