You want to be able to reach your genetic potential, and this doesn't mean having to resort to anabolic steroids.
There are 3 main factors which help you to gain weight in the form of lean muscle mass in a healthy manner.
1) Working out
2) Proper nutrition
3) Rest
Working out
You need to set yourself well defined goals if you want to gain muscle mass. Training for the purpose of building muscle it different to how you would train if you were training for muscular endurance. The basics of weight training can be summarized with these ranges.
1-6 reps to failure: power
7-12 reps to failure: strength
13-20 reps to failure: endurance
21+ aerobic activity
If your goal is to build strength which is required to gain muscle and you are training in any other zone, then you are not accomplishing your goals. A weight training program needs to be done in a way which stresses the muscles. If you don’t sufficiently stress the muscles by progressing with your workouts, then you will see lackluster results. Stick to the big muscle building exercises like squats, shoulder press, bench press, chin ups, bicep curls, military press, calf raises and crunches.
So how often should you be working out to gain muscle? The fact is that you don't need to be spending hours in the gym to bulk up. Training with high intensity is what is key. Focus on lifting weights with maximum effort for 30-45 minutes each session, and it will produce substantial muscle gain.
Diet and Nutrition
Eat 5-6 meals per day like clockwork. Never skip a meal. You should try and eat approximately every 3 hours and make sure to include some carbohydrate, protein and healthy fats in every meal. Obviously eating 5-6 large meals would prove difficult, particularly for hardgainer body types who struggle to eat large quantities of food. So aim for eating 2 large meals and the other times in the day can be smaller meals. Just make sure the smaller meals are calorie dense. High calorie foods and drinks like nuts, seeds, juice, weight gain shakes help with increasing the caloric intake in weight gain diets.
Rest
The body requires sufficient rest after workouts to allow muscle tissue to recover and rebuild. Weight training actually breaks down the muscle tissue. It's when you rest that body is given the ability to recover and rebuild muscle tissue to compensate. You're basically tricking your body into thinking it needs larger muscles to deal with the additional stress.
All in all, working out, proper nutrition and rest are equally important if you expect to gain weight and muscle. If you neglect one factor then you are just wasting your time. There is no point training hard in the gym if you are not getting the proper nutrition. So skinny guy's, no longer do you have to ask yourself the question how to gain weight, now you know the answer, but are you ready to take the next step?
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About Me: Elle Lamont has been writing articles for some 10 years now, with a history in fashion, design, gardening, and home economics.
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