Getting fit

Pengu2789

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Jun 24, 2021
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After some decision making, I have decided to that I going to make my way to the air force academy. While my academic and health requirements are well enough to be able to make the cut, I need to work a lot on getting fit. I am currrently 16, 5’10 and 110 pounds, I am looking for suggestions for meals and specific works outs that would help me gain more weight with my Higher than normal metabolism. I already eat a pretty balanced diet with about 3000 cal a day but that does not help me gain much weight and my physician says I have no thyroid issues that would cause this so I do not really know what I can do.
 
I know I shouldn’t ask but chromosomes matter. Are you male or female?

Have you stopped growing? Have you looked at the height/weight requirements?

Growth and development from 16 to 18 years old can be remarkable in some humans.
 
After some decision making, I have decided to that I going to make my way to the air force academy. While my academic and health requirements are well enough to be able to make the cut, I need to work a lot on getting fit. I am currrently 16, 5’10 and 110 pounds, I am looking for suggestions for meals and specific works outs that would help me gain more weight with my Higher than normal metabolism. I already eat a pretty balanced diet with about 3000 cal a day but that does not help me gain much weight and my physician says I have no thyroid issues that would cause this so I do not really know what I can do.
I have a metabolism like yours. What goes in is out a few hours later. Basically, if you can't build anything else try to build muscles through working out. Pull ups, push ups, squats, crunches, and other bodyweight exercises will increase strength and endurance but may not build as much muscle. Weight exercises, such as deadlifts, curls, bench presses, chest flies, etc, will build muscle as these can be much more targeted. However, depending upon how many you do, size of the weights, and other factors, you may or may not build as much strength and endurance. I would recommend a mix of both to build as much muscle as possible. This will also benifit your CFA.
 
I know I shouldn’t ask but chromosomes matter. Are you male or female?

Have you stopped growing? Have you looked at the height/weight requirements?

Growth and development from 16 to 18 years old can be remarkable in some humans.
I am male, and I have been clearly growing still, I went up 8 inches in around 14 months yet during that time only gained around 15 pounds. Yeah I have, I have a goal for weight that I want to reach by next summer being 150 to 155 pounds but I want to do it correctly so it mostly comes in the form of muscle.
 
You’ve stopped growing maybe in height but lots of development is coming physically, mentally, emotionally, and those sneaky hormones will play a big part in that. Seventy inches is a good frame on which to build and carry the lean, healthy tissue you’re looking for.

Maybe look into consulting a registered dietician who is knowledgeable in these matters. You’re underweight for sure but there’s time to put on some el b’s and do it the right way.
 
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Your situation sounds quite typical for a growing high schooler, especially if your pediatrician says there is no medical abnormality.

What does give me pause is perhaps the way you styled your question with "...I need to work a lot on getting fit" and ".....suggestions on workouts" - are you on a varsity sports team? What does your coach say? Big Growth Spurters aren't unusual for a high school student-athlete. Assuming you are on a sports team, talk to both your coach and pediatrician for nutritional planning.
 
Your situation sounds quite typical for a growing high schooler, especially if your pediatrician says there is no medical abnormality.

What does give me pause is perhaps the way you styled your question with "...I need to work a lot on getting fit" and ".....suggestions on workouts" - are you on a varsity sports team? What does your coach say? Big Growth Spurters aren't unusual for a high school student-athlete. Assuming you are on a sports team, talk to both your coach and pediatrician for nutritional planning.
I am not on any form of a sports team, I did track in like 7th grade but got bullied off the team, went to try freshman year but it got canceled because of COVID and then I was too busy with theatre this year to try and join the team, might do it this year in the spring. I might also join the weights club at my school so I can have access to the weight room at my school for better equipment than what I have at home
 
I am not on any form of a sports team, I did track in like 7th grade but got bullied off the team, went to try freshman year but it got canceled because of COVID and then I was too busy with theatre this year to try and join the team, might do it this year in the spring. I might also join the weights club at my school so I can have access to the weight room at my school for better equipment than what I have at home
How badly do you want to go to the Air Force Academy?
  • If you want it badly enough, some bullying won't deter you.
  • If you want it badly enough, there won't be any "too busy to try to join the team"

FWIW: Working out with others (at school) can be a motivating factor to not skip days and to force yourself to improve.
 
It’s a good idea to heed the advice on joining a sports team. Ds’s lacrosse coach instructed (demanded?) him and his teammates to lift weights during the summers because they were all too skinny following freshman season. He is great about requiring extra workouts for those who need it. DS ended up joining our Crossfit gym which forces him to lift even when he doesn’t feel like it. Our gym has also been a great source of nutrition advice as well as his teammates. It’s fun for me to listen to them talk anout protein sources. It sounds like you have a similar build to my ds who will always need to concentrate on lifting to maintain enough muscle.
 
How badly do you want to go to the Air Force Academy?
  • If you want it badly enough, some bullying won't deter you.
  • If you want it badly enough, there won't be any "too busy to try to join the team"

FWIW: Working out with others (at school) can be a motivating factor to not skip days and to force yourself to improve.
For the bullying I have faced in my life, nothing can deter me any more, what do you ask?
 
For the bullying I have faced in my life, nothing can deter me any more, what do you ask?
Mine was a rhetorical question - you were deterred from staying on a sports team because of bullying in the past. Believe me when I tell you that getting through a Service Academy and life as a military officer can be a lot more difficult than 7th grade bullying. I know what bullying is like and FYI, I think that the recent/current anti-bullying sentiment is great and a far cry from the absolutely rampant and uncontrolled bullying that was endemic in many US schools and communities a couple of generations ago. The sentiment of the times was often "Let the kids work it out for themselves".
Times are different now but apparently bullying can still deter many from things that they want to do. You can beat the bullys by succeeding in living your dreams. Whether you confront them or just endure a few months or years of their abuse, you can keep your future goals as a motivation and not let yourself be deterred. A year of school or even your full High School years can seem like an eternity but trust me when I say that the bullying will be over with rather quickly on the scale of your life.
 
Run, then run and run some more. If you haver time, do pull-ups and push ups.

The Academy values sports teams for Leadership, Teamwork and Fitness. Join the cross country team. Best of luck.
 
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