Ok, i have muscles, but you cant see them. Help?

[Asa Samuel]

Basically i have really good muscles, they're rock hard and i'm pretty strong but you cant see them properly, i mainly want torso area (stomach, chest, shoulders) a bit more toned.


I do fencing, canoeing, dancing and tai chi so i get alot of excercise.

I was thinking of starting to go to the gym but is it really worth it unless you go at least 3 times a week?

Is there anything i can do at home that will seriously help with what i want to acheive or should i just try and make time for going to the gym often?


Thanks.

Bass Junkie.

[Aaron Saunders]

You'll never lose weight if your diet isn't good. Go here to figure out how many calories per day you need.

Then, try and space out your meals evenly throughout the day -- 6-8 meals per day, 6 minimum, spaced out around every 2.5-3 hours. Much longer and the body goes into starvation mode, storing what you intake as fat rather than using it for fuel.

You already do a lot of physical activity between fencing, canoeing, dancing, and tai chi. You may wish to look into doing some sort of bodyweight routine focused around pull-ups, dips, push-up variations, squats (bodyweight, eventually 1 legged), sprints, crunches, leg lifts (bent and straight knee) and bodyweight rows.

I'd say get into a gym, but to be honest, you don't really need it for what you seem to want. If you do want to get bigger/stronger and bodyweight exercises aren't doing it anymore, then I'd suggest going into the gym using a routine like Rippetoes Starting Strength.

If you don't recognize things in this post like exercise names or "Rippetoes," etc. just send me a PM or google it.

Ideally, you'll want to eat at or just above maintenance most of the time, especially with so much physical activity. If you want to get more toned, as you put it, what you need to do is drop your body fat %. You can do this by eating at a caloric deficit (300-500 calories per day below maintenance) but this probably isn't necessary, that's for someone looking to drop their BF% drastically and in a relatively short time. Eating at or around caloric maintenance and maintaining those activities you mentioned along with a bodyweight exercise routine done in your home 3-4 times a week will get you looking great .


As a general note, don't be afraid of carbohydrates (especially as such an active person!) and try to get around 1-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. You may want to consider taking in some form of protein supplement as well -- I personally suggest Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey or Casein. PM me or google for further explanation.

[Baryonyx]

Diet is incredibly important. Having massive muscles is irrelevant if they're covered with a layer of fat. Strip the fat off yourself (via a good diet and exercise) and you've created the platform to get ripped.

[Asa Samuel]

Well i dont have that much fat on me, i'm 5 ft 10, i'm 15 yrs old and i weigh about 58kg (just over 9 st) but i do have small layer of fat over my stumach muscles, absolutely none on my legs, though if you saw them you'd think i had really fat legs but poke them and you'll feel otherwise :P

[Sonic_Death]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

Well i dont have that much fat on me, i'm 5 ft 10, i'm 15 yrs old and i weigh about 58kg (just over 9 st) but i do have small layer of fat over my stumach muscles, absolutely none on my legs, though if you saw them you'd think i had really fat legs but poke them and you'll feel otherwise :P

Dude, you're 15. That changes everything.

Relax. You're not even fully developed yet, wait until you get older.

[Baryonyx]

Yeah, you can't expect to be muscle bound at 15 without steroids. relax and stay fit and healthy. Give it a few years and when you develop you'll acquire the physique you're after.

[Asa Samuel]

On the calorie calculation i got these results:

* Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 1392 calories per day
* Typical daily activities: 741 calories per day
* Calories burned from Other: 54 per day
* Calories burned from Other: 109 per day
* Calories burned from Other: 54 per day

* Total calories burned: 2352 per day

Note: 3500 calories = 1 pound weight loss


So help me understand this!

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Death

Dude, you're 15. That changes everything.

Relax. You're not even fully developed yet, wait until you get older.

Originally Posted by Chris2112

Yeah, you can't expect to be muscle bound at 15 without steroids. relax and stay fit and healthy. Give it a few years and when you develop you'll acquire the physique you're after.

Well i feel that i dont get enough exericse as it is and i find that if i have a goal then its alot easier for me to motivate myself, and this is a goal i have set for me.

[Sonic_Death]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

Well i feel that i dont get enough exericse as it is and i find that if i have a goal then its alot easier for me to motivate myself.

It is great to have a goal and all, but at 15 when your body is still developing you can't expect too too much. Just stay as fit as possible, don't worry about how much other people can see your muscles.

[Baryonyx]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

Well i feel that i dont get enough exericse as it is and i find that if i have a goal then its alot easier for me to motivate myself, and this is a goal i have set for me.

You sound like you're getting plenty of exercise...

...all that dancing!

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

On the calorie calculation i got these results:

* Resting (basal) metabolic rate: 1392 calories per day
* Typical daily activities: 741 calories per day
* Calories burned from Other: 54 per day
* Calories burned from Other: 109 per day
* Calories burned from Other: 54 per day

* Total calories burned: 2352 per day

Note: 3500 calories = 1 pound weight loss


So help me understand this!

This means you burn 2352 calories per day. I didn't realize you were only 15, this does change things...mainly, it means you should be eating even more .

Go on bodybuilding.com and read some of the nutrition articles there, as well as on t-nation.com. Take these with a grain of salt, as it's largely oriented towards bodybuilders so some things (eg, taking in 300g+ of protein per day) are a little silly/unrealistic for you. However, there's nobody in the world who eats healthier than a natural bodybuilder, so these guys are great to learn from.

