Weight lifting with running?

Question

im rather skinny with little muscle mass. (6ft and 120 pounds) I ran track and cross country last year so I would like to gain some more muscle to help me out. What types of weight should I use and for how long/reps. And what about things like protien bars? Thanks

Answer 1

Like southernyankee1975 said, you need to eat more, for one.  That will give your body the calories it needs to build muscle.  Protein bars are alright, but really all you probably need is to eat more at meals (take seconds).  Increase your intake of carbs and proteins, basically.  Potatoes, soybeans, lean meats, and milk are good sources of those, but, like I said, all you really need is to eat more at meals.

Once you get past the food aspect, to build muscle, as you already know, you need to lift weights.  Typically, you'll want to do a full body circuit to get a completely toned body, not just one area in particular.  Here's what I would recommend:  10 pull-ups (with a spotter, if you can't do one), 15 pec-deck, 15 leg lifts, 4x50 crunches, 15 frog hangs, 10 dips, 15 hanging double eagles, 2x15 push-ups, 25 quarter squats, 15 lateral raises, 15 curls, 15 leg curls, and 15 leg extensions.  Obviously, you should use the amount of weight you can lift for all of the reps, but make it enough so that your muscles get fatigued.  Gradually increase the amount of weight you use as it gets easier.  If you don't know what some of those exercises are, gyms normally have descriptions of the activities you can do using specific equipment and you can also look them up on the Internet.  You should lift weights about 3 times a week, with at least a day in between.  Your muscles need to heal between days, since weightlifting creates tiny tears in your muscles.

Answer 2

Your metabolism is probably pretty high.  You'll need lots of carbs (not sugar) and protein.  Double your food intake.  Don't run as much.

Start out for the first month lifting 12-15 reps with whatever weight exhausts you within 12-15 reps.  This is to get your muscles, ligaments, and tendons adjusted to the idea of lifting.  Lift up to 3 times a week with at least a day's rest in between.

Then move on to heavier weights, lower reps.  3 sets will suffice of each excercise.  In recent years, it has been proven that multiple sets of heavy lifting (for mass) is really not necessary.  Old time bodybuilders used to do tons of sets (and tons of steroids) but there's no need to go past 3.   Now you'll need more rest between sessions and we're talking 2 sessions per week per muscle group.  (This means your bench press, shoulder press, etc. chest/shoulders excercises should have 3-4 days rest to heal = healing equals muscle gain). Be patient and remember to eat a lot of clean carbs and protein.

Answer 3

well sometimes there is no helping being a runner and being skinny...like my brother for example MecLean O'Donnell (he is 9th in the nation) and he only weighs 137 lbs.