Can a Hardgainer Get Huge Naturally?

The short answer is yes, if they follow a proper training and nutritional program. How big? For many individuals it can be very big, for those with a light bone frame a little less, but everyone can achieve surprising results. Size is not all there is to define a nice physique, of course, but if this is the problem for you, natural bodybuilding hardgainers can grow pretty fast to a large size, though probably not get huge like drug assisted athletes, which is not a bad thing. A natural bodybuilder will have built a musculature that is not only pleasing to the eye but also functional. On the contrary a drug assisted bodybuilder, by growing his muscles beyond what mother-nature had intended, will actually see an athletic performance reduced, except for the weight lifted. Bodybuilding is not the only sport where steroids are used, but it is the one taking the biggest share of drug users in sport.

In my view this caused bodybuilding in general to have its image tarnished for most people, and for a good reason. The average man or woman in the street does not like to associate him/herself to a drug fuelled world populated with muscle freaks who look straight out of comic books. Not to mention the medical and ethical issues of taking drugs in the first place.

So many people prefer to say they are just working out or do weight training to distance themselves from this bodybuilding image, even though they very legitimately strive to shape up and yes, get big too, the natural way. Some people though are scared of getting too big. While this is not much of a problem for the majority, some trainees may not have a desire to reach the heavy weight division for performance or cosmetic reasons. Say these people also practice swimming or Thai Boxing, or other sports where stamina is a prerequisite as much as power.

Well, then everyone has an ideal weight range beyond which an increase in strength, weight, muscles and power would be more than offset by a decrease in stamina, making it not worth to pursuit. Think about gymnasts, they have awesome physiques and terrific body weight to power ratio. If they did weights they could possibly become even stronger, but also heavier and ultimately less performing. This means they carry the LEAST amount of muscle they can get away with in order to be as light as possible: the net result is outstanding power to body weight ratio. If you don’t have body weight or performance restrictions to deal with, then you can get as big and strong as nature allows you to.

Other people, mainly women, while have a desire to muscle up, are even more afraid of becoming “too big” even before they lifted a weight at all. They seem to think that after their workout they go to sleep and, bang, the next day they wake up like Dorian Yates. This of course is a totally unfunded fear, since it takes time, effort and dedication to muscle up, especially for a hardgainer, giving plenty of time to step back and reduce the effort to simple maintenance work, once you have achieved a desired size and shape. It is a bit like overweight people, they did not become overweight in the night time because they had a slice of cake at the party the day before. Most probably it took months and years of indulgence, sedentary lifestyle and/or lack of exercise before they realized they may have a health issue. Whatever you do to your body, for the good or for the bad, it takes time to show up and you have all the chances to take appropriate steps.

Having said all this, it does not mean that it should take years and years to achieve maximum strength and size if you follow a realistic program for drug free trainees, even if you are a hardgainer. A proper weight training program for regular guys and gals should consist of few compound sets per body part performed in a full body workout with great intensity. Rest, eat, sleep and repeat. This way it should take 2 years at most to reach your full potential, and even after just 6 months or 1 year you should be well ahead and have transformed your physique impressively.

The idea that it should take longer than that is a misconception born out of the thousands natural trainees and hopeless hardgainers who follow the high volume split routines taken from the muscle magazines. 10 to 24 sets per body part and split routines are murderous for regular guys and even more so for hardgainers and ectomorphs. They lead you nowhere but stagnation and frustration with a vague hope to hit the magic turning point that will never arrive. Hence the idea that it should take years and years to get big or just gain some muscle.

Think about it: if you did not make any substantial gains, apart from the very start, and you hit a deadlock, what makes you think that you will somehow turn it around? Only the muscle magazine/supplement mafia, I guess, because they need your failure to profit. In fact, they won’t tell you that those training split routines can only work for drug assisted trainees, not you or me, so they can go on selling you all sorts of supplements. The only supplements you need are few preservative free high quality protein powders, nothing else.

Is it Possible for a Hardgainer to Gain Weight?

Gaining weight is a process that requires the combination of proper diet and exercise. Depending on your body type you will have a harder or easier time putting on weight than others. Some people naturally have very fast metabolic rates which makes putting on weight very difficult for them.

I am one of those people that has trouble putting on weight. In the past before I started working out I was close to 6 feet tall and weighed less than a 130 pounds. It felt like it took forever to put on weight, but after I learned the proper techniques for weight gain I was able to put on quite a bit of muscle. Now I have settled in at a healthy 185 pounds. Gaining weight is not that hard if proper methods are followed.

