Does it feel like you’ve done everything and still can’t put on muscle? Don’t despair. Simply because you haven’t succeeded before doesn’t mean you couldn’t put on serious muscle.
One of the big issues for skinny guys is genetics. People who struggle gaining muscle after training intensively and eating a lot are known as hardgainers. Luckily there are things you can do even if you are a hardgainer. You can apply these tips and finally kill your skinny guy image.
The first thing you need to know is how to train properly. You need to be able to vary the resistance. Free weights are great for this. Dips, push and pull ups are also ok, but somewhat less flexible.
To gain muscle you need to lift heavy weights. Don’t go playing with high reps and low weights. You can do those until you are blue on the face and gain no weight. Choose weights that allow you to do between 4 and 8 reps. Lifting heavy weights puts your muscles and nervous system under a lot of stress, which is a key in building muscle for hardgainers.
Besides packing on weight you need to pile on the calories also. Seriously, the only way to gain weight is by eating a big surplus of calories. This gives your body raw material and energy to build that muscle you want. Muscle is metabolically speaking expensive and you need to show your body that you aren’t running out of calories even if you pack on extra muscle.
But when it comes to food, all calories are not created equal. If you simply gorge out at McDonald’s or otherwise eat junk and processed food you are going to get fat – not muscular. Muscle gain requires vitamins and nutrients, and you won’t find these from junk food.
Speaking of food, make sure you eat plenty of protein. Nothing new here, but lack of protein is a key issue that causes many hardgainers to struggle. You need at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (that’s roughly 2 grams per kilo or bw).
High protein diet + intensive resistance = big muscles and great self-esteem.
The next tip is wet. Water. You need plenty of it for your body to function properly and build the muscle. Dehydration slows down muscle repair, and thus also buildup of new muscle. So listen to your doctor and drink at least those 8 glasses per day. Even more if you train intensively.
Finally, you need enough rest. The body builds muscle during sleep. Skimping on sleep causes the body to skimp on building muscle.
That’s it. The simple secrets for hardgainers to abolish the skinny guy image. Train intensively, eat a lot of healthy calories and protein, tank up on water and make sure you get your sleep. That’s the recipe for big muscle gains.