What is the right workout for my body type?

Garnet

Vietnam9021 Posts

August 26 2013 15:06 GMT

I've been doing the 100-push-up program for a few months, but for some reason just can't get past week 3 despite trying and restarting the program many times. That makes me think pushups might not be the right exercise for me.

I am 174 cm (5.7 ft) and 55 kg (121 lbs). Very skinny as you can see. Most of the workouts I read on the internet seem to be for losing weight, which is not my case here. I think I need to GAIN weight.

I can't afford gym, all I have are two pairs of dumbbells (11 lbs and 4.4 lbs). Any ideas?.

itsjustatank

Hong Kong9154 Posts

August 26 2013 15:08 GMT

also if your goal is gaining weight, you need to be eating appropriately and not just working out

rel

Guam3521 Posts

August 26 2013 15:10 GMT

Pushups are mostly a mental thing. When you think you can't do more is when you need to say fuck it and do 5 extra. Pushups def good for your body type. Pushups were the sole workout that got me from 119 before the military to 155 when I left(Obviously you need to eat more to gain weight, no workout can make you gain weight). Now I am at 145 with more muscle. It's one of the best workouts for core strength you can do.

r1flEx

Belgium256 Posts

August 26 2013 15:36 GMT

if you can't do anymore push ups. just stay in the push up position with your arms up. stay for like 20 seconds and then do a few more. with being so stale and then pushing your arms to do more. you'll improve.

with push ups you have to go beyond your limit to improve

n.DieJokes

United States3443 Posts

August 26 2013 15:41 GMT

You need to eat more to gain weight, exercise won't help you put on lb's. That said, don't do just pushups they aren't a total body workout or anything like that and you shouldn't neglect the rest of your body. There are plenty of calisthenic exercises. Here's a thread that talks about full body claisthenic routines and different exercises to do. Give it a look. If you just want to look good, try and get yourself a pull up bar to supplement your chest and only chest routine

ieatkids5

United States4628 Posts

August 26 2013 15:52 GMT

gaining weight and muscle mass without a gym

food: it's simple, you gotta eat more. you can do all the exercises you want, if you don't eat more calories than you burn, you're never gonna gain any weight. eat clean, eat healthy, and eat a lot. more info:
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=261918

exercises: if you wanna gain mass, you gotta keep your exercises in certain rep ranges.
low sets and reps (1 to 3 sets, 1 to 5 reps), high intensity (explosive movements, high weight) for strength
higher sets and reps (3 to 6 sets, 6 to 12 reps), lower intensity (lower weights, more time under tension) for more muscle mass (hypertrophy). something like 5x5 is usually recommended for beginners. if you do 100 pushups, you're training endurance and you probably won't get bigger.

those above rep ranges are assuming you're using a weight that is just enough for you to be able to finish the sets and reps with good form. once you are able to complete the set/reps, you gotta increase the weight.

understanding the above, here are some exercises you can do to get stronger and get bigger using functional movements.

upper body push
- dips and weighted dips
- weighted pushups
- clapping pushups
- diamond pushups
- handstand pushups

upper body pull
- all variations of pullups (forward facing grip and backward facing grip. wide and narrow grip, weighted)
- inverted rows

lower body
- weighted squats (fill up a bookbag with books and carry a heavy box of stuff)
- pistols (one legged squats)
- superman hold (and weighted)
- deadlifts (don't need a barbell, just pick up some heavy shit)

if you're not sure how to perform one of these movements, just youtube or google it

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

August 26 2013 17:38 GMT

Get a big box. Put heavy stuff in it. Now lift it and carry it until you literally collapse.

Do anything until you literally collapse. Like pushups for example. You're not done when it starts to hurt. You're done when you literally can't do anymore. If you can't do anymore, you lie on your stomach for a while and then try to do another one. When it takes you more than 30 seconds to get off the ground, you're done.

Basically, do work.

farvacola

United States18826 Posts

August 26 2013 17:57 GMT

At your weight, it doesn't matter what exercise you do, given that it isn't long distance cardio. What matters is that you eat enough food. In terms of impact, diet will play a much more significant role in your gaining weight than exercise will.

sob3k

United States7572 Posts

August 26 2013 19:41 GMT

On August 27 2013 02:38 hp.Shell wrote:
Get a big box. Put heavy stuff in it. Now lift it and carry it until you literally collapse.

