[scott_s]

It's not the time spent that matters, it's the quality of the time spent. Intensity matters. A 30 minute intense workout is better than a leisurely 2 hour workout.

There's no real formula. When I started strength training, I knew nothing. I was lean and weighed about 155 pounds. That was about 9 years ago. In about two years I put on 20 pounds so that I was about 175. Over the course of two or so years, I put on about another 10 pounds so that I was usually around 185. Around then I switched my focus to compound lifts like deadlifts and clean & press. I shot up to 195 pounds. Last summer I lifted four days a week and shot up to 205 pounds. Now I walk around closer to 200 because I don't do much strength training. It's mostly grappling and conditioning - things that keep me in shape but they don't add any muscle mass.

A good goal when you start is to do strength training three days a week. That's enough to make progress, but you won't feel like you're always doing it.

I agree completely with the author of this article: focus on compound lifts like squat, deadlift, cleans, overhead press, clean and press. You'll need to invest time to learn how to do these lifts. Doing them properly (that is, in such a way that avoids injury and allows you to add weight) is a skill, and like any skill, you need practice to get good at it.

Also keep in mind that getting stronger and adding muscle mass is an adaptation. You're putting your body under some stress, and your body adapts to the stress by getting stronger. If you keep using the same stress, your body doesn't need to adapt anymore. You need to continually change what you do (more weight, or more reps, different exercises, less rest, etc.) to continue to see improvements.

[jules]

So 30 min every 2 days, that would work? I don't really have the equipment for most of those exercises, so I'll have to improvise (e.g. backpack filled with heavy stuff for one hand lifting). What can you suggest as exercises that don't require equipment, or only require things that most people have? I might buy stuff later but I'd first want to try out if I like doing it.

Thanks!

[scott_s]

Again, it's not about a formula. I can't say "X for y minutes will yield z."

Exercises that don't require any weights are pull-ups, dips, squats (with no load, obviously), burpees (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4H92emcabA ; harder than you think). All of these exercises will increase your strength at first, but eventually it'll just increase your conditioning. That is, once you're at the point that you can do, say, three pull-ups, being able to do more pull-ups won't add any muscle mass. It'll increase your conditioning (your body's ability to continue doing something), which is good, but you won't put on weight.

Really, if you want to add muscle mass, you need to lift heavy things.

Also, I have to agree that if you are indeed 6 foot, 125 pounds is startlingly thin. Have you ever had a doctor check if you have, perhaps, a hormonal problem that makes it difficult to keep weight on?

[jules]

Thanks for the exercises. I'm going to try pull ups tomorrow on a tree branch, but I'm pretty sure I can do more than 3 (I might be overly confident though). Squats seem a little too easy too without weight, but I can a backpack as weight? What do you think about push ups (with backpack)? Lifting a backpack with 1 arm? Is 3 about the right amount of times you should be able to do something? So increase weight until you can only do it 3 times? That would be almost impossible to do with a backpack for squats...anyway squats seem to be focused on the legs and my legs are already relatively big.

> Have you ever had a doctor check if you have, perhaps, a hormonal problem that makes it difficult to keep weight on?

No I have not seen a doctor. You guys seem to think that it's weird thin but I know a lot of people who weigh less than that, and even more people who look thinner. I think if you are not muscular and don't have much fat you weigh about that much.

[scott_s]

When was the last time you stepped on a scale? If a man who is 6 foot is 140 pounds, I would call him "skinny." I think a 6 foot man who is under 125 pounds is underweight. Also, your legs aren't "big" if you weight less than 125 pounds.

You're taking my advice too literally. You're grasping onto the numbers and thinking "Aha! These are the magic numbers I need to hit." It doesn't work that way. You asked what kind of strength training you can do without weights. There's lots of strength-conditioning you can do without weights, but it won't add muscle mass. I was trying to explain the difference between increasing your muscular endurance and increasing your absolute strength.

You're looking for a formula. There is none. If you want to get stronger and put on weight, there's a lot you have to learn about how your body reacts to the various kinds of stresses. Some resources for learning more:

http://www.stumptuous.com/ http://www.crossfit.com/ http://www.martygallagher.com/index

[jules]

> When was the last time you stepped on a scale? > I think a 6 foot man who is under 125 pounds is underweight.

Umm, I don't know? A couple of weeks ago? I guess I am underweight by the BMI measure, but I've been like that all my life and my BMI now is higher than ever so I don't really worry about it.

> Also, your legs aren't "big" if you weight less than 125 pounds.

That's true, I meant relative to other muscles. All exercise I do do is primarily legs, so it may be better to focus on the rest as my legs get exercised during running & cycling. The upper body is also more important visually ;)

> It doesn't work that way.

I understand, but it's good to have a ballpark figure to see if something is going to be effective or not. For example if I do 30 push ups, is that going to help or is it better to add an extra weight at that point?

Edit: I just filled my backpack with as many books as possible (that's probably about 30-40 pounds) and I can do 28 push ups, but then I'm completely weak for a few minutes. So would you suggest doing this exercise, or get a better weight?

Thanks for the links!