Is this exercise routine enough to gain weight?

I'm far from a fitness nut (in fact I have no clue when it comes to fitness) but I figure I'd better stop leading such a sedentary lifestyle or I'll get diabetes or heart disease when I'm older.

I've recently started spending 45 minutes on an exercise bike per day, with my arms unmoving, holding the bars. It ramps up in intensity then drops down suddenly at approximately 4 minute intervals. I'm not sure if it's relevant because I'm trying to gain muscle, not lose fat, but the machine says each workout burns about 450 calories.

I'm a 20 year old male, I'm 174CM high and weigh about 50KG, which makes me underweight according to the BMI. I eat what I want when I want, which involves healthy portions (or perhaps too much) of everything. I have virtually no fat, but virtually no muscle either. Is this routine enough to get into shape, with time? If so, how long would it take? Keep in mind I have no interest in becoming buff, but it would be nice to have a regular amount of muscle, particularly in the arms, and not look so emaciated...

Should I be exercising other parts of my body? As far as I know, this exercise routine would not improve the strength in my arms.

I'm also wondering whether some kind of exercise can maintain healthy back strength, and prevent it from being damaged over time or giving me problems later in life due to hunching and other unhealthy habits, like spending a lot of time sitting down.

Oh and one more thing, I realise that my sedentary lifestyle is not good for my emotional health. I know little about how it works, but I believe it has something to do with chemicals in the body... I think. Anyway, is this exercise routine likely to improve my mood or at least my level of energy in general?

Basically, I'm asking if the routine I've described is enough to achieve the goals I've outlined. If not, how can I modify it to do so?

Thanks!
 
The routine that you described isn't going to achieve your goal of gaining muscle.
It will however build cardiovascular fitness which will decrease the risk of disease.

You need to do resistance training to build muscle. Im quite new to the forum myself so there may be resistance training programs available here, i dont know.

You need to do exercises with free weights targetting major muscle groups such as legs, shoulders, chest and back.

Resistance training is a great way to build lower back strength which will help prevent injury.

And yes, regular exercise has a positive impact on hormones which will improve energy, mood, thinking etc

Are you a member of a gym? Or do you have a free weight set available to you?

J
 
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