Do anything until you literally collapse. Like pushups for example. You're not done when it starts to hurt. You're done when you literally can't do anymore. If you can't do anymore, you lie on your stomach for a while and then try to do another one. When it takes you more than 30 seconds to get off the ground, you're done.

Basically, do work.

Completely unneccesary. Modern research suggests no benefit to this and its extremely taxing on your body. Not to mention it makes you hate working out and feels terrible and will probably lead to less actual exercise.

OP, you should go over to the Health and Fitness subforum, probably the bodyweight fitness thread and see if you can get some workouts and advice from Eschlow and other people who actually know what they are talking about.

On August 27 2013 00:52 ieatkids5 wrote:
gaining weight and muscle mass without a gym

food: it's simple, you gotta eat more. you can do all the exercises you want, if you don't eat more calories than you burn, you're never gonna gain any weight. eat clean, eat healthy, and eat a lot. more info:
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=261918

exercises: if you wanna gain mass, you gotta keep your exercises in certain rep ranges.
low sets and reps (1 to 3 sets, 1 to 5 reps), high intensity (explosive movements, high weight) for strength
higher sets and reps (3 to 6 sets, 6 to 12 reps), lower intensity (lower weights, more time under tension) for more muscle mass (hypertrophy). something like 5x5 is usually recommended for beginners. if you do 100 pushups, you're training endurance and you probably won't get bigger.

those above rep ranges are assuming you're using a weight that is just enough for you to be able to finish the sets and reps with good form. once you are able to complete the set/reps, you gotta increase the weight.

understanding the above, here are some exercises you can do to get stronger and get bigger using functional movements.

upper body push
- dips and weighted dips
- weighted pushups
- clapping pushups
- diamond pushups
- handstand pushups

upper body pull
- all variations of pullups (forward facing grip and backward facing grip. wide and narrow grip, weighted)
- inverted rows

lower body
- weighted squats (fill up a bookbag with books and carry a heavy box of stuff)
- pistols (one legged squats)
- superman hold (and weighted)
- deadlifts (don't need a barbell, just pick up some heavy shit)

if you're not sure how to perform one of these movements, just youtube or google it

This is a solid list of exercises. There are also many more out there. Look up some parkour training videos from reputable people on youtube for all kinds of great stuff you need no gym for. Quadrupedal movement, mantles/climb-ups, precision leaps and other plyometrics etc.

Nitrogen

United States5345 Posts

August 26 2013 19:49 GMT

#10

http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Gravity-Systematic-Gymnastics-Bodyweight/dp/1467933120/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377546437&sr=8-1&keywords=overcoming gravity

good book on bodyweight exercises written by a tl member, it's great.

as for gaining weight, GOMAD
http://stronglifts.com/gomad-milk-squats-gallon-gain-weight/

IAmThEnd

United States111 Posts

August 26 2013 21:12 GMT

#11

Get a gym card. get 7 gallons of milk, eat a gallon of milk everyday. stuff your face with natty peanut butter and banana sandwiches and then tell me you didn't gain any weight after a month,

0x64

Finland4555 Posts

August 26 2013 21:25 GMT

#12

Start rock climbing or parcour with your bodytype, you'll get good in no time, forget about the body mass, you'll get even muscles and feel good about yourself.

See you later, spiderman

znow1

54 Posts

August 26 2013 21:59 GMT

#13

On August 27 2013 00:06 Garnet wrote:
I've been doing the 100-push-up program for a few months, but for some reason just can't get past week 3 despite trying and restarting the program many times. That makes me think pushups might not be the right exercise for me.

I am 174 cm (5.7 ft) and 55 kg (121 lbs). Very skinny as you can see. Most of the workouts I read on the internet seem to be for losing weight, which is not my case here. I think I need to GAIN weight.

I can't afford gym, all I have are two pairs of dumbbells (11 lbs and 4.4 lbs). Any ideas?.

Mate you need to start training at a gym and learn about diet.