Honestly, I'd suggest eating a lot of clean foods (brown rice, veges, chicken, tuna, salmon, eggs, milk, fruits, whole wheat bread, juice) spread out throughout the day with the calories totaling 250-500 calories per day above maintenance. This will allow you to put on lean muscle through your activities without adding fat. This will thus increase the size of your muscle while making them look better by by lowering your BF%.

Maybe after a few months if you've noticed a bit of extra padding around your waist/at your mid-section you should consider something more calorie-restricted, but for the moment I'd suggest eating healthy foods at or above your caloric maintenance level and you'll see a significant difference.

Pictures of front and back (relaxed and tensed) would help a lot.

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Sonic_Death

It is great to have a goal and all, but at 15 when your body is still developing you can't expect too too much. Just stay as fit as possible, don't worry about how much other people can see your muscles.

Well i want to stay as fit as possible, which is why i want to get more exercise and start doing something else aswell as what i am doing at the moment.


Its not just how much other people see, as only one person other than me see's them regularly, but i dont really see myself all that greatly and physical looks are easiest to sort out so i want to do this sooner rather than later.




Any tips on diet based on those results up there? ^^^

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

...totaling 250-500 calories per day above maintenance...

And my maintenance level is?

[Captain Chaos]

Take steroids. Problem solved.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

And my maintenance level is?

2352 calories per day. So you'll want to eat anywhere from 2700-2900 calories per day given your level of activity.

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

2352 calories per day. So you'll want to eat anywhere from 2700-2900 calories per day given your level of activity.

ok, and what about exercises i can do at home?

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by Bass Junkie

ok, and what about exercises i can do at home?

You could try something like...

-10 regular pushups, 10 close-grip push-ups, and 5 one armed pushups (each arm) x 3
-10 pull-ups x3
-50 bodyweight squats x3
-25 bodyweight rows x3
-15 glute-hamstring raises x3
-10 back hyperextensions x3
-10 dips x3

3 times a week -- M/W/F. Bring up the reps as you feel you're gaining strength/muscular endurance.

On your off-days (2-3 times week, when you feel you have energy) try and do the following as well: 4 minute warm-up jog. 20 second sprint, 10 second rest, repeat until this has gone on for 4 minutes total (you should have done 8 sprints by this time, and will be very tired) and cool down with a 4 minute jog.

EDIT: Google the names of the exercises I mentioned. Some, like the bodyweight rows, glute-ham raises, and hyperextensions may take some improvisation on your part as far as materials, but these can all be done with household items.

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

-10 pull-ups x3
-25 bodyweight rows x3
-15 glute-hamstring raises x3
-10 back hyperextensions x3
-10 dips x3

Ok, pretty much these ones i'm not sure i could find a way to do them as i dont have the equipment for them, i guess for the dips i could use a couple of chairs but i'm not sure my parents would be too happy with that, the back hyperextensions i dont see how i could do them, not the glute-hamstring riases or the bodyweight rows, and i dont have a bar for pull-ups.



Humph.



EDIT: i suppose i could improvise some bungee-ccords to do a few of the exercises but i wouldn't know if it was worth it or wether i was over-doing it!

[Aaron Saunders]

You can use a broomstick across two chairs for the BW rows, and a pull-up bar is $20 at Wal-Mart. To do the glute-ham raises, all you need is something to secure your ankles down -- stick your feet under a sturdy chair, bed, couch, whathaveyou, and you can do 'em (make sure you've got a folded up blanket under your knees to protect them though.)

Dips you can do with two chairs, you can do them with two desks, really, anything of the same height.

Back extensions may require some more MacGuyver-ish skills or the help of a friend/parent. You could have a friend secure your ankles while you do them from the porch, off a desk, etc.

Ask your parents for some help in regards to the pull-up bar, but honestly, most of these things are doable with a little creativity around the house.

[Deacon_Blues]

If you want to grow your muscles, you need to work specifically with the muscles in question, and use weights with which you can do approx. 5-10 repetitions per set. With lighter weights, the focus will be on the endurance, and higher weights will give more raw power. When I exercise, I normally start with a low weight, then medium and finally a high weight. It has been working for me.

Here's a few exercises:

For the shoulders, grab a pair of relatively light dumbbells (4-8 kg) and stand in upright position. Lift up the dumbbells so they are at the level of your eyes and your thumbs are pointing slightly downwards. The distance between the dumbbells should be approx. one meter. Then lower them slowly to the original position and repeat. Another exercise is to start with holding them at your shoulders and lift them straight upwards.

Chest: Normal bench-press or a similar exercise with dumbbells on a bench or slightly works well. You need heavier dumbbells for this and a bench. If you haven't done weight lifting before, I think a start weight of 10-20 kg per dumbbell is ok. Later you might want 30+ kg dumbbells. Then it's better to go to the gym. Another exercise is the common push up exercise, which also will exercise your triceps:



If you want more resistance in that exercise (to get the number of reps down to 5-10), put something heavy in a backpack and put it on...

Stomach: The only exercise I can think of that's easy to do at home is sit-ups, preferably on a bench made for it. To increase the resistance, grab a dumbbell or something and keep it high up on your chest while doing the sit-ups.