Curious Where to Begin - Already Skinny, Want Toned

[captamzai]

I'm Asian, currently 5'11" weighing around 140-150. I -seem- to have great metabolism, as I constantly eat a lot (mostly health foods) and don't gain much. I believe I eat a rather balanced diet, but enough about the intro....

I have searched the forum, but there is scattered information and I kind of want an efficient, working plan that suits my needs - and with the search tool this is kind of hard to look for.

I'm not one for gaining weight or signification muscle mass. My main aim is to work on my ab-tones, and to have toned arms. I guess, for the lack of a better description, "drummer arms" would be a good approximation?

I don't know much about diet, and I can't seem the find the information I need on the forums...in terms of activity, I've been thinking about doing crunches and light-weight high repetition arm exercises...

But because I know so little, I really need guidance from you guys.

 

[Trek]

My 1st suggestion is to embrace your high metabolism as a good thing, most of us struggle with our weight. Next, if you want to improve you overall health don't focus on a particular body part or exercise...work all of you muscle groups to maintain balance. Compound movements are the best...squats, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press are the grandaddy of all exercises, start there.

I don't know why folks have such a hard time with what to eat...if it grows in the ground (vegetables, grains, fruit); runs/swims (fish, chicken, beef) and isn't fried then eat it. If the food is processed or the ingredient list has words that you can't pronounce then skip it! I know I'm over-simplifying but given the choice of a twinkie or apple? Come on...

 

[captamzai]

My 1st suggestion is to embrace your high metabolism as a good thing, most of us struggle with our weight. Next, if you want to improve you overall health don't focus on a particular body part or exercise...work all of you muscle groups to maintain balance. Compound movements are the best...squats, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press are the grandaddy of all exercises, start there.

I don't know why folks have such a hard time with what to eat...if it grows in the ground (vegetables, grains, fruit); runs/swims (fish, chicken, beef) and isn't fried then eat it. If the food is processed or the ingredient list has words that you can't pronounce then skip it! I know I'm over-simplifying but given the choice of a twinkie or apple? Come on...

Thanks for the tips on exercise!

About the food - that's the thing, I was worried it was too simple (as that's pretty much what I do...not eat fried or processed stuff). What I really meant to ask, and I apologize for not specifying, was what foods are more recommended over others in terms of toning the body?

Thank you for your prompt reply, and I look forward to hearing from you again!

 

[Trek]

As a guideline shoot for a balanded diet consisting of 30% fats, 20% protein & 50% carbs. This will give you energy for your workouts and protein to help build you muscles. As you increase the intensity of your workouts then add in more protein. I always eat meals that have some protein, carbs and fats in them.

 

[Trek]

As an added note; Protein: go with fish, chicken and leand cuts of beef, nuts, beans and tofu are also good sources. Carbs: fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Fat: olive oil, fish (salmon or tuna) olives, almonds, peanut butter.

Some foods do double duty like salmon, protein and healthy fat so be sure to include them.

 

[malkore]

I'll argue against trek, to say your protein intake could be higher. I'm not a fan of so many carbs during the day, but some people tolerate carbs more than others (starchy carbs just make me stagnate on fat loss for example).
I'd lean more to 30%/30%/40% fat/protein/carbs.

But you do need to focus on gaining muscle since you're already plenty lean. I'd go for 3x a week fullbody workouts at first, probably something like the 5x5 routine. Then after a month or two, change it up to a simple upper/lower or push/pull split.

And eat!