Same Weight?

[Marinus]

Ever since I was 16 my weight has been 67kg and my height is 1,9m. For 5 months now I trained my core every other day and my body is more toned in general especially the triceps, shoulders and obviously the core. But my weight hasn't changed at all. My muscle mass has increased very little but it is very toned.

Can someone explain this?

[Dan Arnautu]

@Marinus Most probably you are working hard in the gym and neglecting nutrition. Classic rookie mistake. You can't build muscle in a vacuum. 90% of your muscle gains will be made in a kitchen.

Do your research online on the following concepts:

• Maintenance Calories
• Macros (Carbs, Fats and Protein)
• Lean Bulk

The plan for you:

1. Figure out your maintenance calories (the amount of calories your body needs in a day in order to maintain your weight - which is probably what you are eating right now)
2. Add daily surplus you need over that (it usually ranges between 250-500 kcal), in order to start gaining weight
   • You should aim to gain about 0.3-0.4 kg per week in your first year of lifting
   • By the end of the year you should have gained 10 kg easily
3. Have a smart training regimen
   • There are some good free programs on the facebook group The Athlete Phisyque (made by a friend who is a certified personal trainer) 
4. Stick to the program for one year - Adjust as needed - Ask questions on fitness forums
5. Enjoy the results!

Good luck!

[pluto]

The question i always ask to my friends when this sorta situation or question arises is: Do you feel good? Do you feel great? If so then why does it matter? If not then start experimenting and exploring where and how you feel best. One step at a time, eventually you will shine.

[Michael569]

Even thinner people may have a lot of visceral fat deposited inside of their body, around organs, digestive tract, etc... Perhaps you had larger deposits of the deep fat tissue and the increased activity level helped you get rid of some of it. 

A body weight is generally not a good indicator to track progress. Instead either invest or find one of those fancy machines to help you track muscle mass/bone density / body fat % and check yourself month by month. 

Also an additional note, guys in gym tend to focus to much on the obvious muscles, upper arm, chest and abs while the largest muscles in your body are Latissiumus Dorsi (the wings),  Gluteus Maximus (butt), quadriceps femoris ( front thigh) and hamstring. Put more focus on your back and legs. Invest in heavy weight exercises such as deadlifts, squads, rows or frontal squads and combine them with lots of pullups and lunges and you'll definitely see your weight shifting. Not to mention that dead lift and squad work many muscles of your upper body as well. Just make sure you have proper technique, ideally chat with a trainer  if you haven't done them before. 

Edited November 23, 2017 by Michael569
spelling

[Greys0n]

hormones, wait for it

[Zeroh]

both @Dan Arnautu and  @Michael569 hits it straight on the nail.

You have mentioned you are doing core training, which really doesnt do anything other than tone up the core, so dont go expecting to gain size anywhere with that strategy. This is why you have stayed the same weight.
You should indeed get invested in basic weightlifting exercises such as the Deadlift, the Squat and the Bench Press as well as the basic calesthenic exersises such as push ups, Dipps, chin ups and hangups. What those exercises do is focus on the larger muscle groups of the body which in turn enables certain hormones to be released in the body that stimulate growth. Especially so when it comes to Deadlifts and squats. They are essential for gaining mass.

Further, by the few stats you have provided we can fairly deduce you are a strong ectomorph. Tall, skinny and struggle with gaining any kind of mass really, that be muscle or fat. Which means you probably have quite the high BMR (Basic metabolic rate). 
Familiarize yourself with the bodytype you posess and train - eat accordingly to progress toward the goals you have set. 
And learn all you can about nutrition, for ectomorphs nutrition is really more toward the 99 percent of why you arent getting where you wish.

Now, as @pluto pointed out. Do not go on this endeavor if the motivations and reasonings arent really substantial and conscious one might say. 
But I would not go as far as to say it doesnt matter, even if you are feeling great already - you should exercise. 
It is a fundamental pillar of personal development and for the modern man it is extremely important as our current environment does not stimulate our body toward its potential.
But you should clarify as to why. 
Go to the gym with a purpose of doing work. Of experiencing new challengees and beating them. Go further than you did before and push beyond those boundaries of comfort you have set all around you.
Get comfotable in the act of exercise itself, not its results. Focus on the now, and take the bonuses for what they are - bonuses. 

Now, goals are necessary for success in the field of exercise. But your goals should merely be markers along they way, proving that you are strategizing correctly. So if the goal is to gain 5kg - you need to strategize accordingly in both nutrition and weightlifting. The goal itself is not what you are exercising for in the first place, it is simply a tool. The more you train the more you will discover this. 

If you havent tried already, you might be an excellent swimmer! Lightwieght and tall you would slice that water surface like a knife. 
Have you tried different forms of exercises? Maybe weightlifting isnt for you. 





 

[pluto]

I agree movement is very important, however it also depends on diet/lifestyle. I have an athletes heart-rate whether i exercise or not and it is most probably because how healthy i eat, obviously i walk around and get stuff done most of the time but i can go a long time without any form of more intense exercise than just living gently and get by feeling great. Exercise stimulates the lymphatic system but so does fruits.

If you are healthy you don't really need to go to the gym or exercise daily, you can just do simple walking or simple working/gentle exercise that comes with living and you should be fine. Exercise in general should be more stretch-oriented like Yoga or Tai chi which actually energizes the body than exhausts like the gym or other unnecessary forms of exercise. You are looking for a pump or a push not a burn/tear or drain.

