Thin Woman Adding Muscle Mass- HELP!

I’m not necessarily a beginner but I have always had this problem. I am 5’8" tall and my ideal weight is 140-145 with muscle. My problem is I am not bulky like a lot of tall women- I have a small frame and my appendages are really long. For example, I have a 36" inseam- hence I am almost all legs.
The advice I need is how to lift weights, eat healthy, and not get what I call “marathon runner skinny”. I don’t want to be one of those women that is cut but looks too skinny- I want muscle with a bit of curve.
Here is what I eat (I’m not sure how I can get more calories because I think I would have to eat all day long even though I would not necessarily say I have a high metabolism because I lost 60 pounds 5 years ago and it is possible for me to get fat.)
Breakfast:
Oatmeal, high protein yogurt, banana

Snack
Cottage cheese
wheat crackers

Lunch
Turkey sandwich with cheese on whole wheat or TV dinner with 27 grams protein minimum with protein, carb and veggie

Snack
Protein shake with 30 grams of protein

Dinner
protein, carb, veggie

Snack
Protein shake again and/or banana

I work out 5 days per week alternating between weight lifting and a little bit of cardio (too much cardio and I seem to lose way too much weight). So Mondays I do tris, bis, back; Tuesdays I do abs, glutes, hams, quads and calves and I alternate with about 10 minutes of cardio every other day and I do the weight lifting program on alternating days (so Wednesday I would be back to arms/back, etc.).
Should I be doing more reps with lower weight to get mass? Should I be doing less reps with more weight to get mass? Should I somehow (and how?) be taking in more calories per day?
Please help- I don’t want to be skinny and I don’t want to be fat, but I cannot find a happy medium.

The first thing that strikes me about your diet is the lack of fruits and vegetables. Your dietary information is rather sparse, but it does appear that you might be able to consume more Kcal in the space of a day by adding more healthy fats to your diet.

As far as your lifting is concerned I would advise you to a) use the basic, compound movements and b) supplement this with lifts targeted to improve the strength of your levers (limbs). I believe there is one article, perhaps more, dealing with strength-related mechanical disadvantages. My brother was able to add some size and strenght to his bean-pole frame this way.

you need to increase your calories if you are getting too lean.

look up John Berardi and read all about foods/calories

the girls in my gym with the best figures seem to do a lot of olympic lifting,

so then read all the Dan John articles on this site [they are a really fun read too]

stick to the big compound movements, and use the mirror as a guide, too lean/ then eat more

That would be me. 5’8" and 34" inseam. I can wear a child’s watch.

Here’s what I do: Lift heavy. Eat kinda big. Do cardio in shorter doses, but do some cardio. My goal look is pretty cut. I don’t want to carry that much body fat, but I do love to carry muscle, especially on my arms.

I’ve tried eating really big and I can’t do it. My stomach hurts and I skip the next few meals for an overall negative result. I eat what I can and stay away from the junk. My routine is usually one that a powerlifter would follow. Westside, as far as my gym can imitate it, is how I’d describe it.

Since November, I’ve put on about 10 pounds of mostly muscle. I haven’t been able to keep all of it, and have dropped down some. I will say it wasn’t easy. There was a lot of up and down on the scale. The strength just kept going up, though, so I knew I was building muscle.

It can be done.

Wow. First, the answers you’re looking for are all here. It’ll take a lot of reading. Check out Dr. Berardi’s “Massive Eating” articles. Then, check out “Tate Talks Hypertrophy” parts I and II. Eat clean, keep a food log. Squat, deadlift, benchpress, pullups/chinups and overhead shoulder press. Lift four days a week only. Stop doing so much cardio! Sleep big.

What’s your dedication/committment level? If you don’t see results in a month, will you quit? If so, don’t even bother starting. This is a lifestyle change. For life. Get some inspiration from Southerngirl and/or AG1.

Good luck.

First- thanks for the advice/help. I will look up the articles. I searched under “skinny” to see if there were tips…
ladyjaine- I’m like you, I just can’t eat that many calories without getting ill- I do what I can. I also think as a woman, I am challenged by being tall with a very small frame- i.e. i can wear a child’s watch as well!
kroby- i’m very dedicated. i’ve been eating clean for over 5 years. I did lose 50-60 pounds 5 years ago doing weightlifting and good eating- but then I got really involved with going to school full-time and working a full-time job; but that is over now and I’m ready to devote a lot more time to my body and my overall health. I am not a quitter! I’ve been lurking on here and I know about Southerngirl’s transformation. She has a completely different body type than mine- she looks very small, much shorter with a thicker frame. She’s gorgeous though and should definitely be proud!

