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.

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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!

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