You know what your problem is yourself you need to gain weight, its not about how many reps pushups you can do its about how much you eat per day, eat alot, if you work out your entire body while doing it you wont become fat, youll get bigger in the right places
100 pushup program is not a workout routine, its a challenge. Google any workout routine from a proffesional, go to the gym and lift weights and eat lots of food

Anyone can afford a gym, not being able to afford is a bad excuse for a pussy whos scared of going to the gym

llIH

Norway2143 Posts

August 26 2013 22:10 GMT

#14

Diet is more important than how you work out. Trust me.

iamho

United States3347 Posts

August 26 2013 22:33 GMT

#15

Sorry mate but there is no way you will be able to gain significant muscle without larger weights. Doing pure pushups is silly, it might help your conditioning but you will plateau in strength relatively quickly, and in mass even more quickly. You need to get access to real weights, or at least heavy objects (100+ lbs). Are you sure you can't get access to a gym? Where I live a month's fee is about half a day of minimum wage work.

Also you will need to get on a dedicated calorie surplus diet, for you that is probably going to be at LEAST 3000 calories per day. It is physically impossible to gain muscle (after a certain point) without lots of food. Working out only creates the right conditions for the body to produce muscle, your caloric surplus is what is actually used to create the muscle.

llIH

Norway2143 Posts

August 26 2013 22:57 GMT

#16

And please don't take gainer shakes. They contain TONS of sugar. And are very bad for you. Just eat heathy food even when gaining.

CatNzHat

United States1599 Posts

August 26 2013 23:54 GMT

#17

You need to eat more if you want to gain weight, simple as that. Increase caloric intake and work out enough to disrupt homeostasis. Squats/deadlifts are the fastest way to build strength, but you can do bodyweight training if you do not have access to weights. I would suggest you check out /r/bodyweightfitness and then just start eating more.

I'm 6'2" and around 145 pounds, the only physical exercise I do is rock climbing, but I climb three times a week (v3-v6/5.10a-5.11d). Compared to when I was doing Olympic lifts and being more conscious of my caloric intake I'd say rock climbing is definitely a slower way to gain weight, however I enjoy it a lot more and that's all that really matters. If I were to eat more than 2k calories a day and had a proper sleeping schedule I'd be a lot stronger (and heavier).

Building muscle is a lot more about eating than anything else, if you eat enough (doesn't actually matter too much what you eat so long as you have enough protein) and provide some sort of stimulus to your muscles (lift weights, bodyweight exercise, whatever) then you will build muscle. The hard part (for me at least) is keeping a routine sleep schedule so that I can keep a routine schedule for meals and allow my muscles to properly recover (recovery is when the torn muscle fibers built to repair the tears caused by the workout, your body builds excess fibers in hopes that the next time you lift that much weight they won't tear, this is why it's difficult to build strength in your legs without weights as you're already strong enough to lift your body weight and the stimulus won't be enough to interrupt homeostasis).

TL;DR: Eat more, do squats/deadlifts, get gym membership if you can, start counting calories, maybe checkout r/bodyweightfitness or start rock climbing.

aZealot

New Zealand5447 Posts

August 27 2013 00:44 GMT

#18

First of all, what do you want from your workouts? Do you want to be bigger and stronger? If so, I'm afraid just doing bodyweight exercises won't cut it over the long term. Apart from eating more, a lot more, you'll need to increase resistance and tackle heavier weights. If you are not able to afford a gym, can you afford a basic barbell, a bench, and some weights? Given your current size and probable lack of strength, you probably do not need more than a couple of 5kg plates and a couple of 10 kg plates. Then bench press, military press, squat and deadlift. Eat, repeat, sleep. Get bigger. Get stronger.

LaNague

Germany9118 Posts

August 27 2013 01:47 GMT

#19

how old are you?

You will probably gain weight unintentionally in your 20s, be careful if you intentionally try to eat more than you normally would, you could actually get fat.

Burrfoot

United States1176 Posts

August 27 2013 01:48 GMT

#20

Download the P90X from a torrent and core it up!

DarkPlasmaBall

United States44329 Posts

August 27 2013 05:40 GMT

#21

On August 27 2013 10:48 Burrfoot wrote:
Download the P90X from a torrent and core it up!

P90X helped me a lot, although there are certainly plenty of other programs (and especially diets) that people can try, based on preference and how serious they are at improving their weight or lifestyle.

Gendo

United Kingdom216 Posts

September 02 2013 21:33 GMT

#22

That's really skinny, try to put on some weight using a diet, not sure repetitive exercise translates into weight if you have nothing to transform in to muscles.

I would suggest to review your diet and swim for a start.

-Kaiser-

Canada932 Posts

September 03 2013 00:40 GMT

#23

The one you'll do.