Verified answer

dude, if you don't exercise you are just gonna be fat. But if you do, make sure that you eat lots of proteins (they build muscles), such as in milk, cheese, egg whites, eggs in general etc. Junk food can also get you fat no matter what you do. It is up to you to decide which muscles do you want to strengthen

There are ways of getting clean muscle but they are not really effective.

The best way is to first get the mass (in this period you eat a lot and you get both muscle AND fat) and then do definition (this is the part where you lose the fat but also a little muscle as well), this is how bodybuilders do it (I know you may not wanna look like them, but your goal is the same, just in a different degree - you both want muscle) and they know their stuff.

Anyway, go read about fitness, nutrition and bodybuilding it's not that complicated.

To gain muscle, you need to stimulate your muscles to grow with challenging weights and eat ENOUGH PROTEIN - 2 grams per pound of your weight at least (protein is found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, also a little in nuts/seeds and legumes).

To lose fat you need to cut down on carbs/sugars and start doing aerobic exercises - running, boxing, jumping, walking, swimming, whatever gets your heart going - THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN WEIGHTLIFTING - it's a part of the "definition process".

Good luck and if you wanna find out more search for sites like bodybuilding.com etc. there are TONS of success stories with pictures and already written workout and nutrition plans (search for "transformations of the week or year).

You gotta workout like crazy (Heavy weight) and while your doing that lose more weight from your upper body and belly fat, by the point where your muscular try going even heavier weight, take the best supplements and that way you"ll have nothing but muscle (after an intense and exhaustion workout wait 48 hours for the muscle to repair and go back to the gym)

LOL @the other answers, okay, some of these people are along the right lines but their information is wrong. A question for you first, how easily do you gain weight?

Those who find it hard to gain wait or are generally skinny are classed as ectomorphs.

Those who are an average kind of size and basically gain/lose weight depending on what they eat are mesomorphs.

Those who tend to be fat and gain weight really easily are endomorphs.

Depending on which body type you are, you'll want to plan a diet accordingly.

One quick rule, if you eat more calories than your body burns off, you're obviously going to gain weight. I think it's fairly obvious what happens if it's the other way round.

Since you say you are skinny I'm going to presume you are the ectomorphic body type.

Ectomorphs (such as myself) will want to eat plenty of carbs, such as rice (rice is usually a good one).

Then obviously you need your protein (chicken, tuna and turkey are good meats to cycle round - because you don't want to be eating the same thing over and over), you can have protein shakes as a post workout but be sure to wait (I'm not sure on the specific time this is from memory) an hour or so before you have it. - you also have your eggs and nuts.

These are the two main things you'll need, I would go through a whole set of guidelines but I think it will do you some good to look into it yourself. (Check youtube, there are SOME great channels, try strengthcamp - especially if you're looking for strength. Scooby has some nice quick recipes and bodybuilding advice. Lastly the hodgetwins (twinmuscleworkout) usually have good advice, although their viewers tend to be less mature so their videos are slightly aimed in that direction too)

As for putting on the muscle itself, you'll want to either go to the gym or get yourself weight equipment (this can be expensive and take up room). Pushups are a decent base exercise, but they won't do it for what you're after. As with the nutrition, you should look into this yourself as the workouts you create will vary depending on your goals and what works for you.

Good luck, I know it might sound confusing right now but I strongly advise you to look into it. It's too much to explain in this post and there is plenty of great info on the web. (Oh and avoid anywhere that has mike chang (sixpackshortcuts) or anything similar)

EDIT: Oh, to clear up some of the misleading other answers. You'll probably want to strengthen up at first. To do so, aim for weights you can perform each exercise around 6-8 reps with. (Rep = repetition). Once you can lift heavier weights it'll be easier to add muscle mass (size rather than strength, strength = density) by performing higher repetitions (around 10-15) with weights that aren't at the limit of your strength.

Another thing I noticed was someone said workout like crazy. Wrong. You don't want to over do anything. When starting out, your body will be able to repair the muscle faster as there is less to repair. This gives you a little more flexibility in regards to how often you can workout, I'd suggest starting with 3-4 sessions per week to begin with. Each session you'll want to target groups, such as pulling movements, pushing movements, upper body etc. You might also want to do some cardio if you are really worried about adding fat (I suggest doing so after your workout). Something along the lines of working out on, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday should be fine for you. (You need those rest days so your body can recover)

Anyway, like I said, look into it. It will make a lot more sense once you understand the reasons behind everything.

correct me if i am wrong but rugby is a very tiring sport, so you're probably already burning enough calories without having to worry about getting fat. just eat foods high in protein and a lot of carbs and healthy fats. also avoid fizzy drinks and food high in sugar these will make you fat.

What I have seen work is if you work out and then drink a protein drink right after. Then the protein can help you regain your muscles so that they are strong. The way to gain muscles is to work out so they get little tears, then when they repair they get bigger.

I think if you start intense muscle workouts along with protein shakes, you will begin to build muscle however make sure to exercise aswell as using the protein or that will turn to fat as its unused calories.

Did you know that consuming healthful and lose weight can taste scrumptious? Everybody is straggling each and every day to consume healthy and certainly you are one of Those folks and if at eating healthy also put the problem of losing weigh then you absolutely will not think that this plate will be tasty

Inform friends, family and work co-workers that you’re dieting. Support in the people around you keeps people motivated, stops you from cheating along with makes it less likely that you'll fall off the wagon.

Say to friends, family and work acquaintances that you’re dieting. Support from the people around you keeps a person motivated, stops you from cheating as well as makes it less likely that you're going to fall off the wagon.