Tiny girl wants muscles

hodnettsara
hodnettsara Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there, I'm a volunteer firefighter and I'm quite thin. I've been told that I can't get muscles because I'm not fat. I started a new gain weight this week. Any ideas, excersise plans? I'm also enrolling into firefighter academy and paramedic academy within a year. HELP.

Replies

  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    Pretty much anyone can get stronger. All it takes is a progressive strength program and a calorie surplus.

    More than you ever wanted to know:

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1308750/so-you-want-to-start-lifting-great
  • robininfl
    robininfl Posts: 1,137 Member
    That's not true. You can be lean like a whip, muscled and strong. And you can't really turn fat into muscle - you have to lose fat and build muscle if you start fat; if you start skinny you only have to build muscle. Though fat people are stronger in an absolute sense from carrying more weight, so maybe that helps some.

    Someone on here can probably point you toward a good routine, for starting from skinny and getting to strong. I added muscle mass (starting out around 120lb at 5'9") and strength just by running and doing yoga and eating a little more, for a couple of years. You can do it faster with weightlifting and extra protein, but will still want to run if you are going to be a firefighter; you need a lot of general fitness, not just "strength", right?

    I mostly just want to say whoever told you you can't go from skinny to strong was wrong.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    Only fat people can build muscles? That's new one.
  • kimdawnhayden
    kimdawnhayden Posts: 298 Member
    You will need to eat more to gain muscle. Look at a bulking diet.
  • Kinger138
    Kinger138 Posts: 15 Member
    Do a google search for Stronglifts 5x5, or if that doesn't float your boat, grab a copy of Starting Strength. Add some protein and enjoy the work. You'll make newbie gains pretty quick. :)
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    lift heavy, eat enough food with a focus on protein.

    flavio baccianini is 4' 11" and competed as a pro bodybuilder. not standing next to anyone, his muscles were huge. http://contest.bodybuilding.com/bio/504/ lenda murray, a repeated ms olympia, was 5' 6" - when competing, her muscles were bigger than most men. mohamed makkawy had spectacular muscles at 5' 4" (rumor says he was shorter). i could keep going, but the bottom line is that anyone of any height can build muscle.
  • chonji4ever
    chonji4ever Posts: 120 Member
    I'm a big fan of the one body part per week powerlifting routines like the Push Pull Legs one. Each muscle requires 4-7 days of recovery, so any more often is just over training. Lift heavy where failure is at 4-6 reps, and you'll see strength gains really fast. Gym part is really that simple. The hardest part is finding the diet macro goals that allow you to pack on some muscle. You'll have to be in a state of increasing in weight to add any major muscle, and some of the gain will be fat. A lot of people are carb cycling to limit fat while keeping protien really high.

    Good luck!
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
    Well there are a number of lifting programs you could do. NROLFW, Stronglifts 4x4. A lot of fire fighters and police officers where I live do CrossFit. Lots of ways to get stronger just have to find one that works for you!

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