If you want to gain muscle/weight than that's a different story. If you want or need a more active fully body method of exercise than Yoga/Tai Chi ect... Swimming and Rebounding are probably the best forms of exercise that work the whole body, inside/out.

Check out this video

 

[Zeroh]

12 hours ago, pluto said:

 Exercise in general should be more stretch-oriented like Yoga or Tai chi which actually energizes the body than exhausts like the gym or other unnecessary forms of exercise. You are looking for a pump or a push not a burn/tear or drain.

I must respectfully disagree on this statement, to a degree.

I love Yoga, Swimming, Weightlifting with emphasis on bodybuilding as well as calesthenics, and Jiu Jitzu. Practicing these weekly. Tai chi I have yet to try. All of them energize the body and all of them provide with this pump, push and general energy bursts you mention - when done properly. 
And these forms of exercise only provide with momentary exhaustion which usually rebounds into massive energy bursts.
I have tried variations of Yoga exercises that most certainly burn like hell on earth, of course followed by a burst of both energy and amazing pump. 
This is also true for many other forms of exercise. Hypertrophy Weightlifting, calesthenics and Jiu Jitzu have all given those same experiences.
So when you say you are looking for a pump or push rather than burn/tear or drain, the latter being these other unnecessary exercises I mention - I presume you simply havent had the pleasure of experiencing them properly which builds grounds for this misunderstanding.
Even if you are healthy you should exercise on a regular basis, regardles of how atheltic your heart is or how healthy you diet is. Exercise is not about its results, it is about the actual act of exercising. It is litterally what this human body is buildt for as part of our potential. 
It is not saying that it is unhealthy to have a great diet and average activity without exercise. You can have a great wellbeing and superb life on those grounds as well. I am simply pointing out that as a spiritual being I wish to explore my potential and that exercise is a major part of that.

As for being stretch oriented; Every form of exercise if done properly must include both a post and pre stretch warm up/cool down. 
Proper exercise of any fomr means that you warm up properly by getting the blood flowing, then stretch to loosen the joints and ligaments to ready the body for the comming stressor. Complete the workout and follow up with more stretching to cool down and losen up the ligaments and muscles to ensure proper recovery and growth. 
All exercise includes its own stretch oriented procedure.
Yoga however focuses the entire workout on this and is therefore a great exercise indeed and I assume this is what you mean by stretch oriented.
Which I can agree is a more suitable form of exercise if you mainly wish to carry on that wellbeing and healthy lifestyle without excess strain.
Calesthenics is very similar to yoga, with both emphasis on stretching as well as strength. Only utilizing the body itself for weight. It is the oldest most natural form of exercise we have. As primates calesthenics is in our genes so to speak.
-------------

So, just to clarify. 
Yes, you do not need to go to the gym, or do excessive exercise, for wellbeing as long as your diet and lifestyle is healthy and have moderate acitivty involved. You will remain healthy as long as those pre-requisites are also healthy. 
With the question of health and general wellbeing in regards I completely agree with you @pluto
If the wish is for further wellbeing then Yoga, probably Tai chi, swimming and calesthenics will do wonders. 

If the wish is for growth or skill then Weightlifting and Jiu Jitzu (or other forms of skillfull exercise) will do wonders. Doing these will naturally also provide with increased wellbeing and health.

Now, if the wish is to explore your potential and reality, as any personal development and spiritual journey naturally drives toward, then I suggest exercising regardless of the stature of your wellbeing and health. As there is a spiritual aspect of exercise that lies deep in its foundations and can only be found through exploring that which hasnt yet been explored.
The exercise form you choose should not mainly be focused on one branch throughout this journey. 
And you should definitely not restrain from attempting certain forms of exercise because you label them as unneseccary or do not truly understand how they work. Try different forms over a certain period and see what you enjoy and find fulfilment in. 
Remember, Exercise is not about the results.
 

 

[Dan Arnautu]

13 hours ago, pluto said:

If you are healthy you don't really need to go to the gym or exercise daily, you can just do simple walking or simple working/gentle exercise that comes with living and you should be fine. Exercise in general should be more stretch-oriented like Yoga or Tai chi which actually energizes the body than exhausts like the gym or other unnecessary forms of exercise. You are looking for a pump or a push not a burn/tear or drain.

I 50% agree with you. I honestly think from experience that a combination of yoga with weightlifting is just pure gold.

You learn to generate force and learn how each muscle contracts separately with weightlifting. Then, when you do yoga and start stretching, you learn how the muscles work together and increase the flexibility to do the weightlifting exercises more safely and be more present.

Also, both push your body in different ways. Weightlifting is very good to learn to push just when you want to give up. "One more rep...One more rep... I won't fail now!". It also creates discipline because you have to eat right in order to progress. You can't add reps or up the weight if you don't eat right.

It also gives you transferable, real world strength. You become more self-sufficient.

I love both yoga and weightlifting (my routine is 3x a week yoga and 4x a week weightlifting).

And actually, WE ARE looking for a burn/tear. That's the only way your muscles get the stimulus to get bigger and stronger. The muscles are like, "OMG, those reps were tough. I need to grow bigger and stronger in order to handle that in the future."

This is called progressive overload.