Looking Muscular-Why do it?

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'I want to look good', is what I though my self a couple days ago, meaning I want to look muscular. I am sixteen years old, I'm quite tall, got short thick dark hair, and wear glasses. Realtives and friends of the family have told me I am handsome, so you could say that I look quite good already. However, although I'm tall, I'm really scrawny, and don't exactly have an attractive body due to spots on my back and chest-and my face-, and have quite pale skin. I have a twin brother who is less tall than me, but used to play rugby, goes to the jym a lot, drinks lots of protein shakes and pretty much never touches food with to much fat in. He looks very well formed, and I have heared quite a few girls talk about their interest in him.

So I decided that I'm going to try and attend my local jym three days a week for an hour. I used to attend this jym and used a program whuich included the tredmill, and the rowing machine. I stopped because I decided if I just want to get fit, I might as well just run outdoors, which is something I actually enjoy doing as opposed to benching at the jym. But here is my point, the reason why I stopped going is becuase I figured I wasn't enjoying it very much, but I've started again now because I want the girls at my college to notice an improvement in my physicality, and maybe show more of an interest in me. That is actually my goal for the begining of next term!

Now when I think about it, that's quite a shallow reason to go to the jym, but more importantly if it's not going to be something I enjoy, I'll be wanting to improve too fast, and instead of enjoying the journey I'll just be obsessing over the destnation, and might not be very happy. However, as shallow as it sounds when I use my brain, I don't think it's to bad of a reason. When you see people like Brad Pitt, and Bruce Willis, don't you think 'I could be like that with the right amount of focus and hard work, and get simialr attention-I say similar, because I know 60% of the reason why they get feamle attention, is because they are celeberities-So why shouldn't you?

I suppose another reason why I want to look muscular, which could bee seen as a good enough and non shallow reason, is that it'll give me a massive confidence boost, and make me feel much more happier and comfortable in my own skin.

What do you guys think about this?
Cheers!

I think that going to the gym is a good idea for health reasons. Working out is good for your body and it will make you feel good. So, a side effect may be that you look a bit more muscular. Don't worry about seeming shallow. Do this because you want to be healthy. Working towards a goal will make you feel happy and boost your confidence too. I am all for exercise.

I am sixteen too with AS, and I have been lifting since i was 12, but didn't get anywhere till like tenth grade, when I finally got a growth spurt lol.
I've gone pretty regularly since March, and I'm pretty good about food too.

You really need to do some resistance and weight training if you want to be fit.

Being fit generally makes you look pretty good.

I lift primarily to get stronger, secondarily to brag about my lifts, tertiarily for the ladies when I take off my shirt at the beach...not anytime soon lol.

I don't see a problem with exercising in order to attract girls. The decent women want to see that their potential mates actually care about their health. Just keep in mind that not all women are attracted to "big" muscles. Many of us prefer someone who is fit. You don't necessarily have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For me, my fitness "journey" was a bit different than most. I was in good shape as a kid, then after a divorce, my mother did the cooking and only bought processed food and I ballooned. I also have NVLD, and a bit of dyspraxia to go with it, meaning I'm not naturally good at like, anything athletic. But figure skating made me lose a lot of weight, and gave me something athletic to like, try at. I went from 215 to 180 from just skating.

Then I started lifting to get better at figure skating, and now it's sort of it's own thing, but I'm trying to keep it in check now, as it has in the past interfered with figure skating due to me being overzealous about it. For me, looking good wasn't quite as much in the equation with lifting at all. I wanted to be strong. Even as a kid, my dad bought me a little standard weight bar, and I'd like, clean and press it with like 50lbs on it or something. I liked the idea of being STRONG a lot. Strength is sweet. Looks were apart of the equation, as in I didn't wanna look like this:

But I figured my problems with the ladies weren't how I looked really. I mean I certainly notice more attention from them at 180 and 190s (I'm 190 or so now from weightlifting and eating a lot, would like to be 180 or 170s at lower bodyfat.)

