What is a hardgainer?
A hardgainer is someone that has trouble gaining weight or muscle mass and maintaining that weight or muscle gain. It may seem that no matter what the hardgainer does he cannot gain any significant weight. You may know someone like this – skinny, scrawny and can eat anything they want but never seem a gain a pound. They can train as hard as they want for weeks, months or years but never seem to grow in size. Why is this so? It may be their genetic makeup. This is the way they were born and their body’s were destined to develop in this fashion. If that’s the case then what can be done to change it?
Understanding and Commitment
First and foremost the hardgainers need to understand that they can change their body weight and muscle mass. Once they understand that then they need to make a commitment to make it happen. Without that commitment it is unlikely that they will do what is necessary to make any substantial change in their physical appearance.
Change Your Eating Habits
The next thing that all hardgainers need to do is change their eating habits. Hardgainers need to eat 6 nutrient packed meals everyday without exception. These meals should be spaced out every 2.5 to 3 hours while awake and should consist of foods that will stimulate their metabolisms and provide muscle growth potential. The foods consumed should be unprocessed and as close to natural as possible. An example of this: drink water (natural) instead of pop (processed). Eat whole grain oats (natural) vs. flavored oatmeal (processed).
Another tip about eating is this. Hardgainers need to consume more calories than they are burning off in a single day. This is important so I will repeat it. Hardgainers need to consume more calories than they are burning off in a single day. A good way to determine how many calories you burn in a day (or to determine your resting metabolic rate) is to Google the phrase resting metabolic rate or BMI. Your search will give you websites that are designed to help you determine how many calories you burn per day. You will have to enter some data based on the questions asked. The more thorough and detailed you can be with your responses the more accurate the analysis will be. Once you have determined the calories burnt per day you can then adjust the amount of calories consumed per day to offset the loss. For example, when I was trying to gain weight a few years ago I was eating approximately 3000 calories per day. I wasn’t gaining any weight or mass though. I then determined my resting metabolic rate (calories burnt per day) and realized I was burning off just around 3000 calories per day. I was breaking even! No wonder I wasn’t gaining any weight.
I then began eating more food at each of my six meals. I began by increasing my calorie intake by 500 per day. I did this for 2 weeks but still did not gain any weight. I increased the calories by another 500 per day so now I was consuming 4000 nutrient packed calories per day. In two weeks I had gained 1 pound. I stayed with 4000 per day until I didn’t show any weight gain. I then increased the calories by 500 until I showed some weight gain. I would stay with this amount until I plateaued in the weight gain then added 500 more calories. I was 5000 calories per day and I was able to gain weight and muscle mass. I stayed at this level until I achieved my desired weight. You will need to play around with the amount of calories that you are consuming and see what works best for you. The formula above worked for me and it should work for you also. You may have to consume more or less. Remember though – with any weight gain you are likely to gain body fat. You can keep this to a minimum by eating foods that are low in fat and by moderating your simple carbohydrate intake.
Modify Your Training Techniques
In my opinion the number one reason related to weight training that keeps hardgainers from gaining muscle size or mass is overtraining. We work our muscles too hard in the gym and don’t give them enough time to rest and heal between workouts. What many people don’t realize is that your muscles are not growing during your weightlifting sessions. They are actually breaking down! Your muscles grow as they repair themselves during your rest periods, like at night when you are sleeping. If you are trying to gain muscle mass then you need to step back from your regular training routine and reduce the number of sets, reps and times per week you work each body part. When I am going through a weight gain/mass gain phase I will work my major muscle groups only once per week. I lift heavy and push myself to the limit. This causes a great deal of muscle fiber breakdown. I give those muscles a full week in between workouts to recover, repair and grow before I go in and annihilate them again. I will do only one or two exercises per body part as well. I have found this method to be very effective in helping my muscles grow and to gain muscle mass.
If you are frustrated with not making consistent gains in your size; if you want a hard, ripped, rock-solid body that will make everyone stare when you walk by; if you want plain old muscle bulk then make your commitment right here, right now! You can gain serious muscle mass in 2 weeks time. Visit my partners’ website to learn more about his hardgainer story and how he can help you maximize your genetic potential!
