Training & Nutrition - Teenaged Cyclist -- Is Gaining Weight a Lost Cause?

Hey there, nutrition fans! I'm a teenager, and I am currently at 5' 7" (and growing) and I am weighing in around 117 pounds.

I'm attempting to gain weight. I don't like fitting the cyclist stereotype and I've been directed by my doctor to try to get my weight up. He says that it's at a healthy point now, but he'd like to see a few more pounds, ideally around 125.

Gaining weight is hard for me. Is it kind of a lost cause to attempt to gain weight being a teenage cyclist? Any tips for packing on some pounds?

2 options: Start lifting weights, at the very least you won't be sticks and will have some form to your body or stay skinny now get an office job later and then you'll put on the weight and it will probably even out.

How old? 117 is different for a 13 yr old vs 18 yr old.
How is upper and lower body muscle strength? I believe in balance, strong legs and a puny upper isn't good.
How many calories / day?
How much activity per day?

But seriously, i wouldn't worry about it that much unless you are unhealthy. As a teen just eat healthy and eat enough for your activity level, putting on weight just to put on weight doesn't make sense to me. What kind of weight, muscle, fat? They are different. When i was a teen i tried to put on weight and took the 3000 cal shakes, it did nothing, eventually after a finance degree and a consulting job consisting of per diem and eating out every meal at 27 i got up to 185...i'm 27still and in the 160's now just by trying to eat to be healthy. Be glad you can't put on weight right now, as long as you are healthy, because you will be able to put it on once you get older.

Eat more. Eat healthy food, not junk. Weight lifting might be useful as well, although it may just make you stronger and not heavier.

There's nothing wrong with being 117 lbs especially if your doctor says it's healthy. Chances are you're in a growth spurt where you are getting taller, and will fill out later. You will probably never be huge. There's nothing wrong with that. Too many kids these days are seriously fat and are going to have massive health problems later on in life, not to mention lifelong psychological issues due to being overweight.

I've been thin most of my life (except when I let myself go and got fat). I'm 49 now, 6' tall and 141 lbs. Being thin has not been a problem for me in any aspect of my life. I've spent a lot of time in gyms and no one has ever said a word. It's not been a problem with dating either.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2007/vinced9.jpg


http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/gainers.htm

Mass Gain Programs Articles

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbinfo.php?page=MassGainPrograms

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/vinced9.htm


[Top 5 High Calorie Weight Gain Selling Products]@ http://www.bodybuilding.com/store

1. CytoSport Cyto Gainer
2. Optimum Serious Mass
3. Ultimate Nutrition Muscle Juice 2544
4. Optimum Pro Complex Gainer
5. IDS Smart Gainer

CytoSport Presents:
Cyto Gainer

Gain Weight Fast!

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/cs/gainer.html

2 options: Start lifting weights, at the very least you won't be sticks and will have some form to your body or stay skinny now get an office job later and then you'll put on the weight and it will probably even out.

How old? 117 is different for a 13 yr old vs 18 yr old.
How is upper and lower body muscle strength? I believe in balance, strong legs and a puny upper isn't good.
How many calories / day?
How much activity per day?

But seriously, i wouldn't worry about it that much unless you are unhealthy. As a teen just eat healthy and eat enough for your activity level, putting on weight just to put on weight doesn't make sense to me. What kind of weight, muscle, fat? They are different. When i was a teen i tried to put on weight and took the 3000 cal shakes, it did nothing, eventually after a finance degree and a consulting job consisting of per diem and eating out every meal at 27 i got up to 185...i'm 27still and in the 160's now just by trying to eat to be healthy. Be glad you can't put on weight right now, as long as you are healthy, because you will be able to put it on once you get older.

I wanted to avoid saying it on the board, but I'm 15 years old. My upper body strength is good, probably better than my novice riding legs. However, I need to start lifting weights on a more regular basis, I guess.