But for me, it was really just the strength aspect that got me at first. I'd see things like this, and get inspired by it.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUl7UqbL3uc[/youtube]

Even as a kid, with anime and whatever, I thought being strong was just totally cool. The Baki the Grappler opening about sums it up.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62DrLnV8Tsk[/youtube]
"If one is born as a male, at least once in his life, he'll dream of becoming the strongest man alive."

But now, I do wanna look like, better. Part of it's like, through weightlifting, I didn't do it to gain mass or whatever at all, but I've apparently put on at least 10lbs of muscle since I started. Like I didn't know ANYTHING about anatomy or whatever before lifting. So like "yeah man, you could get huge lats" or whatever didn't like, make sense to me. And I felt like a huge idiot for some reason, doing isolation exercises. Then someone taught me how to squat, and the world opened up to me. I loved how it made me like, stronger, and able to run faster and better at picking up heavy crap. Like a week ago, I one arm overhead pressed a Christmas tree. Being stronger than everyone else is sweet.

Part of it's weird, though. I like being strong, but I don't like being "big" or muscular really. I had friends at my height who were 130lbs at my height, and I always wished I could be their size. Now I know that'd be like a concentration camp weight for me, and very unhealthy, but I wish I could be like, really skinny and agile like that. But I just don't have the genetics for it. So to achieve my athletic goals, I have to be stronger, looking at it from a power to weight perspective. The weight will never decrease much (I'll probably always be over 25BMI even at single digit bodyfat) so logically that's the direction I have to go. Just, I always wished I could be like, small. So bodybuilding, as a concept, like "getting bigger" is a weird concept for me to understand being sorta already big.

I'd recommend for lifting, starting with the big power movements. Those'll put on mass quickest. Don't dick around with isolation exercises, just basically do some pressing, squats, and deadlifts, maybe Olympic lifts, but those are pretty technique intensive, and you won't be able to lift much without good technique, I guess injuries are a possibility, too, but I personally haven't really gotten any from Olympic lifts. Pullups and chins are great if you can do them, usually skinny people can do them well. Later on, you can do the isolation exercises once you figure out what muscles you want a little bigger for aesthetic reasons, or are weaknesses in whatever activities you do with them.

Oh well, good luck.

I went to the jym first time in ages on Tuesday night, and my arms have not stopped aching ever since.

I spoke to my personal tutour at college (who is a PE teacher) and he said that I probably lifted too much and advised that I don't go back to the jym for a few days untill I stop aching and then when I go back, start again but on a lower standard.

But I kind of had this plan to go three times a week, so I wanted to go tomorrow. I could just go and not exercise my arms at all, but my abs and legs instead?

He also talked about eating protein and that I should do that to prepare my muscles for my next visit, so for lunch I had a chicken tikka sandwich, a banna custard yogurt thing and a bottle of water. Does that sound like a decent protein meal to you?

Also, how do I know how much is enough protein and callories?

what's a jym? do you even lift bro? ha

Today I was at Costco doing my usual round of social skills training and freeloading. I always go to costco with my dad to 1-talk to all of the people who give out samples(i have made good friends with enarly everyone and consider this social skills training)..and 2-(they give me enough samples to help me reach my calorie goals)

anyway....two things occurred..and is my special interest. today at costco for me.
first was at the mozzarella sticks sample station. Two guys were discussing the fact that the samples were going quick and saying someone must have eaten them all. I made a joke that it was me(and partly it was lol) one of the guys said ''noone's gonna argue with you'' while the other guy didnt say anything but agreed

second situation was that one of the newer samplers called me over and asked if i work security. she said m dad and i remind her of these security guards from home depot and we walk back and forth like they do.

another mini situation was a girl asked my diet .

this is 40 percent why i look muscular. The other 60 is because it makes me feel damn proud..