Gaining weight is more about your diet than working out. You can workout forever and still not gain a pound without the proper diet. The simple equation for gaining weight is to consume more calories than you burn. With that being said you can’t just eat junk food as they contain a lot of bad calories that you don’t want to put into your body. Your ultimate goal when gaining weight is to put on muscle and not fat so you will have to consume a lot of protein rich foods. Tuna, chicken, fish, turkey meat, eggs, low fat milk, etc. are all good sources of protein that you should look to add to your diet. For more information on the proper foods to eat check out my weight gain diet.

Step By Step Process

To get started on your weight gain routine, you first need to calculate your daily caloric needs. This is the amount of calories you need to consume in order to maintain your current weight. You can use an online calorie calculator to figure out your daily caloric needs.

To gain weight you have to consume more calories than the amount you need to maintain your weight. You should consume at least 500 extra calories a day with more being better. Also you need to be eating constantly so it is important to break your meals up into several meals spread out throughout the day. This maximizes nutrient absorption by your body which is important for muscle repairs and growth.

Next you will need a workout routine. For a good weight gain workout routine check out my muscle building workout routine. Your workout routine should consist of doing heavy lifting in order to maximize muscle growth. Some say you need to focus more on free weight exercises such as bench presses, squats, dead lifts, etc. as they are the best exercise for building muscle.

Eventually during your weight gaining process you will reach a point where you will stop gaining weight. This is because your body has gotten used to your routine. So in order to get back on track you will need to switch your workout routine up and eat even more than you already do. This will jump start your body into gain weight again.

Additional Points

- Weigh yourself at the start and end of the week rather than everyday as your weight tends to fluctuate on a daily bases. Using a healthy weight gaining program you should expect to gain 1-2 pounds a week.

- Make sure to rest up and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Your muscles grow while you rest which is why proper sleep is necessary. Also when you are rested up you will have more energy to perform high intensity workouts.

- You should consume 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. So if you weigh 150 pounds you should consume 150-225 grams of protein. If you are having trouble filling your protein quota, look to adding protein supplements to your diet. Protein shakes are good popular source for your protein needs.

- When lifting weights go up in weight every week to keep pushing your body and muscles to grow.

- You will inevitably gain some fat while gaining weight. Don’t worry as you can loose the fat during the cut down phase. For more information check out my get ripped workout. There are usually two phases to body-building, mass-gain stage which is what we discussed in this article and the cut-down phase which is usually done after the mass-gain stage.

Adding Muscle Mass for the Skinny Guy

If you’ve been a skinny guy for most of your life, chances are you’ve experienced some frustration. Being skinny isn’t exactly seen as attractive, but it’s hard to smaller men to bulk up. The normal techniques aren’t necessarily as effective so knowing the best way to build muscle mass for your body type can be discouraging. However, it’s very possible to see results and gain greater strength.

It’s important to realize that you have to start where you are. You aren’t going to be able to go into the gym and start lifting weights like a guy that’s twice your size. It’s not only unrealistic, but can actually be counter productive to your ultimate goal. If you push yourself too much in the beginning, you can actually suffer from over training and have trouble recovering from your work outs. It’s best to start out smaller and gradually work yourself up as your body adjusts. The best way to build muscle mass is to build up resistance as you progress. Start with standard weight lifting such as the bench press or dumbbells. As you become more used to each set, you can more accurately gauge where your limits are. Once you have a feel for that area, make sure that you are mixing up each work out to keep your body from reaching a plateau. Avoid working out for long periods of time as well. Even people who are used to intense workouts don’t really benefit from more than about an hour of targeted weight lifting.

The other thing to keep in mind is to work with your body’s natural rhythms. Your body actually builds muscle after your workout is over. Stress on the muscle causes small tears in muscle tissue. Healing and rebuilding this stress is what actually builds muscle mass. This healing process facilitates the best way to build muscle mass and by overworking yourself, you can actually interfere with this process. Allow your body time to rest and heal. Also, keep your body fueled with good nutrition and enough water. There are simple formulas you can use to track the amount of calories you need. This depends not only on your current body weight, but also on your level of activity. Taking in too few calories can leave you fatigued, while an excess can lead to body fat instead of muscle gain.

If you start out a little bit thin, it’s still possible to achieve good results in weight training. For the best way to build muscle mass, be careful not to over do it in the beginning. Find your limits and then try to push them a little bit at a time. By carefully working your body, you can bulk up and get rid of the stigma associated with being a small guy.

