Lifting weights to look good with my clothes on

April 26, 2008 10:29 PM

I'm starting to lift weights, and my goal is simply to look as good as possible with my clothes on. What kind of exercises should I focus on?

I'm a skinny guy, and am interested in starting a lifting routine. My goal is simply to build muscle so that I look more attractive in my day-to-day clothes (casual wear). That is, I'm not worried about how I look when I'm at the beach wearing shorts and no shirt. Also, becoming physically stronger is not one of my direct goals -- I'm specifically interested in building bigger muscles and improving my posture (as I also suffer from hunched-over-at-the-computer-screen syndrome).

In this regard, what kinds of exercises will give me the maximum bang for my buck? Shoulder and chest exercises seem to be the most obvious starting point. How about neck, trapezius, and upper back? I know that women love the "v-taper" on guys, but how visible is it when one is wearing a shirt? Will biceps make much of a difference? How much value is there to working on my core/lower body if those parts are completely hidden by my clothes?

One concern is that I don't want to look too top-heavy or unbalanced, but I don't think this is a realistic concern for the time being, since my lower body is probably more built than my upper body.

(Note to weightlifting purists: please bear with my desire for a "shortcut" to looking good; I am constrained for time, am not naturally inclined to exercise, and want to do only what yields what I'm looking for.)

posted by lunchbox to sports, hobbies, & recreation (10 comments total)

I'm currently using The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised. I recommend to get a copy and read through all the stuff that isn't just a technical guide to specific exercises. It's certainly helped me with my goals (losing weight and gaining strength) and you should be able to use the ample information in there to build your own routine.
posted by krisjohn at 10:50 PM on April 26, 2008

Your shortcut is really not your shortest cut at all.

Complete lifting is the fastest way to growth, especially for a beginner. Eating right and plenty, and sticking to your heavy compound lifting with assistive lifts and isolated lifts being secondary, are going to give you the fastest growth and gains as a beginner and as a skinny guy. Secondly, the whole "with clothes on" deal is really not the right way to go about it. Muscularity all over is discernible with clothes on. Having big arms but a flat chest, a thin back, and chicken legs is also discernible. Therefore you should be doing this evenly and correctly, whether it seems to you like the right idea or not. Lastly, while strength isn't your direct goal, you need to be strong in order to lift and move the kind of weight you'll need to induce more and more hypertrophy as your body becomes more muscular. Again, your goals are good but your mindset is sort of off here.

Usually, a beginner focuses on basic compound lifting and building skills and full-body strength. The growth and gains are fastest, all around, and he takes in valuable knowledge and experience that will carry him as long as he continues to lift. Unless you are a genetic freak (which you aren't, having already said you are a skinny guy), building that basic strength base is your first step, your first step to getting big.

Now, on to your questions.

What kind of exercises = bang for the buck? Here they are, in order of most important. Squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, overhead presses. Why squats and deadlifts first? Because they are the most important exercises that promote the production of anabolic hormones. Don't squat and don't deadlift? Don't grow, then.

Neck, trap, upper back? Shrugs, cleans, rows, pulldowns.

How visible is the v-taper? Visible, depending on how you dress. Wear tight shirts? Visible.

Will biceps make a difference? Those, and triceps. Your pushing is as important as your pulling. For a beginner, presses and rows are more important than extensions and curls, though you shouldn't ignore your isolation if aesthetics are your main goal.

How much value is there to working on your core/lower body? Again, your lower body compound lifts are your moneymakers for those internally produced growth hormones. Don't skip them if you want your results as soon as possible.

Others may tell you different, and I am fully aware that I take a hard line as a lifting purist myself. I am a competitive powerlifter. But on the other hand, I used to be see-my-ribs scrawny, and I've come a long, long way from there, on the hard work and experience that I've only gained through trial and error, trying to mess around with fitness rag bullshit and "bodybuilding" methods. Feel free to message me if you have any questions at all.

YMMV.
posted by crunch buttsteak at 11:14 PM on April 26, 2008 [24 favorites]

Core strength is the key to improving posture, so if that's one of your goals then yes, working your core is important. Make sure you are hitting your back (eg through back extensions or reverse crunches) as well as your abdominal muscles.

Also seconding the notion that you should work your full body (back, chest, arms, legs AND core) rather than try and target very specific muscles that can be noticed through your clothes (ie, traps). You are cheating yourself in many ways if you try to do this--not the least of which is that you will fail to see quick gains the way you will if you begin to work your whole body, making your shortcut not really much of one at all (see crunch buttsteak's comment about increasing hormones). Also make sure that you are eating enough protein to be putting on mass.

However, if I were you and particularly concerned with looking good in shortsleeves, I'd work my arms--biceps, triceps, and especially forearms.
posted by cosmic osmo at 2:07 AM on April 27, 2008

Push ups. Working on your shoulders and chest will have an immediate impact on your silhouette and push ups are a simple and effective way to do it.
posted by fire&wings at 2:59 AM on April 27, 2008

If you only want to look good with clothes on, just work your major muscle groups. Push ups or bench press for the chest, pull ups/chin ups or lat pull downs for the back, military press for your shoulders and squats for the legs. That's it. You don't need to waste time on minor muscles like the biceps, triceps calves, etc. because they will be worked out indirectly when you do the basic exercises and they aren't readily apparent under clothes anyway.

My advice is to focus on these basic exercises two times a week, making sure that any residual soreness from a prior workout is gone. Don't overdo it or you will grow fatigued and stop going to the gym. Good luck.
posted by sic at 5:39 AM on April 27, 2008

Push-ups
Pull-ups
sit-ups
run five miles

repeat
posted by fluffycreature at 6:47 AM on April 27, 2008

Yoga is great for improving one's posture. It can also help develop upper body strength and tone if you include arm balances.
posted by mimo at 7:36 AM on April 27, 2008

crunch buttsteak had the perfect answer for what you should be lifting. He also mentioned that you need to be eating a lot, but I'd like to emphasize this point. Muscles don't come from lifting, they come from eating, and it is just lifting that triggers them to grow. If you are a skinny guy and you continue to have a caloric intake that is the equivalent of what you burned before you started working out, it doesn't matter if you eat 5 protein shakes during the day, all you are doing is punishing your kidneys while remaining just as skinny. You might push your body fat % in a certain direction, but you will by no means change what you look like with clothes on.

So start eating ice cream/milk/yogurt/fruit/peanut butter/oat/whatever-you-like smoothies every day, start eating cottage cheese before bedtime, 1.5x to 2x your carb intake (one sandwich for lunch? try two), and save the protein dense shakes only for immediately after working out. Even pigging out on fast food every now and then is preferable to a ridiculous protein to carb ratio that doesn't significantly alter your caloric intake.

Good luck, and take pictures.
posted by GooseOnTheLoose at 2:20 PM on April 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Ha!

Crunch Buttsteak and GooseOnTheLoose are correct. Lift the way Crunch Buttsteak told you to, eat the way Goose said, and SLEEP. You're only going to add mass if you rest. You grow when you recover. To recover, you need fuel and rest.

Also, do pullups and dips.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 5:27 PM on April 27, 2008

I lost a couple of stone recently and always wore oversized clothes, in the same clothes I look much the same now, If you want to look good in your clothes you'll need to wear shirts that fit and get wide shoulders. Also bear in mind that it is difficult to gain muscle without fat, don't give yourself a gut or your 'skinny' advantage will be gone and you'll be in the huge baggy shirts with the rest of us!
posted by daveydave at 4:16 AM on June 29, 2008