How do i build muscle

Laoch_Cailin
Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi

I am 5ft 8 in height I weigh in at 10st 6lb or 146lbs. I am happy at this weight but would like to continue toning. I am learning how to jog, I'm up to 5k 3 times a week in around 30mins. I do zumba for 1hr twice a week and I walk as much as I can. The thing is I keep hearing people say cardio is not enough and I need to build muscle. The problem is I haven't a clue were to start.

I have no access to a gym and can't afford to join one this year. Any suggestions would be greatfully received xx

Replies

  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
    Take a look at bodyrock.tv Lots of strength training exercises with minimal equipment.

    Do 3 sets of 12 reps of each of the following

    pushups
    squats
    lunges
    tricep dips
    Crunches
    reverse crunches
    bicycle crunches

    If you add some dumbbells, there's a myriad of exercises you can do.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    Take a look at bodyrock.tv Lots of strength training exercises with minimal equipment.

    Do 3 sets of 12 reps of each of the following

    pushups
    squats
    lunges
    tricep dips
    Crunches
    reverse crunches
    bicycle crunches

    If you add some dumbbells, there's a myriad of exercises you can do.

    Thanks. I've been doing squats and push ups. I'll have a look and see what the rest of the things on that list are, then I'll give them a try. Thanks again x
  • ASPhantom
    ASPhantom Posts: 637 Member
    Tabata workouts are great.
    Also, I am using an app called You are your own Gym.
    It's great!
  • xSophia19
    xSophia19 Posts: 1,536 Member
    Get yourself to the gym, and get lifting those weights! :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,086 Member
    Hi

    I am 5ft 8 in height I weigh in at 10st 6lb or 146lbs. I am happy at this weight but would like to continue toning. I am learning how to jog, I'm up to 5k 3 times a week in around 30mins. I do zumba for 1hr twice a week and I walk as much as I can. The thing is I keep hearing people say cardio is not enough and I need to build muscle. The problem is I haven't a clue were to start.

    I have no access to a gym and can't afford to join one this year. Any suggestions would be greatfully received xx
    If you are planning to build muscle you need to eat a calorie surplus and overload the muscle to force it to grow. I'm more than sure you're just trying to "condition" (toning really isn't the right terminology) muscle to make it more firm. Standard body weight exercises that require no weights can help with this if you are new.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Inlet
    Inlet Posts: 135
    I haven't tried this yet, but I'm really interested.... TRX suspension workouts are supposed to be awesome for strength and take up virtually no room in your house... it was developed by a navy seal.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    I haven't tried this yet, but I'm really interested.... TRX suspension workouts are supposed to be awesome for strength and take up virtually no room in your house... it was developed by a navy seal.

    In my opinion, TRX won't increase strength significantly, perhaps only condition the muscles.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    Hi

    I am 5ft 8 in height I weigh in at 10st 6lb or 146lbs. I am happy at this weight but would like to continue toning. I am learning how to jog, I'm up to 5k 3 times a week in around 30mins. I do zumba for 1hr twice a week and I walk as much as I can. The thing is I keep hearing people say cardio is not enough and I need to build muscle. The problem is I haven't a clue were to start.

    I have no access to a gym and can't afford to join one this year. Any suggestions would be greatfully received xx
    If you are planning to build muscle you need to eat a calorie surplus and overload the muscle to force it to grow. I'm more than sure you're just trying to "condition" (toning really isn't the right terminology) muscle to make it more firm. Standard body weight exercises that require no weights can help with this if you are new.



    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    Your right I'm looking to make my muscle more firm, also too increase my ability to burn calories more efficently. Any suggestions barr the ones everyone else has kindly suggested that you feel may help. Thanks
  • grizzlymaze
    grizzlymaze Posts: 185 Member
    I would suggest that if you want to build muscle than you need to lift a weight that you can only do 8-10 reps. If you want the lean look, than lift a wight about 12-15 reps. Either way, the last 3 should be tough.
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    I would suggest that if you want to build muscle than you need to lift a weight that you can only do 8-10 reps. If you want the lean look, than lift a wight about 12-15 reps. Either way, the last 3 should be tough.

    Okay I'll try this. Thank you.


