How to build muscle mass at home for a newbie?

[Anonymous]

I'm skinnyfat at about 111lbs and waist is at 32". My workout is mainly cardio and running/walking at the highest incline on the treadmill. I'd like to lose weight off my stomach and work on cardio more. I've been watching youtube videos of celebrity trainers whose clients lost many inches off their waist in as little as 6 weeks. Is that possible to do at home? I have a set of 5,6,8, and 10lbs dumbbells and a barbell of 30lbs. I do mainly squats, lunges, crunches, hip thrusts, deadlifts, and lifting the dumbbells. I break a sweat but I have no idea how many reps I should be doing or if this is even enough weight to gain muscle. My main goals are to shrink my stomach, build muscle, and have a more rounded and lifted booty because mine just seems to have disappeared since I was 24 due to being sedentary and gaining cellulite ugh. Can anyone advise?

[Anonymous]

If you weigh 111, your waistline should be smaller, like 26 or 27 inches. Are you measuring your waistline or your hips?

It is most likely your diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you weigh 111, your waistline should be smaller, like 26 or 27 inches. Are you measuring your waistline or your hips?

It is most likely your diet.

If she's skinny fat, its not just diet, she needs to build more muscle mass, too.

[Anonymous]

If you're trying to build muscle, no exercise that causes you to sweat is optimal. You need to be lifting heavy enough weights in a controlled motion that you should not be free enough to move around quickly and break a sweat. That's called doing cardio. If you tire yourself out from cardio, you won't have enough energy to put up the weight volume you need to build muscle.

There has been a long run debate (like decades) and research studies going back and forth on whether total weight volume or the percent of maximum weight lifted is more important in building muscle. Most recently the debate seems to temporarily be saying that 9 sets of 8 reps each in one day per week should be roughly equivalent to 3 sets of 8 reps in three days per week. In other words, it's all about total volume lifted. WIth that said, weights that are too light (like say, you're doing 30 reps) will not be as effective at building muscle. Most advice is to aim for 6-12 reps. You should be unable to perform a 13th rep, in other words, without resting for a couple of minutes and/or moving down to a lower weight. You should rest for at least a minute between sets. If you don't need to rest for a minute then you are not lifting heavy enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're trying to build muscle, no exercise that causes you to sweat is optimal. You need to be lifting heavy enough weights in a controlled motion that you should not be free enough to move around quickly and break a sweat. That's called doing cardio. If you tire yourself out from cardio, you won't have enough energy to put up the weight volume you need to build muscle.

There has been a long run debate (like decades) and research studies going back and forth on whether total weight volume or the percent of maximum weight lifted is more important in building muscle. Most recently the debate seems to temporarily be saying that 9 sets of 8 reps each in one day per week should be roughly equivalent to 3 sets of 8 reps in three days per week. In other words, it's all about total volume lifted. WIth that said, weights that are too light (like say, you're doing 30 reps) will not be as effective at building muscle. Most advice is to aim for 6-12 reps. You should be unable to perform a 13th rep, in other words, without resting for a couple of minutes and/or moving down to a lower weight. You should rest for at least a minute between sets. If you don't need to rest for a minute then you are not lifting heavy enough.

Sorry, just to clarify 6-12 reps PER SET. Then you'd do 3-4 sets. This is for each muscle group.

[Anonymous]

I have read research on building muscle one of two ways, either light weights at higher reps or heavier weights at less reps. The verdict is out on the average person who is not a body builder lifting heavy barbells. You can gain muscle mass and get stronger with both methods. Who cares if you can lift a 12 lb. dumbbell 8 times or an 8 lb. dumbell 12 times? If the results are the same, that's what matters.