Tips to Gain Weight and Build Muscle

It is tough being a "hard gainer." Here are a few tips to help you gain muscle mass if you are having trouble. Anyone have other techniques that have worked?

Here is the original question I received:

My question is basically that I work out every morning and night like crazy and am pretty toned but I'm also pretty skinny, how do I gain muscle mass? I can't get a straight answer from anyone whether it's protein or carbs - and I've heard both. What's something good to eat for gaining the muscle mass?

YOU NEED CARBS FOR ENERGY AND PROTEIN TO HELP WITH MUSCLE GROWTH. SO FOR YOUR CASE I WOULD FOCUS ON PLENTY OF BOTH. IF YOU DO CARDIO, LIMIT IT TO 15-20 MINUTES AS A WARMUP TO YOUR WORKOUT AND FOCUS ON CARB REPLACEMENT DURING THE WORKOUT TO EXTEND YOUR PERFORMANCE LONGER IN THE WEIGHT ROOM.

THEN YOU HAVE TO KEEP EATING. MY SAYING HAS ALWAYS BEEN - IF YOU WANT TO BE BIG YOU HAVE TO EAT BIG AND LIFT BIG! IT IS HARD IF YOU ARE A HARD GAINER - I WAS WHEN I WAS IN MY TEENS AS WELL - BUT WITH WELL TIMED HIGH CALORIE / HIGH PROTEIN / CARB MEALS YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT.

Stew Smith CSCS
www.stewsmith.com

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. If you are interested in starting a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle - check out the Military.com Fitness eBook store and the Stew Smith article archive at Military.com. To contact Stew with your comments and questions, e-mail him at stew@stewsmith.com.

Comments

[#1 Posted by: Stewart W Atwell]

Hello my name is Stewart, I'm almost 24 and my body still looks like when I was a sophomore in high school. I weighed 160lbs as a sophomore, now i weigh 175lbs, I am the strongest guy I know besides my old man. My wife always tells me that I should start working out so I could be big and ripped. My only remedy was to sit around, eat as much as possible, do as little as possible, wait to gain 10-15lbs then go to work. I'd end up putting on a little muscle mass, but still far from satisfied with my physique. still strong as a horse but look like a starved rat, please send me some tips on how to bulk up. PLEASE........... Sicerely, your friend, Stewart.

[#2 Posted by: Jeff Anderson]

Despite what people may tell you, "skinny" ectomorphs do NOT have the natural genetics of other guys who build muscle more easily...so following their advice often leads to more confusion because what works for them WON'T work for you.

Fact is...

...YOUR body is more "catabolic" than "anabolic"

...you have LOWER PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

...you have poor "NEURMUSCULAR COMMUNICATION" (meaning your muscles and central nervous system don't connect as well to maximize muscle fiber stimulation

...and a whole host of other genetic roadblocks I can't fit in here.

But here's a tip for you that will help...

Stew's right...you gotta eat more, plain and simple...

But if you're a really "skinny" guy, you need to focus more on CARBS than protein. Reason is, YOUR body already operates at a higher metabolic level. Protein is the most "thermogenic" of all the nutrients which means it actually burns more calories in the digestion process than other nutrients like carbs or fats.

So basically, all those articles telling you to load up on tons of protein are making it HARDER for you to gain weight.

Drop back on the protein and up your carbs to about 60% of your overall intake. Stick with low glycemic carbs like oatmeal, whole grain breads, brown rice, and sweet potatoes.

I've seen just this one switch make a big difference.

Also...your training is a bit too intense. All you need is 45-60 minutes of training a day and if you're truly a "hardgainer", I'd knock it down to 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes. Hardgainer bodies don't recover as easily as other body types so you need more rest in between work days.

[#3 Posted by: stew smith]

Stew - Jeff is right. Keep it up and eat higher calorie foods but not junk...

Supplements may help you - but I would only add macronutrients: protein, carbs, fat for best and safest results...

Stew