    Also should have included in the top post that I'm female incase it makes a difference.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    There are 3 basic ways to build muscle, depending on what your goals are. The first is to do a low weight, high rep workout to build the slow twitch muscles (muscle toning). These are muscles that can be used over and over again. The second is low rep, high weight workouts that build fast twitch muscles (strength building). These muscles are good for short bursts of strength, but need time to recover before use again. The last would be in the middle (body sculpting). This workout uses heavy weight, but not supper heavy, and required a lot of reps and sets. The idea is to build both fast and slow twitch muscles, giving more overall muscle mass.

    For most people, the muscle toning workout is the workout of choice and will build muscle, allowing your body to burn more calories at rest. The good news with muscle toning is that there are many exercises that can be done without expensive gym memberships or equipment. Air squats, pushups, pullups, situps, crunches, bench dips, pike pushups, split jump squats, one leg squats ... you get the idea! :)
  • Laoch_Cailin
    Laoch_Cailin Posts: 414 Member
    There are 3 basic ways to build muscle, depending on what your goals are. The first is to do a low weight, high rep workout to build the slow twitch muscles (muscle toning). These are muscles that can be used over and over again. The second is low rep, high weight workouts that build fast twitch muscles (strength building). These muscles are good for short bursts of strength, but need time to recover before use again. The last would be in the middle (body sculpting). This workout uses heavy weight, but not supper heavy, and required a lot of reps and sets. The idea is to build both fast and slow twitch muscles, giving more overall muscle mass.

    For most people, the muscle toning workout is the workout of choice and will build muscle, allowing your body to burn more calories at rest. The good news with muscle toning is that there are many exercises that can be done without expensive gym memberships or equipment. Air squats, pushups, pullups, situps, crunches, bench dips, pike pushups, split jump squats, one leg squats ... you get the idea! :)

    Thanks. I've been doing alot of jump squats (I think they are called), I do bench dips, girly pushups (lol). I'll look up and try all the other ones on your list there. Thanks again
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,086 Member
    I would suggest that if you want to build muscle than you need to lift a weight that you can only do 8-10 reps. If you want the lean look, than lift a wight about 12-15 reps. Either way, the last 3 should be tough.
    Actually "leaness" is more about bodyfat percentage. The lower the leaner you look and that's dependent more on calorie deficit and NOT lifting for higher reps. I believe it's important to ensure that people should know the actual truth about lifting weights.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    I would suggest that if you want to build muscle than you need to lift a weight that you can only do 8-10 reps. If you want the lean look, than lift a wight about 12-15 reps. Either way, the last 3 should be tough.
    Actually "leaness" is more about bodyfat percentage. The lower the leaner you look and that's dependent more on calorie deficit and NOT lifting for higher reps. I believe it's important to ensure that people should know the actual truth about lifting weights.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    You beat me to it. Brb lifting in the 15-20 rep range to "tone".
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    I would suggest that if you want to build muscle than you need to lift a weight that you can only do 8-10 reps. If you want the lean look, than lift a wight about 12-15 reps. Either way, the last 3 should be tough.

    Okay I'll try this. Thank you.


    Also should have included in the top post that I'm female incase it makes a difference.
    It doesn't . Males and females should train the same.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,086 Member
    There are 3 basic ways to build muscle, depending on what your goals are.
    Actually you don't build muscle unless you're in calorie surplus to start.
    The first is to do a low weight, high rep workout to build the slow twitch muscles (muscle toning). These are muscles that can be used over and over again.
    You're basically explaining "muscular endurance" training which really doesn't "tone" the muscle better than the next 2 you mentioned.
    The second is low rep, high weight workouts that build fast twitch muscles (strength building). These muscles are good for short bursts of strength, but need time to recover before use again.
    This would be correct.
    The last would be in the middle (body sculpting). This workout uses heavy weight, but not supper heavy, and required a lot of reps and sets. The idea is to build both fast and slow twitch muscles, giving more overall muscle mass.
    The idea here is almost right. reps between 8-12 will help more for muscle hypertrophy (building muscle) than the other 2 given that there is a calorie surplus.
    For most people, the muscle toning workout is the workout of choice and will build muscle, allowing your body to burn more calories at rest. The good news with muscle toning is that there are many exercises that can be done without expensive gym memberships or equipment. Air squats, pushups, pullups, situps, crunches, bench dips, pike pushups, split jump squats, one leg squats ... you get the idea! :)
    I will disagree here. While people do want more "muscle tone", endurance training doesn't do it well nor does it build muscle more effectively than an 8-12 rep higher volume workout with heavy lifting.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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