Having Trouble Putting On Muscle? What “HardGainers” Need To Know To Gain Muscle.
Here’s the deal, everyone is different. Some people can shed 5lbs in 2 days with no effort, while it take someone else 2 weeks to lose 5lbs.This is the same in gaining muscle, some people can put on muscle without changing much in their diet, while others seem to eat all day, everyday and not see the scale move an inch! We talk about losing weight a fair amount but today I want to help those who don't want to stay “skinny” forever. Here are 3 basic guidelines to follow to help gain weight and muscle!!
Rule #1 EAT. EAT. EAT.
Most people who are trying to gain muscle are already in the gym doing some kind of resistance training, but they are not eating near enough to see the results of their hard work in the gym. One reason is because they are afraid to lose their “lean” look or not have a 6 pack. PS. You've had a 6 pack forever if you're a hardgainer, it's not going anywhere… so EAT!! Alright so let's get you baseline for daily caloric intake, take your bodyweight and let's multiply 15. So if you weigh 140lbs x 15, you will roughly 2100 calories. Then we want to break this down to 40% of the calories coming from protein, 35% from carbohydrates and 25% from fats.
Rule #2 Track What You're Doing In The Gym
If you want to gain muscle you can't just go do anything you want in the gym and expect to see results, which is honestly the same for any goal, you need to see what you've been doing and how you're progressing each week! Progressions, meaning adding 2.5lb more that last week, completing more reps or more sets than the previous week. Muscle is built through our adaptation to stress, so if you want your muscles to grow you need to be doing more than last week. Pay attention to what you're doing weekly, write it down on paper or on a tracking app whichever you prefer.
RULE #3 Stick To A Program
In a world filled with immediate satisfaction being the norm, I talk to many clients no matter what their goals are that haven’t stuck with a program for longer than 4 weeks before turning to the next thing. This is usually due to the fact they haven't seen the result they “think’ they should, gain 4 inches on their biceps or they didn't lose the 30lbs they thought they would in a month. Here’s the cold hard truth, results don't show up in a month, it takes at least 12 weeks to start seeing results and ideally 6 months! So keep your program consistent for at least 12 weeks, you can change up the reps, sets, and weights, just make sure you're hitting the same muscle groups if you change the movements up.
These are some very basic guidelines for all of you guys and girls who struggle to gain weight or muscle! I hope this helps, and if you have any questions always feel free to shoot us a message on our website! We have training and nutrition programs available for anyone and everyone!!