Question for the educated crowd

[digitaljtothea]

Hey All,
I was wondering if anyone here could help me out with a problem. I have a very small frame. I do not build muscle easily or show definition easily. I workout with weights three to four times a week and do cardio three to four times a week. I have been doing this for about three years now but I still do not have the muscle definition that I want. I eat clean 95% of the time. Does anyone have any suggestions for me getting more muscle definition. Are there particular foods that any of you eat or certain workout routines that you follow. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Sekcy_Gymnast]

Hello!
For you, I suggest try lifting weights 4-5 days a week and cardio 3 times a week. Make sure you take a day off during the week and work no more than 2 muscles a day. For example- Say Mon is biceps and triceps, Tues is chest & back, wednesday is legs & abs, thurs is shoulders and abs sat is off, and sun is just cardio.

HTH you!!! Good luck;-)


Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends.
-Laurie Kuslansky-

~Adri~
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[Mckmain]

Digitaljtothea, Adri is right as you might have to lift more. Also, I don't know how heavy you are going, but when my diet is clean and I lift heavy, I do get the definition I want...

 

[tillard]

I have the same problem...very "ecto-like" in my arms and legs...so building muscle for me is VERY difficult. Make sure you are eating enough calories, because in order to build muscle you have to be in a calorie surplus...not a deficit. With that comes cutting down on cardio to like 3 times a week. What I've found that works best for me is to do a cardio day and then follow it the next day with a weights day, and I always have at least one day off a week. The rotations that I've found that help me the most is doing a split set rotation where I work chest and back one day, and my arms the next nonconsecutive day (biceps, triceps, and shoulders). These two workouts I lift as heavy as I can and stay in the 8 to 10 rep range. I finish out the week with a more endurance based weight workout. So I'm in effect working my upper body twice in a week...once heavy, then again with a more endurance approach.

I have seen the most results by doing this. I still have a long way to go as, like you, any muscle gain and definition is long hard work for me. Good luck and keep us posted.

Deni

 

[acatalina]

IMO Bigger weights that challenge you and make you shake + harder stronger more defined muscles.
Maybe you need to crank the weights up a little and maybe take longer breaks if you are burning. It works for me.
I have also been doing the 1st set as heavy as i can possibly go then back down a little.
Like bench press. I will grab 30's for the 1st round then back m up to 25's or 20's and on weak days 15's. This has made me able to handle more weight...I feel the muscles getting harder...
This seems to work for me and may not work for you, but a suggestion.
Don't be afraid of the heavier weights. You are not going to look like a man unless you are on steroids.
Anne
http://www.picturetrail.com/acatalina

 

[kathryn]

You sound like an ecto, like me. (I'm actually an ecto-endo, neither of which favor muscle).

I've found that lifting heavy, taking enough recovery between workouts (very important for hard gainers), focusing on split routines, and not doing too much cardio all worked best. P90X worked the best for me of any rotation, though doing Cathe's Gym styles, each once a week, with the two upper body workouts separated as far apart as possible, worked as well (though not as well).

As for food, just eating sufficient calories in a good balance is important.

Obviously, what you are doing isn't working, so it's time to mix it up and try something different.

But, realize that the muscle definition you WANT may not be genetically possible for you without extreme measures (which I would not recommend). You can get more definition than you have, probably, but maybe not as much as your ideal, and you may have to change your expectations.

Try P90X (the entire rotation---perhaps substituting some Cathe lower body workouts for the P90X lower body). It can not only give you results, but teach you what a good, effective rotation is like.

YOu might also want to check out www.hardgainers.com , which is a web site dedicated to those who have a hard time gaining muscle (pretty testosterone-heavy, but you can apply the ideas to your own workouts).

 

[digitaljtothea]

Thanks to all of you for your time and advice. I think I will try to cut down on the cardio and I may try to eventually get the P90X program since I've heard so many good things about it. My Dad is really into fitness and he uses the P90X quite often and really likes it. Thanks again everybody

 

[gofigure]

I agree with everybody, but must add three words: PROTEIN, PROTEIN, PROTEIN!