Putting on some weight

nickbrown_500
nickbrown_500 Posts: 41
My arms are quite skinny and part of my body is so im wanting to put on some weight in the way of some more muscle what is the best way to do this,

is there any drinks etc that help ie protein driinks etc

cheers

Comments

  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    How old are you?

    Uusally exercise and a good balanced diet is all you need. I found that simply biking regularly has made my arms stronger - though I have to say if you are narrow boned, you will always look slim to a degree, like myself.
  • dunker
    dunker Posts: 1,503
    push-ups are good for upper body, simple and effective.
  • wheelbuckler
    wheelbuckler Posts: 134
    Push ups seconded.

    You can actually get a really good upper body workout from press ups in various positions - normal, wide arm, cross thumb, incline, decline. Throw in a few heaves and you'll soon start to see improvement.

    Get yourself strong naturaly then if you want to get bigger you can hit the weights but if its just strength you want then doing the above with your riding will help.
  • Surf-Matt
    Surf-Matt Posts: 5,952
    I went from 9.25 to 12.25 stone (same bodyfat %age) in just over 18 months by finding the right weight routine and diet.

    Press ups alone will not really bulk you up - they are not intense enough.
    You need heavy bench pressing, dumbell flyes, etc.

    Once you gained a bit of muscle, press ups will maintain that strength very well.
    I have a load of variations of press ups that are more intense (including Chinese press ups which no one else I have met can do) but really, if you can do more than 15 of any exercise, it's not intense enough. You do need to be able to do at least 6 reps though!

    Eating and drinking more protein will do almost nothing without the right exercise.
  • robmanic1
    robmanic1 Posts: 2,150
    Sounds like you're a young'un Nick, I was the same when I was a yoof, spent my late teenage years trying to bulk-up, low reps - big weights. put on a couple of stone over the years and then spent the last ten years trying to shed it! Another half a stone to go and I'll be almost back where I started, might even be able to climb better.
    Pictures are better than words because some words are big and hard to understand.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/34335188@N07/3336802663/
  • KonaMike
    KonaMike Posts: 805
    Push ups are very good,I'm a skinny bloke too but I have got a bit more muscle definition from doing Push ups,Stomach crunches and a few basic dumbell excersizes! However much I try I just cannot put on any extra weight though,I have been the same weight for the last 10 years . :?
  • topo
    topo Posts: 3,104
    If your have done no weights, push ups, sit ups before then starting off will deffinately help you improve strength but as said above you will get to a point when they just become to easy. you will find yourself doing 30 and not feeling fatigued at all. Bench press is good but you can also start doing sit ups with weights and leg raises, body crunches etc. If your young, around 16 then you should bulk up pretty quick.
  • LordBanks
    LordBanks Posts: 358
    eat loads of cakes.
  • KonaMike
    KonaMike Posts: 805
    When you start to find push-ups getting easy just type 'Push up variations' into Google and you will find dozens of types of push ups,training programs and even video tutorials showing how to do them.
  • punctureboy
    punctureboy Posts: 217
    to build muscle the best method is to do exercises that use several muscle groups at once. these exercises increase the bodies natural production of testosterone, which is the holy grail of muscle building.
    the most important of these is squats, as it works the biggest muscles in the body. (not to mention useful for cycling!) the other exercises are bench press, shoulder press and heaves.
    vary between strength (8-12 reps) and endurance (15-25 reps). the most important thing to concentrate on is not the weight lifted but correct technique. on strength workouts take 2 seconds to lower the weight and 1 second to lift. on endurance take 3 seconds to lower, 2 seconds to lift the weight. this ensures you are lifting the weight without momentum to help. by the way, the really low weights on endurance sound a doddle. trust me you will walk away from the gym shaking!!