Zip nesting empty folders

I'm using the following command to zip a project file, but when it finishes, the resulting zip file contains all the directories above the file I wanted zipped, myapp.app, each one empty until you get to the actual app.

zip -r myapp.app.zip
/Users/je/Documents/Programming/Projects/myapp/build/Release/myapp.app

I've tried adding the j option, but since this is a Mac OS X .app, it itself has subdirectories that are needed to be retained. Is there some option which wont force me to cd to the correct directory to make it current before performing the zip -- or am I just using this wrong?

Thanks

All My Best,
Jeffrey

zip -j myapp.app.zip
/Users/je/Documents/Programming/Projects/myapp/build/Release/myapp.app

man zip or zip -h