Alin75's advice column

so i'm taking supplements because i'm one of those people who's motabolism is really fast, so its hard to gain weight. I heard that you have to work out like lift weights, i was wondering is i can dance instead of working out? would this work too? bcuz i can't really go to the gym to lift weights.

No its not the same thing. Dance is more like cardio/ fitness training. Weight training works entirely in the anaerobic zone which is what promotes serious muscle growth.

When you exert force through muscular contraction, the energy to perform that contraction comes from a molecule called ATP. In order to keep producing contractions, the molecule needs to be regenerated. Depending on how one trains, the muscles adapt to specialise for optimal regeneration of the molecule.

Aerobic exercises use oxygen as the primary source. Bodybuiling routines (with exertion times of well under 2 minutes at a time) rely mainly on glycogen stored in the muscles. When the body adapts it promotes muscle growth so as to store more glycogen. Weight training with sets of say 10 reps would produce this effect.

So you see, its very much about how you work out. Even weight training with reps below 5 or so will not produce anywhere near as much weight gain, since the body does not yet begin using glycogen as a primary source.

Dancing can have anaerobic components, but for weight gain I do not think it will be very effective.

Remember though also, weight training or not, you need a substantial calorie surplus. If you increase your workouts (of any kind), you need to eat even more than what you burn. The thing about aerobic exercises is that they burn a lot of calories, so you have to adjust your diet accordingly. You cannot ever gain weight without ingesting more calories than you burn.

Good luck.

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(Rating: 5) thank you. i will think about figuring out a way to get to the gym.

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