I don't know how many calories I intake per day. Probably around 1700 on a regular day, but probably around 2500 on a ride day. I do a core workout at least every other day. I'm attempting to ride twice during the school week with a large effort on the weekends followed by a slightly smaller and more gradual recovery.


Eat more. Eat healthy food, not junk. Weight lifting might be useful as well, although it may just make you stronger and not heavier.

There's nothing wrong with being 117 lbs especially if your doctor says it's healthy. Chances are you're in a growth spurt where you are getting taller, and will fill out later. You will probably never be huge. There's nothing wrong with that. Too many kids these days are seriously fat and are going to have massive health problems later on in life, not to mention lifelong psychological issues due to being overweight.

I've been thin most of my life (except when I let myself go and got fat). I'm 49 now, 6' tall and 141 lbs. Being thin has not been a problem for me in any aspect of my life. I've spent a lot of time in gyms and no one has ever said a word. It's not been a problem with dating either.

Sweet, it's good to know that being a bit thin doesn't have repercussions as you go on if you're healthy. I eat mostly healthy. Sometimes I indulge in some glorious junk, but usually I'm pretty good about what I eat.

So I guess...just keep eating. :D

Eat a lot. Eat lots of protein, good carbs, like fruit and real oatmeal, and lots of healthy fat. Think nuts, avocados, etc. Eat a ton, and lift some weights a few times a week, on non consecutive days. Once you get a good baseline, start lifting heavy and write down everything for your progress. The combo of eating more than you need and lifting heavy weight a few times a week will help you gain weight about as fast as is healthily possible. Focus on complex, full body movements, like dead lifts, squats, cleans, overhead press, bench, and pullups. Find a coach or personal trainer and get a few sessions to make sure you have good form and are not going to hurt yourself. If you are still having problems gaining weight down the road, and can afford it, consulting a nutritionist might not be a bad idea.

Some folks gain very easily, others not. Just how it is. I don't think I've ever gained much more than a pound of protein/year. Some folks can put on a pound a week. But over the years, consistent application makes a difference. Don't worry about it, don't rush it.

Skinny people are just as attractive as heavier people. It's not the height to weight ratio that's attractive. May not seem that way to you now, but just ignore it. People who are influenced by externalities are not the people you want to be close to.

But yeah, just keep eating, and tilt the diet balance a little more toward protein.

Just live your life, and enjoy the ride. Eat as often as possible and the weight will come. Trick is you want healthy weight, not juts 8 lbs of fat. Cycling should help limit most of the weight gain to healthy weight gain.

So I guess...just keep eating. :D
While physiology is indeed a science, you don't need someone with a PhD to tell you the only way to gain mass is to consume more kcal's then you spend.
Start tracking your diet and activities on a site like dailyburn.com so you have a log of all that you do.

The biggest question you have now is how do you want to gain that mass: by increasing BF% or muscle mass%. I'd opt for the second as you're very young at 15 and can easily bulk up by resistance/weight training. Get acquainted with your local gym by having a personal trainer walk you through a strength training regime (something along the lines of 5 sets of 5 reps at increasing weights or 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps) on the various stations or machines they have. Personally I would advise you to ultimately do free-weight exercises over machines but start out doing whatever they recommend and then learn to love the free-weights. When you do start doing free-weights make sure that you learn how to properly do Squats and Deadlifts. They are two of the best lifts possible and when done in a low rep/high weight regime they are known to cause your body to bump up its total testosterone production and thus greatly help with you with gaining mass!

PS. Don't forget to keep hammering it on the bike!!!

Unless you're ill there's a 99% that you will gain weight your freshman year in college.

Add in some resistance training, pushups, weights.. whatever.

BEEFCAKE.

BTW, your weight sounds pretty close to normal, it's just the rest of the country that is obese. Though at your weight a few more pounds would probably help and not hurt, as long as they're not just fat. Eat up... some bodybuilders get tired of eating because they need to consume so much to keep their muscle mass... it's nothing new.

