I was a skinny, scrawny kid growing up. Throughout elementary school there was only one other kid I knew who was skinnier than me. He had no natural genetics to rely on. When I became interested in building my body at age 15, I felt like I would be fighting a losing battle, so to speak. I started working out at 15, but started bodybuilding seriously (not competing) at 16. I finished my freshman year of high school as a skinny guy who was usually picked last or near last on teams. I returned to school after summer break as a sophomore with a brand new body with big, well-shaped muscles. This is a true story! Some of my friends who I’ve known since elementary school said, “What happened to you?” “You’re a fan now!”
Well let me tell you what happened to me. I got some very valuable information when I ordered a bodybuilding course. This course included weight and weightless training routines that were mailed to me weekly. I applied these routines, as well as the tips on eating the right kinds of foods to build muscle. Shortly thereafter I joined a YMCA in the area and began training with a teenage bodybuilder who had placed high in several bodybuilding competitions. He later won the Teen Mr. USA contest. By the time I got back to school, he was no longer the skinny kid who was last picked for teams. He now he was strong, muscular and I was becoming quite athletic.
I became so strong and muscular that I was chosen to have my photo posing in the yearbook. I joined the weightlifting team, representing our high school in various competitions against other schools. I placed first in my weight class and helped our team take first place overall in the country. I’m saying all of this about myself to say that being skinny and small-boned is no excuse for not building muscle on your little frame. Don’t use your genetics as an excuse.
There are some advantages to having small bones when it comes to building muscle. For example, if your wrists and ankles are small they will create the illusion that your forearms and legs are larger than they are when you build muscle. You see, it is almost impossible to increase the size of the muscles of the wrists and ankles, since these are mainly bone and tissue. You can see in my photo that my wrists are small. Similarly, by looking at the size of a man’s wrists or ankles, you can usually tell what his genetics were initially and how small he was before he built muscle into his frame.
Building quality muscle on a small frame is not only possible but can be an advantage due to the “illusion factor.” Your arms and legs can look bigger and more impressive, not to mention the fact that you will usually have less body fat as well. So stop making excuses about your genetics and do what I did; build those muscles!