Building Muscle for the Hardgainer

There are some key workouts that can be done for the hardgainer to perfect muscle mass. These workouts target the biceps, triceps, chest and back. The main thing to remember is not to overwork the muscle. Muscles need the proper amount of time to rest so they can repair themselves to grow stronger. For build muscle programs, you need a set a schedule that you can stick to. It will be difficult for the first two weeks to stick to the schedule, but after that the workout will become a part of your daily life. For every muscle group you will rest for 2 days in between so that the muscle fibers have adequate time to repair and grow.

You can choose what days you will workout each muscle. Some build muscle programs group together the back and triceps on one day, legs and shoulders in between and chest and biceps on the third day. Abs should be worked twice a week, preferably 3-4 days apart. It is also common to workout 5 days in a row and then to rest on the weekends. An every other day workout would also be appropriate. It really depends on what fits best into your daily schedule and what you will be able to commit to.

Many experts say that Cardio should always start the build muscle programs. Make sure to stretch properly in order not to pull anything during your weightlifting. Cardio will get the heart rate up so that you have the energy to complete the rest of the workout. About 10-15 minutes is the ideal time to get the blood pumping before switching to weights. Focus on 3-4 different exercises for each muscle group. This will give them each a variety so that the muscle can be stretched in different ways. High weight and low reps is the key to building muscle mass.

Take a trip to your local GNC or Vitamin World to get information on the best muscle building supplements. With build muscle programs, it is perfectly acceptable to use a supplement that will target the muscles that need some extra help. Protein powders are add lean muscle mass to the body. Supplements, of course, are not a quick fix. You still have to work just as hard during your workouts to ensure the best results.

Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?

Just because you are a hardgainer doesn’t mean you haven’t added a few pounds over the years. If you are in that boat can you really build muscle and burn fat at the same time? Or is that just reserved for the steriod boys and girls? I know, I know, all those amazing before and after pics in the ads, right? But how real are they?

In a study reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (58:561-565), “Muscle Hypertrophy With Large Scale Weight Loss and Resistance Training,” subjects took off fat while gaining muscle.

Fourteen women followed an 800 calorie, high protein diet (80 grams of protein, 97 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat) – with seven of the women lifting weights for 30 to 40 minutes three days a week and the other
seven women simply following the diet without exercise.

The study lasted for 90 days and the workout consisted of bench presses, pulldowns, military presses, pullovers, curls, tricep extensions, knee extensions, and knee flexion.

The two groups lost the same amount of weight – approximately 33 pounds. The lifting group, however, actually increased muscle mass by 21 to 27 percent, while the non-lifting group lost muscle, along with fat.

“These results indicate that weight training can elicit muscle fiber hypertrophy during periods of severe energy restriction,” said the researchers. “Strength declined in the sedentary group during the weight reduction but
increased in the weight-trained group.”

The key to successful weight loss is weigh training – not walking, or any other low intensity cardio program – and a high protein diet. In the study, 40 percent of calories came from protein, as opposed to most fat loss
diets that call for only 15 to 20 percent protein.

Now, let’s get a few things straight. This is not an endorsement of severe calorie restriction. Even if you get results initially, eventually your body will rebel with a lower metabolism, muscle loss and fat gain.

However, it does show you that when you properly apply the fundamentals of proper weight training and nutrition, you can build muscle while you burn fat, and completely reshape your body. The best way I know to do that is to pick up a copy of Body Re-Engineering and make it your new fitness bible. Click right here to pick up a copy today!

Adding Muscle with Home Workouts

Most people think that they cannot build lean muscle mass with body weight exercises in the comfort of their own home. There is this notion that you must go to a gym, and you must lift heavy weights to put on muscle mass. This is completely false.

Here’s why: This is something that no muscle magazine or supplement company wants you to know. Your body doesn’t know how much weight it’s lifting. All it understands is stress. When you lift weights, you’re breaking the muscle down.

When your body tries to rebuild itself, it needs nutrients to build itself up stronger and bigger. That’s how mass gain works – not with some super secret workout or supplement. This is the truth that has allowed me to put on more lean muscle and burn more fat at home with body weight training than with any gym workout.

So, the key to adding muscle mass with body weight exercises is to break down lean muscle mass so that it can be rebuilt stronger and bigger. How do you do that? There are two ways – difficult exercises and high intensity techniques.

Now, you shouldn’t be going around saying that you can’t put on lean muscle with bodyweight training if you can’t even do 5pullups, 10 pushups, and 20 bodyweight squats. That is absolutely ridiculous. Do you really think that going from 1 pullup to 5 pullups isn’t going to make your body stronger and bigger?

Take a look at what gymnasts do. They perform a lot of difficult exercises at a high intensity level. You don’t need to do what gymnasts do to get a great looking body. I’m just using gymnasts as an example. Even if you do a fraction of what gymnasts do, you’ll be able to develop an amazing body.