Need Exercising Tips (ftm, Pre-transition)

[Guest CrimsonEdge]

I'm 16 years old, have a height of 5'2" and weigh 65 kgs (143 lbs). I have quite a bit of belly fat (which I don't really mind) but a LOT of flab on my thighs and hips. MY shoulders are fairly broad for a girl, my breasts aren't very large (I've never worn a bra so I can't say what size).

My priorities from exercising are:

1) Losing my curves

2) Increasing my height

3) Getting stronger (in terms of muscle mass as well usable strength)

Tips please?

NOTE: Up till last year I used to play squash like 45 mins everyday 4 days a week. It was casual playing, without a partner. This year I've taken to running on a treadmill for 25 mins with a slight incline. Which is the better option of the two?

[Guest Alex Blitzen]

NOTE: Up till last year I used to play squash like 45 mins everyday 4 days a week. It was casual playing, without a partner. This year I've taken to running on a treadmill for 25 mins with a slight incline. Which is the better option of the two?

both of these are good, but i would think of squash as a good option. During squash you are using your arms much more. For muscle mass i would recommend a diet with plenty of proteins and also some weight training. A treadmill is great cardio which is great for losing weight.

[Guest Miss_Construe]

I would start strength training as cardiovascular exercises will tend to reduce muscle mass (catabolic). please start slow, one to two days a week, then work up from there. I would choose to do 8 - 10 repetitions of each exercise where you can not lift the weight any more after you set is done. The three major muscle groups are; Chest, Back and Legs; and you can add in emphasis to other muscle groupings and divide the chest, back and legs as you work for it.

Hope that is helpful and good luck.

[JenniferB]

Hi Crimson

I would keep running the treadmill, but focus more on pushing yourself by increasing the speed in one minute increments for a four minute period and then slow back down to give your body a break, then repeat. I would do this four times and on the last time take the last minute to push yourself a little farther (if you can). I do agree with Miss Construe that you should start slow. You are working on exercising for a lifetime so don't do anything that would burn you out. If you feel like you are pushing yourself too hard, you probably are. Slow down to a walk and let your body regenerate before you start picking up the speed again. Also remember to stretch before you start any workout and to cool down when you are done. After you complete any cardio exercise you don't just want to quit. Gradually slow down until you feel you are getting your breath back.

As for weights. Most weightlifters divide the workouts into the upper and lower body. If you are working on the upper body you work on chest, shoulder, lats, biceps and triceps. For the lower body you work on the quads, hamstrings, and the calves. I also throw in the abdomen because it needs to be worked to. If you are looking to get stronger you want to lift heavier weights with less reps. If you want more tone in the muscles instead of them bulging out you want to use lighter weights with more reps. Again don't overdue the workouts when you are starting out. Better to use weights that are too light than too heavy. If you do overdue your workout you will be sorry a couple days later. It takes a couple days for the muscles to really start to hurt after a workout.

Pre-transition is what is killing you on your height. Through puberty males naturally grow taller than females. If height is really important I would really consider transitioning. You are at the prime age in life to choose your gender because this is the time of your life that your bones mode. So when puberty is over there are things you can't change, the bone structure (height) being the main one. There are a lot of members here who wish they had the opportunity to transition as a teenager. If you haven't talked to a gender therapist, I would recommend you start right away.

That's just some advice. I don't know you well enough and the situation at home to say definitely this is the right course. That has to be your decision.

I wish you luck and hope to hear from you again.

Susan

[Guest Miss_Construe]

I would also like to add some info to SusanB's spectacular advice.

Um ... read this when you have worked out for a little while. i guess I tend to go a little overboard.

Also, I am not a trainer, I'm just a nerd .

Repetition and Set Regime:

(Sets are the number of times you repeat a lift, Repetitions is the number of lifts per exercise)

Strength and Power: reps 3 - 6

Hypertrophy (Size): reps 8 - 10

Endurance: reps 12 - 15

Toning: reps 15 - 25

NOTE: start out in the 12 - 15 range until you get the feel of the lifts down.

