What is the first step for an underweight woman in her 40s to take for building mass?

[Raspberry76]

Sorry duplicate thread.

[SuffolkPunch]

I don't see a duplicate.

Just slowly add more food until the scale is slowly increasing. This can be tricky since your weight moves in fits and starts but you don't want to gain weight too fast.

Of course you need to be training hard with weights otherwise the extra weigh might be mostly fat.

[Benchpresser350]

It depends on (where) you want to add mass.

Headlights, caboose, forearms...

And (Mass) is different than muscle.

What are your goals more specifically.

If you are just looking to increase bust size for instance, exercising won't help much.

But it can for other areas.

[Raspberry76]

It depends on (where) you want to add mass.

Headlights, caboose, forearms...

And (Mass) is different than muscle.

What are your goals more specifically.

If you are just looking to increase bust size for instance, exercising won't help much.

But it can for other areas.

I am trying to achieve a physique like Caroline Girvan. I believe I have been undereating since teenage years and never grown fat before. Was doing alot of cardio when I was younger as I was involved in marathons frequently. Now I am an older adult, I don't see why I should continue to look like a teenager and I do look much younger in an unhealthy way. I was mistaken as a student recently. It is quite upsetting.

I am aspiring to change the way I look, to look stronger and bigger.

[majj268]

Sorry duplicate thread.

The first step is to write your goal, make it specific. For example: How much mass do you want to gain?

[smokinal]

Just slowly add more food until the scale is slowly increasing. This can be tricky since your weight moves in fits and starts but you don't want to gain weight too fast.

Of course you need to be training hard with weights otherwise the extra weigh might be mostly fat.

It really is as easy as this^^^
Start weight training and make sure you hit every muscle group in your body. I googled Caroline; she has a very complete physique; it all works as a package.
If you're just getting into weight training, start with sets of 14-16 reps and use a weight that is pretty difficult to get your 16th rep with. As you progress (over 2-3 months), slowly increase your weights so you are performing 10-14 reps with your 12th-14th rep being very difficult. Use this pattern for every muscle group; it's a pretty basic plan for hypertrophy.
The whole time you're doing this in the gym, you need to be working in the kitchen too. What I mean is, you have to eat to grow. As Suffolk said, just start adding a little more calories every day. One big mistake everyone makes is they don't weigh themselves often enough. How do you know if you're growing if you don't weigh yourself?
Weigh yourself at least 3 times per week so you know if you need to add food or slow down some. You want to be eating enough so you are gaing about .5 lb per week. Keep in mind that this will not be a linear gain; some weeks will be a little more and some will be a little less; that's why you need to weigh in often, so you can track it.

Do this and you'll grow; I promise; give it time.

I was mistaken as a student recently. It is quite upsetting.

Girl, enjoy all that while you can!
I'm 52, always looked younger than I am; hated it when I was younger; love it now (and that's starting to slow down for me now, sadly.....)

[mtnmama]

i would add/expand just a bit - are you generally knowledgeable about tdee/lifting programs? if you are - then what these smart ppl have said is prolly all you will need. if not - you might need a bit more knowledge to start.

do you know your tdee? here's a link that can help - or google a tdee calculator.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1481919401

if you have no idea how much you are consuming - start with a normal week of you - track and input everything and just see what is average for you, as is. a lot of ppl here like to use my fitness pal - i prefer cronometer - for app/website to enter things consumed. make sure and use a kitchen scale and NOT cups, handfuls, fist size, eyeballing in general - only weighing gives you accurate info. now taking that and your tdee - you can determine what a surplus looks like for you. all that said - some ppl do not need to do so much tracking/weighing - BUT - since you mentioned you may have been under eating for decades(?) - this might help you in the short term.

if you need basic info about counting cals: https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=173439001

do you have a trainer/lifting program already in mind? if so - awesome. if that is part of what you are looking for - then there are some great novice lifting programs here:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8

if this was way ridiculous and as a previous marathoner you already knew it all - please forgive - just figured you might need a bit more.

make sure you get enough protein when you are lifting!

also - have you checked your hormones yet? mine started taking a big dip in my late 30's and i am actually on trt, as my testosterone was almost zero recently when went back on hrt (estradiol still ok for now). some places are silly and wont even discuss trt for women - but we also need it - can cause a s41tstorm of problems for us too (low libido, weight gain, changes in mood, heart disease, poor memory, loss of bone density - YES osteoporosis.) honestly life changing for me to have normal levels!

good luck - and check back in with us - let us know how you go.

[EliKoehn]

Girl, enjoy all that while you can!
I'm 52, always looked younger than I am; hated it when I was younger; love it now (and that's starting to slow down for me now, sadly.....)

When I first read your posts on this forum, I legitimately thought you were like 30!

Can relate to the frustration in my growing up and hopefully am now on the winning side of the fence with it...

[smokinal]

When I first read your posts on this forum, I legitimately thought you were like 30!

You're too kind! Thanks bruh

[Ironface]

300-500 calories above TDEE (use an online calculator)

~0.8g protein per lb of bodyweight. For example, a 100lbs person should aim for 80g protein a day.

- Resistance training in a balanced program that has you hitting each muscle group atleast twice a week, focused on adding weight/reps over time and comprised mainly of compound movements with a few isolation movements

- Try to get 8 hours of sleep a night

- Do the above consistently over months and years

Done

[Darkius]

If you lack body fat, that means you can do a long bulk. My first thought was it is ok to add extra fat past that to reach ideal fat levels, but on second thought, do it slower so you can keep bulking longer.

There are calculators that will say what calories you need, or you can just watch the scale since your body might be different.

For a bulk, I think you want to add a pound every 2 weeks, so most of the weight will be muscle. But in your case, you don't have to then cut the extra fat later.

If your BMI is below 18, you could eat more food now and add some more fat. Just east nutrient dense foods like fruit and nuts, not empty calories like chips and soda.