trying tobeef up a bit.!

ben-1888

does anyone no of anything i can do to try and slow my metabolism down abit so i can actually gain sum weight and in turn up my strength.
I am pretty fit and healthy but really struggle, or cant atal, gain weight, even with no excersize. I know of all these products out there but i have tryed and failed. I eat well and like a horse.
Oh im 6ft2, fluctuate between 10st and 11st, and 19 if that makes a difference.

Iv also read a bit about a condition where your body has problems taking nutrients etc out of he food you eat. Hope its nothing like that but is always a possibility.

suggestions appreciated.

blorg

Strength will come from training... So many top racers are beanpoles, I would see it as an advantage myself.

ben-1888

i do alot of jumping around on a bike tho and i find that i struggle to throw the bike around, just aint quite strong enough to be doin what i want.

jairaj

I don't think you want to slow down your metabolism rate. You just need to increase your muscle strength. Im no expert so don't take my word as gospel but I would have thought that doing more weights is what you're after. This will increase your muscle strength and hopefully enable you to chuck the bike around more.

As for the products you've tried, I think they are intended to be used as part of a muscle building program not simply drink and see the benefits. Protein is responsible for building new tissue in the body so make sure you have plenty of this in your diet when start to hit the weights and maybe even take on more carbs to ensure that the muscles are well fed.

hopefully someone will come a long a back me up 8) or just make me look like an idiot :oops: ?

blorg

What jairaj says makes a lot of sense. I'm primarily a roadie but have taken up MTB this year and it does tax the upper body more, weights sound like a good idea. Key thing is that the strength comes from the work, not from (although supported by) your food intake. You want to put on muscle, not fat, and you will only get that from training.

Discounting the whole doping thing, this is an example of what a former world MTB cross country champion looks like:

Surf-Matt

Christ - he looks critically ill!

You need to do some weights - and really heavy ones.
I gained 3 stone in 18 months of healthy weight but had to train like a nutter. I found supplements as good as useless - you need to right routine then the appetite willl shoot up naturally - just keep it sensible (don't force feed) dietwise and the strength will go up too.

I had to do machine bench pressing due to an old shoulder injury but went from 70kg to 150kg bench presses in those 18 months, nearly tripled my squat lifts and increased shoulder presses by almost double. Form is vital to avoid injury though.

You don't necessarily want to get massive - just need "compact" strength and a great power to weight ratio. And don't run away from cardio - lots think it loses that extra weights but unless you are doing a silly amount, all it will do is make sure you are super toned.

Been training since I was 16 (now 33) and taught the exercise/circuit side of a big kickboxing class so happy to answer anything if needed.

ben-1888

I certainly have the appetite, just dont put on the weight. I will try some kind of weight programme.
Surf-Matt, would you know how i could draw up an effective routine as i dont really have access to a gym would just be on my multi gym and/mainly handheld weights!
I do have a fairly active lifestyle but i wouldnt say i do any ridiculous cardio work so do you reckon im safe just to keep going with my usual cycles etc?
Also after a days riding, (not a big xc or anything, more fast paced and explosive workout) is there any specific foods i should be eating or just as long as im eating well?

thanks for the help!

Dr_Death

Mostly (in fact almost all) agree with Surf-Matt on this one. Nothing improves muscle strength like actually using them for what they were designed for....

Eating wise then as long as you eat healthy it doesn't matter too much to be honest. If you are eating a healthy, balanced diet then you will just adjust to eating more of it as your body requests it. If it stays balanced then you will get all the stuff you need, wouldn't worry too much about supplements to be honest, very little research to support any of the products on the market.

Surf-Matt

ben-1888 wrote:

I certainly have the appetite, just dont put on the weight. I will try some kind of weight programme.
Surf-Matt, would you know how i could draw up an effective routine as i dont really have access to a gym would just be on my multi gym and/mainly handheld weights!
I do have a fairly active lifestyle but i wouldnt say i do any ridiculous cardio work so do you reckon im safe just to keep going with my usual cycles etc?
Also after a days riding, (not a big xc or anything, more fast paced and explosive workout) is there any specific foods i should be eating or just as long as im eating well?

thanks for the help!

The vital thing is to try and lift to failure on each final set (do three per exercise)- really push it so you can't lift any more, This does make home weights a little risky and they usually aren't heavy enough.

The basic rule (that I sort of made of myself!) is if you can't do 6 reps it's too heavy, if you can do 15 (or more) it's too light.

Cycling is still fine - and gives you a good balance.

It's quite a commitment putting on muscle weight - if you just go through the motions nothing will happen.

Can give you a guide routine if you'd like - just let me know what kit you have, how often you are able to train and what sort of targets you have.

weeksy59

Old age will do it nicely.

I'd be happy rather than sad about it.

many many 30+ blokes would kill for that metabolism

Surf-Matt

It can actually be quite annoying if you struggle to put on weight.

batch78

Shit cant put it on! :roll:

Work work work.

Carb protein carb.

Don't 'worry' about loading just get into a natural rythym of doing it.

Look at NFL players, WWE wrestlers diets!!!!!!

My other younger brother (not the one who trains) is 2" taller than me but 3stone lighter, he eats crap but never puts on weight, he could not ever keep up with me on or off the bike though.

At the end of the day, endurance and mental conditioning are much more important than your visible muscle mass.