Which workouts will give lanky body some definition?

J

jerseygirl07067

Member
I'm pretty new to Cathe and have been using her workouts to help me lose most of my pregnancy weight. I am happy to say that I only have a few more pounds to go. :)

I am definitely a lot more toned than I was before, but I really want to add even more definition to my arms and legs. Perhaps have the "look" that I am in really good shape. The problem is, I have an ectomorphic body type (very long, thin arms and legs with not much definition). So genetically, I know there are limits.

What do you recommend? Pyramids? Slow and Heavy? Gym Styles? Other recs? (I started doing the Pyramids a few weeks ago and LOVE them, but also recently did one S&H workout, and really liked it too)

(It kills me, because my husband is more of a mesomorph, and could build muscle so easily if he really worked at it. But he is a TV addict. Sigh...)

TIA!
Marcy
 
Stuart McRobert has written a couple of books for "Hardgainers" and has a website (somewhere) on the subject. He recommends working hard and heavy, and not as often as you would think (hard gainers need more recovery and fuel to build the muscle).

I am a combo ectomorph/endomorph (what a combo: tendency to either slow muscle growth or fat), and I find that doing this helps me. P90X is the first routine that helped me a lot. I posted a Cathe routine modeled after P90X, and using the gym styles, in the rotations forum, but that was a while ago.

Basically, you could use either GS or S&H, and follow the rotation below:
day 1: upper body split 1 (ie: GS chest/triceps or Slow and heavy chest/back).

day 2: cardio (P90X cardio isn't as intense as Cathe's, to make sure you don't burn off the muscle you're trying to build--actually, using up the calories that would go into muscle growth).

day 3: lower body (GSL or S&H legs--I would prefer doing shoulders with arms in S&H, because arms don't need a whole hour by themselves, but you could also do them here, and I like to give shoulders more of a rest: they are also worked when chest and back are worked on day 1 with S&H)

day 4: stretch or yoga

day 5: GS back/shoulder/biceps or S&H arms (or combine shoulders with arms)

day 6: cardio (moderate intensity)

day 7: off


Pyramids could also work, but put more rest between sets (especially lower body) and try to heavy up (hard to do with the quick set changes in PLB especially).

In addition to allowing more recovery time for a hard-worked muscle, I find that putting more recovery between sets and/or body parts helps me a lot. In MM, I take at least 3x the break they do (which is minimal) between body parts worked.
 
I am an ecto, too. I find I get the best definition from doing workouts similar to her Gymstyle workouts. Everyone is different though. You'll have to experiment to figure out what works best for you.
 
RE: Which workouts will give lanky body some definition...

I would guess that Pure Strength, which is a few years older but very well balanced, might give you significant benefits. It is a 3 part workout and it's basic but not boring. The equipment needed is a full size step OR a floor :) , a barbell and some dumbbell pairs. Very basic but effective.

There are some incline bench presses so a regular step or weight bench is needed for those.

Check out the clips off the home page for a look at this series. The music is great IMO- classic rock.

I would love to get that soundtrack for my own use and for YMCA classes.

HTH

Connie
 
I'm pear shaped so I train my upper body differently from my lower. I go as heavy as I can on my upper body and alternate strength training and endurance training. The workouts that have given me the best results are Pure Strength, Pyramids, MIS and Gym Styles for strength, and PH, ME, and CTX-UB split for endurance. S&H is also a great mass builder, but because of the mental focus required for those slow reps (my attention span is short and I get bored easily), I use it for only 2-3 weeks at a stretch and only about twice a year.

Pinky
 
Marcy:

I have the same body type as you. I'm 5' 8", lean and lanky, long limbs, can go very skinny on upper body if I lose weight.

The best series to gain muscle and give great definition has been the S&H. I did several rotations of this this year, each about 6 weeks long. I do it for a while because that way I see maximum gains and I really enjoy it. And witnessing my increasing strength motivates me even more.

Once I have accomplished both muscle gain, strength and definition, I then use the Gym Styles, going as heavy as possible.

For us, endurance work for the upper body is a total waste of time. It may define, but it does not build maximum lean muscle tissue nor strength.

However, endurance work for the lower body is just great. I don't do the S&H for legs ever. I love LL and Gym Styles for legs, especially with all that thorough floor work.

Clare
 
>For us, endurance work for the upper body is a total waste of
>time. It may define, but it does not build maximum lean
>muscle tissue nor strength.
>
>However, endurance work for the lower body is just great. I
>don't do the S&H for legs ever. I love LL and Gym Styles for
>legs, especially with all that thorough floor work.



I'm the same way. I don't have LL, but I don't do S&H legs (those slo-mo lunges didn't seem to do my knee any favors, either) and prefer endurance workouts for the lower body, and heavier, strength-bulding workouts for the upper body.
 
Clare and Kathryn,

Just wondering, why endurance for the lower body but not for the upper? I thought the heavier the better for gaining muscle mass and strength. I appreciate your responses!

Marcy
 
>Clare and Kathryn,
>
> Just wondering, why endurance for the lower body but not for
>the upper? I thought the heavier the better for gaining muscle
>mass and strength. I appreciate your responses!
>
>Marcy

Hi, Marcy!
Endurance work is higher reps, lighter weights (think PH).
Strength work is at the opposite end: heavier weights, and lower reps (S&H).

I prefer endurance (higher reps, lower weights) for the lower body because I don't really want to gain much size there.

I NEED strength work for the upper body, because I don't tend towards muscle, and without it, I quickly get the "thin/fat" look that's more natural to me. (skinny arms, boney chest, but with some layers of fat..rather than the nice roundness and shaping that muscle gives me).
 
Exactly. Kathryn took the words put of my mouth. Also, I like to train the lower body for endurance as it gives me more plyo power for my cardio sessions.

Clare
 
RE: Ok, one more question....

**I NEED strength work for the upper body, because I don't tend towards muscle, and without it, I quickly get the "thin/fat" look that's more natural to me. (skinny arms, boney chest, but with some layers of fat..rather than the nice roundness and shaping that muscle gives me). **

I have this same issue with my legs too though. They totally have the "thin/fat" look as well, and I wouldn't mind actually gaining a bit of size in them. I do have a lot of fat in my hip area, but that has gone down a lot since I've added lots of weight training to my cardio.

So would you think that strength work would be better for my lower body than endurance work, or maybe a combo of the two? Just wanted to clarify...

Thanks again for your help!
 
RE: Ok, one more question....

I'd do a combo of both. Use the S&H legs, use Pure strength legs and GS legs. These three will help build size and shape.

Clare
 
Great advice. I am in a similar situation. I am liking the Gym Styles very much. I switched over to PS for a few weeks, and then got back to the GS after that. I just love what those push ups do for me! I would love to get P90X someday.

Just wanted to pipe in that you need to eat more too, in order to gain muscle. I shoot for 20g of protein 5 times a day. Don't always get there. But when I do, I notice I am much stronger with my lifting.

Hope this helps. Back about 10 years ago I used to lift and lift in the gym (this was pre-kids) and didn't modify my eating at all (I ate whatever popped into my head...it was baaad) and def. plateaued in my muscle growth. I decided it was a "genetic thing". Funny huh!I know better now.
Jen
 
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