ORIGINAL: Geoffrey the Thin
Hi Everyone, just joined today. First of all, I am an ectomorph in the truest sense of the word, as I am 6' (183cm), and about 130lbs (59 kg). Although I've always naturally been very thin, part of this is also due to the fact that I do long-distance running (10-12km) 2-3 times per week.
I would like to put on about 20lbs of muscle or so, but I don't want to sacrifice any of my running workouts or endurance, since they are something I do on a competitive basis as well. Since putting on weight of any kind is difficult for me, will it even be possible if I continue running as I do? And if I can put some weight on, will my endurance necessarily suffer as a result? Thanks in advance.
-Geoff
Several points to make here:
1) 20lbs of muscle will likely be very difficult for you to put on whether or not you continue with your running. The amount you run is not excessive and as long as you raise your calories high enough my personal view is that your genetics will prove a bigger hurdle than the running.
2) Now to contradict myself, it is possible that a combination of your diet and lifestyle (including your running) accounts for your 130lbs and it could be that, rather like someone escaping a concentration camp, simply increasing your calories would bring you to a higher sedentary level of musculature even in the absence of resistance training.
The only way to know is to 'suck it and see' and do the weights, eat a lot more and monitor monitor monitor. Monitor your weight (it must go up, if not eat more); monitor your dimensions (circumferences of limbs/ chest/ waist etc); monitor your bodyfat and see whether you are putting on mainly muscle or just getting fatter LOL!
3) My belief is that putting on 20lbs will adversely affect your running whether you like it or not. Ever wondered why marathon runners have skinny legs and yet marathon wheel chairers (probably not the right term there) have large arms? Leg muscles are large and can utilise more oxygen than the cv system can mobilise - more leg mass can't help your running because there isn't the oxygen available to make use of it. Arms are smaller and the cv system can easily utilise extra arm muscle in a way it can't with the legs. The point of telling you this is just to point out that the extra weight you will be running with is more or less dead weight over longer distances because the extra leg power cannot be utilised as oxygen is the limiting factor not muscle mass (muscle fibre type issues aside).
I think you need to make a decision right here and now whether you want the extra 20lbs or your present level of running. or look at the following longer term goal:
At 12k 2-3 times a week I gather your competitiveness is at a lower standard and I'm sure that, unless you are
extremely ectomorphic given your present very light weight if you could put more weight on you could actually keep your running standard up by doing a little
more running. Make no mistake, the running won't make your weight gain/ maintenance any easier but then a target weight of 155-160lbs (allowing for some fat gain as well) for a 6 footer is still fairly modest and if you get all the aspects right over the longer term should be a reasonable goal IMO.
SNP.
<message edited by Sir Noel Plum on 21 October 2004 23:21>