From some1 formerly very skinny this advice should help - as sometimes mentioned above too.
Lots of calories > protein. No junk food. Bulky veggies like cauliflower do help add bulk… And bulgor / pasta ‘fill out your bones’; but keep tummy area trim with tummy/waist/ upper leg routines. Devotion to triceps exercises will add immensly to ‘massing’ your upper arms. Make sure you read the articles about when to have your carbs/proteins before, during, after meals.

First of all you should get a good MRP (like Grow!) so you can miss a meal here or there and still get your cals. Also, don’t forget about calorie-dense foods like peanut butter and olive oil. Do you drink milk? If so, chug it like its from the last cow on earth.

I agree with the others: do big lifts. Also, dont’ be tempted to overdo it. Get your rest and watch your muscles Grow!

Good luck.

increaseing your fat intake will help you add calories without the volume. If it’s volume that you are struggling with.

Berardi has just published his lastest food thoughts all in 1 package

[quote]; but keep tummy area trim with tummy/waist/ upper leg routines. Devotion to triceps exercises will add immensly to ‘massing’ your upper arms. quote]

er are you sure, or have you just read this month’s muscle and fiction magazine

pick a Chad Waterbury routine, eat Berardi style, set your calories higher than you are used to and in 6 months time you should see some serious improvements

[quote]ultrafem wrote:
I just can’t eat that many calories without getting ill- I do what I can. [/quote]

Hey ultrafem :slight_smile:

In the last few months I began increasing my food intake, so I can totally identify with the feeling… For a lot of women that have been undereating our whole lives, I think a diet change like this presents both a mental and physical challenge.

I was most successful by adding a little bit to each of my 6 meals instead of making any one of the meals particularily large. For the first week or so I had some stomach aches - but now I find myself getting hungry in between meals. It also helped to prepared plain tasting meals during the adjustment period - if I don’t feel like eating, it is a lot easier to eat some plain veggies and chicken than something heavily spiced. I also have an easier time with protein sources like eggs and cottage cheese instead of meat at every meal (former vegetarian!).

Any diet change seems daunting at first, but it is totally worth it when you start seeing changes in your body composition and feeling more energized throughout the day.

Hope this helped :slight_smile: Good luck reaching your goals.

I agree with what people have been saying but I want to emphasize that adding good fats is essential for you. It won’t make you feel physically sick (they are dense calories) and they are essential for health. Try adding a handful to each of your P+F meals.

Some good advice so far. This is what I would add:
Breakfast-increase serving of oatmeal, add a scoop of vanilla protein powder and add fresh berries. Skip banana and yogurt

Snack-Cottage cheese and whole fruit

Lunch- Trade in sandwich or TV dinner for leftover dinner from night before, obviously you then need to cook extra lean protein and veggies nightly.

Late night snack-skip banana and add fat to protein shake or cottage cheese

Workout- As everyone stated,make the big compound lifts the staple of your workouts, but don’t forget to have some higher rep(12-20)days.

Good luck

[quote]dad4 wrote:
Some good advice so far. This is what I would add:
Breakfast-increase serving of oatmeal, add a scoop of vanilla protein powder and add fresh berries. Skip banana and yogurt

Snack-Cottage cheese and whole fruit

Lunch- Trade in sandwich or TV dinner for leftover dinner from night before, obviously you then need to cook extra lean protein and veggies nightly.

Late night snack-skip banana and add fat to protein shake or cottage cheese

Workout- As everyone stated,make the big compound lifts the staple of your workouts, but don’t forget to have some higher rep(12-20)days.

Good luck
[/quote]

thanks- i will give this a try! gatorgrrl- i am trying to add a bit each time.
the good news is that i have gained 5 pounds back and it isn’t fat!
thanks to all for the advice again.

[/quote]

the good news is that i have gained 5 pounds back and it isn’t fat!
thanks to all for the advice again.[/quote]

Good work! 5 pounds is something to be proud of.

Hi!

I had a look at your meal breakdowns and I don’t see alot of food. I see tons of supplements, but no real food. Supplements aren’t supposed to completely replace food, they’re used to – you guessed it – supplement it.

You’re probably getting too little of many important vitamins and minerals since you don’t eat that many veggies and grains/staples. Vits and mins are necessary for the body to be able to use proteins and carbs to make muscle mass.