One rule of thumb on number of sets is the higher the rep count, the lower the set count.

An example would be to be in the Strength and Power regime and have 5 sets, while in the Endurance regime you would only do 2. The difficulty with this is that when repeating an exercise your performance will probably suffer in the later sets. One excellent way that I have found to obviate this problem is to super-set opposing muscle groups (Chest:Back, Quads:Hams, Biceps:Triceps), or separate areas of the body (Shoulder:Calf). Even then I do not often do more than two sets of the same exercise in a workout, allowing a greater variety of movements.

Workout combinations by session are commonly the following:

Chest and Back

Chest, Shoulders, Tricepts

Arms and Shoulders

Legs and Back

Legs, Shoulders and Arms

Everything in one day, only lift at most three days a week

A philosophy that I have stuck by is to work from your foundation up. This means going from your legs and hips to your core, chest and back, shoulders, then arms. Many people work only on the upper body 'mirror muscles' and forget the rest. Balance your opposing muscles (the pull the the other's puch) I guess is what I am trying to say.

A trick to keeping your workout short and sweet is to perform lifts that target a large portion of muscles at one time. Weighted squats, Lunges, push-ups and pull-ups are four examples of such exercises. Isolation exercises can be left to later in the workout, if you have the time. I have found that avoiding machines if I safely can, and working with dumbbells when possible, targets more muscle groups (and helps develop stabilizing muscles).

I always stretch the muscles worked the most and move out from there. I try to make sure that during my workouts I would only do passive (balistic) stretches (like lightly hopping and letting my arms bounce to loosen up my upper body) so I don't waste energy.

Plyometrics = Jump training. You can probably find a routine somewhere online. Done right plyometrics will burn a ton of calories and keep your metabolism in overdrive. I llloooovvveee them. Also they will rip up your legs (in a good way).

Some advice first:

1) Land softly, like a cat. If you find you are unable to land softly then you need to take a break.

2) Really warm up and cool down well with some good stretching, and your warm-up should include ramping up cardio, from easy to dripping sweat.

3) Always keep you stomach, back, ribs, and upper hip area engaged to protect your back

4) Always keep good posture, even your shoulders, to protect you spine.

5) You may want to include the 'cat' to 'calf' yoga combination to help your spine stretch as jumping will compress your spinal disks.

Also, I am a firm believer in body weight exercises. Push-ups, Pull-ups, Chin-ups, Parallel squats, Lunges, Single leg squats, Wall squats, etc. I don't need equipment for them except for what I already have. Plus there are a variety of ways to modify these in case you still currently struggle with these movements, or you are needing a bigger challenge.

I really liked Men's Health Magazine and think it is still a great resource. They should teach you what to do and how. Just be careful because they have exercise routines for anyone wanting to do anything and everything. Can get a little confusing. They do have a few packaged routines on the market but probably wouldn't advance quickly enough to grant you the results you desire.

If you are wondering where you may need help, you can easily perform a power yoga routine and find out pretty quickly. Also you could find a primer on muscle groups on the web (deltoids (front, middle, rear), traps (upper, middle, lower), lats, biceps (inner and outer), tricep (inner and outer), quad (inner and outer), hamstring (inner and outer), abductor, adductor, hip flexor, calf (inner, middle, outer), shin (name escapes me), Pecs (upper and lower), abs (rectus, obliques, transverse, lower), etc).

To help prevent soreness I take a *really* cold shower. I just learned this trick with more cardio based exercises so this would be more trial and error as lifting is of lesser concern to me at the moment (once HRT begins I may drift back a little).

I really hope that helps

[Guest Soran Vs]

Eat a diet full of proteins, amino acids, vitamins and CALCIUM!

Stretch your legs and back everyday. This promotes height increase. Swimming or any other aerobic exercise is good for toning muscle as well as slimming your body.