I’m a 16-year-old boy, about 5ft 7in, and I’m really skinny. No matter how much I eat, I can’t put on weight. I play football a few times a week and am very fit. What exercise can I do to build myself up? Some of my mates use protein shakes. Do they work?
According to the geneticist Claude Bouchard, training can change body shape by 20%-40%; beyond that, we are destined to have the body nature gave us. So look at your parents: if they’re both slight and find it hard to lay down muscle mass, it’s likely you’ll be the same. But while you may not have the genetic capacity to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger, a strength-training programme can improve strength by as much as 74% in eight weeks – far more than could ever be achieved with protein shakes.
I’d recommend 20 minutes of well-designed, supervised strength-training (ideally between 10 minutes of warm-up and cool-down activities) two to three times a week on non-consecutive days. Perform six to 12 different strength exercises a session, to target all major muscle groups.
Studies support higher repetition strength-training programmes such as the DeLorme Watkins protocol for muscle-strength gains. This involves performing the first exercise set of 10 reps at 50% of your 10-repetition maximum (10RM) weight load; the second set at 75%, and the final set of as many reps as possible with the 10RM weight load. When you can complete 15 reps, a higher 10RM weight is required (increase by 5%) and the protocol repeats. Seek out qualified supervision, offering feedback and positive reinforcement. One book I’d recommend is Strength Training For Young Athletes, by William Kraemer and Steven Fleck. Eat three well-balanced meals a day, plus two snacks of, say, two rounds of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and a glass of milk.
· Joanna Hall is a fitness expert (joannahall.com). Send your exercise questions to: Weekend,119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER ([email protected]).
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