:)

I really think it's fine. You are growing. Sometimes you grow upwards, sometimes you grow sideways. You may be growing upwards more than sideways at the moment.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I'm quite similar, 19, 5'10", 120 lbs last I checked. A bit skinny, but fairly balanced. I used to want to get bigger when I was around 16, then I realized it was "just how I was built", and gave that up. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite strong, and haven't had any problems with the ladies ;) I just fit the stereo type I guess, nothing wrong with that in my opinion, so long as I can pedal. :)

You have the opposite problem of most Americans . . .
Am 77 years old, 5'7"and now weigh 135 and still pedal 100+ miles a week.
At age 14, when I left war-torn Europe for the US, I weighed 60 lbs. Helll, we all looked like we just got out of a concentration camp. Four years of starvation will do that to you.
In 1952 when I enlisted in the US military they almost would not accept me as I weighed 108 lbs . . . and I was a lot tougher/healthier than most of the other enlistees!
You're not starving, you are active/healthy. Keep doing what you are doing.
Consider yourself lucky!!!
Pedal on!

If you're healthy what's the big deal? Did your Dr. explain why he wanted you to gain weight? Let's say you just eat like crazy and gain 5 pounds of fat. How would that be healthy?

If you want your body to be healthy and balanced just ride lots and do some upper body lifting or push-ups, pull ups, etc. Unless your body fat is so low that you're getting sick all the time I don't see the problem.

weight training using a 5x5 program and a protein supplement after every session. no more than 2 or 3 sessions per week. until the age of 30 the body has a good amount of growth hormone so this weight training will have the benefit you desire. but you have to want it. you have to be motivated. if you don't care then the pounds won't follow. go heavy or go home. :-) check out http://www.cagedanimal.net/

... plus I hear ice cream is good for adding weight. (flabby weight)

I agree. Unless there's a health problem with being so thin, don't sweat it. At the same time, eating well and lifting weights are healthy activities - if you so wish to partake in them.
If you're healthy what's the big deal? Did your Dr. explain why he wanted you to gain weight? Let's say you just eat like crazy and gain 5 pounds of fat. How would that be healthy?

If you want your body to be healthy and balanced just ride lots and do some upper body lifting or push-ups, pull ups, etc. Unless your body fat is so low that you're getting sick all the time I don't see the problem.

Sweet guys, thanks for all the advice. So essentially the response as I perceive it is just:

-Eat healthy
-Get some extra protein in
-Lift weights a few times a week

I can do all of those, and it doesn't sound hard at all. Again, many thanks!

Sweet guys, thanks for all the advice. So essentially the response as I perceive it is just:

-Eat healthy
-Get some extra protein in
-Lift weights a few times a week

I can do all of those, and it doesn't sound hard at all. Again, many thanks!

Also:
- Get married
- Become middle-aged

:roflmao2:

Yeah, I've heard that helps. :D

Hi, and welcome! If you're like most 15 year old guys, you're at or near your peak growth rate which often stretches guys out into skinny matchsticks. You will tend to fill out some to a lesser or greater degree later on, depending on your body type and metabolism. Eat properly, keep up the cycling, do some strength training, and all will be well.

Edit: Weight gain, whether it be muscle or fat, has always been a lost cause for me- no weight lifter here.;)

DRietz, Do you have µTorrent (http://www.utorrent.com/)

If so, you could download this Ronnie Coleman DVD (http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3276209/Ronnie_Coleman_-_The_Unbelievable.avi)

Or his entire set of DVD's; http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4191742/Bodybuilding_-_Ronnie_Coleman_the_whole_set_DVD_quality


You will get too see what he eats for breakfast, lunch & supper, his exercise routines. And having just seen The Unbelievable DVD, its very motivational & inspirational. Obviously your not wanting to be a professional bodybuilder, but there are some great ideas on there to get much bigger & they don't come any bigger than Ronnie Coleman.

I say eat more protein and healthy fats (Peanut butter should do the trick!). Stuffing yourself with junk will work too, but you won't feel the better for it. More of the good stuff.