Hey guys,
I’m looking for a sport to do because I’m super skinny and I’d like to gain at least a bit of muscle. I’ve done cycling and bouldering in the past, but neither made me any less skinny.
The problem with sports is it’s very hard to do any sort of exercise with ADHD because beyond giving you no stimulation, it gives you negative stimulation, like when doing the plank. What’s more, it usually requires a ton of logistic prep/going somewhere, which itself is boring and becomes a barrier.
One thing I can see motivating me is doing it with other people (I enjoy chilling with people and having banter), but for that I might as well go to a pub/society where there’s no pesky ball I have to kick around. Team sports like football never really appealed to me for some reason anyway.
Has anyone had success making sports fun?
I’ve tried many things, one thing that worked for me being calisthenics - following the programs on r/bodyweightfitness on Spez’s Lemmy.
The reason it worked for me is because working from home, there were zero logistics, I could finish working (from my bedroom), and take my t-shirt and jeans off and start working out in literally 30 seconds. The programs also had enough variety in terms of different exercises to keep me entertained.
Now I work out with my partner (who is also on the spectrum, to make things more complicated). What has been working for us is doing some activities we like; on Mondays he has flamenco class so I go swimming, which I love - him going to his class is a good enough cue to kick my brain into “let’s do things” mode. Then we added Yoga on Wednesdays (the hard, “sweaty” type with lots of bodyweight type exercises to keep myself motivated). We both like it, and we take turns choosing a video to follow, so there’s incentive and novelty to do things. Once that’s fully embedded in a routine, we’ll add something else, let’s say gym on Thursdays. My strategy is to go for the maximum variety we can so I don’t get bored, and add things gradually so it becomes a de facto part of my routine and my brain doesn’t get to question the fact that Mondays are swimming pool day.
It’s been working well for a couple of months, and I suspect it will work well until there’s a major life change that derails all of this, but then I’m hoping I can re-plan the strategy.
Also to add about the specifics of swimming for ADHD: it might sound boring but no matter your level, if you push yourself hard you can leave yourself absolutely knackered in 40 minutes. I can get in a really good workout by the time boredom kicks in. Plus I count the laps I’m doing, I try to keep a mental count of what the percentage of my goal for the day that is… And that keeps my mind busy enough that I can’t think about other things that maybe would sound more exciting.
Thanks for this advice, I will check out /r/bodyweightfitness. I used to go swimming for an hour a week for 5 years in a row when I was younger, although I still stayed skinny (except for the muscles in my back). It makes me think the problem must be more with my calorie intake than with my exercise…
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I second the /r/bodyweightfitness recommended routine (for muscle mass). You can do it with minimal equipment home alone, which is minimal activation energy, and you can watch or listen to something at the same time, which gives you a reward while doing the unrewarding activity.
For me, it works perfectly.
This is great advice, it’s pretty much the same approach I’ve had to do.
Anything involving leaving the house is basically impossible for me due to required activation energy and associated anxiety. Investing in a good treadmill was one of the best decisions I ever made. Got one with a shelf built in for a phone/tablet so I can watch videos while I run. I know that type of exercise is not what was asked for, but the same principle applies to body weight exercises or free-weight training you can do if you buy a set of weights:
- Make it something you can do from home to minimise startup friction
- Set up a way to stimulate yourself while working out
- Make the exercise program varied and bite-sized so you just have to focus on finishing the current exercise instead of starting to think about how long time is remaining on the program (which is why I run intervals on the treadmill).
The tablet shelf on your treadmill is a genius idea! Yeah that’s exactly the sort of simulation that I can see helping me exercise
I would like to introduce you to the game of chess on ice: curling.
The sport that everybody watches for a week during the winter Olympics, perhaps not realizing that it is extremely accessible and easy to get in to depending on where you live and your proximity to the nearest club.Games are played with two teams of 4, with each player delivering 2 rocks per end (inning/frame) for a total of 16 rocks. While one player is delivering, the next two players on the same team act as sweepers and will judge the speed of the rock as it moves and relay that information to the skip; the team captain and fourth member of the team. The skip’s job is to call the shots as well as watch the rock as it moves down the sheet and emphatically tell the sweepers if they need to sweep or not. The two skips also get to throw the final 4 rocks of the end which are often key to determine scoring. The last rock thrown is called the “hammer” and is a major advantage. The hammer is given to the team that did not score the previous end.
Scoring is determined by how many rocks your team has closest to the center of the “house” (the coloured rings) which is the scoring area. Each rock is worth one point no matter where in the house it sits, as long as there are no rocks from the opposing team that are closer to the center.
As a “front-end” player, ie. the first or second thrower, your job will be to set up the beginning of the end by placing early rocks in front of the house called “guards” that are used to protect rocks thrown later on used for scoring. Front end players need to be very athletic and have careful control over their heart rate. Sweeping a rock effectively is a lot more strenuous than it looks and requires balance, strength, dexterity and focus. You need to be able to judge how fast the rock moving and where it might come to a stop while simultaneously putting your entire body weight onto the head of your broom while also moving down a sheet of ice at a jogging pace without falling down. You need to be able to switch from this burst of effort into being calm and collected in order to take your turn when delivering your next rock. Front end players will need to sweep 6 rocks every end.
“Back-end” players are the third and fourth players on the team. While the third does still need to sweep 4 rocks every end, the skip does not do any sweeping unless necessary, usually in the house. These players are generally the more tactical and precise of the team, able to figure out a strategy that allows either a score of multiple points, or even to try and steal points from the opponent when they have the hammer.
Curling is generally considered to be a social sport. Competition at the club level is not taken too seriously and most people are there just to have a good time. Depending on your local customs, you can expect to join your opponents after the game for a round of drinks.
I find it to be fairly ADHD friendly, when it’s my turn to throw as a front-end player I’m keyed in and focused for 60 seconds or so and then I can sort of zone out while it’s my opponent’s turn, and then when it’s my turn to sweep I find it a great way to burn off those calories. My heart rate easily reaches 120-130 a few times per game.
I would not however want to skip a team. Having to keep my mind in the game the entire time while watching every single person making shots and trying to figure out the correct next move is mentally exhausting and better left to others. Unless maybe that’s your thing, but games usually go on for 90-120 minutes.Bouldering is good for building muscle, so I think your problem is you need to eat more. You can work out all day, but you’ll stay skinny if you don’t eat.
What kind of things should I be eating? I think I eat a lot of carbs (bread, rice, lentils, bulgur, porridge, etc), does it have to be a lot of meat?
You don’t have to eat meat, but you need to get enough protein, at least .7 g per lb of body weight but preferably around 1g. More than 1.5g is overkill. It helps to divide your protein goals by the number of meals you have and try to hit a per meal goal. There’s no need to count calories or weigh your food or anything if that scares you, but it is good to look at serving sizes and protein content to get a rough idea.
You can try eating more beans and tofu. Bean pasta is a good hack. Seitan is really simple to make, especially if you’ve got a stand mixer and instant pot. You may want to consider getting some protein powder if you’re struggling to get enough through food. You can add avocado and cocoa or nut butter and banana to protein shakes for some extra calories.
Ahh I see, yeah I might try some protein powder. I’ve been struggling to gain muscle as a vegan. I eat a ton of beans and tofu but even so they only have like 10-20g of protein per 100g (nuts are also in the 10s), which means I’d need to eat like 500g of them to get what I need. But if the protein powder doesnt help it really must be due to insufficient muscle load I guess?
Well you also need to be eating at a calorie surplus of a few hundred extra calories per day, but that will ideally happen naturally if you focus on adding more protein to your existing diet. If you’re going the protein powder route, you’ll probably want to have it as an extra meal rather than a meal substitute. If you still struggle, you may need to track your calories to help you adapt.
YouTube can be a good source for some high protein vegan meal ideas. If you can do soy, TVP is a good option. If you can do gluten, chickmeat/seitan is good.
I for one, really love table tennis. Games are short, points are short, and there’s a lot of things to think about all the time.
I love tabke tennis too! I don’t think it would help me much with muscle though…
Look into flow arts! It’s basically adult performance grade fidget toys, and there’s a LOT of props to pick from. I myself am a big fan of contact staff.
Can only offer you three points, 1 nope sports really are boring, 2 you mention planking, I’m no gym dweller but if you need more muscle, planking is the opposite of what you need to do, lift heavy things, short reps, high protien diet. 3 motorcycle racing, specfically silly stuff like moped enduro, the amount of fun and helpful people you’ll meet in the pits is crazy.
Oh I see. What is the common denominator between exercoses that will give me muscle? Never considered motorcycle racing! Does that give you muscle too!?
Offroad racing will, mostly because you fall over a lot, then you gotta pick up the bike again, mostly I reccomend it for the like minded-ness of bike riders. if you’re interested don’t feel the need for fast bikes, flat out at 50mph with friends is the best.
As for building mass, plenty of stuff online, but it boils down to heavy weights, short reps (5 or so) do that set about 3 times, focus on shoulders, back and legs, eat a ridcously amount of protein.
Do a strong lifts 5x5 program.
Focus on your body through the entire repetition and make the next one better.
The numbers going up on your lift value will be the game until your body starts showing you the score also.
I say this as a on the spectrum adhd man
Strong lifts. The built in timer is great. Just don’t look at anything else on your phone. I put on Audible and just lift.
How do you overcome the gratification hurdle of stopping scrolling to go and focus on your muscles hurting?
The StrongLifts 5x5 app I use has a timer between sets, I do my set then sit and scroll and then it dings at me to do the next.
Lather rinse repeat until I’m done, it takes no time at all and I still get plenty of scrolling in lol
Jiu-jitsu has been pretty good for me. I get into a really calm/flow state while practicing it.
It’s something I recommend everyone to try :)
Zajímavé, a máš pocit, že ti z toho narostli svaly?
